I decided to start running, eish!
Yeah, my philosophy used to be: "I will only run if someone is chasing me," but with Summer rapidly knocking on our door & the whaling scale in the bathroom (Seriously, who came out with this mechanism), I decided to run...

To give our extremely active Ridgeback, Kasha, some more exercise, I decided it would be a good idea to take her with me.

Adorable right?!
Don't be fooled, she is Pierre Spies reincarnated! For you who don't know - He is one of South Africa's most athletic rugby players, & ladies, quite sweet on the eye.
Kasha is so strong & athletic and clearly needs no training in running - I lasted 15 minutes!  Short from hitting a tree face first, scaring the whole neighborhood & being totally breathless - I was stiff this morning.  Yay!  Something must have worked in that short run down the street.
I think me going down into squat runs, just so that she won't run off with me, did the job.
So here is to Ridgeback training.

Football Engineer & Whiskey eye's - Spring wine Tasting

Tonight we are hosting our first Spring wine tasting and  Football Engineer & Whiskey eye’s will be joining.  To say the least anything to do with wine or food sends me into a crazy twirl.  I went shopping for two new white wines and the boys are each bringing an amazing red from their cellar.

While in Spain we fell totally in love with the food, so as a little dedication to romance in Spain I will be serving varieties of dishes we came to love: parma ham, duck pate, olives, artichokes, selection of cheeses & add some of our own: trout terrine, creamy basil chicken and much much more ... a feast for Bacchus himself.

See you tomorrow with the low down on the evening’s events, that is if I can see straight enough to type.

Cheers!

I saw this wino, he was eating grapes. I was like, "Dude, you have to wait.
- Mitch Hedberg

Dinner with Princess & The Man's Man

We had an absolute blast with Princess & The Man’s Man last night.  I decided to be the designated driver, for once, and I have to admit I really enjoyed watching my 3 companions get wasted, they were extremely entertaining & hilarious.

After a delicious dinner that The Man’s Man made, Princess decided that it was a good idea to go on a cigarette run - mini road trip.

With wine glass in tow Princess had me in stitches by the time we reached the petrol station (6 min).  She is one funny lady.  Arriving at the petrol station she ran into the little shop nervously smiling because she needs a cigarette Now! Coming back almost wetting herself with laughter, she explained:

Princess:  may I please have 2 packs of Marlboro & 2 packs of Marlboro menthol?

Cashier gentleman:  eish, you smoke allot?

Princess:  hahahah, no we having a dinner at home and we drinking so much and …..

Cashier gentleman:  you having a party?  Bunch of girls? (staring into my car)

Princess: well (to tipsy to actually explain & needs a cigarette now) yes yes 

Cashier gentleman:  you lesbians?

Princess: (shocked) whahahah, no!

Cashier gentleman:  can I join?

Princess:  :) no no - like we said just a bunch of girls. 

Thee thee, by the end of the night it did feel like I was surrounded by only girls ;)

Apart from the amazing dinner, dancing until the wee hours of the morning and the greatest selection of 80’s music I have heard in years, my personal little highlight was my one amazing glass of wine: 

Buitenverwachting Buiten Blanc 

My first sip was like taking a bite out of a guava, followed with a hand full of gooseberries. Soft succulent tropical aftertaste.  You would think it would be a sweet wine with all the fruit combination's, but definitely not.  Well balanced and well rounded.

Soos Nektar op die Tong.

Hope you all have a gorgeous weekend.

Our next stop today is our friend Busy Bee’s 30^th Birthday garden bash.

Cheers!

SOBER is actually an acronym that stands for: Son Of a Bitch, Everything's Real

Twice 30

Thank goodness it's Friday.
I love weekends & I am hungover, sigh, again.
Busy Bee came over last night to come and borrow some pretty decorations for her Big 30th Birthday party on Saturday & we decided it was a great idea drinking Dooswyn like water while packing the car. At the stroke of midnight the two of us were sitting in her candle lit garden, on a bench, singing drunkenly Happy Birthday to her, yes she was also singing Happy Birthday to herself.   We started at my house & ended in her garden?  Weird!

Tonight Hubby and myself will join our friend Princess at her lovely house for dinner to celebrate her 30th Birthday. We decided that there is no better gift to fit a princess but to buy her a nice selection of White wines, she LOVES her white wine.

I think I should invite Fat Bastard

I feel like this today:

picture via I cant see you

*box wine is not worth a tasting note right now I am too nauseous. Jig!

Have a gorgeous weekend all & here is to all the beautiful ladies in our life turning 30!  Happy Birthday!

Cheers!

An alcoholic is someone you don't like who drinks as much as you do.
- Dylan Thomas

The 'Groot Dors' & my "little" friend Fat Bastard

So I woke up this morning with the Groot Dors!

