Cheers to a Cause: Negroni Week

Did you know that Negroni Week starts tomorrow? For the third consecutive year, Imbibe Magazine and Campari are joining forces to raise money for charities around the world while also celebrating a popular cocktail. June 1 - June 7 participating restaurants and bars will donate $1 from the sale of every negroni or negroni-themed item to a charity of their choice. Campari will also donate $10,000 to the charity chosen by the bar or restaurant that raises the most money.

If you've never had a negroni, it has a strong flavor that's a little sweet, a little bitter (like grapefruit) and a bit spicy. It's often consumed as an aperitif, but it can be enjoyed anytime. This year, there are There are more than 3000 participating locations across the country with some pretty creative options available, like Negroni Popcorn (Perbacco, SF), Negroni Creamsicle Ice Cream (Tipsy Scoop, NY) and Negroni Mignonette with oysters (Cockscomb, SF).

For a complete listing of participating locations check HERE.

While you decide which item you'll try first, here's how you make a basic Negroni (via Imbibe Magazine):

INGREDIENTS

1 oz. gin
1 oz. Campari
1 oz. sweet vermouth

METHOD

Stir ingredients in a mixing glass with ice, strain into a chilled cocktail glass (or ice-filled double rocks glass) and garnish with orange peel. 

Shoes Clues: 5 Comfort Sandals We Actually Wanna Wear

Walk This Way

Dear Reader,

I've never been a fan of sensible shoes as a category, however I've always loved certain styles that fall under that umbrella (Sebago boat shoes, Bass Weejuns and Bucs and Dr. Scholls Original Sandals). When normcore became an actual fashion term, and Birkenstocks became de riguer, I feared it was a bad omen. To my surprise, the movement has lead to some pretty cool takes on what I like to call "the granny sandal." Now that the weather has gotten walk-around friendly, here are a few choices that look AND feel great on casual days:

Dr. Scholls Original Sandals- Metallic

As stated above, I've loved classic Dr. Scholls sandals since childhood. What you may or may not know is that I am also a magpie. So this shiny silver flat definitely put a twinkle in my eye. Bonus points for the "anatomical footbed." ($88.00 at Lord & Taylor)

Vionic Tatian Sandal- Leopard

Vionic shoes feature podiatrist-designed "Orthaheel Technology" that helps realign the feet to the proper position after wearing heels and shoes with no arch support. Luckily, for us, this jeweled leopard print calf-hair sandal manages not to look like an orthotic sandal. ($119.95 at Vionicshoes.com)

Worishofer 251 Sandal- Iridescent

Previously only seen on members of the geritol generation, Worishofer sandals earned their cool cred a year or two ago when celebs like Maggie Gylenhal and Kiersten Dunst were spotted wearing them. They didn't make their way onto my want list, though, until they appeared in metallic purple (which is now in my closet) and iridescent pink (which is on this summer's to-buy list). ($59.99 at Amazon.com)

Crowne Comforteur Brilliant Sandal- Snake

Gladiator-inspired with chunky straps, this sandal by Crowne Comforteur lives up to its name. It's casual, versatile and it has a specially-made footbed that cradles the arch and cups the heel. This might be the perfect city-walking shoe. ($119.95 at lorisshoes.com)

Matt Bernson Love Sandal- Gold

A simple silhouette. A memory foam insole. This metallic thong sandal from Matt Bernson is way more refined than a regular flip-flop. Yet, it would still work with jeans or cutoffs. Grab & pack it for vacation. Wear it all summer. ($139.00 at MattBernson.com)


Which pair could you see yourself wearing, and where will your comfy-cool sandals take you this weekend?

Yours Shoely,

Nafeesa (StyleScrybe)

*Courtesy images. Shoes N Booze is an Amazon affiliate and earns commission on purchases made via links on this blog.

Shoes N Booze News: Co-hosting the Limelight Shops Anniversary Party

Party! Party! Party!

See a familiar face (or at least a familiar logo) in the flyer above? Yup, Shoes N Booze founder/ editor, Nafeesa Saboor (AKA StyleScrybe) will be cohosting the Keds x Shwinn 1 year anniversary party for the Limelight Shops in NYC. She'll be joined by Aileen Olmedo of The Style Boro, Sonia Evers of The Not Vanilla, Johnnybell Sanches of NY Trendy Moms and Lynn Do of Neckbreakin' Style. We hear there will be opportunities to win cool stuf, lots of shopping and drinks courtesy of Skinnygirl. Hope to see you there! Click HERE to score your invite.

For your Boozy Book Club: You Deserve a Drink by Mamrie Hart

You Deserve It

When the introduction to a book informs you that said book has a written-in drinking game, you know you're in for trouble... and a good time. Youtube star and avid drinker, Mamrie Hart's "You Deserve a Drink: Boozy Misadventures and Tales of Debauchery" (released today by Plume Books and available at Amazon.com for $12.57) clearly takes its title seriously. Before delving into the collection of drinking and hangover stories, readers are instructed to take a drink whenever Hart references an old television show, talks about a food product that could be purchased at 7-Eleven or uses a slang term for a reproductive organ (consider yourself warned. She does a good amount of all three). Additionally, each tale comes with its own cocktail recipe. (Either take small sips, or be prepared for drunkenness around page 12.)  Here are our top 5 reasons to start  a boozy book club and make YDAD your first book to read (in no particular order and typed while sipping a bloody mary):

1. The lesson in Chapter 1: After a drunken night leads to a chipped tooth and a life wake-up call. Hart comes to the hard realization that hard-partying friends may not be her best bet. "Sometimes, the person you've got to protect yourself from the most is yourself."
   
2. Topless Tuesdays: Mamrie had always wanted to start some kind of club. After any failures, she finally got it right in college with Topless Tuesdays. They eventually had their own official membership acceptance protocol. First thing about this: a club that encourages a liberation from social constructs is crazy cool. Second, the idea of a group of folks gathering once a week to enjoy the act of learnign something new is totally kick-ass.
   
3. The writing is pun-in-a-million. (Mamrie, we hope we did you proud with that one.) Seriously, though, if you love a good pun the way the SNB squad does, you will get a kick (or 5) out of this book. Seriously... all types of pun envy over here. Mamrie Hart is the queen of puns.
   
4. Quickshots!: No complex cocktail recipes. Only instructions to take a reader's-choice shot- straight and a few abbreviated anecdotes. Call it drinkers' digest.
   
5. No need to read in sequential order. Seriously, with this book you can jump around. (90s music reference. Pretend I'm talking about TV and take a drink!) Since the stories aren't in sequential order, you (and your book club) can litterally skip from chapter 1 to chapter 10 and back to chapter 4 (depending on what cocktail ingredients are readily available on when you meet on Topless Tuesday). See what we did there?

Now that you have our top 5 reasons, please excuse us while we chat with Mamrie for a bit.

Mamrie, first off, we can't wait until we can swap troll stories with you... actually we can't wait until we actually have trolls instead of just spammers. (You're nobody 'til somebody hates on you, right? Secondly, do we drink when there are references to old movies as well as old TV shows? Lastly, in the first "Quickshots" chapter, you instruct us to take a shot, and then two lines down, you insert a trigger word. For that, dear friend, we are tempted to affectionately call you a trigger word. All jokes aside, dear, thanks for sharing your debacles with us. They help us see we're not alone, and if we keep a sense of humor about things, they might just turn into a dope ass book.