This could be the red for your red, white, and blue celebrations this coming weekend! I used to have an aversion to artificial watermelon-flavored things (candy in particular). But fresh watermelon, I could gobble up for days. And with one of my favorite holidays on the horizon it’s time to bust out some watermelon. There’s…
Holidays
Traditions
Some traditions are passed along from generation to generation. Others we create. As one friend said, “they’ve got to start somewhere.” Movies My mom passed along my love for Christmas movies, and there’s a small handful I have to watch each and every year or it just doesn’t feel like Christmas. One of those movies…
Holiday Wine Gift Ideas – Stoller Family Estate
If you are looking to impress with a special bottle for the wine enthusiast on your holiday list, look no further than Stoller Family Estate. Wines to Impress for Holiday Wine Gift Ideas When I gift a wine to someone special — whether a loved one, a client, a teammate, a boss, whomever — I…
Sparkling Wines for The Holidays
Let’s pop some bubbly! It’s that time of year folks. The time of year where store shelves are stocked high with sparkling wines the same way they are inundated with rosé in the summertime. And while I drink bubbles year-round (heck yeah, even in a blizzard!), I do recognize that it’s this time of year…
Extra Virgin Olive Oil Chocolate Chip Cookies
These Extra Virgin Olive Oil Chocolate Chip cookies are made with olive oil instead of butter, and taste rich and incredible. You won’t even know they’re butter-free! Chewy, chocolaty, indulgent, delicious, and entirely butter free. Oregon Olive Mill cookies (left), My version (right) These came out exactly how I remembered them the first (and second) time…
10 Fourth of July Recipes and Wines for BBQ
If any holiday gets me more excited about cooking than Thanksgiving, it is, hands down, 4th of July. Here are 10 great recipes to celebrate 4th of July with. 4th of July in my Portland neighborhood is… well… Picture 4th of July in Mayberry. It’s pretty darn close. Combine the charm of a close-knit neighborhood…
Mini-Vacation Spotlight — Sedona, Arizona
Things to do for a great mini-vacation to Sedona, Arizona. For Mother’s Day two years ago my husband asked what I’d most like. I told him I wanted Sedona. I wanted to go somewhere warm, quiet, beautiful, serene, and most of all peaceful. I had just come off of my first year of having twins,…
9 Super Bowl Recipes
T-minus six days ‘till the big day. The Super Bowl. I’m not gonna lie, I only watch one football game a year – the Super Bowl (though I do fantasize about the idea of buying a traveling smoker just to take up tailgating). To me, the Super Bowl is just one grand snack-foodie holiday, and…
Discussing Holiday Food and Wine Pairing with The Hudson Valley Wine Goddess
Holiday parties are in full swing, and if you should find yourself in a rut trying to figure out which wines to drink you’re not alone. It can be an intimidating topic for many. My advice is don’t think too deeply about it. Pairing wine with holiday foods is no different than any style of…
Smoked Buffalo Turkey Dip
The absolute BEST use for leftover turkey is this Smoked Buffalo Turkey Dip! I thought I knew what the ultimate use for leftover Thanksgiving turkey was. I was wrong. It’s this dip! Leftover Thanksgiving Turkey It’s inevitable, if you’re going to cook a turkey for Thanksgiving or any holiday, you’re going to find yourselves with…
Sparkling wines for the other 364 days a year
Now that New Year’s and Valentine’s Day have come and gone it seems as though discussions on sparkling wines have come to a screeching halt. Sure it is nice to celebrate those two occasions with bubbly, and I’ve said it to dozens of people “I absolutely support any holiday that encourages people to drink more…
What I’ve been drinking – bubbles edition
This isn’t meant to be a “what to drink for New Year’s” post, or a “top sparkling wines of the year” list by any means! If you’ve read more than one blog post here you know sparkling is my favorite style of wine, I drink them year round, and write about them year round. Instead,…
Images of Cognac
As you may remember, earlier this year I was invited to go on a press trip to Congac, sponsored by the Bureau National Interprofessionnel du Cognac (BNIC), as a result of a writing contest I won (you can read that piece here). In short, the trip was amazing and Cognac is a breathtaking city. Not…
A Special Wine for the Holiday Season – Vinsanto from Santorini
This time of year everybody seems to be weighing in on the best wines to buy as gifts. With any type of gift (wine related or not) I believe the process should be as uncomplicated and stress free as possible. Whenever I am asked for wine gift ideas (any time of the year) I simply…
Champagne Series, Part II
My dad recently sent me a text saying “do you have Champagne glasses?” I initially wanted to respond, “Um duh, who do you think you’re talking to???” Then I thought perhaps it was a trick question. Was this question really intended for me? I mean its ME for heavens sake, the bubbles queen. Then I…
Giving thanks… and a little bit of wine
…Not your average Thanksgiving wine post… I had a very hard time accepting the fact that I would spend my first Thanksgiving away from my family in Arizona. This was many years ago mind you. We had many family customs that made me nervous to explore what others traditions would be like. My family never…
Lessons learned from 10 days without power
“Things could have been worse”. A phrase I heard about a million times during the eleven days I was without power following the October 29th freak Connecticut snowstorm – A snowstorm that managed to knock down thousands of trees and power lines throughout the state causing the single biggest power outage in the states history….
Vindulge New Years Cheers…
… And a special announcement. As this year comes to an end I wanted to wish everybody who reads this blog a very happy new year and to share some very exciting news. Earlier this month my husband and I welcomed our twin boys into the world. Sawyer James and Cole Thomas joined us on…
Mumm Napa
Winter is apparently in full effect this week in Portland, with temperatures as low as the teens (brrr), and guess what’s in my glass… bubbles. Yes, bubbles indeed! Just because it’s cold that doesn’t keep me from drinking bubbly this time of the year. I am of the school of thought that bubbles are appropriate…