Welcome to the inaugural post of Pull Up a Chair!
I figured we could all use a place to kick off our shoes, grab a drink, and chat about our highs and lows at the end of the week, so I’m launching this regular Friday post to help us do just that. To get started, I’m offering a drink perfectly suited to a brand new year: a champagne cocktail. This one comes from Garden & Gun and makes me want to throw on a sequined dress before I kick my shoes under the table:
From Jayce McConnell, Snackbar, Oxford, Mississippi
2 oz. Plymouth Gin
1 oz. lemon juice
1 tbsp. powdered sugar
1 egg white
3-4 oz. champagne
Place all the ingredients (except the champagne) in shaker glass without ice and shake well so the egg white emulsifies. Then add ice and shake the mixture like crazy. Strain the mixture into a Collins glass on some fresh ice, and top it with champagne.
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I’ll take two of these, frankly, to make up for all the yummy drinks I didn’t get to enjoy over the holidays while I was either fighting a sinus cold or sick with one.
My high this week: Sleeping in my own bed next to my husband for two nights in a row. We’re trying to come up with a better solution to our current family sleeping arrangements, but so far we’re not having much luck. In the meantime, any night of uninterrupted sleep in my own bed feels like heaven.
My low: Being sick. Again. And on antibiotics. Again. I try to avoid antibiotics like the plague, and here I am, taking them twice in less than three months. I’m sick of being sick. Motherhood has not been kind to my health.
And here’s a bonus question: If you could wave a magic wand and make one thing happen for yourself this year, what would it be? (World peace doesn’t count, so don’t even try it.)
I have to admit, I’m fantasizing a bit too much right now about winning the lottery so my husband can quit his day job, we can move somewhere new, and I can start a foundation to fund projects and causes I care about. Then we can begin planning for that year-long living abroad dream, and also begin building our small cottage in Nova Scotia. Oh, and I want a weekly cleaning service and a part-time chef. Too much to ask? No way! Though I suppose it would help if I started buying lottery tickets. (Just don’t tell me that winning always ruins your life because I am plugging my ears. La-la-la, can’t hear you…)
Okay, I’ve got my virtual glass raised, and now it’s your turn: What was your high of the week? Your low? What are you dreaming about in the new year? Leave your two cents in the comments, and have yourself a slow weekend!
Image found here via Pinterest
Hello, I'm Zoe Saint-Paul. I'm a writer, life coach, and new mama to twins who's trying to live "slower" in a speed-obsessed world. Here we chat about life and love, food and design, and everything in between -- all at the right pace. So grab some tea, pull up a chair, and join the conversation. Feel free to 
Ooh, that sounds like a nice lottery fantasy!
My high this week is that I survived the holidays, and had a good time.
My low this week is that my DH and I are both grumpy because the holidays are over.
Oh man, I had a champagne cocktail over the holidays, and it made me wonder why I’m not drinking them all the time. (Well, aside from the fact that I’m not Marie Antoinette, but anyway.) That looks delicious!
High of the week: Getting to celebrate a belated Christmas on Sunday with my entire family. It’s getting tougher to get us all together under one roof, so whenever it happens, it’s a great time.
Low: Getting the bug I had this week. Maybe the result of too much indulging at that family Christmas? I did drink an awful lot of eggnog…
As for the bonus question, I could go a little crazy with that “magic wand” part, so I’ll stick to something sensible and attainable — like a vacation home in the Blue Ridge Mountains. Yup, totally gonna happen…
I’ll take the special! Sounds delicious!
My low this week was seeing my husband go back to work and my son return to school. We had a dreamy week and a half vacation together — a little family-moon before the baby arrives.
My high has been my new Kindle Paperwhite that I received for Christmas. I asked for it in anticipation of late night nursing marathons with the newborn — I always get a ridiculous amount of reading in during this time. I’m especially loving the free book downloads. I’m currently in the thick of Thomas Hardy’s Tess of the D’Urbervilles — utterly depressing, but hard to put down — and L. Frank Baum’s The Wonderful Wizard of Oz which I’m reading to my son. Who knew that Dorothy’s slippers were actually silver, not ruby red, and that the Tin Woodman has a rather macabre back story? My son and I are just loving it. We’ll watch the movie afterwards and compare the two.
