My Top 3 Summer Drinks

   Hello!

   Due to my lack of baking ingenuity, I decided to try creating something else: drinks! Among my trials and errors, I've found some recipes perfect for summer sippin' (yeah, I really just said that). Since today's the official start of summer, I decided to post my favorites.

 Sunshine Fusion

 Serves One

 You'll Need: lemonade, (pulp-free) orange juice, Sprite

  Instructions: Combine equal parts lemonade and Sprite on ice. Add a splash of orange juice.

 Notes: This is my favorite recipe yet! It's not as breakfast-y as I imagined, so it's perfect whenever.

Watermelontini

 Serves One

 You'll Need: watermelon soda, Sprite, cranberry juice, lime juice

  Instructions: Add a half-cup of watermelon soda, followed by a splash of cranberry juice. Top off with Sprite and a squeeze of lime juice.

  Notes: I thought this sounded disgusting, but it's now one of my favorites! All the ingredients combine perfectly. The Sprite gives it a special punch.

 Caramel Banana Milkshake

  Serves Four

You'll Need: two bananas, vanilla (or banana) ice cream, caramel syrup, milk, dried banana chips

  Instructions: Slice bananas. Blend it, four scoops ice cream, two cups of milk, and four tbsp of the caramel syrup. Decorate with more syrup and/or two banana chips.

 Notes: For extra caramel action, spread a tbsp of the syrup over the bottom of your glass. You can also top the finished milkshake with another scoop of ice cream. Also, yellow food coloring makes it look more like it tastes.

 Bonus!

 Root Beer Float

  You'll Need: root beer, vanilla ice cream

  Instructions: Put two scoops of ice cream in a glass. Fill glass with root beer.

 Notes: I decided not to make it a main feature because it's so simple (and classic!).

Bonus!

 Pineapple Mashup

You'll Need: pineapple soda, cranberry juice, Sprite

Instructions: Combine an equal amount (try 1/3 cup) of each in a glass.

Notes: I just randomly had some pineapple soda, so that's what I used. Try mixing different fruity juices together! 

   
  
      What's your favorite summer drink recipe?

 xoxo,
    Zoe

The Top 3 Record Stores in Nashville

  Hello!

  Did you know there's a national thing called Record Store Day? There is (well, was, back in April)! Thanks to the (sort of really crappy) app, I found all the record stores participating in Nashvegas-- basically, the top/main shops were the only ones listed: The Groove, Grimey's, and The Great Escape. I was lucky enough to (have a mom that would be willing to) swing by each one, and they definitely differed in some respects.

 BEST :: The Great Escape

  This place is stellar. It's so roomy and has so much music! Unlike the other two, this place wasn't crawling with obnoxious/rude hipsters. Everyone was amicable and mellow, it seemed. My Record Store Day visit was actually my second; the first time around I got a Muse poster and a Maurice & The Zodiacs record (thanks for the obsession, Dirty Dancing)... This was actually the only store I was able to purchase anything at, as everywhere else was sold out of just about everything. As for the store on any other day, the selection is still incredible -- and they have posters! And plenty of CDs, of course, as well as comic books, DVDs, and all kinds of memorabilia. Basically, this is the place to be for records.

 MIDDLE :: The Groove

   When I first got here, I had a mini anxiety attack: I had never seen so many hipsters in my entire life. I was so intimidated that I wanted to leave, like, immediately. My outlandish reaction to such cool(??) people is a good start-off for a therapy session, so I'll end here. When we got there, there was a sort of little party in the back outside, with boxes and boxes of $1 records leading to it, so that's where we started. I won't count that in the rating, because that was just some RSD celebration. When we got inside... that place was cramped, man! Not as bad as the backyard of it was, but sheesh! The prices were good, and everyone was really friendly. I guess it's your typical young-person-run record joint. Oh, and I noticed a rad collection of cassettes, too, which I didn't see much of anywhere else.

  WORST :: Grimey's

   If I thought the last place was cramped, I was wrong -- this was the definition of smushed in. It's a good thing my claustrophobia isn't severe, because there was barely breathing room. I had to rub up on some very undesirable people. We asked about the RSD exclusives (that's why we came!) and the very friendly, if not totally swamped, cashier directed us to the back. We opened the back door to some blaring music, stepped on the deck... and I almost died. There were SO MANY PEOPLE! We made our way down, and the RSD exclusives were in the blue tent... The blue tent with a massive outside-the-store-grounds line leading to it. (?!?) No other place had a set-up like that. Then, the actual people around were so rude! Dirty looks and pushing and shoving and asdhajh! Rudest "chill" people ever. That, the way the limited records were presented, and the basic cramped-ness of the place give it it's low rating. Anyway, we ended up not standing in line after discovering there was no way to cut everyone. As it turned out, after more research, some pretty cool bands have played at Grimey's, like The Black Keys, Foster the People (!), and Mumford & Sons (!!!) way back in 2010.


  Those are the main three record stores in Nashville, but not the only ones.

   McKay's: This place is so freaking cool; it's, like, one of my favorite places ever. It's a mecca for books, movies, and music (my three favorite things!). I haven't been to their new location since moving, but I'd bet it's just as great as the old one.

 New Life Record Store: This place is literally across the street from The Great Escape. It's pretty cool, in my opinion, though I've never found any records for myself there. I guess I should mention/warn about the wide collection of porn and drug paraphernalia in the back...But still, it's a local little record store, if not one that's a total hole-in-the-wall.

 Ernest Tubb Record Shop: Pretty much hick city. It's on The Strip, which is what I call the only road tourists visit Nashville for in the first place. It's got some gift items, but mostly just country records.

 My all-time favorites are The Great Escape and McKay's (though it's usually just best for books and movies). If I left off a record shop, let me know!

 
 xoxo,
   Zoe