100th post!

Happy 100th post to me! In honor of the occasion I’m going to include links to my top 5 favorite posts so far. Thanks to Brandon for the idea. I was at a loss for what to do for my 100th.

#5 – Recycling. This post is just really important to me because the subject is. Not turning the world into a dump is a huge priority for me ;)

#4 – Santa Cruz. I love Santa Cruz. This trip was our second there together, and our first trip with our bikes. It was perfect.

#3 – Dublin! The post itself isn't especially entertaining, but the subject is SO exciting. I'm so proud of Rose! She's leaving for Ireleand on September 18 (I think). Keep up with her journey on her blog: A California Girl in Dublin.

#2 – Chardonnay's favorite things. I was excited that I thought of this original and fun blog idea. Looking forward to posting more favorite things sometime in the future!

#1 – 100 goals to accomplish before my 30th birthday. I love that I created this list! It’s so fun checking things off and writing about all the fun things I’m doing. Best post ever :D

Martha recipes update

Remember when I was excited about trying these Martha Stewart recipes to freeze and re-cook? So far I’ve tried the Mediterranean Tuna Noodle Casserole (sorry Mom! I can see you gagging as you read this), Spinach Pie and the Broccoli Calzones.

The tuna casserole was disappointing. Very bland. I don’t know why I made it anyway – tuna casserole just sounds gross. I guess I wanted to try something new.

The spinach pie was bad too. I keep trying to make things like this, thinking they’ll be different, but they’re never as delicious as I hoped. I’m done making things that are primarily spinach.

Martha, you have failed me!

The broccoli calzones were pretty good. Not amazing, but I will most likely be making them again.

Even though the first few recipes were duds, I’m still planning to make the Vegetable Enchiladas, Lasagna Primavera and Chicken Tetrazzini. They sound good. Hopefully I get around to making one or two of those tonight.

$159.50

The last few nights James and I rolled the change that he's been leaving in my piggy bank for the majority of our relationship. It's seriously all from him - I rarely contribute.


Our total: $159.50. Cha-ching! We're going to cash it in and spend it on our vacation in a few weeks.

Goal #50: Design a web site for my dad's business

Okay I've actually had this done for a long time, but I never posted it because I'm not that proud of the work. I've never done anything like this before and it's obviously very much in progress, but here it is:

www.OakTreeSolarEnergy.com

If you know anyone who needs solar energy or construction work done on their home, farm or business in Northern California - give my dad a call! He's awesome and has been in the construction business for way longer than I've been alive. Email Info@OakTreeSolarEnergy.com if you have any questions... or leave a comment and I'll get back to you ASAP!

>List of 100 goals<

Who am I?!

Looking at the title of this post, you probably thought it was going to be really deep and meaningful about my innermost thoughts. Nope, sorry. I chose that title because it’s about me doing something that I’ve always hated and was my last choice of exercise – running.

Last Monday James and I went for a walk and somehow turned it into a run. I just wanted to try it, I guess. And it was kind of fun (but hard). The next night I got home and he was really excited about doing it again. He’d planned out a route and everything so we went running two days in a row (man, were my legs sore).


We took the rest of the week off but last night we went running again and it was fun and a lot easier than last week. I didn’t even complain like before!

We’ve agreed to make it a once-a-week thing. We’re going to run every Monday evening. That, combined with kickboxing twice a week should give me a good routine to stick with. It’s hard to make yourself run, but having James as my running buddy helps a lot.

Seriously, who is this running girl?! Running is not a Chardonnay thing!

Clean

Today I did something very indulgent and wasteful. I’ve never done it before: I went to Harv’s Car Wash and paid them to wash my car inside and out. Everyone in my life (parents, boyfriend) has always told me that it’s silly to pay someone to do this for you, when you can easily do it yourself for free. I feel kind of bad about spending $20 on this but I had a coupon and the regular price was $30. And honestly, I hadn’t vacuumed my car in such a long time and probably was never going to! I vow to make this a once in a blue moon habit and not do it again any time soon!

This is my 95th post. I’m creeping up on 100, and since about 80 I’ve been trying to think of something really unique and exciting to do for my 100th post but I just can’t think of anything creative. Any ideas??

The day I got a new wine stopper

Tonight, I decided to open the bottle of delicious Boitano almond sparkling wine I purchased several weeks ago while wine tasting with friends.

