Happy Monday, everyone!  I don’t know about you, but my house is Christmas-tastic already!  I love this time of year, and this year is especially wonderful because for the past year I’ve been associating the holidays with the wedding so putting up the holiday decorations was sort of the official “sign” that the wedding is truly just around the corner!  So fun.  And also so busy, but you’ll excuse me I’m sure.  We’ll be laying low this week but we are attending the annual Rodman Ride for Kids Celebration Gala on Saturday and with 60+ restaurants and wineries participating I’m sure to have lots to share.  In the meantime, I hope you’re enjoying the holiday season so far and singing LOTS of carols!

Goodness, has it really been a week since my last post?  My, my.  But be fair, between now and then I had a hair trial, a make-up trial, a final dress fitting, a surprise visit from my sister, a family brunch extravaganza, the deadline for wedding RSVPs, the beginnings of seating arrangements, the sending of the rehearsal invites, I could go on by who wants me to?  In other words, I have been legitimately busy and spending most nights at the gym instead of decanting some good fall reds.  So you’ll have to forgive me, but at least I have been crafting along the wine theme and will have some really fun pictures to show you soon!  Plus we have an interesting bottle of red waiting at home that I’d like to review soon.  My dress was a “tad” tight at the fitting this weekend so I’m trying to work out every night and pass on the vino this week, but I may budge if someone out there REALLY needs a new wine review…  We’ll see…

Homemade walnut shortbread rounds

Freshly brewed pot of English Breakfast Tea

Adorable Spanish creamer cow + honeymoon research

Using our china tea cups for the first time!

Sometimes the best end to a hectic week involves no wine at all  :)

If I can’t fit into my wedding dress, you can blame my cat.  As a shower gift, my cat Taz surprised me with a lovely fondue pot and it has been causing trouble with my waist line ever since.  I know I should have kept it in its box and put it in the cellar until after our big day, but that sort of self restraint rarely happens.  We already whipped it out for an amazing traditional Swiss cheese fondue a couple of weeks ago, and this weekend we are hosting a dinner featuring Chocolate and Coconut Cream Fondue for dessert.  Yeah, we’re going there.  We are still in the process of flushing out the rest of the menu and wine pairings so I will update you when we have more details, but I just HAD to share this Chocolate Coconut recipe with you today because I am seriously so excited about it…  We’re thinking steak for the main so if you have any new wines to recommend please let me know!

(photo via)

Today it is unseasonably warm in the greater Boston area.  I walked out the door this morning ready to face the chill, cup of hot steaming tea in hand, and was greeted instead by muggy, frizz-inducing blah.  It actually upset me.  Although I kind of hope this weather sticks around for the weekend so the kiddies aren’t freezing their cuttie puttuties off on Sunday (can I get an “Amen” from my fellow New Englanders who had too many Halloween costumes ruined by cotton turtlenecks and thick wool tights?  Pocahontas did NOT wear turtlenecks and tights, I don’t care what my mother says), it takes a certain mindset to face the winter weather around here.  Once I’ve succumbed to the fact that the weather will be grey and dreary and cold through the end of March it actually makes it a lot easier to get out of bed in the morning.  You don’t feel let down when you look outside, you are just having your expectations met!  But today, expectations be darned, we are teased with a temperature that whips us out of our zombie-like acceptance and thrusts into us the hope for perhaps a bit more summer sun.  Cruel.  I really just want a Winter Warmer!  I want to enjoy a bowl of popcorn and a glass of spicy Cabernet while snuggling under a blanket with my cat and watching movies!  I want to sing Christmas carols!!  Phew, thanks for letting me get that out of my system.  Just to be spiteful I think tonight I am going to roast up the beautiful carnival squash I bought at Whole Foods this weekend, top it with some blue cheese, pair it with a rich  Pinot Noir and watch “Love, Actually.”  Take THAT last fleeting glimpse of warmth!  At least I’ll be walking in a winter wonderland in my heart…

And even more so, my dears, as I just found out that the hotel I am staying in this weekend has its own WINE CELLAR.  I mean, come ON!  This makes spending the next three days in New Jersey much more bearable.  I kid, I kid, sorry Jerz…  We’re heading to the Garden State for the wedding of one of my most notoriously fabulous college friends in just over an hour so there is not much time to blog today, but I can’t wait to tell you all about our adventures upon my return!  Until then, happy weekend!!

Ok, so it is a few days before the ACTUAL one-year anniversary of the first post on MoreThanMerlot.com, but today marks the 1st annual renewal of the site!  This is kind of a big deal for me, there have been ups and downs during my first foray into the blogosphere but managing to keep it up AND getting enough traffic to the site to warrant paying to keep it going is quite exciting!  And what better way to celebrate than with dinner tonight at the house of my lovely parents, who happen to be the biggest advocates of the site as well  :)  In honor of this special occasion I am going to pick out some brand new wines to try at dinner which I can then blog about later in the week.  So until tomorrow, thanks for sticking with me, it’s been a great year!

(photo credit via)

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(photo credit via)

Ah, the fall.  I would love to celebrate with my first pumpkin spice latte but it is going to get into the 80′s here today so that may not be a good idea…  But I will indeed be cooking up some warm, hearty soups seeing as I still can’t eat solid food.  EatingWell.com recently did a great feature on eating well on a budget, including 4 super easy soup recipes that take under an hour to whip up.   I have broccoli soup for lunch, and I am momentarily afraid of peas seeing as I had frozen bags of them strapped to my head all weekend, so I think I will try the potato and carrot recipes tonight.  I am thinking a nice Merlot to pair with the carrot, the fruity plum flavor should compliment the sweetness nicely.  As far as the potato, I’m not quite sure.  By itself I think a simple Pinot Noir might be best, or even an unaged Chardonnay.  But let’s face it – who can eat potato soup without sour cream, cheese, and maybe some delicious bacon?  That changes the flavor profile completely and I’d maybe go for a more bold syrah to hold up to the stronger flavors.  Guess I should pick up a few bottles for the sake of research…  I’ll let you know the results!  And please send me any fun soup recipes you may have lying around, I’m going to need them…

(photo credit via)