26. Try 10 new wines COMPLETE

This was one of my favorite goals because I really didn't have to try haha wine is a custom in my life now that all of my friends drink wine and everywhere I go I am usually able to try a sip of something new. 

I have officially tried 11 that I have kept track of since beginning this goal. Eight of them I have previously posted about and I'm here to finish the last two necessary to finish this goal - but I have three to share!

9. Turning Leaf

Merlot

You may have remembered me posting about another Turning Leaf wine, it was a white wine that I tried with my sisters and the boys that was yummers.. this one was also very tasty! I brought it to contribute to dinner with Lauren and we loved it!! It has a bit of a stronger taste, but not so much that you can barely drink it.  We had a couple glasses and then I share with David last night and we finished it off and he liked it as well!

10. Blue Fin

Viognier

Jessie served this at our dinner together the other night and it was very good.  We dusted this in one night between us so it must've been pretty good! I didn't really pull anything exotic or super fierce out of this wine other than that I really liked it.  It was an easy drink that had flavor to it but wasn't taking over my tastebuds.  I'd purchase again!

11. Macaron

Moscato

Last but not least.. Macaron! Erin purchased this at our last get-together and was excited for me to try it to add to my list!! This was a favorite at the party, I'd say.  It was very light, easy to drink and was a good party, mingling drink.  We had pasta that night and it didn't clash with the food necessarily but could do without any!

DONE!! 78% COMPLETE!

26. Try 10 new wines

This goal is not complete yet, but it is definitely underway!

Out of the 10 wines I set out for myself to try, I am pleased to say that I have currently tasted 7 new wines (plus "Bitch" from my last post)!!!!

Shannon and I set this goal together and meant to just hit up Total Wine, buy 5 bottles of wine neither of us have tatsed and have ourselves a little wine night.  With busy schedules and such we have yet to have this night.  But in the mean time I have been trying new wines quite often and figured I shoudl add them to my list :)

(Shan, we should still have our wine night!)

Here we go...
[In no particular order]

1. Flip Flop - Merlot

Actually tried this one last night at Shannon and Alex's house with spaghetti dinner.  It was YUMMY!!! Shannon literally poured us only as much wine as shown in the picture and after I was finished I was feeling it!! We checked the acohol % and it was 13%!  The boys beer was less than 1/3 of that! Strong, but very tasty!

2. Frontera, Chile - Cab/Merlot

 David and I received this at our engagement party from Milo and Kyle.  It has a very strong taste and was a little much for Lauren and I to take in Vegas.  We each probably had one glass and called it quits.  It just wasn't a good taste for our palate.

3. 1 <3 CA- Pinot

This one was very interesting.  Another one that Lauren and I tried in Vegas.  I think it would have been better with a sweet food, maybe some strawberries or other fruit.  We drank it plain with nothing and the taste was a little harsh at the moment.  I did like it, could have drank the whole bottle if that was the only one, but I'd rather pair it with some light, sweet food.

4. Turning Leaf - Riesling

My baby sister, Danielle, and her boyfriend Tom introduced Erin, David and I to this one.  We really enjoyed it!! We drank it alone and with dinner and thought it was very tasty!  It has a light, sweet taste that makes it easy to down! I would definitely recommend this!

5. Goats Trail - Zinfandel

Apparently I'm the only crazy one.  This is another that was brought along to us from Danielle & Tom.  I'm not sure if they had tried it before or if it was a random purchase, but no one seemed to have a taste for it.  Therefore, when I ended up with the last glass of Turning Leaf and David didn't want Goats Trail I had to switch him! Which was fine since I enjoyed both.  This one has a heavier, stronger taste and goes great with meat!

6. Cupcake

Just as it sounds! A very dessert flavored wine, almost a little tart!! Marisol, David's sister, had this at our engagement party and some liked it and some thought it was too much.  I enjoyed it for the party.  I probably wouldn't pour this at home with dinner or while I was snacking away but it was a fun wine to have at the party where we weren't there to get sloshed.

