Latest news with #BloodyMarys
Business Insider
2 days ago
- Business Insider
I love Disney cruises, but my kids don't. I've started going with friends and we have a blast.
I've taken several Disney cruises with my family, but I just started cruising with friends instead. My friends have truly bonded through traveling together, and we've all become closer. We're already planning our next cruise in the group chat, and we're so excited. My kids are good sports. They've never been huge fans of cruising, but they still go with me sometimes. I, on the other hand, love cruises with all my heart and would choose a cruise over most other kinds of vacations. And while I've always thought of them as perfect for a family getaway, to let my kids off the hook, I decided to try something new and took a group of girlfriends with me on a Disney cruise last year. It was exactly what I needed, and now, we cruise together all the time. We've sailed on three cruises together in the last year, and have a fourth in the works. This group of friends and I have a lot in common. We all like Disney quite a bit, love a ship spa day, and have similar evening cruising styles — we like grabbing an early dinner and seeing a post-dinner show, followed by activities like late-night karaoke or trivia. What's more, even though these friends and I all live within a 30-minute drive from each other, schedules, jobs, and family commitments often keep us from seeing each other as much as we'd like, so cruising together gives us several days to catch up and connect without the interruptions of daily life. Traveling with friends has been a win-win Traveling with these friends instead of my teenagers has been a win-win for everyone in my family. While my husband and I have also done Disney cruises kid-free, he can't always take off work to go along with me. My kids, who are deep into the years of teenage social lives and part-time job schedules, get to skip a trip they wouldn't really enjoy, anyway. Plus, there's something incredibly fun about experiencing a cruise with your girlfriends. What's more, none of us drinks alcohol, so there are no wild nights at the bar or morning hangovers nursed over Bloody Marys. Instead, we prioritize wellness and fun while on board, fitting in everything from spa treatments during the day to dressing up in themed outfits each evening. Cruising has made our friend group stronger Whether we're meeting Daisy Duck on the Disney Magic's pirate-themed night or watching the Broadway-quality stage production of Moana aboard the Disney Treasure, traveling with my friends has taught me that sometimes, it's fun to be a kid with your adult pals. While cruising with these ladies, I've laughed so hard my stomach hurt, cried while sharing about tough times in my life, and made memories that will last forever. Everything about growing our friendships through travel has been magical, and I credit cruising together with deepening our bond. We've already scheduled our next voyage In fact, we've enjoyed traveling together so much that we have another trip on the calendar. In November, we'll hop on board Disney's brand-new ship, the Disney Destiny, and add it to our list of ships we've explored together. Anticipating a trip is almost as fun as the actual cruise, so our group chat has already started pinging with outfit ideas, thoughts on which excursions to book, and plans for how to decorate our stateroom door during the cruise. I highly recommend taking a cruise with friends Would my friends and I have just as much fun on other cruise lines together as we do aboard Disney ships? Probably. Still, our shared love of Disney magic and embracing our inner children makes a Disney cruise the perfect adults-only girls' trip for us. I'm well aware of the "Disney adult" jokes and some people's disdain for grown women wearing sparkly Minnie Mouse ears, but the criticism doesn't bother me. Life is too short not to experience things that bring you joy, and being those Disney people with my friends is something that makes me happy. Through our time together on Disney cruises, our friendships have gotten stronger. This means that when life gets hard for one of us, we're all ready to support each other, and when one of us is celebrating a win in their own lives, it feels like something great happened to each of us. Cruising with friends is about taking a fun trip together, yes, but it's also about building a closer relationship, something that's hard for busy, working moms to do. If you're considering taking time away from your family to travel with girlfriends, this is your sign to try it. Not only will you have fun and build stronger friendships, but there's a chance your kids (and husband!) will be relieved to stay home, too.
