What's your Jones?

I got my first glimpse into the exciting world of advertising when I was just a young & naive high school student in miss Jones' grade 12 transactional English class. In groups, we created a campaign for Jones soda and produced ads for print and TV that we pitched to miss Jones, who then picked a winner.

Our campaign's "big idea" was What's Your Jones? I came up with the slogan and acted as creative director for the group. I loved every minute of creating and pitching the campaign and I remember thinking, "is this even schoolwork? Because I am having way too much fun!"

The What's Your Jones campaign won the pitch and the prize of 20 bonus marks. It even beat out the class keeners who made Jones Soda t-shirts for their pitch.

I knew that I had discovered what I wanted to do with my life... Ten years later, here I am, finally doing it. Still loving it.

I spent this past weekend at school working on my campaign for World's Finest Chocolate. I stopped at 7eleven on the way to pick up some study provisions, and the Jones Soda in the fridge caught my eye. I figured I'd take a walk down memory lane to my first campaign for some nostalgic inspiration and bought the fancy soda.

One of Jones Soda's unique selling feature that we mentioned in the What's Your Jones campaign is the fortune that you find under the bottle cap. The fortune under my bottle cap read:

"Your hard work will soon show results."

Being in the midst of the working harder than I ever had and being closer to my goal than I have been, I find it quite fitting. :)

What's Your Jones?

•2oz orange-flavoured vodka

•1 bottle Jones Cream Soda

•1 scoop vanilla ice cream

-Pour vodka and cream soda into a tall glass with just a few ice cubes. Add ice cream on top. Stir. Celebrate finding your Jones!

Man, those lights sure are bright...

Chelsea handler is my idol: she's a brilliant writer; she's beautiful; and she says anything she damn well wants to! Read one of Handler's four New York Times Best selling books get some insight to this hilarious woman with a quick wit and a dirty mouth.

The only woman in a man's world with her own a late night TV show, Chelsea Lately, she also has my dream job.

When I started my Comedy Writing class in September, I knew going in that she was the type of comedian I wanted to be. Last night at Rumours Comedy Club, I had that opportunity. On stage, in front of 200 of my classmates and their closest family and friends, I preformed a 2 and a half minute routine in which I made anyone sitting next to a parent or teacher feel slightly uncomfortable.

Between the "Official Jets' STI," Beiber being a baby daddy (allegedly, of course) and men's facial expression at the point of orgasm, I got loads of laughs!

Comments from my classmates: "Haha, soooo funny! &"Whoa. you've got balls, girl!"

Yep. I think I'd make my idol proud!

Enjoy this clip from Chelsea in the beginning of her stand up career.

Another thing I love about Chelsea is how open she is about her love affair with vodka, she even called her second book Are You There Vodka? It's Me Chelsea.

So of course this weeks' cocktail will be made with miss Handler in mind.

Lately on the Rocks
-3oz Belvedere Vodka (the primary sponsor of Chelsea's latest book tour)
-3 lemon wedges

In a glass full of ice, pour vodka and squeeze in the juice from lemon wedges. Let chill for a minute before enjoying! Here's to good times and bad decisions! ;)

First Date Fun!

I've always thought the best first date to be mini-golfing: it's a great time and a great way to get to know someone. That is of course until a guy took me skeet-shooting for our first date...

Yep, skeet shooting. I'm not even kidding, even though at first, I thought he was.

He definitely got some points for originality and I was looking for any excuse to put off doing my homework, so I accepted his offer to take me to the firing range. After a quick stop to pick up coffee, donuts and ammunition, we were off to the country to enjoy a chilly autumn Sunday.

After a few misfires and some a few pointers from the firing range staff, who encouraged me to join the women's summer rifle club, I actually hit a target (are they called 'skeets'? I don't know!)

Turns out I'm pretty much the next Annie Oakley :).

Watch out, mini golf. I may just have a new favourite!

Jerry's Ammo

•2oz Sailor Jerry's Spiced Rhum

•2 oz Coke

•2 0z Gingerale

•Lime wedge

-Mix all ingredients into a glass filled with ice.

-Boom!

Getting older, not wiser.

How is it that the reminder of getting older somehow makes me act more childish? I party like I'm 21, eat like I'm 13, and have grandiose notions about the whole event like a 16 year old teenager brainwashed by romantic comedies.

