Fish Eye Wine Is My Friend

I’m not a wine expert but I do love me some wine. When I received the opportunity to review Fish Eye wines I said yes without even thinking. Now that I’m an “adult” I try to buy wine in bottles as opposed to wine in boxes (don’t be fooled though…I balk at anything over $10/bottle). My freebie was for Fish Eye boxed wine though so I went to the liquor store and picked one up.

The boxes were all so fun and bright; I had a hard time choosing which one I wanted to sit on my counter! I’m a red wine drinker so that narrowed down my choice. Ultimately, I chose the Shiraz. Each box of wine contains the same amount as 4 BOTTLES OF WINE! I paid $21 for a box but since that initial purchase, I’ve seen these bad boys go on sale for $15. That’s right ladies and gents…$15 FOR FOUR BOTTLES OF WINE!

If I had to describe Fish Eye wines in one word, it would be fun. The boxes are fun, the marketing copy is fun, and the taste is fun. Fish Eye lists out some food pairing options on their boxes, but I don’t really pay attention to those. I tend to pair my wine with episodes of Bachelor in Paradise and other fantabulous reality TV shows or while drafting my fantasy football team...

Fish Eye wine tastes great. I really enjoyed it on night one when I brought home my box. My biggest problem with wine is that I live by myself. As hard as I try, there are times when the wine starts to oxidize and taste funny before I can finish a bottle. Fish Eye promises freshness for SIX WEEKS with their box wine. Mine didn’t last a full six weeks, but I can totally vouch that after four weeks, it was still pretty fresh. Some of you wine experts might disagree with me, but I couldn’t taste any difference!

I was so enthralled by this wine that you better believe it’s what I’ll be contributing to Girl’s Night from here on out. NOW…all of you should go buy a box of Fish Eye wine and invite me over for a glass!

Have you ever tried Fish Eye Wine?

What are your thoughts on boxed wine?

I was not compensated for this post but I did receive a rebate for the product. All thoughts and opinions are my own!

NOLA Part Dos

You can check out the recap of the first part of our trip here.

After a full day of walking in uncomfortable shoes, Jess and I woke up on Monday morning and decided to take the bus to get to our next few NOLA activities. It was threatening rain, but that didn’t stop us from heading to the ZOO! We bought ponchos (which I really wish I had a picture of because we looked ridiculous) and spend a few hours checking out the animals. After the zoo, we decided to take the famous St. Charles Streetcar back to the city. It was pretty neat, but we were freaking out because we had a tour to get to and we probably could have walked back to the city faster!

Thanks, Google Images for the pic!

We made it back just in time to get to the start of our next tour…at the Old New Orleans Rum Distillery!  You know those Hand Grenades that I keep talking about? And the famous Hurricanes (which I did not like btw)? There are lots of recipes floating around the internet but the REAL drinks both have very secret recipes. We did find out though, that both recipes are made with Old New Orleans Rum.

After the rum tour, we went to dinner at Crescent City Brewhouse. Their beer was fantastic, but we were not in love with our food. Never fear though, dessert was FANTASTIC! We FINALLY go to go to Café Du Monde and try out those famous beniengts. Basically, benignets are labs of fried,doughy deliciousness covered in powdered sugar. Our only regret is not ordering a tall glass of milk…there’s always next time! 

Jess has a future career as a hand model

We crashed early on Monday because we (a) were exhausted and (b) had to get up early to be ready for our SWAMP TOUR!

I was planning on telling you all about it in this post, but my lunch hour is over and I suppose I should get back to work…

Before I go....Who else loves fried dough covered in sugar as much as I do?

TO BE CONTINUED

FRIEND-TASTIC trip to NOLA

August 1^st was a good day. I was FINALLY finished with summer classes and packing my bags to head to New Orleans! I met my BFF/college roommate/bridesmaid Jess for a 5 day whirlwind vacation. We hadn’t seen each other for an ENTIRE YEAR which is way to long.

After a friend-tastic reunion at the airport, we dropped our bags off at the hotel and headed to Bourbon Street for a Hand Grenade. One of the first things we saw was a wedding parading down the road, which instantly made me want a wedding parade down the streets of Louisville (JenVern – make it happen!). 

We made it to Jackson Square and walked around looking at the scenery and art displays. We also got some great pictures of St Louis Cathedral. 