It’s a Afrikaans saying; You know that feeling when you wake up with such a uncontrollable thirst and down liters of water thinking this will make it all better just to realize that the thirst is still there and the uncontrollable nausea enters your stomach?

Yes, that my dear wine lovers is the Groot Dors.

I felt that this might be the only answer to my thirst: 

picture via Wonder cafe

but the thought of the immense pleasure my hubby would go through assisting would just bruise my already tender ego.

So Friday Afternoon I went on my hunt for a good bottle of White and I stumbled on to …. EEEKKK… A BIG bottle of Fat Bastard Chardonnay! 1.5 liters of Delight & only R84.00? Sounds like a winner.

With my big bottle in tow I headed home. Entering the kitchen I was welcomed by gorgeous smells of fresh chopped basil, garlic, chili, parsley… mmm (stomach grumble) life is good.  Hubby’s preparation for dinner was coming along nicely.

All ingredients were fresh & no Butter! I know! No Butter? Seriously?!!

I did not want to meddle so I just let it go, sipped on my glass of Chardonnay & pulled our take away menu closer.

So dinner went smoothly with Love Tailor and The Dude.

Fresh, light steamed Salmon with herb crust, grilled prawns, also with fresh herbs, still no butter, and steamed veggies with a big crispy salad to match.  We were definitely prepared for Love Tailor’s diet requirements. By the end of the meal I was licking my fingers, yeah you heard me right, dinner was delicious & no butter needed (blush)

My little friend - Fat Bastard was good to me.  I over catered a bit thinking everyone will have some, but only myself and hubby ended up drinking… no wait … finishing the whole bottle. He he he, explaining the next mornings Groot Dors.

The Dude brought a bottle of Red, which he finished by himself,  and Love Tailor declined politely, because of the diet, which suited the crazy lady in me quite happily, more for me, I mean us.

Fat Bastard Chardonnay

I ended up getting my taste of butter after all. Yay! 

Full-bodied Chardonnay & with the first big mouthful it had a beautiful buttery complexity with a toasty finish. Gorgeous.

Summer is arriving and this brings forth my hubby’s love for entertaining and he comes up with invites to celebrate a specific day in history, just so that he can have a Braai. 

Hubby:  “but Tipsy, it’s the celebration of the first monkey that went into space, we have to braai” hahha, oh goodness.

I have to admit, I love his silly invites, spending long summer day’s with friends & loved ones and indulging in a good glass of Vino …  from now on Fat Bastard will be added to the guest list.

Cheers all.

 I've taken more out of alcohol than alcohol has taken out of me.
- Sir Winston Churchill

Dinner with Love Tailor & The Dude

We are having some friends over for dinner tonight & it's going to be a challenge, which we love, cough cough ;)

By the sounds of it Love Tailor is on a very specific healthy diet (which I probably should be on), and she can only have a small piece of fish (i think) & some steamed veg ...

and The Dude is suffering from some; "i can't drink alcohol or my limbs swell" disease which I hope is not contagious! eeeeek! However, in great spirit, as only The Dude can pull off,  he is getting an INJECTION so he can drink tonight.  I feel special (teary eyed), proud, amazed, & worried all at once.

We have prawns & fish on the menu & by the sounds of it hubby & I will be the only two tipsy drinkers ;) Hey, more for us, not complaining... or I could be a good hostess and serve non alcoholic wine?????!!!!! Does this even exist?  JA NEE ;)

Tune in tomorrow for the low down on the evenings events....

Happy Friday all!

Cheers!

 I feel sorry for people who don't drink. When they wake up in the morning, that's as good as they're going to feel all day.
- Frank Sinatra

Spring dinner & a gorgeous bottle of Rooiberg Chardonnay Reserve 2008

So I am a romantic, straight down to my core.  I love candle lit bubble baths, followed by a candle lit dinner surrounded by roses, a gorgeous bottle of wine, Ella Fitzgerald playing in the back ground, and snuggling close to my gorgeous hubby like it's a first date.

To celebrate the birth of Spring, I decided to do a delightful "Welcome Spring" dinner for hubby and me.  I chose a recipe out of Marie Claire: real + simple (a must have cookbook)

And this was the result: Chicken leg quarters with herby stuffing - I know I know, these are not quarters, but don't count your chickens...   The Afrikaner in me changes recipes sometimes & this time I added a not so healthy finish (which was not part of the recipe); a creamy basil & Dijon mushroom sauce.  That, on top of the fresh basil and cashew nuts in the stuffing (also not in the recipe) made this meal delicious... if i do say so myself :-)

Our wine for the evening was a gorgeous bottle of Rooiberg Chardonnay Reserve 2008.  I have never tried this before and it complimented our food perfectly, pat on the back ;)
It was a beautiful full bodied Chardonnay which went very well with the chicken. The taste that was most interesting for me... You know when you suck on those caramel sweets?  Now that initial flavor was in this wine mixed with a bit of vanilla and also beautifully matured & rounded for a 2008, not being the least bit green or young.

