Wine not?

So I've been taking my time planning our low key beach wedding this upcoming March. I finally asked my high school best friend, college roomie and general life adviser** to be my one and only... bridesmaid that is.

Since I was only going to "pop the question" once, I wanted to make it special. I put together a personalized beach tote filled with some goodies.
Here's what was included, these were all pretty easy to make or order:
1. Customized tote in one of our colors with her initials.
Where: LL Bean
2. Martha Stewart photo book featuring our shared trips, outings and friendship.
Where: Kodak online
3. A cute cup, also in our colors, saying "eat, drink and be married"... just to get her in the mood!
Where: Swoozies
4. Free bath swag courtesy of the Mister.
5. A bridesmaid handbook, since both of us are pretty new to this
Where: amazon
6. DIY wine label. This was my favorite part, I customized a "Maid of Honor" label with a personal note about how much our friendship has meant to me, as well as some of our destination wedding deets. This was actual super easy.
- First, I measured the wine space.
- Found some vector art (vector allows your to edit and size the image)
- Wrote out a short label-speak letter
- Applied our colors to the label and printed on 8.5x11 label paper (easier to run through our home printer) from Office Depot
- Simply soak your favorite grape over night, peel old label and apply new and improved label!

Finished bundle below:


This summer I've really enjoyed some refreshing, light white wines, but I'm looking forward to breaking into the reds with this cooler weather. Here are a few of my fall wine picks (all very affordable):
1. Domaine Clavel Coteaux du Languedoc 'Le Mas' ($8)
2. Argyle Pinot Noir Willamette Valley ($15)
3. Geyser Peak Sauvignon Blanc ($9)
4. Camelot Merlot ($6)
5. Francis Coppola Rosso Classic ($8)

In case you take me up on the above rec's, here are some sleek and stylish wine racks for storing your wine finds.


** Cheers to Crystal, my BFF, who said yes!

NOLA

A belated posting from our trip to New Orleans, it was full of creative cocktails, unique Cajun dishes and late night losses.

We stayed at the W: pro- we used Jeff's brothers Starwood points for our room. con- it was across the street from Harrah's (see prior mention of late night losses).

I love New Orleans because it is such an easy town. You can walk, cab or trolley around the city easily. It has that wonderful laid back, come as you are, you can't change me attitude that only comes from a city with such rich tradition and history as this one. It's also pretty inexpensive, you can get some good eats at dive bars and four-star restaurants don't have the price tags you'd normally see in other big tourist cities like Chicago or NYC.

Things I loved:
Tujague for drinks. Old fashioned cocktails that you can't believe you've lived without trying. The Ramos Gin Fizz was complex, sweet and strong... (its like this drink was named after me!)
Jackson Square for random art. Scattered with fortune-reading gypsy's, handmade paintings of the Mississippi laced on the iron fence this glorified alley way is nestled between historic buildings like St. Louis Cathedral. Pick up Cafe du Monde and then have your palm read.
Cochon's for pig, pork and swine. This restaurant slices and dices up pork (and other things) in ways you'd never think of. fried boudin, rabbit liver and wood-fired steamed oysters were table favorites.
Laffitte's Blacksmith Shop for drinks by candle light. A roaring fireplace and candles provide the only light at this cozy tavern, which is rumored to be the oldest building in NO. Pull up a seat at the piano bar or enjoy the outdoor tables and keep an eye out for ghost. This spot is on the ghost tour and locals told us you can see a woman haunting the halls!

(photo:john myers)

The great thing about this town is you can continue to go and never run out of new places with old history to try. Where should we go on our next trip to NOLA?