After exploring and wandering up and down Bourbon Street for a while, we suddenly realized exactly how much alcohol is in those wonderful hand grenades and walked into the nearest restaurant for some food. I can’t even begin to explain Bourbon Street on Saturday night…it is everything you see in the movies! Jess and I loaded up on some beads (no mom, we didn’t take our tops off!). Turns out, drunk college guys will throw beads at everyone! If you weren’t careful, you could get knocked out by giant flying beads!

We woke up on Sunday and decided to go to the famous Café Du Monde for some beniegts. The line was so long that we promptly turned and went next door to Stanley Restaurant for a DELICIOUS breakfast and tons of coffee. The St. Louis Cathedral was open on Sunday morning so we got to go inside. It was insanely beautiful.

Because we are nerds, we spent the day exploring the Aquarium and went to an IMAX film. After the IMAX we walked down to Magazine Street. Magazine Street is known for antique shops and boutiques. The walk was much longer than we expected, but we justified the calorie loss with plans for a few more hand grenades that night! 

On Sunday night, we went on a Haunted History Tour through the City. It was a two hour walking tour and I highly recommend it for anyone traveling to New Orleans. The tour far exceeded our expectations. The guide spared us cheesy ghost stories and instead shared with us with the creepy, weird, REAL history stories of the city. New Orleans is an old city and there is so much history. We visited the LaLaurie mansion and heard tales of the torture that happened inside, we learned a little about the ancient art of VooDoo, and stopped into the oldest bar in America for a Voodoo Daiquiri and stories of pirates and smugglers! Our guide said that people often capture spirits in their picture of this door. Jess and I didn't see anything....can you?

Days 1 and 2 were exhausting BUT so much fun! 

Have you been to New Orleans?

What was your favorite part of your trip?

Let's Talk Teeth

I've been meaning to write about this for a while (since December), 

but I’m just now getting around to it. 

I had braces in high school….two very long years. Once I got my braces off, I wore my retainers pretty religiously…until I went to college. I admit, I stopped wearing them because they were lame and I was lazy (mostly just the latter part). Over the last 4 years, my teeth have moved, A LOT. I really started to get uncomfortable with my smile and made the decision last year that I wanted my teeth straightened before the wedding. After looking into adult braces (no thank you), I spent A LOT of time researching Invisilign. Last December, I finally made the decision that I was going to go for it.

I found a great orthodontist in Pittsburgh and went to a (FREE!) consultation to see if Invisilign would work for me. After looking at my teeth, he determined I was a candidate and we got the process started. I want to share the whole process with you because I am 2/3 of the way through my treatment and I am confident in recommending Invisilign to anyone looking to straighten their teeth without metal braces.

The is my "before" picture from my first set of scans - the technology is awesome!

  

THAT will have to wait to a later date though, because I need to share my second “teethy thing” with you. Arm & Hammer sent me a Spinbrush Truly Radiant toothbrush and tube of Truly Radiant toothpaste to try out last month. Now that my teeth are straighter…I’d like them to be whiter (I’m so needy!). I’ve never had a spinbrush so I was pumped to try it out. The toothbrush is designed to deep clean teeth and removes 5 times more plaque than a manual toothbrush. The toothpaste whitens, strengthens, and repairs tooth enamel using the unique Arm & Hammer formula.

Awkward brushing teeth pic - for your viewing pleasure!

Honestly, I did not like the taste of the toothpaste and probably won’t buy it again. I’m pretty brand loyal to my Crest toothpaste. The toothbrush however…I am never going back to a manual toothbrush. I love this thing! I also love that it is in my price range and that I won’t be going broke when I need to replace the toothbrush head. I don’t know if it was the toothpaste, the toothbrush, the Invisilign, poor lighting in the room, or an attempt to get me to do a favor, but I’ve recently had THREE PEOPLE tell me that my teeth looked whiter. Seriously though, I can tell a difference after using the toothbrush and toothpaste for the last three weeks and would recommend the toothbrush to anyone in the market for a new one.

If you want to try either the toothbrush or toothpaste, you can click THIS LINK to download a coupon for $0.50 off. As I mentioned, I did receive the toothbrush and toothpaste for free (not the invisilign unfortunately) but all opinions in the above review are my own.  

Stay tuned for my Invisilign story…I know that you will all be anxiously waiting on the edge of your seats :)