Oh darn, I forgot to blog about that day! It was so fun. We went to Vino Piazza in Lodi. Although some of the wineries charged you $5 to taste, it was really nice to have several wineries all in one place. We had a ton of fun and I ended up purchasing a bottle of sparkling almond from Boitano and sparkling raspberry from Woodbridge. I was really into sparkling wine that day :)

Picture borrowed from Jessica's Facebook page

Anywho, so I opened my sparkling almond tonight. It was just as good as I remembered (from the tasting), but the cork was HUGE! There was no way we could fit it back in the bottle (James tried too), and I wasn't going to drink the whole bottle in one night.


So after critically thinking about this problem for a few minutes, I decided that I needed to go to Target and purchase a wine stopper. I really should have one by now, but I didn't :( Luckily, Target is just a few blocks away so I drove down (I'd only had a few sips) and bought a cute but intricate wine stopper/combination pourer for $5. Yay, I'll never have this problem again!


So I got home and put the stopper in the bottle. Then I put it in the fridge lying down, and it leaked. Boo! So I played with it a little more and finally got it "air tight."

"Look honey," I showed James, "I got it air tight!"

Then I flipped it over upside down to show just how well my new wine stopper worked.

Then,

*POP*

The stupid thing gave out and I poured freaking wine all over the floor!! And all over our new bookcase!! And James' physical therapy books!!


Gah! What the hell! Okay, maybe I shouldn't hold open wine bottles upside down, but come on!

That's my Sunday night for ya. I just enjoyed Kendra on E! and am now watching Denise Richards: It's Complicated. I hope you had a great weekend!

Disclaimer: This post was written after a few glasses of the aforementioned wine. Hopefully that just made it better :)

Chardonnay's favorite things

Oprah gets her favorite things, so why not me? I'm going to share some of my favorite products that make my life easier, more enjoyable or all-around happier.

I now present Chardonnay's favorite things!

The Laughing Cow Cheese Wedges

Only 35 calories per wedge and yum! I use it instead of cream cheese on toast or put it on crackers. I've tried it on apples but was not a fan. It comes in original swiss, french onion and garlic & herb. Original is my favorite.

Ban Deodorant


I will never, ever use another deodorant brand. Ban makes me smell so freaking delicious. I use the orange one. Always.


Frozen Fruit

This isn't a specific brand but they're still one of my fave things. We eat frozen berries a lot lately as a snack. Fresh fruit is good too, but sometimes frozen is just a lot easier because they don't go bad. Plus it feels more like dessert when it's frozen. I love raspberries and blueberries. And peaches. James likes strawberries.

Colgate Max Fresh With Mini Breath Strips

Other toothpastes just don't cut it anymore now that I use Max Fresh with mini breath strips. It tastes the best and makes my teeth feel extra clean. It's a gel instead of a paste.

My Plaid Bermuda Shorts

I found these shorts at Ross for something like $13 and they're now my favorite item of clothing. So comfortable and I can wear them to a restaurant with heels, to a baseball game with flip flops or while doing chores. I even wore them to work on casual Friday with heels and a nice shirt. I never thought I'd be wearing plaid shorts but these things are awesome! I need to buy more (but not in plaid... I can only own so much of that).

Cloth Grocery Bags

Unloading groceries is so much easier with cloth bags. They hold more stuff without breaking and have nice handles you can put over your shoulder. And of course I love that they're environmentally friendly by not wasting plastic bags. But even if I didn't care about that, they're just better. I keep them in my car and grab them on my way into the store.

These are all my favorite things I can think of for now. I just might make this a recurring blog segment when I can find more favorite things.

I'm not being compensated for these reviews, but if anyone were to offer I'd likely accept ;) Send your free toothpaste and cheese my way!

Dentist day

Today I had my first cavity filled. It actually wasn't too bad, although I didn't enjoy the sound of the drill. My mouth is still numb and it feels weird. I love my dentist and her assistant - they're so sweet.

I had an interesting conversation with the dentist's receptionist about 3 hours before my appointment.

::My cell phone starts ringing and I see that it’s the dentist. Before I can answer they hang up::

::Receptionist calls my office phone and I answer::

Me: This is Chardonnay (that’s how I answer at work)

Receptionist: Hi this is girl from Dr. Dentist’s office. We have an appointment with you at 4 but I was wondering if you could come in at 3?

Me: Do I have to?

Receptionist: No, we just had a cancellation and wanted to see if we could get it done earlier.

Me: Well I’m at work all day so I’d rather do it at 4.

Receptionist: Okay.

Kind of annoying that they tried to change my appointment just so they could leave work early! Maybe if I had nothing better to do I’d be happy to change it, but since you’re calling my work phone, you should recognize that I’m busy at work. Sheesh.

