A Toast to 2023!

Cobwebs and cocktails and many sweet toasts,
2022 was the wildest of hosts.
And so, it is time to raise a glass with me,
to start new with a toast to 2023!

A “Brief” Pour of 2022

Before proposing a toast to 2023, it is always fun to take a look back at what the past year has brought. It is so easy to look at things in just those small moments, that we forget to see the WHOLE picture of everything that went on. This year was full of so many amazing things that I must take the proper moment to applaud them.

• Started and kept up with a Full Moon cocktail series (two more cocktails left!)
• Hosted a full week of Be Kind to Spiders Week fun
• Invited to create a costume for a collaborative project featured in the Spooky Little Magazine 2022 Issue (be sure to preorder 2023 subscription for a little mailed spooky all year!)
• Created a cocktail that was published in the Feminine Macabre Volume IV inspired by Sarah Winchester
• Got approved for media passes TWICE! (Unfortunately, I was only able to attend one of those events)
• Had the most creeptastic of times at spooky summer camp; AKA Midsummer Scream 2022
• Went Beyond the Veil with my first séance in celebration of Sarah Winchester’s 100th death anniversary
• Successfully created blog posts for each day in October to celebrate Halloween.
• Sewed a couple custom pieces for my webdrobe
• Released a total of 20 new Sips & Spirits podcast episodes
• Got to dress up in my Victorian finest for Holidays with the Historian tour at Winchester Mystery House

There was even more that happened throughout 2022 and I am still trying to play catch-up to share all of those moments on the blog. (You will probably be seeing a lot of back-dated entries for this in January…)

Regrettably, even with the many positives, a small handful of negatives brought so many special moments down. The peskiest one being that ever-constant whisper of not belonging. Amongst the few negatives, this one felt more difficult than usual to shake off.

This could have been that even though the world was slowly opening more, my world still required me to stay home. Or perhaps it was because lack of proximity to others over the age of five made me feel more obviously alone. There’s even the possibility that I was dealing with observer’s envy. Whatever it was, it was flipping annoying. However, I made it through and intend to not let my mind get so hung up on these little snags in 2023.

The Cocktail Menu for 2023

Honestly? It’s still undergoing revisions. Something that should be very exciting happened mid-December. This will more than likely keep us preoccupied for most of January and February. However, I don’t want to say anything just on the slight chance that it will fall through. Regardless, we are excited for all the opportunities it should bring.

Erick and I have actually been spending most of our time plotting out new fun for Sips & Spirits. And so, I haven’t had much of a moment to myself to properly flesh things out for the blog. I have a load of ideas floating around, but nothing really put onto my to-make happen list.

Grab Your Glass

All in all, 2022 wasn’t the struggle for me like it was for so many I knew. And the few struggles that did happen won’t keep me from looking at 2023 as another year full of opportunity. There are already so many things on the horizon of 2023 that are going to be so exciting. I hope this new year looks equally bright for you!

What fun awaits you in 2023?