Two Wine Chics on a Quest

NOW It's Time For Christmas!

December is just around the corner, and I think I'm getting in the spirit! Surprises are in the air - Katie, I can't WAIT to see what's up! - and I'm ready to access my inner kid and have fun. I hope you'll join me!

Happy Holiday Trills,

Laura

Printable Gift Tags

I have the most unusual adventure planned for tomorrow that I'll share later this week.  In the meantime, I have a little holiday gift for you - this FREE printable gift tag page.  Just click the download link below, then print out on paper (or cardstock), and cut out the tags.  I hope you enjoy it!

Download TWCQgifttagpdf

Happy Trills,

Katie

P.S. - This is a pdf file and you'll need adobe reader to view it. If you don't have adobe reader, just click here for the free download.

A Mini Quest to Washington Missouri

Had a good day in Washington, Missouri today. My friend Lee was delivering some of her wonderful handmade Envisage Vintage Jewelry to a new local boutique, and I tagged along for lunch and shopping. Unfortunately, we found that much of Washington is closed on Monday, but there were beautiful holiday decorations in the historic downtown area, and we got very lucky on a couple of places we did find open.

We had lunch first at the Old Dutch Tavern. Wow - there were over 90 beers available at this great old restaurant and bar. I asked for recommendations from the waiter, who was very knowledgeable and brought me two different beers that were both good (although apparently, two beers at lunch renders me incapable of remembering said beers' names - sorry!) Lee had the milk stout they had on tap for both her beers and she loved that. The food was quite good - updated pub fare with some local selections. Lee had a great burger with gouda cheese and sweet potato fries. My choice was a beef brisket sandwich from the local Williams Brothers meat market topped with caramelized onions, boursin cheese and garlic herb mayo. It rocked, and that's not the beer talking. I paired it with the house-made potato salad, also good (perhaps just a bit bland, but I like spicy.) All in all, a really good find and I will go back. Oh, and even though they specialize in beer, they did have a very solid wine list - they just need a local selection or two - and a list of good single malt scotch. And it was all housed in a beautiful historic building with an awesome bar, original tin ceilings, and a charming ambiance.

Then it was on to deliver Lee's jewelry to the new Fern & Sycamore, just up the street. It's an inspired shop with a variety of art and goods of superior craftsmanship from all around the country. You'll naturally pay more than you would at the big name discount store, but the quality of the merchandise is well worth the price. I loved that many of the merchandise tags gave a bit of information on the company history and the number of people employed by the business (I think the largest one I saw was 200 employees.) This is a perfect Christmas shopping option for that discriminating, conscientious person on your list. (You know, in case you needed to get something for ME! teehee!!)

On that note,

Happy Trills!

Laura

 

Thanksgiving Quest

Well, I didn't head too far away for our Thanksgiving quest this year.  We ventured across Hwy T to Murphy's Retreat where my family and a long-time friend were staying during the holiday.  You can't beat the view of the Meramec river from the back porch of this house!

It's just a mile from the winery, but there was no phone, so it really felt like a vacation.  And I could run back for supplies pretty easily when we realized what we needed! :)

There a peek at our dinner table.  I owe my visiting friend, Liz & her boyfriend Seth many thanks for helping out with cooking, ideas, and actually setting the table.  Fortunately, Murphy's retreat had these lovely plates we could use, and Liz thoughtfully provided the candlelight, so I thought the table turned out Thanksgiving-country-chic.  What do you think?

There's my Mom & Clyde uncovering food while our neighbor Scott looks on the buffet line wondering when he'll be allowed to eat.

The plates are full, and Seth, Scott and Clyde are at the table wondering when the rest of us are going to set down our cameras and eat.

We ended up serving our Dry Creek wine and a dry red Cabernet Sauvignon that Clyde made a couple years back with our dinner.  Delish, if I do say so myself!

And after dinner, Scott was kind enough to take several family photos for us.  Here's a favorite of Clyde, myself, my parents and my sister in front of the fireplace at Murphy's Retreat:

After all the advice to have props and such, I didn't even bring an empty picture frame with me!  Oh well - we had a great time, and I truly enjoyed having everyone together for the day.

