My Favorite Hangover Preventer

The devil in me got the best of me yesterday. After I swore I would not go out for St. Patrick's Day, I found myself doing a little barhopping and stumbling home around 12:30. Knowing that I had to get up early this morning for work, I thought about what I could do to prevent a massive hangover. My new go-to recipe? Coconut water and Advil.

The "science" behind a hangover is essentially this: you're body is dehydrated and going through a mini-withdrawal of alcohol and sugar. Coconut water is not only delcious, but it's one of nature's best re-hydrators. It's full of potassium, good-for-you sugars, and electrolytes that replenish the body. Have you ever heard of drinking Gatorade to help a hangover? Well this has a similar effect without the altered sugars and processed chemicals. Although Newsweek claims hangovers can't be cured, I'm telling you- this stuff works. There's a few brands currently on the market and they range in flavors from regular to pineapple to mango.

Bonus: It kind of makes you feel like your on a beach in the tropics while drinking.

This Gives a New Meaning to Kegs & Eggs

Breakfast time is way over by now, but it is still St. Patrick's Day, so if you're feeling adventurous you might want to try out this recipe from Tasting Table:

Bushmills in the Afternoon
Adapted from Jackson Cannon, Eastern Standard
Makes 1 drink
1/2 slice (about ¾-inch thick) of artisanal wheat bread
2 ounces Bushmills Irish whiskey
1 egg
1/2 ounce honey syrup (1 part honey dissolved in 1 part warm water)
1/2 ounce fresh orange juice
Dash of Reagan's Orange Bitters No. 6 (or other orange bitters)
Freshly grated cinnamon, for garnish
In a glass, muddle the bread with the whiskey for 1 minute, then pass the mixture through a tea strainer into a cocktail shaker, pressing on the bread to extract all of the whiskey (you should get about 1 1/2 ounces). Add the egg, honey syrup, orange juice and bitters and shake vigorously for 30 seconds. Fill the shaker with ice and shake vigorously for 30 seconds to 1 minute longer, until the drink is frothy and well-chilled. Strain into a cocktail glass and garnish with a small pinch of freshly grated cinnamon.

I'm not so sure how I feel about cinnamon, whiskey, eggs, orange juice and bread in my cocktail, but it was created by mixologist Jackson Cannon at Boston's Eastern Standard so he must know what's he doing, right? 

Happy St. Patrick's. Go Green & Get Lucky.

This morning I woke up a little confused. Being part Irish, and proud of it, normally St. Patrick's Day is a day I fully celebrate with joy. I wear green, whip out my four leaf clover jewelry, have a green bagel for breakfast, and wish everyone good luck on finding their pot of gold. 

But this morning felt just like any other day. This is because two Saturdays ago my friends and I spent the whole day decked out in green, drinking beer at the Hoboken St. Patty's Parade. Even though I got all Irish-ed out a few weekends ago, I realize I have to sack -up and get into the spirit. So here it is, my suggestions for how to get into the St. Patty's Day spirit (in no particular order):

1. Have a green bagel for breakfast. Or better yet, some Lucky Charms.

2. Make green beer. Drink green beer. According to DIY Life.com, to achieve a true green color it's best to mix blue food coloring with yellow beer. Green food coloring will work just as well too. Visit the site for more detailed instructions. 

3. Have Corned Beef and Cabbage. My mom used to make this every year for St. Pat's Day. I am a vegetarian so here is my version: Vegan Corned Beef and Cabbage (it tastes just as good and is better for you!)

4. Tell everyone to Kiss You because "You're Irish." Hey, kissing to lead to other lucky things. 

5. Go to an Irish Pub. If you're in New York City, the St. Patrick's Day parade is today, so any pub with an O', Mc', or St. is probably a good choice. Two I would recommend? Stout NYC on 33rd and Molly's Pub and Restaurant on 3rd Avenue. But the choices are endless. In Jersey, try Dubliner in Hoboken or McDonaugh's in Keyport. While you're there, test out an Irish Car Bomb or the Black Velvet. 

Really though - any pub with Guinness or Bailey's will do just fine. Cheers!

Holy Goodness Get me to a Newsstand!

I think Cake would agree with me on this one - I would love, lay, and never leave Zac Efron. In fact, I have often secretly wished he would leave Vanessa and we would accidentally run into each other somewhere, starting a crazy love affair. Well my favorite Disney hottie got down and dirty this month for an Interview magazine shoot. I mean- sweaty, muddy, and rolling around with a naked girl. 

Scroll through. You're welcome.

Natalie Portman's Yellow Nail Polish: Do or Don't?

Another girl crush of mine (I promise I'm not a lesbian) is Natalie Portman. She's smart, talented, really pretty, and a vegetarian. Always on the cutting edge with her bright and pretty fashion choices, she was recently spotted sporting bright yellow nail polish at an event.

I have been cutting back on getting manicures to save money and because within an hour I usually have at least one chipped nail, but I've been in the mood for one lately and have been searching for that perfect "spring is coming" color. I really like the neon color and think it looks great on Natalie but I was wondering how it would translate on my nails. Is it too neon? Could I pull it off? What do you think?

IT'S BRITNEY, BITCH!

Britney killed it last night at the Prudential Center in Newark, NJ. The show was phenomenal from start to finish. It's so great to see her back on stage doing what she loves. I loved all of it but some of my favorite parts were the "Bollywood" section, the remix of Hit Me Baby One More Time, and Perez "opening" the show in an over-the-top video. To my delight, Britney got very naughty in the middle with a "fetish-esque" video, which made me worry a little for the Dad and his children sitting three rows ahead of us. (Although the Dad seemed pretty into it). I got a little sad towards the end when they remixed a bunch of Britney's past videos. It's crazy to see where she was to where she is now.


The crowd was quite a mix that included little girls, little girls in skanky outfits, lots of fedoras, groups of gay men, sequin-wearing cougars, grandparents, and of course, 18-25 year old women. My only negative comment is that Britney rarely spoke. In her previous concerts she would stop many times and say things to the audience, but in Circus she addressed us about two times. Still, it was amazing and now I have a few new dance moves to try out. Props to the PussyCat Dolls too who got the crowd very, very excited and made me want to join the group.

And the secret special guest? Fergie. But we never saw her. Damn.

Is Coffee Good For You?

I've been seriously limiting my coffee intake for the last three years. Why? Because caffeine makes me stay awake for days. If I drink coffee after 11am, I have trouble sleeping that night. Plus, research done five or six years ago showed some pretty serious health risks associated with drinking coffee (like fibrocystic breast disease).

Now that's all changed. It's after 11am as I type this.. and I'm enjoying a lovely cup of coffee! And, I plan to drink some more later. New findings have linked drinking coffe to a lowered risk of Parkinson's disease and Type 2 diabetes! It can even help with symptoms of depression!! I read in Prevention magazine that moderate coffee drinkers (2-3 cups a day) have a lowered risk of Alzheimer's Disease (and other types of dementia) compared to those that are heavy coffee drinkers or don't drink it at all. Prevention also told me that drinking coffee can help your memory and attention processes.

I'm not sure if these new findings hold true for decaf coffee, but my quick Google search said if you want to drink decaf, make sure the decaffeination process was done without any harsh chemicals. For now, I'll be drinking coffee in moderation. One (or two) cups a day is good for me!

-Cake