British Loyalty & Alcohol

 

Cocaine Princess here.

It's the Long Weekend for us up here. Monday is Victoria Day or as it's commonly referred to as the May 2-4 Weekend. When I was little I never understood why it was called that because Victoria Day didn't necessarily fall on the 24th. I was then informed by a little birdie in my teens it all comes down to alcohol, where cases of beer (as in 2-4 cases) are consumed by people in the Great White North in vast quantities.

It's interesting that the Brits no longer celebrate Victoria Day yet we continue to and although it's a day to honor Queen Victoria's birthday, this weekend also marks the unofficial kickoff to summer, where patio furniture will be uncovered, BBQs will be fired up, some will be heading up to the country to open up their cottages, fireworks will be on display while others will be drinking non-stop through the entire weekend. I'm not sure what the connection is between British royalty and pulling up a lawn chair and raising a beer bottle but it's become a yearly tradition that remains strong and true.

For the past couple of years the weather on Holiday Monday has been rainy resulting in the cancellation of fireworks. Hmm, I'm beginning to wonder if Mother Nature doesn't like Queen Vicki.

****

My loyal and dear readers, it's finally Friday.

Whatever your plans are have a spectacular weekend. ~x

XOXOXOXO,

Cocaine Princess

 
 

Mother's Day

"A mom’s hug lasts long after she lets go. ~Author Unknown

 Dearest Mom,

Not a day goes by that I don't think of you.
Thank you for the unconditional love & support you gave me.
I miss and love you more than words can say.
  
M- is for how Much i miss you
O- is for how Often i think of you
T -is for your Tireless love
H- is for your wonderful sense of Humor
E- is how you Erased my sadness
R- is for my Remembrance of you.

❤❤❤ To All The Loving Moms, Past, Present & Soon To Be, Thank You.
Without You We Wouldn't Be Here ❤❤❤

Happy Loving Mother's Day To All.

Latin Kisses,
Colombian Princess

My Lovelies, What Is Your Green Light?

Cocaine Princess here.

About a year ago, I blogged an entry about Baz Lurhman’s remake of The Great Gatsby with Leonardo DiCaprio in the title role of Jay Gatsby. The entry was posted on May 25th 2012. The trailer had been released a few days earlier with the film scheduled to open on Christmas Day. Then word came out the film's release date had been delayed by 5 long months. Finally that day has arrived, May 10th 2013. Excuse me while I do my happy dance......okay, I'm back.

I can't remember the last time I've been this excited about seeing a movie and I don't know why unless a severe case of Gatsby Fever has taken over me. So far the reviews from critics who caught a special screening have not been kind. According to most the movie is doomed to fail. Here's what been written: 

The cardinal sin of this new "Gatsby" is that it’s dull.

Gatsby is rarely moving, and that's a major flaw for a movie that drags on for two-and-a-half hours.

The Great Gatsby" is an immortal American tragedy but gets lost in Luhrmann’s flash and dazzle.

Why is it in 3D?

I don't understand why there's so much hatred going on for the film? Could it be because some classic films should not be remade or could the reason be that many feel no one can hold a candle to both Robert Redford or Mia Farrow? I've seen the original and to be honest I preferred the book. One of the major criticisms stems from the movie's soundtrack. A movie set in the roaring 20's with Jay-Z rapping? Hmm, perhaps director Baz Lurhmann's 2013 version is for a new generation?

Last week npr.org streamed the entire soundtrack. I didn't care for Back to Black sung by Beyoncé and Andre 3000. No one can sing the song with depth or emotion like the late singer Amy Winehouse but I thought Jack White did a great job covering U2's Love Is Blindness and Lana Del Rey's Young and Beautiful is pure perfection. It's hard to say which song I liked the best however if I had to choose it would be Emeli Sandé featuring Bryan Ferry Orchestra's cover of Crazy In Love. Take a listen to the jazzy interpretation:

What I'm particularly interested in for obvious reasons of course are the decadent clothes and jewels seen throughout the film. Paying homage to the Art Deco style that was widely popular during the roaring 20's, Tiffany & Co not only provided the brilliant jewels but have released a collection for jewelery lovers. Click here if you have $220,000 to spare to purchase The Savoy Headpiece Daisy Buchanan wears. 

