Duplin Girls Day!

Yesterday me and eight of my girlfriends headed to Rose Hill, NC to my favorite winery for a great girls day out! We had a fabulous (and free!) tour of the winery and enjoyed a free tasting! We tried about 14 different wines and fancy frozen drinks. We all had our favorites, some didn't like anything, and the pregnant girls sipped on non-alcoholic wine....which they said was amazing!

Our next stop was the Bistro for a delicious lunch. All of the recipes somehow incorporate the wine, which makes the food that much better. We had great conversation, laughed a lot, drank a little, and had a ton of fun! And, of course, snapped the obligatory group photos!

When lunch was over we headed back into the store and bar area. Earlier in the day we read if you mentioned Facebook you would get a glass of free wine. So, we did that. And I'm a member....so we enjoyed two free glasses wine. And then we snapped more group pictures!

It was a great day with awesome friends! I'm already planning the next girls night out. I want to have a girls night out once a month for the entire year, I have some great ideas and can't wait to start planning!

Wine and Cheese Tasting....At Home!

Me and Danny love wine. We love drinking it. We love visiting wineries. And we love getting our friends together to drink some wine!

A few weeks ago I was perusing Facebook when I discovered Wine Shop At Home. For $50 I was sent a wine party in a box, sent directly from Napa. I was provided with a great consultant, Samantha, who told me this wine can't even be found in stores! All I had to do was get some friends together and pair the wine with some simple snacks.

Our first stop on the wine tour was a sparkling semi-seco. It was great by itself, but paired with kettle chips it was even better! For our next stop we learned about the four s's of wine: see, swirl, smell and sip. We learned about "legs" and other wine terms. We were all great students...but our favorite 's' was definitely sip!We tried three more whites, which were great with the goat cheese. And finally it was time to move onto the reds. I'm usually not a big red fan, but the simple table wine was amazing. It could be paired with either the chocolate or the bleu cheese. And oh-my-God. It was so good with both. It's crazy how it tasted different with each pairing. Our last stop on the tour was a Syrah. I'm usually not a fan, but this lighter colored version was actually really good!

When our consultant left we finished off the rest of the wine. And then moved onto some other stuff! My sister-in-laws boyfriend made us some apple pie. It was so good! We all sat around the table laughing, eating, drinking...and once I took a picture of one couple all the couples wanted a picture taken!

Paul and Jenny

Danny and I

Sam and Laura

Ryan and Allie

Jennifer and Dustin

At some point we decided to order pizza..which took forever to show up. Turns out they "tried delivering" to us, but no one was available for pick up. So, we headed out to get it ourselves....which resulted in free pizza! We watched a movie, discussed holiday plans, and relaxed. It was such a great night!

And, of course, I got a group picture! I'm not sure where Paul was when this was being taken!

Autumn in Ohio

This past week was a whirlwind. Last Sunday I went to bed preparing for a full day at work on Monday but was woken in the middle of the night with sad news from Ohio - Danny's grandmother had passed away. I was heartbroken for Danny and so nervous that I wouldn't be able to leave my new job for a few days. Fortunately, my training manager is amazing and let me leave work for the whole week. I will always be thankful for that.

It feels weird saying it, but we had a great trip to Ohio. The trip was under terrible conditions, but it brought together people who never get to see each other. I got to meet a lot of Danny's family, I got to bond with his sister for the first time ever, hangout with Danny's niece, Amirah (who calls me Aunt Nicole! I can officially call her my niece!) and spend time with Kaleb.

Our first day in Ohio was Tuesday. Me and Danny had lunch at Lockview in Akron. It's a grilled cheese restaurant with a ton of awesome beers. After lunch we went to Danny's grandma's house to see the family. We all sat around looking at family pictures and sharing memories. A ton of people dropped off food, including chicken and jojos - in New England we always called them potato wedges but I got a lot of weird looks when I called them that!

Tuesday night me and Danny went out with Rachel (his sister) and her boyfriend. It was so great to actually sit back, relax and get to know my sister-in-law. We've met a few times but have never actually bonded. We just laughed, and talked, and had a great time!

Wednesday and Thursday we went to the wake and the funeral. It was a beautiful, very emotional, service. Following the service we had lunch at the church and went back to Danny's grandmothers. All the girls chose a purse and scarf that they wanted to remember Grandma with. We also took home a few special mementos, including a Julia Child cookbook!

