Baby Mammas!

April 23, 2010 by

Nothing is more important in this world than all these baby mammas.  Either you have one, know one, or are one yourself.  Its that time again and I’ve rounded up a few things that I think would be too cool to honor them for all they are:  BADASS.

  1. Personalized Mom M&Ms – my boyfriend Ben did this for his dad’s 60th birthday and ever since then, I just think it is the neatest thing–especially for a mom.  Chocolate + personalized for mom’s day= eaten.
  2. Locket on Etsy – when in time did I decide that lockets weren’t cool anymore???  As far as I’m concerned, as locket with your baby’s pic inside is one of the most touching things.  And your mom is sure to look retro wearing it.
  3. House Slippers  on Etsy– any time Mommy says got get her slippers, she means it.  These really command attention.
  4. Jewelry Box – every girl, every mom needs one or ANOTHER one of  these.  But it has to be beautifulness !
  5. Zale’s Stackable Birthstone Bands – how cute would it be to get mom a band for one or all of her kids?   I loooove this.   Mostly for myself.  One for mom, one for me 🙂  Also, women love jewels.
  6. Mamma’s Marg Glass – a happy Mom = happy house.  ‘nough said.
  7. Mothers day wine glasses on Etsy – these are hand painted and just plane creative.  A little piece of change to spend, but I think every mom I know out there is worth it.
Filed Under: candy, cocktail, court, gifts, jewelry, wine Tagged With: , , ,

Feeling Horizontal?

April 21, 2010 by

Hey now, get your minds out of the gutter!  I’m talking about wine bags!  I have never in my life seen one of these horizontal wine bags and I’m LOVING, I repeat, LOVING them!

  1. Krafty Kats, Horizontal Wine Tote in Natural Jute
  2. eFoodDepot.com, Sand-Horizontal Wine Bag
  3. Totes by Charlotte Etsy Shop, Not Your Usual Wine Bottle Bag
Filed Under: ak, gifts, home, tipsy, wine Tagged With: , , ,

Winery Spotlight: Red 55 Winery

April 12, 2010 by

As AK mentioned in her Round Top Recap, we had an opportunity to try some wine from Miranda Lambert’s winery, Red 55. Her wines are all  named after one of her fabulous, always playing on my i-pod, songs and I have to admit, the actual wine is GREAT!

Miranda’s Dad gave us a good overview of all of the wines, as well as ensuring us that the grapes are grown in Texas, so it’s always  nice to fall in love with something local. I haven’t been to the actual winery, but it’s located in Lindale, TX. and is on my list of locales to visit.

  1. White Liar: A smoothe and fruity Chardonnay.
  2. County Road 233: A tastey Merlot. (I tried this one and it was in my top 2 of favorites for sure…I was also told this was Miranda’s fave as well!)
  3. Crazy Ex Girlfriend: It’s classified as a “sweet white” wine, which would be right up Der’s alley if she wasn’t preggo…maybe this should be her after-baby gift!?!?!?!
  4. Red 55: A cabernet sauvignon that I KICK myself for not trying…I was obsessed with this type of wine all winter!
  5. Belle: This is a sweet red that I would compare to a shiraz for sure…
  6. Kerosene: Similar to a pinot grigio, this was my other favorite….it is really smooth and not as dry as other pinot’s that I’ve had…LOVE IT!
  7. Electric Pink: A white zinfandel that, lets be honest, how do you go wrong with a white zinfandel!

There is for sure a wine to suit all pallets in this group and this would definitely make a great, and fun, gift for someone. The wine can only be bought at the winery in Lindale, TX. and on the website, but Miranda’s Dad assured us he was working on getting it to us in stores soon! (I suggested Specs BTW, best liquor store in the state of Texas!)

Filed Under: sk, wine Tagged With:

Winery Spotlight: Newton Vineyards

March 23, 2010 by

For this Winery Spotlight I wanted to talk about my FAVORITE stop during our honeymoon wine country tour (circa 2007): Newton Vineyards in St. Helena, CA.

Reasons I loved this winery:

  • AMAZING Landscaping: To be able to say the landscaping was amazing in a place as beautiful as Napa Valley is something really special, but this place definitely stood out. All of the gardens in the vineyard are Asian inspired and meticulously maintained.
  • WONDERFUL People: We ended up wine tasting with our chauffeur on a day that Newton Vineyards wasn’t open to the public; however, due to some miscommunication, we ended up at Newton and the wonderful people went ahead and gave us a complimentary tasting that included the drop-kick-me-in-the-face BEST Chardonnay I’ve ever had; Unfiltered Chardonnay. (Kinda pricey though, retailing at about $50.00/bottle.)
  • GREAT Tips: The lady that lead our tasting was so well educated and full of knowledge that it was a tad overwhelming to take it all in, but the one thing I will never forget is the way she taught us to “cleanse our pallet”, which, in wine tasting terms, is extremely important as you try different varieties of wines. To cleanse your pallet, simply smell a plain white paper napkin for several seconds. I don’t remember how or why this worked, but it did!

I’m not going to tell you to run out and buy these wines UNLESS a) you are a wine connoisseur and have never tried Newton or b) filthy rich and could care less if you drop some serious coin on vino; however, if you do run out and buy any of the Newton wines, I promise you won’t shouldn’t be disappointed because they’re all amazing.

If you are planning a vaca to Napa Valley, make sure to include Newton Vineyards as one of your stops…and invite me of course!!!!

Final Question: 3 of the 5 pictures above were taken with my camera…can you tell which ones they are???????

Filed Under: sk, travel, wine Tagged With:

Hump Day Happy Hour: WINE!

