St. Julian Riesling

Thanks Travis!

Description on the bottle: Many of the world's most distinguished and enjoyable white wines are crafted from Riesling grapes grown in cool climate regions, like our Michigan vineyards.  This is a slightly sweet, crisp beverage with layers of peach, tropical fruit and lime flavors and a lingering finish.

Sarah says:  Yum.  Finally, something I really like!  The two things I like right off the bat are 1) it's white wine and 2) it's from Michigan!  It's really tasty and easy to drink.  It's sweet, but not so much that I feel like I'm drinking sugar.  It's fruity, but not so much that I feel like I'm drinking juice.  It doesn't leave a dry bland taste in my mouth, but instead makes me want more and more.  Makes me wish Jon was here, because I think we could really enjoy it together.


Overall rating:  Thumbs up!

I received my first ever wine donation from a devoted reader of the blog (others, feel free to do the same!)  Travis thought this would be something I’d enjoy, how freaking sweet it that?!  Apparently, he was right!  I will be going to get some more of this!  Speaking of Travis, it’s time to give a shout out to the guys that made our girls’ weekend in Chicago a success.  The reality is that it would never happen if it wasn’t for their support. 

Let’s start with James & Jon.  They are the Michigan husbands; they are also the Dads of the group.  When we started this annual Chicago trip, there were no kids.  I’m sure James & Jon were thrilled to have us leave.  They encouraged it!  Yes, it was a weekend of girl time for us, but it was also a weekend of freedom for them.  Since then, there are 5 kids between the two.  Amanda and I still get our weekend of girl time, but James & Jon now get a weekend of diapers, bottles, cries, sleep deprivation, carting kids to lessons and church, cooking, cleaning, and loneliness.  Yet, they continue to encourage us to go and have this weekend away.  In fact, they think we deserve it.  They don’t complain (too much) and don’t make us feel guilty about the need to escape.  They are the best husband and Daddy’s ever.  When we get back, our kids are still living and our homes are still standing.  Everything might be a little dirtier than when we left it, but everyone seems to love and appreciate each other more.  It’s one giant win.

Breakfast by Pavel

Next comes Pavel.  We stayed our first night with him and Julie.  Pavel is Russian, and apparently, he can cook!  He graciously cooked us dinner, he called it Chicken Parmesan, but I would just call it delicious.  It wasn’t breaded like I would have expected, and it didn’t use marinara sauce like I would have expected, and I’m pretty sure there wasn’t any parmesan on it like I would have expected.  But, man oh man, it was freaking good.  Then he mysteriously disappeared until the next morning, when he made us waffles!!!  Again, these things were amazing. We’re not talking about ego’s here, these were homemade, batter made from scratch, chocolate chips added, fruit topped, waffles.  AMAZING.  I ate a whole one, and then I ate some more.  Let’s just say my world has been rocked, and I will never enjoy another waffle again unless it’s made this way.  I would also like to give props to Pavel since it was his suggestion we go to Geja’s for chocolate fondue (or maybe he just didn’t want to get stuck cooking again).  Chocolate + Martini’s + 4 girls in Chicago = loads of fun!

Lastly, my fan Travis.  We stayed the second night with him and Stephanie.  Travis is my favorite (but don’t tell the others, it’s a secret!).  Here’s why, 1) He gave me this awesome bottle of wine! 2) Last year he got us into a highly overpriced luxury hotel for an evening for a huge discount, and had fruit and champagne sent to the room, and he sent us a fax, which probably sounds odd, but considering I’ve never received a fax in a hotel room before (and I was probably a little tipsy from that champagne) it was super exciting! (Staying at a hotel like this is probably something I’ll never experience again), 3) He made me coffee (I love coffee!) 4) He cooked breakfast!  This wasn’t just any old breakfast, it was Mexican!  Breakfast burritos, yes please!  Anyone that knew me during my pregnancy with Liam knows that I developed some serious Mexican cravings, and they’ve pretty much never stopped.  Eggs, beans, cheese, sour cream, salsa, all wrapped up in a heated tortilla, so freaking delicious.  A quick observation after eating showed my plate was a mess, I had tons of stuff fall out of my burritos (don’t worry, I got a fork and saved it).  Everyone else had a clean plate.  My original thought was that I am a slob and apparently don’t know how to eat graciously.  I later determined that I just enjoyed it more than the average person.  It was great.  Oh how I wish I would have taken a picture to remember it by, but I was too busy stuffing my face.

I’m not sure where Pavel & Travis get their cooking skills, but I’m so glad they have them!  I’m pretty sure that if I told Jon I was having 4 girlfriends coming over to spend the night, and he wasn’t allowed to be involved in our conversations or go out with us on our adventures, he wouldn’t be offering to cook us a meal (or 2!), but these guys totally stepped up to the plate (haha, plate…. Oh man, that was so lame, no more wine tonight!). 

So thanks guys, for making this trip possible, for encouraging and supporting us, for being happy for us, for keeping our kids alive, for cooking for us, and for basically making us feel special for 3 days.  You rock!