Very Cold, Very Dry

I have a very hard time just sitting and relaxing. Doing nothing. No chores, no paying bills, no budgeting, no crossing off my endless to-do list that never seems complete.

Yesterday I was off. I had one appointment, just one short trip to the grocery store, and then nothing else on the agenda. I had a whole plan of just sitting around, watching my comfort shows in my favorite pajamas, making pancakes for dinner, and then heading to bed.

But instead, like I always do, I look around the house and find things that need cleaning or organizing. I tell myself, I’ll just dust the whole house, and then I’ll relax. Then I notice the bathroom needs cleaning. Ok, then I can sit down. Wait, now I need to organize my closet (my husband hears this at least twice a week), and THEN I can continue to watch my favorite TV show.

It’s something I constantly battle with myself, and I imagine most of you do too. That you need to earn relaxation. You can’t just leave things off for tomorrow. That you don’t deserve that treat unless you complete your list. Or you deserve a martini ONLY if you go through a long day to deserve treating yourself to your favorite cocktail.

We are taught this reward system throughout our whole lives. We don’t take time for ourselves because we believe that things need to be done first. We have to work extra hard to celebrate or treat ourselves.

For me, it creates so much anxiety that I can’t remember that last time I actually just did absolutely nothing. Literally sit around all day. I can do this in the evening, when I have completed all my “tasks”, but a whole day?

I also believe that we don’t need a reason to have a martini on a random weeknight. It doesn’t matter if we feel we have “earned” it. I actually believe that we should treat ourselves everyday. Life is hard and expensive enough (you can read my last post about that), and we deserve to do things that make us happy.

And for me, it’s a very cold, very dry martini on a random weeknight.

So my mission for you, as you should accept it, is to do NOTHING. Just sit around, lay in your pajamas all day, and maybe have a delicious martini. I think our lives would improve just a little bit more if we truly did not do a single thing once in a while.

So let’s get into Martini Fridays, which hopefully will help you relax a little bit more.

My martini recipe of the week is Mezzetta’s Dirty Martini Recipe. As you know, I am not a big “wet” martini gal, but I wanted to give this a shot. I used vodka instead of gin. I liked the floral hints from the vermouth balanced with the brininess of the olive juice. I would definitely try it again. Let me know what you think.

Dirty Martini Recipe (Courtesy of Mezzetta.com)

Recipe:
Ice
3 ounces of vodka or gin (I used Froggy B)
1/2 ounce of Dry Vermouth (I like Noilly Prat)
1/2 ounce of brine from a jar of Mezzetta Imported Spanish Queen Martini Olives
3 olives from Mezzetta Imported Spanish Queen Martini Olives

Tools:
Martini Glass (Chilled in Freezer)
Cocktail Shaker
Olive Pick

Instructions:
Fill a cocktail shaker with ice and add the vodka or gin, dry vermouth and the olive brine.
Stir for 15-20 seconds until the glass begins to sweat and the martini is chilled (full disclosure: I actually shook it in the cocktail shaker and I liked the results, but either way will work). Strain into chilled cocktail glass and garnish with olives (you can do bleu cheese olives if you’d like). Cheers to yourself for relaxing!

Enjoy!

My Favorite Gin of the Week:
For this one, I say do whatever you like. Treat yourself to whatever makes you happy. I also wrote about self care here.

Music I’m listening to:

Olivia Dean. Since winning a grammy for best new artist this year, her popularity has skyrocketed, and for good reason. Her jazzy vocals, soft voice, and fun lyrics are perfect for relaxing on the couch, doing nothing, with your martini.

Her new album, The Art of Living, is my top album so far. “Man I Need” is a great song, but “Something Inbetween” and “Nice to Each Other” are perfectly catchy gems.

My martini icon this week is…

My gals!

They are always up for martini adventures. Whether it’s going to our favorite sports bar for a martini (yes, they can make good ones!), trying a new spot downtown, or letting me make them different kinds at home. While I love a good martini at home, being with friends, venting about your day, and drinking martinis in fancy outfits really hits the spot.

Here’s a recent photo of us for my birthday, having martinis (and birthday shots!) at Parla (which I wrote about here) in the North End.

I hope you have a “Do-Nothing” day. Or if you can’t do a whole day, I hope you at least get an hour or two. DO NOTHING! Well, maybe cheers to yourself, You deserve it!

Leave a comment in the notes what you do to treat yourself!