Hi there!  So, I’ve been rather MIA lately, haven’t I?  Blame it on the heat, but I’ll be taking a little break from MTM until things cool down and I can enjoy a nice glass of red without having to confine myself to my bedroom with the AC cranked up to full blast.  If only the delicious concoctions we’ve been whipping up in the Margaritaville machine were MTM-worthy, then I’d have LOADS to write about  :)  Have a happy summer, hasta pronto!!

Sorry for my lack of postage!  Nothing crazy or scandalous going on, plenty of wine consumption but we’ve been a bit lazy and haven’t tried anything new in a while.  I plan to change that tonight at my birthday dinner, however!  We’re heading to one of my favorite old places in Boston, The Wine Cellar.  Fondue and fine wine, yes please!  And we’re almost ready to share the details of our recent organic wine tasting that took place a couple of weeks ago.  Lots of info to digest, but i promise the wait will be well worth it  :)  So in the meantime, have a fabulous day and we’ll be back soon with exciting new content!  Cheers!!

I haven’t seen this many empty glasses since… [insert joke here, I don't have the energy]  We had a wonderful wine tasting last night at our house and I can’t WAIT to tell you all about it next week!  In the meantime, happy Friday, if you’re in the mood to wash some dishes please let me know.

Did I mention there were only 4 of us tasting?

Today I want to wish my darling husband a very happy 30th birthday.  I have a BIG dinner planned for this evening with lots of fun new wines so I will give you the scoop throughout Birthday Week.  For now, all I have to say, is 30 never looked so good  :)

What does a girl on Saint Patrick’s Day do to cope with no longer having an Irish last name?  Why, she wakes up early and prepares a breakfast of soda bread, green eggs and Guinness, of course!  Happy Saint Patrick’s Day!!

(photo credit via)

Who doesn’t love Stanley Tucci?  Really, who?  I am so excited to share with you that Stanley Tucci will be hosting a new television show called “Vine Talk” debuting in April on PBS.  Check out the site here for more information and to view a trailer.  I’m in SUCH need of a good wine show these days, plus my DVR will be thankful for the break from “PTI” and “What Not to Wear…”  YEAH!

(photo credit VineTalk.com)

I kind of love awful, snowy winter days in New England.  Only if they are so bad that we get to stay home from work.  I am actually really productive when I work from home, having only one monitor to work from means no time for email or gchat or Facebook breaks so I really power through my daily tasks.  After a very busy day or working from home I decided to cook up a fancy yet very easy dinner and serve it up on the fine china with silver and crystal and all.  Great surprise for the hubs who was working away all day in the office upstairs!  So I made my staples, green salad with walnuts, cranberries and blue cheese, chicken parmesan, and individual chocolate souffles for dessert.  How great are individual desserts?  They just make any meal feel so special, especially when you have adorable little Le Creuset covered ramekins to make them in  :)  I used an easy recipe from Real Simple and was very impressed with how they turned out.  I even mastered the double boiler on my old school electric stove, thank goodness for our awesome new All Clad stainless mixing bowls (thanks, Aunt Alicen!).  Number 1 priority when we get our tax return: appliance upgrade, baby!  Super pumped.    We paired our meal with an amazing bottle of 2008 Kaiken Cabernet Sauvignon (Argentina) and finished things off with a glass of Macallan 12 for the mister and biscotti liquor for the misses.  Snowy day dinner WIN!

I don’t mean to be rude, but I just can’t apologize for not posting this week.  It has been CRAZY.  And not just weather crazy (which it has) or work crazy (which it has been BEYOND), just general crazy.  So I have not been able to post, that’s that!  But I do have an exciting announcement…  I am going to get started on a new Wine Project starting next week –  Battle Magnum!  Yes, you heard right.  I am going to select one varietal and purchase 5 magnums from different wine makers in the $10-$15 range to determine which wine is Top Jug.  I’m kind of super excited about it.  Can you imagine what would happen if I found one or two really great magnum wines?  I mean, I pick up magnums pretty regularly for Sangria, cooking, or just to have on hand for late evenings when you’ve had a couple of more expensive bottles and can’t tell the difference any more…  But what if there is like a super good bulk wine out there just waiting to be discovered?  Will I give up on my 3 for $25′s, scoffing at what no longer seems like any sort of deal at all?  I can’t wait to find out!  So what shall it be, the varietal?  Merlot?  Cab?  Zin?  Something more on the traditional side so I can find lots of varieties to pick from.  This will be just the perfect project for yucky winter weather when it’s so hard to leave the house, yeah projects!  In the meantime, have a LOVELY weekend and I will be back soon!

(Or is it?  Photo credit via)

Well, it’s finally here!  Wedding week has arrived.  In that light, I bid you farewell for the next few weeks as I manage the madness of the big day and the honeymoon thereafter.  I can’t wait to share my adventures with you when I return in the New Year as a married lady!  In the meantime, cheers and happy holidays!

In one week I will be here…

Pecan Pie Truffles.  Can you even believe how incredible these look?  It’s, like, not even fair.  Match that with a lovely Pinot Noir, or something sweet perhaps?  I am stock piling recipes that I want to try after the wedding and this is going to be first on my list.  This will be a happy New Years indeed, finally eating what I’ve been restraining myself from for over a year!!

(photo via)