Wine - The Birdman!

Hi guys, I thought I'd make my wine post on Thursday, so I can still join in with Heather on Fridays for Book Club Friday :-) Last weekend I picked up this cute bottle of Pinot Grigio called The Birdman. I want to try a new wine every week if I can, but I don't want to read the back of the label to make my choice (I want to try the wine and see if I can pinpoint any of the tastes it mentions), so for now, I'm going by label!  Yup, if I like the label, I'm buying it.

So, this label caught my eye last week. The birds on it looked kinda cute, especially around the top of the bottle, each one was different and had a different expression on their face!

 

 Well, once again I forgot to NOT read the back of the label before I tasted it, and I didn't make notes about it! Not much of a wine reviewer am I?!! 

sings with a harmonious blend of floral peach and pear aromas and finishes with a long, fruity warble!

I love how some wines are described - 'fruity warble', LOL :-)  This was a really nice Grigio, smooth and almost creamy (i.e. not sharp or citrusy), but still very refreshing. I wish I could taste the peaches and pears, but I usually can't (wonder if that has anything to do with my often stuffy sinus nose!).  I definitely would buy this one again, but there are so many more out there I want to try, so it may be a while before I do. 

I found this on Amazon today, I've added it to my Wish List ;-)

 So, how do you pick a bottle of wine? Does the label influence you at all, or do you reach for something you know you like?

Looking Forward!

It's 104 degrees outside, and I'm knitting Winter Cowls!!!!!! I must be crazy! To be honest though, there isn't anything I could knit that I would wear during the summers here in TX. It's always way too hot for knitwear, no matter how thin/cool the yarn is. So, I'm content to knit 'winter woolies'.  Instead of "wishing the summer away", I like to think of myself as just "looking forward" to the next season ;-) Fall has to be my favorite season of the year, and here in TX we tend to have to wait quite a while for it. Even in September the temps can still be pretty high. I looked back at my posts from last year and by mid September I was still complaining about the heat! So it's nice to sit here and knit with thick yarn, and think about the cooler days I know will come soon enough.

I love how this chunky grey cowl turned out. It's just a simple roll neck design, but I think the addition of the silk flower really makes it special. The flower can be removed and worn as a brooch or a hair barrette

For this cowl I knit the flower too. Colors differ on each monitor so I'm not sure how you're seeing this. It's not a light cream but more a golden wheat color. The flower is a burnt orange. They look great together for Fall

The cowl stretches to go just over your shoulders too, or you can pull it over your ears when it's really cold out! However it's worn, I think it looks stunning.

I knit these pretty beaded wrist warmers months ago, and have just never gotten around to listing them in my Etsy store. The hard part is trying to get great pictures! They look great with a denim jacket, or even just with a sweater!

Now I just need to get them listed. If you're 'looking forward' like me, and you'd like something custom knit, just let me know. I'd be more than happy to discuss the details with you.

Inspiration!

Last week the lovely Susan over at Hometown Girl asked for volunteers to help her with a new venture she is starting. She posted on her blog . . . .

I've decided to start doing some design work on-line. My vision is to offer design services for table settings be it parties or a wedding, along with favors and party decor ideas. The other will be for interior design ideas.

My plan is to provide my clients with an Inspiration Board and a source list so they can secure the items needed to create the desired look. Maybe even a DIY project if they are inclined. I would love to do this for a few readers for free so I can work out the process and get a feel for how it will work.

I emailed Susan and said I would love to help. She sent me a questionnaire and I picked my dining room as the 'project'. I'm rather bored with how it looks right now and I thought having someone else's thoughts and ideas would be a great help. Here's the pictures I sent Susan.

 

I explained that I was hoping to change the curtains, move the buffet back to the cream colored wall and would like help with accessories and table setting. Wanna see the Inspiration Board that Susan created for me?

 Isn't it awesome? :-)  I absolutely LOVE IT! You can click on the board above to go to Susan's blog and see what she had to say about 'my space', and what she would do with it. She also lists all the items and where I can buy them. I also have the option to replace them with similar items to keep things within my budget. I'm already looking around the web for some alternatives, and I found this wonderful Burlap Table Runner from Thimbleana on Etsy(it's being shipped to me as we speak!)

I love the chandelier and the bench. Not sure hubs would agree to the bench, but I'm thinking the chandelier is a definite ;-) I'll also be pricing other chair covers and curtains perhaps from Target or Bed Bath and Beyond?  I'll keep you posted as and when I purchase items to 'pull the room together'. Susan also did a Coastal Inspired Bedroom for another blogger, you can CLICK HERE to see it.

