Let the Bachelor Bashing Begin!

Another calendar year has gone by and after the usual Christmas/NYE bacchanalia it's time to start fresh. Having an additional day off from work I chose to spend yesterday rife with cliche - cleaning the house and working out.

As a reward for all of my clean-slate-ness I indulged in the season premier of The Bachelor (along with a turkey burger with mozzarella on a toasted sesame seed bun and a glass of red wine - it's good for the heart! - for dinner). While I haven't watched this show in several seasons, I was happy to see that it's basically the same. Chris Harrison is still my absolute favorite part of the show - what I wouldn't give to hear his inner monologue! The girls are all bat-shit crazy, their mental conditions only exacerbated by wine and competition. And the gowns they wore for their arrivals ranged from fab (Jennifer's blue sequined floor length number) to fail (blogger Jenna's insecurities were hinted at the minute she stepped out of that limo in that sparkly white sack which also appeared to be missing sections of sequins).

Any of the women who arrived without a gimmick critiqued those who did (while I do see Brittany's move of bringing Grandma Sheryl along as a bit of an easy in, I didn't think it was necessary for the other girls to point out the poor woman's wrinkles - she's a grandmother for crying out loud! And she's obviously got more spunk and personality than most of you crazies). My personal favorite was the girl who just walked past Ben and into the house. Sucker that he is, his only response was, "bold move!"

But gimmick or not they all seemed to have really strange opening pick-up lines that were primarily profession related. Someone obviously suggested they do this, but one has to wonder if it was a clever producer looking for a laugh, an intern looking to earn brownie points or perhaps one of the ladies themselves (who then of course didn't use whatever cray-cray line she posited since she actually just hoping to make the rest of them look stupid).

The episode went on to capture the usual cattiness, that bizarre moment when Monica seemed to be hitting on one of the other female contestants and of course the final melt down of Jenna, which of course lead to her not getting a rose her securing a rose from Ben.

Lesson learned: perhaps Ben is still single because he's a bad judge of character, which conveniently makes for excellent TV.

Image courtesy of flickr.com user DartmoorGiant.

Because I'd Rather Wine than Whine...

In addition to fashion and writing I also love food and wine. As you all know, I've got Saks taste on an Off 5th budget, and that applies to shopping across the board, so I love it when I find a nice bottle of inexpensive wine.

It's safe to assume that we share some interests, so if wine is one of them, read on.

A few months ago I enjoyed a fabulous dinner at a little neighborhood restaurant called Snaps. They serve New American cuisine for affordable prices and, naturally, the wine list to match. This night in particular my dining partner and I enjoyed a Waterbrook Columbia Valley Melange Noir, which is a varietal blend of 40% Merlot, 31% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Sangiovese, 13% Cabernet Franc, 1% Various varieties. It was light and tasty, a bit berry, a bit spicy, and it went well with both of our meals.

Since we liked it, and I talk even more than I write, we told the waitress how much we liked it and she recommended a similar wine called 7 Daughters, which is also a blend. After describing how wonderfully delicious and inexpensive the wine was, she ended our convo by telling us that neither wine is particularly easy to find. Wonderful.

So this past week, months after that dinner, I found both the white and red blends - in two different shops! The white I found on a Friday night at a little wine shop near Tudor City in Manhattan. The blurb on the side says that the seven types of grapes are like seven girlfriends getting together, each bringing something different to make the perfect blend and since I was visiting with my college roommates, what could be better?

Composed of French Colombard, Chardonnay, Riesling, Symphony, Orange Muscat, Gewürztraminer and Sauvignon Blanc, it was light and a bit sweet, but not too fruity, which is good because I like a more acidic white and we drank it in a flash.

Monday my mother and I were at a local liquor store on Long Island when we came across the red. They had both blends, but lately all my mom drinks is red, so that's what we went with. The red is a blend of French Colombard, Chardonnay, Riesling, Symphony, Orange Muscat, Gewürztraminer and Sauvignon Blanc and it comes across as light without being too fruity and a tiny bit of a dry aftertaste, but still delicious, especially for around $12.00.

The Seven Daughters website is really cute too. They suggest different Girls Night activities at which you can enjoy their wines, restaurants where you can find them, and even silly blurbs about things like how to be more photogenic.

So sit down, grab a glass, and check it out!