Not Another Guide

When paired up, wine and cheese do their part to bring out the best in each other. Pairing wines and cheeses from the same region is a “safe” place to start wine and cheese combinations.

Red wines match best with hard cheeses and milder flavors. The more tannic the red the harder the cheese needs to be.

White wines tend to have more refreshing acidity and therefore match best with soft and creamy cheese and stronger flavors. Sparkling wine and champagne can also help break through the fat in heavier cheeses. In general, fruity and sweet white wines work best with a wider range of cheeses than are dry wines.

Spicy and pungent cheeses require strong wines to back them up. Dessert wines and red wines, packed with fruit and tannins have the best chance with extreme flavors.

When preparing a cheese plate and a wine flight, begin with the mildest flavors and progress to the strongest.

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There is a scene in the new movie Eat, Pray, Love where Elizabeth Gilbert is in Italy and she is sharing the American tradition of Thanksgiving with her new Italian friends.   The camera pans around the table, sharing with the audience the connections that Liz has made after her few months in Italy.  

Of course, there are well cued bouts of laughter over nothing funny at all (at least not from an audience perspective) and loaded glances across the table meant to tell us that there are stories untold, concealed moments that we aren’t privy too.  The scene is the first of many where Elizabeth Gilbert is revealing to the world the local she has become in the countries she was once a mere visitor too.

Last Tuesday night (yes, I know it has been a week already, but there is another blog post to explain that one) my friend Heather invited me to the Eat, Pray, Love movie premier.  It was a last minute invitation and fortunately – I was available.

For the record, I had no intentions of the seeing the movie – at least not before other people had made the investment and shared their experience.  I got through the book and I didn’t mind it, but I was always a page away from putting it down and never finishing it.

I was, I must say, pleasantly surprised.  The story is simple; young woman falls out of love with her current life and goes off in the world in search of herself.  She does indeed find herself and she finds love.  Of course she does!  That’s precisely the reason the book became an outrageously popular staple in every woman’s handbag.  Millions of women worldwide who had chosen the path of least resistance; early age marriage, now suddenly found themselves bored and if Elizabeth could do it, so could they….and they could find love too.

As an Australian living abroad I can relate to the dinner table scene.  There are still moments (12 years later), being very settled in my life as an expat where I am forced to stop and revel in the magic of the connections I have made along the way.  There have been many tables I have sat around, without a camera capturing our every glance and belly laugh, where I am the foreigner but felt just like a local.

There is something magic in that feeling.  When you’re in an unfamiliar place and someone remembers you from the night before, someone remembers your name; it’s the most basic sense of recognition.  That’s what being a local is all about.  Recognizing and being recognized.

And. I have been in, and out, of love many times and found myself over and over again.  Truth be told, that should never end.

But.  I digress.  Eat, Pray, Love is a good chick flick.  Bottom Line.  But at the heart of Elizabeth’s story, however self indulgent some think it is, is the beauty of travel.  The sights, the sounds and the new perspectives one can have when forced to look through a new window – and ultimately – the connections with people.

So, we endorse the movie as a great travel film. 

And the party???......

My friend Heather is newly single and ripe.  She is also the sweetest little chirpy bird you could ever meet.  At one point, just after Julia Roberts swept by us, she looked past me at someone behind and gave a shout of recognition “Heeeey!  How are you?” at which point the young man came on over.  It turns out she didn’t know him at all but she just felt like he was a lonely guy standing on his own and she wanted him to feel welcome.

As the night wore on, the vodka and grapefruit started to kick in, we made a little agreement; before we left she was to get a phone number from a guy and I needed a photo with a celebrity for this blog.

We achieved our goal.  She got the phone number from the lonely guy on his own (turns out he was recognized in the ‘hollywood’ circles) and I got a photo with Billy Crudup.  If you’re going to judge me do so for the shameless marketing picture this is – not because I wanted my photo with a celebrity – I know what sells.And considering my left boob is almost poking out….a little bit of sex doesn’t hurt either. 

The entrance

Myself and Heather

Heather at the Bar

The setting for the party

Julie Roberts table.

