wine: wente 2009 Sandstone Merlot

You may have noticed that I haven't blogged about any new wines lately.  Well, the reason for that is we've been drinking our way through 2 cases of our favorite 07 St. Francis Cab.  But after a while, you need something different.  So Mike and I went to Target and bought a few under $11 bottles of wine to mix into our assortment.  We gave ourselves the "under $11" challenge because, well, the under $7 wines kinda make us sick after enjoying much better, more expensive wines.  The $7-$11 range offers a bit more quality and is still a good price point for a weeknight wine (in our book). Our other problem (hardly a problem) is that we've been buying 1-2 bottles of good wine ($30 - $50) whenever we are at a winery. So we have a good stash of expensive wine that needs a specific reason to be drank, and not just because The Bachelorette is on.  (Which if you ask me is enough of a reason for a semi-good bottle of wine, I love that show, but it's just a bit hard to justify opening a $40 bottle of wine just to comment on how narcissistic pro-trainer Ryan is on this season.)

So anyway, back to the Wente Merlot.  We got this at Target for $10.99.  Totally worth money. This is a perfect summer bottle of wine. Light, plum in smell and taste, with a hint of raspberries and spices.  Sweet and light but not over the top in sweetness, because we're not fans of super sweet wines, there still needs to be some spice or pepper flavor to fill it out.  This one was a good one where the plum was balanced out with the spices. 

We were actually quite impressed - both for the value and the fact that we still always face that stigma of Sideways' attitude toward Merlot. We've found that Merlots can either be good or bad.  (Wow, that's a deep statement, AnnE.)  But you know what I mean, they either impress us because we have lower expectations for a Merlot or they fulfill the stereotype of - Eh, I'm not so sure I want to finish my glass of wine much less the bottle.

so I have baking soda and cornstarch...what can I make today?

I love to stumble on new websites about fashion, environmentally friendly products and crafty creations. This new website, (OK probably not new to anyone else, but new to me), Planet Green, I could spend hours sipping wine, watching Dancing with the Stars and learning how to turn old tshirts into expensive hobo-esque looking cute vests and halter tops. And, if I really wanted to, I could in fact make my very own deodorant. Now, I ride my bike to work and no matter how much baking soda I use, frankly, I don't believe that it would be a good idea to make my own deodorant.

Anyways, I think you should really check it out. And since I'm on a new blog quest (Mike is out at a business dinner; that means I'm catching up on my shows on DVR and I have the computer all to myself...so pardon the long post of other things that you could find yourself online but I'm here to tell you what I've found). And just to note, the picture above has nothing to do with anything regarding this post...other than that fact that we had so much fun during our weekend in LA visiting Andrea and Ryan and this was really the only picture that came of our weekend of wine, shopping and hanging out watching the football draft. The picture was doctored up using Picnik.com. Also a very fun site to pass the time.

My Sweet Savannah not only looks to have some great ideas for decorating and a cute new little one...she also has some G.R.E.A.T music on her blog. I don't know how to do that, otherwise I would serenade you too. But you should head over there if you need some music while doing the dishes. Melanie at My Sweet Savannah has the jackpot of all sorts of great blogs on her blog list...I've only just begun to skim the surface of the list, but I do really like, The Lettered Cottage, I'm in a bit of a need to make an apartment our home kind of funk and apparently am getting my fix through blogs.

By the way, all the hullabaloo over a day at Pixar made me miss commenting on my favorite first weekend in May tradition. I love love LOVE the derby, and the other 2 races of the triple crown, but there is just something so special about the derby. Mike and I always fake bet against each other...turns out the 3 horses he picked were all in the top 5, with his favorite, Number 8, winning it all. I however had no luck at all. Figures.

To add to the randomness of this post...did you know that The Bachelorette starts on May 18 on ABC? Check out Jillian, here. She's Canadian. (not that it matters, I just felt like throwing that in) I just counted the amount of reality TV shows that I watch compared to any other type of TV show...such a reality TV junkie. Ridiculous I love it! Probably explains why I like reading other people's blogs so much. It's just I really like to know what everyone else is up to, what they like, what they are up to, and what ingredients they use to make their own deodorant.

The end.