the perfect champagne for any budget

new years eve is tomorrow night and im sure there will be plenty of bubbly flowing.  if i could only drink one alcoholic beverage for the rest of my life, i would, without a doubt, choose champagne.  i love love LOVE it.  now, i say "champagne" but i am referring to all sparkling wines in general and not just "champagnes."  you may or may not know that a sparkling wine can only be called champagne if it is made from the grapes of the champagne region of france.  all champagnes are sparkling wines, but not all sparkling wines are champagnes :)  moving right along... 

 here are my champagne/sparkling wine recommendations for NYE or whenever:

UNDER $10

cristalino brut.  around $8

UNDER $20

scharffenberger brut.  around $15

UNDER $30

nicholas feuilatte brut.  around $25-30

UNDER $50

perrier jouet brut.  around $40

moet & chandon brut imperial.  around $42

UNDER $100

bollinger brut.  around $60

billecart salmon brut rose.  around $80

UNDER $200

krug brut non-vintage.  anywhere from $150-200

pommery cuvee louise.  around $160

SPLURGE

dom perignon brut rose.  around $475

as you can see, i prefer a dry non-sweet sparkling wine and have also included roses.  who doesnt like pink sparkly things?  sparkling roses have such a wonderful color and are a great way to change it up a bit.  i tried to select wines that werent SO recognizable and popular.  try something new and exciting!  most of these champagnes/sparkling wines can be picked up at your local market/liquor store.  some of the more unique and hard-to-finds may require a specialty wine shop.  if youre in the costa mesa/newport beach area you could hit up hi time wine cellars.  also, bevmo should carry and have most of these selections in stock.  and of course, there is always bristol farms - which carries all of these lovely wines!

CHEERS!

what are YOU doing for new year's eve?

if youre like me (a procrastinator) you don't plan anything for NYE and just hope something super fun and exciting to do lands in your lap.  well, because i have spent a few NYEs doing nothing super fun and exciting, i have learned that a plan needs to be made in advance if youre looking for some action.  but here i am, 2 days before the big night with NOTHING planned. hhaha.. shocking!  so what now?  well, i am married.  i do have an 18 month old son.  its not like my plans will involve getting heavily intoxicated at some chic and trendy hotel party in a city im not familiar with (although one of my good friends will be - sigh).  another friend of mine is heading up to tahoe for the weekend with a guy friend of hers (guy friend? sheesh, lets make it official already).  maybe other people will be joining them in tahoe, so my assumption that its a romantical weekend alone might be hasty.  i was talking to another girlfriend about NYE and she mentioned a hotel party as well (locally, however) and possibly a yacht cruise in newport (how fantastic!).  all of these PLANS sound amazing... but as i stated earlier, i FAILED TO PLAN ANYTHING!  so now im thinking dinner with my husband at one of our favorite places in newport, the cannery.  they dont take reservations in their jelly fish lounge (great signature cocktails and sushi) anyhow, so i dont feel so horrible for not making any.  however, it is NYE and it is newport. 

 wish me luck!  happy new year!

the cannery. jelly fish lounge.

what are your plans for NYE?

tea! yes.

i have always been a coffee drinker and when i say always, i mean i started drinking coffee in my 3rd year at UCLA.  coffee was a must.  i've never been into energy drinks (or drugs) and having a hot coffee in during the early morning or late night study/cram sessions was essential.  i love coffee, i do.  everything about it - the aroma, the body, the texture and flavor. my favorite ice cream is ben and jerry's coffee heath bar crunch and my favorite dessert is tiramisu.  that being said, i have been diving into the world of tea (hot tea) head first.  iced tea has always been on my radar, and i love it.  hot tea, not so much.  its tastes too much like water - its practically hot water, but i guess iced tea is just cold water? hmmm.

anyhow, i talked to a few tea lovers i know - one of them being the coffee/tea buyer at work.  she was so full of information and enthusiasm, definitely making me excited about tea too!  after trying a few of the samples she gave me and taking her suggestions on things to try and learning about proper tea preparation and tasting - i stocked up!  went to the store and bought one of every thing!  well, not really, but i bought some green tea, some black tea, some white tea, some loose tea.  WOW! so many selections. 

i also went to tea forte dot com and purchased a kati tea brewing system shown above in "tree top."  its a double wall ceramic tumbler with a stainless steel mesh infuser basket for loose tea.  there are 8 different color/pattern options.  i love it and keep one at home and one at the office!  its never hot to the touch and i like the versatility of being able to use both loose and bagged teas.  this brewing system was featured in O Magazine, so use the coupon code: OPRAH at check out and this super cute tumbler is yours for only $9!  

oh, and their tea isn't too bad either, haha.  i love their cucumber mint and mango peach green teas.  i got the cucumber mint bagged and the mango peach loose.  let me know what you think!

at work, i just use our hot water dispenser for my tea, but at home i currently use the microwave to heat my tea water and would like to get away from doing that.  i am debating between a traditional stove-top tea kettle or an electric kettle.  i like the idea of getting a cute green whistling stove-top kettle - its pretty and functional but maybe not so practical.  the electric kettle is much more efficient/quicker.  maybe i will just get both?  meh, thats not really necessary.

le creuset whistling tea kettle. kiwi.

 

bodum electric kettle. green.

sooooo, which one?

let's do this!

it's that time of year again... THE END!

 time to say good-bye to 2011 and hello to 2012.  

most of us start the new year off with a resolution that we vow to keep and end the year forgetting what we resolved to accomplish in the first place.  not this time! (well for me anyway.  i say this now, but we'll see).  

2012 resolutions:

blog! keep it up.  i haven't posted since like.. what? march 2011.

live a healthier lifestyle - free of sugar binges and processed junk

exercise - (realistically it should be MAKE TIME to exercise)

finish my "home to-do list"

don't have a resolution?  HERE is a website that can generate one for you.  heck, you can even have it keep generating until you find one you like.

this year, i will...

i'm ready for 2012!