Great Wines!

Most of you know that my alcoholic drink of choice is a good glass of red wine. I'll drink pretty much anything red, but really enjoy Shiraz, Cabernet and Chianti. So, how in the world do I know this other than by hanging out with a few other winos? Don and I are members of the Wine of the Month Club. We get two new bottles of wine a month: one red and one white (although, you can get only red, which we are considering.). To mix it up even more, one wine is a domestic selection and the other is foreign. So, we get a bunch from the California vineyards but have also received some great wines from Australia, Argentina and throughout Europe.

There are so many benefits of being part of this club. Obviously, we always have wine on hand to drink at home or to take as hostess gifts. We also learn a lot about different wines since every month we get a little newsletter that gives the history and specs for the wines that month. They tell you about cellaring and proper food pairings. We're not too good at that, but the suggestions are nice. We have also tried many wines we probably never would have picked up at the store. A few years ago, they sent us a white dessert wine which we now love. They send a great variety, so it isn't always Merlots and Chardonnays every month. The wines are always quality, too. We don't have to worry too much about picking up a bad bottle like you do blindly at the grocery store. It really takes the guess work away. Even better is that when you find a wine you totally love, you can buy extra bottles and cases at a reduced price. Awesome!

I love being a member of the Wine of the Month Club! It makes a really good Christmas gift for any wine lover on your list. You don't even have to sign up for the entire year. You can give someone a four month subscription for less than $100. It's so fun and easy. Interested parties should check out http://www.wineofthemonthclub.com .

The Wine of the Month Club is a great thing!

Great Hair!

You may have noticed that I took a week off from Great Things. I hadn't planned that, but last week was sooooo crazy that I did not have time to impart my weekly tip. But, I'm back now! Today I had a long overdue hair appointment. My color and style were in pretty bad shape. Even my hair lady mentioned that, because usually it isn't that bad! Oh, well. I have no idea why my hair decided to grow like crazy, but it did. Now, I am back to normal and hopefully all will go well until my next appointment right before Christmas.

Not that I expect anyone to care about my schedule of hair love... I have fine hair which is a total pain to work with and requires products and patience. If you use too much stuff the hair gets totally weighed down. If you don't use enough it's unmanageable static city. I have struggled with finding the balance for as long as I can remember. Some people hate using products in their hair. For me, it is not an option. Through lots of trial and error I have found two products that I cannot live without: Redken's GUTS and Joico's Integrity leave-in conditioner.

GUTS gives me the volume boost that I prefer for my hair. My hair does stick straight, stuck to my head really well, which I hate. GUTS helps me combat that and makes manageability much easier.

Leave in conditioner is a must for people with fine hair! Normal conditioner is too heavy and really weighs your hair down. It seems like leave in conditioner would be worse, but it's not because it is formulated to be light weight. The greatest advantage of leave in conditioner is that it really helps tame the static. If you've ever tried to style static hair, you know it's almost impossible. Leave in conditioner really minimizes this problem. Plus, you cut down on time in the shower since you don't have to use conditioner!

Speaking of cutting down on shower time, if you can, it is much better for your hair if you don't wash it every day. That is probably the only advantage of having fine hair. I can go every other day between washings. If I'm lucky, I can get one more day in between. I don't do that often though. That's usually a hat day! lol. Also, coloring your hair helps change the texture of your hair enough to enable easier styling. Hopefully, I have this down enough that it's hard to tell that I have to work this hard to get normal hair like the rest of you! There you have it: my hair tips for fine hair.

GUTS and leave-in conditioner are great things!