Going Domestic

Dining in Style

Daily Candy today is featuring these fabulous neoprene wine carriers. I really like the snazzy colours that they come in, and it's rather nice that each accomodates two bottles as Chris likes to bring a red and a white to dinner parties. Sad that there isn't anywhere in Canada to pick one of these up ...

Last night for dinner I made the sauted sweet potato and spinach side dish from November's EveryDay Food, except that I substituted broccoli for the spinach because that's what I had on hand. It was very yummy and easy - brown cubed sweet potatoes in some olive oil, after about ten minutes sprinkle with curry powder, add some onions and a 1/2 cup of water a few minutes later, and transfer to a separate dish when the water's absorbed. Saute the broccoli, and when it's done, add it to the sweet potatoes and then sprinkle a tablespoon of balsamic (I used rice wine) vinegar over the entire lot. Both Chris and I gave it a thumbs up.

Liquid Assets

Last weekend, Chris went to check out one of those home design shows that roll through town a couple of times a year. I'm a little skeptical about these shows, as they don't necessary showcase good, upstanding vendors, but vendors who pay the registration fee and rent space. Despite this, Chris brought back a few really neat brochures to show me. One that caught my eye was from Vintage Keeper. Chris would love to have an authentic wine cellar at home, but given certain climate and architectural constraints, he's also been open to getting a nifty storage solution for our wine collection. Months ago he mentioned that he liked the aesthetics of the triangular or diamond shapes storage bins like these ones, and I thought that I'd try my hand at carpentry to make him a set once we were settled in the house. Anyway, the Vintage Keeper company (which has a location here in Calgary) has stackable diamond bins! That's an exciting (and rather budget) possibility!

I was poking around the BBC last night and came across this rather cute and functional project for a wine rack made out of drain pipes. It's kind of stylish, no?

Still on topic, Chris and I opened the gamay noir rose that we picked up from St. Hubertus in July during our Okanagan trip. It was fabulous, and I wish that we'd bought an extra bottle or two. Regrets, regrets ...