Wine Tasting In Sonoma!

This past weekend, I went wine tasting for the first time. It was so much fun! I went with Jarad, my mom, step dad, step sister and her boyfriend. Our first stop was Gloria Ferrer in Sonoma. This was by far my favorite. They were undergoing renovations, but that didn't lessen the experience at all. Our expert wine pourer was named Diego. He was awesome!!! He we was super friendly and funny. He fit right in with us. Gloria Ferrer peeps, if you're reading this, give him a pat on the back or something!

our favorite!

My mom and step dad are wine club members, so that made me feel important. They ordered bottles of whatever they thought we would like and they were right. Everything we tried was delish. They had olives and bread sticks out on the table. We were sitting outside on a patio of sorts. The weather was perfect. No complaints here!

Diego brought my step sister a wine filled truffle for her birthday. She loved it.

told you she loved it!

My mom packed a picnic for us to enjoy later in the day. I tried bacon cheddar cheese for the first time from Trader Joe's. Yum! I also tried jalapeno artichoke dip from Trader Joe's and that was awesome too!

I definitely want to go back when their renovations are finished and visit their official tasting room and take a tour!

me and my mommy

talk about patio with a view!

What are some of your favorite wines? or wineries to visit? I want to add them to my list!

How To Be The Best Commuter Ever 101

Prologue:
I commute every day from Monterey to San Jose - it's about 60 miles each way and isn't usually too bad of a drive. However, PEOPLE RUIN IT. So, to make sure you aren't one of these god forsaken people...I bring to you...How To Be The Best Commuter Ever 101.

We'll start with the basics.

• Drive the speed limit. 
• If you can't keep up in the fast lane, GET OUT OF THE FAST LANE.
• Use your blinker. They are there for a reason, my friends.
• Wear your seat belt. 
• Don't text and drive. Or talk and drive. (for those states like California)
• Be aware of peeps on motorcycles. They come out of nowhere! 
• If you cannot stay in your lane and eat a Big Mac, don't eat the Big Mac.

Now, we're starting to get a little more difficult.

• DO NOT be a rubber necker. Do you want to cause another accident? 
• If you see a CHP on the side of the road pulling someone over, DO NOT slam on your breaks. He's busy. He doesn't care about you. Okay?
• Tap dance not breaks. Seriously, so annoying.

 These ones should be common knowledge, but obviously are not.

• DO NOT read and drive. Are you kidding me? 50 Shades can wait.
• DO NOT turn on your brights in the fog. Do you want to die?
• DO NOT try and win a fight with a diesel truck. You will lose. And die. 

As you can see, I'm probably the best commuter ever. (hah) These are all very simple tips. Implement a few into your daily drive and I guarantee that your  fellow roadsters will thank you.

What's the craziest thing you've ever seen while driving? I would love to know! Also, is talking on your cell phone legal where you live? It isn't in California. You'll get a big fat ticket. Or a warning if you're lucky.

$600 Ultimate Cash Giveaway!

Eeeeek you guys! I just really love Oh My Gosh Beck!'s giveaways. I'm even a co host for this one! $600??? Uh-mazing! Pair that with your tax refund (if you're getting one) and you're practically rich! Best of luck to you, my  darlings <3

GIVEAWAY DETAILS

Prize: $600 Cash (via Paypal)

Co-hosts: The Classified Chic // Organized 31 // Jenn's Blah Blah Blog // True Story Book Blog // Pretty Thrifty // Blog by Donna // All in a Days Work // Memoirs of a Clueless Woman® // To Be Bright // Mae Amor // A Labour of Life // God's Growing Garden // Living with Beth // Libby's Library // Mermade Moments // Stacy's Savings // Wondermom Wannabe // Yogurt Hydro // Krystal's Kitsch // More Pieces of Me // Virtually Yours

Giveaway organized by: Oh My Gosh Beck!

Rules: Use the Rafflecopter form to enter daily. Giveaway ends 3/19 and is open worldwide. Winner will be notified via email.

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Are you a blogger who wants to participate in giveaways like these to grow your blog? Click here to find out how you can join a totally awesome group of bloggers!

If you're looking to gain some followers in any area of the social media world, I strongly recommend signing up for the next giveaway! 

The Choke Coach + Pezzini Farms

This weekend we visited Pezzini Farms in Castroville, CA. It's only a few freeway exits from our house. You can see it from Highway 1. It's pretty much artichoke capital of the world - okay I don't know that for a fact, but probably pretty close. There is an artichoke food truck on the artichoke farm. How clever. It's called The Choke Coach. It's a bright green truck - painted super cute.

We were really bummed because they ran out of lumpia and shrimp rolls. We didn't get there until 2:45pm ish and they opened at 10. Soooo, that might be our fault.

