• 1 oz. Chocolate Godiva liqueur
• 1 oz. raspberry liqueur
• 4 oz. club soda
• Garnish: raspberry

Pour Chocolate Godiva liqueur and raspberry liqueur over ice in a tall glass, top off with club soda and garnish with a fresh raspberry (or a raspberry truffle!).

For Moxie AnniversaValentine’s Day, I thought this recipe for a dessert cocktail from our friends at TheBar.com would be a fitting choice.  Refreshing, pink and chocolate? Can’t get much better than that if you ask me.

Photo and recipe courtesy of TheBar.com, one of our fave mixology websites!

• 2 cups red wine
• 1 cup vodka
• 1/4 cup spiced rum
• 1/2 cup Ocean Spray Ruby Tangerine Grapefruit Juice Drink, chilled
• 2 cups Ocean Spray Cran-Raspberry Raspberry Cranberry Juice Drink, chilled
• 1/2 cup green or red grapes, sliced in half
• 1/4 cup fresh cranberries
• 1 lemon, sliced
• 1 lime, sliced
• 1 orange, sliced
• 1 apple, sliced
• 1 cup sparkling water or club soda

Combine wine, vodka, spiced rum and juices in a punch bowl. Add fruit and chill. Add sparking water just before serving. Makes approximately 10 5-ounce servings.

I know everyone is preparing for their holiday traditions and office parties so a bowl full of cranberry punch might ease everyones holiday stress.  Especially if they aren’t done shopping!  I like to freeze juice in ice cube trays to keep this kind of concoction cold longer and the spirits higher.  Enjoy your holidays everyone!  Cheers!  *spikes*

(Recipe & photo courtesy of Cocktail Times, our favorite mixology website!)

• 1 1/2 parts Grey Goose vodka
• 1 part peppermint schnapps
• 1/2 part simple syrup
• 1/2 part cream
• Garnish: Candy cane or peppermint patty

Mix all ingredients in a cocktail shaker filled with ice. Shake vigorously until the outside of the shaker is frosted and beaded with sweat. Strain into rocks glass filled with crushed ice. Garnish with candy cane or peppermint patty.

Ok, so I’m not loving the name, but the recipe sounds good… if you’re one for creamy drinks. I generally am not, but I’d give this a go. I had a great peppermint martini at Bing Crosby Lounge called a “White Christmas” — this kind of reminds me of that.  Let us know if you try it!

(Recipe & photo courtesy of Cocktail Times, our favorite mixology website!)

We were remiss this year in offering up some of our holiday wallpapers.  If your desktop has that not-so-festive feeling, try one of these on for size!

Shameless plug: Have you picked up your copy of The IT Girl’s Guide to Blogging with Moxie yet this holiday season?  It makes a great gift!  Hint hint. HINT HINT.

Happy Holidays!

We like to share other cool sites with moxie, so when Kathy sent me a link this morning to Moxie Beauty, I knew it was a must-share!  Although they’re in the UK, so shipping might be tight for those of us in the States, they have cute illustrations and I love their burlesque concept. All of their “girls” sound like they’d smell fabulous, but I think Chastity Blaze would have to be my pick: Dark, juicy cherry, plum, and berries tempered with spices, musk, vanilla, and velvety sandalwood.  Yup, that’s me! I think Kathy’s either Boom Boom LaRue or Bella LaDonna.  Though neither suit her as a stripper name.  I picture her more of a Tini McQueen… but I digress.

Speaking of cocktails… ok, we weren’t but just go with me here. We’ve been sharing some of our favorite holiday cocktail recipes this month and while I know Kathy just shared one yesterday, I simply *must* tell you about this delicious drink I had at the Yelp Elite Cosby Sweater Holiday Hootenanny the other night at Confidential.  When I heard about this drink, I thought, “Surely I read that wrong… egg nog and sake? SAKE sake?” 

Yes, Virginia, there really is a sake nog.  Except the clever little name for it as a Nogasake — a blend of egg nog and sake, served on the rocks, dusted with cinnamon.  Angels I have heard on high!  It was really, really, really good. It was so good that I went on and on about it to the point that a friend who hates everything was willing to try it and conceded… it’s not bad.

I guess we have The Office to thank for this bizarre but delicious concoction, but this is a damn fine holiday cocktail that’s *cheap* and easy to make.  And if you’re not a nog drinker, chin up.  I’m not either, which is what makes it all the more memorable. Drink up!

Nogasake

• 1 part Gekkeikan Sake
• 3 parts ready-made egg nog

Pour sake into rocks glass with ice.  Add egg nog. Dust with cinnamon and serve with a cocktail stir and/or short cocktail straw.  Mmm.