Thank you again Susan, I can't tell you how much I love the ideas you've given me and for allowing me to help you in the process. I hope your new venture gets off to a great start.

Wine!

Hi all, wow, this past week just flew by again. I didn't even get a chance to post yesterday for Book Club Friday! I was about to do it today but then I decided to post about 'WINE'! Cocktail night has been a bit hit and miss lately, Cheryl and I have usually just shared a glass of wine on a Friday night, and to be honest, that's what our Friday Night's were all about - wine and cheese tastings ;-)  

Cocktails are fun too but I like the idea of getting back to trying a new wine each week, and I thought I would share my 'findings' with you all on here. Not that I'm a connoisseur of wine by any means. In fact I'm no connoisseur at all, but I love trying them. Just this past year I discovered I rather like red wine too so that has opened up a whole new experience for me. I thought I might try to have a post once a week of a new wine I've tried. . . . I'm trying to come up with a name for the 'feature' but as of right now I'm stumped!

For now, let me tell you about two wines we've tried lately. And because I'm not a connoisseur and often can't tell what they taste like, I'm going to share with you the description on the labels :-) So, last week Cheryl was trying a new wine called The Naked Grape (well, new for us), a Pinot Grigio from California.

Light bodied and crisp, with aromas of pear, lemon and honey!

Honestly I can't even remember if that's what I tasted in this wine, I just remember it was nice! I think if I'm to do a post on wines from now on, I'll make notes of what I thought of the drink as and when I taste it. 

Next up is Toasted Head!

 Funny story, I was in the grocery store with Kristen the other week and looking to buy a bottle of wine for Friday night, so I ask her to look at the labels and pick one for me that she liked :-)  She picked this one with a fire-breathing bear! The following are notes from the Toasted Head website (because again, I didn't make any notes about it AND I didn't get a picture of the back of the bottle - because I wasn't thinking about doing these posts at the time).

The nose offers ripe pineapple and peach aromas with toasted graham cracker. The bright straw color prepares the palate for the rich tropical fruit and luscious stone fruit with a viscous mouth feel accented by toasted coconut, vanilla and butterscotch. The creamy finish lingers with hints of buttered toast and lemon zest. This wine will pair well with creamy Italian pasta dishes, roasted chicken or fish, and fresh summer corn.

Pineapple, peach and toasted graham cracker! Wow! I wish I could remember tasting all of that, lol :-)  Toasted coconut, vanilla and butterscotch, I'm sure I didn't get a taste of any of that either! Chardonnays aren't really my favorite kind of wine, I usually find them too dry, but am wanting to like them better - so I keep on trying them. This one was actually rather nice.

Well, that's it for this weeks 'recommendations'. I really liked both of these wines, so if you see them in your local store, give em a try.  And if you've tried something yummy lately, or can recommend a great wine, do let me know.

Hmmm? Any ideas what I can call my weekly 'wine post'?

Just me. . .

saying hi . . . . wondering what ya'll are up to?

Yesterday marked the '1 month before school starts' date! We go back to school here on August 22nd. I really don't want to wish the next 4 weeks away, I just want to wish the heat away. Is anyone NOT having SUPER HOT days? It's hard to imagine that anywhere in the US is having anything but 100 degree days, although I know many of you do actually have it cooler than that. And I saw on the news that Chicago had terrible floods this past week. It's crazy that some of us are in such a drought and others are being flooded out of their homes! 

We are gearing up for a yard sale this weekend! We've only ever done one once before, back when we lived in MD and we were getting ready to move to TX. Usually we just load stuff up we don't need and take it to Goodwill, but last weekend we went through our spare/storage room and cleared a lot of stuff out.  There was so much stuff  we decided it was worth the effort to do a yard sale. We told our neighbors too, but some of them are busy. Cheryl isn't though, so she'll be putting some stuff out too :-)  Hopefully it will be a successful day for us all. 

To pass the time (when I'm not sorting stuff out  for the yard sale) I've been browsing shops on line and adding goodies to my Amazon Wish List - I'm already dreaming of Christmas!. Did you know you can add a button to your tool bar from Amazon 'Add to Wish List' and no matter what online store you look in, you can simply click that button when you see something you like, and it will automatically go to your Amazon Wish List. I love it. Here's a few things I added this week . . . 

