August Recap

August Recap- Enjoying Summer 

Was anyone else's August busy?  When I looked back at my August it was packed full of fun.  No wonder the month just flew! 

I kicked off August with the re-opening of my etsy shop.   I closed it for the month of July so I could do a little revamping of the shop, glittering up a lot of new items and creating a lot of tulle poms in a variety of colours. I love creating items for peoples parties.  

The first weekend in August saw a visit from family who live out of state. It was great to spend time with family and celebrate my cousins birthday.   I feel so blessed to have a large family.  There was 16 of us at dinner.  That's just my parent's, aunts and uncles and cousins.  

The birthday dinner was followed by a weekend of goal setting with three local bloggers.  This was a BIG goal setting session.  We weren't talking about how we were going to grow our social media numbers.  We were talking the BIG goals that would take our businesses farther.  Of course I had to set up a little party table.  We had no idea after this session that we'd end up collaborating on a workshop together.  More to come on that later. 

The next week was the Portland Street of Dreams.  I love touring these houses with an eye on the party spaces.  I wouldn't want a house as big as the ones at Street of Dreams but I do get ideas for how to improve our little house. This year we're re-doing the front yard. It needs it bad.  My man says it's like four-wheeling with the lawn mower.  There's so much moss and lumpiness and just all around too much grass. 

An exciting event in August was the solar eclipse.   Of course I had to throw a little celebration.  It's not every year that the solar eclipse happens.  What an exciting event.  My man wasn't excited about it and just worked right through it.  I of course stopped what I was doing and watched the eclipse happen with a couple of friends. They say opposites attract right 😉

At the end of the month I had a great phone chat with Christa Graham Wedding & Events.  I met her in a Facebook group and me being the extrovert I am, as soon as I found out she was a wedding planner I reached out and said, hey, we should chat sometime.  We ended up having a great conversation and bounced a lot of ideas off each other.  Stay tuned for those ideas to come to life later this year and into the next. 

Phew! August was a busy fun filled month.  How was your August? 

Summer Wine Tasting

Summer Wine Tasting 

This summer the Portland Blogger and Creatives group got together for a little wine tasting at Stoller Winery. Summer is a great time for wine tasting with friends.  Especially if you rent a limo or other car service so everyone can enjoy tasting. 

I just love the wide open spaces around wineries as you drive up to them.  This lone white farm house caught my eye and as I stopped to capture the shot I day dreamed about living on acreage. But than I thought about how many times a week I make craft store runs. 😜

One of the things I really like about Stoller is that they kept Oak trees among their vines.  White oak's to be exact.  White oak numbers have decreased dramatically and Stoller is helping to preserve the species.  Plus just look at that view! I like the variation the oaks and pine trees bring to the view of the vineyard. It's such a relaxing view. 

Not only is Stoller helping preserve white oaks, their tasting room is solar. Way to go Stoller. Those Adirondack chairs were calling my name but I had to meet up with the rest of the blogger group. Plus I would have FRIED in minutes under the hot summer sun. 

Enjoying the first tasting in our flight.  This was a chardonnay. Normally I do not like chardonnays. I'm all about the reds.  But this one was surprisingly good. Our sommelier informed us that this chardonnay was from a stainless steel barrel not an oak barrel.  That must be why I like it.  Along with the flight we were also served a charcuterie board.  

Now this is my kind of wine, red. Do you prefer white or red?  Let me know in the comments. 

As the event wined down and we all started to head out I caught Mt. Hood in the distance as I made my way to my car. 

Of course Mt. Hood was so much clearer in person.  I can never capture it in a photo the way it looks in person. 

Have you enjoyed any outings with friends this summer?  I'd love to hear about it in the comments below.

Summer Time Charcuterie

Summer Time Charcuterie at Stoller Vineyards 

A few weekends ago I met up with some local bloggers and enjoyed a day at Stoller Family Estate.  Not all mini parties have to be held at home.  Summer time is meant for taking the party on the road and exploring parks, vineyards, boat docks, and more in your area.  So pack up that party, hit the road and tell me all about it .  

Wow, it has been WAY too long since I've been to a vineyard. I had no idea they served charcuterie.  How pretty does all that look.  I tried the big salami on the end and it was very good.  I didn't try the cheese because I'm not a cheese fan, unless of course it's on pizza, nachos, grilled cheese sandwich. 

Those hazelnuts I can tell you were delicious. I couldn't stop eating them.  Thankfully everyone else at the event wanted the meats and cheeses or I would have felt like a real pig hogging the nuts. 

   

When it comes to wine I'm all about the reds. I like the full bodied richness and  the taste the tannins impart. The very thing that people who prefer white wines don't like.  Tannins can impart a bitter element.  You'd think I would prefer white wines since I love sweets. Nope.   However, that bottle on the table there, that's a Chardonnay, the first bottle in our flight at Stoller.  And dare I say it?  I liked it.  I was very surprised.  Our sommelier at the vineyard informed us that this wine was fermented in a stainless steel drum.  This is the reason I liked it. The stainless steel imparts a different taste to it.    If you're not a fan of white wines, you should order a bottle their chardonnay made in a stainless steel drum, you just might like it. Just like I did.

Doesn't this just make you want to create your own charcuterie board, pour a glass of wine and just hang out with your friends on a summer afternoon?

I can't wait to show  you the rest of our Portland blogger meet-up at Stoller Family Estate later this week.  Until then, I want to hear about your winery tour experience.  Which ones have you been too?  What did you do there?