Susan’s Secret: Caviar and vintage Champagne are a perfect pairing. Click here to learn about pairing caviar and Champagne. What is your favorite pairing?

Susan’s Secret: I have a lot of caviar dreams. One of mine is to wake up one morning and catch the next flight out to a must-visit city. I will have caviar and wine on the flight. Click here to learn about pairing caviar and wine. What are your caviar dreams?

Image Credit: Black Caviar In Spoon courtesy of BrandonSigma at www.FreeDigitalPhotos.net.

Poinsettia Punch

Created by Frank Cisneros, Gin Palace in NYC

2 oz. NOLET’S Silver Dry Gin

.75 oz. Fresh Lemon Juice

.25 oz. Cinnamon Syrup

.5 oz. Grenadine

1 tsp. St. Elizabeth Allspice Dram

2 dashes Angostura Bitters

Combine all ingredients in a shaker. Shake over fresh ice. Strain into double rocks glass filled with fresh ice. Garnish with a Cloved lemon wheel.

Susan’s Secret: Some bartenders believe that gin bruises easily, which means that if it is shaken, it will change the taste/flavor of it. As a bartender, I suggest stirring, instead of shaking gin. What is your favorite gin drink for the holiday season?

Image Credit: Christmas Decorations courtesy of Feelart at www.FreeDigitalPhotos.net.

A nice dinner out. It’s sometimes difficult to stomach a pricey dinner out when you know you could be cooking for yourself at home or spending the money on something more tangible like a new coat or new pair of shoes. However, a dinner out with someone special at a restaurant that really goes above and beyond to make the night feel like an experience can be a great gift to ask for. An added benefit is that if you save it to use a few months down the road, you’ll get to spend a few months looking forward to it, something that’s often pointed to as an important element in causing experiences to bring us more happiness than things.

A cooking class.  Cooking classes can be a ton of fun whether you enjoy cooking or not! They’re a great way to meet people and have some drinks while you prepare a decadent meal. You get to pick the kind of dinner you’d like to attend and bring home a recipe at the end of the night too, which means you can recreate the meal at home down the road.

Luggage. Luggage is one of those things that you’ll always need, and it’s worth investing in quality pieces so that you don’t end up having to constantly replace it or even worse, stuck in an airport with a bag that won’t roll or a broken handle. Whether it’s a nice garment bag, duffel or carry-on suitcase, do some research and put a nice piece on your next trip!

Anne Perkins is a freelance writer focused on how to live large on a little living. She writes financial savings tips for QuickQuid, an online payday loan website, and enjoys taking any idea and making it easier or cheaper to complete.

Image Credit: Smiling Female Chefs courtesy of StockImages at FreeDigitalPhotos.net.

Susan’s Secret: The Ebony Macassar with Aluminum watch box is the perfect gift for the watch connoisseur. It is definitely worth its $1,920+ price tag.

Susan’s Secret:  My favorite gift collection is The Gourmand, which is perfect for gastronomy aficionados.

There are several types of afternoon/low tea ranging from cream tea (a meal of scones, cream and tea) to full tea (add savories, which are  salty and spicy foods such as finger sandwiches, and petits fours/small desserts) to Champagne tea (add Champagne).

Susan’s Secret: When having tea time, etiquette means everything. Click here to watch a video concerning tea manners such as approaching the tower and using fingers versus utensils.

Image Credit: Cornish Cream Tea courtesy of Clare Bloomfield at FreeDigitalPhotos.net. 

Each razor, which comes with a lifetime limited lifetime warranty, has many special features such as:
- O1 tool steel hardened to HRC 60 giving a long-lasting edge
- 100% hand made by Alex Jacques
- “Smiling” blade shape with a 7/8″ wide blade
- Hand-filed spine work
- Stamped maker’s mark
- G10 (a high strength fiberglass/epoxy laminate) scales
- New “bracing system” that is fully functional with a more modern look and made of brass and stainless steel
- Adjustable stainless steel pivot pins (front and back)
- Phosphor-Bronze pivot bearing washers
- Nickel-silver wedge/spacer pin with stainless steel washers
- Shave-ready

Alex Jacques even offers a signature line of leather strops for your razor. The razors ($800+) and strops ($75+) are available at www.vintagestraightrazor.com.

Susan’s Secret: Using a straight razor is serious business. Click here to learn how to properly use this type of razor without injuring yourself.

Image Credit: Copyright © 2012 VintageStraightRazor.com. Alex Jacques Razor Straight Razor Blue.

Spice Cask

Created by Scott Fitzgerald of Mulberry Project, NYC

2 oz. Brugal 1888

.75 oz. Ramazotti Amaro

.25 oz. Cinnamon Syrup

2 dash Orange Bitters

1 dash Angostura Bitters

Stir all ingredients in an iced cocktail tin. Fine strain over a large piece of ice and garnish with a large orange peel and a maraschino cherry.

Susan’s Secret: No Halloween is complete withour horror movies. Try these 3 new releases: Re-Animator (Image Entertainment, Blu-ray, Rated R, 95 minutes, $17.97) is a 1985 cult classic; The Tall Man (Image Entertainment, Blu-ray, Rated R, 106 minutes, $29.97) stars Mrs. Justin Timberlake; and The Barrens (Anchor Bay Films, Blu-ray/DVD Combo, Rated R, 97 minutes, $29.99) is about a camping trip gone terribly wrong.

C for Men is graced with saffron, the world’s most expensive spice, and snow lotus, an extremely rare aphrodisiac. C for Women is the perfect mix of rose, jasmine, modest violet, and pleasurable tuberose.

There is nothing worse for a perfume than to have a loud scent and to stay on the skin briefly. C, like all of Clive Christian perfumes, is perfume concentration, which means it is subtle and has longevity on the skin. It can be purchased at Bergdorf Goodman, the savionaire’s store of choice.

Susan’s Secret: You should have a day scent for the business office and an evening scent for a night out on the town. C is my perfume of choice for the latter.