Simple Living

Wow.  This is a delicious wine.  Popped open a bottle and immediately was greeted with a nice nose and then the first sip was sweet and smooth.  A slight dry mouthfeel afterwards, but otherwise a good full bodied wine. For $13 at TJ’s this is a decent deal.  It is on the sweeter side so I would limit this to a rotation vs a regular drink.  It’s similar to a Meiomi Pinot or Cab, but without the syrupy coating texture.  This is actually a better deal than a Meiomi. I can see this pairing nicely with a pork dish. Update - 6/24/23 - can’t find it anymore I can’t find it at TJ’s so I’ll keep searching when they restock.  If not I’ll try search for another recommendation in the  Campi Rudi Appassimento Rosso Puglia IGT Passito.

It’s so easy to forget all your paid memberships and subscriptions.  I have the following: Groceries - $110 Costco - $60/yr Sams Club - $50/yr Streaming - $108 Amazon Prime - $139/yr - Cancelled 2023 Netflix - $108/yr Disney+ $120/yr -  Cancelled 2024 Utility/Maintenance - $400 Blink Camera - $30/yr Anti-Virus - $70/yr Car Wash - $300/yr Events - $110 Gym - $360/yr - Cancelled 2023 Museum - $165/yr - Cancelled 2023 Garden - $110/yr Total Membership Cost per year =  $728 Update 2023 - Cancel Amazon Prime These all add up to several hundred dollars a year and I decided to quit Amazon Prime.  The only reason I got it was for free shipping, but I can just bundle my orders to get it anyway.   Update 2023 - Keeping Costco & Sams I shop infrequently at Costco & Sams Club, but find I make it worth it by getting gas from their cheaper gas stations.   Update 2023 - Keeping Car Washes My most expensive membership is actually worth it as well for the unlimited free car washes for $240/y

Double pour the same Vertuo pod.  It’s a nice way to get a better tasting cup of Joe.  I always wondered and this confirms that you can create your own version of an ‘Americano’ by first pouring a regular Espresso or Double Espresso pod then a second pour through that used pod yields mostly water to soften the harshness of the first pour.

Here I thought Trader Joe’s only sold 2 Buck Chuck (now $3.99) when they have so much more on their private label brands. There are several tiers from Reserve Grand Reserve Platinum Diamond Diamond seems to be seasonal so I haven’t tried one yet, but I’ve enjoyed multiples of the other tiers in both Pinot and Cabernet’s. The crazy thing is always the low prices.  Reserve and Grand Reserve were $10 or less.  Platinum was $13. The Platinum Pinot was good.  The Reserve Cabernet 2020 was excellent.  I was not impressed with the Grand Reserve so it’s hit-or-miss regardless of tier label.