Wine Wednesday :: Louis Bouillot Cremant de Bourgogne

***This post is getting up late this week and I apologize.  I came down with some weird cold thing earlier this week and then baby got it yesterday.  Thus computer time was limited.  I hope this makes up for it.  =)***


Hello dear readers!  Here we are at yet another Wine Wednesday.  Crazy thought, I realized that I could probably keep this series going for a very long time and never exhaust all the wonderful wines that have been and are still being created in this world.  So let's raise a glass and discuss a great new wine that I highly recommend to you folks.

This past Saturday, the hubby, kiddo, and I were invited to a sushi party at our friends' home.  It was an amazing dinner but more on that later.  I wanted to bring a a beverage of some sort (our hostess is an amazing woman who wouldn't let me bring anything to help with dinner).  So I turned to my friend/wine adviser for a suggestion and he said to do champagne.  Only in this case, he recommended a cremant de bourgogne.  Are you asking what is the difference?  Good question, I asked the same thing.  (Well, I asked what's the difference right after I asked him how to pronounce that.)

To make a long and complicated story shorter, the difference is in the region of France it comes from rather than any major difference in the essence of the grape or winemaking style.  French wine makers jealously guard the right to claim where their wine comes and so only wines made in Champagne are champagnes.  Both wines fall under the general category of sparkling wine but each comes from a different region in France.

Louis Bouillot Cremant de Bourgogne Sparkling Brut: from Wine Exchange or Wine Searcher

Louis Bouillot Cremant de Bourgogne Rose Perle Aurore: from Wine Exchange or Wine Searcher

So back to the main feature: cremant and sushi.  It was an amazing pairing!  My personal favorite was the rose cremant.  It was refreshing, palate cleansing, and not over powering to the main event (which was the mountains of sushi we were about to set in on).  Just imagine a refreshing glass of bubbly to go with the richness and fatness of good salmon and tuna.  

This picture was early in the evening before all the food came out relegating the flowers to  another space.

Near to far: shrimp, yellowtail tuna, and assorted veggies.

Clams, octopus, salmon, and spam musubis.

Isn't it beautiful?!

The requisite miso soup and sake cup!

The big picture.  =)

While some people ate, the little one went and had some fun on the floor.  =)

That was my Saturday night dinner and my Wine Wednesday suggestion!

Have a beautiful day and go get something good to drink!

make it better Monday :: play date!

It seems like life just keeps on going and I can't quite seem to catch my breath.  But however poor my time management skills may be, there have been some fantastic little moments that I love having the opportunity to remember while I write this post for make it better Monday!

I have to say, play dates are one of my favorite parts of being a mom.  The kid gets lots of energy out and I get to spend some time with some fabulous women!  These are some pictures from last week's play date!

like my twinsie Kristin from Petal and Thorn.  Yes, I talk about her a lot.  Yes, she is awesome.  Yes, you should go check her out if you haven't already. =)  The hats are from Urban Outfitters if you are wondering.  =)

Hito had the perfect smile right before the camera clicked...  But my friend Jennie looks cute, doesn't she?!

Aren't these mammas beautiful?  It ended up being hat day for most of us.  =P  Their little girls are the  cutest too!

And then we get home and this kid still finds the energy to come home and pull pretty nearly every toy in the box.  =P 

All told, despite getting sick over the weekend, it has been great just chilling with the hubby and kiddo, sleeping, and reading.  All great summer activities even if I was forced to do them because I was sick.  =P  

Have a beautiful day, everyone!

Wine Wednesday :: 2007 J.L. Wolf Wachenheimer Belz Riesling

Hello everyone!  Welcome back to another Wine Wednesday!  I am totally in love with this wine that I am sharing with you today and it is a great summer wine that will not break your budget!

Today, I have a wine that is crisp, clean, and extremely refreshing for the warmer weather that most of us are enjoying!  J.L. Wolf Wachenheimer Belz Riesling is fantastic!

I think I may have found one of my new favorite wineries for white wines.  J.L. Wolf makes several fantastic wines.  I have had their 2009 Wachenheimer Riesling also - with the same great experience!

The hubby and I opened this bottle last night for a little late night relaxation (the baby is teething so life has been more than a little hectic).  While we didn't have a full meal with this, it isn't hard to imagine having this wine with something beautifully fried.  =P  (Maybe these pig ears that I talk about over in this post.)

When you smell it, the wine smells like apple pie before you bake it.  There is a spicy, tart, scent to it.  When you take a sip, that green apple taste is predominant with some undercurrents of white pepper or the bite that you get when you eat arugula.  (No, the wine does not taste like arugula but there is that almost bitter taste that you get when bitting into a leaf.)

All in all, I have had two different rieslings from this maker and love them both.  You can find bottles for anywhere from $10 - $30 depending on the year and vineyard it is sourced from.

Check it out!  I think you will like it!

Have a beautiful day and get a bottle of wine to drink!  =)

make it better Monday :: 10 month musings...

It has been a while since I've done a make it better Monday post but since today is also Hito's 10 month mark, I thought it would be appropriate.  =)

Man, I have had a baby around for 10 months now...whodathunk?  I mean, I knew he was coming, well, I knew a baby was coming (we didn't find out if he was going to be a boy or girl before he came).  And I knew it was going to be a journey.  But I guess I didn't expect all of this.  The joy, the disregard for the state of my house because I'd rather spend time with the kid, the ridiculous happiness when I see pictures like this...

He is learning how to use the things that he used to just wing around, he is pulling himself up on anything he thinks is remotely stable.  The pace of life is increasing rapidly...

 But still he smiles...and I smile.  Mostly because his is so darn infectious...I can't help it.  Even when I'm praying with all my might to keep it all under control because he won't nap and I have things that need to get done.  Ah well.  God knows.  And so on this Monday, it is a better Monday.  Even if he hasn't had a good nap and isn't wanting to pay attention when he is eating and has been fussying a lot today.  We smile because he still is so excited to see me or dad or to pull himself up again and again.  Not all of this may make sense today.  But let me just say it again.  It is a better Monday because I have been blessed.  With smiles, family, and a 10 month old baby.

Have a beautiful day.

a crazy week full of precious moments

It has been a full week.  And I mean full in every sense of the term.  Both in terms of what I needed to do and the things I got to do with my family, the moments I treasure.

the family got to have some beach time and enjoyed a warm weather treat.  a kind stranger came up to us and told us that she had to take our picture because Hito was so excited and smiling so big about having his first shave ice!  I am rather in love with this picture.  

he got a little brain freeze.  =P

it was super yummy!

he passed out that night.  =)

a great bottle of wine that I talk about here

a little book I picked up for some summer reading...I finished it in two days.  It was really good!

we had some precious mommy and baby moments...

anyone else go and get donuts during their 75th birthday celebration?!  Happy birthday, Krispy Kreme!

and did you know that some stores have clearance on their flowers?!?!  I got a dozen roses and these sunflowers (as far as I can learn, they are called teddy bear sunflowers.  anyone want to help me out on this one?)

But all in all, it has been a wonderful week and I am endeavoring to savor the little things and work on the big ones.  Linking up with Lindsay over at Hello Hue for her Friday linky party!

Have a beautiful day!