Bonus question? I’d love a modest, custom built quality home with a little land to have a garden and maybe a few goats and chickens.
Oooh, my holiday drink of choice this (past) year was a Rosemary Pink Diamond Fizz! It has rosemary simple syrup, gin, pink grapefruit juice, and, of course, ze bubbly. This one sounds amazing- drinks with egg white rock my socks off- I had a real whiskey sour recently with it and it was amazing!
High for the week- an encore of our Christmas (and Thanksgiving) apple pie from Smitten’s cookbook.
Low- My esposo returning to work after two weeks of togetherness. So painful.
High: Getting my desk area finally cleaned and organized. It is nice being able to sit at my desk and get something done without having to dig through a pile of papers.
Low: Getting sick on New Years Eve. It felt like I had the hangover that follows New Years Eve.
Magic Wand Dream: The garden and chicken coup I have in my head were to actually come about without me having to do any of the work. Oh and Baby #5 will come in a quick and easy delivery.
My drink of choice oddly is to just smell and take a few sips of the MacCallan Single Malt Whisky I got for my Husband for Christmas.
High: Can’t think of one… This probably means I need to re-up my vitamin D supplement.
Lo: Letting the clean laundry pile that needs to be folded reach a height that would scare the fiercest Mt. Everest veteran.
Magic Wand: Find someone to watch my kids so I could accompany my husband on a trip to NYC next week.
Drink: New Year’s breakfast smoothies for all. (So un-glam. But it made them happy.)
Low: Starting the year at work with management-related nuttiness and the anticipation of an antagonistic Monday meeting. Ugh.
High: Returning on our 9th wedding anniversary from a wonderful weekend with friends who have a second home in the snow, which was a virtual winter wonderland. Having some misgivings about lifestyle choices, which pretty much guarantee that only with a magic wand will we ever have such things. Having DH – who usually wants more “stuff” – vigorously affirm that our “passion over profit” choices are grand, right, and the source of our happiness. Yeah!
Magic Wand: Enough money to travel. How big is this wand?
Really a lottery sized-wand? A house. A second in Hawaii and a third in Tahoe. Cleaning service – yes! Money for money for scholarships for my adult students. Oh… and this may take a magic wand too… to get in shape again and return to running marathons. And to publish a few articles. Can I add in more time in the day? Now you really have me dreaming…
Naw, winning the lottery without a clear plan of what to do with it is what will ruin your life. So you’re set! Win away!
High this week: Finding out that I can still do a few “real” pushups after two years of being away from the gym (that ties with being called “Nurse Nightingale” by one of my patients- so much better then being called “Nurse Ratched”!)
Low this week: Hearing a dear friend is still suffering from a concussion she had over five weeks ago (her return to work this week was unsuccessful)
Magic wand wave for this year: A part time day job in the community so that I can leave the hospital and stop working night shifts……..that and a mother’s helper…it’s too hard to pick just one, ok?!
High: seeing the supplements I started taking a month ago to improve my moods (pms) are actually working!!
Low: finding out my teen son has lied to me for days about experimenting w alcohol at a friends house. (thank goodness I started those supplements)
Lottery: green home in sustainable neighborhood w all my friends/ gardens and city life/ a perfect Ethiopian bbsitter to help me 10hrs a week w my youngest child/ bike lanes everywhere/ $ to show my children the world and in return teach how incredibly small their world is/ and this ones too big but a safe gun free (no fear allowed) protected childhood for all children (so sad that last one feels too big).
So sorry about your cold/infection! What a bummer!
My low this week was losing my patience when K bit my finger! Of course she didn’t mean it, but wow, it hurt!
My high this week was seeing a return to normalcy after our first trip away with K. She did great, but she was SO happy to be home, and that made me happy, too.
I also wish for the lottery winnings, but don’t ever play. Hmm.