Nurse Jello Shots

This weekend we celebrated my mother's graduation from nursing school! She is a registered RN and is actively studying to pass her state boards (which she is super stressed about but we all know she will pass with flying colors!) 

Might I add, that we COULD NOT POSSIBLY be more proud of you mom. As a single mother, my mom has spent most of her life making sure we were successful, and watching her accomplish this for herself has been an inspiration. She is such a caring and nurturing person, I know she will make the best RN out there. No one works harder than Nurse Norma ;)

To celebrate, I made syringe jello shots!

 

I used plastic syringes similar to these.

I prefer the syringe's that come with caps so that you don't have to prop them up in the fridge and they are easier to transport.

When making your jello, just add 1 cup boiling water, and 1 cup vodka (for the 4 serving packs).

If you use a bigger box of jello, just substitute the amount of cold water with vodka :) I used raspberry jello and strawberry vodka. Poor planning on my part to not get raspberry vodka as well but they turned out great!

They were a big hit!

Again, congrats to my beautiful mother Norma! 

 *Here she is pictured with her best friend Debbie who also deserves a congratulations! 

Aren't they cute?!

Love you mom,

Jes

St. Patrick's Day: in a snapshot

I hope you are having a wonderful and SAFE St. Patty's Day :) 

My Beautiful sister Brandy and my beautiful niece Gwenyth :)

Jello shots! See how to make them HERE

Betty Crocker Reuben Casserole
Check out the recipe HERE. *Tip: instead of whipping up the instant mashed potatoes, I bought premade Bob Evans Garlic Mashed Potatoes. Saved 10 minutes! 

Another Jello shot pic because I think they are so awesome!

Happy Saturday!

We have no heat in my apartment right now and it is 21 degrees outside! BRRR. Good thing we have a fireplace!

I got to spend time with this little bundle of joy last night :) The perfect way to start the weekend.

Off the Columbus for Beerfest with my best friends!

Have a good weekend,

xoxox

Aunt Jes

American Horror Story Drinking Game

Who are you kidding? The office is quiet.. your mind is on vacation.. and you are only going to do minimal work tomorrow. And tonight is the FINALE of American Horror Story! So grab a bottle of wine and get a little tipsy :)

2 weeks ago, my friends and I made the American Horror Story Drinking Game.

Here are the rules (I adjusted some of rules because some things have changed since the last time we played).

1. If someone has sex - drink 2

2. If you see the young maid - drink1

3. If you see the old maid - drink 2

4. If you see the man in the black rubber suit - drink 2

5. If someone says the name Violet - drink 3

6. If some references being crazy - drink 2

7. If there is a fresh death (someone new dies) - drink 4

8. If there is a flashback - drink 1

9. If you see the red ball roll across the floor - drink 5

10. If you see the new "devil" baby - drink 4

11. If Ben Harmon finally realizes what is going on in the house - drink 5

Hey Ben Harmon

ENJOY!

xoxox, Jes

You know what's funny? Honesty.

Last night, as I was leaving a Thai restaurant, a homeless woman asked me for money because she was hungry. I looked down at my neatly wrapped fried rice and I couldn't stomach walking away. So I handed them over. The woman didn't even smile, she looked at the carry out box like it had cooties and said, "I was really hoping you would give me money so I could go to the bar."

I got so mad and yelled, "You should be glad you got my DINNER!" 

Now, I know that my Thai leftovers may not be ideal (and I like it spicy).. but the restaurant messed up my order so it was a new batch of fried rice that I had barely touched..and it was still pipping hot and delicious.

Then it occurred to me... if she would have just said she wanted to go to the bar in the first place, I wouldn't feel so offended by her dis-honesty. I wanted to snatch that carry out box right back! But before I knew it she was stuffing it into her bag. It was at the point of no return... a black hole of lord knows what.

This past weekend, in Cleveland, this homeless man was standing outside of the Browns stadium with a sign that said, "Not gonna lie, need beer." People were practically swarming him with money. He was honest, and made people laugh... why do you think people love comedy so much?

Everyone loves an honest homeless man.

Everyone loves a knowledgeable homeless man.

Everyone loves a witty homeless man.

So the point of my story is... BE HONEST PEOPLE. In everything that you do. Be honest with others, and most importantly, be honest with yourself. And to the homeless people...

Make yourself look like an alcoholic and you'll make millions.

DIY: Newspaper Nails

My friend Devan came over the other night, (okay, I made this post a few weeks ago and forgot to publish it! I've been busy with work and my beautiful baby niece) and I fell in love with her nails!

Awesome, huh.

