Skinnygirl Cocktail Party

My friend Brittany joined the Junior League of Chicago a couple years ago and ever since she joined I have been teetering on the edge of joining myself. She has met some really cool people and has really gotten a lot out of it. In May, at Brittany's birthday party, I met one of her JLC friends, Jamie. Jamie is so down-to-earth and welcoming she immediately invited me to her Skinnygirl Cocktail Party in July. 

Fast forward to July, the task at hand for all of the guests was to bring different bottles of Skinnygirl liquor. What is Skinnygirl, you might ask? If you have heard of The Real Housewives of New York City, you might have heard of Bethenny Frankel. She is a real housewife and founder of the Skinnygirl Cocktails company (which she has since sold, in 2011). It's a line of cocktails that includes everything from white wine and red wine, margarita and sangria, to flavored vodkas (but, alas, no beer), while remaining naturally sweetened and low on calories. Basically, drinking without the weight gain.

Nothing like a party with a table full of booze.

There were only 7 of us so we had an awful lot of drinking to do!

Brittany's sister, Stephanie, made Skinnygirl taco dip to accompany our libations.

Jamie got that platter from Dominick's, of all places. It had marinated artichokes, roasted red peppers, mini hye rollers, roasted red pepper hummus, cucumber dip, olives, and pita chips. She was the perfect host - totally laid back, letting everyone enjoy her home, and making everyone feel completely comfortable.

Jamie lives in Lake Point Tower and this is her view. At night, the lights from the Ferris wheel and the boats make the lake glow.

In the end this cocktail line just wasn't for me. I'm not a big fan of hard liquor - or should I say sugary drinks because I'll drink straight Patron any day, but I am ultimately a beer drinker. I much prefer an Allagash White or even a Tecate with a twist of lime and a salted rim over these kinds of drinks. The only one I could even finish was the White Cranberry Cosmo - everything else was cloying to the point that a lot of it resembled cough syrup.

That's Brittany. I adore her