How was your Thanksgiving?  What did you serve?  Let us know in the comments!

Happy Trills,

Katie

P.S. - My sis is an accomplished hand bell player, and she brought along a set of 5 bells with her.  On Wednesday night she brought them out and played me a 'Trill'.  Laura - you would have loved it!  Wish you'd been here.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Hee hee hee!  I hope no one out there has to drink the cheap wine this Thanksgiving!  May you have a wonderful, fun, and blessed day today.

I have a little crafty project to share.  Quick and easy napkin rings!

These are fun to make, come together quickly and the supplies are inexpensive.  

To make this napkin ring you'll need: Fruit Fusion:Grape Stamp set and the Fruit Fusion:Grapes Die from papertrey ink; a purple and a green ink pad; a die cut machine like the cuttlebug; an acrylic block; glue; foam tape; and a piece of patterned paper or colored paper of your choice cut into a 1.5X6 inch rectangle (when I was putting together the tutorial, I wasn't sure which piece of paper I'd like best, so I just photographed them both.  As it turned out the one on the right was too busy for the napkin I had on hand, so I went with the green paper on the left.).

Accordian pleat the napkin and lay it down in a stack like so:

Then just wrap your paper piece around the napkin and glue the paper ends together to make a ring. Now turn your napkin and fluff to your liking.  Next, die cut three grapes using the grape die and your cutting machine.  Stamp the grape image of your choice and the stem onto the die cut pieces using the purple and green inks.  

Finally, glue two of the stamped die cuts directly to the paper band.  Apply foam adhesive to the back of the third die cut and then apply that to the band, just above the other two grapes.

I stamped the grapes before I grabbed a napkin, and as it turned out, the only napkin I had nearby was this busy one.  If I had realized that this was the napkin I was going to use for the tutorial, I probably would have gone with a red ink instead of purple to make everything matchy-matchy.  But that would actually be completely unlike me - being matchy matchy (and planning ahead) - so I didn't try to redo it.  I hope you don't mind.

If you are a better planner than me, take a look at the napkins you plan to use and match your ink & paper colors accordingly.  Have fun with this easy little project though - no one will actually care if your grapes don't match your napkins.  

Right?  Right?  Anyone?  Let me know if you try your hand at this fun little project!

Ah well, hopefully my guests will be too busy eating turkey to worry about the color match here.

Happy Trills and Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Katie

Thankful Memories

Life is sure good at throwing people curve balls. We all work so hard to make sure that everything, every situation we go into is well planned and picture perfect, because we apparently believe that this how we must do it in order to get things done, have fun, lead productive lives. But if you think about it, when we talk about the best times in our lives, it's often the times that didn't go perfectly that we look back on with the most joy.

My favorite Thanksgiving, the one my family always talks about around the Thanksgiving table with giggles and "yay, and remember how..." exclamations, happened many years ago. I lived in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and my parents had a small vacation cabin on the other side of the state near the Mississippi River. We had an early snow that year, on Wednesday before Thanksgiving. I was young, probably 26 or 27, and something as common as a Wisconsin snow storm was not about to make me miss a family Thanksgiving. So I set out that Wednesday, alone, in my little front wheel drive car (a Mitsubishi, I think) on what was usually about a 3 hour drive. About 7 or 8 hours later, after driving through snow pack and barely making it down the gravel road to the cabin, I finally got there. I was exhausted and so ready for a fun family holiday.

And in comes the curve - the power was out. Lots of heavy snow had downed power lines and most of the area was dark. So much for Thanksgiving dinner. So much for heat, for that matter. My dad got up every few hours during the night to keep a big fire going in the fireplace, and on that Thanksgiving morning we packed up the food he'd brought along for the feast in coolers and headed back to Madison (where my bother lived) as soon as we could plow out. My 90 year old grandmother was with us, and we really did need to get warm and have running water. It's the little things... And so Thanksgiving Dinner that year was at (drumroll...) Denny's. Yep, sounds kinda like a National Lampoon Vacation movie, doesn't it. My family, like most, is plenty dysfunctional for it, and I know we were all laughing so hard our belly's ached. We were tired from a long, chilly night, and our sense of the absurd was pretty acute right then. We'll never forget that Thanksgiving. Others have been nice, or tense, or well planned, or boring, or crazy, or huge with every dysfunctional member present, but that one, it takes the cake - or, I guess I should say, turkey!

