I was walking down the wine aisle in my neighborhood grocery store when I spied a bottle that said Hey Mambo and described itself as a sultry red wine.

This wine is produce by The Other Guys, Inc. who make this Sauvignon Blanc we found at Costco for about $8 that was delicious that is bottled under the Lesse-Fitch label, just as an FYI.

Remember the B-Side wine I posted about 2 weeks back?  Well this wine is made by a family member, though I have no idea how they are related.  But needless to say they have a history in making wine and know what they are doing!

I thought this wine was good…but not one particular thing stood out.  This wine is a blend of Syrah, Zinfandel, Barbera, Petite Sirah and Alicante Bouchet grapes.  Those are some powerful grapes!  Though I’ve never heard of Alicante Bouchet, have you?

It is a bold wine, with rich flavors that I probably should have decanted to let it really open up…I just sometimes can’t wait for that! I think this would be a great winter wine because of its heaviness. It isn’t really a refreshing light wine you’d want during the Texas summer heat.  Or at least it wouldn’t be my preference.

It is definitely a wine I would have again, I just need to check the price point to determine how often I would have it again.  These wine makers have quite a portfolio of wine that I’d like to sample.

What will you have in your glass today?  Have you made the switch to whites yet or are do you stick with red all year round?

But I will say, this is the best chocolate chip cookie recipe in the world! Unless you like your chocolate chip cookies crunchy, but then you’re just weird (jk Mom!).

When making these first I let the butter sit out to get soft.  On the All Recipes site a woman said she melted her butter entirely to make the cookies more moist; but these cookies don’t really need any help in that department.

Mix together:

1 package of Jello Instant Vanilla Pudding Mix (4 serving size)

2 sticks of butter (softened)

3/4 C packed brown sugar

1/4 C sugar

Once this is mixed really well, add:

2 eggs

2 1/4 C flour

1 tsp Vanilla

1 tsp baking soda

Last but not least, mix in:

1 package chocolate chips

At this stage you could also add in some nuts if you’re not like me and allergic.

You could even switch out m&ms for chocolate chips if you want to mix it up.

For best results, chill the dough in the fridge over night, then cook at 375 degrees for between 8-10 minutes.

You don’t have to cook them all at once, but you will be tempted to.  That’s the great thing about this recipe, you could keep them in the fridge for a couple days and fix a few at a time.

It is also available in PDF format.  I’m not sure how many of you will actually want this type of version but I’ve been told I need to offer it, so I did!

I am new to the whole eCommerce scenario on a personal level so please let me know if you have any problems order Creative Chaos in paperback or PDF format.  My email is: kate@kateolynch.com

If you live in the Dallas area and you see me, odds are I will either have a copy on me or in my car and thanks to my nifty little Square card reader, you can buy a copy off of me in person!  (I can’t promise I’ll have a sharpie on me to autograph it though because I still fill a little silly autographing the book.)

Of course it is also still available for purchase in the Kindle Store and the Nook Store.

Sorry to be so slow in getting the paperback version of Creative Chaos available online.

Hopefully as you’re planning your summer vacations or staycations, you’ll keep Creative Chaos in mind and then tell your friends, family and strangers to read it after you do!  Your recommendation of my book speaks a thousand words!

I am really excited for even more of you to read it and let me know what you think!  I realize this may sound redundant but I honestly cannot thank all of you enough for all of the support, encouragement and love over these last few months!

For those of you who have already read Creative Chaos, have no fear, I’m already working on the follow up novel!

May 5 – Day 126

Day 5 – bird

On my way down to visit the Davis’ I stopped at Bucces and these birds absolutely cracked me up.  I can only imagine how long that beading took.

May 6th – Day 127

Day 6 – you

I love this picture of me with Wesley, even if my brother thinks Wesley looks scared.  I think he looks adorable!

