I’m sure most of you Thirsty Girls know that Social Media is know larger than ever. Pretty much everyone I know has some form of a social media page these days, whether is be Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, or Pinterest. Since I am Borracha’s “marketing guru”, I am always searching the web for new forms of Social Media. The other day, I stumbled upon Yiftee, the newest type of Social Media that lets you send small gifts ($10 or less) to your Facebook friends from local merchants. For me, doing something little for someone like buying them a coffee or a little treat (cupcakes?) gives me the highest form of satisfaction. However, most of my friends and family live in different cities so I can’t just pick them up a coffee. Or, even more annoying, I usually don’t know their work address or schedule for the day, so I can’t just drop in at any time to deliver a little happiness. So, when I found Yiftee, I was in LOVE! Yiftee lets you simply choose a Facebook friend, then choose a gift from local merchant in their area, then the recipient simply shows the merchant their voucher and presto! This way, you can send small little gifts to distant loved ones or to those with busy schedules so they can pick up their gift on their own time. To be honest, I was a little jealous I didn’t come up with this idea first.

Luckily, for those of you with friends or family in San Luis Obispo, you can brighten someone’s day with Wine Wipes or Pearly Wipes! Know a friend that loves coffee, wine, has an event coming up, or just loves to keep their smile white? Just visit www.yiftee.com and sign in through your Facebook, choose a friend, and get ready for Thank yous! Also, help to spread the word of Yiftee by encouraging local merchants in your area to join the Yiftee networks so your choice of gifts expands. The internet sure does make it easy to give a little love now-a-days;)

Cheers!

-Katie

Well, summertime is quickly approaching, and this just happens to be a favorite time of the year for this Thirsty Girl. Not only do I love laying out on the beach, day after day (not worrying about it the weather will be nice or not) and reading a good book, but I also love all those tasty, sweet alcoholic refreshments. When most people think of summertime drinks, Mai Tais, Pina Coladas, and Margaritas usually come to mind. Now don’t get me wrong, I loved my mixed and blended fruity cocktails, but this summer, I have made it my mission to try some unique, tasty wine-derful drinks. I’ve done a little research, and here are the contenders I will start with this summer:

1. Riesling Strawberry Slushies

-2 cups hulled strawberries

-1 bottle dry Riesling

-1 tablespoon fresh lime juice

-2 tablespoons sugar

Reserve 1 cup of Riesling-cover and chill in fridge. In a food processor, puree strawberries with the remaining wine, lime juice and sugar. Pour the mixture into ice cube trays and freeze until solid. When you’re ready to serve [or drink], puree the ice cubes with the remaining wine in your blender.

2. Pesca e Vino Bianco

-6 ripe peaches

-4 cups cold white wine

-1/2 lemon (juice)

-sparkling water (optional of course)

Peel peaches and cut into pieces (to make them easy to peel, boil them in water for about 4 minutes, then put in ice cold water). Put them and lemon juice in a blender and process until creamy. Transfer it with all other ingredients to a jug and mix well. Pour contents into glasses and serve immediately.

 3. Rose Squirt

-ice cubes

-1 oz. maraschino liqueur

-6 oz. dry rose

-chilled club soda

-2 maraschino cherries for garnish

Fill 2 highball glasses three-quarters full with ice cubes. Add 1 ounce maraschino liqueur and 3 ounces rosé to each glass. Stir briefly. Then fill each glass almost to the top with the chilled club soda. Stir again, a bit more than briefly. Drop a cherry on top and serve.

 4. Cactus Berry

-Ice cubes

-3 ounces Merlot

-3 ounces white tequila

-1 1⁄2 ounces Cointreau

-1 ounce fresh lime juice

-2 lime slices for garnish

Fill a cocktail shaker halfway full with ice cubes. Add the Merlot, white tequila, Cointreau, and lime juice. Shake exceedingly well (as if you were shaking cactus thorns from your hands). Strain the mix into 2 cocktail glasses. Garnish with the lime slices and serve.

5. Peach and Vanilla Wine Pops

-4 oz (.45 cup) organic dark cane sugar
-1 1-inch piece of vanilla bean, split lengthwise
-3-4 ripe or overripe yellow peaches (or frozen peaches)
-7 ounces Sauvignon Blanc

Combine sugar and 4 fluid ounces water in a saucepan. Gently heat, while stirring, until sugar completely dissolves. Remove from heat, add cut vanilla bean and steep for 15 minutes. Remove bean and allow syrup to cool completely.

