Just like all of you who are hosting holidays parties or just want to drink festively, I’ve been on the hunt for fantastic holiday cocktails recently. See the R+D Reindeer. The R+D Reindeer sold out in a few hours. We sold … Continue reading
I promise this does not need a spoiler alert. I am not giving away what Brad and I are sending people for Christmas. Although you may already know part of it. Because I am awful at surprises.
This is no secret. I am really, really terrible at surprises. I like giving people gifts ALL days of the year and for no real reason. When I get something fabulous for someone, I don’t want to wait for a specific day to give it to them. I just want them to have it and be as excited as I am about it.
This makes life around Christmas-time (and birthdays and anniversaries and weddings and any other gift-giving occasion…) super difficult. Especially when you are writing a blog where you like to share your recipes and crafts and fun homemade things.
Brad is bad at surprises, too. This is great for both of us because no one is really disappointed when Christmas Day comes and there is no big gift we just can’t wait to open under the tree. And no one is super disappointed on their birthday when they know exactly what they’re getting.
We even got engaged a week or so before “planned” because Brad simply couldn’t wait until Christmas like he’d originally planned. We had just come back from Ashley & Mike’s rehearsal dinner, we were talking about life and love, we were at my family’s house… And Brad just couldn’t wait for Christmas morning. It was the perfect moment. He proposed at 3AM on December 18, 2009.
It was absolutely perfect. And I was incredibly surprised. So I guess it worked either way.
So my terrible knack for revealing gifts too early is why I think I have found it so difficult to write a blog post this week. I have a lot of things in the works, but they are mostly Christmas presents that I will be mailing all over the USA to people on our list. And although I have hinted that the gifts this year are homemade (we are broke…) and delicious (we are really good cooks), I haven’t given away the ENTIRE surprise.
But here I go – in pictures.
I have to send them out tomorrow so I can have them out of my camera’s reach…
Ok, so it wasn’t Mixology Monday, but last night we were feeling festive. Suzi and I brought in our cranberry citrus infused vodka and whipped up our version of a Moscow Mule.
Super easy, super delicious. I even sold a few to dudes that drank them really quickly so they weren’t seen with such a girly holiday martini – and then asked for another, but on the rocks this time. This drink may look sweet and fruity, but it is refreshing and crisp. A perfect holiday cocktail!
Want One?
2 oz Cranberry Infused Vodka (we did the OJ for water substitute)
**If you don’t have the time or the patience, I’m sure you can use regular vodka with a SMALL splash of cranberry juice**
4 mint leaves
2 lime wedges
1.5 oz Gingerbeer
Sugar-rimmed martini glass
Combine the vodka, mint leaves, and squeezed lime wedges over ice and shake until cold.
Strain into martini glass and top with Ginger Beer. A few mint specks are fine, they are green and festive!
We garnished our Reindeer with a few frozen cranberries, but you could add a mint leaf if you want for that perfect holiday color combo.
It looks like Santa’s hat and it tastes delicious!
Oh, and this is all I have left this morning…
I’d call it a success.
Sarah always reminds me that when we first met, I was a certified (well, in my mind) pop star. I am still in her phone as Kelly Bylsmarockstar – even though I am technically Kelly Mathewsrockstar now.
We always end up drunkenly watching the video of me in bright red, plastic pants singing “Come On Over” by Christina Aguilera at my high school talent show, Showcase. I had back up singers. I had back up dancers. I had choreography. I had boy dancers. I even had Alex Wolniak.
Most importantly, I had red plastic pants. And absolutely no shame.
Why am I not a star right now??
Back when I met Sarah in 2007, I was living in Orlando. I had just graduated with a Vocal Performance degree from Rollins College. I had a record deal. I was always in the studio. I was working with Otis Redding’s son to co-write and produce my very own debut album… It was super exciting. I told everyone and anyone who would listen about my life and my career and exactly how famous I’d be in just a few years doing exactly what I wanted to do.
This was me. Still, no shame. I’m wearing a shirt as a dress.
Seriously, I’ve been listening to “Kelly Bylsmarockstar” songs all day. Here’s a club banger. And there are many more where this came from.
Meow.
But somewhere along the way the record deal dissolved, the label disappeared, and I was left with a whole lot of fun recordings that will always remind me that I would have been a killer pop princess if only I’d been working with the right people.
Since then, I’ve taken songwriting courses, I’ve learned a few chords on the guitar, I moved to Los Angeles, I’ve sung with a cover band that wasn’t quite my style, I’ve written and I’ve written, I’ve gotten into new music, and I still haven’t found a great way to get singing again in this giant city.
It’s literally driving me insane.
