Since I ended up with this song stuck in my head, I had to get it from iTunes. Luckily, it was up not too long after the episode aired.  It is now part of my writing/design playlist. I love how you can put it on repeat and the loop ends up somewhat hypnotic.

When I was contacted to try Jellybean Wines, it was a perfect chance to set up a wine night.  Since my friends and cousins are quite generous, I reminded then not to bring anything since Jellybean Wines generously sent FOUR bottles of wine.

This is also why I set up the wine night. It was a chance to do a low key wine tasting.

When I try a new wine, it is a pretty basic breakdown:

• Do I like it?
• Is the price reasonable?
• Would I serve it for others?
• Would I bring it somewhere else?

Since there were six of us taking part in the review*, I thought it would be better to go with a 5 star rating system.The system in How We Review Wine from A Taste of Wine that was perfect. It was EXACTLY what I knew would work with our group. We modified it slightly throughout the night and ended somewhat like this.

• Five Stars: We’re definitely getting this wine again.
• Four Stars: This is good, we’re getting this wine again.
• Three Stars: Yeaaaahhh, we’d get this wine again.
• Two Stars: Meh, but we might drink some if offered.
• One Star: Noooo, you couldn’t pay us to get or drink this wine again.

I thought all the bottles looked really cute.  The bright and colorful labels were something that would catch my eye in the store. The fact that three of the four were screw top also helped. The wine opener went back in the box and back in the drawer!

The four wines that were sent were 2010 Jellybean Red Blend, 2011 Jellybean Moscato, 2011 Jellybean Bubbles, and 2011 Jellybean Moscato Rosé.  The info that I received with the wine listed the price as $9.99 each.

*I am starting with the 2011 Jellybean Bubbles since there were seven of us present when this was opened.  To be fair, it is technically not ranked with the others and the ratings are out of seven rather than six.

2011 Jellybean Bubbles

• More from the website
• Stars:
• 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 1 for an average of 1.86
• The bubbly aspect immediately made me think of the fizzy aspect of champagne. Since it seemed like almost everyone was thinking the same thing, I asked if anyone was a champagne person. None of us were big champagne people. I think this was a big factor in everyone’s reactions and if we had more champagne drinkers in the mix we would have gotten a different result. The details on the website mention peaches as part of the notes. A mellow flavor of peaches is what stood out most for me.

Our top wine was the 2011 Jellybean Moscato.

• More from the website
  
• Stars:
• 3.5, 4.5, 3.5, 4, 4, 4 for an average of 3.92
• This was my favorite of all the wines. I am a fan of white wines and those on the sweeter side. This was sweet but not not too sweet. I like when wines include apricot or lime and both are included in this one. I can see  buying this for myself, a gathering or for a gift.

2011 Jellybean Moscato Rosé

• More from website
• Stars:
• 1, 4, 4,4, 3, 4.5 for an average of 3.42.
• Most of the group liked this one as well. It again has apricot included so that would catch my attention just from the label.  I also liked that it had raspberry in the mix. I could see getting this wine as an accompanyment to a bottle of Moscato for a gathering.

2010 Jellybean Red Blend

• More from the website
• Stars:
• 1,1,1,1,3,1 for an average of 1.34.
• I was not a fan of this wine. I like Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot so it must be the Tempranillo in this blend that I don’t. There was something slightly dry and slightly bitter to me. Only one person liked this wine and I can’t see myself buying this wine.

There is one wine, the Chardonnay, that was not included in the box but caught my attention. Due to the tropical description, if I see it in one of my local stores I’ll be picking up a bottle to try. There’s a good possibility then that I will share it at another Girl’s Night.

Overall we had a great night trying new wines thanks to Jellybean Wines!

Disclaimer: Complimentary products were included in this post. All reviews within CSYA are my own and those of my guests and were not influenced by the company or individuals associated with the company.

