Modern Simple Living

Food & Drink — Cocktails Home Bar Experiment - Reclaiming the Cocktail Experience *Trading overpriced bar drinks for intentional, classic mixes at home.* $20-30 Bar Drink 4 Core Classics $3 Ingredients Table of Contents ① The Bar Tab Reality Check ② Building the Home Cocktail Toolkit ③ Summer Frozen: Daiquiris and Margaritas Section I The Bar Tab Reality Check For a while now, I’ve been increasingly dissatisfied with the cocktail experience at local bars. The quality often feels inconsistent, and the price point has climbed to a ridiculous level. With tip, a single drink can easily set me back ~$20-30 . That kind of spend for an often-mediocre drink doesn't align with my philosophy of intentional living. The cost-benefit just isn't there anymore. This realization prompted a shift. Instead of complaining, I'm making a conscious effort to bring the cocktail experience home. It’s about more than saving money; it’s about understanding what goes into a good drink, contro...

Travel · Road Trip · Oklahoma City Thanksgiving Road Trip: Camping, Bricktown, and a Smooth Cruise up I-35 From a Yellowstone cabin in the Texas woods to OKC's canal-side warehouse district — a holiday well spent ~200 mi DFW to OKC 26.3 mpg Highlander Avg. $140/nt Renaissance Hotel Table of Contents ① Adventure Creek Ranch ② Lido Restaurant, OKC ③ Renaissance Hotel ④ Bricktown River Walk ⑤ Bricktown Brewery ⑥ The Road Trip Section I · Forestburg, TX Adventure Creek Ranch I kicked off Thanksgiving break with a much-needed escape into the outdoors near Forestburg, Texas, at Adventure Creek Ranch. They have some incredibly creative cabins — everything from Star Wars themes to Hobbit-style hideaways. I spent two nights in their Y...

Whisky Review  ·  Blended Malt Scotch ✦   ✦ Johnnie Walker Green Label Blended Malt Scotch Whisky · 15 Years A Pleasant Surprise from a Familiar Name $68 Retail 15yr Age Statement 100% Single Malts After years of drinking Johnnie Walker Red and Black Label, I finally decided to give Green Label a try — and I'm really glad I did. Red Label was my introduction to Scotch: bold, affordable, and unmistakably harsh. Over time, Black Label became my go-to for something smoother, with just enough peat and smoke to keep it interesting. I drank both for years, depending on the mood and occasion.   I. First Pour Green Label feels like a natural step forward. At first sip, it carries a touch of that familiar Red warmth — but it quickly evolves into something richer, smoother, and more lay...

Drinks & Izakaya Culture  ·  Japan ◆   ◆ Japan's Canned Highballs A Surprisingly Delicious Upgrade 5 Highballs Tried No.1 Suntory Kaku Shinjuku Best Izakaya I've always enjoyed a classic Scotch & Soda, but Japan elevates this simple cocktail into something much more refined — and readily accessible. Whether picked up at a konbini or ordered at an izakaya, canned highballs are a staple of Japanese drinking culture. Crisp, refreshing, and often better than what you'd expect from a cocktail bar back home.  Table of Contents ① Canned Highballs ② Fresh Cocktail Highballs ③ Where to Enjoy Them   Section I Canned Highballs I Tried During my trip I made it a mission to try a variety of canned highballs. Here are my top picks. ...

Personal Reevaluating My Relationship with Alcohol Quality Over Quantity — A More Intentional Approach 3 wks Break Taken 2–4 Drinks Per Month (Goal) Day 3 Cravings Subsided The Realization Habit, Not Choice While my overall alcohol consumption was low, having a drink almost daily began to take a toll on my body. I noticed that alcohol no longer provided the same satisfaction it once did. Even if it was just one beer or a glass of wine each day, it started to feel like a habit rather than a choice made for enjoyment.   The Reset Taking a Break: Three Weeks of Abstinence To address this, I decided to abstain from alcohol for three weeks. Initially, I committed to just one week, but I quickly realized that I wanted to see how it felt over a longer period. So far, I've noticed a significant change — I no longer feel the same need for alcohol. The first...