I'm moving on, I want the world to know, la la la laaa....

My motto right now should be boxes, upon boxes, upon boxes! If you were me right now, sitting here in our TriBeCa apartment, you would look at boxes and more boxes, no matter what direction you would look in.

I like being organized and having every little item in its very own, little place and home. Needless to say that this disaster of an apartment is driving me a tiny bit (A LOT) insane!! So right now, I'm taking a little break from speaking to realtors on the phone, assembling boxes, wrapping things in bubble wrap, stacking more boxes and creating a somewhat organized chaos. Btw - I LOVE popping the bubbles in the bubble wrap. What is it that is so satisfying about popping bubbles?? It makes no sense - but it's completely addicting, isn't it? Anyway, moving on... as I am packing I get an email from a friend asking me for the Julie's Thanksgiving 2010 Cocktail recipe. And a light bulb went off in my head. It suddenly dawned on me! A good old Happy Hour or "Packing Day" cocktail would make this entire process so much more fun :)! Let's be honest here, this cocktail is fantastic ANYTIME, and as far as I'm concerned it doesn't have to be Thanksgiving. It is so refreshing, so delicious, simply tastebud-tantalizing. Heck, if you find yourself packing one day, have this drink and think of me :)! I promise you, packing will be more fun. I still have all the ingredients left over from Thanksgiving; packing-day-cocktail time it is!
All you need is:

• Lemons
• Limes
• Mint
• Sugar
• Club Soda or Tonic Water
• Ginger syrup
• Your choice of vodka

Here is what you do: In a glass add (2) slices of lemon, (2) slices of limes, a handful of mint leaves and (2) tablespoons of sugar and muddle them together. If you don't have a muddler, just use a spoon, that's what I did. Or anything that you think is good for smushing all the ingredients together (I know I'm getting quite technical here LOL). The sugar will start dissolving during this process. Add (2) shots of your choice of vodka (any citrus vodkas would be delicious too) and some ice cubes and top with club soda or tonic water and finish off with a splash of ginger syrup. Ginger syrup is quite easy to make. Take (1) cup of water, (1) cup of sugar, a few slices of ginger and bring to a boil in a saucepan. Don't bother peeling the ginger. It's only there for flavor and won't end up in the drink anyway. Reduce the heat and let it simmer for 15-20 minutes and voila, you have ginger syrup. Let it cool completely before you add it to your drink.

Garnish and drink!! Happy Packing-Day or Doing-Laundry-Day or Whatever-you-are-doing-at-the-moment drinking!!

J