Host a Blind Wine Tasting Party

Last year, two of our colleagues and friends entered into a debate about whether or not the price of the wine determined its quality and tastiness. The conversation resulted in a blind wine tasting party that is now a Fitzgerald tradition. If you enjoy wine, at any price point, I highly encourage you to host your very own blind wine tasting party. You won't be disappointed with the results!

First step is to identify your guest list. This year, we intentionally brought together couples that we keep hoping to connect with but for some reason or another, our schedules do not seem to match up. J and I enjoy bringing together friends from different aspects of lives. It is both fun and an open space for us to truly walk in community with others.

Once you've determined your guest list, you can invite them to bring their favorite bottle of wine. We like to leave it up to guests to choose a white wine or a red wine, and award a prize for each category. You could have folks sign up if you'd like or even assign regions from around the world. There are lots of fun ways to personalize this aspect. Our guests this time around really loved red and we ended up not having a white wine in sight {fine by this red wine lover!}.

Part of my wine love involves the bites to eat that often accompany the sips. Our guests were also asked to bring an appetizer to share. Wine + small bites for dinner. My kind of party, for sure.

For my food contributions, I made a healthier buffalo chicken dip and a baked brie in phyllo cups with a walnut and craisin garnish.

As guests arrived, we invited them to choose a number to attach to their bottle of wine. I found this free printable here.

When the tasting began, each guest received a scorecard to rate the tasting. I like to give a few minutes in between tastings for chatting and preparing for the next sip. As we tasted each wine, we identified the number on the bottle but keep the secret of whose bottle it was and what type of wine it was. For us, it lead to a lot of fun guessing as to who brought it and what type it was.

We prefer to provide mini cups for the tastings and then toss them out each time. You could also provide guests with one glass and a dump bucket if you preferred that. I also recommend some palate cleansing snacks such as: crackers, goldfish, etc. for guests to munch on in between samples.

After all of our tastings were complete, we asked guests to vote for their favorite white wine and favorite red wine. In the case that all of your guests bring one type, liked ours did, have them vote for their top 2. As we announced the top selections, the bottles were revealed! After that, everyone was free to enjoy glasses of any wines they chose.

The winners of our categories took home gift certificates to the newly opened Mini Doughnut Factory, a personal favorite of ours {get the cotton candy one!}.

Of course, decorating for your party is also a fun aspect. Or at least it is for me. A few little pretty things go a long way.

For this party, I used a roll of brown butcher wrapping paper to create a table runner, picked up a fresh tulip plant, and used some thought provoking cocktail napkins to spur on conversation. {I pick up cocktail napkins all the time for this purpose and to be sure that I always have fun ones on hand.} You can use any embellishments you'd like to represent you and add a little fun for your guests.

Write down your own great ideas and invite your friends over for a lovely and lively night with good wine and even better company!

If you're curious about our winners from this year, the favorites were:

Cupcake Black Forest

Dreaming Tree Pinot Noir

Yellow Tail Cabernet Sauvignon

Cheers!

Tea Party for Three

When Melissa and I were in college, we were convinced that if our then career aspirations did not work out, we would buy a bed and breakfast where we could host fabulous tea parties and teach young girls etiquette. After all, in the south, our lives are guided by God and Emily Post. While we do not own a B&B, yet, Melissa does have a little lady, Little M, that we can bestow all of our wisdom upon.

Tea parties are especially dear to us because we enjoyed one for both Melissa's Bachelorette weekend and her Baby Shower. And, let's be honest, we pretty much love any excuse to wear a pretty dress and pearls. Melissa and I decided it was time to take our little lady on her very first tea party. Little M was so excited! She wore a beautiful dress, pearl necklace and little white wedges. Basically, she was a whole lot of precious!

The tea house, A Corner of England, was very sweet and kindly catered to Little M. Melissa and I enjoyed yummy sandwiches, tomato soup, quiche, and a large pot of green tea. Little M enjoyed all of the chocolate, and she loved every last bite of it.

We had such a great time and I think Little M thoroughly enjoyed her first tea time. The afternoon also gave way for Melissa and I to spend time together catching up which is always a nice treat. I think we have many more tea parties in our future!

E gets married!

 
Four years ago I met E in Athens while we were both attending graduate school. E became the momma of the cohort - always knowing where we were, what we were doing and who we were doing it with. She could probably tell you the life story of all of us and quickly provide an update on where we are now because she is just the kind of person who genuinely cares that much.

When you are the one busy taking care of every one else, it is easy to shelter yourself from being vulnerable and that is what ultimately united us. We are tough girls, not much that we cannot fight through. E and I are always looking for the next challenge and, on occasion, we might even let someone help us.

During our summer internship in grad school, E talked me into signing up for this bootcamp class. Intense does not begin to describe it. By 9am in Georgia, it is already a hundred degrees but there we were every morning running stairs, doing push ups and praying that we wouldn't throw up. I despised the running but by the end of it, I desperately wanted to beat my mile time. E had already finished as I came around for my last lap. I was struggling. There is only so much 'Apple Bottom Jeans' can get you through. As I turned the last corner, I saw E running back to meet me. With her beside me, I beat my time and knew that I would always be her friend.