The fabulous womens outfits designed by Prada feature all the 1920's fashion clichés: drop-waisted, rhinestone-encrusted, fringed dresses and jewel-toned, sequined accessories and although the outfits worn by the actors in the film have been described as a Princeton reunion I'm really liking the dapper looking suits. Gatsby's costume designer Catherine Martin worked in collaboration with Brooks Brothers who like Tiffany's has launched a limited edition retail collection, The Great Gatsby Line. Click here to view their collection or if you're interested in buying one of their outfits. Can any of my male readers picture themselves in a pink linen suit? Guys, forget Don Draper, it's all about Jay Gatsby old sport! 

Even though his legacy will remain it's unfortunate that F. Scott Fitzgerald didn't live long enough to see his novel become one of the Greatest American Classics, so in his honor I raise my Gin Rickey and salute F. Scott.

If you recall The Great Gatsby is filled with signs and symbols and one major symbol is the Green Light at the end of Daisy’s dock. To Gatsby the green light represents his dream, which is Daisy. My Lovelies, what is your green light?

Tomorrow night I'll be seeing Leo in all his greatness. I'm literally bursting at the seams. 

 ****

My loyal and dear readers, it's finally Friday.

Whatever your plans are have a loving weekend. ~x

XOXOXOXO,

Cocaine Princess

Dulce de Tequila

 

Cocaine Princess here.

To say I'm glad April is over and done with is an understatement. It wasn't a good month and in case you've forgotten why you can read about it here, here and here. Some months are like minutes and fly by while others such as the case with April, those 30 days on the calendar seemed like a frigging lifetime. It was a welcome relief when the 1st of May arrived.

I've had a busy week so do excuse this short but amazing entry of mine but before I continue any further I know some of you have been sick with worry in regards to my last post. It was nerve wracking waiting for the results of my blood test but I was brave and remained strong. Earlier in the week I met with the doctor and insert drum-roll........

.....you'll be happy to know I'm fine. I'm healthy and all is well. Knock wood. One of the things Doc Boy was concerned about (among other things) was a blood clot was responsible for the bruises. Thankfully every test turned out to be negative. As for the reason for the bruising, he really didn't have an answer other than, "sometimes the slightest little bump can cause a dark, large bruise. 

****

This coming Sunday is Cinco de Mayo. A day to commemorate the Mexican victory over the French in the Battle of Puebla in 1862 but really it's just an excuse to have a drinkie and eat nachos, right?

I suppose it would have better had the day fallen on Friday so you could drink 'til Saturday and then spend all of Sunday nursing your hangover. Unfortunately that won't be the case.

In honor of May 5th I present:   

 Dulce de Tequila

A super sweet drink, Dulce de Tequila literally means 'tequila candy' and makes a luscious dessert cocktail. Featuring Tequila Tezón Reposado and Martell Cognac, this drink is enhanced with the orange-flavored Cointreau and sweet agave nectar.

INGREDIENTS

2 oz Tequila Tezón Reposado
1 oz Martell Cognac

1 oz Cointreau

1/2 oz lime juice

1 tbsp Agave Nectar

Large-grained sugar for rimming

Lemon wedge for garnish 

PREPARATION 
1. Pour the ingredients into a cocktail shaker with ice.

2. Shake well.

3. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass rimmed with sugar.

4. Garnish with a lemon wedge.

 ****

My loyal and dear readers, it's finally Friday.

Whatever your plans are have a tremendous 1st weekend of May. Salud! ~x

XOXOXOXO,

Cocaine Princess

Très Chic, Oui?

Cocaine Princess here.

Take a look at the picture below. Can you guess what it is? I snapped the picture with my cell phone so forgive the quality of it. 

If you guessed a nasty looking bruise on the side of my knee then you guessed correctly. Go ahead and pat yourself on the back. 

I discovered this lovely purplish contusion on Wednesday and showed it off to sister. Jokingly I said,

ME:  What do you think? It's the latest fashion look. Très chic, oui?

She wasn't too amused by my humor.

SISTER: How did that happen?!

ME: I don't know.

SISTER: You don't know?

ME: No.

SISTER: Look at the size of it--- how's that possible?

ME: I don't know.

SISTER: How long have you had it?

