Friday Favorites: Red, Red, Red Wine and Chocholate

I didn't used to be a red wine drinker.  My friend, Jeff Karp, turned me on to them in my mid-twenties.  He taught me that if you pair the right food with reds, they are wonderful.  Through the years I moved on from Merlots and Cabs to Pino Noir and my new favorite, Pinotage.

A couple of months ago, I had a ladies night with 3 of my girlfriends.  We went to Bar Divani,.  They have a wonderful selection of wines and you can get a tastings flight for a reasonable price.  One of the wines I tasted was Barista.  It is a Pinotage from South Africa and has an amazing chocolate, coffee, cherry aroma and finish.  I liked it so much I bought a bottle to go for $15.99.  I haven't been able to find it anywhere else in GR, so if you see it elsewhere, please let me know!! 

My favorite varietal is Pino Noir.  I can always find a cheap bottle and have only had a few that I did not like.  My favorite is LaCrema.  I have found it at World Market, Costco, and Meijer.  It is usually around $20.00 a bottle.  This  is a great wine to pair with chocolate.

I am a sucker for dark chocolate.  I love to buy it from World Market because they have their own line of them and also carry numerous other brands.  I love their Sea Salt one.

I also love this one with Bacon.  I know it sounds gross, but the combination of  saltiness and sweetness is amazing!



Friday Favorites-- i.d. Bare Minerals

I have a friend, Kirsten, who is beautiful.  I have always admired her skin.  One day I was at her house and noticed an i.d. Bare Minerals container on her bathroom counter.  Of course, I had seen the many infomercials, but being skeptical of purchasing anything on TV, I had been afraid to try it.  When Ulta open in Grand Rapids, I discovered they carried it and thought I would give it a shot.  That was about 3 years ago and I will never use another foundation or powder again.  My favorites are: Bisque, Summer Bisque, Faux Tan (awesome bronzer), and of course the original Mineral Veil.  I also like Bare Radiance and some of the other all over colors. 

I use the bisques with the maximum coverage brush as a cover up and it works better then any I have tried.  It doesn't look cakey either.  I do not like their "foundation" as I do find this to be too heavy for me.  But the rest of this line always looks natural and you can even sleep with it on.  I have acne prone skin and this make-up doesn't clog your pores and is actually good for your skin.  Even though it is pricey, it is worth it.  You have to use very little product and I don't think I have even consistently stuck with the same make-up for as long as I have with this. 

I recommend the starter kit.  It is a huge discount compared to purchasing everything separate.  It does come with the foundation but even if you don't like that, it is still a deal.    Ulta even has a small try it kit (pictured above) right now for $20.00! http://www.ulta.com/ulta/browse/productDetail.jsp?productId=xlsImpprod2980097