Visiting Columbia Gardens Vineyard & Winery

I had a busy Saturday.

I started the day off Saturday morning trip the Peak Physique and a stroll around the Castlegar Market and then I came home to Trail for a quick bite to eat and a quick grocery trip to Ferraro Foods.  I felt a little inspired when I finished unpacking my groceries and made a trip up the hill to Columbia Gardens Vineyard  & Winery.

Our GOAT Account Executive Ray inspired me to make the trip. I am gathering together some of the Kootenay Boundary’s finest products for a gift basket and Ray suggested that rather than go with his suggestions for wines that I should go visit them and try them out myself.  I am a red girl so I already had that determined but I sampled three of the winery’s reds and enjoyed them all. In total I now have four bottles from Columbia Gardens for the basket, the Station Road Rose and three Red (DeJager’s Merlot, Foch Private Reserve and Kootenay Red).

Included in my three reds is Kootenay Red, a bold red wine with a story! If you visit Columbia Garden’s you need to ask about the story that inspired the bottle’s cartoon label. They had me at bear cub…

While at Columbia Gardens I had to ask Tersia De Jager about her accent and the story about moving to the Kootenay Boundary. Terisa tells the story best here:

Also, Terisa showed me around the Guest House that they are developing at the Vineyard and it is absolutely lovely. Here are a few sneak peak photos! I know the guesthouse is going to be the perfect place for wedding parties and functions in the future.

A sneak peak at a room in the guest house.

Terisa De Jager also showed me around one of the areas where weddings are hosted in the vineyard. So many happy memories will be made here!

To see Columbia Gardens Vineyard  & Winery’s full wine catalogue and all of their services click here.

I am so excited to have a fridge full of wine right now! I wish I had bought more from the “The Burl” at the Vineyard. You can do a wine tasting there and check out amazing homemade goods for your home. All of the gifts in the “The Burl” are handmade pieces and one of a kind!

As you can see the deck is the perfect place to look out over the vines and sip a glass of wine.

Kate’s Favorite Things: Pinch Provisions ‘Minimergency Kit’

I love stockings, growing up we always got four stockings, one on Christmas Eve night when “Santa” would stop by my Grandmother’s house and each of us grandchildren would sit on his lap and be given a large man’s foot worth of candy, underwear, hygiene products and usually one cool thing to put a smile on your face. The next stocking would come Christmas morning after Santa had visited our home, this stocking would be filled with more fun items and candy.  The next stocking would come a little later in the day at our Great Grandparent Kinney’s house, usually these stockings were a little more boring than the first stocking and the only really interesting part would be to see who would get the coolest stocking (they were rotated around for a while until eventually each great-grandchild had a name on their stocking, killing the surprise). The last stocking of the Holidays would come on New Year’s Day with all of the “leftovers” from Santa’s Workshop or maybe some pretty sweet Boxing Day sale deals to ensure everyone ended up with the things they really wanted for Christmas.

Again, I love stockings. I love Christmas. This year I only was on the receiving end of one stocking. I filled a stocking for my boyfriend with all of his favorite things and his parents sent a stocking back from Calgary with him for me.

This was one amazing stocking; my boyfriend’s mother may just be the Queen of Stocking Stuffing. Everything in it was gold, including one of my new favorite things.  The absolutely brilliant Pinch Provisions Minimergency Kit (For Her of course).

Every item, big or small, was wrapped in this stocking so when I got to the ‘Minimergency Kit’ I had to stop and read the entire listing of exactly what it was, pure genius. The ‘Minimergency Kit’ truly is mini, measuring in at 3.5” x 2” x 2” and is home to 17 beauty and personal care items.

Here are just some of the emergency items included in this amazing little bag (pictured to the right):

-Breathe freshener

Picture from http://pinchprovisions.com/

-Floss

-Clothing mending kit (yes, a kit inside a kit)

-Lip balm

-A tampon

-Hair spray

-Clear nail polish

Yes, the Minimergency Kit is a BIG help for those tiny emergencies that seem to ruin everyone’s days. It is a little silly how confident it makes me feel just having it in my purse.

Naturally, loving my Minimergency Kit as much as I do I had to check its mother company our online, Pinch Provisions. They also make emergency kits (in mini and full size) for men, teachers, moms, back to school, hooking your wedding party up before the wedding, brides, grooms and sending your kid off to college (there may even be more).  They even sell refills for your kits too!

I think this is the perfect item to put in a stocking; it is one of my favorite things from this Christmas and an all-round brilliant idea from Pinch Provisions.

To find your future emergency solution visit Pinch Provisions here.

Andy Samberg Marriage Rumours

Just when I couldn't get more annoyed by Joanna Newsom, okay I realize that my beef with her is as old as her song ‘Peach Plum Pear’ (which is pretty old, not something new) she potentially is going to do something that will make me (and many other girls around the world) hate her even more.  Reports say Joanna Newsom and Andy Samberg will wed this weekend. One of Samberg's new co-stars on 'Brooklyn Nine-Nine', Terry Crews leaked the news today.

You most likely know Andy Samberg from his acting career, he was one of the stars of Saturday Night Live for seven seasons and has stared in many films like ‘That’s My Boy’ and ‘Hotel Transylvania’ with Adam Sandberg and ‘Hot Rod’.  Andy Samberg is also one of the member of the musical comedy group the Lonely Island.

To each their own, but this hurts my soul.

 ‘Peach Plum Pear’ was one of my high school best friends favourite songs for a long time. I was one of the only people who had my own car, so I was forced to listen to it a lot, hence the resentment of this specific song.

So, as I listen to ‘Peach Plum Pear’ for the first time in years I am envisioning their long romantic car rides and how painful this scene from ‘The Heartbreak Kid’ would be with Joanna Newsom in real life.

Yes, I am a jerk. I will be quite sad if Mr.Samberg goes off the market this weekend.