PLEASE DON'T WINE!

When we lived in Los Angeles the only real sign I had to indicate that we'd rolled from swimsuit weather to fall and winter was when the overly-botoxed babes started sporting ugg boots (usually with short shorts and crop tops)!  In the northeast mother nature has her gentle ways, too, of letting us know it's time to button up, batten down the hatches and prepare for the cool nights and short days of this long season.  One of the major changes happened this week when we rolled out of bed at 6am Monday to find my least favorite part of this time of year...darkness.  But, I'll take that, because every thing else about the next several months puts a permanent smile of my face the rest of the year.  I usually start preparing for holiday meals in early summer (as you may know if you've been reading my blog for awhile), so it was not shock when I stumbled upon a can of unused chalkboard paint the other day and found a quick way to make use of it.  Because I often over prepare for the holidays, a few years ago I stocked up on discounted boxes of wine glasses at Crate and Barrel so I'd never leave a guest empty handed...sometimes a lack of wine causes guests to whine!  So I never lose track of a guests glass of vino, I dipped the lower portion of the glass in chalkboard paint and let it dry for an hour before checking it out.  I'm one step closer to a fabulous table setting..now let's see if anyone shows up!