Friday was Amirah's 6th birthday, so me and Danny surprised her at school with cupcakes! That night me, Danny, Kaleb, Amirah, Rachel, Chris and Dan (Danny's dad) went out for hibachi! Saturday morning the entire family went out for breakfast! Needless to say I probably gained 20 pounds on this trip!

Saturday we took Kaleb to a fall festival. The weather was gorgeous, we did a corn maze, watched pumpkin chunkin, and did a wine (and soda!) tasting! It was so much fun! It made me realize how much I miss New England and the fall weather I left behind!

We got a late start on the road Sunday. We made an appearance at Amirah's birthday party for a few hours. And I also got a siblings picture of Danny, Brandon and Rachel!

It was a great trip to Ohio, I hope to make it back up there soon under different circumstances. And I'm so happy that I got to have fall weather this year! I was starting to think I was stuck with 80 degree weather until winter hits!

Winery Meetup!

A few weeks ago I came across a website, Meetup. It's exactly what I was looking for! It's a great place to meet new people, who have the same interests and actually want to get out and do stuff! So, I quickly found a few groups that I was interested in and started signing up for meetups!

Saturday I went out with six complete strangers and had an absolutely awesome time! We started at my favorite winery. I warned them in advance that if the bartender recognizes me, don't take it the wrong way! We took a tour, did a tasting, and then had a glass (or two, or three...) on the porch listening to live music. It was a perfect way to spend a Saturday!

 We were having way too much time to just go home, so we decided to get some dinner. We ended the night at a local restaurant eating, chatting and laughing.

It was so great getting out and meeting new people. I love hearing the stories of why people are in Jacksonville. Most of the girls were not military wives...which is always surprising to find in Jacksonville! We were all ages, from all over, had so much in common and had so much fun together!

I already can't wait for our next Meetup!

Family Vacation: Maine Part 1!

Day 5: Back on the Road!

 Atleast this trip was shorter! We headed up to my parents house in Maine for the rest of our vacation - think..total relaxation. The second we got there Kaleb was in his swimming shorts, in the water and having fun! And, in true Maine fashion, we played UNO...all night.

Day 6: Christmas in July

I don't know if you guys know this, but my Mom is amazing. Saturday morning we woke up to a decorated tree, a Christmas breakfast, and presents. Instead of stockings we got sand buckets full of goodies. Seriously, Mom of the Year (past 26 years actually.)

Saturday was pretty much awesome. Me and Mom went grocery shopping while everyone else hungout on the beach. Me and Mom can do some serious damage when we are grocery shopping (and I'm not talking about the fact that I totally wiped out in the grocery store!) We picked up some delicious lobst-ahs and steam-ahs. Oh, I love New England!

Day 7: Beach!

  This was my view all day Sunday. Danny, Dad, and Steve spent the morning golfing. Kaleb and Michelle built sandcastles...me and Mom just relaxed. It was so nice. Later that day, the jetski broke, it was a sad day!

Day 8: New Friends

  Growing up there were no kids my age around our camp. So I was super excited to find out there would be tons of kids for Kaleb to hangout with! He spent so much time swimming, tubing, and running around with his new friends. He even told a girl he thought she was cute...they were so cute!

Maine is exhausting for everyone! By 7 every night everyone was lounging in the camp, ready to rest and get more energy for the next day!

Day 9: Soda and Wine Tasting

Tuesday we left the beach for a few hours to head to a local winery in Naples. At first it was just going to be me and Danny, but then I found out they also do soda tasting! So, we rounded up Kaleb and a family friend, Chelsey, for some fun.

It's the first winery we have visited with fresh hard cider, which was delicious! I liked it more the wine. The kids loved the soda. We picked up our favorites to have on hand for the rest of vacation! 

Check back tomorrow for the rest of our adventures! 

Cupcakes and Wine!

There are about a million reasons why I love North Carolina. The number one reason why I love it here? There is always something going on. There's always some kind of fair, festival, or event. Most weekends we have a hard time deciding which one we want to do!

Thursday night me and Jacque made our way down to Wilmington for what sounded like a perfect night. Cupcakes and wine. Seriously, does it get any better than that?!

