Catch My Party is a party sharing website with gobs of inspiration from party throwers out there just like me and you. You can submit parties for all to see (or just select people). I’m excited now that not only one but two of my parties have been featured as the party of the day.

If you head over to Catch My Party today then you will see my party (along with two other fantastic parties) scrolling along on the front page. Otherwise you can visit the party directly by clicking the link below. 

If you like the party then show me some love on catchmyparty.com by giving me a “cupcake”! Read more…

Love the idea of a wine tasting but can’t get out to the wineries? Throw a tasting at home! Grab a few bottles and some great snacks to pair it with and you have yourself a PARTY! But, just in case you need a little help or inspiration for the wine tasting I’ve thrown together a few items for today’s Friday Finds.

Clockwise from top left: What to Drink with What You Eat: The Definitive Guide to Pairing Food with Wine, Beer, Spirits, Coffee, Tea – Even Water – Based on Expert Advice from America’s Best Sommeliers; Wine Tasting Notebook by Steve De Long; De Long’s Wine Grape Varietal Table; Janis Robinson’s How to Taste: A Guide to Enjoying Wine

Side Note: “What to Drink with What You Eat” is a long-winded read. But, it really is the thing to inspire great wine and food pairings. It is also great for inspiration for foods that will go great with drinks like milk and water. It’s amazing!

Clockwise from top left:
Ikea’s SVALKA Red Wine Glasses $4.99/6 —Okay, seriously, I use glassware in almost all of my parties. I am not a fan of the platic cup. Ikea came to my rescue with their SVALKA wine glasses– at around five dollars for half a dozen I can buy as many as I need for my many parties and not feel a bit worried when one is broken.
The Wine Tasting Party Kit by Chronicle Books— I’ve been wanting to do a blind tasting for a very long time… but, I’m waiting for Santa to drop this dream kit off in front of my Christmas tree before I try to tackle it.*
Glass of Pinot Stationary from Le Belle Vie Designs on Etsy — A hand written note on this stationary would be the perfect invitation to a wine tasting.
Wine Tasting Drink Charms by Clinks— When you have a lot of glassware going around a party you need drink charms. These simple, yet adorable charms would be a delightful way to get guests mingling as well as keep drinks with their owners. “Have you seen the drink that say’s ‘Meeny’?”
Wine Country Appetizer Plates from Uncommon Goods— Serve the nibbles on something scrumptious. These great wine themed appetizer plates are the perfect size and fit the theme beautifully.

Recently we took an outing to local wineries and it made me want to do it all up right…

We started with a hearty brunch of quiche, salad, and lots of coffee. Right before driving out we handed each of the guests gift bags. The bags for each of the guests contained wine tasting essentials including: notepad, pen, cheeses, crackers, salami and chocolate.Then we let the wineries do the rest!

We are wine members for a couple of the wineries in Forest Grove, Oregon. We are always so impressed with the wine selection that we keep coming back for more. The whole trip inspired me to create some new printables that will be on the site soon. In the meantime enjoy some of the photos we took on this trip and visit some of the websites for the wineries we visited!

David Hill Winery

David Hill boasts some great wines. Some of our favorites are actually their house wines– Farmhouse Red and Farmhouse White. At $10 a bottle they are a great deal–they have quickly become our everyday house wines. And, if you like a good Pinot Noir check out their 2007 Estate Black Jack Pinot Noir. YUM!

Purple Cow Vineyards

Purple Cow Vineyards produced an amazing selection of red wines for us to taste. The winemakers of the vineyards both have full time jobs other than the vineyard, but man do they make a good glass of wine. The bottle Gabriela is a tasty treat with grilled lamb or pork– we drank it with a grilled lamb covered in a cherry glaze… delish! While we were at the winery Jose Galindez, one of the wine makers, gave us a great introduction to the wines, the vineyard and the wine making process. If the wines weren’t as good as they were then he alone would be worth the trip!

Montinore Estate

Montinore Estate is a great stop on the wine tour. It has a gorgeous tasting room that overlooks the vineyard. If you get a chance to stop by try their Ruby Port and Chocolate Pinot Noir Sauce. YUM.

We visited to other venues while we were out on our trip and I got so carried away with the tastings that I forgot to take pictures. But, if you are in Forest Grove or see labels for Apolloni Vineyards or Sake One Sake Brewery then please give them a try as well! I can’t tell you enough about the deliciousness of Apolloni’s Viogner or Sake One’s nigori selection.