Fresh & Easy Wine Tasting Twitter Style

Some days ago, I was invited to taste wine from Fresh & Easy via the web. I had three bottles and no one to share them with because the tasting was held during the middle of the week. Had I popped opened all three bottles on my own, it would have been a lovely night for my hubby. Thankfully my friend Janis from Sneak Peek At Me invited me over to her house, to join her and her sisters (Johanna, Joy, and Jihan) to taste the wine.

The Fresh & Easy selection for the evening included:

• Napa Family Vineyards Chardonnay, 2008
• The Vine Yard Late Harvest Riesling, 2008
• Re del Castello Chianti Classico, 2007

The Chardonnay was paired with yummy treats from that Janis picked-up from Fresh & Easy. The Chianti had lots of legs, good tannins, and paired nicely with the genoa salami I brought over. As for the Riesling, it had a crisp clean taste that we enjoyed with fresh grapes and mini cupcakes.

We each had a laptop and joined-in the chat via Taste Live and Twitter along with other bloggers and tweeple. It was fun reading the stream and learning a thing or two about the wine. Everyone seemed to enjoy the evening's delicious selections.

I hope you will get a chance to pick-up a bottle or two from Fresh & Easy this summer. They are priced reasonably from under $10 a bottle. The above mentioned are only three of the 170 wines that they carry. Fresh & Easy selects wines from some of the world's best growing regions such as Spain, Italy, Argentina, New Zealand, and including my home state, California. 

Thank you to Janis and her lovely family for saving me from overindulging. 

Fresh & Easy, you made our evening fun with the three bottles of wine. Thank you!! *Besos*


The above review on this post is unbiased. I have not received monetary compensation to write this review, although I may have received a party favor that may or may not have been part of this review.

Wordless Wednesday ~ Mommy Time

The link to the story behind the book is on my Catalina In LA blog ==> click. Thanks Daisy Fuentes for a copy of your book.

The above review on this post is unbiased. I have not received monetary compensation to write this review, although I may have received a party favor that may or may not havebeen part of this review.

Mexico & Film

What a treat this event was! I won two tickets to see one featured film from the Hola Mexico Film Festival earlier this year. My husband I went and we had an opportunity to snap a picture with the hero of the film we had watched. It was funny, here we were grown adults all giddy to have the opportunity to do this. Yes, we live in LA and we've seen many actors and stars in our time in real life. This was different somehow. The actor was very sweet but we were also impressed with his character portrayal. It's not often my husband and I get out so, it made the evening more unique and special to have been able to listen to the director speak about his this movie too.

The film festival features movies made in Mexico with a Mexican cast and directors. They are far from what I grew watching coming out of Mexico. Hope you will enjoy reading about Hola Mexico Film Festival.

Fresh&Easy and Bigmista

Ummmm!! A couple of months ago I came home from my Miami trip tired and in no mood to cook a grand meal. Fortunately I was greeted with a box of goodies from one of my favorite stores- Fresh & Easy. I love what this company stands for- community green/eco-friendly based stores that offer affordable healthy foods with little to no preservatives.

Fresh&Easy has been featuring Bigmista, a barbeque expert, through store events at many of their locations. One of their event locations is near me and due to take place very soon! Uuuu!! I can't wait!! I want to be able to taste Bigmistas food. Of course I'll be doing some shopping while at Fresh&Easy as usual. *stomach growls*

Want to see if your local Fresh&Easy will be having a Bigmista barbecue event near your area? Then click on Upcoming Fresh&Easy events for more information.

Visiting the OC

A few weeks ago, I took my boys to a trip to Huntington Beach which is in Orange County. Yo se que no es Los Angeles. Either way I posted about that experience on my Catalina In LA blog. I have included other distant travels on that blog as well. It's part of the "much more" category.

We were there to visit the Got Milk tent along with all of the other vendors that were there for the Annual USA Surfing Championships. Nope, we are not surfers and our knowledge of surfing is very limited. We had a great time regardless. There was so much more to see and experience that day.

Click away to Mootopia in Huntington Beach to read more about that day.

Nothing is sweeter than Real honey...

When grocery shopping, most people just grab the items they need without fully reading the product labels. Take for instance honey- did you choose 100% pure honey or imitation honey? Si, hay una diferencia entre pura miel de abeja y imitación de miel. The labels can be a bit confusing because they have the word Honey in them. However, it's important to know the difference.

Imitation honey or honey blends contain added ingredients and are often packaged to look like 100% pure honey.  

Below are some tips to help you spot the fake honey:

• Label terminology - Watch out for products that include the terms honey blend, honey flavored and/or honey syrup- they are NOT 100% pure honey.
• Label ingredient - Honey is a completely natural ingredient. 100% pure honey does not contain any other ingredient. Honey is the only ingredient listed on the label of 100% pure honey.
• Point of purchase - Pure honey in this country is best bought from local and national grocery stores, warehouse or convenience stores and local farmer stands/markets.

For more information about 100% pure honey and the campaign "Pura Miel de Abeja" please visit Miel Pura.org. Thank you National Honey Board for the sweet bottle of the real thing!

*sticky besos*

The above review on this post is unbiased. I have not received monetary compensation to write this review, although I may have received a party favor that may or may not have been part of this review.

Re-Launching of the Que Rica Vida website in Miami

(Logo, courtesy of General Mills)

Last week, May 20, I went on my long awaited trip to Miami, Florida for General Mills' re-launching of their Que Rica Vida website gala event. The lifestyle website features General Mills products, recipes, healthy living tips, coupons, and much more. It is fully en Español targeting the Latino women market.

