Cats Like Us Blog

Watercolor painting of Lon Chaney Sr. as The Phantom of the Opera by Monster Matt Patterson. You can haunt Monster Matt on the web: www.monstermatt.com Twitter: @1Monstermatt Facebook: www.facebook.com/MonstermattPatterson Come on back to the Cats Like Us blog for the last Monday of every month for some more Monster Matt madness! -Meagan Kyla

Ever wonder how the infamous brawls between Frankenstein's Monster and The Wolfman start off?  Here's one humorously painted (watercolors on paper) possibility... -Monster Matt   Hahaha! Thanks Monster Matt and we'll see you next month for Monster Matt Monday!   -Meagan Kyla

I'm so excited to share our Holiday Collection with all of you. It's December 1st, so let's deck the halls and decorate ourselves in holiday style! Do you want to be in the holiday spirit, but don't want to make a too much of a fuss? Looking as darling as our model Andrea is a breeze with the Amanda Red Matrix dress by Heart of Haute paired with the Scallop Mambo earrings and a blue sequin hair flower. We love the Amanda dress as it's 100% cotton, easy to layer and would be the perfect dress for a holiday party....or...

I have to admit this would be more exciting if there was a real firecracker involved in the making of this cocktail, but I don't want my face being blown up and I certainly want you to keep your pretty mug intact as well! The Firecracker Cocktail is a layered libation is pretty and patriotic with a tart and very sweet flavor. The taste reminds me of a melted bomb pop! Ingredients: 1.5 oz Vodka 1 oz. Lemon juice 1.5 oz Blue curacao 1 oz. Grenadine Splash of simple syrup Method: Take a tall ice filled glass and slowly add...

I was inspired by two things, POM Hula and crazy neighbors, thus the POM POM CooCoo Nuts was born. I'm not going to lie when I say I really needed to make a drink after listening to crazy neighbors (who are moving out, wooo!) screaming and raving for hours. I'm not encouraging you to hit the bottle when you're stressed or I can't say that this drink will get rid of the neighbors, but at least it will take the edge off a little. So hey, thank you crazies for inspiring something creative!  Ingredients: POM Hula-a delicious blend of pineapple,...

I was so excited when we got Beachbum Berry's latest book, Potions of the Carribean. So much amazing history and vintage recipes are packed into this book, like the La Florida Daquiri Number 2 that comes from the 1935 Bar La Florida souvenir recipe booklet. Bar La Florida also known as Floridita is a historic bar restaurant in the older part of Havana famous for it's daquiris and was one of Ernest Hemingways favorite hangout spots while in Havana. Most us know daiquiri's as being sugar-filled blender drinks, but this classic cocktail is simple, lightly sweetened and refreshing! Ingredients: 2 oz. Cuban rum*...

I wanted something chocolately after dinner and though I'm not a big chocolate-flavored cocktail fan, I decided to indulge and looked up what was in a Chocolate Martini. Holy strong Batman! Though this cocktail only has two ingredients, the Creme de Cacao and vodka will kick your little behind if you're not too careful. This cocktail is definitely a sipper, but with the use of your imagination, many variations can be concocted with using this recipe as a base. Ingredients: 2 oz. Creme de Cacao 2 oz. Vodka (I like Three Olives) Method: Chill your martini glass in the freezer...

So, I guess I've been on a martini kick as of late and the Strawberry Vodka Martini has been quenching my martini tooth. Can you have a martini tooth? If so, I think it's right next to my rum tooth. *Wink* This cocktail combines two things I like to do, smash (muddle) things and drink fancy beverages. Though this drink may look pretty and "girlie", it's a nice balance of not too sweet and not too potent and would be a wonderful drink to serve your guests! Ingredients: 3 Strawberries, chopped 1 1/2 Tbsp. Simple syrup 2 oz. Vodka 1 1/2...

The Trader Vic Grog cocktail recipe is taken from the book, Beachbum Remixed. I highly recommend any of Beachbum Berry's books! Lemons and lemon juice always seems to be plentiful in our house, so why not mix up some lemony libations! Enter in the Trader Vic Grog that is is not overly sour or sweet, but boy does the dark rum flavor mix wonderfully with the citrus juices.    Ingredients: 2 oz. Dark Jamacian rum *see below 1 oz. Pineapple juice 1 oz. Fresh lemon juice 1 oz. Passion fruit syrup 1 dash Angostra Bitters   Method: Build cocktail into...

Like a lot of classic cocktails, there are a lot of variations and the Vodka Gimlet is no exception. The inspiration for finding this cocktail was due to a customer coming into the store looking to dress for a Mad Man style party, so I was pondering about what type of cocktails the characters on the show drink. I came across this Vodka Gimlet recipe on the AMC Mad Men page, but I decided to modify it a little to my taste seeing as there are a few variations that looked tasty to me. Interesting facts: A description of the...