MommyReserve: It's been a long time, I shouldn't have left you...

...without a strong wine to sip on. That's not exactly how the song goes, but it's close. The next verse is actually "without a strong rhyme to step to." (Rap song, I Know You Got Soul, by Eric B & Rakim, circa 1990s) click on link for song

The reason I mentioned that song is because I haven't posted in a while. Reason being is that I went to California for Spring Break. It was a week full of ups and downs. Let's start with the "downs." First, we waited over an hour for a rental car at Dollar. Someone had the bright idea of combining those with a reservation and those that did not in the same line. Did I mention there was a major concert that weekend and every 20 something flew to LA on the same day as we did WITHOUT a rental car reservation? To add to the frustration of our first travel day, the freeway that we were traveling on closed down due to an accident. Therefore, we had to take the streets most of the way from LA County to Riverside County. Not fun!

The very next day my daughter woke up with pink eye. Luckily, her pediatrician called in a prescription to the nearest pharmacy within minutes. Once we arrived in San Diego for our vacation, I got bit by a spider on my ankle and ended up in Urgent Care because my ankle swelled up like a can of Pillsbury biscuits. THEN I had to go back due to an allergic reaction to the antibiotics. After reading the "downs", I'm sure you are thinking that my vacation was ruined. Almost, but not quite. In the words of Mary J. Blige, "you can't keep a good woman down!"

The best part of the vacation was spending time with my family. Hubby, daughter and I finally had some downtime, which was definitely needed after hubby's travels, basketball and my daughter's school standardized testing. I also spent time with my parents, sisters, brother, and nieces and nephews. I met two of my nephews for the first time and spent quality time with my two beautiful nieces that I haven't seen in years. I had In-N-Out and literally chowed down on REAL Mexican food. I had time to relax on the beach and by the pool and I got a serious tan. Yes, Black people tan. ;) All in all, it was a wonderful, much needed vacation.

Now the important question, what wine did I drink on my vacation? Well, a week or two before we left hubby introduced me to Bloody Mary's and that was my drink of choice the majority of the week. Then, I bought Bella Sera Pinot Grigio and I went back to old faithful. LOL

I brought this wine to a friend's house for dinner because I knew they were serving fish since it was Good Friday. Hubby and I had Bella Sera Pinot Noir the week before we left and we loved it, so I figured that another variety from the same winery would be just as good.

My friend's wife, Antoinette, and I ended up sharing the bottle. The men drank beer. Antoinette is awesome. She's a Working Mom to 4 kids and Military Spouse to my crazy, sarcastic high school friend, Henry, who happens to be in the Navy like my hubby. Since we aren't practicing Catholics, she made salmon and chicken for dinner in case we didn't want fish. For those of you who know me, you know that I sure as heck wouldn't do that. You eat what is served or you starve...period! Lol!

Bella Sera is Italian and means beautiful evening. Their tagline is "It's a bella life. Savor the moments that make life beautiful." I really like their wines. The Pinot Noir is medium bodied that has a nice balance of dryness and sweetness to it. Hubby said it had plum and cherry flavors. The Pinot Grigio was crisp and refreshing. It's a light body wine that has the same balance of dry and sweet as the Pinot Noir. I tasted apple and pear in the wine and it went perfectly with our dinner of salmon, chicken in a mushroom sauce, fettuccine, salad and green beans. Both wines are under $10 and can be found at any store that sells wine. It was great buying wine at a grocery store while I was in California. How cool is it to be able to buy wine and milk at the same place?!?!

I'm sure Total Wine & More missed me. I hope you did too. More to come in the following weeks as I dive into the wine refrigerator that I filled up before I left. Yes, I'm a smart girl!