She painted her nails a pastel blue, dipped them in vodka and then layered on the newspaper. I had to know the details, so I searched Pinterest to find the step by step instructions:

Check out the Newspaper how to, HERE! I'm going to give it a try this weekend! Guess I better get to the liquor store ;)

xoxox, Jes

Spiked Cider

Need a festive fall cocktail? Try some spiked apple cider. My roommate and I had a house/apartment warming  party and everyone was a fan of this easy drink. With only two ingredients, it's hard to pass up :)

2 shots spiced rum (Captain Morgan)
Apple Cider
Alcohol infused caramel whipped cream (optional - Cream is the best.)
A cinnamon stick for garnish.

Easy as pie... pumpkin pie :)

Happy Halloween!

Oh Snap

It has been so nice to get settled into my new apartment, and catch up with friends and family. My life looks a lot like this lately, and I am perfectly content :)

I Have A Confession To Make...

I like Cleveland.

Yep, I said it. I didn't want to admit it at first but I really do. 

People who are from Cleveland even have a love/hate relationship with it. It is the butt of many jokes, in the winter time they report a miserably large amount of snow, and they love to hate this man.

Last weekend I went to Cleveland to visit Adam's family and had one of the best weekends I've had in a long time. His family welcomed me with open arms, even though I'm sure his mother would have preferred a Jewish girl ;) JK, they are truly wonderful people.

We started off the day on Saturday with breakfast at the yacht club and an afternoon sail on his parent's sail boat. Without a view of land in the horizon, Lake Erie felt more like an ocean than a lake. It was gorgeous. Sailing takes a lot more work than I ever thought.. it's all manual.. it would take a lot of work and tricks to be able to go sailing by yourself. It was incredible though to see Adam and his dad working together and I would love to say that I grew up on the water.

The Family :)

My Favorite Picture!

Hahaha

After a day of fun on the water (and a nauseously hungover sail) we headed off to Great Lakes Brewery. We tried to get a table for dinner but the wait was too long so we headed down to the bar/cellar for some yummy tastings. We each got a pint of their specialty beers on tap for the week, Traffic Light and Market Street Wheat. I loved the Traffic Light and he loved the Market Street so it worked out perfectly. I definitely need to go back next time I'm in town.

Next, we met up with Adam's old college roommates and our friends from OU for the Indians game. We scalped tickets for $8 a piece and went in around the 5th inning, so we would be able to sneak down with our friends right behind home plate. The seats were amazing. I took this picture with my cell phone from our seats:

Even though we had an incredibly annoying stuck up family in front of us... heaven forbid we say the H-E-double hockey sticks word.. it was an amazing night... and the Indians pulled out a WIN! I am a Reds fan but I love all Ohio teams (except the Bengals). It was really odd because after the game, no one left their seat. It was weird.. usually people are rushing out at the 6th inning to beat traffic.. then we saw signs that said Rock and Blast tonight after the game. We assumed fireworks so we stuck around. Good thing we did.

Rock and Blast was an extravagant fireworks show synchronized to 30 seconds clips of all the rock classics... Adam was in heaven and I thought I was going to have a seizure I was in awe.

So yes, I loved Cleveland and I'm looking forward to our next trip, whenever that may be. The best part is, I was telling my best friend Ally about Cleveland and her boyfriend is from Cleveland too.. she leaned forward and whispered "isn't Cleveland fun?!" like it was a secret :)

I had to:

When life gives you lemons.. make Jello shots

A lot of exciting things are going on in my life right now and I can't share them with you yet!! Because 1) I don't want to jinx myself  2) in case someone other than my mom actually reads this 3) because when/if the news is final I'll tell you :)

In other news, I made some super cool Jello shots! I wish I came up with the idea myself, but I got the recipe from this blog "That's So Michelle" which is full of goodies. I made the Jello shots for my kickball team. We are entering our last game of the season before playoffs and I can't believe how quickly Spring has come and gone. This is my second season playing kickball and I have met some amazing people. Plus, you can't go wrong drinking on the National Mall with great company and an amazing view.

All you need is 10 lemons (makes 40 shots), a box of your choice of Jello mix, one cup of water, and one cup of vodka.

First, half the lemons and hallow them out (you can use the lemon guts to make homemade lemonade!) then add the Jello/vodka mixture. Once they have cooled over night, cut them in quarters to complete the shots. Click here for full instructions on how to make the Jello shots and homemade lemonade.

*a couple of tips: 1) I had to make mine a day early because of work and they didn't hold out that well, so it is best to make them the day before 2) get ripe/tough lemons rather than soft ones so the peel is more durable 3) get an extra box to Jello in case you need to add it to some of the lemon halves to fill them up (depends on the size of the lemons) 4) not fun to make if you have a cut on your hand 5) steal a few for yourself before you  put them out because they will be gone quick!

Tribute to my team: WHERE MY PITCHES AT?!