May 7th – Day 128

Day 7 – someone that inspires you

I couldn’t pick just one person who inspires me and I know I left off several people.  But I truly know some amazing people who aren’t afraid to take a huge leap of faith in business and really put themselves out there.  Here is a sampling of why the people in these photos inspire me: Ambler, Melissa Vest Jewelry, Freedom Fitness, Calligraphy Etc, Tweet Congress, and Life is a Run.

May 8th – Day 129

Day 8 – a smell you adore

This is my favorite new Scentsy scent: My Dear Mr. Watson, love, love, love it!

May 9th – Day 130

Day 9 – something you do everyday

It probably takes me an hour everyday to wake up, I can’t even tell you how many times I rearrange when my alarm will go off or hit snooze.

May 10th – Day 131

Day 10 – a favorite word

My Starbucks coffee delivery from my dad everyday at the office is the perfect way to start each day!

May 11th – Day 132

Day 11 – kitchen

This was the state of my silverware drawer in my kitchen…no more spoons or knives, so it was time to run the dishwasher!

Since I had never heard of the Mettler Family Vineyards before I went and checked out their website.  Apparently they really know their wine.  Their family has been a part of the wine industry back to the 1770s in the Lodi Valley.

To ensure the wines they produce are of the highest quality they only produce Cabernet Sauvignon, Petite Sirah and Zinfandel.

This Zinfandel was full of flavor or as they say on their website, full of personality.  Being the bad wino I sometimes am, I haven’t used my decanter in forever, but decided to get it out for this wine.  Each glass got better and better!

I will definitely be buying this wine again and highly recommend you give it a try as well.  Now I just need to track down their Cabernet and see if it is as good as the Zinfandel.

Thanks Rino for recommending this wine I really enjoyed it!  Sorry I drank it without you!

With that said, I drove to Houston this past weekend and I share an audible account with my friend Emily and I decided to see what books she had on there I might want to listen to as I drove.  It’s amazing how fast a drive goes by when you’re listening to a book.  I decided to go with “Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter.”  I saw the preview for this movie when I saw the Hunger Games and while the movie looks a little odd and evoked laughter from 90% of the theater crowd, I actually heard the book was pretty good.

Author Seth Grahame-Smith also wrote “Pride and Prejudice and Zombies,” which I also could have listened to.  But somehow Jane Austen and Zombies just don’t go together in my mind.

Believe it or not, “Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Slayer” is actually pretty interesting.  Now, I’m only about halfway through the book and with no road trips planned in the near future, I’m not sure how quickly I will get through the rest of this book.

I have to say, the concept of this book seemed odd to me, but as I listened to the story I could see how Grahame-Smith could come up with such a concept.  I have no idea how many of the “facts” in the book are actually facts or just details added to help the story line, having never really spent much time studying Abe Lincoln I don’t know much about his history.  The things I believe to be true about Abraham Lincoln: he was really tall, he had a beard, abolished slavery, was president, is from Illinois, was assassinated by John Wilkes Booth and his face is on the penny.  Good thing I’m not a history teacher!

It will be interesting to see how Grahame-Smith transitions Lincoln from Vampire Hunter to President of the United States and if he continues to be a Vampire Hunter once elected to office.

Anyone else out there read this book?

April 28th – Day 119

Day 28 – 1 pm

Saturday, at one pm I was enjoying bottomless mimosas with some good friends at brunch!

April 29th – Day 120

Day 29 – circle

One of my favorite circles, the top of a wine glass!

April 30th – Day 121

Day 30 – something that makes you sad

Mondays make me sad because it means the weekend is over and it’s back to reality.

May 1st – Day 122

Day 1 – Peace

Just a typical work event.

May 2nd – Day 123

Day 2 – skyline

I cannot wait to get back to Boston! Looking forward to my trip up there in just a few weeks.

May 3rd – Day 124

Day 3 – something you wore today

I love this little birdie necklace from Melissa Vest Jewlery and wear it often.