Irish Independent
22-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Independent
Mr Bigstuff season two review: Danny Dyer's talent is wasted in this slight, forgettable comedy
The Bafta winner's talents have long been underestimated, but his performance in season two of Mr Bigstuff can't make up for stiff script Can there be anything more quintessentially Danny Dyer than Danny Dyer sitting on a tattered armchair on the street in his boxers and dressing gown, sucking Bloody Marys through a tube at breakfast time and singing along through a microphone to Copacabana by Barry Manilow on a Walkman (remember those?) he has retrieved from a neighbour's wheelie bin? This is were we find Dyer's character, Lee Campbell, at the start of season two of Mr Bigstuff (Sky Max, Thursday, July 24) the broad, knockabout comedy created by Ryan Sampson. Sampson co-stars as Lee's brother Glen (yes, that's Glen Campbell!), a meek carpet salesman whose life was turned upside down by the arrival of his previously estranged older sibling in season one. There were more than a few raised eyebrows when Dyer won a Bafta earlier this year for his performance in Mr Bigstuff. It was a typical reaction from people who, whether blinded by ignorance or snobbishness, have been underrating Dyer as an actor almost from the beginning of his career. He has repeatedly proved over the years that he's capable of much more than the stereotypical hardman performances he gave in a string of mostly awful films directed by Britflick geezer-gangster specialist Nick Love. He was particularly outstanding in two early films: Human Traffic and novelist William Boyd's directorial debut The Trench (both 2009). Harold Pinter saw something very special in Dyer and cast and directed him in three of his plays in the West End: Celebration, No Man's Land and The Homecoming, which transferred to Broadway. The two men, an unlikely pair on the face of it (Dyer dubbed them 'the likely lad and the Nobel winner'), became close friends. Dyer considered Pinter his mentor and was hit so hard by his death that he says he 'went off the rails' for a time. He is currently developing a stage play about their relationship. Dyer brought warmth, pathos and vulnerability to his role as kind-hearted Queen Vic landlord Mick Carter in EastEnders. By common consent, he also gave the standout performance last year in the star-studded, gleefully bawdy Rivals, the Disney+ adaptation of Jilly Cooper's 1980s novel. You expect certain things from a Cooper romp – chiefly sex, sex and more sex, and you certainly get it here – but what you don't expect is depth, nuance and poignancy. ADVERTISEMENT Dyer brings all three to his role as self-made electronics entrepreneur Freddie Jones, who is trapped in a loveless marriage and somewhat out of place in this sexual playground of the decadent upper classes who were born into wealth and privilege. His tender, slowly developing relationship with lonely romantic novelist Lizzie Vereker, played by Katherine Parkinson, is in sharp contrast to the cartoonish antics going on around them. Dyer probably deserved a Bafta nomination at the very least for Rivals, which will hopefully have changed quite a few people's narrow opinion of him. The irony is that the role which actually won him a Bafta doesn't exactly push him out of his comfort zone. Dyer is great fun as Lee. He handles the slapstick side of things very well, his comic timing is excellent, and his natural charisma and swagger dominate the screen. But the laughs he generates are more down to him than to anything in the script, which is slight stiff. You are left with the feeling Dyer could do this sort of thing in his sleep. Given all the other things he has done, it's a shame to see him revert to type – even if it is a comic variation on the kind of character he's played too many times before. For what it's worth, Lee and Greg – having learned at the end of season one that their father is not dead after all, but simply ran out on them – set out to find him. This involves tangling with an old associate their dad fleeced before running off with his wife, and Lee having a tryst with a boozy, oversexed pensioner (Rula Lenska). Meanwhile, Greg's fiancee Kirsty (Harriet Webb), who is eager to get him into some bondage games, is facing blackmail from someone who photographed her and Lee kissing in her car. Without the presence of Dyer, Mr Bigstuff would be instantly forgettable. With him, it's worth an extra star.
