Sniff, Swirl, Sip : Try Wine St. Pete

One of G and I's favorite pastimes in wine tasting. And while most wouldn't consider drinking a hobby, or at least not one to boast about, we do take our wine pretty seriously. That's not to mean we drink expensive bottles exclusively, we more often enjoy supermarket finds for 10 bucks or less. But no matter what we are sipping, we like to contemplate our wine. We don't merely drink it; we think about it. We sniff, we swirl, we sip, and then we share what we taste. If in the presence of company, this routine is usually laughed at, especially when I start saying something is "agricultural" or "has a hint of bell pepper." The hubs and I are not experts by any means, but we are winos through and through. We drink what we like, and I pick bottles based on their labels occasionally, but we are also open to trying new, unique and bold flavors.

When we lived in San Diego, we had the luxury of being just 45 minutes away from Temecula wine country, where we'd often visit on weekends and where we were members of two wineries. (Wiens Family Cellars and Danza del Sol, we miss you!) The state of California as a whole is full of wonderful, highly-rated wineries and while Temecula was in our proverbial backyard, we also made trips to wineries in Santa Barbara County and Napa Valley. (We even went wine tasting on our Canadian honeymoon!) But now that we are in Florida, the land of tropical fruit wine, we sometimes find ourselves longing to make an excursion to a California vineyard.

The next best thing? Try Wine Retail Tasting Lab, which has nearly 100 wines on tap for your sniffing, swirling and sipping pleasure. I had heard of this downtown St. Pete wine tasting lounge a few months ago, and we finally (finally!) made our way there this past Saturday evening (after exploring and tasting some of the wine and wine cocktails at new foodie haven, Locale Market). Since it was chilly outside, G and I stuck to reds, but we tried reds of all kinds—red blends, Pinot Noir, Sangiovese, Merlot, Grenache, Malbec, Cabernet Franc, and even a few unfamiliar varietals. We walked around the entire lounge trying a little of this and that. Using a preloaded card, you can try by the taste or by the glass; you pick your pour. 

While I wasn't a fan of everything I tasted—my husband had a bit more success with his picks—it was a blast trying so many new wines together for a relatively low investment. (A screen displays exactly how much each taste costs.) At the end of our tasting, we went back to our favorite wine for a full glass. My favorite, by far, was Inkblot, a 2012 Cab Franc from Michael David Winery in Lodi, California. Admittedly, I was first attracted by the name and the label, and was pleasantly surprised that my good first impression held up in the taste test. Inkblot is bold in flavor but still smooth and fruity, which I prefer. While I was previously unfamiliar with Michael David Winery, I realized that I am familiar with one of its wines that I'm sure you have seen on store shelves, too: 7 Deadly Zins. Now I'll be on the look out for Inkblot, though finding a straight-up bottle of Cab Franc at the grocery store is near impossible. That's why we bought a bottle at Try Wine. The winos in us just couldn't resist.

Do you enjoy wine tasting? What's your favorite type of wine? I'd love to hear. Cheers!

Learning Calligraphy & My 365 Project

I've always loved making pretty letters. As a kid I would frequently change the way I wrote my name and, in particular, the way I wrote my lowercase "As" (with a "hat" or without, with a straight "tail" or a curvy one). I also always bemoaned the fact that my name wasn't very fun to write. No loops. No "Ls" or "Ys" to swing and curl around. Nope, my maiden name did not grant my hand a lot of ascenders or descenders to play with (though, of course, I didn't know the proper terminology at the time). Nevertheless, I enjoyed writing other people's names, and as I got older I became known for the embellished cards and envelopes that were attached whenever I presented someone with a gift. (I even served as the sunshine chair for my sorority in college, because the entire job description was to brighten my sisters' days with notes, cards, and gifts.) But these were simple, untrained doodles. It was all very unserious, just for fun, and honestly, part of me didn't think I was capable of doing much more.

But that changed last fall. In September, I decided to get a little more serious. I decided to learn calligraphy.

I'm not exactly sure how I came upon this decision. I think it was just the inundation of pretty lettering I saw on Instagram, Pinterest, and even Facebook. I saw so many people writing beautiful scripts, lettering inspiring quotes, creating pretty personalized details for wedding and events, and I thought that maybe I could learn the skill, too, after all, if I put my mind to it.

With the help of Google, I researched all I could about learning calligraphy, the tools I would need and what online resources were available to me. And I happily discovered that learning calligraphy doesn't require a huge investment up front. Sure, you can spend a pretty penny buying beautiful pen holders and inks and fancy papers but you definitely don't need that to start. A pen holder, a nib, a pad of practice paper and a pot of black ink will set you back 20 bucks, tops, and you're on your way.

My extensive research also led me to two highly-rated online calligraphy classes: Molly Jacques' Skillshare class, Introduction to the Art of Modern Calligraphy, and Melissa Esplin's I Still Love Calligraphy workshop. While I wanted to join Melissa's course due to the personal coaching and feedback element, at $95 (or $130 with the supplies) the cost was a bit too much for my unemployed self to justify, especially if I didn't stick with it. Instead, I opted for Molly's Skillshare class since it was just $20 (if I remember correctly) or free if I signed up for a Skillshare membership ($10/month, but I got the first month free as a trial run and I've recently upgraded to a premium membership).