Yesterday, my heart broke for that city and all who had gathered there to run in and/or celebrate the Boston Marathon. From thousands of miles away, I watched the video clips and read the reports in shock. I feared for the safety of friends, loved ones of friends, and complete strangers. I cried for those injured and killed in the blasts. I was awestruck at the bravery of the first responders. Even though I’ve completed a few races in the past, I cannot even fathom the feelings of those who ran and those couldn’t complete the race. This was supposed to be a life- changing event in a GOOD way.

Today I wore a race shirt in support of Boston.

I don’t know who started the idea but if someone does please put it in the comments so I can credit them. I just saw the idea floating around the internet last night.  I know that a few pieces of cotton sewn together won’t change the horrific events that happened but hopefully it puts some positive energy out in the universe. Boston is in my heart and on my mind today and will be for a very long time.

I found this carrot cake recipe in a promo magazine for All Recipes that arrived in the mail. I’ve made recipes from All Recipes before and this one caught my attention right away and so I decided to make the cake for Easter. My great-aunt used to make carrot cake from scratch for Easter ages ago. I’ve heard stories about how great it was but also how it was a lot of work.

Luckily this recipe was worth the work because it needed three cups of grated carrots.  Darth Husband helped me with that part of the recipe. Actually having the carrots wasn’t a problem since we always have carrots in the house. Both of the dogs go crazy for carrots. We buy the giant bags so there is enough for everyone in the house, well everyone but the cats because they really don’t care. Cosmo was confused because we kept saying the word “carrot” but then it was passed over his head.

The cake baked almost perfectly. Only one small spot stuck to the pan when I flipped it over as well. I divided it into one decent sized square cake and one smaller one. Even with extra sides to frost (and the frosting that I ate straight from the bowl), I still had more than enough frosting.

I was really impressed that it turned out that well. I will definitely be making this again.

Corned beef in a slow cooker was something I first had at a friend’s mother’s house for the South Side Irish Parade. Parade Day was filled with food and drink, lots of green, and Irish faces since lots of people from the South Side of Chicago and the surrounding suburbs are of Irish descent. With a house full of people partying the entire day, she made sure we were all fed.  I loved her corned beef the first time I had it and had to make it at home.

The best thing about this corned beef is that it is super simple and includes very few ingredients. As long as there is enough liquid to cook everything and not let it burn, you can vary the amount of each.  This time I used our 7 qt slow cooker since the cut of meat was a flat cut and therefore pretty wide.

• Flat cut corned beef
• Whole small red potatoes
• Carrots (peeled and cut in half)
  
• 1 bottle of Harp Lager

I set the slow cooker on low for about five hours and then turned it up to high for another two. If I am not home, I prefer to keep it on low just in case something starts burning on the sides or the lid moves and the liquid spatters on the counter.  If I had been home all day, it would have been on high longer.

Last year started off with a great plan. I was going to attack the yard, do a major overhaul, and get one step closer to having the garden of my dreams. Darth Husband and I did attack the yard.  We practically gutted one flowerbed and rearranged another.  One just needed a decent weeding.

Then the hot weather hit.  The Chicago area ended up hot, humid, and that gross stickiness that makes kneeling in dirt less than enjoyable. I got out there as long as I could but I am NOT a hot weather person.  If it is too hot, I don’t want to be outside digging in the dirt. I was happy to have some of my plan done but there was a lot that wasn’t.

This year I’m starting early and starting slowly. Jess and I were recently talking about how March crept up on us and Darth Husband just mentioned how some of the flowers were starting to come up. Now I just need a few warmer and dry days so I can actually get out there.

Since it is still cold and snowy/rainy, I won’t be outside for a while so my plan of attack is still in progress.  I have a few plant catalogs that still arrive from the old owner of the house. I’m a bit hesitant to buy plants without actually seeing them but maybe one day I will get something. I’m also using my Garden board on Pinterest for ideas. Some of the board will actually work in my zone which is 5 and some won’t but still are pretty, interesting, or are a good color/color combo.

Color combinations are what I am focusing on right now.  The photo as the beginning of this post is a flowerbed I walked past last summer.  I loved the bright colors and it made me stop and turn around to get a picture.  It is a non-edited iPhone photo too. They were that bright.

