Beatles Party and Concert

When I found out over a year ago that our Philharmonic was going to have a Beatles concert with the Classical Mystery Tour fab faux to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Beatles American invasion, I was so excited!!

I love the Beatles and I made sure we got our tickets in plenty of time.

I also planned to host our wine club event with the concert in mind.

We hosted a pre-concert Beatles appetizer party before heading out to the concert.  Which was absolutely amazing.  The guest performers were incredible, and the Philharmonic sounded really, really cool with them.  It was an incredible evening.

The themed party was a ton of fun for me to plan.

David was traveling back from Germany, but the boys got in on the fun and were a huge help.

It was a really, really fun night.

I want to do it again.  Soon.

I used this great graphic from etsy for the invitations (changing it to a wine party instead of a birthday party).  I customized it in Photoshop.

We have a long, winding driveway. 

We set out the 13 official Beatles (not the anthologies, oh there's a ton of background on which were the original releases, etc. trust me, I read up).  The green apples are a nod to Beatles' record label Apple Records.

And the themed foods were a ton of fun to think about

I always worry there won't be enough food, but this was just in one room.  Everyone brought delicious dishes!

And we set up a candy bar

And while it was a wine party, I had to make up a batch of Lovely 'Ritas to go with the wine and beer selections.

(which were delicious - the best recipe from a friend in Mexico - 1.5 oz reposado tequila, 1.5 oz triple sec, 1 oz fresh lime juice, served over crushed ice, never blended)

Of course, the friends are who make the evening each and every time

My concert date is as big a Beatles fan as I am.  I had an absolutely wonderful time with him.

Thomas has been a Yellow Submarine fan since he was 2.

He said as we were driving home "this may be the best night of my life".  Awww!

Again, my photos will never do the night justice.

But what a great concert.

All you need is love.

June Wine Club - Shandies

I've been a member of a fabulous Wine Club for a year and a half now, and there is one thing I can say with all certainty.

My favorite thing about Wine Club is the People.

And my second favorite thing about Wine Club is the Food.

The Wine (or beverage of the month) is in the list somewhere, but certainly not at the top for me.

Whenever I post photos about our local group I always get lots of comments about what a fun group of people I get to hang out with, and questions about how to put a Wine Club together.

It starts with the People, seriously.

Mike and Mary hosted a Picnic-themed party on Saturday, and the signature beverage was a Shandy.

Now, I had never heard of a Shandy, and assumed it was a dessert.

I even looked it up in one of my best Southern cookbooks.

Turns out, it's a cocktail.  Who knew?

According to Wikipedia, a Shandy is beer mixed with citrus-flavored soda, carbonated lemonade, ginger beer, ginger ale, or cider.  I remember these from Germany - they were called Radlers.  I enjoyed a Shandy with lemonade and it was a great refreshing beverage for a hot June night!

Thomas helping prep the artichokes for the party

Mike and Mary were gracious enough to let me bring Thomas along.

David and Brennan were out of town and Thomas was leaving for camp the next day.

I felt better having him close by.

He enjoyed the people, the food, a quiet spot alone with his Kindle, and taking lots and lots of photos.

Unfortunately, a few of the people photos were taken on the wrong setting so they are dark.

Mary, Jan, and Roger

Me

Rob, Lora, and Rosann

The food was delicious as always.

Barry and Mike manned the grill, and Mary made an ice cream dessert.

Everyone brought great sides.

No one ever leaves hungry!

Beans

Mike and Mary are moving, so this was the last hurrah before the moving truck came.

I love their backyard, next to a park.

Beautiful summer evening with friends and Shandies!

Wine Club - Margarita Time

Our Wine Club got together at Barry & Leigh's home this past weekend for a Margarita tasting!

As always, our hosts threw one great time.

I somehow forgot my camera, and only took a couple of Instagram shots of the party. 

But don't let the lack of documentation lead you to believe a great time wasn't had by all.

David, Dave, and Rosann

Charlie and Rob

John and Greg

Lora and Rob got back into town a little late so Lora had to play catch up!

Barry makes a mean margarita.  He and Leigh devised a Margarita Tasting of 4 different margaritas.

Then we ranked them ABCD and Barry determined the winners.

Barry did not vary the strength of the drinks or the tequila itself - top shelf only.

But the other ingredients were different - cointreau, triple sec, Gran Marnier, with or without sweet & sour mix.

Much to his surprise (chagrin?), the "cheap date" Margaritas were the clear winners.

Those are the ones made with sweet & sour mix and triple sec. 

(You know - the ones you get at any Mexican restaurant.)

Except Barry makes them the way I like them - on the rocks, with salt.

No frozen syrupy stuff.

Our group's least favorite was the cream of the crop Margarita made with Gran Marnier.

But really, is there such thing as a bad Margarita?

It was a really fun tasting!  Then we sat in the living room, enjoying glasses of our favorite after the tasting, catching up and enjoying another beautiful evening with friends.

Thank you to Barry & Leigh for a great night!



Connoisseurs - Chardonnays

Our sweet friends, Roger and Jan, opened their home for our Connoisseurs group this past weekend so we could sample Chardonnays.  As always with this group, we had a wonderful evening!

Jan and Roger set out quite the spread.  I love party food!  Everything was just delicious.

Here's just a small sampling of the great food...

And the great people...

We set up to start the sampling.

We had ten Chardonnays to sample - both unoaked and "oaked".

And the winners were...

#1 - Cakebread Cellars 2010

#2 - Kim Crawford Unoaked 2006

#3 - Simi 2009

Our hosts were the big winners so they presented the second and third place winners with gifts.

I don't usually drink white wines but was surprised with the Chardonnays. 

There were 3 or 4 from this group that I liked - especially #1 above. 

It was really great to get together and try some new wines with a great group of people.