How To Buy Wine

When I first started writing this blog I thought I would stick to a couple topics. I have realized over the last couple of months that my blog has become very random. So here are some random things from this week...

1. I let a gallon of milk go bad. I don’t think I have ever done that in my whole life.

2. People no longer make comments about my first name being “weird” it’s now my last name. Thank you Edward.

3. One of my friends told me this week that when she was in her 30's her mom told her she tried to abort her by riding a horse daily while she was in her first trimester. Apparently that was a myth back in the day. (Honestly I thought it was funny, she laughed but that is totally horrible to tell someone)

4. My friend just moved to PA and she informed me that in PA when you buy a six pack of beer it comes in 7oz bottles and all liquor stores are run by the State but all DMV’s are run independently. It is also illegal to sing in the bathtub. Welcome to PA.

Wine Part 6 brought to you by Quamut:

How to Buy Wine

Like I said before in some states you buy wine in a supermarket or wine stores while in other states local laws say you can only by from specialty stores.

Supermarkets

Pros – Good prices on wines

Cons – Limited in selection usually only has wines from large wineries, also many supermarkets improperly store their wines upright (dries out the cork).

Wine Stores

They suggest finding a good wine store to broaden your wine scope and then ask for advice from the people who work at the store.

Good Selection: The wine in stock should range across different wine types, regions and/or origins, and price.

Good Service: If someone makes you feel dumb for asking questions. Find someone else.

Expertise: Ask someone who has first hand knowledge of tastes and qualities of the wines in the store, they will be able to recommend different wines. They will be able to pick a wine based on your preference of taste, structure or texture. If they recommend a bunch of wines you do not like, find someone else.

Proper storage conditions: Make sure your wine is stored in a cool, dry, dark, constant conditions. Not in direct sunlight or near a cooling source. Wines should be NOT be stored upright.

Good prices: Most time you are willing to spend extra money out of loyalty and appreciation of a certain wine. Be sure to check to make sure the store prices have not been exorbitant.

Wine Rating:
The wine industry rating is as follows, good wine stores should post ratings next to the wines they sell.

95-100 = Extraordinary
90-95 = Excellent
85-89 = Very Good
80-84 = Above Average
75-79 = Average
70-74 = Below Average
69 or below = Poor

If you find a cheap wine with a high rating you may have found a steel. Quamut says to keep in mind that the ratings reflect someone else's taste, and taste is subjective. Just because the rating is high doesn't mean it will be your favorite.

It's been a pleasure helping you today.

I have realized many of the new blogs I am coming across are written by middle aged women with kids. Don’t get me wrong there is nothing wrong with that, but how do I compete against a cute kid who with bows in her hair. Yes this is a competition. I don’t really know how but trust me I can make it one.



On a totally different note - Day in the life of an Event Planner....

The other day I had an interesting conversation with someone on the phone. He called to get some information and then proceeded to lecture me on phone etiquette. A guy calls in and is looking for a restaurant but he doesn’t know the name restaurant or really the type of food they serve, so I ask him how he knows of this restaurant and he says he may have seen something on food network.

My first thought: Why are you calling us? But the conversation went as followed...

Me: Ok, can I put you on hold for one second while I look up something online?
Him: Don’t time stamp me?
Me: I am sorry what did you say?
Him: You should never time stamp. You said one second when you are fully aware that it is going to take more than one second to look up something.
Me: Oh, well…ok…can I put you on hold?
Him: Yes you can.
Me: (I come back). Ok sir well I am not really finding anything, but I do have another organization you can call that deals specifically with restaurants and they might be able to help you more. Here is the number.
Him: Thank you very much for your help, you were very helpful.
Me: You are welcome, have a good day.
Him: Wrong again.
Me: Huh?
Him: You are supposed to say “it has been a pleasure helping you today”
Me: Ok....It has been a pleasure helping you today, goodbye.

I am not kidding about 2 hours later I get a call transferred to me and its him letting me know that he found the restaurant and said if he ever came downtown for lunch he would call me to see if I wanted to go to the Pasty Shack with him.

My response: It was a pleasure helping you today, goodbye.

Ps. Happy Birthday Brittany!!!

How to be a Millionaire

I am watching the US Open Championship and wanting to go back to Scotland. I think about all of the fun I had when I studied abroad and wish I could travel back sometime soon. The problem I have now is lack of time and money. That being said I spoke with a financial planner last week, I am going to meet with him soon to discuss how I can become a millionaire. I look at it this way, I want to work hard but when I stop working I want to have money to travel and do other fun activities.

I started to look into it and found out how I could make it happen. Here is what we discussed: Find a mutual fund through an investment firm with low fees, choose a ROTH IRA and he said that if I start saving $200 a month and increase that amount as I get older that by 65 I should be a millionaire. I figure if I can increase even more maybe I can be a millionaire by 50. He gave me some figures to reach for...by age 35 have about $50,000 saved plus a 401(k). Then by 45 I should have around $150,000 and by 55 ill have $400,000 and by 65 you are a millionaire. Easy as that! Let’s just say I will be looking more into it and doing some research so I can ask questions when I meet with him.

I have also thought about just winning the lottery and making millions…. that’s my alternative plan….ill keep you posted.

If anyone else has any ideas on how to become a millionaire please let me know.

Callies Personal Ad

My friend Callie told me that I should write a blog about her. What I took from that is she wanted me to write her a personal ad and post it on my blog to help her find a man. I would like to think that I know her pretty well and I know what she is looking for. So here goes nothing…enjoy (hope you like it Calico)

ABOUT HER:
Name:Callie

Age: 24

Color Hair: Blond

Height: 5’9

Education Level: Masters Degree

Career: Has a job with benefits

Location: East Coast

About Her: Likes to play with babies, enjoys touching peoples faces, sleeping in the shower, taking long showers, talking, having good personal hygiene, hanging out with family, has the ability to watch a movie for an hour and a half and miss the last 20 min of the film, strong belief that life is meant for 2, non smoker, great sense of humor, family and friend are very important to her, enjoys travel, loves Jesus, people usually describe her as a “spark plug”; she knows how to speak her mind, loves to love, likes John and Kate plus 8, oh and knows how to castrate


ABOUT HIM: (What she is looking for)

Age: 24-30

Hair Color: All types

Height: Taller than 5’10

Education Level: Bachelors degree or better

Location: East Coast

Looking For: A man who only has eyes for her, someone who can make her laugh, someone who can love her for who she is, someone who is smart and cute, someone who is generous in all aspects of life (love family friends), love for God, someone who is self confident and interesting, liberal minded, non smoker, financially independent, thoughtful, emotionally stable, down to earth, someone who is huggable, enjoys exploring their inner spirituality, is caring, likes learning about different cultures, oh and likes long walks on the beach and good conversation


*If anyone else wants me to write a personal ad for them please let me know

Wine Weddings & Wizards

I thought about what I wanted to do for my next blog. My dad sent me as sweet video for all of you who enjoy a nice bottle of wine. I am thinking about trying it sometime next week when I get back from San Francisco. I will hopefully tape it and show you know if it really works or not.

HERE ARE SOME LINKS AND A SWEET PICTURE!!!

http://www.wimp.com/wineshoe/

Wine link I was talking about above! (Sorry the link wasnt working you are going to have to do it old school and cut and paste)



My friends Steph and Kyle on their wedding day last weekend...oh and my roommate/friend Lauren as the MOH!

http://movies.yahoo.com/feature/movie-talk-new-trailer-marks-the-beginning-of-the-end-for-the-harry-potter-movies.html

Harry Potter Trailer!! Yes I love Harry Potter!! So excited!!