Queen of Hearts...

Sorry I haven't updated.  Things have been crazy the past few weeks.

On reading:

As many of you know, my best friend from college, Cara, is getting married in November.  Her bridal shower was in Pittsburgh this past weekend.  The theme of the shower was an Alice in Wonderland Mad hatter's Tea Party.  Although Cara knew the theme of the shower, she had no idea what we had in store for her.

Guests were greeted by a giant teapot.  The Mad Hatter, Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum, and Alice were also in attendance.

Cara, of course, was the Queen of Hearts... It's good to be the Queen!

Her Aunt Jen went all out and made the pig stool!

Guests enjoyed a luncheon consisting of Cheshire Chicken Salad, Humpy Dumpty Eggs Salad, Queen's Cucumber Sandwiches, Wonderland Watermelon, Jabberwocky Jell-O Salad, and a variety of other themed dishes.  They washed the food down with Snapdragon Sangria.  It was a wonderful day!

The Help:

My book club read The Help many months ago, and imagine our surprise when they announced the release of the movie.  Since I enjoyed the book so much, I had to see how it turned out on the big screen.  So, Thursday afternoon, after shoving a water and small bag of kettle corn in my purse (theater food prices are outrageous), I saw the movie.  One word: Excellent!  I went through so many emotions while watching, as I did when reading it.  But I absolutely could not stop laughing at THAT part...and if you've read the book...you know what part I mean!  I highly recommend reading the book, or seeing the movie!

Fun in Austenland...

On reading...

Last week I finished Austenland by Shannon Hale.  Two words: loved it!  I highly recommend this book to any of you Jane Austen fans out there.  I would say that this was probably the best homage to the author since The Jane Austen Book Club by Karen Joy Fowler.  (Speaking of...I need to see that movie!)

Austenland tells the story of Jane (how appropriate), a single woman who is obsessed with Mr. Darcy- the Darcy portrayed by Colin Firth in the BBC version of Pride and Prejudice, that is.  After an aunt passes away, Jane is bequeathed an all-expense paid trip to spend three weeks in Austenland- a place catering to Austen-obsessed women.  While here, through a series of humorous mishaps, Jane discovers what she truly wants in a man, and comes to terms with her Darcy-obsessed existence.

And just like The Jane Austen Book Club, Austenland will be turned into a film.  Filming has begun in England, and I believe that Keri Russell will portray Jane.

On writing...

After finding one more source, I have finally submitted my completed colic article to one of my editors.  I must say, never dealing with a colicky baby (as I have no kids of my own) made this a difficult topic to tackle.  However, after much research and many hours of conversing with doctors and parents of infants with colic, I realize that I have practically become an expert on colic.

My article on a local Bed and Breakfast is coming along well.  I was able to visit the B&B a few weeks ago and fell in love with its charm.  I just love B&Bs in general.  In fact, my husband and stayed in the Hollerstown Hill B&B in downtown Frederick, MD last weekend.  After a fun night with drinks at Volt and then dinner at The Tasting Room, we took a rickshaw back to our inn.   We woke up Saturday morning to coffee and an organic farm fresh breakfast.  It was nice to get a way for an evening.
On our house-length private porch:

On wining:

I have yet to talk about my favorite winery: Willowcroft Vineyards and Winery located in Leesburg, VA.  Although my husband and I have not been there in a few months, we plan on visiting before the end of the summer.  Three years ago, my husband (boyfriend at the time) and I went on one of our first dates here, and two years after that we were engaged in Willowcroft's vineyards.  Obviously Willowcroft will always have a special place in my heart.  When we visit again, I will blog about more specifics.  But for now, knew that Willowcroft is amazing and I recommend it to you wine drinkers out there!

Blog change-up...

So, as you can see, I have changed the address of my blog. Instead of Jennie K. Wines, it's now Jennie K. Writes. I did this for a number of reasons, with the #1 being I just have too much to write about so why narrow it down to just wine? As many of you know reading and writing are just as much a part of my life as wining. Although I will continue to post about all experiences wine, I will also detail all experiences with reading and writing.

On Reading:

On Tuesday our book club met and we discussed The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. One word: excellent. Although it is a YA novel (teaching young adults, I find myself reading many MG and YA books), after all the rave reviews we decided to read it. I found myself totally engrossed in the plot. In fact, I completed the entire trilogy in just 4 days.

Every month we meet each member of the book club makes a dish that is somehow inspired by the novel. This month I made "noodles in green sauce" (pesto). Because there is so much food mentioned in the novel, we had quite the feast. Hearty raisin bread, orange chicken, summer seafood dip, spinach dip with pumpernickel bread, goat cheese and apple tart, roasted root veggies, delectable chocolate cake, iced cinnamon cookies, and many more awesome treats were eaten by all. Our host this month, Martina, did a fabulous job with the book-related decor. Silver parachutes held our silverware and the grassy centerpieces were surrounded by arrows and bows (very Katniss-esque.) I host in October, and have a few surprises up my sleeve! :)

On writing:

I freelance for two magazines. I have a deadline today, on my birthday, and it is on my favorite topic- Colic. Can you guess I'm being a little sarcastic about it being my favorite topic? Let me tell you, I know more about colic than I ever thought I would. If you have a colicky baby, ask me! I am writing this blog post awaiting a call from my final source.

My other article-in-progress is on a local Bed and Breakfast. I met with the innkeeper on Tuesday and found her inn to be quaint and charming. I just love the intimacy and detail of Bed and Breakfasts. Actually, my husband and I are staying in one tomorrow night in Frederick to celebrate my b-day. Of course we will hit up a winery or two on Saturday! :)

I will post about my latest MG WIP (work in progress) at another time. With article deadlines and grad work, I find myself not spending as much time with my novel length WIP as I would like.

Drink Naked...

I'm sure you are reading the title and thinking, "what the heck is Jennie talking about? Drink Naked?" Well, that saying is one of the first things you read when you walk into Naked Mountain Winery and Vineyards located in Markham, VA.

As we stepped foot in the winery, my dog Gia and I were greeted by the winery's co-owner Meagan Morgan. She didn't mind Gia one bit. In fact, she allowed her to roam around the winery leash-free! Meagan told me how she and her husband Randy bought the 35 year old winery in 2010. The couple decided to go wine-tasting at Naked Mountain, and after speaking with one of the wine pourers they heard that it was for sale. A few weeks later they purchased the winery!

Our experience at Naked Mountain was probably the best experience we had wining all day (we hit up 3 wineries total). We originally came here on a mission to purchase their Chardonnay/Riesling blend, but were disappointed to find out they were SOLD OUT! (This is kind of a bummer because it is a great blend to cool off with on a hot summer's day). However, after tasting their newly released 2010 Riesling, my husband and I took two glasses outside and enjoyed the scenery while Gia explored the wrap around deck. In the end, we stayed for over an hour and purchased three bottles of the Riesling. There are limited numbers, so buy it while you can! We will be back.

Upcoming events at Naked Mountain: Wine Maker's Dinner on July 23

Visit Naked Mountain at: http://www.nakedmtnwinery.com/