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Coastal living. It’s something that so many of us are in love with, no matter what coast we come from, whether it be the soft sand beaches of Cape Cod or the clear blue swimming spots of Florida, or the rocky rugged coast of the West of Ireland.  Coastal living lends its way perfectly to one of my favorite cook books, The Coastal Table; what goes better with gorgeous scenery than food you can share with friends?

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You may remember when I made Campfire Brownies from The Coastal Table for a boat outing and raved on and on about the book and how beautiful it is. Each recipe is like a little getaway; it’s refreshing and relaxing and beautiful.

You can imagine then, how excited I was to see that The Coastal Table is being turned into a magazine. I can’t wait to have quarterly access to new photos and recipes and stories of seafaring, beach walking kindred spirits. I have a feeling it is just going to be one of those gems that comes out of New England and makes us a bit more grateful to live here.

As with all things, The Coastal Table Magazine needs some support. There is, of course, absolutely no pressure at all, but I know some of my readers might be interested in helping this project along and am so sharing the Kickstarter which needs to be partly funded by the end of this month. Whether you can support with a contribution or a Facebook or Twitter share, I know that the creator of these beautiful outlets would appreciate your support and sharing. Thank you in advance for anything you can do to help the beauty of this project flourish!

 

What is your favorite coastal spot?

Tags: coastal living

Another weekend is almost upon us, and many of us will be taking advantage of long, sunshine-filled days with friends and family, beach time, barbecues, and other relaxing summer fun. It’s still summer, after all!

I have some perfect wines to go with your summery fun. The below samples showed up in my office one Monday morning not too long ago. A Monday with a wine mail call is not too bad at all!

Rhône rosés

The following wines were kindly sent to me:

  • M.Chapoutier Côtes du Rhône Belleruche Rosé 2013
  • Domaine Le Murmurium Côtes du Ventoux Rosé 2013
  • Saveur du Temps Costières de Nîmes Rosé 2013
  • Lavau Côtes du Rhône Rosé 2013

All of these are Rhône rosés, known for being more structured and fuller bodied than others, and for their ability to pair with food. As I mentioned above, they also pair really well with sun.

We sampled these wines on the boat and in our back yard, and we truly loved them all.

imageMy favorites, however, were the Saveur du Temps Costières de Nîmes Rosé  and the Lavau.

The Saveur du Temps, a Grenache/Syrah blend  was fun and fruity, shared with friends in the sun while enjoying bits of cheese, meat, veggies, and other snacks. It’s one of those wines you could drink with anyone; it’s fruity enough for those who prefer something sweeter, but it’s still nice and dry.

The Lavau, a blend of Cinsault and Grenache,  has a beautiful rich color and medium body, with dark cherry and ripe strawberry notes, fruits that really show themselves in the wine. But there’s also that dry, mineral characteristic that wines from this region also express. I can tell you it’s just really yummy.

Most importantly, the Lavau is a reminder that there are Rosé wines that are made for year-round enjoyment, with heavier foods like spiced grilled steak, which is what we paired this with. Because these wines have more structure and complexity than your regular beach day Rosé, you could easily be sipping them while wrapped up in your favorite sweater in front of a fire pit outdoors. The thought sounds kind of delightful, doesn’t it?

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All of these wines were provided as samples. All opinions are my own.

Tags: Labor Day weekend, rhone, Rhône rosés, Rhône Valley Wines, rose, summer, Summer wine, wine, wine tasting

I didn’t really stop to reflect on my five (!) year blog anniversary when it passed this June. Life and work are busy, and it is boat season after all! Summer tends to consume most free time; behind a computer is not where anyone wants to be during this season!

It was Friday night when I was looking for a photo of a friend’s dog, a beautiful, soulful animal who won’t be with us much longer, when I dove into my laptop’s photo archive back to 2009 and started reliving the journey in photos.

We bloggers, whipping our cameras and phones out at all possible occasions (um, like the other day while our broken down boat was being towed) can surely be a nuisance to our loved ones who just want to eat dinner, but the recorded life history that results is pretty amazing.

Being able to recall a five year snapshot in photos was a fun journey to see how much I have learned and grown and done. Just for fun, I thought I would share some favorite photos and posts and memories. I would love to hear yours! Feel free to share posts or memories in the comments. And thank you for reading today or yesterday or five years ago.

There was that time I up and quit my publishing job with nothing to fall back on, headed off to California, had pneumonia, and got a new nephew, all within a month. If you ever get the chance, definitely visit Moss Beach Distillery. California is pure magic, I tell you.

Half Moon Bay

There have been many (but not enough) trips to visit family in Ireland, and a very moving trip to Northern Ireland. Belfast and Derry were places that have stayed with me through the years.

Belfast Mural

There have also been three marathons, two Boston Marathons and one New York. Running has, at times, been a defining activity in my life, and while I am out of shape now, those finish lines will always be with me.

Verrazano Bridge, NYC Marathon start

Blogging has brought me many close friends and fun blogger dinners and trips, but one of my favorite years brought three blogger friends’ weddings within a few weeks! Here’s a recap of Megan’s wedding. Each wedding was a different reflection of the amazing couple being celebrated, and it was so sweet to be able to grow so close to them and to be part of their special days.

wedding lights

There is so much more I could share from those five years of photos, but I will leave it at this for now. I laughed and cried over the gains and losses and changes that have taken place. There has been lots of wine and lots of dreaming of places near and far, but mostly it has been about the people and animals who have been blessings in my life. At the risk of sounding trite and cheesy, life is good, and I am one lucky lady!

Tags: bloggers, blogging, life, lifestyle

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