Fortunate Glass and Coastal Cupcakes hosted an amazing event. Five cupcakes, five wines, $25. My taste buds are watering just thinking about it! Here's the menu:

 1st Pairing

2008 Shramsberg Brut Rose

Strawberry Champagne Cupcake with Buttercream Frosting

2nd Pairing

2011 Crossings Sauvignon Blanc

Seabreeze Cupcake with Buttercream Frosting

3rd Pairing

2010 Hopler Gruner Veltliner

Lavender Cupcake with Honey Cream Cheese Frosting

4th Pairing

2006 Bodegas Covitoro Gran Cermeno Crianza Tinta de Toro

Pistachio Cupcake with Cream Cheese and Caramel Drizzle

5th Pairing

2008 Scott Harvey Syrah

Chocolate Cherry Jubilee Cupcake with Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting

I don't think I need to tell you....but they were all delicious! If you are ever in Downtown Wilmington make sure you visit The Fortunate Glass. It looks like the perfect spot for a date night! And then make sure you check out Coastal Cupcakes. You won't regret it!

My Wine List

I talk a lot about wine and wineries, but I've never given you a list of my favorite wines. So, at the request of Mrs. Lawler from Mrs. Lawler's Lovelies, I'm going to share a few of my favorites!

If you like Riesling and haven't tried Relax...what are you waiting for? The website says it's drier than a traditional traditional Riesling, but I actually think it's sweet (not as sweet as the North Caroline wines though!) It's perfect for any occasion - dinner, dessert, or just relaxing. And with a price tag of about only $11, it's a guilt free treat! My favorite way to enjoy it is with a a crisp summer salad. Seriously, try it...amazing.

Another favorite is the lesser known Relax Cool Red. I discovered this wine at WineRiot, and have YET to find it in a store. So, if you find it in stores...please send me a bottle! This red wine is a little different...it's meant to be served cool.  I think it's the perfect gate way wine to real reds.

 

I really like local wines. My favorite North Carolina winery is Duplin Winery. If you like sweet wine, try a muscadine wine. It's not for everyone (I wasn't a fan at first!) but it really starts to grow on you. If you are like me, and like cold drinks, this is the wine for you! I have a hard time choosing a favorite. Carlos is the driest, so start there if you are unsure. My favorite is Pink Magnolia. If you also have a hard time choosing a favorite, I 110% recommend joining the Heritage Club.

Red wine is not my favorite. I can't get past the dryness of it. I also have a problem with oak-y wine. BUT if I had to choose Olive Garden's Principato Rosso is really good. It's much "heavier" than the other wines I like...it's perfect with a hearty meal.

Truth be told? I like a lot of different wines. I don't like oaked wines or anything too dry. I'll try anything once (or twice...) though!

What are you favorites?

Girls Night at Duplin Winery

Being a member at your favorite local winery has it's perks - huge discounts, special invitations, and girls night! We went to one over the summer, so when I got the invite for another one....we jumped at the chance!

We were greeted with huge gift bags and the usual friendly faces that you always see at Duplin. They had some light snacks including delicious pastries, cheese and cucumbers with dip. Oh, and wine! I drank "Just Naughty," Duplin's newest Christmas wine. Did I mention this was all free of charge!?

Fun Filled Weekend!

This weekend was the kind of weekend I like...long and busy! Danny got out early on Wednesday and didn't have to be back until this morning. Don't you wish all weekends were that long!?

After Thanksgiving we started our fun! Friday I cleaned the house and got rid of all memories of autumn...and decorated for Christmas! I'm usually not so excited for Christmas, but it's going to be a lot of fun to have Kaleb here this year! AND I did all my wrapping!

Friday night we went to Swansboro for the Christmas Flotilla, which is basically a parade in the water. I had such a hard time taking pictures of the bright lights, but it was so gorgeous! It was the perfect night, complete with a beautiful sunset.

Saturday we drove to Burgaw for our 10th winery - Bannerman Vineyard. I was so excited to try new wine...but I was so let down. I couldn't find one wine that I enjoyed, Danny got lucky and liked a few. The strangest? Ginger wine. The best part of the trip was finding a hidden antique store and going through a bunch of treasures!

On the way home we decided to get out Christmas tree! The earliest I have EVER got one. It looks awesome all decorated and with presents already under it!

Sunday was, of course, a lazy day. Hubby watched football and played video games all day. As much as I hate those two things, Sunday's really are perfect around here!

And in case you were wondering! I've been driving A LOT lately! Be proud!

It drives me crazy that I can't put the photos where they belong in the post, there's only so much I can do with my iPhone!

