Mocktail Recipe Roundup

Now that our little peanut is no longer residing in my womb, I can indulge in an adult beverage whenever I choose. Well, not exactly whenever I choose... I still have to balance it with every 3 hour feedings or pumpings so I have to do a complex new mommy calculus to figure out the exact right moment to indulge. You better believe I have sat on our back patio breastfeeding and balancing a beer on my My Brest Friend pillow simultaneously.

In my first mocktail article, I did a roundup of my experiences out at restaurants in Atlanta. Since it's raging hot and humid here in Atlanta, I am feeling for my prego friends who can't kick back with a nice cool cocktail. So here's a roundup of some delicious booze free beverages you can make at home.


Booze Free Bee's Knees (the boozy version is one of my faves)

2 oz tonic water

¾ oz fresh lemon juice

½ oz Clover honey syrup (mix 2 parts honey with 1 part water)

In a mixing glass, add ingredients. Fill with ice. Shake vigorously. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with a lemon disc or twist.

Mock Bellini

2 oz nectar of your choice (peach for a classic belllini, I also like pear)
enough sparkling cider to fill the rest of your glass

Virgin Dark & Stormy (another Adventurous Tastes fave)

8 ounces ginger beer (it's not alcoholic)
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
1/2 tsp molasses
crushed ice

Directions: Combine all ingredients over crushed ice in glass. Stir and garnish with lime wedge.

Virgin Grapefruit Mojito 

Frozen Mango Mockolada

Virgin Pimm's Cup

Virgin Mary's (A bloody mary is one of those drinks that honestly tastes the same sans alcohol. I like mine extra spicy)

A Mint Green Animal Themed Nursery

OK, so this has nothing to do with food, but Gemma's nursery does have an animal theme, so that's adventurous, right? Mostly, it's too cute not to share, and this is my best platform for doing so. If you hate adorable baby decor, you can skip this post!

 

We wanted something that wasn't too cutesy, and we wanted a wall color and furniture that were gender neutral so we can reuse the room and just change out accessories if we have a boy in the future. After debating grey/blue and mint green, we chose a mint green (Lighter Mint by Sherwin Williams) because it felt fresh but also a little bit retro.

We went around in circles about getting a glider. Most of what is out there is horrendously ugly and expensive, and I couldn't bear to buy something I'd hate to look at. I really wanted a mid-century classic, the womb chair, but it proved too large to be practical in our small room. Thank goodness, after much research we found the Little Castle Monaco Recliner. It has clean lines and is quite comfortable. Now that I've spent tons of middle-of-the-night time in it, I am glad we got it even if I do still have a hankering for a womb chair.

The concept for the room came from my obsession with the baby animal photos from Animal Print Shop. I wish I had an excuse to buy more of them! We didn't want the room to be overly themed, so we tried to use the African animals with a light hand. In addition to the baby animal prints, the other major animal related purchase was the giant stuffed giraffe, who we have lovingly named Nick Lachey because he always seems to be looking at us (see the source of our random inside joke here). I've since seen this giraffe crop up in tons of online posts about cute nurseries, and it even made a cameo in Jonah Hill's bedroom in 21 Jump Street!

For the accessories we went with white, pink and grey, and we'll eventually add some more pops of gold. I loved the modern lines of the Oeuf Sparrow crib but not the ginormous price tag. Fortunately, the Babyletto Hudson crib looks just like it, and although the wood isn't quite as high end, it seems very high quality so far.

We originally ordered the gorgeous Land of Nod Monarch dresser, but it was back-ordered for ages, and while we waited, we realized it was simply too big for the room. Instead, we went with the grey and white version of the Babyletto Hudson changer, which has worked perfectly for us so far. Although the measurements supplied on line don't appear to match up, the LA Baby Changing Pad fits perfectly on top of it.

I adore Etsy for unique pieces, so we picked up a cute C'Est Tout print and a custom mobile to match our color scheme. How sweet are those little animals? Other art came from Society 6, which features tons of quirky pieces that you can get as prints or on canvas. I love the world map filled with flowers over the changing table. We love to travel, so I like to imagine talking to Gemma about the different places we've been and will go together while she looks at it.

