Mid-week Wine Tasting Dinner

I don't often share my personal life on my blog, but my husband and I had such a fun night last night, I can't help myself. We went to our first wine tasting dinner. I know lots of people do this sort of thing... especially in this part of the country. For me, it was my first one, and I really enjoyed it! So here's a look at what we had to eat (and drink). If you're local, I highly recommend dinner at Taberna Restaurant on Madison in Bridgeport. The food was absolutely delicious. It recently had a fabulous review in the New York Times. We will be returning, for sure!

First course was a pair of "Spanish wood roasted piquillo peppers stuffed with Valencian salad": rice, saffron oil, walnuts, chicken and shrimp. The wine was a really light, crisp white: Enanso Viura 2010.

Second course was "Maine Lobster sauteed with fresh garlic, roasted bell peppers and served over pasta." The wine: Enanso Chardonnay 2010

Third course was "Taberna Antipasto: Serrano Ham, Spanish Chorison, Manchego Cheese and cantaloupe" topped with a balsamic drizzle. (I could have eaten 4 of these small plates. Amazing!) This course was accompanied by an Enenso Tempranillo 2010. (really enjoyed this red.)

Fourth course was "Marinated Pork Tenderloin served over crispy toast, topped with Mediterranean Vegetable Relish." (yum!) Wine: Bogordi Cosecha Rioja (red)

Fifth, and final course was Taberna Classic Mango Flan served with Orange Peel Marmalade.  This dessert was really lovely and was paired with Luadate Dominiun Moscatel, a sweet dessert wine.

 I am not a wine connoisseur, so I really can't begin to give you a full palate description of each of the five wines. I can tell you that it was lovely to spend a weeknight out with my husband, good friends, amazing food and delicious drinks!

Color Palette: Pretty Peonies

I am a huge fan of Instagram. It reminds me of a more intimate and visual twitter in my humble opinion. While browsing instagram this afternoon I came across a photo by Kelley Moore. "Pretty Peonies" was a wonderful inspiration for this week's Spring color palette. Thank you Kelley! When you get a moment, stop by Kelley's site and follow her on twitter as well.

Saint Patrick's Day Picks

If I had been born a male, my name would be Patrick. As luck would have it, I was born a female and so Patricia it is! I like to look at St. Patrick's Day as a special day for all of us "Patty-folk". With that in mind, I decided to pick a few Irish-inspired lovelies in honor of "our day"!

Music: (Irish singer/songwriter, Lisa Hannigan)

Sweets: Pistachio and White Chocolate Cupcakes. (photo and recipe by Fresh New England)

Embroidery: Custom Embroidery on Linen (photo and work by Stitchfork Designs)

Jewelry: Hand Stitched Shamrock Necklace and photo by September House (etsy)

Jewelry: Chrysophrase Gemstone Necklace and photo by Stones Artisan Jewelry (etsy)

A Green Misty Pond:

Be sure to stop by each of the shops or blogs and have a look at all their lovely items. Cheers to the Irish inspired and all the "Patty-folk" of the world! Happy St. Patrick's Day.

xoxo
-Patti

Dreaming of... Sunglasses

A few months ago I had some fun trying on sunglasses by Tiffany & Co. I posted a photo on Instagram asking via twitter if I should get the ones I was wearing. A resounding "yes" was the final vote. (no surprise). With the unseasonably warm Spring weather New England is experiencing, I revisited Tiffany's sunglasses collection and shown below are my top 4 favorite styles. Which one is your favorite? Just curious.

a. Tiffany 1838, b. Victoria cat eye, c. Return to Tiffany Square, d. Tiffany 1837

Of course, I'm just dreaming about these at the moment. With Spring comes "Spring Fever" and I do believe that's what I have... do you?

Color Palette: Rock Sculpture

This is a photo I took while visiting Martha's Vineyard. It's of a small rock sculpture I created along side many other rock towers at home on the beach at Aquinnah. I love the colors, don't you?

March Madness Photo Challenge

As many of you know Kathryn Doran, of The Coastal Chick, and I have organized a photo-a-day challenge for 2012. If you aren't familiar with the 366 Project, you can read about it here. This month we put together a "March Madness" set of themes to follow for each day. Below is a compilation of my photos from days 1-11.