I ordered fried artichokes with ranch. Jarad ordered two carne asada tacos. Evan (our friend) ordered a steamed artichoke and an order of lumpia. (he got the last order of lumpia)

I really liked the fried artichokes. They weren't greasy and they were definitely fresh. Jarad liked his tacos, but was really bummed about the lumpia. Evan loved his steamed artichoke. The lumpia ended up being plain old egg rolls, so Jarad wasn't so bummed after we realized.

The prices are good, especially for the novelty food truck thing.

After we ate, we walked around the store on Pezzini Farms. There was so much to look at! Sauces, seasonings, treats, etc. I even tried an artichoke cupcake! The cake part tasted like a spice cake. If you ever get the chance, you should try one. They also had frozen fried artichokes which I thought was pretty cool! We just bought a deep fryer, so it was perfect for us.

Overall, we want to visit the farm/truck again soon. It's so close and the food is yummy! We love supporting and shopping local when we can.

My Break-Up Letter To Taylor Swift

I'm sure you've heard by now - T Sweezy is copyrighting ayyythang. I mean EVERYTHING. In case you haven't heard..."this sick beat" and "nice to meet you, where you been?" are off limits. So don't even think about creating a witty t-shirt, coffee mug, or throw pillow with anything Taylor on it. Shoot, she's even mad at her ex-guitar teacher for saying that he taught her!!!! She has had her lawyers send cease and desist letters to Etsy owners selling a variety of Taylor inspired products. She doesn't want anyone "profiting off her life's work". Okay? So, as she has written so many break up songs about her heart wrenching relationships, I wrote a letter about ours.



Dear John Taylor,

I can't believe I'm writing these words to you. I mean, things were fine if we look back to December. We've been together for many years. We've had good times, bad times, heck you were even there for me when I was feeling 22. I'm just disappointed in the way you've been acting and I know that people don't change. I can't stand the hurt any longer. I don't want to sit around and watch you hurt all your fans - the fans that love you, pay $200 to watch you perform in the nose bleed section for a few hours, the fans that think you're so creative that they honor that in their handmade products. You don't want them making money off you? They aren't taking credit for your ever so brilliant lyrics. They're showing appreciation. Let's face it. Nobody is making millions off of mugs with your lyrics on them, okay? So, drop it. Shake it off. Do what you gotta do. Makers gonna make. Haters gonna hate. And you, my dear, are being a hater. What's this I hear about you making up/collaborating with Kanye? Simply disgusting. Sellouts gonna sellout, I guess. Have a great life. You do you, boo boo. I don't need anymore bad blood. In case this wasn't clear - I'm breaking up with you, Taylor and we are never, ever, ever getting back together.

Like ever.

Love Always,

Miranda




And that folks, is how I really feel. Some parts may have been exaggerated. :)

What do you think of the whole Taylor thing? I'm interested in your opinions!

$400 Target Instagram Giveaway!

GIVEAWAY DETAILS

Prize: $400 Target Gift Card

Giveaway organized by: Oh My Gosh Beck!

Rules: Use the Rafflecopter form to enter daily. Giveaway ends 3/4 and is open worldwide. Winner will be notified via email.

You heard it...$400. Target. Instagram. 3 of my favorite things ;) May the odds be ever in your favor, my dears! 

Are you a blogger who wants to participate in giveaways like these to grow your blog? Click here to find out how you can join a totally awesome group of bloggers!

Tell me...what will you buy if you win??

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52 Weeks of Snail Mail with A Beautiful Mess

A Beautiful Mess Happy Mail subscription 

It's actually 53 weeks..but that sounded weird.

I'm bringing snail mail back...yup!

I've decided that the world needs more snail mail! My dad is always saying how nothing good comes in the mail, only bills. Well he obviously doesn't subscribe to any monthly boxes. :)

I loooove stationary, pretty cards, washi tape, etc. I have a collection actually. I don't use most of it because I love it so much. Surprise!

So, I've challenged myself this year, to hand write a letter to one person a week! It's been fun and I've actually done 6 so far in January. :) I'm ahead of the game.

I recently signed up for the monthly Happy Mail subscription box through A Beautiful Mess and I AM IN LOVE. This gives me even more of a reason to get my mail on. It's $15 a month (if you sign up for 12 months) for $50 worth of happy mail stuff. Picture shown above!

Random, but I did the math for postage and it'll cost me $25 for the whole year in postage to send a card every week. What an inexpensive cost. So worth it to make people happy!

I'm really excited to do this. I saved all the cards that I would receive when I was younger and I hope my nieces do the same thing with mine.

SO! If you want a pen pal, or just pretty happy mail...let's be pen pals! Email me at miranduh007@yahoo and we can chat :)  I would love to brighten your day.