We’re back with Day 3 of Valentines Day Gifts that rock! You’ve made it half way through the week folks; you deserve a reward! I don’t know about you, but I love, love, love something that looks fancy, tastes fancy, but is really easy to put together. My modern version of the French 75 is just that, fancy enough for a date night, or a treat to get you through the week.

What makes this different than a normal French 75? I use limoncello from Letterpress Distilling, instead of lemon simple syrup. It adds a little more kick, but a nice lemon taste, without the extra sweetness. I really love the folks at Letterpress Distilling, a local Seattle distillery; they focus on simple, quality ingredients, avoid additives like fake color. I had a chance to visit with them and sample their vodka and their limoncello. Both have a clean, crisp flavor, and the price point is low enough ($34) that you can pick up a bottle (or three) without feeling guilty. To make it better, Skip and his staff are genuinely kind and love what they do. I can’t say enough great things about these guys.

Ready to treat yourself and your loved one to a special treat? Let’s do this!

Wet the rim of two champagne flutes, and dip in sugar (optional, but oh, so pretty)

Per glass, use the below ratios, but feel free to tweak as you want.

1/2 shot limoncello
1/2 shot gin (I recommend Hendrix)
Pour carefully into your flutes, and top off with champagne.

That’s it! Simple, pretty, and delicious.

Standard disclaimers: use sense when drinking and avoid driving, lifting heavy things, texting those you shouldn’t…you know, the basics.

We’re one day closer to the weekend, folks!
Raina

Well, hello dear reader! Welcome to 2016!

We’re already part way through February and it’s been a busy 2016 already. I’m excited for the year ahead and all that comes with a new year! How about you? Before I get to all of the new year activities, let’s look at all that 2015 brought!

My biggest goal for 2015 was to eat more, and explore the world through food. I accomplished that goal (weight be damned). We traveled as well, to Kansas and we also hit the road to camp, and to explore. Kiddo aced her feeding issues, and we prepped for her last surgery. 2015 fed my soul and challenged my mind with new garden beds, becoming a certified Master Composter and Soil Builder (what, what!), and taking courses on herbalism, and teaching gardening and composting to children. It brought another year as President with South Park Arts, and all the fun events that came with that organization. I celebrated another year at my company, went through the transition of being bought out by a new company, and was even able to take back a program I used to manage. It was a year of growth professionally and personally and I am happy with all I accomplished.

2015 wasn’t all about me; oh no!  It was a big year for Izzy too! When the year started, we had specialists coming to the house weekly and then monthly to help us wean her off of the g-tube and to teach her how to eat on her own. 2015 also included numerous trips to Seattle Children’s, to make sure she stayed in great health and that she stayed well above her developmental targets (and boy, did she). We accomplished our huge goal of getting her to eat on her own thanks to the hard work of so many specialists and the support of her daddy and our family. She moved out of my bed, and into her own room and we mastered potty training. When I look back on all that she accomplished, I am blown away by how strong and resilient she is, and how willing she is to learn and change. This child is truly amazing, and I am so, so lucky to have her. I am happy to say that she rocked her g-tube removal and the surgery this past month went very well! It’s been so lovely to have that chapter of our lives closed.

On to the new year!  I love a new year; the excitement, the potential, the new goals! 2016 is about taking care of things; that old to do list, the myriad of home improvement projects, myself. I have a list of things a mile long, but I am slowly ticking them off, one by one. The year started out with braces (which are SO much more expensive for adults!), and bids on a new roof and chimney repair (for $32K-ouch). We’ll be rebuilding the chicken coop, and building up the garden beds. I want 2016 to be the year that the old projects are handled, to make room for the new (new studio in the back yard would be lovely for 2017!). I continue to map out road and camping trips and am exciting to bring Izzy to Yellowstone and on her first backpacking trip as well.

I won’t lie, 2015 felt like the year of just keeping up. I did great at work, but at home…it felt like there just wasn’t enough time to get to the crafts and the adventures that I wanted to. While I accomplished some pretty amazing things, I definitely took on too much and didn’t take the time to plan it all out. I’ll be glad to see that change as I minimize what all I take on, continue to map out goals, and actually taking the time to write-up the steps involved, so it’s attainable. To help support that, I’ll be hiring out quite a few projects, instead of attempting to do it myself.

So there you are-2016 is the year of getting things done, but not all the things this time, and with help. I feel good about that 🙂

Speaking of getting things done, I never posted my winter/Christmas pictures with you all, so please keep scrolling and see how much fun we had! Bam-two things accomplished with one post!! As always, thank you for sticking with me another year, keeping up with all things crafty, food-related and Izzy-ful. I am so grateful for each of you. What will 2016 bring you?

Yours in happiness,

Raina