Lately I’ve been reevaluating my path in life and what I want to be doing. A small identity crisis maybe? I think most people go through this a lot earlier in their 20s, but I just always knew exactly what I was and had a word for it. I was a rock star. I was going to be a rock star. No doubt about it.
Now I feel like I have a million little projects going on. I am working on starting a social media company and working FOR a social media company, I’m infusing liquors and making bitters, I’m working full time as a bartender, I am learning all I can to open a restaurant one day with Brad, I am learning about wine and studying to become a sommelier, I am making sure all of the bills get paid, I am writing this curious little blog that I adore and people are actually reading it (thank you!!)…
But I freaking miss music.
Seeing the amount of creativity and love that Brad has for and puts into his cooking and his path on the way to becoming a chef and a restaurant owner kills me. Seeing all of my friends pursuing acting careers and going on auditions and going to classes kills me.
This is why I came out to LA. What the heck am I doing just putting singing on the back burner?
So today, I made it my goal to find myself a voice teacher. And I am not in my “pop princess” place anymore, but I still have a killer set of pipes and, obviously, a lot to say.
I’ve put in a few calls. One I’m especially excited about. But for now, I’m going into work as Kelly Mathews Rockstar tonight.
Too bad I don’t have those red plastic pants anymore. R+D has never seen anything like those before…
It actually happened that this past weekend started off just about perfect. Brad and I met Suzi for breakfast at Huckleberry, where we ate about a million incredible pastries and hung out with Moo, our friend Kristin’s dog who Suzi watches on Fridays. Moo and Gibson met, and although they definitely weren’t instant friends, Gibson was interested enough to go on a pretty decent walk.
Gibson hates walks. Win #1 of the weekend.
So afterwards, Gibson was tired and Brad and I decided it was time to get our Christmas tree. We walked to two tree lots where we discovered Santa Monica trees are ridiculously expensive, and then drive to two more lots before just giving in and buying one from a lot that Brad says was run by “a bunch of ex-cons.” They were really, really friendly and nice ex-cons, though, and profits from our tree went towards their continued education. So it was worth the $90.
Ugh. $90. Serious. This was the most reasonable price we could find. Other than Home Depot but we were NOT getting our Christmas Tree from Home Depot. Ex-Cons are way more holiday appropriate.
Anyway, got home. Decorated the tree. Christmas has begun!! And we even got to hang our “First Christmas” ornament from Pat & Ed. Our first married Christmas! Win #2 of the weekend!!
Nap time, then off to downtown for the soft opening of “Artisan House”, which is a restaurant that Brad’s friend is the executive chef at and was trying for months to get Brad to be his sous chef. Incredible dinner. Awesome place. Most definitely win #3.
See? Pretty much perfect.
Fast forward to the AM. Like, 2AM. Brad’s pancreatitis starts acting up. Fast forward again to 11AM. He is still doubled over in pain. I am completely freaked out, Brad is really hurting. We have slept about 2 hours all night. We head to the ER.
By about 4PM on Saturday we are home and Brad is on some nice drugs. I am trying to figure out how we can get our new insurance (that goes into effect Wednesday… arrrgh) to cover what is sure to be a crazy hospital bill and Brad is sleeping.
At one point the apartment was totally quiet and I went in to check on him…
Win #4. Brad is home, resting and Gibson is sleeping at his feet, keeping him company. That is true puppy love. My heart melted a little.
And then after all that, the next morning I forced Gibson to get out of the house with me and get a little exercise. We walked all around the neighborhood. Her tail didn’t wag once and it wasn’t the most normal dog-walking experience in the world, but for Gibson it was amazing.
She was especially interested in all the palm branches that were down from the Santa Ana wind storm last week…
Taking Gibs on an actual walk and having her be super tired afterward? Win #5.
Oh, AND that silly “Bark-Off” contraption that I bought to get Gibson to stop barking at everyone who walks by is actually working. Win #6.
Looks like Gibson and I are starting to get each other. Am I on the way to having a normal dog?
So its been a terribly long weekend and I was still so nervous about Brad as he went back to work this morning, but overall I am still a very lucky girl with a lot of wins on my score card. I am so blessed and grateful to have a husband who is on the mend, a crazy but lovable dog, and a health insurance plan that starts this week so we can get Brad in to a doctor and get him looked at without another crazy bill on the way…
As my mom has told me many times before, just keep breathing.
xoxo
I just realized I never told you about Brad’s craft! It may be my favorite craft yet! Brad and I have a funky shaped kitchen in our new place. Seriously funky. It starts out all normal then twists back into … Continue reading
THE KEY OF KELS 