7. Sweet - Moscato

Our dear friend Rosie gave this to David and I at our engagement party.  No one had popped it open, as we had many, many bottles of many, many different alcohols, but eventually we got to it in Vegas and this one was by far Lauren and my favorite! David really liked it too.  Again, it's just as the name states.  It was very sweet, light and really easy to drink!!

Tonight, I will be trying another one I'll be able to add to the list.  It is a Barefoot - Sweet Red (I think).  I cannot remember what the actual name of the wine is but it's for David and my anniversary and he really likes sweet and fruity, so I can imagine that's the name.

I'll keep you posted!

26. Try 10 New Wines

One wine down, nine to go!!!

1.  Bitch - I bought this wine for my sister some time ago thinking that it would be a fun bottle to share on a girls night that we could laugh about!! It definitely was all I hoped, but the taste was not one that I would recommend.  The bottle was so fun to keep around and is totally adorable.  But we probably won't be buying this for ourselves in the future.



97. Try making a new recipe every month

This is an ongoing goal throughout the 1001 days for Day Zero Project.

At the beginning I was posting each month of the new foods, recpies and goodies I was making.  More recently, I haven't posted any of my delicious findings and new creations!! I thought I would give an update of all the recipes that I have been making :)

Lets see...

- Pesto, Avocado Pasta

I made this with my friend Mackenzie.. it was definitely different and was an awkwardly cool dish as oppose to a hot dish you would expect with spaghetti noodles.  It was a good expereince :)

- 5 Minute Chili (Trader Joes Recipe) 

This was my first recipe out of my NEW Trader Joes cookbook from Mackenzie.  It was pretty easy! Not 5 minutes easy, but didn't require much and was very tasty!

-Stuffed Peppers (Trader Joes Recipe)

I made this one with my BFF Lauren.  We were starving and a little impatient as we did not cook the rice fully, not knowing how long it took to make rice, and so it was a bit harder than it should've been.  But the peppers were fabulous!

- Mini Strawberry Pies, Davids FAVORITE!

I recently made these for David and my engagement party as a request from my fiance.  SUPER easy!! But still a new recipe :))

- Chicken breasts in bulk

To be honest, I have never actually cooked chicken.  David usually does it for us if we have chicken with dinner.  My mama taught me how to cook chicken in general, but I also learned how to cook it in bulk and perserve it to eat throughout the week.

-Homemade Apple Sauce

This was not as bad as it looks.  When all said and done it was warm, which was a bit weird, and it didn't have much taste.  You boil apples and then peel the skin off, mush it together and top it with a little cinnamon. Not difficult at all!

- Salsa

I have learned how to make salsa in a variety of ways in the past but my sister makes a fabulously amazing salsa by boiling the ingredients and then dropping them in the blender.  It is so easy and even I can do it!!!! I LOVE her salsa that I had to learn how to make it! And it was well worth it :)

- Baked Breaded Avocado Slices (I'm sure there's a better name for these)

This was interesting!! You basically take slices of avocado, dip them in eggs and bread crumbles and bake them.  Sounds fabulous!! But were lacking in taste.  We doused them in hot sauce and ate a few of them, but over all we need to figure out how to add a little more flavor next time.

- Panini Sandwiches

I really enjoy a good panini sandwich, but I have always thought they took a ton of effort and we're more than I would bargain for.  But, yet again, Erin whiped out the ingredients for an array of different paninis and away we went.  We made them on the George Foreman grill and put everything from ham/turkey in them to avocados and grilled veggies.  SOOO easy and a lot of fun to make!

-Homemade Ice Cream!

This was a MESS!! hahaha Erin had a goal to make homemade ice cream.  While at Target I saw a mini ice cream machine on sale and bought it.  This thing was so small and the directions were so vauge that although we made ice cream it was super watery! It never fully thickened like ice cream should, but still tasted really good!

