we made it friends. no matter what happens from here, we survived 2020.

like many, this year truly rocked our world. right down to its last hours, this year was a real bitch. let me see if i can sum up our household’s experience in a nutshell.

in the midst of a global pandemic and social justice crisis, my husband lost his job. while terrifying, we went all in on our own business and added meal deliveries to our full plates. our community was so gracious and supportive and somehow we managed to thrive. in september, we packed up our tiny apartment after seven years and moved across town to make more space for our growing little sous chef. and while we really have faired well as a family during this INSANE time, this year has not been with out health troubles, covid cases and full blown MELTDOWNS.

the theme of my last yoga class of the year was “worry is a wasted emotion.” and while i’m having trouble practicing what i preach, it is true. in twenty-twenty-one, i am going to do my best to detach from the outcome and enjoy this crazy ride. i am making cocktails and teaching yoga for goodness sake.

alright. enough jibber jabber. let’s talk about this cocktail. now, it can easily be made with whatever your favorite tea is. the one i used is from hello goldie and has a little cbd in it for extra mellow vibes. their smitten tea is creamy and floral. rose or chamomile teas would be a great substitute. i made this marteani (see what i did there) for a new years cocktail so i used a sugar sprinkle on the rim of the glass. if you aren’t feeling those extra work/ingredient vibes, you could sub regular sugar or leave the sugar rim off all together.

blood orange & hello goldie marTEAni

serves: 1 cocktail

prep time: 5 minutes

active time: 1 minute

total time: 6 minutes

ingredients: 2 oz vodka. 3 oz cooled floral tea (like rose, chamomile, hibiscus). .5 oz blood orange simple syrup (plain simple syrup would work as well). .5 oz blood orange juice. .5 oz lemon juice + lemon wedge. 2 tbs sugar sprinkles or sugar. 1 cup ice. shaker. martini glass.

start by dressing up your martini glass. use the lemon wedge to brush the edges of your martini glass.

lay your sprinkles or sugar out on a plate and dip the lemoned edges of the glass into the sprinkles till they stick and you have coated the whole rim. place your martini glass in the freezer to chill.

in your shaker, combine the vodka, tea, juice and simple syrup with the ice. shake well for 30 seconds till completely combined and chilled.

strain the contents of your shaker into your chilled martini glass.

serve immediately and enjoy.

xo, a

blood orange & hello goldie marTEAni

serves: 1 cocktail

prep time: 5 minutes

active time: 1 minute

total time: 6 minutes

ingredients: 2 oz vodka. 3 oz cooled floral tea (like rose, chamomile, hibiscus). .5 oz blood orange simple syrup (plain simple syrup would work as well). .5 oz blood orange juice. .5 oz lemon juice + lemon wedge. 2 tbs sugar sprinkles or sugar. 1 cup ice. shaker. martini glass.

start by dressing up your martini glass. use the lemon wedge to brush the edges of your martini glass. lay your sprinkles or sugar out on a plate and dip the lemoned edges of the glass into the sprinkles till they stick and you have coated the whole rim. place your martini glass in the freezer to chill. in your shaker, combine the vodka, tea, juice and simple syrup with the ice. shake well for 30 seconds till completely combined and chilled. strain the contents of your shaker into your chilled martini glass and serve immediately.

why hello there friend. i hope you are having a beautiful summer full of cook outs, pool parties and lots of gorgeous summer cocktails. 

between business and pleasure, wes and i have been all over the place the past few months. between my baking and our catering, we had quite a few weddings and birthdays to cook for. we even hired a little bit of help now that we are growing and hopefully she is going to whip ME into shape and help me stay on track now that we have WAY too much going on. 

then wes and i headed to idaho (on a road trip) for a dear college friend's wedding and had an amazing week off reconnecting with friends, nature and each other. 

when we got home, we went right back to a crazy august full of more wedding cakes, more anniversary shindigs and some boobs (click HERE if you haven't yet seen what i'm up to in cakes lately). 

which leads me to this moment. somehow twenty-eighteen has gone by in a flash and august is pretty much over. 

which means summer is pretty much over. boo. 

kids are already heading back to school. which blows my mind by the way. it should be a national law that school does not start before labor day. that is just insanity. children of today, i feel bad for you. it's terrible how they take those best days of august from you!

alright, alright. back to what you really came for. not the jibber jabber about what is going on behind the scenes over here. i know you just came for the friyay cocktail.

there is an abundance of peppers growing in our garden right now, so i'm packing them into all kind of recipes. if you like a spicy touch to your cocktails, you will LOVE this spicy, but cooling cocktail. 

spicy screwdriver

serves: 1 cocktail

prep time: 2 minutes

active time: 1 minute

total time: 3 minutes

ingredients: 2 oz vodka. 3 oz fresh squeezed orange juice. 10 small (or 5 large) mint leaves, smashed with your hands plus an extra sprig for garnish. .5 tsp turbinado sugar. 1 serrano peppper, sliced thin. 2 cups ice. muddler. mixing glass. strainer. spoon. 

start by combining all but 3 of the serrano peppers, the smashed mint leaves and the sugar in a mixing glass.

pour in the vodka and muddle the peppers, mint & sugar for about 30 seconds so all the oils release.

pour in half the ice, followed by the orange juice.

stir well to combine.

fill your serving glass with the remaining ice and strain the drink into your serving glass.

garnish with your mint sprig and the remaining serrano slices.

serve and enjoy. 

xo, a

spicy screwdriver

serves: 1 cocktail

prep time: 2 minutes

active time: 1 minute

total time: 3 minutes

ingredients: 2 oz vodka. 3 oz fresh squeezed orange juice. 10 small (or 5 large) mint leaves, smashed with your hands plus an extra sprig for garnish. .5 tsp turbinado sugar. 1 serrano peppper, sliced thin. 2 cups ice. muddler. mixing glass. strainer. spoon. 

start by combining all but 3 of the serrano peppers, the smashed mint leaves and the sugar in a mixing glass. pour in the vodka and muddle the peppers, mint & sugar for about 30 seconds so all the oils release. pour in half the ice, followed by the orange juice. stir well to combine. fill your serving glass with the remaining ice and strain the drink into your serving glass. garnish with your mint sprig and the remaining serrano slices. serve and enjoy.