May was a whirlwind month for me, but so far June has been much quieter. I was a little apprehensive when I noticed that my calendar wasn’t marked up with activities this month, but sticking around my own neighborhood lately has lead to some unexpected and pleasant discoveries, all startlingly close to my apartment.

My Discoveries:

1. Totally untapped local drinking and dining options in south Bed-Stuy. I always thought that non-sketchy bars and restaurants were few and far between where I live, but then I explored a few blocks of Bed-Stuy while killing time with my sister and her husband. Now we have a lengthy list of places to visit!

2. The thrill of bargain store shopping on Fulton Street. For months I have been walking past these thrift stores on my way home from the subway, wary of their dusty window displays and overflowing shelves, but last weekend my sister and I went deal-hunting for patio furniture at four shops. It was entertaining to dig through the odd combinations of merchandise offered at each place (such as women’s sportswear + cellphones + beach and outdoor supplies). Plus, we received more customer service in one hour of shopping than I have in all my years of Target/Wal-Mart/K-Mart shopping combined.

3. My own “front yard.” And by yard I mean slab of concrete. This spring, my sister put in hours of gardening TLC to the large planters out front, and in the past few weeks everything has sprung to life. Now that we’ve purchased our outdoor furniture (three chairs and a table for forty bucks!), we can appreciate our little oasis even more.

My neighborhood can be loud and smelly and downright ugly sometimes, but finding all the bits that make it lovely make me happy that it’s mine.

-Rachel

5. Brooklyn Industries black tee with detailing

This was a rare spur of the moment purchase for me–I bought it to get a discount on another item, but it has proved to be a valuable addition to my wardrobe. It fits loosely without being saggy–making it the perfect counterbalance to my beloved Uniqlo jeggings.

4. Knock off Keds

They’re not name-brand sneaks, but that’s kind of why I love them. Two weeks ago, I was eating a bagel in Central Park and a huge blob of onion chive cream cheese fell on the ground. Ten minutes later, I stepped in that blob of cream cheese, but did I care? Nope. In $15 sneaks, my failures of observation are a lot less upsetting.

3. Galaxy S3 wallet case

Summertime is about traveling light. Anytime I can ditch a backpack–or better yet–the whole purse, I’m happy to do so. This wallet means I’m less likely to lose my phone, debit card, metro card, and ID this summer (or at least, if I do lose them, it’ll be all at once, which makes things that much more fun, right?)

2. Target fusha tank

Another cheapie purchase that I plan to get my money’s worth of this season. I love the color and the racerback style; I usually throw it on over one of my neon sports bras (also from Target) and am GTG.

2. Dansko Thea sandalish shoes

It’s a work shoe!… It’s a party shoe!… No–it’s a surprisingly comfortable walking shoe! I’ve wasn’t a Dansko girl until earlier this week, but consider me fully converted. They were pricey, but are one of the most versatile pairs of shoes I’ve ever owned. If you’re going to spend the money, get them in a neutral color and wear them everywhere.

1. Panasonic Lumix DMC-G5

Aside from the fact that I still need to learn how to use most of its features, I. Love. This. Camera. It’s compact enough to carry around comfortably (like to this Matt & Kim concert) but still takes stunning photos. I’m sure they’ll be even more stunning once I get a grip on what all the buttons do.

-Rachel

Mine is gin and tonic. I had surprisingly never made one for myself until a few weeks ago, when I decided to buy a bottle of Gordon’s and master the art of G&T. I’ve never been much of a cocktail-maker, but this seems like the perfect place to start: it’s seemingly simple, but I can customize it with fancy ice cubes and citrus garnishes. Refreshing, light, and sparkly–perfect for a warm night at home. 

-Rachel

]]> http://teaandbeer.wordpress.com/2013/05/10/question-whats-your-signature-seasonal-beverage/feed/ 3 teaandbeer Image http://teaandbeer.wordpress.com/2013/04/23/brooklyn-the-beautiful/ http://teaandbeer.wordpress.com/2013/04/23/brooklyn-the-beautiful/#comments Tue, 23 Apr 2013 13:00:39 +0000 teaandbeer http://teaandbeer.wordpress.com/?p=3256 ]]>

Last week served as an unwelcome reminder of how unsteady the world is under our feet. Sometimes, life is unpredictable in unkind ways. I escaped to the Brooklyn Botanic Gardens on Saturday, because it always reminds me how surprisingly beautiful the world is.

-Rachel

Every year, as soon as the weather shows promise of getting remotely warm and sunny, I make a to-do list. When I was in elementary school, I made the list on the first day of summer vacation. This year, I started getting excited about all my warm-weather plans in about mid-February, so I made my list early.

-Rachel

For most of us, another St. Paddy’s day tradition involves the local Irish pub, a few pints of Guinness, and–at some point in the night–everyone bursting out in song. We feel like you’ve probably got that part of St. Patrick’s day figured out all on your own, so here are some tips for celebrating this weekend from home, when you’re back from the bars, but still feeling festive.

First–guest list. You know that friend you may not always invite to parties because they get a little to drunk? St. Patrick’s day is your–and their–perfect opportunity to party a little too drunkly together.

Next up: food and drinks. We’d keep the snacks simple. Nothing is more Irish than a potato, and you know what goes wonderfully with beer? Potato chips. Or potato skins if you’re feeling fancy. And of course, no Tea&Beer party would be approved with out a big multi-layer colored cake.

The drinks are easy: Guinness, Baileys, Jameson (and Bulmers or Magners and Smithwick’s and any combination of these aforementioned beverages). If your looking for creative drink ideas, try checking out this site. they’ve put together a couple tasty looking drinks for both kids and adults.

