No matter who you are; no matter what you aspire to do; and no matter where you are in life, you need a tribe. Yes, you. All of us do. That even includes those of us who are loners and introverts. So why is a tribe so important? There is an African proverb believed to […]
Lessons in Life: Changing Your Mind Can Change Everything
Beyonce’s oft quoted lyric “I woke up like this” took on new meaning for me when I woke up one morning recently in a very unhappy, discontented mood. This wasn’t a superficial pity party over something insignificant. No, this was one of those moments that a situation involving something deeply important, personal, and meaningful in my life wasn’t going at all the way my […]
Bubble Me Baby: Perrier-Jouët Champagne Happy Hour
I just love it when my CGA orchestrate things in my favor. You know, CGA–champagne guardian angel. While most people have 1 guardian angel to guide, watch over, and nudge them in the right direction, some of us who are champagne-fixated are blessed with an extra one. This 2nd angel knows and understands that I was born with […]
40 Wines 40 Days Recap 3: Racy & Refined Reds
The last #40Wines40Days post covered the wild & wondrous white wines I tasted from South Africa, New Zealand, and Australia, so now it’s time to recap the racy & refined reds that I got to sip at the tasting. Before we get to the tasting though, how about we start off with a little “Effervescent Education” first? […]
“EMERALD ISLE FIZZ:” A bubbly green cocktail
It’s St. Patrick’s Day, but while the rest of the world likes to celebrate by being up to their ears in green beer, I prefer to do things just a bit differently. Any day is a good day for champagne and sparkling wine in my book, and St. Patrick’s Day is no different. So what does […]
40 Wines 40 Days Recap 2: Wild & Wondrous Whites
After a little hiatus, I’m back with another #40Wines40Days recap! Now, I’m fully aware of the fact that today is not the normal #WineWednesday recap day, but for the last couple of weeks I was working furiously on creating an EPIC post on “How to Host the Ultimate Empire Viewing Party.” If you don’t know what […]
“Fab Four For Friday” #LinkLove Round-up
March is here and all I can think is “hurry up spring!” Like I mentioned in my March sneak peek for the blog, springtime brings about such a wonderful sense of renaissance, renewal, revitalization, and restoration–the sentiment of a fresh start. This spring spirit of renewal always inspires me to switch stuff up {spring cleaning}; to make […]
Secrets of the Lyons Den: How to Host the Ultimate Empire Season Finale Watch Party
Admit it: you’ve found yourself completely caught up in the phenom that is Fox’s breakout television show “Empire.” Don’t worry though, you’re not alone: the show was so incredibly popular right out of the gate that the series was renewed for a second season after just 2 episodes. If you need further proof of the show’s […]
It’s a Food Holiday: National Absinthe Day
Never had absinthe before? With the spirit being dubiously dubbed as “la fée verte,” or the “green fairy,” I’m not exactly surprised. Although absinthe originally rose to fame in New Orleans (Sazerac, anyone?) and was in vogue among the poets and artists of Paris’ café society, it was eventually vilified in the 18th century with unfounded beliefs that it caused hallucinations, […]
“Fab Four for Friday” Winter Weekend Round-up: Links I Love
There’s been quite a bit of frigid weather here in Texas–particularly frigid for Texas–as of late with temps in the 30s, ice, and snow all making far too frequent appearances (and, right on cue, the snow flurries began to start literally as I am typing this). As a person who is already very cold-natured, any temps […]
40 Wines 40 Days Recap 1: How About a Little Espumante Vino? Txakoli, The Fizzy Spanish Wine
**CONTEST ALERT!** you could win BIG…see details at the end of the post Hey there, wine loving people! It’s Wednesday (also know by the hashtag #WineWednesday every week on Twitter–if you haven’t already you should check it out sometime!) so that means it’s time for my first “40 Wines 40 Days” project recap! If you […]
Motivation Monday: Improve Your Vocabulary, Improve Your Life
I loved English class as a girl, especially vocabulary lessons. I became enthralled with discovering the meaning of words and how putting those words together could forge expressive, powerful, and creative thoughts and concepts. No matter how expansive our vocabularies are though, we’ve all had a moment where we’ve wanted to express a thought, feeling, or […]
Start your tequila drinking engines: Sunday February 22nd is National Margarita Day
Start your tequila-drinking engines! This weekend is National Margarita Day, so get your salt, limes, and lips ready! I love a good “food holiday” (proof here; here; and here, in case you don’t believe me), especially when it involves wine and/or cocktails. So, with the desire of fully “getting into the spirit” of this, well, spirit-fueled […]
It’s a Food Holiday: National Drink Wine Day (Bonus: It’s Time for Lent)
Say au revoir to the indulgent revelry of Mardi Gras and Fat Tuesday, and hello to the tradition of Lent, which begins today, Ash Wednesday. For the next 40 days, people everywhere will enter into a season of fasting, almsgiving, and prayer that ends with Easter in April. But joy of joys, guess what? It just […]
Motivation Monday: You’re Being Childish
In the hustle and bustle of our goal-achieving; task completing; objective accomplishing; success-obtaining lives, far too frequently we forget to take a moment to just live. We fail to notice that brilliant sunrise that’s dancing across the sky because we’re too busy complaining about having to wake up so early or we’re too singularly focused on […]
A Dozen Rosés for Your Valentine
Valentine’s Day is right around the corner, and all over the world florists are in full-on hustling mode trying to fulfill the quadrillion orders for floral arrangements that are being made around the clock, especially requests for the quintessential bouquets of pink and red roses. You know what though? I say who needs a dozen roses […]
Motivation Monday: All You Have to Do Is Say Yes
When it comes to undertaking a new project; doing something we’ve never done before; or taking the opportunity to be in the spotlight, many of us back away like a crawfish in Louisiana trying to refuse an invitation to a boil. And we have a litany of excuses for backing away too. “I don’t know how to […]
It’s A Haute House In Here: Interior Design Trends for 2015
It’s no secret that aesthetics are everything to me, so naturally I’m quite into design of all kinds. Every December and January predictions of the incoming and outgoing interior design trends start popping up everywhere, and I absolutely love looking to see what the opinions of the collective design community are. Then I love promptly dissecting […]
February Sneak Peek
February is already upon us–the first month of 2015 has absolutely flown by! Having just launched in January, I can hardly believe that I’ve already been writing on this site for a whole month. January was exciting and taxing and challenging and fun and nerve-wracking and inspirational, all rolled up into 31 days. This month promises to […]
It’s a Food Holiday: Pull out your berets, it’s National Croissant Day
There’s not much the Francophile in me loves more than a good, flaky, buttery croissant. I don’t mean those freaky hybrid things (yes, I’m looking at you, cronut). I’m talking about an authentic, traditional, real, swoon-worthy, worth-eating kind of croissant, and it’s harder to find one than you may think. An authentic croissant takes preparation, […]