ME: I noticed it this morning so I really don't know how long it's been there.

SISTER: Stop saying 'I don't know.'

ME: I can't help it. You keep on asking me questions that I have no answers for.

At that point she began poking the purple blob of flesh with her finger. I noticed her nail polish was slightly chipped. She never use to polish her nails but I was finally able to break her down and convince her she needed a little color. Now if only she kept up with the maintenance.

SISTER: Does that hurt?

ME: Only when you keep touching it otherwise no.

I took her hand and put it in front of her face.

ME: Look at your nail polish--- it's chipped. What do you suppose your students are thinking?

SISTER: You really think they notice? Their minds are already pre-occupied with One Direction or the hockey playoffs.

ME: You never know, there maybe a young fashionista in training among your students and she's thinking, 'Eww, Miss A's nails look gross.' 

SISTER: Do me a favor, go see the doctor. I'm worried.

ME: You're not the only one. How do you think I'm going to look when I'm wearing a dress? Now I have to deal with the possibility of strangers pointing and staring at my leg because of this damn bruise.

Sister rolled her eyes and shook her head. Personally I didn't think too much of it and figured it must have happened while I was either working out or when I was doing yoga. I've been trying out a new pose and it's a little tricky. I wasn't too concerned about it until she spotted 2 other bruises which I was totally unaware of located on the back of my thigh. 

Yesterday I paid a visit to the doctor. He questioned whether or not I bumped into something? I replied no. 

Dr. Are you sure? Maybe you don't remember? 

Great! Do I also have memory loss now?

ME: Yes, I'm sure I would have remembered if I bumped into something that would cause a bruise like this.  

Dr. Not always, sometimes the slightest little bump can cause a dark, large bruise.

He then proceeded to ask me a few general questions in regards to my overall health and ordered a blood test. When I inquired as to what could have caused the bruising he replied, “let’s wait and see what the blood test reveals.” Two floors from his office was the lab. While waiting my turn I looked over the blood test form and saw the doctor had 5 boxes checked off next to abbreviated medical terms. When the lab nurse called my name I handed her the form and followed her into a cubicle. 5 vials of my Latin blood were drawn. On my way out the good nurse handed me a juice box and a package containing 2 plain cookies. It was a good thing she did otherwise I might have passed out.

I couldn't get out of my head what the doctor said, let’s wait and see what the blood test reveals. What did he mean by that? What was he looking for? Needless to say my level of curiosity skyrocketed which prompted me to play online medical doctor. I googled unexplained bruises. Good God, what a bad idea that turned out to be. I couldn't believe some of the unsettling things that came up!

I decided to share the wealth of information I gathered with sister. Midway through reading the list of things that might be wrong with me she went all Chef Ramsay on me by ordering me to shut it down and to quit medical sleuthing. She did however offer a bit of advice.

SISTER: Darling, just relax and think positive.  

The results of my blood work won't be ready until next week!

Relax? I have a hard enough time shutting off my brain at night in order for a good night's sleep and now thanks to my 'medical sleuthing' there's goes my 4 measly hours of sleep. I’m sure it’s nothing but I can’t help but think the worst. Damn you Google! Hmm, I only have myself to blame. Or can I shift the blame to sister for making me go to the doctor? Or, is it my fault for listening to sister? If I hadn't I wouldn't have gone to see the doctor, right? Of course I'm right! Sheesh, the one time I actually listen to her has now put me in panic mode. 

**** 

My loyal and dear readers it's finally Friday.

Whatever your plans are have a fantastic last weekend of April. God knows I'll try to. ~x

XOXOXOXO,
Cocaine Princess

40 Minutes Of My Life I'll Never Get Back

Cocaine Princess here.

On Saturday we had friends (husband and wife) drop by. They live approximately 4 hours away so it was expected they’d be spending the night. Sister and I assumed they would be leaving sometime later on Sunday.
 
Guess what? We were wrong because as I write this post the couple is still here. I don't mind having house-guests provided we’re given some notice. Perhaps the fault lies with us (and when I mean us I really mean my sister) for not asking if they were only staying for the weekend? Neither of us have asked when they plan on going home. We don't want them to think they're not welcomed and besides how would one even go about it without making them feel self conscious?

