Perrine's Wine Shop- Educational Drinking

This past weekend we went to Perrine's Wine Shop to celebrate a friend's birthday. If you have never been, I highly encourage you to go check it out. The shop is perfectly located two stores down from Yeah! Burger on the West Side (i.e. you can go drink then eat!). The setting is quaint with a large table in the middle for tastings, with wine on either side- old world and new world selections. 

 We started the night off with what else but champagne and a sparkling wine (cava to be exact) to celebrate Stef's birthday! Jodi, our teacher for the evening, drank with us as she taught us about each one. I( actually preferred the cava over the champagne.)

We  then moved to the table where snacks were aplenty (cheeses to compliment the wines, crackers, olives, pâté, and assorted meats) and began the next round of tastings- white wines.  The first was a white bordeaux, similar to a sauvignon blanc, and the second was a white burgundy, similar to a chardonnay. I enjoyed them both but I have to say that the white burgundy was by far my favorite of the night. It might be one of the best wines that I have ever tasted. (Note: I do not consider myself a wine connoisseur by any means, I just enjoy a good glass of wine.)

We finished off the night with two different reds. I wish I could tell you more about them, but I can't. I simply  do not remember because I enjoyed my other wines and champagne too much. One was a lighter red, like a pinot noir, and one was heavier, like a cabernet or merlot. I do remember liking them, but I more distinctly remember getting seconds on the white burgundy. 

My only regrets are that I did not take any pictures from the night and my lack of note taking. Nerdy I know, but Jodi really taught us a lot and unfortunately, I cannot recall most of that information. Luckily the BF remembered most of it and assisted me in writing this entry. 

So, would  I go back to Perinne's?  In a heartbeat.  The experience was unlike anything that I had ever done and combines two of my favorite things- wine and socializing! Jodi makes learning about wine fun and it was interesting to hear all about Jodi's worldly travels as well. I certainly know what I will be doing to celebrate my birthday in a few months and will do my best to remember all of the wines and what we learn!*

*On second thought, it's my birthday, I will probably have a little too much fun.

It's That Time of Year Again...

Three little words that bring such delight to my mouth and stomach- Girl. Scout. Cookies. 

Thanks to my wonderful Mom, I received my first boxes yesterday. 

Samoas

Do-Si-Dos

Thin Mints

As I sit here and type my stomach is growling and yearning for a cookie or two. For now, the pictures will have to satisfy my cravings until I can rush home to them. And fingers crossed that the Roomie has not eaten too many without me!

Comfort Food: Poppyseed Chicken

I have felt a little under the weather the past few days, so for dinner last night I decided to cook us  some comfort food, poppyseed chicken. I was first introduced to this wonderful dish when I lived in the sorority house and then discovered that my friend had a recipe for it! We made this dish countless times in college and eating it for lunch the next day after going out was even better! Poppyseed chicken really is one of those dishes that you can't mess up. 

The ingredients for poppyseed chicken are: 

• 1 package of chicken breasts (I usually pick one around 1.5 lbs)
• 1 can of cream of chicken soup (I prefer the "healthy request")
• 1 small container of sour cream
• 1 1/2 sleeves of Ritz crackers
• 1 stick of butter 
• 1-2 tablespoons of poppyseeds 

Directions

1. Cut chicken into bite size pieces and cook over medium heat in nonstick pan until chicken is completely done.

chicken partially cooked

2. While the chicken is cooking crush the Ritz crackers in a large ziploc bag and melt the stick of butter.

 3. Once butter is melted, add in the Ritz crackers and poppyseeds and mix. The amount of poppyseeds is really just a personal preference but I always add at least 1 tablespoon.

delicious all on its own

4. Once the chicken is fully cooked combine the chicken, cream of chicken soup, and sour cream in a bowl. Depending on the amount of chicken I don't always use the full amount of soup and sour cream, it is really up to you!

it might not look that appetizing now but it will be!

5. Next, in a 8 x 11 baking dish (or similar size) spoon some of the cracker/butter/poppyseed goodness into the bottom of the baking dish (enough to cover the bottom). Then spoon the chicken mixture on top, followed by the remaining cracker mixture. 

almost there! just not cooked yet

6.  Bake at 350 degrees uncovered for approximately 30 minutes, or until the top is a golden brown and enjoy!!

mmmmmmm

 

 

 

 

 

Hands down, poppyseed chicken is one of my favorite meals and luckily the roomie enjoys it just as much as me! I usually just serve it with a salad and some bread and am done, very easy.