A Gorgeous Reserve wine which, at a low price of R52, from Pick & Pay was an awesome deal. Honestly I would have thought this wine was an older bottle it was so well balanced,  I can only day dream of how amazing their 2006 must be... drooool.

Unless something goes dramatically wrong with their soil or winemaker, this is definitely going on my list of "must always have a bottle in the fridge" white wine & one of my next farms to visit when we are in Cape Town.

Thee, blush, the hangover on this was delightful, not that painful "please put me out of my misery" headache that you get from most young/cheap white wines, but instead more of a "i need a hug" headache that did not last long.

Do yourself a favor and go get this for one of your Spring events this weekend & I would love to know what you think?

So here is to a gorgeous week & weekend & good luck to all you poor snotty nosed people out there that is suffering because of all the blooming blossoms around you. :(  my husband is one.
Keep your chin up, your tissue close and drink your sorrows away. ;)

Cheers all!

I am a drinker with a writing problem.
- Brendan Behan

Spring is nature's way of saying, "Let's party!"

Well, it's official now! It's Spring! I do love the spring, that beautiful time of the year when everything around me blooms & with that my spirit blooms and I can't help myself but feel that we need to eat, drink & be tipsy.
Our garden is in full bloom with jasmine & lavender and Oh that smell... Oh oh oh.

I am totally obsessed with lavender and one day, when we own our dream farm,  we will have fields of lavender, like this:

and I will run around feeling like a little girl again, GA GA with happiness, like this:

Happy Spring everyone!
Here is to showing skin, light dishes, plenty of wine and good friends that will grow old with us!

Okay, feeling extremely sorry for myself today.  After an amazing evening with copious amounts of wine flowing I woke up this morning hating that evil bottle of wine, or two, or three - I will NEVER drink again - yeah, sure ;)

Hubby's attempt at dinner was beyond amazing! Well done! The Salmon was absolutely grilled to perfection with a slight pink inner "tummy" stuffed with blue cheese and pear, accompanied with roast sweet potatoes and a crispy green salad... Amazing.

Wine Wine Wine = great times with great friends.  

The Buitenverwachting was finished before dinner, so can't tell you how it tastes with food, eish.

The Haute Cabriere was absolutely perfect with the Salmon - a definite recommendation.

So there you go. All and all it was a successfull evening and thank goodness I did some tasting notes last night. Eina!

So go open a bottle of wine and enjoy your afternoon –I am sneaking my first Gin & Tonic for the day, shhhhh  ... Hey a girl needs a regmaakertjie. :) Don't judge me.

"You must believe in something. I believe I’ll have another drink."
- W.C. Fields

Kicking off the evening...

So while waiting for the Restauranteur & Peapod, I got thirsty ... the kind of thirst only a glass of wine can sooth, at least that is what i convince myself of ... So I opened my first, never tried before, white wine of the evening: Buitenverwachting Buiten Blanc 2009
I know I know, I should wait for the guests, but hey life is short & hubby is game.

Now if you go onto their website it's the idealistic farm you would love to retire on, with a beautiful sunset glistening over the mountains... sigh.
Anyway, back to reality & taste: 

Nose: The nose is flinty with undertones of fruitsalad and cut-grass.   Yeah, that's it.  Fruit bouquet. 


Op die tong:  A lovely remainder of dried fruit roll hangs around the tongue after the wine has disappeared into my belly – this I love.


Pallet:  No lingering aftertaste at all, this I find sad & tricky, makes me keep on sipping glass after glass to keep it lingering - oh no! ;)

The two bottles after this will be 

Now this BEAUTY is a known feature in my life.  I absolutely LOVE this wine & would like to keep my tasting notes for another day with a recipe from the wine owner herself, she is gorgeous and I can't wait to share her cooking skills with you.

Cheers! 

Dinner tonight

Tonight we are having some great friends over for dinner and hubby is cooking. Hmmmm... he decided to do this beautiful Blue cheese & pear Salmon dish, with his own unique twist, I can't wait.  I am getting quite excited to shop for a selection of appropriate white wines that will stand up to such a rich dish.

Come back tomorrow for the verdict on hubby's cooking and to learn something new on a few bottles of white.

"I read about the evils of drinking, so I gave up reading."
- Henny Youngman

♥ Leaine's Kitchen: Learning to Eat with Limitations ♥

Wow, love this lady's work.  She is amazingly talented in the kitchen & all her cooking is healthy and YUMMILICIOUS & there is a variety of dishes to choose from straight down to dessert!

This is a must follow and do yourself a favor, try her recipes - you won't regret it for a second & your body will thank you for it.

Keep up the amazing cooking & inspiration Leaine & I will come up with some nice wine pairings for a dish or two ;)

 Leaine's Kitchen: Learning to Eat with Limitations