When you know someone’s coming over for a few days you make changes to your schedule and cancel plans to accommodate your guests but when it's totally unexpected it kind of throws your whole schedule off. Sister said it wasn’t possible for her to take time off without any warning unless it was an emergency. Apparently the situation that was occurring in our home didn’t qualify as a time off emergency. I mentioned she may want to bring it up at the next board meeting. She’s gone by 8:30am and returns around 4:00pm which leaves them in my care during the day. Although this was one of my slow weeks that didn’t mean I didn’t have anything planned because I did and needed to shuffle things around. One night I cornered sister and inquired, “how long do you think they’re planning on staying” “I don't know. I guess when they're ready to leave they will” she replied. “What the hell does that mean? What do they think this is, a hotel?” I asked.  

Hmm, in someway it is like a hotel.

Room & Daily Maid Service:
Our housekeeper who drops by 1-2x a week has been here everyday. They’re staying in our lovely guest room where their sheets are changed and their room is cleaned daily and they have access to the Jacuzzi in the master bathroom suite.

Fully Cooked Meals:
Their stomachs are being filled quite nicely with home cooked meals on the days we're not taking them out to eat. The only difference between our house and a hotel is we’re not charging any fee. 

Since sister’s at school I’m the one that’s been left with the task of entertaining them and I don’t have the slightest clue as to why. Technically they’re not even my friends. They’re people I know through sister so I guess you can call them distant acquaintances. Who am I kidding? It’s because I have such a loving and generous heart, that’s why. I also don’t want to come off as being rude. The only time I’ve gotten to myself is in the early mornings when I’m working out with the exception of Wednesday. I was on my way out the door when the husband asked if I was going for a run. My running gear must have tipped him off. He asked if he could join me and I said yes. After 10 minutes he gave up. “Seriously, you’re quitting on me?” I said. I couldn’t really make out his words until he finally caught his breath. He pointed to the Tim Hortons in the parking lot strip mall. “I need a strong cup of coffee. I’ll see you at home.” Poor fellow, for a minute I thought he was going to pass out. By the time I returned home he was sitting at the kitchen table enjoying a hearty breakfast (courtesy of our housekeeper) while reading the paper. I also happened to notice the dozen donuts on the counter. For the sake of my sweet tooth I took a peak inside the box. There were all chocolate glazed.  

The other day the house-guests were dying to see what our little town has to offer. I explained there was nothing much to see which is why I had been taking them into the city and a few of the other nearby places, but they were persistent so of course I obliged. Our downtown is hardly exciting. It’s a well preserved quaint village with several locally owned businesses.  My role went from hostess to walking tour guide. For reasons I’m still not sure of they took a deep interest in our library. They were fascinated by the architecture and kept ooohing and ahhhing while pointing at the roof and the windows before we proceeded inside. OMG we spent 40 minutes in there. 40 minutes of my life I’ll never get back! Only these could be sister’s friends, I thought to myself. None of my friends have any interest in looking through a town’s historical archives let alone stepping foot in a library.

Tomorrow (Saturday) will be the one week mark since their arrival. I think it's safe to assume they’ll be leaving on the weekend. Then again I also assumed they’d be staying for only one night.

****

My loyal and dear readers, it’s finally Friday.

Whatever your plans are have a cheeky weekend. ~x

XOXOXOXO,
Cocaine Princess



 

One Of Those Posts With No Title

 

Cocaine Princess here.

What can I say about this week? It was an extremely busy one that's left me exhausted yet not to the point where I can fall asleep. In my last post one of my readers suggested instead of listening to Armin Van Burrin to help lull me to sleep, I should try  Brahms or Copland. I'll give it a try. Here's hoping I'll be back to my awesome self next week.
  
As some of you may or may not know, I'm not the biggest dog lover only because they enjoy either chasing or tackling me to the ground while I'm out for my daily morning run, however I couldn't help but smile looking at these pictures of Julian and Max    

In other news, although the month of April has arrived the wintery weather hasn't ended for us. It's officially spring but I'm still dressing in winter clothes. I feel hot when I enter a building and then cold when I step outside. To be honest I find the whole thing funny but between you and me, I have a feeling we'll be wearing our goose down parkas until July. Hey, if you don't have a sense of humor about this you'll only drive yourself crazy.

