What I learned this week...

The first thing I learned this week is that even though my shoes are comfortable enough for walking to work and working in all day, that does NOT make them comfortable enough to stand around for five hours at a cocktail party. I purposely chose to wear relatively low-heeled shoes but my feet were absolutely killing me at the end of the night.

The second thing I learned this week is that I hate weeks where I'm running from one thing to the next. I had to do a fair bit of last minute organizing for the above cocktail party and a table at the conference where it was held. What it meant was that I was copying and folding and collecting and pricing and doing lists and getting up early to drive to the conference three times in three days. And then running to work and home or to the conference hotel again. This does not work for me. I need blocks of time much longer than 30 minutes or an hour in order to be productive. If I do this again, I will plan much farther ahead.

The final thing I learned this week is that I've fallen in love with California zinfandels. They've replaced Argentinian malbecs as my go to wine. I had a nice zin at the conference hotel while I was waiting for my afternoon tea date and then this one - even better - at my favorite restaurant/bar on Tuesday night. I'm in love.

Kate

Does this happen to you?

I seem to go through spells - sometimes I'm a taste person, sometimes I'm a scent person, sometimes I'm a visual person.

Right now, I seem to be going through a visual stage. I'm busy buying wine not because I know it's good because I've had it or because I've read a review or because someone's recommended it to me or because the price is right. I'm busy buying wine because I love the labels.

Luckily, and it really is only luck, the three bottles I bought this week because of their labels are all good. How do I know this? Well, one I bought a few years ago because I fell in love with the label. In fact, I love all of his labels.

Georges Duboeuf Beaujolais (I more often buy the Beaujolais Villages). It's light and fruity though has more body than you might think. Lovely red, goes with everything - food or not - and is, if I remember, very reasonably priced.

Cycles Gladiator Syrah. I bought this because I fell in love with the goddess riding the bike. I had absolutely no idea about this wine (at least with the Beaujolais, I'd had it before). It's a California wine and I've been buying a lot more of them since my friends Lisa and Greg have been recommending them to me - though this one I found all by myself thanks to the goddess. It's full-bodied and pleasant, rich and velvety - definitely worth buying. And who could resist the label? Definitely not me when I'm in visual mode.

And then there was this 50s Italian movie star. Who could resist this label? She's drop dead gorgeous and I love the colours. I very seldom buy Italian wine and actually looked at this bottle half a dozen times before I fell completely under her spell. You have to check out her website - http://barberadavine.com/ - it's amazing. And she is - spicy and savoury and gorgeous! Nice drinkable wine and gorgeous art.

What about you? What buying mode are you in?

Kate

Food and friends

I had dinner last night - a fairly respectable Indian meal (you know from this phrase that it was only okay) - with two friends. We all work in the same group of offices though we don't work for the same firms. One of the women I'd known for many years; we'd worked together at another firm ten or fifteen years ago. The other I've known for only a couple of years. Last night was the first time we'd had dinner together.

The meal might not have been outstanding, but the evening was. It was perfect - fun, sometimes smart, sometimes silly, often serious - in the way only an evening with good friends can be.

Women bond very easily so I think these types of evenings happen more often for women than they do for men. I don't know about you but I often find myself in bathrooms or waiting for a bus and having the most intimate conversations with a woman I've never seen before.

Add wine and food to the company of women and it's as if we belong together in the way that peanut butter and banana does or Leonard Cohen and a great rich red wine does. Put those perfect combinations together and you get magic.

Last night was definitely magic.

Kate