May 4th – Day 125

Day 4 – fun

Got a fun surprise Friday when Easton and his mom, Tiffany stopped by the office to drop off a proof of Beth’s Save the Dates!

Lately I’ve been on a Pinot Noir quick and haven’t been drinking much Cabernet.  I don’t know if it’s my sabbatical from Cabernet that made this such a nice find or it’s really just that good; pretty sure it’s just THAT good.

This wine is made by Don Sebastiani and Sons.  They have quite a collection of wines.  But this is the best one I’ve have.

I like that they’ve called this wine the B-Side because as they describe it, it represents the flip side of Napa Valley.  This smooth wine is a mix of Cabernet grapes grown in two separate vineyards in Rutherford and the Stags Leap District.  It is 90% Cabernet and 10% Malbec.

The small hint of Malbec gives this wine a nice spice but without making it a heavy wine. And the color of this wine is absolutely beautiful!

Apparently the 2010 vintage received a score of 92 points, so I am not the only who enjoys this wine.  I believe it runs right around $20. If you come across this wine I definitely recommend giving it a try!

Tate’s does offer food but the food choices are very limited as their main focus is cocktails. In fact their drink menu is so extensive it is easy to over look the food menu. So, while I was there I focused on the cocktails as well. However when I saw they had Pigs in a Blanket stuffed with jalapeno and cheese I couldn’t resist, and they did not disappoint! These were delicious!

There are so many interesting and delicious sounding cocktails on the menu, I know I will be making a few trips back to Tate’s! I started with the Front Porch Lemonade, it consists of Smirnoff Citrus Vodka, Cranberry Juice, Lemon, Ginger Syrup and Ginger Ale, it was AMAZING!

If there hadn’t been so many other amazing options on the menu I probably would have just stopped with this drink, but instead I ventured on to the Eternal Flame.  Beth had gone to Tate’s awhile back and tried this drink and loved it, so of course I had to try it!  It has strawberry-jalapeno infused tequila, a genius combination, along with Patron Citronge, lime and ginger beer.  This drink did not disapoint either, but it was quite spicy, so don’t say I didn’t warn you!

Next I decided to try the Cuba Libre, they make their own homemade cola for this beverage and while it was good, it just made me miss the frozen Cuba Libre’s at Cuba Libre on Henderson that is no more.  This drink wasn’t made badly, nor can I really complain about it, other than it really wasn’t my cup of tea.  But it might be yours!

I’m already working on my list of drinks for my next visit to Tate’s!  If you happen to stop in there, be sure and ask for Kirsten, she makes the best cocktails.  Trust me you will not be sorry!

Oh and if you want to check out Tate’s Cocktail Menu, click here.

When I  self-published Creative Chaos just over a month ago, I was beyond thrilled and nervous.  I put it up on the Kindle, the Nook and even had copies printed.  I finished writing Creative Chaos about 3 years ago and since then had to replace my computer.  I was confident that when I published Creative Chaos I had published the most edited version of the book, but boy was I wrong!

Luckily not everyone found all of the issues that my mom did (this lady knows her grammar and for that I’m grateful).  So, thank you everyone who has read the book and still enjoyed it!

Over the weekend I worked hard to get the changes up and available to readers and I have now updated the Kindle and Nook versions.  If you bought them already, I believe Amazon will send you an email to let you know it’s been updated and you can get the update for free.  On the Nook I believe you have to delete the copy you have and reload it.  But according to both sites, if you already own Creative Chaos you can get the updated version for free.

This update not only contains the necessary edits but also I jazzed it up a bit with some images.

I will have printed copies of Creative Chaos available through my website by the end of the week if you are interested in getting your hands on a physical copy.

Now that I have finished the updates, I can get started on book number 2!  Thank you again for all your support and encouragement it got me through the last few weeks!

Also, if you’ve read the book, let me be annoying and ask you to go out and post a review!  You can review it on Amazon, on Barnes & Noble or even on Goodreads!