Days of Wine and Dogs and Horses

This past Friday night we hosted a fabulous event at The Wine Bin- our first annual Yappy Hour.
A portion of our sales that evening was donated to Spay Maryland and the Gentle Giants Draft Horse Rescue.
What an amazing turn-out. We provided beer and wine tastings and a chocolate and dog treat tasting by Parfections Chocolates. The Rumour Mill (a local restaurant) provided goodies for the humans to chow down on. And entertainment by Crystal Sands (a wonderful up and coming country singer) rounded out the evening.
I am a huge dog (and horse) lover but people are CRAZY when it comes to their dogs. Who would have thought that a yappy hour would draw so many attendees.


Some of the crowd of our well-behaved owners (and their dogs)
Our youngest dog-loving customer
Music by a fabulous young country singer- Crystal Sands
Chloe and Louie


The Gentle Giant Draft Horses and volunteers



We're looking forward to supporting many more good causes.

I care not much for a man's religion whose dog and cat are not the better for it. ~Abraham Lincoln

SHOWERS AND FLOWERS IN GEWELS' GARDEN

My pansies love this gray,cold and dreary weather....

...But my peonies don't. One bloom has managed to survive the storms.


My trusty and heady scented lilac

And how happy was I when I spotted my Scotch broom blooming. The scent is heaven!


Observe this dew-drenched rose of Tyrian gardens
A rose today. But you will ask in vain
Tomorrow what it is; and yesterday
It was the dust, the sunshine, and the rains.
- Christina Rosetti

SO BUSY!!!!

The last 4 months have been incredibly busy for me. Not with anything that is making any money you see. But, with some amazing events which I have had a hand in producing.
January thru March are wedding show months. So, to entice new clients over the top vignettes must be produced. It's all about SELLING YOURSELF.
Here are a few photos of some of the displays which I've had a hand in designing.

The first is a sort of Moroccan inspired theme. This was done under a canopy of all pink, orange and lime green. I LOVE the combo of orange and hot pink.


One vignette was more contemporary in a black and red scheme.

This next photo was not my design but the linens used were mine. I adore how they put the whole tablescape together using very elegant french tulips and river rocks.


The next set of photos were from a Bridal show that we did the beginning of April. Each designer was given a separate room at The Tremont Hotel here in Baltimore. Each room was a different color-scheme or theme. My room was done in all shades of silver, purple and periwinkle blue. I was trying to create a very moody, but elegant space. The only thing missing was the smoke machine (the higher ups nixed the idea but later wished we had done it- go figure).


This last set of photos was for a fundraiser called UNCORKED- A five course wine dinner with proceeds going to the Maryland Food Bank. The theme of the affair was "A NIGHT AT THE MOVIES" and each table was designed by different florists, event planners or designers.
My movie was OUT OF AFRICA- and this is the result. I made a coffee tree for the center (since it was set on a coffee farm)surrounded by huge King Protea (the national flower of South Africa) and 3 foot tall giraffes that I was fortunate enough to find the day before the event.
I chose linens to evoke an elegant british safari feel. The base linen was a beautiful ecru lace topped with a natural burlap (much like you would find a coffee bean bag made from). Lace napkins, silver candlesticks and animal print covered bamboo chairs finished the design. Favors were bottles of South African wines wrapped in burlap and finished with raffia ties.


Other movies represented were Breakfast at Tiffanys, La Cage Au Folle, The Birds, The Dark Knight, One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest (that was wild), Saturday Night Fever and many more. The creativity constantly amazes me!!!

The world is but a canvas to the imagination.
Henry David Thoreau


Unfortunately now I'm brain dead and have not one creative thought in my mind.

MOTHER EARTH

Celebrate Earth Day with me....with photos and native american poetry.


Coming onto the golden belly
of this mother the earth
where the winds talk
and the stones cast no shadows

i was dreaming
my face in the ground
belly to belly
i wept into the earth

a dreaming
but when it was there
it was a singing

my mouth as wide
as the heart of the earth
into the ground I was dreaming
all dressed in hair

Tobacco Indian




The care of the Earth is our most ancient and most worthy, and after all our most pleasing responsibility. To cherish what remains of it and to foster its renewal is our only hope.”
Wendell Berry

RECIPES

With all of the recipe posting going on over at Barbara's place I was inspired to begin posting anew at Imagined Eating.