A Birthday Trip to Asheville!

This weekend was fabulous! We dropped off the puppy, gassed up the truck and headed out west to Asheville. I've never been to the western part of the state, so I was pretty excited! And yes, it's still a one tank trip!

I love big birthday celebrations...so I planned this weekend as Danny's birthday present. I had so much planned for our two days....the fun started the second we got to the city!

Asheville has a ton of breweries. Seriously, it's been voted Beer City USA for THREE years in a row. So, you know we had to hit up one of the places it's famous for - Asheville Brewing Company! We tried a little bit of everything...the favorite was Ninja Porter and the most interesting was Fire Escape...jalapeno flavored beer. Weird! But the one thing that really stuck out about Asheville...hippies. Lots and lots of hippies!

After a quick costume change, our next stop was the Asheville Zipline Canopy Adventures - yep, ziplining! Never in a million years did I think I would do something like this. Come on, I'm afraid of heights and speed! I had a few butterflies while I was pulling on the harness and helmet but as soon as we were 54 feet up a tree and traveling down a zipline...I couldn't help but enjoy myself! Our tour guides were awesome. We did 13 ziplines, a few bridges...and learned all about Asheville. I 100% recommend you do this at some point in your life!

We spent 3 hours in the trees. I didn't expect it to be that long!! I wanted a shower before our next adventure, but instead we checked into the hotel and I headed out with helmet head....to the LaZoom Haunted Comedy Tour! They guarantee you will see a ghost...and we did! We sat on the bus for an hour with our decently-funny tour guide...and there was lots of yelling. Unnecessary, made my head pound yelling. When I called my Mom to tell her about it I said it was the "obnoxious version of the KuKu Kunuku." If you have ever been to Aruba, you know what I'm talking about....and you know that's saying something about the quality of this tour! I'm not saying it was bad, the historical stuff was great...I just wish I knew I was going to be yelled at for an hour!

After the tour I wanted to walk around downtown. But man-oh-man Asheville's downtown is tiny and crowded. Instead we headed back to the hotel and passed out like the old people that we are. And might I add, in a King sized bed. I wanted to steal it. So comfy!

Sunday morning we had a huge and free breakfast at the hotel. And then we were off for our second day in the city! We went back downtown to see everything we missed the night before. I love Asheville because the buildings are old and unchanged. You can see still see original store fronts and details. I loved it! We saw gorgeous churches and basilicas, historical monuments, and people enjoying their morning coffee. Asheville is gorgeous. I've decided everyone should move to western North Carolina!

No trip to Asheville is complete without a visit to the Biltmore. The Biltmore left me (more so than ever) wishing I was a Vanderbilt. This gorgeous building was someones personal home. It's so big you could fit the White House in it four times. There's a bowling alley, 70,000 gallon swimming pool, a huge library, 250 rooms. Seriously, why can I not live here!? The only sad part of our visit...no pictures allowed inside. So sad! We spent 2 hours exploring the home, then moved further onto the estate to the winery. We did a wine tasting and left with two bottles of yummy wine! We were going to stay for lunch but all of the restaurants had incredibly long waits. We decided to get back on the road and make the journey home.

About twenty minutes into the trip, we decided we need food! We got off the highway and instead of a restaurant we saw a winery. The South Creek Winery is in middle of nowhere North Carolina, so tiny and so cute. They are dry Bordeaux style wines...not my favorite, but I liked this place! I love that the grapes were right on the property. Of course, we left with a bottle of their Chardonnay!

We got back on the road to find something to eat...and we ran into another winery! The Lake James Cellar Winery was a cute little place. We tried some sweet and dry wines, and ended up buying their watermelon wine. It was so yummy, the perfect picnic wine!

Finally, we got some food into us! We went to Judge's Riverside Restaurant. I love trying local places, it's rare that you are disappointed! We had the awesome fried pickles and I got probably the biggest thing they offer: half rack of ribs, beans, potato salad and hush puppies. I'll be stepping up the Zumba routines this week to work it all off!

We had such a fun time in Asheville! I wish we could have spent more time out there exploring and trying all the yummy food they offer! We will definitely be making the trip back out there someday!

And as a sidenote to the anonymous commenters who like when  I post about alcohol - a tasting is not an entire glass, it's a sip. So, with all the tastings we did...I maybe had a glass of wine. And it's totally ridiculous that I have to explain myself but you people really need to get lives.