Let's Talk About Wine

I am a lover of wine. I am a wine lover. I love wine. Is there another way I can say that? Oh, and I'm pretty sure wine loves me back.

"I enjoy cooking with wine. Sometimes I even put it in the food..."-Julia Childs

I guess if I found yet another way to express my love for wine, it might make me a bit of a wino. Oh wait, I found another way, and I'm ding it right now. I'm blogging about wine. My beloved better half surprised me with an 18 bottle dual zone wine fridge a couple of months ago from Wine Enthusiast, and I was absolutely over the moon. I can now have perfectly chilled wine any time I feel like it. I have my reds set to 55 degrees and my whites to 46. If you are interested, it can be purchased here . It fit in perfectly with my Zgallerie mirrored Butler Tray that I have had for a few years now. I love my little set up.

Ok, well onto the actual topic of this post.....WINE! Wonderfully delicious and yummy wine. I prefer red over white, and one of my favorite red wines (not including the insanely expensive ones I have gotten a chance to try over the years) is "Apothic Red".  The alcohol content is 13.5%, and it is described as follows by the manufacturer:

In 2012, Apothic Red was crafted from a blend of primarily Zinfandel, Syrah, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon. These varieties come together seamlessly for a fruit-driven wine with fresh dark fruit flavors and jammy red fruit notes. The Zinfandel offers bold dark fruit flavors and spicy notes, complemented by the soft mouthfeel of Merlot. The Syrah adds layers of smooth blueberry, while the Cabernet Sauvignon delivers ripe fruit flavors and a firm structure. This decadent blend is framed by hints of black cherry, vanilla, and mocha.

I personally think it has a very smooth finish, and although it is really good with everything, I prefer it with spicier foods. It is a perfect blend of bold and soft flavors, and is a medium body wine. I recently got the chance to try the "Apothic White", and as I had hoped, it was equally delicious. The white is a great pairing with a light pasta or fish. 

Now to the best part of all. The price of this wine is more than affordable, and considering the quality, I'm almost a little surprised. But shhhh.....let's not tell anyone. They may raise the price if they find out how much of a steal it really is. But here's what I think you should do. Go to your nearest liquor or grocery store and grab yourself a bottle of Apothic Red, and then you can send me a message and thank me. You will love it. I promise. Comment on either my Facebook page or here, and let me know how you liked it.

XOXO,

Embrace Your Height!

I'm sure I have said this before, but I will say it again, and I am sure I will say it yet again in the future.....EMBRACE YOUR HEIGHT!

I'm always the tallest one.

I get so sad when I read posts by women who say that don't like being tall. I was never uncomfortable being tall, but there were times as a teen that I sometimes wished I would have been a little shorter. One day I looked in the mirror and simply said "You are not going to get any shorter, and the world is not going to get any taller, so you might as well like it", and I did. I have been loving it ever since. Some of you may have read my blog in the past, but for those of your who don't know I am 6'2" and in my heels I am anywhere from 6'6"-6'7" depending on the shoe. If you do not like being tall, you are not hurting anyone but yourself. Don't hunch over ladies, please! It doesn't make you look shorter at all. It only makes you look like you have bad posture and you look uncomfortable.
Stand up straight, shoulders back, and chest out. Love who you are and don't make excuses for anything. If you have big feet (like I do), taller heels actually make your feet look smaller, so that's a;ways an upside. Heels make your legs look sexier, butt look better, and make you look sexier as a whole. Heels are your friend. Don't miss out on the fun, sexy, and feminine things in life by not wearing heels and enjoying your height. The sexiest thing above all is CONFIDENCE. Learn how to have it and just embrace your height.
The pictures are here for a little Tallspiration. I can't say it enough: "Embrace your height! Love your height!"



XOXO,

HOLY CRACK-A-MOLY!!!

I decided to whip something up for some friends on a sunday night, and I decided that I wanted to make a dessert along with dinner. Although I have always loved to cook, I have never been much for baking or making desserts. I have been baking cookies lately and I have also made a few poke cakes that all turned out delicious. These things are all pretty simple and pretty much require all of the ingredients to be thrown in a bowl all at once and mixed.
I decided to try something different this time and had my eye on a recipe for a "Butter Brickle Frozen Delight". Boy oh boy am I glad I did!! HOLY CRACK-A-MOLY!!! Here is the picture I saw that made me want to try it.

Doesn't that look SOOO good?! I just knew I had to have it in my mouth and in my belly immediately. This cake was insanely amazing!! It is like cake crack (I'm going to trademark that. lol). I can't stop eating it. I'm so glad I had people over last night to help me eat some of it, and that I don't live alone so that I have someone one help me eat it today. If I lived alone I would end up like Miranda from Sex And The City and eat it out of the trash.
I tweaked the recipe a little, and I definitely think it made it better (even though I have never made it exactly as the recipe described). First I used Dulce de Leche instead of caramel sauce (see directions here). I also didn't freeze the cake all the way, so it was creamy and fluffy. Oh my god it was so good I can't even describe it properly. I did get the recipe from Yummly, which is my new favorite recipe site.
I didn't have a springform like the recipe called for, but this cake pan worked just as well. I was pretty excited about each step like a kid. Look at my graham cracker crust! Isn't it so pretty?

