Romantic Hobbies

Flowers, Cocktails, & Cakes

There’s a growing trend where influencers are adding a bit of romance to their daily routines—like lighting a candle while making their morning coffee or setting the table for a cozy Thai takeout dinner. I absolutely love this idea of transforming our everyday habits into something beautiful and special. Inspired by this, I decided, why not embrace this concept in my own life?

So I thought, let’s create the perfect gals day activity. I love creating cocktails, my bestie bakes yummy treats, and my sister makes beautiful floral arrangements. We present to you: Romantic Hobbies.

Floral Arrangement by Mikayla:

My sister’s secret to creating these arrangements are using flower frogs. Flower frogs act as an anchor for each individual flower. This design, known as kenzan, or pin frog is a perfect tool for Ikebana. Ikebana is the traditional Japanese art of floral arrangement with an emphasis on intentional placement.

She also purchases her flowers at Trader Joe’s—which has affordable and a wide variety of flowers. When making her arrangements she purchases an assortment of bouquets. Then following the Ikebana tradition she hand selects each flower and places it in the flower frog with intention.

Olive Oil Cake by Autumn:

Autumn’s love language is baking treats for others. I love this (as well as benefit from it haha)! She chose an olive oil cake. This spongy, zesty, and juicy cake will impress your friends when you host them for morning coffee or a Sunday brunch. She chose a gluten free recipe and let me tell you, I could NOT tell it was gluten free. Find the recipe HERE.

Look at this gorgeous cake! If you want to step up the presentation of your cake even more I strongly recommend investing in a cake stand. Autumn’s pick would either be a thrifted stand or a traditional white ceramic cake stand.

Cocktail by Kate:

I love the craft of a cocktail and slowly sipping on it while chit chatting with the gals. The buzz is always a little fun too. On my birthday I had a yuzu martini and was obsessed. So of course the cocktail I chose will incorporate yuzu. Yuzu is a small, yellow, and fragrant Asian citrus fruit that originated in China.

For this cocktail we will be supporting small local businesses in Portland Oregon. If you don’t live in the area I encourage you to find a local distillery or an independently owned market in your area when buying the ingredients.

Yuzu Gin Cocktail

This drink is bright, refreshing, and citrusy. You can easily leave the gin out for a mocktail version.

- 2 oz Yuzu concentrate - Portland Syrups

- 1.5 oz Freeland Spirits Gin - Portland (woman owned)

- 0.5 oz grapefruit juice

- 0.5 oz simple syrup

- Top with soda water

- Fresh mint leaves (slap the mint to release the aromas and flavor)

- Garnish with a lemon

- Ice cubes

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I hope this newsletter inspires you to pick up a new creative hobby, host a dinner and feature a cocktail, cake, or floral arrangement, plan intentional time with a partner or friend, AND add a touch of romanticism to your everyday life.

Besos,

Kate