I hope that you find this dish to be both easy and tasty.... just be careful with all of the poppyseeds and floss after your meal!

I found this particularly cute because I had many hamsters as a kid

Restaurant Review: Livingston

Let me preface this entry by saying that I do not consider myself a "foodie" by any means. I am too incredibly picky when it comes to food. With that being said, I do enjoy a nice meal out and the occasional meal cooked at home. These are my thoughts on our V-Day dinner at Livingston. 

Upon arrival at the Georgian Terrace Hotel, we chose the option of valeting the car (I didn't want to park and walk), only to be floored by the ridiculous prices- $15+. After much haggling and almost leaving to park in a different lot, the valet told us it would be free and to get our ticket validated at the restaurant. I'm still confused about that whole situation as to if we would have had to pay otherwise. Finally inside and a few minutes early, we check in and are told that the table isn't quite ready. We ventured over to the bar and people watched while we waited. (Surprisingly, we only saw a handful of Widespread fans.) I grew antsy as we continued to wait and then we were finally seated 10 or 15 minutes after our reservation time. I then realized that there were a few empty tables around us. Why we had to wait so long, I'm not quite sure.

Once seated the experience was much more delightful. Although I can't remember our waiter's name, he was a dead ringer for Oscar from The Office. 

 

I started off with the Black and Blu cocktail, which I thoroughly enjoyed, while my Valentine had a glass of Riesling (it tasted similar to grape juice, it was that sweet!).  Since it was past 8:30 at this point and drinking on an empty stomach is never a good idea, we ordered the tempura lobster (my pick) and the crab cakes (his pick) appetizers. The lobster came with a sweet chili sauce that was really quite delicious, so delicious in fact that we put it on the crab cakes as well. Who doesn't love a good sauce??

For dinner I chose the pan roasted salmon with grilled shiitake, braised leeks, and lemon thyme (hold the shiitake) and my Valentine picked the house smoked pork with sweet potato hash and scallion bbq. (The hash was appropriate considering the Widespread concert, his joke not mine.)  Seeing that we both just about cleaned our plates, I think it's safe to say that we both enjoyed our meals. The salmon was slightly overcooked to my liking, but the way it was prepared and the taste made up for that. Since I'm not much of a pork fan I can't give my opinion on the dish, but he seemed to like it! I was definitely impressed with the presentation of both meals and only wish that I had taken a picture or two. (Is that appropriate at nice restaurants? I don't know the etiquette.) Unfortunately we were both too full to order any dessert but they sure did sound delicious!

My happiness was put on hold when we had to wait for over ten minutes to get our car back from the valet. Had there been other people waiting too, I would have understood, but we were the only ones there. The valet's tip began to shrink the longer we had to wait and I grew very tired/cranky. The car finally arrived and I tried to give my most "irritated" look at the valet. Maybe the lesson here is to not annoy the valet like we apparently did.

Overall, I would definitely go eat at Livingston again and recommend it to others, although the parking situation was a bit of a hassle. I thought that the food was excellent and it was a nice change to go somewhere other than Buckhead (my comfort zone).

Valentine's Day

I love Valentine's Day. Always have, always will. I also love all of the V-Day goodies that go along with it. 

chocolate covered strawberries

Lindor Truffles

the occasional piece of jewelry (kid size bracelet for this girl)

 I'd say this V-Day is off to a great start so far! And I'm very excited to wine and dine at Livingston tonight. Could be an interesting crowd since Widespread Panic is playing across the street at the Fox. I can't think of anything more romantic than getting all dressed up and hanging out with a bunch of hippies.

Willy's

If you know me at all, you know that my BF LOVES to eat at Willy's and I have grown to love it too. Hands down they have the best salsa options AND two types of chicken. What more could you ask for? With that being said, I'm surprised that he hasn't mentioned going there this weekend or Valentine's Day considering that they are offering this freebie. 

Hopefully he won't cancel our reservations at Livingston after reading this.