We had the feast the following weekend at my parents' home in Illinois, so we didn't miss out and really got to have two Thanksgivings, but it's the one at Denny's that we had to drive through the aftermath of a snow storm to have that we really remember. So tomorrow, keep in mind that when the absurd happens, just have another glass of wine (or two!) and enjoy whatever life throws at you. Perfect and well planned are highly overrated.

Happy Thanksgiving Trills,

Laura

7 Thanksgiving Travel Tips for the Wine Questers

Are you traveling to turkey dinner this year?  If you are, I have a few tips for arriving safe and sound to your destination....and having some fun with wine on the way there!

1. Planning ahead: check out your route online and see if there are any wineries along or near your route.  Be sure to find out the hours of operations too.  Most states have tourism listings with wineries - just google the state(s) your traveling through.  Missouri has a great site complete with a trip planner that you can find here.  There is also a MO winery app for your smart phone that you can download before you leave.

2.Bring snacks!  This is especially good for the drive to your Thanksgiving destination.  Nuts, crackers, granola....anything that travels easily.  Plan to buy perishables like cheese & sausage at the winery or a local grocery store.  You might end up finding some cool locally-made foods this way too.

3.Bring water!  Staying hydrated is important for life in general, but especially important when you are traveling and planning on drinking wine.  The rule of thumb I don't live by but should, is to drink at least one full glass of water for every glass (no more than two) of wine that you drink.  So if you've sampled about 5 wines at a winery, you'll definitely want to sip some water before moving onto the next stop.

4. Add in extra time to enjoy your journey.  Clyde and I rarely go to more than 3 wineries on any one day. You want to sit and enjoy the atmosphere, have plenty of time to savor the flavors at the places you visit and make a few memories.  You can't do that when you're in a mad rush to get from one place to the next on tight deadlines.  Thanksgiving day will come with it's own stress - you might as well take some time to stop and smell the rose while you are on your way to or from the big dinner.  Add an extra hour or even another day so that you can relax!

5.Take turkey dinner leftovers to the wineries for a little picnic.  Find out exactly which wine will pair well with next year's dinner while you support the local economy!

6.Bring your camera & a fun prop.  An empty picture frame, a toy, or even just plan to do the same goofy pose at each stop.  You'll remember that year as the "fish face" turkey day, or the "planking" turkey day...whatever you choose, talk with the winery staff to find out the best spots on the property to take a few pictures.

7.Talk to fellow wine questers at the wineries you visit.  You'll meet some neat people, find out great travel tips, and you never know what will happen!  If you're stumped on how to start a conversation, here are a few sure-fire openers:

"So what was your favorite wine on the list here?"

"What other wineries have you been to / Where else are you headed to  today?"

"Is that a bottle in your pocket, or are you just ...."  Hmm...well, you might not want to use this one. :)

Speaking of which, if you do happen to be stuck in a conversation you want out of, think of these chickens:

 (love Doug Savage!)

Where ever you head out to for your Thanksgiving, be safe and have a great time!

Happy Trills,

Katie

What to Drink With Your Turkey (& Stuffing, Cranberries, Mashed Potatoes......)

It's just a couple of days off, that big day for over indulgence that we call Thanksgiving. If you're in charge of picking up the wine, here are a couple of quick Wine Chic tips for you.

A great way to go is to have a red and a white on the table. Not only does this appeal to multiple tastes, it is a good way to complement the vast number of foods you'll have on your plate. A light to medium bodied dry red with a lot of fruitiness will do great things with the subtle tastes of turkey. Pinot Noir is a common and worthy choice, and one of my favorites.
A lighter Merlot or Shiraz can also work nicely. Actually, the wine Katie had the other day at her friend Crystal's birthday celebration sounds like it would be an awesome choice, too. A good Wenwood wine would be the Century Farm Red.

