Tips for Hosting a Wine and Cheese Tasting

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Wine is one of my favorite beverages along with tea and water. Pinot Grigio is hands down my “go to” wine although wine guru Gary Vaynerchuk told me to get over myself and try new varietals. I’m trying Gary!

I’ve attended a few wine tasting parties thrown by my friend Danielle one of which was a brief intro to shiraz, it was a great night with some great wine. It’s always been a blast although I’m not sure we really learned much about wine even though we did fill out rating cards. I’d like to host my own this time so I turned to wine expert Wendy Crispell, who has designed and hosted many corporate and private events for NY celebrities, top business leaders and industry clients.

Hosting a Wine & Cheese Tasting

by Wendy Crispell

As a wine and cheese professional I believe wine is something that should be accessible to everyone. Many people are intimidated by the vast selection, unknown varietals, labeling jargon and differences in price vs. quality. I’ve noticed that most will stick with an old standby rather than taking the chance on trying something new or different. Hosting your own tasting is a great way to try new wines, explore unknown regions and just have great fun with friends! Read more

Successful Financial Guru is a List Maker

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List making can help you strive in so many areas of your life: work, home, relationships, leisure and even fashion! No one knows this better than Joe Duran. He’s this month’s featured “list producer.”

Joe is the CEO for United Capital, a national wealth-counseling firm that is one of the fastest growing companies in the financial services industry. Pretty impressive, huh? Well he owes a lot of his success to being a list maker!

1. Why do you call yourself a compulsive list producer?

Lists keep people synchronized. I expect myself and everyone that works with me to stay on top of all the many things we are working on.

2. What do you make lists about?

I like everyone that works with me to keep two kinds of lists: action lists for any follow up items as well as checklists for repeatable activities.

3. How often do you make lists?

There is not a day that goes by that I am not given multiple checklists and action lists to look at. Read more

Shopping for Clothes with a List

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This weekend my husband was cleaning out his closet – so I was inspired to do the same thing. Our approaches were quite different – he was done in 10 minutes after giving each item a quick glance.

I, on the other hand, had to try on EVERYTHING with the right shoes and undergarments. Please! How am I supposed to know if it still looks good without seeing the whole look? This process took me two hours. (I have a lot of clothes.)

Closet-Cleaning Strategy

I made five piles to keep myself organized as I went through my clothes and shoes:

1. Keep: Stuff that I have worn in the past six months and look really good on me.

2. Donate: Stuff that I really loved at one point but no longer fits, I’m tired of wearing or I’ve never actually worn (I know I’m not the only one who has done this! Right?) If you don’t know where to donate your clothes — here’s a list for “Getting Rid of Stuff.” Read more

A List for a Happy Baby

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I’ve gotten to the age where everyone is either getting married or having babies. It’s like when you’re 13 and everyone is having a bar or bat mitzvah and you wish you were Jewish so you could have one. Or when you turned 16 and every girl had a “Sweet 16” and was learning to drive. The marriage and the babies stage are the same. Except…those who don’t have them are either happy without them or yearning for them. It’s a mixed bag.

Me — I’m not ready to be a mom but from what I’ve heard…your life is turned upside down by that little human — in a good way. And your priorities and entire schedule completely changes. But guess what — a list will help you cope!

My good friend Arianny is a new mom. She said that one of her friends told her about buying second-hand clothes for her baby, so she can save some money to spend on other things, like diapers.  Anyway, she wrote me this email recently:

You would be proud: I keep a list of everything I need to pack in Gabriel’s diaper bag in the side pocket of the bag. Every time I pack it to go out, I take out the little list. Everything from bottles to toys. It’s the key to a happy baby.”

Here is Arianny’s list of things that I think should be kept in diaper bags (recently updated because he just started solids):

1. Diapers

2. Wipes

3. Burp Cloth

4. Bibs – lots of them

5. Blanket

6. Bottles & Water

7. Formula

8. Pacifiers – a couple for when they drop and get dirty!

9. Change of clothes/PJs

10. Solid meal

11. Spoons

12. Toys/Teether

Don’t forget the tablet with those sing-along songs that helps baby sleep. Who knew having a baby would have so many accessories! But it makes sense — being prepared for a new task is all you need to be successful and less stressed out. You’ll even save some time too. Who cares if you need a cheat sheet…even to be a good mom. Trust me — your baby won’t mind!

5 Lessons I’ve Learned from Oprah

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Today is historic. Today is the airing of the last episode of The Oprah Winfrey Show. If you’ve been following my blog you know how much I love Oprah. It was on my life list to make it to a taping of her show – been there, done that! It was fabulous.

As a journalist – I’ve gotten my inspiration from women like Oprah. I would watch her show everyday with my mother and I wanted to be just like her. Oprah has said many times that if she weren’t in TV she would have been a teacher. Well she’s been just that to many people in all walks of life through the years, including me.

Here’s my list of some of the lessons I’ve learned at “Oprah University:”

1. Give:

Oprah’s been both praised and ridiculed for all the gifts she’s given away in her “favorite things” episodes. From iPads to lasagna pans – she’s given it all away to screaming fans. Don’t forget the free trip to Australia and oh yeah…the “you get a car, and you get a car, and you get a car,” giveaway. Read more