L et’s face it… life doesn’t always go as planned. Some days are bright and full of luck, others feel like we’ve been smacked in the face with a 4 leaf clover made of lead. But no matter what happens it’s up to us to decide what we’re going to do with the situations presented to us. So when life gives you lemons make yourself a martini!

Last week I walked behind my building to take the garbage and recycling to the chute. As I was pushing the recycling bag down the chute my ring caught on the bag and was whisked away with my empty bubbly cans. This ring is one of those special pieces that I adore – it’s the ring I’m wearing in the photo above. I found it in Italy, just outside of Pompeii. It’s a deep blue agate cameo with a carving of the three Greek Charities; Grace, Charm and Beauty. It means the world to me and I was devastated at the thought that it was gone forever.

After 3 hours of desperate phone calls, pacing the parking the lot and amazing neighbours coming to help I finally had it back on my finger. Tenacity and hope won out, and I was reunited with one of my favourite totems. But my day wasn’t over yet.

With my ring on my finger, and my hands freshly washed after diving through the dumpster I made my way to my car. And that’s when I discovered the flat tire, complete with giant nail sticking out of it. However, with the help of a neighbour and perfect timing I was able to get the spare put on and make my way to have it fixed.

It’s all about perspective

Why am I telling you about my crazy day? Well because it’s all about perspective. I made a post on my instagram stories about the day and was surprised by how many people commented to me about what a horrible day it was and that I was so unlucky. But I didn’t see it that way. In fact, I felt like luck was on my side. I had two crappy, frustrating things happen in one afternoon but luck and great neighbours came to my rescue.

I could have lost one of my favourite pieces of jewelry forever. But I got it back. I could have been stranded with my flat tire, waiting on a tow truck and maybe even shelling out for a new tire. But that didn’t happen. In fact, $37 later the tire was patched and I was back on the road. So you see… luck was on my side that day.

And that’s when the old phrase “When life gives you lemons…” popped into my head. So of course I decided to make this When Life Gives You Lemons Martini in honour of my very lucky day.

Since all of this started with my ring from Italy I thought it would be perfect timing to crack open the bottle of limoncello I brought back from my last trip there. I had been saving it for just the right moment.

If you’ve never been to Naples, Italy, you’ve probably never seen the giant, no, colossal lemons that grow there. Seriously they are the size of your head! So naturally, this is where limoncello was born.

Limoncello is a sweet, and tart liqueur usually served as a digestif after dinner. It’s best when icy cold, and often kept in the freezer. If you haven’t tried it I highly recommend you do.

To balance out the tartness I paired it with my Homemade Vanilla Vodka, and the resulting martini was heaven.

Double up and commiserate with your bestie

This recipe is so easy to double up! So grab your bestie, shake up a couple of my When Life Gives You Lemons Martinis and and turn your day from sour to sweet.