We already have a lot of yellows in our garden. Coreopsis are one of my favorite flowers.  We have several areas that have them and they do pretty well.  I’m hoping they made it through last summer’s heat.  However, if some didn’t it won’t be too much of a problem since the plants are on sale quite often and I can start some from seeds.

I broke down the flowerbed photo into colors I think will work with our current flowers and stand out against the lighter brick of our house.  I know that they won’t be exactly the same colors when I’m looking at plants but I think it will be a good place to start.  Plus, if I want to be really specific I can pull this up on my phone to check. Realistically though I don’t foresee myself pulling out my phone in the midst of the Garden Center at the various Home and Garden stores in my area. Maybe if I decide to go to a nursery to find something specific. Then it would be easier than just saying “I’m looking for a flower with a darker red in it but not red red, more of a maroon but not too brownish.”

I know we will end up within something new outside of this breakdown.  I don’t want a fully color coded yard so that works for me. The main goal is to keep it bright.

80s music has consistently been part of my life. Lately I’ve been on a Paul Simon kick. If you don’t know who Paul Simon is, please do some research.

Here, I’ll make it a bit easier for you.

While Darth Husband and I were working on the Great Living Room/Office Update of 2013, we, of course, had the music blaring. It went from the Skrillex Pandora station to the Led Zeppelin station to the actual CD of the Fat Wreck Chords comp, Fat Music Volume 3: Physical Fatness.  This is where the Paul Simon kicks in. One of the tracks on that CD is a Me First & the Gimmies cover of Me & Julio Down by the Schoolyard.

This song became my new earworm which then lead to constant playing of my Paul Simon Pandora station. (Yes, I have a lot of Pandora stations.)  Paul Simon also pops up occasionally on my Mike & the Mechanics station as well. 100 bonus yarn points if you know this one as well. So Paul Simon + Mike & the Mechanics ends up with Steve Winwood as well.

Here’s a bigger radio hit of Steve Winwood.

All videos aside, I realized I didn’t have much of Paul Simon OR Steve Winwood in my music collection and had to fix that. Darth Husband helped me out w my plan and these were part of my anniversary present.

Paul Simon’s Graceland and Steve Winwood’s  Back in the High Life were both released in 1986. 1986 then ended haunting me. One morning I ended up rocking out, quietly, on the train to Huey Lewis & the News Hip to be Square. I check and sure enough 1986!

Warning: this is the official video which is shot pretty much in full close-up. It’s a little jarring visually, or at least is to me.

My team and I had such a great time at last summer’s The Color Run that we decided that we had to do it again.  Almost everyone ended up registering for this year’s Chicago date.  We also added a few new members. While we have the same plan to walk it this year, our new plan is to dress up more than just team shirts. I know team costumes, or costumes for running in general, is a topic of debate. This time I see it as team bonding, a chance to be crafty (WOOHOO!), and yet another reason to laugh and make others laugh while on the course.  There is no plan for a PR or even a time at all.  The goal is to have a good time and have everyone cross the finish line.

Run or Dye is something new for me.  I had read about it but was on the fence whether or not I was going to do it. Stina and Darth Husband both told me about a Groupon for a discount race entry.  I took this as a sign that I was meant to do it. Then I forgot to register! I honestly think it was for the best because a friend was talking about yet another color based race and we started talking about Run or Dye. Within a few hours, the discussion turned into a full team created for the race. My plan is to run it, or at least run/walk it.

Safe to say there will be a comparison post in the future. I know that they are two different races but the base element is the same: participate and get color thrown at you. It’ll also be good to see how Round 2 in Chicago will be for The Color Run.

I’ve been a Phil Collins fan as along as I can remember. “In the Air Tonight” starts with an intro that is so simple and mellow. While the song itself is quite mellow, there is that part about 3 1/2 mins in when there is a bigger kick tempo wise with the drums.  When I first heard the Nonpoint cover I was pleased that while they do kick it up a notch in general, that kick still is recognizable.

The original song has been used in various movies and TV shows.  The Nonpoint cover was in the more recent movie version of Miami Vice.