*Ashley not pictured

Hot-lanta

Leaving Athens is never easy, especially when that means leaving my family and friends in Ohio. I did however have an amazing weekend in the promise land. Kegs n' eggs at 8am was considered a mild morning compared to others who were waiting at the bar door at 5am or those who didn't even bother sleeping (I'm amazed by their super strength).

After having at least 5 shots by 11 am... I regretfully didn't last past 9pm. This may sound like a failure to Bobcats but I did however drink heavily for 12 straight hours so I did my best....

Well for now, I'm in Atlanta for a conference and I'm staying at the Hotel Palomar Midtown. It is absolutely beautiful and it is pet friendly so it's nice to see a lot of furry friends around here! The conference ends Friday, but I am staying for the weekend to visit with my sister! :)

P.S. Last night at dinner we had a $450 wine tab... awesome night = bad tomorrow.

I'll update when I get back in D.C. next week.

xoxox

Hotel Palomar Atlanta lobby and fish tank!

The Land of Bricks, Honey.. and Bad Decisions

Since I graduated and moved out on June 12, I have been counting down the days til' Ohio University Homecoming. My sudden and exciting move to Washington, DC, has made the anticipation for OU Homecoming even more exciting. I cannot wait to see all my best friends. In 9 years of best-friendship, Allison and I have never gone more than a month without seeing each other. And I miss all my best friends more than you can imagine. I've always said, "Friends are the family you choose for yourself."

I cannot wait to black-out with my best friends, classmates, random townies, acquaintances, freshman biscuits, horse cops, and any other poor souls I happen to encounter this weekend. Here is my formal apology: "Sorry for partying!".. yeah, I said it.

Watch out Athens, Ohio! HERE I COME!!

Beautiful View of Campus

Oh the memoriesssss

Today is Thursday...

That means that last night was kickball. I was feeling so chipped (see?! what the f' is chipped? That doesn't even make sense.. chipper*) this morning and BAM! I look at my clock and sure enough.. it's 2 pm.

I don't know why 2 pm likes to torture me so much but it never fails. That's when my hangovers come.

If I ever get stranded in a desert and I'm too dumb to figure out how to tell time with the sun (very likely) I will just find booze to get hammered on. Then, when my hangover hits me.. I'll know it's 2 pm.

Shit.. It's going to be a looooong day.

Would it kill you people to comment? And where the F is a Sonic when you need one.. I want some cronic ice cubes!

I'll Pokie Your Hokie

This post is a little late but.. on Labor Day, VT played Boise.

My roommate is a VT Alumni and she had a bunch of people come in town for the kick off season game. They invited me to tailgate... How could I pass up the opportunity to day drink?! That's when I became an "Honorary Hokie."

Here I am not even doing the "VT" correctly...

Being the "Brightest crayon in the box" that I am, I was all, "So if you're called Hokies, do you guys do the HOKIE POKIE?!" (har har har).  Of course they do! They're the Hokies.

After a few drinks I was parading around the Burnt Maroon and Orange filled parking lot doing my own version of the Hokie Pokie, and saying "Wanna Pokie my Hokie?" (giggle giggle, run away). I'm classy like that. And really mature.

Steff's family was nice enough to pitch in for a football ticket for me so that I could go to the game. After about 5 hours of boozing in a hot, tar parking lot, I was ready to get my Hokie on! The game was so much fun and full of energy. It occurred to me then, that the ONLY thing, OU is missing, is the football crowd. (It's still the best place and university on earth. I mean we can't have everything, so we sacrificed our football skills to the college gods).

After all was said and done, VT lost to Boise, and I wanted to punch a few Boise girls in the face, but I had an amazing time, and work in the morning on Tuesday was hell. I'm proud to say I'm an Honorary Hokie :)

The Crowd

"I'll Pokie Your Hokie"

They're also dyslexia friendly...

It's a great day to be a Bobcat

Ah yes.

Can you smell it? Old country brick roads... new comforters and plastic storage containers.. freshly opened Natty Light...

Freshman move in weekend.. and another excuse for upper classmen to buy a keg and post up on their porches, all for the sake of watching the freshman biscuits move in and intimidating the hell out of the parents that have no idea what they just got their kids into.

Right above our heads was a painted sheet that read "Don't worry dad, your daughters are in good hands with 24 Stewart"

I specifically remember move in day Junior year because this heavy set girl with a blue mohawk across the street was increasingly getting obnoxiously intoxicated and was taking the whole, "scare the parents thing" too far. By noon, she was wrestling in kiddie pools, by 1 pm, she was flashing cars her nipple rings, and by 2 pm she was running down the street topless with a black spray painted bikini on top (que Katy Perry music).... you should have seen the look on those parent's faces. Sheer horror.