Decorations? Anything green you have–put it out on display. If you’re feeling especially creative, add a few rainbows and a big old pot of gold.

Have a safe and fabulous St. Patrick’s Day everyone!

-Sam

I’m going to start my spring cleaning now while I’m sick of the cold and don’t plan on going out anyways. Recently, I have been cleaning out my basement and turning it into my workshop (for a future Tea & Beer online store!) Cleaning out years of junk from down there has also inspired me to go through other rooms in the house, like my closet and bathrooms. I might as well try on last year’s spring clothes and see what fits and what’s still in style so I can be on the lookout for cute things I’ll need this year.

As for the bathroom, with everyone in my family doing the traveling abroad thing, we have collected many mini soaps and bathroom bags that could definitely be ditched to help de-clutter.

So if you’re looking for me in the next couple weeks, I’ll be shoveling out my house as well as the driveway, and as soon as the weather gets warmer I’ll be outside and enjoying it!

-Sam

Maybe it’s because I’ve been looking forward to springtime. Mint is a color for the changing of the seasons. It can be cold as ice one minute and sunny as a blue sky the next.

-Rachel

• Check out Vermont on Tap, a blog written and created my my BFF Liz, who is drinking her way around Vermont’s 27 breweries. If you have an interest in craft beer (and let’s be honest, why wouldn’t you?), Liz has tons of information packed into each post.
• The podcasts section has also had a total revamp. There are now 19 podcasts on my list–all of which I love deeply and highly recommend. Some new ones on there are True Story (if you love The Moth, you’ll love this), The Sporkful (high energy food podcast), and Two Gomers Run for their Lives, which I originally held off from including on my list, but lately has been developing into an excellent running and lifestyle podcast.

If you–like me–depend on free, intelligent media to get you through the boring parts of your day, then these blogs and podcasts are definitely worth visiting!

-Rachel

Things I need to do between Monday morning and 3:30 on Friday afternoon:

1. Work 40 hour week 
2. Go to internship (7 hours plus travel time)
3. Complete freelance assignments (between 8 and 16 hours)
4. Finish blog post (1 hour)
5. Go on two runs (1+ hour each)
6. Job search and applications (1-5 hours)

Luckily (or–I guess–unluckily), this is not my first time pulling a red-eye work week in order to live large for a few days. It’s pretty standard fare for the breaking-into-publishing life here in Brooklyn, and at this point, I’m not intimidated by a few 15-hour days in order to do what I love. I know, it’s not necessarily healthy–I definitely don’t recommend doing this every week–but sometimes you just have to grab life by the collar and give it a good shake in order to remember you are alive and capable of incredible things. SO, here are my tips for completing the impossible in less than enough time.

• Before the time comes for you to actually sit down and get to work, make sure you have prepared. Bake a lasagna, water your plants, download some podcasts (read our listening recommendations here), chop carrot sticks, and make sure you have enough pairs of clean underwear, because once you get going, there’s no time for pit stops. Also, make sure you have ice cream on hand; I’ll explain why later.
• The next–and I believe most important–step is to get yourself into the proper mindset to complete the task at hand. Think of this project as a mission, not a chore. Envision yourself as a warrior, or space commander, or evil warlord, or whatever important-seeming persion you admire, and now pretend that this is the most important mission of your life. This is the week that people will make movies about. This is what your great-great grandchildren will remember you by. This is the project that will make history.
• Now, make a very detailed plan. Don’t forget eating time, showering time, calling your mom time, and getting a bit of fresh air time. These are all important, and when you forget to plan for them, they can eat into your scheduled work time very quickly. Then–this is also very important–set your alarm clock according to your plan.
• Okay, so now it’s day one of your work-a-thon and you’re starting out strong. How do you keep that momentum going? First, keep a glass of water next to you at all times. It’s amazing how much water you can drink absent-mindedly if it’s placed conveniently close by. Being hydrated will keep you feeling fresh longer.
• Second, make sure to take stretch breaks every 1-2 hours. If you’re at a computer like me, that means stretching your eyes (use your farsighted vision for a minute by looking out the window or across the room) and your body (shoulder rolls and toe-touching are my two faves).
• Third, practice cautious caffeine consumption. Especially if you’re a caffeine wimp like me, the last thing you want is to be lying wide-eyed in bed at midnight cursing that half a cup of English breakfast tea you had at seven (and dreading the long day of work ahead of you,) instead of resting up from the long day of work behind you. Even if you can handle your caffeine better than me, lay off the 5 Hour Energies (presumably five hours before you want to go to bed…)
• Now let’s pretend you’re deep into the project. It’s day three, you’re exhausted, and the finish line is nowhere in sight. This is where we pull out all the stops. First, if your mind wants to work, but your eyes want to sleep, I have a useful, albeit strange-looking trick that has helped me push through my darkest hours. Soak a washcloth with water, ring it out, fold it lengthwise, and lay it over your eyes for 1-2 minutes. It’ll refresh your eyes and keep you from falling asleep on your keyboard.
• If you’re still sleepy, up the stretch breaks to every 45 minutes.
• Finally, when you hit your lowest of low points, it’s time to rummage around in the freezer and dig out that ice cream I mentioned in the first bullet point. Drizzle that baby with syrup, throw on nuts and frozen blueberries, and top it off with whipped cream. This is the dessert that is going to take you in sight of the finish line, so calories are not an issue right now. Enjoy that ice cream like you have never enjoyed ice cream before and then dive headfirst back into your work and push it to the end. Also, crank the epic music at this point. 

I’m well into my work week right now and should be going strong for a few more days. I’ll keep you updated on how it goes and feel free to post any of your best power-working tips–I’ll need all the help I can get!