Check, check, check!

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Happy Friday everyone!

I don't know about all of you, but I feel like lately my life is one big whirlwind of stuff to do.  Not necessarily bad stuff, but there's a lot going on.  I blame the wedding. :-)

As much as I love the planning process of making an event happen, I feel like the most satisfactory part of planning this wedding is when I get to check off a box on my to do list. Dress shopping? Check! Venue? Check!  We finally figured out our save the dates and invitations last week and I got such a rush out of checking this off the list.  I know I have so much more to go to get this done, but knowing the end is in sight and at that end I get to see my fiance's smiling face is definitely worth it.

This weekend we go to pick out rental items (tents, place settings etc) and do a tasting with the caterer.  After we figure that out, we're celebrating with going to see the tulips up in Mt. Vernon, check out the street fair and lunch/wine tasting at Carpenter Creek.  Supposedly the weather's planning on cooperating so that makes it all that much sweeter. Although if M has his way we'll be checking out the new Cabelas opening, after all Troy from Swamp People will be there. ;-)

So...any good weekend plans?  And if you're planning a wedding do you feel like this as well?

I think I've found my best friend

This week was St. Patrick's Day. I'm not particularly Irish, I think there's a smidge hidden in my heritage, I'm mostly Norwegian and Native American but my great grandmother always insisted on reminding me that there was Irish in there too "and don't you forget it" so I haven't. There were plans to head out to an Irish pub in Seattle with a bunch of the boyfriend's pals but because it's an Irish pub and St. Patrick's Day you KNOW it's going to be packed. This is why I was given the task to show up insanely early (woohoo unemployment for once!). I got there about 1:30pm thinking at least I'd be able to read some of my book (Geek Love!) and that was the silliest idea I've come up with in a while.

Funny thing though, while waiting I ran into this girl who apparently had the same idea, book and all. We started chatting and in the end our friends ended up co-mingling the rest of the evening. New friends are always fun.

In much more exciting news, yesterday was the boyfriend and my one year anniversary! It's gone by SO fast and I hear that's a good sign. :-) The day was a little hectic for me as I had to go to 4 different stores in hopes to pick up the Eliza Dushku issue of Maxim (which BTW I never found because they JUST put out the new one) and instead felt like I was buying porn since the magazine was inside a plastic cover. But the boyfriend buys one every time he has to go out of town for work and he's going to San Francisco at the end of the month and I wanted him to be prepared.

But all that was worth it for what was to come that evening. He came home from work with the most beautiful bouquet of flowers I've pretty much ever seen. Afterward we headed to Morton's Steakhouse for dinner which was a first for the both of us. We arrived a little early so we started in the lounge for a drink while watching some of March Madness. I was not completed finished with my martini when our table was ready so the host insisted on carrying it to the table for me. :-) But what was so surprising was when we got to the table our menus were waiting...with the heading of "Happy Anniversary _____ and _____!" I think that just made my night.

All the food was amazing, there were bacon wrapped scallops for an appetizer, beefcake tomato salad (for me) and lobster bisque (for him), filet oskar (mini filet mignon with lump crab & bearnaise sauce w/asparagus for me) and filet mignon & lobster tail w/asparagus (for him) followed by a Grand Marnier souffle (for me) and hot upside-down apple pie (for him). All this was paired with an Argyle pinot noir and we were in heaven. It was all amazing and the great kind of full where you don't feel like you will explode. :-) During dessert they even came by to take a complimentary photo of us that got put in a paper frame and came home with us.

I can't imagine a better evening. All I can think of is the time we'll spend together in the future and he makes me so happy. This morning (super early) I was greeted with a "happy 366 days together" from him. Oh my, if you're reading this you probably just threw up but you know what? It put the biggest grin on my face. I think I've found my best friend.

Good To the Last Drop

I don't mean for this to turn into a wine blog, or at least I don't right now. I'm still finding my footing so I'm testing the waters with a variety of things instead of diving right in. Yes, this is how I am in the swimming pool too. :-)

But I have another wine review for you guys and I think you'll like it. Right now I'm drinking O Wines 2007 Chardonnay. The boyfriend and I first tried this wine over at Grape Choice in Kirkland. It's in the heart of downtown Kirkland and the wine shop has so many different brands, as well as a great atmosphere if you just want to chill and drink a little.

But as I was saying, one day a while back the boyfriend and I went to drink a little bit. I told him to pick something because I trusted his judgment and he picked out this chardonnay. I loved it at the time and I made a mental note to try it out again the next time we went.

So there was this big sale I mentioned before and we picked up a variety of bottles to try. Some we have had before, some were recc'd to us and others just looked good. I made a point to get this one again because like I said...it's yummy.

It didn't disappoint. Some chardonnay's are too oakey (I say there's no such thing but others tell me otherwise), too sweet, whatever. This one is PERFECTION. There's a hint of sweetness at the end of it. A little creamy/buttery, a little vanilla and fruit of some sort mixed in.

But the best part ever? They have made it their mission to donate a portion of all proceeds from O Wines to establish scholarship funds for underprivileged/at risk young girls in Washington State. What could be better than that? You have a great tasting wine that when you buy it gives to underprivileged girls. That's even better.

Pour Me A Glass

I've been wanting to post something about wine for the last couple of days, mostly because this week a local wine shop had their annual sale and the boyfriend and I picked up quite a few bottles. Within the last year we've become a big fan of wine in the bigger picture of alcoholic beverages and there's a variety depending on what your price range is.

We have a tendency to pick wine based off the packaging or name of the wine, there's been Cupcake Chardonnay last week, the 3 Blind Moose Cabernet Sauvignon I'm currently sipping on or countless others that have entertaining corks. But when I go online to find reviews of the Monkey Bay Sauvignon Blanc (I think it's the 2006) all I find is positive reviews and that was not my experience.

This is what the website gives as a description:

Colour:
Pale yellow in colour, with green hues and brilliant clarity.

Aroma:
A vibrant bouquet of citrus and tropical fruits, layered with subtle cut grass aromas.

Palate:
Monkey Bay Sauvignon Blanc is a charming, elegant wine, displaying intense varietal character. Ripe, zesty flavours of grapefruit, kiwi and pineapple are overlaid with fresh cut grass. Finishing crisp and refreshing, the palate balances intense fruit qualities with fresh acidity, fullness and length.

Sounds promising, right? I was impressed with the idea of grapefruit since I can't pass up anything with that, let alone with a cute little monkey on it. But the only thing I actually tasted in this wine was the so-called "subtle cut grass aromas". I don't know if it was lemon grass or what, but at the time the only reason I eventually finished the bottle was because it would be bad to waste it.

I thought maybe it was just an aversion to New Zealand wine, but that wasn't it. I've tried a few others that didn't make my taste buds rebel (I need to start writing this stuff down) so I'd say it's just this one.