As for a white, something crisp and fresh is a great way to cleanse your palate between some of the richer, creamier dishes. Buttery stuffing, gravy, even cranberry sauce can linger a bit, and an acidic wine helps to clear away that creaminess, opening your taste buds to all the flavors in your meal. Sauvignon Blanc or a dry Riesling are great wines for this, and my Wenwood choice is Country Estate White.

One more suggestion - think outside California and France. Try wine from someplace you haven't had it from before. Washington State has fantastic Pinot Noirs; Michigan has some really yummy Rieslings; New Zealand offers my favorite Sauvignon Blancs. Not to mention Missouri - Chambourcin (our varietal of the month) is a great red, and Vidal or a dry Vignoles are wonderful white choices. I've given you my choices from Wenwood, and I'll hit Katie up for Peaceful Bend recommendations tomorrow.

No matter what you drink, please enjoy the wine and everything else you have to be thankful for.

Happy Trills,

Laura

Countdown to Thanksgiving Day

I sure hope you weren't expecting me to say something like "countdown to savings." I'm already so sick of all that hype. I'm looking forward to this Thanksgiving week - the kitchen warm from baking, waiting for family members to arrive from out of town, the crackle of brown leaves underfoot. It's a great time of year, if you can manage to ignore all the hype.

I haven't been questing far from home this past month (that hype has something to do with that - I wouldn't go in to a retail store without a really good reason - like needing coffee...) We've had lots of Thanksgiving and fall events at the winery and we have been really good about our organizing project at home. Busy, busy, so most of my questing has been the online variety. I found this today, and I think this is the perfect time to share it. I usually find these kinds of lists pretty cliche, offering little in the way of practical advice, but this one surprised me. It hits a few chords; I have vowed not to let the usual stress of the season get to me so much this year, and to keep an eye on what is important. Like being happy in my own home. Apparently I'm not the only one feeling this way, and I like that.

I found this list for Ten Simple Things to Make You Happier at Home on the Headed Somewhere blog; they found it on ApartmentTherapy.com. It has inspired both of us, so I'm going to keep sharing it forward. Hopefully, it will inspire you too.

From the author: It's amazing how a few tweaks to our daily habits can become a catalyst for meaningful, positive change. Here are a few simple things you can do every day to feel happier at home.

1. Make your bed.

The book The Happiness Project, explains that this three minute task is one of the simplest habits you can adopt to positively impact your happiness.

2. Bring every room back to “ready.”

I learned this trick from Marilyn Paul’s clever book, It’s Hard to Make a Difference When You Can’t Find Your Keys. It’s a known fact: Clutter causes stress; order creates a haven from it. This mood-boosting routine is simple: Take about three minutes to bring each room back to “ready” before you depart it. (Unless you have a toddler, or a partner who likes to simulate earthquakes, three minutes should be sufficient.)

3. Display sentimental items around your home.

One reason that experiences (and memories of those experiences) make us happier than material things is due to the entire cycle of enjoyment that experiences provide: planning the experience, looking forward to the experience, enjoying the experience, and then remembering the experience. Make your home a gallery of positive memories.

4. Start a one-line-a-day gratitude journal.

Before bed, simply jot down one happy memory from that day. (If you have kids, you can ask them, “What was the best part of today?”) Reflection is an important part of happiness, and pausing to reflect on a positive event from each day cultivates gratitude. (An added bonus: Later, when your memory is defunct, you will already have all of your meaningful adventures recorded!) If you have trouble getting started with journaling, consider buying a book to guide you. Simple Abundance, by Sarah Ban Breathnach, is a great one.

5. If you can’t get out of it, get into it.

This tip comes from The Happiness Project. I love the message: The dishes are not going to clean themselves, so you will do it, and you will like it! (Unless, of course, you can outsource this job, in which case I say: Nice work!) Otherwise, get into doing the dishes. Feel the soothing warm water on your hands. Enjoy the tickle of the tiny bubbles. Crank your favorite album at an unusually loud volume, do a couple fist-pumps while shouting “Can I get a hell yeah for the dishes? Hell! Yeah!” and pretend you love it.