Rinse peaches and pat dry. With paring knife, remove pits and stems. Lightly puree peaches, being sure to leave some texture, resulting in about 16 fluid ounces. Combine puree with cooled vanilla syrup and Sauvignon Blanc, stirring well to incorporate.

Pour into molds, add sticks and freeze until solid (about 4 to 6 hours). If you don’t have a mold, Dixie cups work perfectly. Freeze cups for two hours, then add popsicle sticks. Freeze for another two hours.

Unmold and serve either at once or place in plastic bags for storage. They melt fast so have napkins on call.

Yes, I know, these recipes might influence you to start drinking a little earlier in the day than planned, but hey, that’s what summer is all about;) I don’t know about you, but I’m betting on the Wine Pops to win my heart over!

Cheers,

Katie

Does alcohol make you speak the truth?

If you’re a thirsty girl like me, I’m sure you’ve encountered a few times where alcohol makes you say some things there is no way in hell you would say sober. For instance, I can name a few friends that have blurted out “I Love You” for the first time after a few bottles of wine, and they swear it “came out of nowhere”. MD Gary L. Malone says “When anyone drinks there is a neurological and psychological regression, and the higher the blood alcohol level, the more primitive and hostile the response that comes out”. So in other words, those drunken remarks you made were most likely out of sommmmewhere. Alcohol frees the tongue to say what is in the heart. For example, say like you know a secret you really want to tell, but don’t because you are keeping a promise or don’t want to spread gossip. A few glasses of wine (or shots of tequila) that secret is most likely going to come out.

So is this a bad thing? I don’t think so. There have been plenty of times where I have needed to ease my nerves or loosen up, which is the perfect time to enjoy a little wine. It’s true, if the CIA just told you something top secret, and your dying to tell someone, maybe downing shots of vodka while out with a bunch of friends might not be the best thing. But hey, I think a little truth never hurt;)

-Cheers, Katie

Just in case you didn’t know….there’s a few Thirsty Girls here at Borracha that love their country music (one of them being me!) This past weekend, I ventured to the desert for California’s biggest country music festival, Stagecoach. The line-up couldn’t have been better, including Jason Aldean, Brad Paisley, Blake Shelton, Luke Bryan, Sheryl Crow, Martina McBride, and my favorite…Miranda Lambert. This three-day festival was filled with lots of heat, singing, alcohol, and kettle corn. Most stagecoachers stay at a nearby campground for the three days, however, camping in100 degree weather(and not being able to get rid of that damn tequila smell in the morning)  isn’t exactly my thing…Luckily, a good friend of mine has a house just minutes away from the venue, making my time much more enjoyable. By the first night, we had all lost our voices, but we kept chugging on through. Waking up to mimosas every morning and keeping the alcohol flowing until late at night was tough, we will all made it successfully (with a few drunk falls here and there). After purchasing $13 drink after $13 drink the first day…we decided to get a lil’ country. Saturday and Sunday, we conjured up a plan to stick plastic bags (double bagged of course) and our bras…creating an instant boob lift with our vodka boobs. All 7 of us joined in on the mischievous plan and our mission was successful! All that was left was grabbing a slushie lemonade and we were good for the day (although a few guys looked pretty disappointed when they saw our breasts were made of vodka). And luckily, every morning, I had my trusty Pearly Wipes to keep my breath fresh! I would definitely recommend Stagecoach to all country music fans (and our Thirsty Girl trick) for a good time! Of course I had to include a few pics……..

Shirts say…”Luke Bryan we’re a little drunk on you……and high on summertime!”

Cheers!-  Katie

One of my favorite aspects about living on the Central Coast is that we take the SLO[w] life very literally. Unlike the stereotypical American city filled with cranky workaholics on a mission to stretch the limits of productivity, we SLO-pokes would rather succumb to the temptations of relaxation and enjoy ourselves versus stress ourselves out. So on a beautiful Tuesday such as today. it should come as no surprise that my mind is drifting towards activities I plan on incorporating into my a warm, lazy weekend just around the corner. Enjoy!

Good thing orange is in this season because SLO is literally covered in orange poppies. A beautiful sight to see

Vino and a bath?? Don’t mind if I do.

Sippin’ on Pinot Noir at Chamisal Winery in the Edna Valley.

View of Morro Bay from Perfumo Canyon Rd…one of my favorite SLOcations

Zoning out to a great book.

Heaven on a platter

I love spring.