James' 30th birthday

Yesterday was James’ big 3-0! We celebrated by spending the weekend in San Francisco. I've been to the city tons of times, but I keep discovering new things and places. It really is an awesome place.

Saturday we went to Baker Beach for a while, checked into our hotel and walked around exploring.

Sunday we met my dad (whose birthday is tomorrow) and sister by the water for tailgating before the Giants game. It was HOT but fun.

Go to a Giants game was #55 on my list of goals to accomplish before my 30th birthday. As of today I've crossed 19 goals off of my list. Woo hoo :D

Happy birthday James, Dad and Victoria!!

Martha recipes

While browsing A NYC Housewife-in-Training's blog today, I was referred to this Martha Stewart article. I'm inspired and am planning to try several of these recipes soon. I've never tried this meal freezing thing, but it sounds really convenient. As soon as I have time, I'm planning to make a major shopping trip to buy these ingredients and then get to work! I'll let you know how it goes.

Dear neighbor,

Dear neighbor,
Next time your car alarm goes off three times during the same night, let’s not wait an hour before turning it off? How does that sound? Your driveway may be far from your bedroom in the back of the house, but it happens to be right outside my bedroom window. Thanks.

3 years

Dear James,

Happy anniversary! We met 3 years ago today and have been inseparable since then. Living with you and spending time with you every day makes me so very happy. You're my favorite person to watch Law & Order with, to go on walks with and to make pull over on the way home from a long trip and eat McDonald's sundaes with. We may hate each others' taste in movies, but we make it work. Happy 3 years. I love you.

Our first picture together.
San Francisco - August 2006

New Years Eve 2007.

Our first vacation together.
Santa Cruz - January 2007




Lake Tahoe - September 2007

Sac State graduation - May 2008

New Years Eve 2009

Also, apparently the only photo ever in which I'm on the left ;)

Vacation

This morning we booked our hotel for our Seattle vacation in August! I’ve been wanting to do this trip ever since James and I first met, since his sister and her family live there. Plus, it’s an awesome area that I think I’ll love.

We met in the summer of 2006 and planned to go in the summer of 2007. We decided instead to go to San Diego that year and do Seattle in 2008. But in 2008 I graduated college and got a new job, so I couldn’t take vacation time. So here we are in 2009 (our 3 year anniversary is on Wednesday), finally doing it!

We booked a hotel that appeared to have a nice central location, plus hotels.com had it on sale, 40% off. We got a really good deal.

But, now that I’m looking into the neighborhood, I’m realizing that it’s not just a nice location. It’s the location. Central to everything. We’ll be able to walk to:

The Space Needle,

Pike Place Market,

the Seattle Center Fountains,

Elliott Bay Park,

and all of downtown Seattle!

And if we want to, we’re also walking distance to the Pacific Science Center, Monorail, Seattle Children’s Museum, and a ton of stuff within the Seattle Center.

That’s loads of money saved on parking downtown, plus much more fun and easy. I can’t wait!

We’ll be in Seattle for 5 days, with a day trip to Vancouver, British Columbia (my first trip to Canada, yay). Then we’ll be in Portland, Oregon for 2 days on the way back.

Now, I'm off to find a hotel in Portland!

Can You Keep a Secret? by Sophie Kinsella

I didn't expect to get really into this book, but the second half I read really quickly because I just had to find out what happened. It's a super girly book, basically about a relationship with some other details thrown in, and pretty funny. I liked it.

my teeth

I went to my new dentist this morning to get a cleaning and was informed that I have my first cavity! I can’t believe it, I’ve always had perfect teeth. It’s really minor, but I might as well get it fixed now before it starts hurting (doesn’t that happen?). But other than that minor annoyance, my pearly whites are perfect :D

I need to see an oral surgeon soon to see about getting my wisdom teeth removed. It appears that I’ll need only the bottom ones out. However, taking the bottom ones out will sometimes affect the top ones and cause them to need removal as well. I really don’t like the idea of having that horrible surgery twice so I’ll have to see what the surgeon says :S I’ve never had any kind of surgery or been put under. I’m scared!

I really like my new dentist though. I’m glad too, because if she turned out to be a D-bag I wouldn’t go back (like my doctor… she rubbed the wrong way so I’m switching!). Then I’d have to be on the hunt for a dentist and that’s never fun. Thanks Dr. Whiteman!

Sorry if you found this post boring. I was in a bloggy mood but this was the most interesting thing I had to say today. Good posts coming soon!