I've posted a few new dessert recipes which I recently tried, along with The Barefoot Contessa's scrumptious Espresso IceCream.

Check it out once in a while or feel free to invite yourself to post your own recipes. Let me know if you're interested and I'll add you to the page.

Happy Cooking!


A gourmet who thinks of calories is like a tart who looks at her watch.
~James Beard

GEWELS BLOOMS

This dreary, dreary, rainy day calls for another installment of "What's blooming in Gewels's garden."

SONG OF THE FLOWER
I am a kind word uttered and repeated
By the voice of Nature;
I am a star fallen from the
Blue tent upon the green carpet.
I am the daughter of the elements
With whom Winter conceived;
To whom Spring gave birth; I was
Reared in the lap of Summer and I
Slept in the bed of Autumn.

At dawn I unite with the breeze
To announce the coming of light;
At eventide I join the birds
In bidding the light farewell.

The plains are decorated with
My beautiful colors, and the air
Is scented with my fragrance

As I embrace Slumber the eyes of
Night watch over me, and as I
Awaken I stare at the sun, which is
The only eye of the day.

I drink dew for wine, and hearken to
The voices of the birds, and dance
To the rhythmic swaying of the grass.

I am the lover's gift; I am the wedding wreath;
I am the memory of a moment of happiness;
I am the last gift of the living to the dead;
I am a part of joy and a part of sorrow.


But I look up high to see only the light,
And never look down to see my shadow.
This is wisdom which man must learn.

Kahlil Gibran

And finally a shot of an orchid from my indoor garden.

ARTEFLAMENCO

Last night was my first class in Flamenco dance. I arrived at the studio a full 15 minutes early with long flowy skirt and flamenco shoes in hand.

There were some seasoned dancers in the class mixed in with the handful of beginners.
Because of this Natalia (our instructor) forced us to jump right in and learn some very intricate footwork. It was frustrating, exhausting and so much fun. I can't wait for the next class.

I fell in love with Flamenco while on a visit to Spain. Andalucia, to be exact. Within one week we saw three Flamenco shows. I was smitten.

The first show was in an auditorium of a church located on the town square of Rhonda.
This show was a sort of recital of a local dance troupe. Lots of beautiful women in gorgeous (mostly polka-dottted) dresses.

The second show took place in an outdoor courtyard on a tiny, winding street in the old Jewish neighborhood in Sevilla. This performance was in front of a much smaller, more intimate crowd. Several male guitarists accompanied a male singer and one pair of dancers. What surprised me most was the soulfulness of the guitar music and singer. The songs portrayed a life full of soul and angst. A truly moving performance.

The final performance took place in a cave on a hillside across the valley from the Alhambra in Granada. The music and dancing were performed by the gypsies that live in these caves. We were escorted in, seated crammed along the sides of someone's living room stone walls and given glasses of sangria. This performance was a much more raucous representation of the dance. The dancers were a bit more unrefined in their movements but you got the impression that they have been dancing this way for centuries. It seemed so much a part of their spirit. After all, it began with the gypsies in this part of the country.

This photo shows the gypsy dancer in the caves.

My son's girlfriend made the comment that I seem to choose hobbies just for the great clothes. Although that is not true I can't wait to go back to Spain to acquire a gorgeous polka-dotted dress of my own. And another pair of shoes- I'm thinking RED.

Time Flies

Wow, it's already been over a month since I've posted anything (again).

I don't know where the time seems to go. It seems I do more and more and yet feel as if I fall further and further behind. Time's flying and I'm missing out.

I want to go flyfishing
I want to ride my horse 3 times a week
I want a pedicure
I want to plant my pansies
I want to take more photos
I want to take a photography class
I want to take a trip
I want to write on my blog
I want to read more books
I want to go back to life drawing class
I want to ride my bike
I want to have a dinner party for my friends
I want to see my friends
I want to build a waterfall in my pond
I want to finally get that mammogram (not really want to but have to)
I want to go to clubs to listen to more music
I want to make beaded jewelry
I want to play the piano (and guitar)
I want to exercise more
I want to learn Spanish (French,Italian)
I want to learn grammar (is it a comma, colon, hyphen or what?)
I want to see more hummingbirds


I'm sure there are more "wants" but this is getting ridiculous.