 Then there was the nuts and oat mixture. It honestly didn't taste amazing on its own, so imagine my surprise at the "Crack Cake" result.

 I forgot to take a picture of every single step of the process, but I didm have time to take a wine break and take a picture.

Ok, back to the recipe. Here is my finished product..... mmm mmm mmm

You absolutely just HAVE to try this. It is the most amazing thing I have eaten in a while. Yes, having wine with it will make things even better, but even if you don't, the cake is the bomb. Here is the recipe....ENJOY!!

LOVE, Butter Brickle Frozen Delight

Rated:	Prep Time: 15 Minutes	Ready In: 1 Hour 10 Minutes
	Cook Time: 21 Minutes	Servings: 12

INGREDIENTS:

1 1/4 cups graham cracker crumbs 1/3 cup butter, melted 1/4 cup white sugar 1 cup all-purpose flour 3/4 cup quick cooking oats 1/4 cup brown sugar 1/2 cup butter, melted

3/4 cup chopped pecans 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese 1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk 1 (12 ounce) container frozen whipped topping, thawed 1 (12 ounce) jar caramel topping

DIRECTIONS:

1.	Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2.	In medium bowl, combine graham cracker crumbs, 1/3 cup melted butter and white sugar until well mixed. Press into bottom of a 9 inch springform pan.
3.	Bake 6 minutes, until set. Cool completely.
4.	Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
5.	In a large bowl, combine flour, oats, brown sugar, 1/2 cup melted butter and pecans until well mixed. Lightly pat onto a baking sheet.
6.	Bake 10 to 15 minutes, until light brown. Crumble while still hot. Cool completely.
7.	In large mixing bowl, beat cream cheese until smooth. Beat in condensed milk until well blended. Fold in whipped topping.
8.	Spread half of the cheese mixture over the crust in the springform pan. Sprinkle half of the oat crumbles over the cheese mixture, and spread half of the caramel sauce over that. Repeat layers. Freeze until firm, remove pan sides and serve cold.

3 Step Dulce De Leche Carmel Sauce

Anyone who knows me knows that I LOVE sweets, so when I then find out that I can make homemade Dulce De Leche caramel sauce in a fool proof way, I was super excited. It is really the easiest thing I have ever done.

1. Boil a can of condensed milk for 3 hours (making sure the can is always covered in water).

2. Cool in cold water for 40 minutes
3. Eat and enjoy.

See! How simple is that? Oh wait, there's a 4th step....
4. Thank me.

CAUTION: Do NOT open the can while it's hot. It WILL explode all over the place and cause severe burns. Do not poke, prod, tap, or drop the can while it is hot.


Love,

Women Need To Be Weird More Often

I have never been one to have a ton of friends, and I have never wished I did. I have always kept my circle small because I value quality over quantity. However, as I have gotten older I have felt the need to reach out to people more and more, women especially. I have always been very social and outgoing, but I never really tried to make friends because I never felt like it was reciprocated. Women spend so much time judging each other instead of trying to support each other. If one woman is "too friendly" or reach out too much, then she is considered weird. This post is inspired by one of those "weird" women. I was at the gym when a young lady walked up to me and said "Excuse me. I'm sorry, I don't want to weird you out or anything, but I just wanted to know where you got your yoga pants". The fact that she felt like she needed to apologize, for possibly "weirding me out", is kind of sad.

As women, we should really reach out to each other more. We should accept others when they do reach out. We should support each other and not criticize each other so much. Let's stop talking negatively about the woman walking into the room, and let's try to be more positive and compliment her instead. On election day 2012 I was at a party by myself, and a young woman walked up to me and asked if I was there alone. She was outgoing and bubbly and asked me to come and hang out with  her and her friends. We hung out and chatted, and at the end of the night she told me her and a friend were meeting for brunch the next morning and asked if I wanted to join. She later told one of her friends, who jokingly said "what kind of lesbian shit is that?lol". I went to brunch that next day, and we have been friends ever since. We go to a weekly happy hour with 3 other women and 1 guy. I have had so much fun thanks to her being "weird".

After meeting this young lady at the gym, I thought to ask her if she wanted to hang out sometime, and see if she wanted to come to our happy hour, but decide not to because I thought she would think I was weird. I think next time I'll just go ahead and be "weird".

I really feel that as women, black women especially, we have to stop hating on one another and embrace each other instead. Let's all put attitudes aside and come together.



XOXO