Howdy friends!

Welcome to my tiny pocket of the internet that I call Cocktail Hour with Carly. Grab an espresso martini or your cocktail of choice and let’s get started. If you haven’t guessed already, my name is Carly. I’m a 26 year old software developer from southeastern Pennsylvania. I’m a huge Philly sports fan (except basketball, sorry Sixers) and a recent graduate from Penn State. We Are! I’ve actually always wanted to get into content creation, ever since I was a high schooler obsessed with the beauty guru era of YouTube, around 2012 to 2014. Tragically enough, no matter how many Naked 2 palette giveaways I entered, I never won and had to purchase one myself. Those who were there know what I’m talking about. What a time that was. I also had a passion for writing and even used to be sports journalist for a brief stint of time. Come find me if you want to complain about the state of the Philadelphia Flyers. Comcast owns them and they’re my sworn enemy until the end of time. But I digress. I wrote a million stories as a kid and read a ton of books. You know those kids that played Warrior Cats at recess? Yah, I was one of them. Always figured I’d take that one to the grave, but 26 years of life have taught me that embarrassment is a state of mind and not something worth dwelling upon. Point is, I have the time and ability to do something I’ve always wanted to do so I’m starting a blog. Welcome to the journey and I hope you enjoy the ride.

As for the title of this introductory post, I have glaring ADHD (thanks, dad) and have a million hobbies I use to keep my brain occupied. Most of them revolve around a lot of creativity. My day job requires that I argue with, and often lose to, a computer. I’m pretty analytical and methodical at work, so I like to be creative and work more with my hands in my free time. I love to garden, do crafts, build book nook models that are similar to a 3D puzzle of sorts, bullet journaling, I do pottery on the wheel, read, play piano, and cook. Cooking was my Covid hobby of choice. I got too good at it and now guess who’s in charge of dinner on Friday nights? Never raise expectations people. Next up, I might try soap making, wood burning, and candle making. I frequent the Michaels near me if that’s not painfully obvious. Beyond just hobbies, I don’t really have a niche. I’ve worn a lot of hats throughout my short professional life and have lots of stories and advice for what it’s like to graduate later in life, feeling like you’re behind, marrying someone who’s active duty military and learning to cope with that, and the million other roads diverged in a yellow wood I’ve travelled down. I’m planning to do at least one post a week and it could go up to two or three depending on how much yapping I want to do that week. You can expect recipes for cocktails, cooking, and an occasional baking recipe. The latest hobbies and projects I’m working on, advice on a variety of topics, and favorites/recommendations from me.

Won’t You Be My Neighbor

The title of this paragraph makes me think of that hilarious t shirt that had a giant picture of Mr. Rogers on it and it said “It’s all good in the hood.” I still desperately want one of those shirts to this day. I have a million things I can’t wait to share with all of you. I hope you’re all excited to try new things out with me. I’m doing some pretty scary big kid things in the near future and while I’m nervous, I’m excited to see where the journey takes me. Whether you’re here to pick up a new hobby, want a new recipe, need advice, or need a laugh at the end of the day, thanks for being part of my pocket of the world. Welcome aboard and let’s make every minute count. P.S. my next post will be on Saturday sometime. I’m still working out the schedule.