****

My loyal and dear readers it's finally Friday.

Whatever your plans are have a fantastic weekend. ~x

XOXOXOXO,

Cocaine Princess

The PB Ain't Working

Cocaine Princess here.

This past Monday was a holiday for us, it was Easter Monday. I like long weekends because it always makes for a short week but I may have jinxed it this time. For a short week this turned out to be one of the longest and busiest weeks for me so it gives me immense pleasure to say, TGIF!

Awhile back I read eating peanut butter is suppose to be a helpful sleep aid. As you all know by now falling asleep is a struggle for me so I decided to give it a try. Since Sunday night I've been spreading a very thin layer of peanut butter on a cracker and then washing it down with a cold glass of milk. I really don't know where they come up with these 'sleep remedies' because the pb ain't working! I realize it's only been a few days but I'm hoping the 'helps you fall asleep' part starts to kick in soon because if not I may have to resort to hitting the bottle. I'm so tired in the mornings that I need a Red Bull. By the afternoon I'm literally dying for a rest and when night time arrives I can't sleep. I am quite amazed though I haven't lost my sanity considering I've been getting by on only 4hrs of sleep these past few months.

Tonight I'm going to try something a little different. I was rummaging through the pantry the other night on account of a bad hormonal craving and guess what I discovered?

As the picture indicates it's the BIG cup. I inhaled the package deeply for a couple of seconds and came close to ripping it open but decided not to. During Easter I went way past my chocolate-eating quota which included a Reese Peanut Butter Egg. Don't you just love that first layer of milk-chocolatey goodness before you hit the peanut butter? Given the week I've had I think I deserve one cup and it does have peanut butter so you never know, it may put me to sleep. I didn't dare turn over the package to read the nutritional value but I think it's a given when it comes to 'calories' and 'fat grams' the numbers are high in the double digits.
 
An hour ago I moved the Reese Big Cup into the fridge. Some chocolates I prefer eating cold rather than at room temperature. As soon as I post my spectacular Friday entry I'll be sinking my teeth into peanut butter overload and then I'll slip under the covers and listen to AVB's State Of Trance.  Is there anything better than Euro~Music? I think not.

****

My loyal and dear readers, it's finally Friday.

Whatever your plans are have an amazing weekend.~x

XOXOXOXO,
Cocaine Princess 

 

Easter 2013: Bunnies, Chocolates & Shoes.

Cocaine Princess here.

Throughout time there have been several famous bunnies: Bugs Bunny, Peter Cottontail, The March Hare, Roger Rabbit, the Trix cereal bunny but I don't think anyone knows "bunnies" like this guy right here.

Hmm, over the years not much has changed for Hef has it?

In my fabulous Friday post I mentioned how I had yet to find a new pair of stilettos for Easter. I'm happy to say mission accomplished yesterday. 

Ta-daa!

One of my favorite Easter treats is the Cadbury Creme Easter Egg. Here they're known as Oeuf-Fondant. 

Just like I've always wondered how they get the caramel into the Caramilk Bar I've wondered the same thing about the Cadbury egg. How do they get the delicious goo inside? The mystery was solved when I came across this fascinating article: "Creme Egg: Everything You Need To Know."

Keeping with the bunny theme how cute is this little guy? (Getting kids to read at a young age is important!)

My Loyal & Dear Readers, 

Happy Easter. 

XOXOXOXO,

Cocaine Princess

"Won't You Be My Neighbor"

Cocaine Princess here.

Target has arrived in Canada. I've never stepped foot in one before but I know from the colorful ads on TV it's the store with the Bull Terrier that has a bullseye painted over its' eye. It was announced over a year ago the US retailer would be making its' way up here and during this year's Oscars telecast the Canadian ad for Target made their debut. And right away the ad was met with criticism. Why? The commercial is set to Mr. Rogers' theme song 'Won’t You Be My Neighbor.' You can read more about that here.