Google found others who have tried it and hated it, but I’m not sure if they were using the right ratio or the right sake. I’m sure it probably makes a difference, so I asked the bartenders and they graciously showed me the bottle and shared their recipe.  Thanks, Confidential!

• 1 1/2 ounces citrus vodka
• 21 1/2 ounces sour apple liqueur
• Splash of Angostura bitters
• 4 ounces chilled ginger beer (or ale)
• 1 maraschino cherry

Fill your favorite cocktail shaker with ice. Add the vodka, liqueur and bitters; shake well. Strain into an ice-filled highball glass. Top with the ginger beer and garnish with a maraschino cherry (or two!)

I found this recipe on the Food & Wine website and thought it was an interesting combination and a fresher approach to the traditional apple martinis.  I’ve been on a ginger kick latey and this sounded like a fun casual recipe for a holiday gathering.  Cheers!

• 1 oz Monin gingerbread syrup
• 2 oz Bacardi Big Apple rum
• 2 oz apple juice
• splash of lemon juice

Place 1/2 cup of simple syrup and 4 tablespoons of graham cracker crumbs on separate plates. Dip outside rim of martini glass into simple syrup, then into graham cracker crumbs several times to ensure coverage. Set aside. In a cocktail shaker, combine rum, gingerbread syrup, apple juice and lemon juice. Shake with ice in a cocktail shaker and strain into rimmed martini glass. Garnish with red apple slice.

Doesn’t that sound delicious?  Yum!  This recipe is courtesy of our favorite cocktail site, CocktailTimes.com!

I got this recipe in my inbox this morning from one of my favorite sites, CocktailTimes.com.  This looks so light and refreshing… the perfect alternative to the usual beer for 4th of July weekend.  I would mix it up and serve them with unusual grilled sausages instead of the expected hot dogs? Or with grilled shrimp skewers?

Ok, so it’s not totally All-American, but that cucumber-blackberry combo sounds the perfect cure for a long, hot summer.

Mint Summer Nightini

Ingredients:
- 2 parts Stoli Blackberi, blackberry flavored vodka
- 1 part fresh cucumber juice
- Splash of simple syrup
- Mint leaves
Garnish: mint leaves and thin slices of cucumber

Muddle mint leaves and shake all ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice. Strain into a chilled martini glass. Garnish with sprig of mint and thin slices of cucumber.

We’ll be out of the office tomorrow enjoying our Independence.  Here’s hoping you have some fun in the sun planned.  Happy 4th of July!  Stay cool.

This year has been incredible on so many levels.  We’ve experienced a great deal of growth in 2006 that required cat-like reflexes!  We learned a lot about what to do (and what not to do!).  We also experienced growing pains that somewhat smarted, but one can’t complain about growth, right?  Yay for that, we say! 
We still can’t discuss the most exciting thing to happen to us this year (soon!), but I’ll touch on some of the highlights. In 2006, we…

• ... garnered a full 30-second glowing testimonial on Air America’s Majority Report from our fabulous client, David T. Harris, which totally made us make dolphin-like girl noises and clap a lot.
• ... were asked to participate on a panel of esteemed judges for the Six Apart Style Contest.
• ... flew to Austin, TX for SXSW Interactive 2006 and participated on a panel called “How to Make $$ with Your Blog Design Skills” (listen to our podcast!), which made the Honor Roll for best panels.
• ... were interviewed and featured by the fine folks at pMachine.
• ... were each interviewed by Six Apart Pro Network.
• ... participated in a charity fundraiser for our client, Hot Sauce Blog, by designing a label for his signature hot sauce. $5.00 from every bottle purchased went to the American Cancer Society.
• ... were featured on Designers-Who-Blog.com (thanks, Cat!)
• ... supported and participated in the 2006 Boobiethon!
• ... had two (not one, two!) of our Moxie Signature Cocktails featured as Drink of the Day on Extra Tasty.
• ... became a registered trademark (well Moxie Design Studios℠ did! — ® status is processing).

and last, but not least…

• ... welcomed a new Moxie tot — Kathy’s gorgeous (and I do mean gorgeous) son, Reilly (a.k.a. Mr. Poop, which is what I call him).  I could eat that boy with a spoon, I tell you.

Amidst all that, we also managed to accomplish quite a bit of work, completing projects for Chick Chat Radio, The Panama Gourmet, Oh! The Oxygen Network, Mommycast, Architexture Studios, Darby Creek Dog Bakery, madTV-regular Crista Flanagan, Legal Mojo, and author Paula Schmitt, just to name a few!
We are so grateful for all of our patient and wonderful clients, some of whom have been with us since the beginning, some of whom are welcome additions to our Moxie family.  We wish each of you a beautiful, healthy and happy holiday with your loved ones, whatever holiday it is that you choose to celebrate.  May 2007 bring you peace.
And lots of martinis.   Merry Christmas.