[ Snapshots from my early days. Watching videos, taking notes, and practicing letterforms over and over.]

I thoroughly enjoyed Molly's videos and found them extremely helpful. But once you learn the basics—how to hold and use the pen and nib, creating downstrokes and upstrokes—the most important step is practicing. That is the only way you will get better. And in our instant gratification society that step is tough, because we want to be as good as all those images that inspired us to start learning calligraphy in the first place. I know I did and still do. But it just takes time. It takes time and mistakes, splatters and spills and inky fingers, and some frustrating practice sessions where it feels like you can't make anything look good. Been there, done that. But there are days when you love and are proud of what you create, and that makes the not-so-good days worth it.

[ Mini calligraphy signs I made over the holidays to brighten up our apartment. ]

While I was practicing fairly regularly last fall, there were weeks when I didn't pick up my calligraphy pen. Partly because of the busyness of the holidays, but mostly because we had no dedicated space for me to lay out all my supplies, and keep them laid out, for practice. (My wonderful husband subsequently let me take over the dining room table as my creative space, so that problem has been solved!)

To encourage daily practicing, and to keep myself accountable, I made it a goal for 2015 to launch and complete a 365 project—a year of calligraphy. There are not many things I do every single day. I don't even blog every day. But this project requires me to put nib to paper daily. I began my project January 12 and sometimes I think, "What did I get myself into?" But in just 14 days I've already seen some improvement. And I'm having fun trying new nibs and inks and papers. I'm relishing the process of creating.

[ Some of my 365 project work thus far. ]

To document my project, I started another Instagram account, separate from my personal profile. If you'd like to follow me on my calligraphy journey, my year of lettering, you can find me posting my daily practices and creations at @wispandwhim. My plan is to have a new theme each month to inspire my work. January is all about fresh starts and bold steps, in honor of my New Years resolutions and word for 2015. February, which is fast approaching, will appropriately be all about love.

[ A quote that is true of life and true of learning calligraphy. ]

If you've been thinking about learning calligraphy as well, I would encourage you to check out Skillshare (which has tons of other classes in design, photography, DIY and more). Use my referral link to get a free month of Skillshare membership with unlimited access to hundreds of classes. (When you use my link, I get a free month too! Win win.)

With that, I propose a toast (grab your cup of coffee or tea!): Here's to pursuing new, exciting and challenging creative endeavors, and following wherever they may lead.

Old Dogs, New Tricks : Picking up a Hobby

The holiday season is officially here and in full force. You'd think since I am not working at the moment that a holiday wouldn't have the same effect as having days off, but I am finding it hard to bust out of my perpetual food coma (which has been lingering thanks to a fridge full of Turkey Day leftovers) and much of this weekend was spent glued to my laptop while online shopping, trying to find the best deal and hoping a better one wouldn't come along the very next day. Thank you, Cyber Monday. It's a little stressful, don't you think?

Anyway, now it's Tuesday and after a morning spent walking the dogs, doing laundry, cleaning dishes and dropping Jasper off at the groomer, I'm starting to feel like I'm getting back into my usual routine. You know, the one where I sit on the couch, attempt to resist the brain-suck that is the TV and be productive. Ha.

Now, given its title, this post is supposed to be about a new hobby. And no, it's not about my addiction to and skillfulness with online shopping. (Even though I was able to score some good deals and mark a few people off my Christmas list yesterday.) This is about starting a more difficult but hopefully more rewarding hobby with my hubby: guitar lessons!

[ The hubs playing around on his new Ibanez acoustic guitar. Forgive the morning hair! ]

About two weeks ago, G came home and expressed to me that he wanted to find himself a hobby. He loves to cook, he is obsessed with football (San Diego Chargers, woot woot!), but he felt like he needed to do something more, to challenge himself. He decided he would like to learn to play the guitar. G had a bass guitar as a kid, but he never really learned to play more than a few chords. I was totally on board with him picking up the guitar because I've been wanting to learn for years, too. In fact, it was more than three years ago that I bought myself a guitar. 

It was an impulsive purchase; a I'm not getting any younger, seize the day, do what you dream of doing, make it happen, just do it already kind of purchase. I don't regret it, necessarily, but I do regret that the beautiful blue acoustic-electric guitar has just been sitting in its case all this time, not being played. I tried to take a few online lessons via YouTube but I think this is the type of hobby where you really need a skilled expert to teach you. The DIY-approach may work for some things and for some people, but it may also just lead to bad habits and technique. And, as in my case, laziness when it comes to practicing. Paying for standing weekly lessons is a sure-fire way to keep you accountable.

G researched potential guitars and we made a trip to Guitar Center two weekends ago. He ended up going home with a gorgeous mahogany Ibanez acoustic guitar. Fast-forward to today and we have our first lesson this evening. I'll be a bit nervous, I'm sure, but hopefully we will have fun, too. Wish us luck!

[ Me and my guitar, after I bought it three years ago! ]

Do you know how to play the guitar? Or another musical instrument? (I played the oboe from junior high through the beginning of college, and I was actually a vocal major before switching to journalism.) What are your hobbies?