Beautiful table settings

The 'lonely' boy and his friend (can't remember his name, a little bit arrogant/confident - talkative - and friendly but really wanted us to know that he was in Avatar and inception and some other big movies.).  I was more impressed with the very cute ice-creams though.

Party from above.

Billy Crudup, my boob & I.  The Celebrity photo!

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Having already consumed a bottle of wine before heading out, we opted for diet coke with our burgs. Our generous waiter- who clearly recognized the signs of caffeine addiction- brought out a milk jug full of diet coke for us.  We were debating ordering a ‘spiked’ milkshake.  Yes, they have alcoholic milkshakes for the booze hound in all of us, but we already had to box up half our meal in doggy bags so there was just no way.

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so i haven't been back online to write anything recently...  but i realized it's because i've been so dang busy with these summer weddings (and of course, constantly running after my 2 children).  it's two weddings in particular that i've been dealing with the most - my cousin's and my brother-in-law's.  i've done calligraphy (wedding invitation, bridal invitation, & placecards) for both, bridal shower planning, dealt with flowergirl dresses, bridal party attire...  a list of wedding details a mile long.  not to mention both these weddings are in southern california, so money spent on gas used driving back and forth is something i don't like to talk about...

but what's been the most time consuming is planning the bachelorette party for my cousin vanessa and the bachelor party for her fiance lee.  they want the traditional drunken debacles expected from las vegas bachelor parties, and debauchery is what i will give them!  since i live in vegas, it seemed only natural that i be the liason between them and this fun-filled (usually deemed sinful) city. 
i thought it would be fairly simple to plan both, since partying in vegas is usually cut and dry:  nightclubs, alcohol, limos, stripclubs, adult pools, more alcohol...  but i'm a big believer in getting the most bang for your buck.  i've already mentioned before that it's a lot easier to get around the las vegas strip when you have connections, and i fully intend on utilizing those connections!  it's actually amazing to me how much tourists are willing to spend on things that i can get comped or half-price.  lee's best man found a package at sapphire gentlemen's club for $1300+...  i set up a comparable package for $450.  insane.

weeks into planning these bachelor/ette parties, though, have proved a little more difficult than expected.

many of these deals i can get (always through a nameless contact in my phone labeled "so-and-so comped dinner/bottle/show/limo" given to me by a friend who has already gotten a deal from unnamed contact) are contingent upon how many guests will be attending.  and i know now that it is almost IMPOSSIBLE to get an exact number of attendees in advance.  people are texting me saying, "i won't know if i work that day until early that week" or "i think i'm coming, but i'll get back to you soon"...  etc.  so that's problem number one.

problem number two is some people attending these parties are las vegas locals while a majority of them are from california.  las vegas locals get special discounts on certain things (i.e. tickets to chippendales - yes, i'm taking vanessa to chippendales.  if it's commonplace for the guys to go to a stripclub, i can let vanessa indulge in some almost-entirely-undressed man dancing on a stage, even if it's funny & unappealing to even imagine.)  so now i have to find a way to get a local's price for the californians.  not impossible, but i'll have to enlist the help of some friends with nevada driver's licenses.

my last problem, and most disconcerting issue, is that i'll get a deal from one person...  then a couple days later, i'll hear of a better deal that someone else got on the same thing.  for example, my girlfriend said she could get a buy one bottle-get one free deal at vanity nightclub.  sounded great!  but then another girlfriend talked to another hookup at that same club and got me one comped bottle on top of the buy-one-get-one-free deal.  this obviously worked to my advantage.  BUT.  that same friend set us up a cabana at daydream (the adult pool at the m resort) with a $450 food & beverage minimum.  sounds fine.  last weekend i went to daydream for a birthday bash, and the birthday girl got her cabana with a $315 food & beverage minimum.  um, hello?  please introduce me to the person who set up that deal.  for a savings of over $100, i'll shmooze with anyone you want.

the point is, you can find a lot of loopholes to get the best prices for anything you do in vegas.  you might have to know people to get the very best prices, but even if you don't...  take some time!  search on ebay for show tickets.  ask hotels about military or aarp discounts.  ask about summer specials.  whatever.  ask and you shall receive...  it never hurts to ask...  i can go on with cliche sayings, but i'll spare you.  for now i have to get back with my party planning...  good luck with yours.  :)

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