When I got the call that E was getting married, I was over the moon! You may remember our first meeting with Matt which pretty much sealed the deal that he was the one for our E. As we began to get ready to leave for the wedding, I felt an incredible sensation of nervousness. Silly really, but E is special and I knew that who she chose to spend the rest of her life with was not a light decision - all of that just made it seem like a overwhelming moment.

When E began down the aisle, she was already crying. When I looked at Matt, he had this calming, gentle smile on his face. E had not only met a great man but the one who let it be okay for her to cry in a room full of people. I almost wanted to laugh with happiness because I knew that she was with the person that would love her, challenge her and run beside her when she needed it.

The wedding and reception were both beautiful! A great time was had by all. I am so happy to have shared in this moment with E and Matt. I cannot wait to see what is in store for them. 

Love this view of her dress!

First Dance

Yes, we had a low country boil at the reception. Amazing!

CSAA

Bride and Groom Karaoke to Sweet Caroline

Look who we found in the lobby.. with the leftover cake

Time with the girls

 One of the greatest gifts Chi Omega gave me is my best girls. We all pledged in different semesters but we developed a friendship that has grown and changed throughout each turn in our lives. I was traveling to Tampa for a conference so I decided that I would fly in a two days early and spend some quality time with the girls. Morgan flew up to join me on Friday and we shared a delicious bottle of wine and tapas at The Living Room in Downtown Dunedin. After hours chatting up a storm, we called it a night in the wee hours of the morning. Saturday, we enjoyed breakfast at Kelly's and a long stroll down to the waterfront area. We soaked up the sun and caught up on the happenings of life.

Kelly & Morgan

After we spent a few hours lost, trying to remember how to get around Tampa, we ended up hitting one of our old frequented spots, Tijuana Flats. After a bit of shopping at International Plaza we headed home to meet Kel and get ready for a little birthday dinner for Morgan. Melissa met us and we enjoyed wine and yummy food at The Pub, my new favorite spot in Tampa. To cap the night, we picked up hot chocolate and dessert from The Cheesecake Factory. Kel stayed over and we stayed up talking until our eyes could not stay open any longer. Sunday, we enjoyed a nice breakfast together and it was back to our respective worlds.  



Morg, Me, Mel



When you have reached this stage in life when you are working to develop your career, raising babies, and being a wife - the quality time for just the girls becomes a special occasion. I appreciate that no matter where life has led us, we continue to carve out time to be together.  We are clearly grown but I still feel as though we are those bright eyed college girls ready to take on the world. I sort of love that about us.

Flashback from College

Cupcake Wars

My love affair with cupcakes began about three years ago when my friends Melissa and Derek were getting married. In our search for that "little something extra" to add to their reception, we discovered that cupcake towers were becoming the rage and we certainly were not going to miss the boat. After their nuptials, I slipped into Red Velvet heaven... I have been a loyal consumer of this goodness every since.

This Sunday The Food Network will debut a new show entitled Cupcake Wars at 10/9c. Being the avid cupcake lover that I am, I can hardly wait to see what deliciousness awaits me. Talents from all across the country will be featured on the show as they compete for the chance to win $10,000. I'm looking forward to new recipes and learning some tricks of the trade!

In honor of this joyous occasion, I will share some of my favorite treats from cupcake bakeries I have visited.

Molly's Cupcakes (Chicago, IL)

This sweet spot is equipped with the most delicious treats tucked away in a charming cafe. Patrons can enjoy their treats while sitting in porch-style swings at the bar with a perfectly delicious cup of coffee. While I was there I enjoyed three (don't judge) amazing cupcakes - the ever faithful Red Velvet, Peanut Butter Nutella (PB, Chocolate, & Hazelnut...stop yourself), and a Blueberry/Lemon cheesecake-ish one. Needless to say, it was a hit with my sweet tooth! I enjoyed every minute of this adventure with my best gals and fellow cupcake devotees, Morgan and Melissa

Cupcake (Charleston, SC)

This was my very first experience with a cupcake-exclusive bakery and boy did I love every minute of it! Three seems to be my magical number because I also enjoyed three delicious treats here as well - Red velvet, Pumpkin with Cinnamon Swirl icing (a little bite of heaven), and Carrot Cake. I even purchased this adorable t-shirt for Madi Kate because, well, it was necessary. Can you see those delicious treats behind me?

Bliss Cupcake Cafe (Fayetteville, AR)

Thanks to Tammy and Erica, I was able to enjoy a delicious pumpkin spiced cupcake from this lovely bakery that just opened in Fayetteville... It was amazing!

Cami Cakes (Jacksonville, FL)

Lauralee, Ella, and I ventured to the mall after Ella's first Christmas to get her little ears pierced. A little scarred from the experience (Ella didn't really love it) we concluded that we could recuperate by enjoying a little treat. Lauralee enjoyed the Classic Cami while I returned to my faithful Red Velvet. The pain of the ear piercing lasted only a second but enjoying this little treat with one of my favorite women and her daughter remains one of my favorite days!

Bakeries on my "to enjoy" list: Sprinkles, The Original Magnolia Bakery in NYC, and Hello Cupcake! and Georgetown Cupcake in Washington, DC

Happy Baking!