- Icing a cupcake!

A little random, but I learned how to make the concoction and beautifully ice some fabulous cupcakes for my godsons first birthday.  OK Shannon did most of the work, but I still learned how to do it!!!  It's super easy! You just need a plastic funnel, a tip to go in the funnel that the icing will come out of, food coloring and vanilla icing and WA-LA! Goregous cupcakes with very little effort!

- Hard Boiled Eggs :))

Haha this one is kind of pathetic, but I never knew how and as Shannon, Erin and I were making Easter eggs we all learned how to boil an egg! Which will come in handy with deviled eggs, salads, or for a good snack!

- Alcoholic Infused Gummi Bears

Shannon taught me this one! They were strong!!! It was pretty basic, but needed time to sit and soak.  The result was quite a show...

- Chocolate Dipped Cookies

These were WAYYY easier than expected!! I thought I was going to have to dye the chocolate and make a major mess and none of the happened.  I bought the colored chocolate from Michaels, melted them down and dipped sugar cookies into them half way.  Stick these puppies in the fridge so the chocolate will harden and DONE!

- Deviled Eggs

This one is a little premature as I will not be learning to make these until this weekend, but I am very excited as my mom as an AMAZING recipe that my sister will be using to make goodies for my bridesmaid get together on Sunday... Check back for the results of these littl babies!

TIME!

15 recipes and still counting!!!!



31. Go wine tasting

I have been wine tasting a few times, but this one will be PUBLISHED, what what!

Groupon had a great wine tasting deal where you could go wine tasting for two and take your favorite wine home in a personalized bottle.  I took Erin on this trip with me and we had an absolute blast.  The winery was not too far from home at all, we could have actually walked (but we didn't).

We tried 6 wines, 4 of which the winery creates themselves.  *OH and I would love to tell you the name of the winery, but since going they've changed it and I can't remember either names because they're drastically different.

But anyway, we took home a dessert wine that was really good and we thought would be great at home for a little girls night in at some point in the future.  As it turns out, we get it home and didn't like it as much as we did the first time.  It's a fabulous wine, but the atmosphere, or the other tastings we already had, influenced this one and it just wasn't the same.  Regardless, it was a great time!



Riding over with the top down!

 

 

34. Another concert :))

This is total a double wammy for this goal because I did already complete it long ago, but I also posted about Woodstock and that I was going! So I wanted to put a little update up wtih pictures.  Now, We 've been going for two years now.. These pictures are from our first trip!

This concert is so much fun! It's all cover bands from the Woodstock days.  We lay on a big lawn with our camping chairs and blankets, drink beer, try food and just chill.  It is a really good time.  Usually, we soak up A LOT of sun while we're at it! It's generally in August and it is scorching! But so worth it :)

My woodstock look :) PEACE

Erin and I getting a hold of a beach ball being popped around up by the stage.

The boys... enough said.



4. Go on a double date with David, Erin & Smelly

Although we hang out on a pretty regular basis, Erin and I rarely get a double date with our boys.  One night we were sitting around and mentioned wanting to go see a movie and I screamed out "DZP Double Date!!!" and Erin was SOLD! We convinced the boys and off we went!

We ate at Alcapulo Restaurant, where they didn't have rice for some insane reason! This was a major topic of conversation during dinner...

And then saw The Hunger Games at Century Theater.

We had a blast and the movie was fabulous! (It was my second time seeing it :))

Here are some pictures..

I went all out and bought a ton of munchies for us to enjoy during the movie (after dinner, contradictory - I know:))

Erin and I, SUPER excited that we're actually completing a goal, unexpectedly!

The four of us.. as you can tell the boys cannot take a real picture.  I think this was our third try at a group shot and.. well.. yaaaaaaa

14. Dye Easter eggs

The conversation between Shannon and I literally went like this:

Shannon: What do you want to do tonight?

Me: I kind of wanted to dye Easter eggs.  It has been so long since I've done that.