A want becomes a have with time.
Marilyn Bencosme


Time Flies and I need to try and catch it.

The Wine Bin Unveiled

It's been a long busy road but we have finally managed to open up our FABULOUS new wine shop.

It's been a crazy busy several months fraught with indecisions, a few loud discussions and lots of blood, sweat, tears and money.

We opened our doors on Dec 5th. to try and grab a few of those holiday sales, but did not have our Grand Opening until January 10.
Here are a few photos of that fun-filled weekend.

The ribbon cutting as performed by our esteemed County Executive- Ken Ullman


The front room


Set for our grand opening party


Guests arriving for the party.


Getting ready to taste at our handmade copper tasting bar.


Future sight of our climate controlled walk-in wine cooler.

This is really just a retail wine shop. But, we do offer complimentary wine tastings every day. It's amazing how much more you can sell once people try it.

It's not a bad job when you can go to work and drink every day.

You've achieved success in your field when you don't know whether what you're doing is work or play.
Warren Beatty

Fingers Crossed

So tonight is the big night. What- you say, Halloween isn't until Friday night?

No, tonight is the night that we go to our liquor board hearing. Hopefully this time around we will get our license to open the wine shop (that we've been working on for about 2 years now, geez!)

We've been quite confident that this will happen so we've been working on getting the space ready. Hopefully we'll open by the first week in December.

A couple of shots of the store in progress.



It's huge, it's gorgeous and way cool. We chose the colors of bright avocadoish green, deep, deep plum brown and a brighter orangish yellow for the architectural elements in the base. Hence the colors in the logo above.

If this doesn't work I guess we'll just have to turn it into a super trendy clothing boutique. No size 0's will be carried however. That size just pisses me off!

SEEING RED

The theme was red- so I pulled out all the stops.

This table design was one that I did as part of a recent fundraiser. I took the "Red" theme literally. Well, with a splash of silver.

Red lamps

Red cloths
Red roses

OH- NO WONDER.......

Yesterday was the 29th anniversary of my 20th birthday and you know what I found out?

It was Simon Cowell's as well- same Date and age.
I'm not quite sure how I feel about that but....I think that may explain allot regarding my behavior these days.

Thank you all for your warm wishes and emails. You have no idea how much I appreciate it all. You're the best.

BTW- my son has moved to Costa Rica. You can follow his adventures here

Rentals and Swappings

As some of you may know I am fortunate enough to have a second home in Costa Rica. Up to this point we have pretty much kept it for ourselves. Now, though, my husband would like to see it rented out so that it could help pay the expenses of the property.
For his birthday present he asked that I spend some time (and money) listing the house on various web-sites. The first site I chose was Vacations Rentals By Owner. We had read good reviews of other people's experience in getting rentals so I thought I would try it.

To see the VRBO listing click here


The second site I chose was HomeExchange.com. This site lists homes which people are willing to swap to stay in your home. For example, I have a place in Costa Rica and I want to visit Mexico. I can go on the site, look up homes in Mexico and offer an exchange to that property's home owner.

To see the Homeexchange listing click here
Within 48 hours of listng our home we were offered 12 exchanges and 2 rental opportunities. Unbelievable results.

We had a request from 2 people in Australia (my husband's dream destination), 2 in Napa Valley, 1 in Brittany, France, several in Quebec, Canada, A few locations in the US (including Lake Tahoe, Tucson and upstate NY)and my personal favorite- Mexico.

You would think I would be rather pleased with the results. Actually I am...
HOWEVER, the day after I listed these and the day after I had spent over 400.00 to sign up for these sites, we got a call from a real estate agent in Costa Rica who said that they found someone who would like to rent our house for a year. A FULL YEAR!
What kind of timing is that? Couldn't he have called the day BEFORE I spent this money? I suppose I could try to put some of these interested parties off until 2010.
Oh, and if anyone would like to swap or rent let me know. Plan ahead for 2010 though.