welcome to a special new years edition of friyay happy hour.

this year has been a crazy whirlwind. cakes took off like crazy, we doubled our catering business and we had such an amazing time being a part of people’s most special days.

despite getting a bug that had me dragging to the finish line of twenty-eighteen, it was a VERY special year. after years of struggling, it felt great to finally start to see growth and development in our cooking. for so long it felt like i was faking it, and now i feel like cooking really is my job.

not to mention, today marks three years of wedded to bliss with my right hand man, wesley. it’s been a true joy being married to my best friend and business partner and i’m looking forward to what the next year brings us both.

now to the important part. there is something very special about ringing in the new year with bubbly. and a tweak or two can take your bubbles to the next level. a splash of any fresh fruit juice is delicious, but blood oranges are in season and the perfect splash.

blood orange + hibiscus bubbles

serves: 1 cocktail

prep time: 1 minute

active time: 1 minute

total time: 2 minutes

ingredients: 5 oz dry sparkling wine (or your favorite type of sparkling wine). 1 oz blood orange juice. .5 oz hibiscus syrup. blood orange wheel & golden sprinkles for garnish.

start by lightly rubbing the edge of your serving glass with the wheel of blood orange so it becomes slightly tacky.

dip the edge of your glass in the golden sprinkles.

pour the hibiscus syrup & blood orange juice into the bottom of your glass.

fill up the glass with bubbles.

garnish with the blood orange wheel.

serve & enjoy.

xo, a

blood orange + hibiscus bubbles

serves: 1 cocktail

prep time: 1 minute

active time: 1 minute

total time: 2 minutes

ingredients: 5 oz dry sparkling wine (or your favorite type of sparkling wine). 1 oz blood orange juice. .5 oz hibiscus syrup. blood orange wheel & golden sprinkles for garnish.

start by lightly rubbing the edge of your serving glass with the wheel of blood orange so it becomes slightly tacky. dip the edge of your glass in the golden sprinkles. pour the hibiscus syrup & blood orange juice into the bottom of your glass. fill up the glass with bubbles. garnish with the blood orange wheel. serve & enjoy.

oh what a difference a year makes. 

this time last year i was driving down to dana point for our wedding rehearsal the day before our wedding. i was an energetic mess. so nervous, excited and STRESSED. it just felt like everything was crazy and new. because it was. 

currently i'm laying on my bed, with my cat at my feet watching an episode of parenthood and chilling. 

but the crazy part is all the stuff that happened in between. this year has been the most exciting, scary, challenging and full year of my life. it was an emotional roller coaster. i literally started my whole life over. we got married, i started MANY new jobs, wes and i started our business, we went to RIO for the olympics?! just those three weeks were a ball of emotions all on their own. i became a yoga instructor, a spin instructor and started teaching swim lessons again. we even had a feature on 100 layer cake. 

so much happened and it was all awesome. some of it really hard. but all amazing. 

but now, i'm tired. and i'm spending the next few days relaxing, celebrating with my husband and drinking some delicious champagne cocktails out of some stunning champagne glasses we got from our friends over at cherished rentals. 

pomegranate & st. germain sparkler
serves: 2 cocktails
prep time: 1 minute
active time: 1 minute
ingredients: 8 oz sparkling wine (champagne, cava, prosecco, whatever you have on hand). 1 oz pomegranate juice. 15ish pomegranate seeds & 2 rosemary sprigs for garnish.

start by pouring half the pomegranate juice in each glass. 

then divide the st. germain between the two glasses. 

top the glass with your sparkling wine of choice. 

garnish with pomegranate seeds. 

top off each with a rosemary sprig and serve. 

happy 2017! 

xo, a

pomegranate & st. germain sparkler
serves: 2 cocktails
prep time: 1 minute
active time: 1 minute
ingredients: 8 oz sparkling wine (champagne, cava, prosecco, whatever you have on hand). 1 oz pomegranate juice. 15ish pomegranate seeds & 2 rosemary sprigs for garnish.
start by pouring half the pomegranate juice in each glass.
then divide the st. germain between the two glasses.
top the glass with your sparkling wine of choice.
garnish with pomegranate seeds.
top off each with a rosemary sprig and serve.