I just adore mid sixties romantic comedies- the ones before the sexual revolution, but after the repression of the ’50s. It’s a nice five years that are saturated with witty writing, fabulous fashion, silly sexual innuendo, and colorful, interesting sets. Admittedly, the acting in these movies is sometimes hit or miss, but if you ask me, sixties movies aren’t all about great acting, really. They’re about great entertainment! If you enjoy this genre, you’ll love Sunday in New York. You can watch it instantly right here!

Sunday in New York is a really fun sixties romp, starring one of my favorite comedy actresses of the era, Jane Fonda as Eileen Taylor, and another charming funny guy, Rod Taylor as Mike Mitchell. I adored the interior sets of the film, and am so ready to move into that apartment! Loft bedroom, sunken kitchen with open shelving, brick walls with modern art, and beautiful tailored midcentury modern furniture. When can I move in? And don’t get me started on Eileen’s outfits. I wish I could find her white wiggle dress with the embroidered eye pattern. That dress is a keeper for sure!

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When I finally graduated from my private high school, I quickly purged my closet of almost all of the button-up collared shirts I owned. I know- it wasn’t my smartest idea! But I had just been through 4 years of uniforms, and I was definitely ready to get a little creative with my wardrobe. It’s funny how once you’ve been forced to wear something for a required activity, like school or work, you basically never want to wear it again.

When I started working at Starbucks back in August, I went to the thrift store in search of black and white shirts that buttoned up to my neck to cover my tattoos. This black ascot blouse was one of my finds, but because I purchased it with work in mind, I never considered wearing it without a green apron while I wasn’t making lattes. But good news! I finally got past my mental block and now I love layering this black ascot blouse underneath sleeveless dresses and jumper to keep warm on the blustery days we’ve been having. It’s certainly a versatile blouse, and I’m glad I found it!

O U T F I T   D E T A I L S :

dress: I Love Vintage Stuff on Etsy / coat: The Classic Butterfly on Etsy
socks: Urban Outfitters 2009 / shoes: ASOS 2011 / blouse: thrifted

One really blessed night a few years ago, one of my best friends invented a creamy chocolate drink we so eloquently dubbed The Lovely Awesome. There really was no other name for it. Nothing else described the lovely awesomeness of the creamy chocolate drink. Occasionally since then, I’ve worked on tweaking the recipe to include ingredients I can actually keep on hand, since the original called for things like dark chocolate almond milk and creamy liqueurs that have a short shelf life. My mission ended in this project- making my own chocolate liqueur.  I made some to keep, some to give, and a little creamy version to keep around for sweet cocktails during the next week.

I’ll share with you my updated version of The Lovely Awesome soon, but for now, I thought I’d share this great gift idea to give to friends, coworkers, or hostesses this holiday season. I found these great liqueur bottles here, and designed a label that I printed, cut out, and spray mounted to the finished chocolate liqueur bottles. The recipe I used is from Creative Culinary, and it is scrumptious! I only slightly adapted it to make for a quicker and easier process.

P.S. This recipe is not for créme de cacao, but you will see a bottle labeled that way in these photos.

Chocolate Liqueur

2013-12-07 22:55:30

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1187 calories

149 g

107 g

31 g

29 g

19 g

602 g

398 g

137 g

0 g

11 g

Nutrition Facts

Serving Size

602g

Amount Per Serving

Calories 1187

Calories from Fat 270

% Daily Value *

Total Fat 31g

47%

Saturated Fat 19g

93%

Trans Fat 0g

Polyunsaturated Fat 1g

Monounsaturated Fat 10g

Cholesterol 107mg

36%

Sodium 398mg

17%

Total Carbohydrates 149g

50%

Dietary Fiber 7g

29%

Sugars 137g

Protein 29g

Vitamin A

17%

Vitamin C

12%

Calcium

99%

Iron

21%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your Daily Values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.

Does this look wrong?

Ingredients

1. 2 Cups water- divided
2. 1/2 Cup 141 proof vodka
3. 1/2 Cup sugar
4. 1/4 Cup cocoa

Optional for creamy version

1. 1 small can evaporated milk

Instructions

1. In a small sauce pan, boil 1 cup of water with the sugar to create a simple syrup. Remove from heat and add cocoa powder, stir to dissolve, then add remaining 1 cup of water. Once cool cooled, add vodka to the mixture. Using a funnel, pour mixture into bottle. Original author recommends leaving it refrigerated for 1 week before using. Shake well before pouring.

Notes

1. I had excess liqueur that did not fit into the large bottle, so I combined it with one small can of evaporated milk and bottled it for creamy cocktails. This mixture will only last for a week, so it's not ideal for gift giving.

Adapted from Creative Culinary

beta

calories

1187

fat

31g

protein

29g

carbs

149g

more

Adapted from Creative Culinary

Making Nice in the Midwest https://makingniceinthemidwest.com/

If you want to make a creamy liqueur with any leftovers like I did, but you’re dairy intolerant, you can probably find evaporated goat’s milk at the grocery store which might work wonders for you! If you are vegan, I would try coconut milk in place of the evaporated milk.

If you double this recipe, it should split nicely between four of these bottles. You can print out one sheet of these labels I made onto sticker paper, then peel and mount them to the bottle. I didn’t have sticker paper, so I used nice presentation paper, but out the labels, and sprayed the back with permanent spray mount to adhere them to the bottles.

For some immediate post-cooking satisfaction, I poured some of the chocolate liqueur over ice and topped it with the evaporated milk. It hit the spot! In between sips, I cut some ribbon and tied a bow on the bottles so they’ll be all ready to give as gifts to my family! Finally- a homemade gift that people will actually want to receive- no doubt about it!