Category / prosecco

by Kelly Mattei

Wrapping Gifts

Wrapping gifts.

I love wrapping Christmas gifts. I am the person who, usually, wraps them as I get them. That way, I’m not all in a kerfuffle on Christmas Eve trying to balance my glass of Prosecco and wrap gifts at the same time. I learned several years ago that wrapping in advance was the way to go, because I fell ice skating on Christmas Eve and broke my wrist but still had gifts to wrap! Try wrapping gifts with a broken wrist! So yes, I try to do it as soon as I walk in the house with the gift.

Throughout life, I haven’t been known for my gift-wrapping skills. My mother made me start wrapping birthday gifts for my friends when I was in kindergarten, but that doesn’t mean I was good at it. When I was in middle school and high school, however, I would purchase gifts at department stores that offered free gift wrap…just show the receipt with the gift and get everything wrapped for free! Ahhh…the good old days, when department stores hired school teachers as temporary gift-wrappers during the holidays. We would arrive at the gift-wrap department to see our teachers working hard behind the counter…tearing paper off the big rolls and speedily wrapping our gifts for our parents.

These days, I love shopping at locally-owned boutiques that offer gift-wrapping services (The Buttercup on Providence Rd in Charlotte!), but I also love wrapping gifts. My skills have improved over the years, but I have never claimed to be really good at it…until now!

Earlier this week, I went to a Favorite Things party, where each attendee brought a wrapped gift…something they love…and put it with all the other gifts. Each person picked a number, and in numbered order, they picked a gift out of the pile. My “favorite thing” contribution to the pile was a book from Southern Living called Southern Cocktails, which you can purchase here. When the recipient picked it up, she remarked that it was beautifully wrapped, and as silly as it sounds, I found myself feeling elated to hear that! I guess my skills have improved over time! I had wrapped it in a vintage-print paper with a red and green hand-tied bow, and I was so proud that you’d have thought I had discovered a cure for polio! Of course, I held in my elation, because how silly would it have been for me to look too proud of my wrapping?!? Once she removed the wrapping, the recipient also loved the book! It has some great recipes for cocktails, so I highly recommend it.

Personally, I have always thought of gift-wrapping as an art. I don’t consider myself an artist, but I think I do a pretty good job! And all my gifts for this Christmas are wrapped, so if you need help with wrapping, and you live in Charlotte, I’m happy to come over and help!

You’ll just need to supply the gifts, the wrapping paper, tape, ribbons, and a bottle of Prosecco.

***My links for Amazon are affiliate links, so I will receive a commission for items purchase through the links.

by Kelly Mattei

The Only Pain I Want in My Life is…Champagne

The only pain I want in my life is champagne.

That’s not an original line from me. I saw it on a video on Instagram, but I’m taking it as my new motto. Why? Well, I’ve been suffering with sciatica for three weeks. Talk about pain! I have heard friends talk about the pain, but I had no idea exactly how painful it is! If you have never experienced it, count yourself among the lucky ones. It’s bad. Imagine a knife stabbing into your lower back, your butt cheek, and your leg…dragging all the way down your leg. Not kidding…it has brought me to tears several times, and I consider myself a person who has a pretty high pain threshold. The other bad thing about it? I don’t know if this will be a temporary situation or a permanent one!

We were just on vacation for a few days in Miami, and I was determined to enjoy my vacation, even with sciatica. I enjoyed it, but I suffered a lot too. Swimming pools are great for sciatica, and hot tubs are great for it too. I found a pretty powerful jet in the hot tub and focused it right on my back. Wow, sweet relief.

For three weeks, I have been praying that this pain will stop. I do my normal “sandwich method” prayer. I start with thanking God for something (a healthy daughter, a safe drive, etc). Next, in the middle, I ask Him to get rid of the pain. Then, on the other side of the sandwich, I thank Him again. I know it’s corny, but it’s how I like to pray. We have to be grateful, right?

I’m not kidding when I say the only pain I want is “champagne.” Honestly, I really like Prosecco too, but it didn’t fit in the motto. “The only pain I want in my life is Prosecco.” Yeah, that doesn’t work.

If you’re so inclined, send up some prayers for me….and feel free to stop by with a bottle of champagne (or Prosecco).

by Kelly Mattei

A New Cocktail for Me (Diet Cokagne)

A new cocktail for me.

Often, when I go to lunch with friends, I order a glass of Prosecco. It’s light. It’s not too dry. It doesn’t give me a headache. And it’s bubbly. All my friends who lunch with me will tell you that, sometimes, when I order Prosecco, I also order a Diet Coke. I like my caffeine too, so it’s difficult to choose. Therefore, I don’t choose. I simply get both.

However, today, I saw a TikTok about something I had never considered: Diet Coke mixed with Champagne as a single cocktail, and you know what they call it? Diet Cokagne. The video sent me right down the rabbit hole, and I read a few different pieces about it. Tom Hanks, the Academy Award winning actor, appeared on a talk show recently and introduced the host to the combo, a concoction he came up with over the holidays, and the host liked it! Mr. Hanks said he introduced it to his family, and they all liked it too! The mix is 2/3 Diet Coke (or any soda beverage) topped off with 1/3 Champagne…over ice.

Because I read all about it, tonight I had to try it. Now, I like Champagne. Nothing says “celebration” like a bottle of Champagne. However, I really like Prosecco too, because it’s not as dry, and as I mentioned before, it doesn’t give me headaches. I always have bottles of Prosecco in my house, and I always have Diet Coke, so tonight, I made my own Diet Cokagne…er, Diet Cosecco…and it was good. It was really good! Honestly, I’m sure different people will have different interpretations of the beverage, but I felt like it had a little vanilla flavor…or maybe a little like bourbon. I don’t know…it was a little sweet, but it was good! Isn’t that all you need to know? Tomorrow I might try it with Diet Dr. Pepper. What would that be called? A Diet Dr. Pepsecco?

I was on the phone with my friend, Kelli, tonight when I tried it. She’s a regular lunch date, and she has seen me order a glass of Prosecco and a glass of Diet Coke many times. After trying it, I told her next time we go to lunch, I’ll order my usual Diet Coke and a glass of Prosecco, but I’ll also order an extra glass of ice, and I’ll mix my own wacky cocktail at the table. She laughed, but she knows I’ll do it. I told her I will let her try it before I drink out of it, because she’s a bit of a germaphobe.

Here is what I will tell you: try it. If you like to have a cocktail anyway, what is it going to hurt? Or you can just come over to my house for cocktails. I always have charcuterie ingredients, so I can throw together a charcuterie board for us to enjoy with our cocktails. I also always have Diet Coke, but I don’t always have Champagne, so we’ll likely use Prosecco, which I always have. In fact, my husband found bottles of Prosecco at Costco that are just $7. It’s the Kirkland’s Asolo Prosecco, and it’s really good! The bottle has a pretty purple label and purple foil…great packaging. And did I mention it’s just $7??? Get it at your local Costco store. You can read more here.

In March, I will be meeting some of my family for a weekend away, and you can bet your sweet bippy I will be taking the ingredients to introduce my aunt and cousins to this bit of deliciousness!

I can hardly wait to hear what you think of the latest cocktail concoction. It will be served often at my house.

Cheers!

And if you’d like to read more about the Diet Cokagne, you can read another piece here.