TBD Rouge Lodi Red Wine

Wine: TBD Rouge Lodi Red Wine
Store: Trader Joe's
Price: $5.99

"This unique combination yields a wine that is robust, spicy, and engaging on the palette. Its dark ruby color and bright fruit forward aroma will draw you in to this exotic wine." Back of the Bottle

Dark ruby is the perfect way to describe the color of this wine. It is a very full-bodied, rich wine, but quite enjoyable. There is quite a spicy after taste to this wine, and it was a bit over powering for the turkey I enjoyed this evening. Over all, pretty nice.

Rating: 3 out of 5

Lost Vineyards Sauvignon Blanc/Chenin Blanc

Wine: Lost Vineyards Sauvignon Blanc/Chenin Blanc
Store: Wegman's
Price: $2.99

"Lost Vineyards has found the sleeping giant-Argentina. Centuries ago the Spanish and Portugese brought with them the anceint art of grape growing and wine making to the faraway isolated land of Argentina. This wine carries with it the traditions of old with style for today. Pale yellow, young and fruity, this wine is simply a delight."~www.lostvineyards.com

This wine is absolutely horrendous. I picked up as an impulse buy in the checkout line at Wegman's. I've had pretty good luck in the past with cheap wines, but apparently my luck has run out. When I poured a glass this evening to enjoy with dinner, I noticed it look a lot like apple juice. There is a bit of apple taste to this wine, too, but it is very sour and very acidic. The scent is nauseating and not in a good way. I can honestly say I have wasted my money on this wine. Very disappointing.

Rating: 1 out of 5 stars

The House To Dos

Our house has a bunch of real small, easy to dos that just have to be done. So let's see if I can't get these things done between now and spring break.

• Get Bi-fold Doors for the Laundry Room back on track -Done 3/14
• Spackle and paint bathroom from former towel rack- Done 2/27
• Spackle and paint kitchen ceiling from former kitchen light- Done 2/27, now all the ceiling needs to be painted
• Paint interior doors and trim (esp door to the garage)
• Paint Powder Room (Love the color, it just needs to be touched up A LOT)- I wonder if there is enough left over from the guest bedroom to just do it the same color...hmmm...
  
• Get Guest Bedroom Doors on Track
• Get plywood cover for the crawlspace to the attic

Most of these are little things, but they are driving me crazy in that they aren't done yet. Maybe I can get focused and get these done ASAP.

Charles Shaw Pinot Grigio

Wine: Charles Shaw Pinot Grigio
Store: Trader Joe's
Price: $3.99

The hubster wrote this last night regarding this wine, and I agree with him, so I'm totally hijacking his words. Hope you don't mind.

"Charles Shaw pinot grigio isn't bad- kind of fruity and effervescent, with an oaky and almost acidic finish."

It's kinda weird that the coloring of this wine is very light, almost completely clear. There is a slightly floral scent to this, and it is very light tasting. Would be best as a summer wine, although it went well with our baked chicken we had tonight.

Rating: 3.5 out 5 stars

Prancer and Vixen White Zinfandel

Wine: 8 Tiny Reindeer Prancer and Vixen White Zinfandel
Cost: $5.99 (but I got it on clearance for $3.50)
Store: Total Wine

"The Fall months are extremely frantic at the North Pole. Not only is Santa getting ready for Christmas, but it’s also the time he harvests and makes his wine for next Christmas. This year, he is especially excited because the grapes come from vineyards that Dasher and Dancer particularly seemed to enjoy. All Summer long, the Eight Tiny Reindeer watch and wait for the grapes to grow to their optimum maturity. Santa knows that when hisreindeer are smiling, it’s time to pick the grapes. It seems that happy reindeer make really good wine. " ~Back of the Bottle

I'll be the first one to admit I'm a sale whore. And I originally bought this wine for a small gathering we were having just before Christmas...it didn't get drank, so here I am, sampling a bit this evening. It's a pretty generic White Zin...nothing too extraordinary, but pleasant none the less. It has a slightly fruity bouquet to it, and the wine itself has a subtle sweetness to it. There is a light raspberry flavoring to it, but nothing too over powering. Over all, a pleasant seasonal wine, but obviously the allure in this wine is the label and not the wine itself.

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

Almond Creek Vineyards Sparkling Wine

Wine: Almond Creek Vineyards Almond Flavored Sparkling Wine
Store: Trader Joe's
Price: $5.99 (or maybe $4.99-the hubs bought 2 bottles but he couldn't remember which was which)

I apparently have never reviewed a sparkling wine on here before...I shouldn't be surprised as we really only drink it on special occasions-tonight's occasion being both New Year's Eve and our 4th wedding anniversary. The hubs made us a lovely salmon dinner, and we enjoyed this wine with it. As with any sparkling wine, it has a lovely effervescence to it. The almond flavoring has just a hint of sweetness to it, but it's definitely more of a meal wine than a dessert wine. It was a great addition to our meal, but I would be apprehensive to use it with any champagne-inspired cocktails (i.e. mimosas).

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Our Trip to Ikea

The hubs and I both have a bit of an obsession with Ikea. He loves the kitchen items they have, and most of the decor and furniture is up his alley, too. We live about 3 hours from one, but his parents live about 45 minutes from. Since we were up there for Christmas, we decided to take a little trip up to Ikea.

Now, we only go one or twice a year, and this time we had a mission to buy a big piece of furniture, so we knew it was going to be an expensive trip. Here are some of the spoils of our visit:

My guest bedroom finally feels complete with my Myken Mirror and Reslig Frame. I'm still not happen with the picture in the frame...it needs some adjusting, but I looooove this mirror. It makes me so excited.

We have had issues with a towel rack in our bathroom since we first moved in. We could not get a traditional towel rack to stay in the wall. We found this Grundtal towel rack that the hubs said he might actually use. The bathroom needs a little touch up work where the old rack attempted to hang, but overall, I'm quite happy.
We hated our old, ugly florescent light fixture in the kitchen. A couple months ago (sometime during the summer), the fixture stopped working correctly. We switched out the bulbs, but nothing. When we hung the Kramare light fixture, we could see again! The only problem is that it is a bit skinner than the fixture hole, so I'll be off to Home Depot or Lowes in order to get that covered.
And finally, our piece de resistance. I had been searching for something for to house our massive DVD collection for 2 years now. Nothing I liked would house it all for an agreeable price. So we got one of the Billy Bookcases with the glass doors and two extra shelves. I think it looks great in the room, and I'm love how it stores our DVDs. We have plenty of room to keep expanding, too.

Now if only there were an Ikea closer...