Shannon: Ok, we can do that tonight.

Me: REALLY!? WE CAN?!

Shannon: Yeahhh, we can go buy the stuff and make them tonight.

Me: OK! LET'S GO!

Then, I called Erin and had almost the exact same conversation full of excitement.  And that is how we came to the great idea last Saturday evening to dye Easter eggs and knock something off of all our lists :)

Shannon and I went to the grocery store and bought all the goods.  We purchased the traditional dye kit and an extra little goodie box that gave us little bowls, shaped like eggs, to dissolve the dye in.

When we got back to the house we started unpacking everything and Shannon :) had the brilliant idea to punch out the holes on the back of the packaging to set our eggs in to dry after we had designed and dipped them.. little did she, or Erin and I know, that we hadn't read the instructions first and no one knew how exactly to dye Easter eggs.. HAHAHAHAHA

It was so funny!

Therefore, here is another funny conversation of the evening:

Erin: I think it says to put blah blah blah of vinegar in the bowl and then blah blah blah dissolve one tablet of dye and blah blah blah...

and it carried on like this because the "blah blah blah" was where the information was missing due to the missing holes on the back of the box :)

See the hole punched tray sitting there..BAHAHAHAA

Never a dry moment with us!

And the dyeing begins..

Erin getting her dyeing on..

Hahahaha so many funny stories this evening!

I, being a helpful baby sister, decided to check on one of Erin's eggs in the dye.  Well since I haven't done this in YEARS and haven't handled the egg dyeing tools, probably ever, I accidentally dropped her egg and squished the bottom :(

It was still beautiful, but lets just say I wasn't allowed to touch anyone else's eggs than my own after that.

Shannon! Rocking her totally gorgeous new hair cut! Proud to say I was the first to see it after she left the salon :)) (I didn't ruin any of her eggs :))

And this would be me and a concoction I made.  I put a pink dye tablet with a blue one to try and make purple.  Instead I got a very interesting mix of both colors which was a favorite amongst the group! They yelled at me when I did it, but then couldn't help but put one of their eggs in this crazy color mix!

I love these girls :)



15. Be in two places at once.

Okay, okay! So I stole this from A Walk to Remember but who wouldn't want to try this!

Erin and I took up the opportunity of crossing this off of both of our lists while traveling from Arizona to California.  We meant to do this on the way into the desert, but it didn't exactly work out; therefore, we managed to get it on the way back.  NO Excuses!

David was the most scared as we stood on the side of the road and straddled the border of California to Arizona.  Cars were whizzing by and the wind was blowing like CRAZY! But it was so worth it -- we captured the moment!



81. Go horseback riding & 31. Go wine tasting

Erin and I were given an amazing gift from Shannon to go horseback riding and go wine tasting - a 2 for 1 deal!!! I haven't updated my blog in FOREVER, so I figured this would be a great opportunity to add some love.  Enjoy.

75. Go on a roadtrip!

December 26-28th, 2010

Alex, David, Erin, and Danny depart from California travelling roughly 300+ miles to Arizona to visit family.

We left pretty stinking early considering the day before was Christmas and David and I had traveled to Temecula area to spend Christmas with his Dad's side of the family.  I was a late evening due to the weather and traffic, but we managed to get up early with a smile on our faces in order make this trip magical! And I must say, that it was exactly that!

We didn't get any photos of us on our way up, I think we were all too tired for that, but I did snap a few at the beginning of our trip back...

 David and I love traveling together, although we have only really gone as far as Vegas and Arizona.. so we haven't done much.. yet!

 We're a silly bunch! But the boys didn't want to play for this shot.

 All smiles.. very tired smiles - but smiles none-the-less!

And then the boys come out of their shell!.. well David at least!

We had a blast in Arizona! Visiting our niece had to be the best ever!! She is the cutest little thing and makes us laugh, it was really hard to leave her and Danielle.  Only urges us to go back ASAP!

Overall - successful trip!