Corner 103: A Sonoma Wine Tasting Experience

At this point, I've been wine tasting more times than I can remember. And I'm not complaining - I love it. My palate has developed and my taste for wine has grown. I've done tastings with cheese, tastings with chocolate, tasting with food pairings and more. I've almost done it all. Up to this point, I've figured out what I like and what I don't like, but not why. That is, until my wine tasting experience with Llyod Davis of Sonoma's Corner 103.

Stacker Style: Something Special

Contrary to what you may think, I'm not terribly into purchasing clothes and things. My closet might tell you otherwise - it's a walk-in, filled to the brim with shoes and various clothing items. But, as a blogger, I'm very, very lucky to receive items from generous brands. I shop for clothing an average of 3-5 times a year, and most of the time when I do, it's because I'm in need of something. My shopping philosophy has evolved - I did used to shop a lot when I was in high school / college, but as I grew older, I realized that spending on fast fashion wasn't the best use of my money and quality really does matter. Having said that, I do still give into trends every now and then, but for the most part, I recycle a lot of my clothes over and over. Given that I don't spend that much on clothing, it's even more rare for me to make larger investment purchases because I'm not super into material possessions. I purge my closet a couple times a year and try to donate as much as I can. By now, you're probably saying to yourself...wait, what? She's a blogger. Yes, guilty as charged. I'm a blogger, but I hope that if you haven't realized by now, you're starting to realize that I blog because I love to write, share my stories, and hope to spread positivity through my work. So, after sharing all of that backstory about my shopping patterns, let's talk about the bag featured in this post (because I've already told you about the shoes).

#bayclubhappy

Jacket, Custom Tank (similar), Sports Bra, Leggings, Similar Shoes, Sunnies

Photos by: Julia O Test

Remember, how I said that I was hitting the gym like a crazy lady? If not, refresh your mem, here (or just peep my millions of Instagram story snaps praising my seemingly newfound love of the gym). As I mentioned in my last post, this year, I really wanted to carve out time for myself. Part of that "me" time meant moving my body & regaining my energy. In 2016, I spent a lot of time not working out, lol. On the contrary, I spent a lot of money to work out. Basically, I was giving away my money like a fool. Instead of hitting the gym, I'd hit up an event. Long story short, I was extremely inconsistent with my routine, and as a result, I ended up mentally beating myself up for being such a bad gym rat. So, once the new year hit, I couldn't have been more excited to reignite my love of working out.

PSA: Sweet Ideas for Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day is just around the corner, and I don't know about you, but I'm super into a day dedicated to love. Always have been and always will be. I know, you're probably thinking, "Well, sure - it's easy to be into Valentine's Day when you're in a relationship!" Okay, fair. But, there were many years when I was a solo Stacker, and even then, I still loved Valentine's Day. I'd buy myself flowers, chocolates and watch romcoms in my pjs, whilst drinking wine, or I'd have a girls day with my gal pals. When I was single, I'd toast to myself for being an independent woman doing the damn thing. And honestly, not much has changed. I'm still an independent woman doing the damn thing, celebrating the day of love, just this time with someone who holds a great piece of my heart. Our plans for this year are still up in the air, but I've got some wine + chocos stashed away just in case we decide to do date night in.

For those of you who are also still in planning limbo, read on for two ways to make the day even sweeter.

It's Me Again.

It's been a while, huh? Just a hair over two months since my last post, but in those two months, we've seen a whole new year appear. 2017, you're finally here! I've been waiting for you. Like most, I'm a fan of a new year's approach. In fact, in 2015, I got this awesome lip reading (yes, a lip reading), where the reader casually mentioned that 2017 would be my best year yet. Considering 2016 was a bit on the tougher side, I have been waiting for 2017 to arrive with arms open wider than you can imagine.

So, in the time that I've been gone, what have I been up to? Resetting. I went through a bit of a social media detox where I took a breather and tried to reevaluate my priorities. I think it only lasted a few weeks (which is a long time for a social media junkie such as myself!), but it felt really nice. Before my break, there were too many times in which I felt like I was losing myself and my voice. I was working with brands here and there and by the time December came around, I just wasn't sure anymore if I was posting because I wanted to, or if I was doing it because someone else paid me to (yikes!). While I love working with brands (and am so thankful that I am able to), I always want to make sure that I'm doing it because I love the brand and the message. Since it finally got to a point where I just wasn't sure what my purpose was anymore, I wanted to take a break and reexamine myself and my actions. In conjunction with that, I also really wanted to take time to think about my goals for the new year, drill down to what it was that I wanted to spend my time on, and most importantly, figure out what I needed (not just what I wanted) to make myself truly happy.

So, after all of that, what did I figure out? Well, lots of things and probably more than you really need to know, but in the spirit of being transparent and throwing down some pancake wisdom like the days of before, here's what I learned. Brace yourselves - this post is already a long one.