Belfast Telegraph
19-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Belfast Telegraph
Recipes from the cocktail cabinet of literature's most notorious drinker: ‘If it gets too powerful, weaken with more tomato juice – if it lacks authority add more vodka'
Hemingway's hard stuff: recipes from the cocktail cabinet of literature's most notorious drinker Exactly one hundred years ago, on July 21, 1925, Ernest Hemingway celebrated his 26th birthday by starting work on his debut novel, The Sun Also Rises. Not only was it the opening starburst in a career full of literary firecrackers which culminated in a Nobel Prize, it also introduced the wider public to the author's hard-drinking habits that were second only to his prowess with words. Hemingway is said to have drunk 16 double Daiquiris in a single night in a Havana cocktail bar. He liked his Martinis made with 15 parts gin to one part vermouth, and notched up 51 of them on a bar tab at the Paris Ritz. Bloody Marys were a favourite, so too were Mojitos. He even invented a cocktail of his own.
Glasgow Times
15-07-2025
- Business
- Glasgow Times
New brunch menu bringing southern American food to Glasgow
Birds at Phillies of Shawlands is launching a new Southern-style brunch menu on Saturday, July 19. The menu, which will be available from 11am to 3pm every Saturday and Sunday, will boast large portions, robust flavours, and unlimited coffee refills. At the centre of the new menu are the freshly baked Southern biscuits, described as "buttery, layered, and just the right side of crisp." (Image: Supplied) Read more: Glasgow businesses named as finalists for prestigious food and drink awards These will be served with either a house-made country gravy or sweet and sticky hot honey. A vegetarian gravy option will also be available. Every brunch plate will be loaded with buttermilk fried chicken, a fried egg, and freshly baked biscuits. The menu will also feature pitchers of Bloody Marys and Mimosas, along with locally roasted filter coffee with free refills. Read more: Fancy a Michelin Meal Deal? Top chefs reinvent gourmet lunches for just £3 (Image: Supplied) Nick Watkins, co-founder of Birds, said: "We've wanted to do something like this for a while - proper Southern biscuits, cooked from scratch, served with fried chicken and traditional country gravy. "There's no breakfast menu like it in Glasgow, and it fits perfectly with the way we approach food at Birds: flavour first, no nonsense, just food that people want to come back for." The launch of the new brunch menu by Birds aims to bring a taste of American Southern soul to Glasgow's Southside, focusing on comforting, hearty meals made from scratch without shortcuts. Walk-ins are welcome for the menu's upcoming launch this weekend, however, bookings are recommended and expected to fill up quickly.
Axios
14-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Axios
"Love is Blind" star Chelsea Blackwell's ideal 48 hours in Charlotte
Your tour guide: Chelsea Blackwell, one of the stars of Season 6 of "Love is Blind," the most-streamed season in franchise history, which featured singles from right here in the Queen City. Here's Chelsea's ideal weekend itinerary for hosting out-of-town friends or family: Friday My absolute go-to for when people visit is Eddie's on Lake Norman. We'd order their muscoot mussels and watermelon martinis. Chef's kiss. I live in Rock Hill now, so I could also take everyone to Papa Doc's for a crusty but good time out with live music. After that, we'd head to Kounter's speakeasy, Elsie's, also in Rock Hill. Saturday We'd start the day at Lincoln Street Kitchen & Cocktails, the best brunch in Charlotte. Deviled eggs and wagyu. Need I say more? Their Bloody Marys are unmatched and they have their own house-infused liquor, which is so cool. Then, we'd do some rooftop bar hopping. We'd start at Whiskey Warehouse and The Royal Tot. I also love Nuvole and Novelty House in Uptown. For dinner, the best food is at Mama Ricotta's, hands down. Amma's cheese ravioli will unlock emotions you've never experienced. After dinner, we'd head to Dahlia's in Uptown for a Hollyhill Starburst. It's the best nightcap drink. Sunday We'd definitely do a Sunday send-off at the one and only Pump House. Bottomless mimosas are $16, they have fabulous steak and eggs, and their French toast is iconic. One activity that every Charlottean should check out at least once? Grabbing your crew, packing the cooler, and floating down the Catawba River is truly the most Charlotte summer activity ever.
