A Whiskey Mama

As promised on insta, 42 facts about me to celebrate my birthday. Thanks to all who sent me questions to help fill up this list!

• Growing up, my twin and I always chose chocolate cake with chocolate frosting for our birthday. As we got older, Twinnie moved to ice cream cake (yes, in January!). These days, the Husband makes my cake, and we choose something different every year!
• Oh yeah – didn’t you know I’m a twin? No, we’re fraternal. She doesn’t look anything like me. I’m the younger one. By 1 minute.
• How’d I get into whiskey – I decided I needed to because we wanted to go to Scotland (still do!). I’m not a beer girl so I figured whiskey was my best bet to drink like a local.
• Last whiskey I didn’t like – Tracks and Rails – it was a bottle we picked up in New Jersey and it was just all smoke. Taste is such a personal thing – the friend we gave it to loved it!
• What lights a fire/sparks passion – Being around people brings me joy and energy. I love when a conversation flows, and you just click.

• My first trip (that I remember) – Singapore, then India, when I was 5.
• Did I have an imaginary friend – no, I have a twin!!
• A fave movie – as a family we really love The Secret Life of Walter Mitty. It’s just so beautiful and wonderful. I think we’ll watch the original tonight.
• Dumbest thing someone has said to me – as a twin and a lefty, there are so many! But the most ignorant is “Where are you from?” You can tell when it’s code for “What are you?” I speak English well because I was born in this country, you twat-waffle.
• That’s right – I’m a lefty! Daughter to one, and mom to one too. We’re awesome.
• Place I want to visit – everywhere!! One is Scotland to learn about the Grant clan – my grandfather-in-law is William Grant… I wonder if that gives us an in…
• Worst whiskey I’ve had – can Malort count?

• Favorite foods – I’m such a carboholic! Fries, sourdough, naan, or noodles and I’m happy.
• Hobbies – I seem to like helping my friends decorate, paint or otherwise create homes they love to live in.
• Places – I have this cousin in California. Every visit is a perfect mix of exploring, eating, relaxing, chatting. And his house. There’s just something about it – you walk in and just feel calmer and at ease. I love it.
• Fave dessert – crème brulee has been my favorite for years. I love so many sweets and I think vanilla desserts are seriously underrated.

• How’d I fall in love with bourbon – LP took me to a baseball game. He knows I don’t drink beer so he snuck in a flask of WT 101! Sipping for a day really did it for me.
• Fave color – it varies! I’m liking jade green lately.
• Dream vacation – gah, I don’t know. Too many places. Iceland. Greece. Argentina. etc.
• My first surgery was the last day of 2^nd grade – this jerky girl dared me to hang off a monkey bar. I had to! I fell and busted up my arm – I spent the last day of school having pins set in my elbow. That girl came back in the fall with a broken leg. Karma’s hysterical.
• Best life lesson – moving across country with a moron at 22. It was a monumentally bad decision. But! I wouldn’t change it – my Arizona years made me a grown up.
• How I met the Husband – at a sweet 16, held at an Elks Lodge. We were just friends for a decade.

• Perfect place to write – pre-COVID I used to love writing in the gorgeous lobby of Hotel Allegro. A coffee from the Starbucks downstairs, a cocktail from the hotel restaurant. An endless stream of people watching, and numerous cozy corners to type away for an afternoon!
• What whiskey to be a brand ambassador for – I’ve never thought about it but I think I’d go with Wild Turkey 101 or Four Roses Small Batch since they are my go-to bottles.
• Fave music – I’m no good at “what’s your favorite ___” questions!! I like music that fills the space around me and drowns out the world for a few minutes.
• Dream job when I was a kid – I don’t know if I ever really had one. Maybe it’s less than cool, but really, I just always knew I wanted to be a mom.
• Do I like to cook (since I’m a baker) – I do! Baking is all precision – I read the recipe over and over. It’s common to hear me shout, “I’m counting!!” to make sure nobody interrupts me! If it’s not baking, I barely measure at all!

• Fave distillery to visit – sadly I’ve only been to a couple! One day we still hope to let the kiddos party with the grandparents and hit the bourbon trail and correct this!
• Something about the kids – well I used to show their pics here, you might notice. But a couple years ago they stopped being ok with it. So I don’t. I call them the Little and the Big for their sake. But we gave them meaningful family names and they’ve turned out to be the perfect names for them.
• I’m a lefty but I can only use scissors and a computer mouse with my right hand.
• I’ve been the same height since I was 12 years old. Still, people don’t think I’m 5’2” for whatever reason.
• While I’ve never lived abroad (still a lifelong dream), I’ve lived in the 4 continental US time zones.
• I was born in Minnesota, and I’ve lived in 9 different states. Actually, I say 10 since I lived in NY as a kid and then again as an adult.

• My favorite travel souvenirs are often jewelry or art – something to keep for a lifetime. It’s broken, but I still keep a silver bracelet circa 2002. That week in Seattle sort of marked a time when I was getting comfortable in my own skin as an adult, as an individual.
• The longest I’ve ever lived anywhere is 7 years in Philadelphia.
• The shortest I’ve ever lived anywhere is 2 years in Buffalo – but it was busy! I did my Masters and planned our wedding.
• I recently figured out that Gina is my muse. I stalked her after I discovered her jewelry back in 2015. She’s become that friend who listens without judgement (no really!), has never steered me wrong, and pushes me to do bigger things – she’s the reason I started this blog!
• How did I get into baking – long story short – it started with a pregnancy craving for pound cake… I thought I explained why I started a business, but it turns out I haven’t. Future post, for sure!

• I hate going to concerts. I really love music. I’m just short. And there’s always a tall guy in front of me. Always.
• I didn’t have a middle name growing up. It’s just not a thing we do. But I love my maiden name so I had it legally made my middle so I wouldn’t have to give it up.
• People in grad school asked if I was gonna hyphenate it – that would be 16 letters long!! NO.
• Hobbies – I guess this? I like to write, I think I’m pretty ok at it. and I’m starting to work on some ideas to push this hobby further!