A number of gorgeous nurseries online also feature a Moroccan style rug. Madeline Weinrib has a super pricey one and West Elm has a mid-priced one, but we found a ridiculous deal on a very similar one at Rugs USA. It's very soft, perfect for baby to play on, but it does shed a bit. Our linens are grey/white and pink/white featuring super cute chevron and polka dot patterns. They're from Carousel Designs, which is highly recommended by my baby shopping bible Baby Bargains, and it turns out to be a local Georgia business!

The room is so peaceful and sweet without being too cutesy, and we hope that Gemma will love it for years to come!

Sources:

Paint: Sherwin Williams Lighter Mint
Crib: Babyletto Hudson
Changing Table/Dresser: Babyletto Hudson Changer
Baby Animal Prints: Animal Print Shop
Elephant and Flower Map Art: Society 6
C'est Tout Art: Etsy Shop Ampersand
Custom Animal Mobile in my room's colors: Lollipop Moon
Rug: Tuscan Moroccan Shag at Rugs USA
Linens: Carousel Designs
Side Table: Saarinen reproduction from Overstock. You can get it on Amazon as well
Papier Mache Elephant Head: No longer available at West Elm but other animal heads are on sale now here.
Bookcase: Guidecraft Bookcase from Wayfair or Amazon

Introducing the Newest Member of the Adventurous Tastes Family!

Introducing the latest member of the Adventurous Tastes family...Gemma Gray!

For the last 12 days, I've been knee deep in baby cuddles, 3 am feedings and generally getting the hang of this whole parenting thing, so forgive me if my writing is a little lax for the time being. As I get into the swing of things, I'll endeavor to post more often!

Our Greatest Adventure Yet

Dear little one,

We haven't met formally yet, but you've certainly heard my voice and kicked me to remind me you're there more than a few times. Your father and I are so terrified excited for your arrival next week, so I thought I'd write you a little note to let you know what's on my mind in these last days before you enter the world.

Up until now, your father and I have enjoyed traveling to far flung locations, going out to eat whenever we feel like (which is often) and generally doing what we wanted when we wanted. Although I'm a bit sad to see that life end, I know we are about to embark on our biggest adventure yet.


I hope you have appreciated the steady stream of cupcakes, cookies and sweet tarts I've plied you with these last months. It seems that all of my carefully managed pre-pregnancy willpower was overridden by you. I'm certain it won't be the last time you dictate my behavior. And one day, probably when you are exasperating me, I will remind you that just for little ol' you, I gave up two of my great loves - wine and sushi. I admit, I ignored the rule about soft cheeses and smoked salmon. So far, you seem to be OK with my fudging of the rules.

We know our life is going to change dramatically next week, but we also hope that we can teach you to love some of the things that we love. Please, little darling, don't be one of those children who exclusively eats chicken fingers. Sure, they are delicious, but I promise to make meal time fun and expose you to the wonderful world of adventurous tastes that awaits you. I have already diligently saved articles about how to introduce your baby to spices, so we'll see how it goes. And you'll certainly have favorite pass times I can't even guess at yet, but I dream of Sundays spent baking together. If you will indulge me, I promise you can lick the spoon!

We've already bought our baby carrier so you can ride shotgun as we explore the world around us. Our travels may not be as frequent or quite as exotic for a while, but we will work hard to instill in you the curiosity and wanderlust that has sent us to places as far flung as Morocco, South Africa, Paris and Colombia over the last few years. Are you ready for the adventure of a lifetime?

We've spent 38 weeks together at this point, and though you have made me unwieldy and scatterbrained, I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that it is a small price to pay for the pleasure of your company.


Sweet girl, in the words of Dorothy Kilgallen, "the world is grand, awfully big and astonishingly beautiful, frequently thrilling," and it will be all the better for having you in it. Let the adventure begin!