From left to right: cold, breakfast, macro, veggies, trees, up, temptation, family, 10 a.m., water, shadows

We'd love for you to join us in the photo-a-day madness! Click here to go to out flickr group.

To Pin Or Not To Pin...

My first negative brush with Pinterest came when I saw someone had pinned one of my creations on her board entitled "DIY".  I politely mention to the pinner that my custom cards were in fact for sale in my shop etc. I heard nothing back from her. That little incident planted a seed of caution. In the weeks following, I started reading article after article about people questioning the legality of Pinterest and their copyright predicament.  A post by Isa Maria Seminega, on her blog The Academy, pretty much convinced me to delete my boards. Isa's article mostly motivated me to read Pinterest's terms of use. Yes, I should have read their terms before agreeing to them. Sadly, I'm one of the many who clicks the "Agree" button without much thought nor much reading. I also decided to read the section entitled Pin Etiquette to see if I was following those rules as well. It's conflicting when you read the terms of use and the Pin Etiquette, one after the other.

The terms state: "Accordingly, you represent and warrant that: (i) you either are the sole and exclusive owner of all Member Content that you make available through the Site, Application and Services or you have all rights, licenses, consents and releases that are necessary to grant to Cold Brew Labs the rights in such Member Content, as contemplated under these Terms..."
While Etiquette states: "Pinterest is designed to curate and share things you love. If there is a photo or project you’re proud of, pin away! However, try not to use Pinterest purely as a tool for self-promotion."
On one hand you need to own the rights or been given the rights to post something onto a board, while on the other hand you should not pin your own items too often.

I'm pretty sure I broke the rules on both accounts and I'm also confident the majority of pinners are breaking the rules daily. If you're not pinning your own items, have you gotten permission from those who own the items you're posting? I would be amazed if anyone asks the owner of a fabulous photo, for example, "Hey, I love your work. Can I pin it for all to see (and maybe copy)?" I just don't think that's taking place. I love the post on Handmade Success that discusses the Pinterest Copycat issue. It definitely struck a chord with me.

Pinterest isn't the first site to come up against copyright issues. An article on Kikolani notes other sites who face the same questions. Since Pinterest is the hot social networking site at the moment, they're getting all the attention on the subject.

The article written by Kirsten Kowalski of ddk portraits was the final push I needed to delete my boards. The information supported what so many before had stated. Copyright questions. Copy-cat frustrations. Possible legal expenses. etc. Interestingly enough, the article ended with this:
P.S.S- Pinterest, I love your site. Call me.
And Pinterest DID call. You can read that follow-up post here. As you might imagine, with a follow up post about a talk with Pinterest founder Ben Silbermann, there was quite the response. So Kirsten also offered up a post on her top 50 responses to readers' questions.

I will wrap this up by stating I love the goodness that Pinterest has to offer. Virtual pin boards filled with creativity, inspiration and beauty as far as the eye can see. I'm just not sure my stomach can handle the bumpy ride that might take place along the way. I've never studied law nor have the interest in beginning so now, but I do know I don't have time to be part of any litigious actions because I didn't get permission to pin someone's work. And I also know I don't want to offend anyone by pinning their work just because I'm guessing they want the recognition. I don't judge others for continuing in their Pinterest love affair. I promise :) Bowing out of the Pinterest fun is what's right for me.

Thank you for reading. I will be going back to the regularly scheduled programming now.

xoxo
-Patti

Roses from the Market

I'm loving the colors found in these roses I photographed at the market a couple of weeks ago. Perfect for a sunny color palette!

Happy Birthday, Dr. Seuss!

Dr. Theodor Seuss Geisel would have been 108 today! In honor of one of the great authors and motivators, I've created this little bit of motivation. A printable quote by the great Theodore Seuss himself!
Just click here and print at home.

As many of my readers know, I lovingly refer to my two boys as Thing 1 and Thing 2. As a family, we've been a fan of the Dr. Seuss books for many years. It's so touching to watch my boys now read their Dr. Seuss books to their little cousins.

What are your favorite Dr. Seuss books and quotes? Do share in the comments below!

xoxo
Patti