On Saturday I was at the mall with sister doing a little pre-Easter shopping. I've yet to find a new pair of shoes (my Easter tradition) or in my case a new pair of stilettos for Easter. One of the new locations that Target opened up in happened to be at the mall we were in. Sister wanted to check it out and I myself was curious. Forget the moon landing date! Saturday March 23rd 2013 will go down in history for it was on that day the Colombian Princess stepped foot inside Target. The store was jammed pack. "Oh boy this is going to be fun," I muttered. Upon entering the store this sign was on display:

And this:

Sister grabbed a cart. "What's that?" I asked. "It's called a shopping cart, darling. It's a marvelous invention, look it even has wheels," she replied. "Customers put whatever items they wish to buy into their cart rather than carry them in their hands." Ha-ha very funny! I was laughing so hard I nearly fell to the ground. "That's not what I meant," I said back. What I meant to say was, what was she doing with the cart. "I thought we were here to browse?" "We are but you never know," she answered.

Most of the customers I noticed in the store had that "deer caught in the headlight" look while others stood scratching their heads. I don't know if it was because they didn't pick up a map and were lost or just plain confused but they just stood there with their shopping carts creating a human traffic jam in the health and beauty department. We couldn't move forward and we couldn't reverse because there were several people behind us. The elderly woman in the grey hair and brown overcoat said, 'Don't worry, I don't know what I'm doing either. I'm just following the crowd." As we tried to free ourselves I heard customers complain not just about the lack of products and empty shelves but the lack of US products. When it was first announced Target was arriving here not everyone was happy. The true patriots of the Great White North made a bunch of noise and were against having a US retailer coming to Canada. Personally I could care less. Don't get me wrong I consider myself patriotic but when it comes to these matters I say let them come here. More than half our restaurants are American franchises and 99.9% of the TV shows I watch are American so what difference does it make if a giant US retailer arrives in the land of maple syrup? Sears and Wal-Mart have already made their Canadian invasion so what's one more? Anyways, this got me thinking? Hmm, could a specific product that I love and only sold in the great USA finally be for sale here? Those who know me well must know what I'm talking about, right? I consulted the map, located the food department and as soon as we were able to break free from the human traffic jam that’s where we proceeded next.

"I don't see it anywhere on the shelf, darling." said sister. "Keep looking," I replied.

In case you haven't already guessed it I was looking for my beloved Cookie Crisp cereal.  My Latin heart was beyond crushed when I was informed by an extremely cheerful employee in a red sweater that the store doesn't carry it. And if that wasn't bad enough they didn't carry square waffles either! Target only sells the round kind.

As we continued browsing in the food area my sweet tooth spotted a Dufflet cake. Oh my, if you haven't had a Dufflet cake you don't know what you're missing. Before the only place you could find these sinful cakes was in the city at their bakery.

Accessories Department: 

They weren't joking about the shelves being empty. (Talk about messy)

Electronics Department:

This CD of course caught my eye.

Ladies Wear:

OMG a set bras for $29.00?!?! Good grief I pay $45+ for one at La Senza and Target is selling 2 for under $30?! It's hard to say why only one remained hanging on the rack. It could have been because women saw this as a good deal and this was the last one available or perhaps Target was selling just the one.

 

I thought this peacock print bikini was really cute but they were only selling the top and not the matching bottoms. Why did Target bother to open their stores if their merchandise wasn't fully stocked? I suppose I could have bought the bikini top to wear at a semi-nude beach but decided not to.

Checkout:

At the checkout counter sister opted for the reusable bag. Thank God we had that shopping cart because I might have pulled a muscle lugging around that cake.

Total money spent at Target: $8.11. We saved a whole 2 bucks!

Other than Target selling Dufflet cakes I really didn't see what the big fuss was about yet the other day at a Target grand opening in the city several Hollywood celebs made a red carpet appearance including actresses Sarah Jessica Parker and Blake Lively. I don't know what's more funnier? Target expecting us to believe Hollywood celebs shop at Target or that the grand opening made  England's Daily Mail.

The reviews I've been reading are mixed. Many shoppers are complaining the prices are higher for similar items that sell at the US Target and would rather drive across the border because the selection of items are better, while others were happy to see Canadian products being sold in a major American retailer. My opinion? I'm still fuming at why Cookie Crisp Cereal isn't available up here.

By the way, the devil's raspberry cake was simply delish!

****

My loyal and dear readers, it's finally (Good) Friday!

Whatever your plans are have an awesome long weekend. Hop Hop!! ~x

XOXOXOXO,

Cocaine Princess