6. Before you get up each morning, set an intent for the day.

In The Art of Happiness, the Dali Lama says “”Every day, think as you wake up: today I am fortunate to be alive, I have a precious human life, I am not going to waste it.” Wow. What a wise man. I tend to wake up with a strong visceral reaction that says, “Attention human beings: Be afraid of me before coffee. Be very afraid!” Setting a daily intent makes a huge difference. Your daily intent could be something like “be productive” or “enjoy today’s delicious moments” or it could be something more specific like “say thank you to my loved ones today.” But it should not be another “to do” item on your list.

7. Do small favors for your housemates, expecting nothing in return (not even a thank you!).

(That’s right, I said it: nothing!) Mow the lawn for your husband, but don’t expect him to pat you on the back. Make the bed for your wife, but don’t try to get bonus points for it. Take the trash out for your roommate, just because. The ability to cultivate strong, healthy relationships is one of the biggest contributors to health and happiness, but when you start to keep score, the benefit is lost. (No! It’s YOUR turn to clean up the dog poop!) It’s a well-known fact: When you do good, you feel good.

8. Call at least one friend or family member a day.

You can do this while you clean, while you make the bed, or while you walk the dog. Texts and emails do not count! Make an actual phone call to a loved one, just to chat and catch up. We humans are social beings and studies show that even when we don’t feel like it, even if we are naturally introverted, socializing with our loved ones makes us feel better.

9. Spend money on things that cultivate experiences at home.

Save money for a new grill for parties or a new DVD for family movie night — something that will encourage you to have people over and entertain. Plan a summer barbeque, invite your closest friends, kick back and relax. (And don’t forget to print out the pictures to remember the good times.)

10. Spend a few minutes each day connecting with something greater than yourself.

Whatever your spiritual beliefs — or non-beliefs — may be, studies show that connecting to a high power is correlated with happiness. Just stepping back to realize that we are part of an enormous universe can put some perspective on your annoyance with the those-are-definitely-not-mine-and-they-are-abso-fricking-lutely-repulsive socks under the coffee table. Before bed, spend just a few minutes contemplating something larger than yourself. Take a walk in nature. Write in a journal. Create a sacred space in your home. (Or if spirituality is really not your thing, create a home spa: light some candles, soak in a hot bath, delve into a good book… are you feeling better yet?)

Back to Laura: I really love the mix of cerebral and intangible advice here. Nothing big and earth shattering, just a couple little things that can lead to a happier outlook. My favorites are Number 3, Number 5, and Number 10. How about you? Let me know in the comments, and I hope you enjoy this wonderful time of year in your own home.

Happy Trills,

Laura

Birthday Wine

Last night we were lucky enough to join our nieghbors at Sybill's Restaurant to celebrate Crytal's birthday.  After checking out a couple options, Crystal chose this bottle - a 2008 Monte Antico Toscana.  It came highly recommended by the waiters and for good reason!

There's the birthday girl checking out her glass of wine (and her birthday carrot cake!).  The color was a lovely dark red and clear as a bell.

This was a medium bodied red with loads of fruitiness spiced with oak.  The Monte Antico turned out to be the perfect red to order for the table as it paired well with the array of entrees we ordered.  

I ended up ordering the chicken caprese last night, and the light acidity in the wine went perfectly with the balsamic reduction sauce covering the chicken.  The guys ate red meat and the wine was hearty enough to complement their dishes, and Crytal didn't mention any pairing issues with her shrimp scampi.  This just goes to show that a good wine will pair with many foods.

If you have a chance to try this, I highly recommend it!  And here's the birthday group:

Happy birthday Crystal - thanks for letting us tag along last night!  And um, please ignore the THREE wine glasses in front of me.  Sybill's had an Italian wine flight offered, and three wines are better than one, right?!!

Happy Trills,

Katie