Surely this behavior is followed by: debilitating hangovers, tummy aches and disappointment. Will I ever learn my lesson?

Here's a delicious creamy martini that tastes just like birthday cake! Yummmmm!!

Piece of Cake

•1.5 oz Vanilla Vodka (Stoli if you can)

•.5 oz Amaretto

•1 oz 2% milk (half & half cream if you're feeling skinny)

•Lemon zest

-Shake all ingredients together in a shaker full of ice, strain into a chilled martini glass. Garnish with a birthday candle and some great friends!!

Here's to getting older but never growing up!

Case of the Mondays...

It may be the gloomy, chilly wheather, the full moon, or the heaps of homework stealing any remaining back to school novelty, but I have got a serious case of the Mondays....

How quickly the excitement of back to school can turn into reality: late nights at school; neverending 'to-do' lists; no sleep, money, time or social life.

Oh well, at least I get to wear my favorite scarves and boots again. Hardly seems like any consolation.
Temperatures are dropping, so heat things up with a spicy Caesar! Anything that doubles as a cocktail and a meal works for all us starving students out there

This fantastic Canadian cocktail can be made with various spices and garnishes, but my this recipe is the best I've tried thanks to the secret ingredient:

•Use Montreal steak spice instead of celery salt to rim the glass!

G's Ceasar

1 tbsp olive juice

1 tbsp pickle juice

2 oz vodka

2 squirts worcheshire

2 squirts tobasco

Clamato juice

-Mix all ingredients in a Montreal steak spice rimmed glass full of ice. Stir. Garnish with a mini pickle and mini olive.

Am I Funny??

I have always believed that I am a funny individual. This week I had my first Comedy Writing class, a second year elective in the Creative Communications program, and was shown the harsh reality that being funny ain't easy, and maybe I am not nearly as hilarious as I think I am. We were assigned a joke journal, in the form of a daily tweet, and all of a sudden, I became very afraid. Tweet something funny once a day? The concept seemed impossible! Until I went to work at my serving job that night. The place is a goldmine for questionable social behavior and idiotic questions ('do you make your mojitos with mint here?")

If you are on twitter, be sure to follow me @RachelleLTaylor and get out the #jokejournal hashtag to see my progress... Unless I've served you, then it's probably best not to.

And just to clarify, mojitos are always made with mint!

Classic Mojito
•4 lime wedges
•5-7 mint leaves
•Simple syrup (substitute white sugar if you don't have)
•Amber rum (Flor de Cana or Ron Zacapa are my favourites)
•Soda water

Muddle the mint, sugar and lime wedges until the mint is nice and smooshed, add ice, rum and top with soda. Stir and enjoy...

Sky High Cocktails

Friends, cocktails and stunning views of a majestic city came together to create a truly incredible experience in Toronto. The holiday was much needed after what has turned out to be a cruel, cruel summer spent working way too much.

It was my final "hoorah" before it's back to class and I made sure to enjoy every last minute of my summer vacation with some delicious cocktails of course: Italian wine and lost memories savoured with an ex-lover over pizza and pasta in Little Italy; berry margaritas and mojitos at a sunny happy hour in the Financial District with my bestie; kiwi caipirinhas and spiked lemonades sipped poolside on the rooftop of the city's trendiest hotel. And, of course, a slew of cocktails were consumed whilst enjoying the city's nightlife at patios and bars all around town (thanks to the Zip-Zang-Zing! Theory)

The highlight of the trip was the pairing of Procecco, room service, and chick flicks in a king sized bed with my two favourite ladies; it was a grown up slumber party full of teenage-girl giggles!

The weekend of over-indulgence ended with a gastronomic sky-high treat: a three course lunch in the restaurant at the top of the CN tower! Breathtaking views, incredible company and mojitos (made with real sugar cane and with vodka substituted for rum) made it a perfect send-off after an incredible vacation.

Back to school, routine and reality today... Cheers to that!

Kiwi Caipirinha

- 2 oz cachaca*

- 4 lime wedges

-Super-fine sugar

- 1/4 of a ripe kiwi, diced

-Soda water

•In a shaker, muddle the limes, kiwi and sugar, add cachaca and ice. Shake it up real good! Empty the shakers' contents into a rocks glass, top with fresh ice and soda. Garnish with kiwi slice.

*Cachaca is a Brazilian liquor that has a similar flavour to tequila and is available at most liquor stores