Well, Freshman biscuits, since I'm not there to train you properly, here are a few tips:

1. Don't pet the horse cops, they're evil and reel you in with their horse-ness and before you know it,   you are looking into the face of the enemy. (Credit to my sister Brandy: I am not stealing your identity)

2. Don't answer your dorm door without a peep hole if you are drinking. You don't have to answer. In one case I did and was greeted by the SWAT team (not really but it felt like it)
3. O'Betty's is the shit
4. Junction is the only bar you will get into as a Freshman so enjoy those J-Punches! (and tell Keith I said hi)
5. Don't start riots. It's stupid.

See you at Homecoming!

Weekend Update

This weekend was surprisingly exciting :) 

Friday night I went on a wine cruise on the Potomac River, which runs by a lot of the monuments so it was a wonderful view. The wine cruise we went on gave us 10 "samples" of wine which turned out to be 10 "shots" of wine. Good thing we improvised by filling a Nalgene bottle with white wine and filling our pockets with mini bar shooters. After the wine cruise we continued to Spider Kelly's which was full of amazingly beautiful men and more shots... By the end of the night I was good and liquored up!

Saturday, my friend and I decided to be touristy and hit the Smithsonian museum area. We went to the Washington Monument which, FUN FACT: is two colors of stone because due to poor planning, they ran out of money during the build and had to get the rest of the rock years later from another quarry (thanks Matt). We also went to the National Aquarium which I don't recommend. It is not worth $9 because it is basically a large fish tank, and the "shark feedings" they speak of... did not meet expectations... although the eels were pretty amusing.

Amazing Awesomeness

Next, we stopped by the American History Museum to see Dorothy's slippers! Then, we went to the art museum which helped get my creative juices flowing since I've had a bit of a creative block lately. We also walked through the sculpture garden which was amazing. We didn't spend too much time there because we were both pretty hot, tired, and hungry at this point, but I definitely plan on going back. This tree sculpture was by far my favorite! (as you can tell by my art, I love trees, and my school notebooks were always littered with drawings of them).

Next, my roomie Steff gave Matt and I a tour of the Pentagon! I wish I had pictures to show off but for obvious reasons, I wasn't allowed to take photos. The Pentagon is an overwhelmingly huge building to begin with, and the high level of security made it seem even more bad ass (yes, the first thing I think of to describe the Pentagon is bad ass. As I sit here writing this entry, I keep trying to think of a better word to describe the feeling you get when you are about to walk in the entrance to the Pentagon, but I think bad ass is about the only thing that can accurately describe it). The building is intricate making it easy to get lost between the rings, corridors, and floors. The September 11th Memorial Chapel is beautiful and full of yellow glowing light. The outside memorial is beautiful as well, as it is made up of 184 silver benches to represent each of the 184 lives lost in the flight and Pentagon. There is also an extravagant food court and shopping center equipped with their own Best Buy, CVS, and DMV (to name a few).

Buildings like that have the power to make you feel so insignificant compared to the overall picture. It's like being hooked up to a lie detector... even if you know you haven't done anything wrong, the pressure makes you question everything. Lets just say that I was scared to take my metal eco-bottle out of my purse for fear that I would be "taken out" for "suspicious activity." Lets also say that I'm a little intimidated to put anything else about what I saw in the Pentagon in this entry so we'll just leave it at that!

So what's next?! Who wants to give me a tour of the White House?... :)

Founding Farmers

Well this time, we lucked out. Founding Farmers is a restaurant that prides themselves on being environmentally friendly and farm fresh. After sifting through 2 huge pages of extremely appetizing choices (an indecisive person's nightmare) I finally chose fish and chips. YUM! They were the best fish and chips I've ever had! The "green" atmosphere and delicious food was enough to satisfy me. I can't wait to bring you guys here when you come visit :)

This weekend, some friends from college were in town and staying near Dupont Circle in D.C. After a fun and booze filled night Friday, we were on the hunt for a hangover cure Saturday. I used my Yelp app on my phone to find the nearest restaurant and Founding Farmers was the closest. Due to the 103º weather we were facing, we didn't care where we ate, as long as it was close.

Where Was Matthew McConaughey??

Screen on the Green is an outdoor movie night featured in 11 locations around D.C.

The location that I was invited to was conveniently placed between the Washington Monument and the Capital Building. I stepped off the metro at the Smithsonian station unaware that the famous monuments I had only seen pictures of, would be the backdrop to the huge screening of Goldfinger.

It was a perfect setting and I was almost expecting Matthew McConaughey to whip around the corner and sweep me off my feet with his brown colored M&M's ("because they're the only ones with no artificial coloring").

30 minutes into the movie and about three hours into cheese and wine time (note to self: bring more wine) it started to pour! I actually didn't mind... I loved watching adults run through puddles and splash around like kids again.

It was an unexpected end to a great night :)