Merlot, My Dear

It was another month of wine club ... and this month had us revisiting the world of Merlot. It was fun to reminisce a bit on our maturity of wine, because many of us commented that we used to think Merlot was a bigger wine that it actually is now.

The fare to pair with Merlot seemed simple, but it was complicate (and alas, I forgot to take a picture of the dessert!)
There was the good ol' standard nut/rice crackers and some cheese straws, complemented with:

 beef tenderloin skewers with au jus and horseradish

 deep-fried stuffed olives

eggplant Parmesan bites

almond and goat cheese stuff dates wrapped in Prosciutto

Dessert was roasted pears with a Merlot and cherry sauce and Marscapone cheese, truly a delicious treat and pretty, so it's a shame I forgot to take a photo!

Now to the wines. Our first Merlot was the only domestic Merlot. It was smooth, bright and exhibited lots of cherry flavor. We all agreed that this was one you could enjoy on a cold spring day and it would bring just enough warmth to your toes:

The second wine was a bit drier, loads of tannins and left us all reaching for our water glasses. It paired well with the beef and the stuffed dates. Unfortunately, it was probably the least favorite wine of the evening. 

The third wine was the ringer. The object of the ringer is that we did all of these blind (well, except for me) and so it was to test the ladies' familiarity with the wine to see if they could pull out which one was not like the others. I chose a Cab that I had on had to be the ringer (a very good Cab to be exact.) Everyone enjoyed this wine quite a bit, but no one guessed that it was the ringer. 

Our next wine was very bright and almost a bit jammy. It had a nice acidity to it and was well-balanced overall. Nothing super exceptional, but again, if you want a simple wine that you can drink on it's own, this one will fair well: 

The fifth and final wine was a little reminiscent of the second wine, but a bit more tolerable. It was definitely dry and had some serious tannin action going on. And I of course enjoyed that it was a southern hemisphere wine, because I am a big fan lately of anything from South America. 

So, while Merlots will never be my favorite glass of vino, I can definitely know there are a few safe options for me to grab if I ever need to. In addition, it's supposedly one of the most popular reds because people feel safe ordering it ... and if that's the case, I hope people become more adventurous, because this is a basic red ... there is a lot of greatness out there to be discovered!

Boys this is Culture, Culture this is Boys

This weekend, I decided to introduce K and O to the theatre. You know, live actors on a stage, interaction, a crowd.

I happened to find an advertisement for a play based on the book Zen Shorts. It happens to be one of our family's favorite books by J. Muth. It's one in a series of books that follow the adventures of three children and a panda named Stillwater. This particular story is about the children first meeting the panda and the lessons he teaches them through stories. It's really lovely and I highly recommend anyone add it to their library.

The show was taking place at Stages Theatre, and they specialize in productions for children of all ages. This means the shows are usually under an hour, have a bit more interaction and ... well, you know you are surrounded by families with other small children. D is not a fan of theatre, so he very nicely told me I was on my own with this adventure.

Saturday came and I bundled my boys up into the car (because, yes, it's snowing here in April) and we were off on our way. Overall the play was great ... the smile on K's face as he watched the play was priceless. O laughed at bits, but he was also O, so it was hard for him to sit still (even thought it was only a 50-minutes show) and there was the moment when he tried to run from the back row where we were seated to the stage to join the cast. Yes, I am sure there were a few parents who didn't appreciate my youngest child's energy ... but I will say I didn't get any nasty glares (thank goodness) and my son wasn't the only son making noise ...

However, five minutes left into the show ... he yelled loudly (but hopefully not as loud as I fear) that he had to go potty. This is when fear struck me a bit. We were far from the door ... and he's used this tactic to get out of the movie theater when he's had it with the movie. So, I had to risk it. I told him to hush ... and I held him up so we were standing in the back. I said we had five minutes left ... and then I prayed that he didn't really have to go and that I wouldn't get a wet present.

Fortunately, he lasted through the show and then we beelined to the restroom.

A couple mental notes for next time: make sure they go to the bathroom before the show, sit closer to the door ... and maybe sneak in a lollipop to keep O quiet.

It was worth it, and I hope to take the boys more the rest of the year.

Gratitude

This weekend is one of those weekends that make Monday mornings incredibly hard. It was a weekend full of pure joy and love. It was the type of weekend that makes you realize how fortunate you really are. I am so grateful for what I have been given, and I want to focus on not taking any of it for granted. That is easy to say right now, as I reflect on the joy ... But what about tomorrow when I come home from a long day of work? Or when my boys are fighting? Or if D and I don't agree on something?

Let me remember this weekend and bring forth this joy to others, too. Fot in the end that is why we are all here, right? To bring happiness and love to others.

Ringing in A New Year

Today is my birthday. And let me caveat this post is being written while being under the blissful influence of two glasses of vino. (Considering I'm typically a one-glass girl, this is a big deal ... so yeah, I'm probably asking in advance for any crazy type-o's.)

I could not have designed a  more perfect day ...  I firmly believe that your birthday sets the tone for your year. And I have definitely had my share of good and bad. And it looks like the year that I designate as 35 is starting off on the right foot.

I started out this morning with D running our third 5K of the year:

It was a good run. I continue to improve on previous races. I have yet to run the thing straight through, but apparently according to D, when I run, I look like I'm just on a nice leisurely jog (translation: I could push myself a  lot harder.) That's probably true, but I also like the fact that I started out my day with a focus on my health with my partner. It was also great to run into a girlfriend who's birthday happens to be just before mine. She was also celebrating a milestone year. (P.S. she kicked my butt from a time standpoint, but I've got 7 more races a head of me :))

The second main part of my agenda was enjoying a massage. 90 minutes of bliss. There are few things better than getting a therapeutic massage after running a race. It was bliss, and I feel so much better having someone get out my aches for me.

I ended the evening having dinner with D at Restaurant Alma. Normally, I'm all about taking photos of my meals, but for some reason, it just didn't feel like the right thing to do tonight. But oh, what a meal. I started out with Bison Tartare. It made D a little squeamish ... but it was oh so very good. I love red meat. I am not ashamed of this ... and I will enjoy raw meat if I want to.

My second course was squash soup with pork belly and ginger. I twas like a collection fo all my favorite things tucked away into a bowl of heaven. It was soo darn good. My meal ended with duck and beets. The duck skin was so crisp and flavorful. Every morsel of dinner was so delectable. Unfortunately D and I were so full we had to pass on dessert. However, the waitress knew it was my birthday, and so she brought out a small scoop of sorbet with a birthday candle. It was so sweet. And it was blood orange sorbet. (Hello! How did she know that was my favorite fruit??)

It really was a magical day. I couldn't have asked for more. I am such a lucky, lucky lady to be surrounded by such love and joy.(Shout out to my in-laws who watched the boys in the morning, and my sis who watched them in the evening.)

Tomorrow is K's golden birthday. It will be a great way to end such a glorious weekend. He had his friend party on Friday ... laser tag, gifts, fun and joy. It was a great day for him. So tomorrow, he'll get to hang out with us and enjoy being another day older. I hope I can bestow upon him as great a day as I had.

Here's to the year ahead ... may everyone's year be as blessed!