Build Your Wings

Hello Lovelies, 

Happy Monday! Well... as happy as a monday can be.

In an effort to convince myself to look forward to mondays, I'm working on a new day theme- 

Motivation Monday

Ready for all the reasons monday's suck? 

How about the little joys?

or this weeks goal?

Rain, rain go away:

-Waking up early

-Not waking up early because you forgot it was monday

-Running late all day because you didn't wake up early because you forgot it was monday

-Realizing you didn't do anything you said you would get done all weekend

-A dead car battery

The little things:

-New lip gloss

-Lush bath bombs

-Getting home after class to a happy puppy

-Taking the perfect picture

How hard can it be?:

Do a headstand

How about a glass of wine, Sunshine?

Late last night I ventured out in the storm, braving the snow covered roads and a swarm of drivers apparently new to michigan, and seemingly having no experience with winter driving. Why you ask?

Girls night in!

There were hors d'oeuvres, summaries of the week, details of exciting new relationships, and of course, wine.

Which got me thinking about, well... wine. 

My mother is somewhat of a wine aficionado. I, on the other hand, choose our beverage for the night based on the design on the label. (Or occasionally a cutesy name.)

Sophisticated... Right?

So here it is. 

Wine 101

There are different types of wine: 

Red

White

Rose

Sparkling

Dessert

Fortified

Each of these types has different types.

Most commonly recognized:

Red- Cabernet, Merlot, Pinot Noir

White- Chardonnay, Pinot Grigio, Riesling

Rose- Pinot Noir, Cabernet

Sparkling- Champagne

Dessert- Muscat, Moscato

Fortified- Port, Sherry

That's a lot of wine. 

Ok. So what's the difference?

Wines are named after the type of grape used (United States) or the region where they are grown (Europe). For example, for a Champagne to be a real champagne, the grapes have to be grown in Champagne, France.

Different grapes, different flavor.

So taste?

This one is easy. 

Read the bottle. 

Most wine bottles will have a description of the wine. For a newbie, I've found this to be invaluable.

What to serve when?

Check out this chart for pairing suggestions

How to serve?

-Red- 

about 65 degrees (cool but not cold)

-White- 

Pinot Grigio- 35-40 degrees (refrigerate an hour and a half) 

Chardonnay- 55 degrees (refrigerate an hour and a half, but bring out half an hour early to warm up a little)

-Rose-

35-40 degrees (refrigerate an hour and a half)

-Sparkling-

totally chilled

refrigerate an hour and a half or ice bucket twenty minutes

-Dessert- 

refrigerate an hour and a half, twenty minutes of warming up

-Fortified-

55 degrees 

*a wine cellar is kept at 55 degrees

Well I hope this helps as a little (read- basic) guide for your next girls night.

Cheers!

What is your go to girls night bottle?

How to Pass a Class

With the first week of the new semester competed at my university, I figured I would start of with this. 

A little game plan on how to you pass your classes. 

This advice isn't foolproof, but it's easier than you think. 

First of all:

Realize you may fail a class once or twice. College is hard. Life can get in the way. Things happen. 

That being said, there are a couple things you can do to make passing your classes much more likely. 

Before Classes/Your First Day:

-Get organized. 

While I've never been a particularly organized person, I have learned that being able to find a pen and a piece of paper for the first day of class helps. 

-Bring a pen and a piece of paper.

Your professor may make changes or share important information on the first day. Some may even lecture. It helps to have something to take notes. 

(this semester I had one professor change the time of our lecture, and one share the dates of our first five "pop quizzes")

-Show up. 

I know plenty of students who assume the first week a professor will read the syllabus and dismiss class. While this is true for some, not all. Sometimes the first day is important. Don't take the chance.

The Rest of the Semester:

-Once again- 

-

SHOW UP. 

This is the best advice I have been given. It seems so simple, but many students don't figure it out until it's too late.

Before I left my parents home for college, my dad pulled me aside and asked if I wanted to do well in school. 

I told him not really. 

Apparently he was going to advise me anyways, as he went on to say,

Go to class. It's as easy as that. If you go to class you'll do well. 

Yeah, ok, dad. 

But really; it's true. 

I've tested it. 

Personally. 

Feel free to test it out yourself. I promise you'll agree. 

-Know when your exams are.

Ok, you would think this would be just as obvious as showing up, but it's not. 

Professors move exams, weather cancels classes (hopefully), you write things down on the wrong page of your planner. Does double checking really take that long?

-Get to know your professors.

Yes, even in lectures. 

Introduce yourself, go to office hours (your professors designated time to provide extra help)- even if you don't have a question. Ask to go over your last exam, make up a question, or stop in just to say hi.

If your professor knows you, he/she will look more favorably on your grade. When the end of the semester comes and your grade is a couple percent away from passing this can make all the difference. 

There are probably other things I could say:

Do the homework

Do any extra credit

Study for exams

Don't throw things at your professor while he/she is lecturing

These may help, but the points above, while they may be painfully obvious, are surprisingly some of the most overlooked tips of all. 

Good luck with classes! 

and please share any additional tips or tricks

From the Ashes

Ok. Maybe "from the ashes" is a little dramatic, as this little adventure in blogging is still new to me, but there's a story. (Of course!). 

When I started this blog, I wasn't sure where I wanted to go with it. Granted, most people figure that out before starting, but I kind of assumed it would just come to me. I started writing a couple short pieces, a few recipes, a product review here and there, and it was boring. I wasn't motivated to write, because I didn't feel like what I was writing was all that useful to anyone. 

Yawn...

It wasn't until quite recently I decided where to go. (er... start). I was speaking with a close friend of mine in her new apartment. We were discussing how amazed we we're such "big girls". OK, so we've been "adults" aka over 18, for quite some time. We've been living away from home for a few years, and been attending university for just as many. While, maybe, we should have grown up then, we didn't, really. 

It was then I realized what I do have to share, and that was my experience with this whole growing up stuff. So the official reopening of this blog is well underway. Stay tuned for some hopefully useful and maybe even entertaining stuff.