February 24, 2010 by

You know, some happy hours just need to be wine. No mixing drinks and what not, just pour me a glass–quick fix!  I, myself, am a pinot grigio drinker.  Voga Italia pinot grigio can be found at your grocery store ladies.  I don’t know much about wine and I’m no connoisseur that’s for sure.  But I do know this…it’s like $8 and I LIKE IT!

Filed Under: ak, hump day happy hour, wine Tagged With:

Glass Half Full…Um, Actually Way Too Full

February 1, 2010 by

The cabinet in my kitchen where I house my drinking glasses is full to the max! That doesn’t stop me from perusing stores for adorable glassware to sip my beverages out of. I may start breaking some of my least favorites just to load up on some of these.. sounds like a great idea to me!

  1. DirectFromMexico, Hand Blown Confetti Glass
  2. DirectFromMexico, Green Rimmed Rocks Glass
  3. Target, Tall Glass Tumblers
  4. Pier One, Kaleidoscope Stemless Goblet
  5. Pier One, Etched Stemless Wine Glasses
  6. Pier One, Cobalt Glassware
  7. Pier One, Festive Stripe Stemware
  8. Target, Room Essentials Stripes Tumblers
  9. Pier One, Bubble Tumblers
Filed Under: der, home, wine Tagged With: , ,

Winery Spotlight: Flat Creek Estate

January 29, 2010 by

I love wine, I love wineries, I love wine tasting. SO, in the honor of all these loves, I’m going to start “spotlighting” wineries that I love and that you will should visit.

Flat Creek Estate is an award-winning winery located in Marble Falls, TX, which is just a hop, skip, and a jump from the fabulous/trendy Austin, TX. Their wines are awesome, moderately priced, and the views are AMAZING!

Here are a few of my favorite from that can be purchased from Flat Creek Estate:

  1. Super Texan: This is a red wine that is really smooth. I like to think of it as “a red wine on training wheels.” I’m not a regular drinker of red; however, I do make exceptions or this particular one.
  2. Sparkling Almond: This is a sparkling white wine (basically a champagne) that is sweet and nutty. You can literally smell a faint hint of almonds when you open the bottle.  If you’re looking to impress your friends on a special occasion, I would suggest purchasing a bottle of this.
  3. Pinot Grigio: BEST PG (pinot grigio) ever…and I’m not exaggerating…ok, I might be exaggerating a little, but it is very good…it’s on the dryer side, but with a fruity after taste. (After taste is “technically” referred to as the back of your palette, but I didn’t want to sound too fancy.)
  4.  Buckin Horse White: I have actually never tried this wine, but it was a gold medal winner at the 2009 Pacific Rim International Wine Competition and is sold for a semi-reasonable $17.95/bottle, which puts it at the top of my list the next time I place an order!

Side Note I *** I am not a wine expert and I don’t try to be; however I really like trying and learning about wines. If you’ve never been to a winery, but enjoy the occasional glass, I would like to suggest that you try and visit a winery in your area soon. It’s a fun and inexpensive way to both learn and drink at the same time! Also, when if you go, drag your hubby or boyfriend with you. Trust me, my hubby doesn’t EVER drink wine, but he LOVES the wineries and always has a great time. (Please keep in mind he’s a small town country boy that hates any and everything that city people may like, aka, wine.)

Side Note II *** My apologies for the INSANELY long post…happy Friday!

Filed Under: sk, wine Tagged With:

My Glass, your glass, WHOSE GLASS!?!?

December 2, 2009 by

Stop the madness now and invest in some of these awesome glass markers!

  1. This Wine is Mine, Personalized Wine Markers
  2. Etsy, Vintage Oija Boards
  3. Etsy, Custom Wine Charms
  4. Sur la Table, Wine Lines
  5. Amazon, Vacu Vin Party People Glass Markers
  6. Etsy, Winter Wonderland Wine Charmer Gift Set
Filed Under: party time, sk, wine Tagged With: , , ,

Who Needs a Man??

November 16, 2009 by

My husband is a firefighter that works 24 hour shifts at a time several times a week, so he isn’t always around for dire emergencies…. Let’s say my wine cork is stuck way too tight for me to get out on my own*. I found this miraculous invention that almost takes his place and its under $10 bucks! I swear it will open ANYTHING.  Do yourself a favor and get one NOW.

der-who needs a man

Bed Bath and Beyond, EZ Twist Jar Opener ($6.99)

*Based on a true story.

Filed Under: der, home, wine Tagged With:

6 Wines Every Home Needs!!!

October 15, 2009 by

So for my first post, I decided to make it all about one of my loves: WINE! Now yes, I did say just one of my loves, and I will get to the rest of them eventually, but you can read more about me here for now.

I will say that I was always intimidated by wine, that is, until I went to the FABULOUS Napa Valley region for my honeymoon, circa 2007. One may say that going to Napa would only confuse or even intimidate you more; however, my experience was the exact opposite.

My husband and I had a fabulous driver for a day, Tac Fair the owner and operator of Napa Tac Tours and Chauffeur, and he gave us one piece of advice that I have never forgotten. Tac told us at the very beginning of the day, “You guys are going to hear that you should love this wine because it’s expensive or you should love this wine because it has won so many awards, but the bottom line is that you ARE going to like what you like…so go with it.”

I love Tac for this reason, and I’m passing along the same advice. Below are a few brands and types of wine that you will ALWAYS be able to find in my house. Some are really cheap, some are more on the pricey side, but all, in my opinion, are GREAT!!!!

sk-intro and wine

  1. Newton, Unfiltered Chardonnay
  2. Simi, Chardonnay
  3. Flat Creek Pinot Grigio
  4. Yellowtail, Pinot Grigio
  5. Flat Creek Super Texan Sangiovese
  6. Blackstone, Cabernet Sauvignon
Filed Under: sk, wine Tagged With: , , , ,