I saw this bag in Dillards a few weeks ago when I went out shopping with Cheryl, I just LOVE it. So when I got back home I added it to my wish list ;-)

 I can't save the picture any bigger than that, so for a closer look click on the purse, or go to Dillards HERE

 Now, if I'm to have a new purse (wishfully thinking for Birthday or Christmas)  I think this purse organizer would also be great. . . .

 I found this one on Etsy at Divide and Conquer

I want this book!  :-)

I like collecting Willow Tree figurines and would love the nativity this Christmas.

 Now what's the point of a purse organizer if you're not gonna 'wish' for more purses - just sayin!!!

Believe it or not, I actually have this Coach purse (below) in my closet, but I hardly use it! Jason bought this  for me years ago when we still lived in England. It's really nice, but just a tad 'plain', and a little small, can't get much in it at all - certainly not a big purse organizer!!

A Chi would be nice!

Have you ever tried on a pair of Uggs! Oh My, these can go to the top of my list!!!

What's on your WISH LIST?

Summer Knitting!

When I think of Summer Knitting I usually conjure up pictures a bit like this one . . . .

or even this one (oh to be knitting in Tuscany!)

I'd like to be thinking of skeins of soft cotton yarn, the kind that would keep you cool, of pretty little tanks that can be knit while you're lounging at the beach . . . 

but in reality, my summer knitting looks more like this . . . .

and this . . .

 

 and even this - yes, that's a hat and scarf set for my bottles of wine ;-) 

(they make a hostess gift look really cute)

 That's because right now my summer knitting consists of Christmas gifts for family and friends, AND some new things to put in my Etsy store come the Fall!  But whichever way I look at it, it's still Knitting, and it's still what I love to do :-)

Monthly Book Club

 

Wow, doesn't a week go by quickly! It's time for Book Club Friday again :-) And this week I have a new book to share with you. Before I do that, I'd just like to say that I really enjoyed 'Loving Frank' in the end. It took a little time to get in to it, but in hindsight it was a really enjoyable read. Fascinating too, that it was based on real events. If any of you don't know the story of Frank Lloyd Wright and Mamah Borthwick I would suggest you don't Google it first if you want to read this book - the ending was a complete SHOCKER to me!!!  We had our monthly Book Club meeting last night about it and as always it was fun and lively.I love my book club because it makes me read books I normally wouldn't bother picking up, and more often than not I'm surprised that I enjoy them, when at the beginning I think I'm not going to!

Whilst I still had a few chapters left of 'Loving Frank' I actually downloaded this book to my Ipad . . . 

 This is our book club read for September (we won't be reading in August, we've decided on a Movie night instead - more about that next month ;-) Here's the synopsis:

Heaven Is for Real is the true story of the four-year old son of a small town Nebraska pastor who during emergency surgery slips from consciousness and enters heaven. He survives and begins talking about being able to look down and see the doctor operating and his dad praying in the waiting room. The family didn't know what to believe but soon the evidence was clear.

Colton said he met his miscarried sister, whom no one had told him about, and his great grandfather who died 30 years before Colton was born, then shared impossible-to-know details about each. He describes the horse that only Jesus could ride, about how "reaaally big" God and his chair are, and how the Holy Spirit "shoots down power" from heaven to help us.

Told by the father, but often in Colton's own words, the disarmingly simple message is heaven is a real place, Jesus really loves children, and be ready, there is a coming last battle.

If I'm honest, I'm not sure what to make of this book. I'm a  christian, I believe in God and Jesus, and I believe we WILL have eternal life if we accept Jesus Christ as our savior. I've heard of a few stories of someone that died and 'went to heaven' (have you read 90 minutes in Heaven?) The thing that got me was that I thought you had to 'die' to even experience anything like that (don't ask me why I thought that, I just did), but this little boy didn't die, he 'slipped from conciousnessl!!  What does that actually mean? Haven't you already 'slipped from conciousness' when you're on the operating table? Did he really go to heaven, or did he just dream he did?  The book mentions a young girl named Akiane who 'paints pictures of Jesus and heaven based on her visits too, but again when I read articles on her, she has never 'died' but says she sees heaven in her dreams! So, I don't really know what to make of it all, but does it really matter? I know what I believe, I know that when I die I'll have eternal life with my Maker, my Creator, and I will be reunited with those I have loved and lost. I am reminded of this verse:

However, as it is written:   No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him. 1 Corinthians 2:9

I will say, it was a quick and easy read, less than 200 pages.I'm sure it will make for an interesting meeting too!  Wanna know what others are reading? Head over to Heather's for more Book Club Friday posts.