Cats Like Us Blog

Ok, so I'm a dress wearer. I didn't have my first pair of jeans until I was about 10 years old. I actually don't even like pants. If you ever see me wearing them, it's mainly for warmth. Even with it being so cold out this winter I was determined to wear as many swing dresses as possible! Here's the secret of how I stay warm while looking cute: Layering. Layering? What people in warm climates don't know is that layering is truly an art-form. If it's 20 degrees (or even lower!) you can still be warm, but you have...

I think the whole country wishes they were in "paradise" right now, so I recommend the Paradise cocktail to lift your spirits....pun intended. *Wink* The Paradise cocktail is taken from the nifty little book Tiki Drinks by Adam Rocke with illustrations by Shag. I recommend this book to those who are interested in making their own tropical libations and starting to build a bar, but may be intimidated by overly complicated cocktails. The recipes are listed alphabetical order and I really like that! Along side the tasty Tiki drink recipes, there are awesome illustrations by the amazing Josh Agle aka...

You might know her as Barbie K, the lady behind the beautiful mermaids that we sell at Cats Like Us, she recently had her annual in-store event and I decided to pick her brain about her interest in vintage collectibles. Chatting with Miss Barbie K is always a pleasure and she always makes me laugh with her quick wit and great sense of humor.   Hi Miss Barbie K! What have you been up too lately? I'm doing this great show at Cats Like Us where I debuted my new chalkware line and some new ceramic pieces. The pin up girls...

There is something wonderful about spiced rum and ginger beer together. The Kraken Storm cocktail equals a perfect storm of taste in your mouth. Though this cocktail only contains a few ingredients and goes down easy, I have to warn that the sound of the Kraken (and its mighty taste) may knock you on your arse!   Release The Kracken! The Kraken Black Spiced Rum is a Carribean 94 proof rum that has a mix of 11 spices including; clove, cinnamon and ginger. The Kraken is a good balance of sweet and dark that is wonderful on its own or mixed...

I don't mean to sound vain or anything by naming this week's drink after myself, but I just couldn't think of anything clever after the holiday carb fest that's clogging up my witty senses. Though my holidays festivities have left me feeling very merry and high on sugar, I'm also not too interested in anything that's overly sweet, so I whipped up my special "Meagan Cocktail" which is always my go-to drink of choice. One of my favorite ingredients, Falernum, which is sweet syrup that is made up of almond, ginger, and/or cloves, is one of the main flavors in...

My friend Bea mentioned to me that I should create a drink that is inspired by the inclement weather we were experiencing aka the polar vortex. She suggested that the drink be blue in color, so I automatically knew that Blue Curacao would have to be one of the ingredients in my cocktail. I have been drinking tequila based drinks as of late, so I whipped up something that may not be so original, but it's very tasty. We survived the polar vortex (ha!), so I am here to tell the tails of whoa and share this cocktail with you!...

I was pretty stumped on what I wanted to feature for retro cocktail Friday, so I took a look at Mr. Booze's website for inspiration. I choose the Apricot Cooler as it sounded like what I was in the mood for....a simple cocktail. I have to admit I'm not a huge fan of apricot as a flavor (I do enjoy the fruit), so I wasn't expecting to like the drink, yet it is quite delightful! Let me know what you think! Ingredients: 2 oz. Apricot Brandy 2 dashes grenadine Club soda or ginger ale or ginger beer (I used club...

Dia de los Muertos or Day of the Dead is a Mexican holiday that celebrates remembering family, friends and ancestors that are deceased. The celebrations are held starting at midnight on October 31st and continue November 1st through the November 2nd, which include (briefly); the building of altars, parades and adorning graves with gifts and food. Though the sugar skull (or calavera) has become popular in pop culture, they are made to represent a departed soul and often adore altars during the Dia de los Muertos holiday. Some of the items pictured above, are part of our private altar along with...

I was looking up Holiday cocktail recipes that contained blackberry brandy and I came across the Black Angel, which I guess is sort of fitting. Hehe! I've been trying to use some of the oddball things that we have stocked in our bar, not that blackberry brandy is so very odd, it's just not an ingredient I use too often in my cocktail concoctions. Upon trying the Black Angel cocktail, I was pleasantly surprised at the combination of lime juice and blackberry flavor made for a very tasty (and easy) pairing. Definitely give it a try! Ingredients: 1 1/2 oz....

Baby it's cold outside, but it's not stopping Jack Frost from nipping at my nose, errr..I mean taste buds with the Jack Frost cocktail. This blender drink is super easy, tasty and has a nice festive blue color due to the blue curacao mixed with cream of coconut.  Ingredients: 2 oz. Pineapple juice 1 oz. Light rum 1 oz. Blue Curacao 1 oz. Cream of Coconut ice Method: Add all ingredients into a blender with ice. Blend until mixed and serve in a martini glass garnish with an pineapple slice.   This recipe was quartered from this recipe that serves...