TGIF

Happy Friday!! Here's a clip that always puts me in a good mood:

Mad About Fashion

I am usually not a big fan of blogs that promote products or events, but this is for a good cause (and I'm in it!) so I hope that you will come out to Bloomingdale's tonight for "Mad About Fashion". 10% of the proceeds will go to Imagine It! The Children's Museum and Bloomies will have some special discounts. So I urge you to come shop for a good cause, I know I will! 

For more information, click here

Hope to see you there!

The Olsen Twins

Ever since I can remember, I have been obsessed with the Olsen Twins. It began with Full  House and has continued ever since. For most people, that obsession might have ended after Full House came to an end. But not this girl.... I then started reading their books, watching their made for TV movies (How the West was Fun, etc), TV shows, and learning everything that I could about them. I found it fascinating that I was left handed, just like Mary-Kate! Not to mention the fact that our names are similar AND that I too have a sister named Ashley. Coincidence? I thought not.

During my tween and teen years, the obsession continued but I was more focused on their amazing sense of style (they had such great clothes and they were small, like me!). Sure I still watched When in Rome, Passport to Paris, Holiday in the Sun (did you know Megan Fox starred in this award winning movie?), Getting There, and Winning London (my personal fave) but it was more about the fashion than the storylines. After Our Lips are Sealed, I got my hair chopped off to look like Mary Kate's, but of course by that time her hair had already grown out for Winning London. It was exhausting trying to keep up with them, but I tried my hardest. I finally talked my Mom into getting highlights  for my 15th birthday so that I could be blond and always had a picture of MKA handy for my hairdresser. 

Our Lips are Sealed, the inspiration for one of my many haircuts!

In high school a good friend of mine also shared my obsession. She was "Ashley" since I was obviously soooo "Mary-Kate" (this was before her eating disorder and trip to rehab mind you). One Saturday at our fabulous place of work, we actually convinced the kiddies at the birthday party we were running, that we were THE Mary Kate and Ashley. Granted they were around the ages of 7 and 8, but still! We signed some of their shirts, talked about our "celeb" life, etc, and then sadly broke the news to them at the end of the party. It just didn't seem quite right to lie to these kids for more than an hour or two.

Now in my 20s, I really admire them for becoming the moguls that they have become, (Elizabeth and James, The Row, and let's not forget about the fashion line they had a WalMart), their incredible work ethic, and for always being themselves. I don't always agree with the fashion risks that they take, but they have the confidence to pull it off. Heck, if I could afford to take those fashion risks, I probably would too!  I have even found another friend that shares my affinity for them. She introduced me to the most fabulous blog EVER, Olsens Anonymous. It took me a few hours to go through all of the posts but I did it! If you are ever bored or looking for new inspiration, I highly recommend checking this blog out. Although I must warn you, after looking at these pictures you might become severely unsatisfied with your current wardrobe and accessories. Once I overcame that reality though, I learned to really appreciate the site. 

I could go on and on about the Olsen Twins but this is enough....for now. I leave you with a pic of MKA.

 P.S. I had entirely too much fun picking out which picture I wanted to post.

Living Without Cable

Today marks a very important date in my life....I have survived a month without cable.  Yes, you read that correctly, no cable.  I thought that I would barely make it through a week, but here I am, one month later still cable free. The roomie has lived without cable for quite some time now and assured me that I would be okay.  And I have to admit, I am (at least for now).

And thanks to some trusty antennas, we can get over the air channels (i.e. the CW).

Sure there are times when I go to turn on ABC Family on Mondays to watch the new episode of Pretty Little Liars and I realize that I can't and must wait until it is online the next day to watch (will we ever find out who "A" is and who killed Alli??), but I find something else to do instead.  In the long run, I hope that I spend more time doing the things that I love- cooking, spending time with my friends and roomie, and not as much time in front of the TV.

I have been wanting to start a blog for awhile and as I was sitting here tonight (watching PLL on abcfamily.com no less) I thought, what better time to start one? So here it is, my first post and my debut into the blogging community.  I love reading other peoples' blogs, even if I don't actually know the person (I like to live vicariously through others' lives, they tend to be more interesting), but I hope that you will enjoy reading mine occasionally. And if you too are living without cable, here's to you!

Oh, and I guess I will thank my roomie for not having cable and making this blog possible.