I'm in the second row, among the amazing Latina bloggers, wearing an orange sweater. 

Yes! I said sweater.

The gala event was attended by more than 100 Latino editors, reporters, and bloggers☺ from across the country.We were treated to an exclusive preview of the re-vamped website. Its many new features include friendlier navigation of its enhanced content, making it easier to explore while providing users with a more interactive experience. Latina consumers will now be able to rate and post their comments about the articles, videos and recipes they find on the site. They will also be able to share their own recipes by uploading it to the site which will become part of the QueRicaVida.com's ample listing of meals.

Latina celebs were lighting up the stage!

Angelica Vale, Dra. Aliza A. Lifshitz-MD,
Adamari Lopez, Karla Martinez, 

and Ursula Mejia-Melgar (Editor in chief, Qué Rica Vida)

 The gala event also included some of General Mills' lovable characters.

Celebrity cook-off alongside the Qué Rica Vida chefs
~hosted by Javier Romero.

After the unveiling, guest were treated to appetizers, drinks, and photo opportunities with the General Mills characters and celebrities. Outside of the reception area, the patio waterway was opened and draped with more goodies to indulge in.  

All in all, the gala was spectacular!!

 

Super Gracias General Mills for inviting me, among the many distinguished guests, to the unveiling of your re-vamped website QuéRicaVida.com!!! It truly was an AMAZING experience!! *besos*

The above review on this post is unbiased. I have not received monetary compensation to write this review, although I may have received a party favor that may or may not have been part of this review.

Fresh&Easy- Summer grilling preview

For the most part of last week, I was away in Miami. My guys were on their own and it was up to them to feed themselves while I was gone. Sadly, my husband was not graced with a flare for cooking [he can only fry an egg]. Afortunadamente, I thought about Fresh&Easy to help me plan meals that would feed my family while in my absence. I bought several of their ready made meals which helped made the week run smoothly. Mis hijos se sentíaron orgullosos while they helped their dad prepare some of the meals.

Cuando yo llegé a casa, I had a wonderful package from Fresh&Easy waiting for me to open. However, as much as I had fun on my trip, I was exhausted and was in no mood to cook for anyone. Lucky for me, my boys were headed off to camp for the weekend with their Boy Scout troop, I had no need to cook until today [Sunday]. I was looking forward to utilizing some of the ingredients that were sent to me.

Fresh&Easy gourmet wheat hamburger buns, organic ketchup, yellow mustard, barbecue sauce, malt vinegar & sea salt kettle chips, soft cranberry oatmeal cookies with walnuts, and a bottle of pinot gris. Each product is just under $3 each with the exception of the bottle of wine which is just under $7. They also sent me a gift card, which was just enough to purchase some ground chicken, salad mix, and fresh fruit to compliment our dinner.

It was a perfect meal to end a very long week. With Fresh&Easy, I know I can trust that their own-brand products are made with no artificial colors or flavors, added trans fats and they only use preservatives when necessary.

I was grateful to have something easy to prepare that was healthy, appetizing, and satisfying for my family. 

We enjoyed our meal as we exchanged stories about the last few days. My boys had fun helping out their dad with preparing their meals while I was away, and they had a blast at camp. However, my husband and boys told me that there is nothing better than a home cooked meal made by me. *blushes* My guys are super sweet.

Thank you Fresh&Easy, for making our Sunday deliciously perfect!

You can contact me for more information about any of the products mentioned on this post.

The above review on this post is unbiased. I have not received monetary compensation to write this review, although I may have received a party favor that may or may not have been part of this review.

Update for Fresh & Easy ~ Eat Well

Just wanted to share with you that Fresh & Easy linked my blog post from their blog. How cool is that??!!! They were warm and inviting and I especially loved the tour they gave us after the tasting. It was a perfect end to a delicious evening. Just in case you are wondering....Yes I have been eating quite a bit of their Eat Well products since the launching. Yummm!!

Toma leche at Point De Vue

Last week I was invited to a Got Milk? ~ Toma Leche event at Point De Vue salon in West Hollywood. I love these events because it gives me an opportunity to meet other lovely bloggers in person. While at the event, we learned about the benefits of milk and its many uses: fabaluso milk baths, yummy milkshakes, milk cleanser, y mucho más.

When I first arrived at Point De Vue salon I was informed that my amiga Liz was having her eyebrows waxed. Then, I was invited to be next. *looking horrified* "Qué, qué??!!"  For many years, I have come across numerous beauticians and friends who have asked me if I would like to have my eyebrows waxed. Often it would be followed by, "You have such pretty eyebrows. All you need is a little cleaning." Feeling a little brave due to the adrenal shock, I quietly murmured, "okay."

Janis did a great job in helping me to relax. I was worried she would get a little carried away, but she didn't. She kept talking to me which helped me to relax a bit. My other fear was the pain, of which there was nearly none. Janis is definitely a professional! Thank goodness my first time was with her.

One of the main attractions to the salon is the Hair Bootcamp sessions with renowned hair guru and the salon's owner- Muriel Mastey. It's two hours of instruction in blowing drying your hair and learning how to optimize the results. We had a mini version of the course! Wow!! I was definitely not holding the hair dryer properly nor was I using the roll brush correctly. Geeze! Ladies, this guy is the MAN. He was so patient with me and really knew hair. (Sorry, I forgot your name.)

Some of the bloggers had a mini head massage too. There were milk lattes and tempting sweets at the bar of the salon's outdoor patio.

Point De Vue salon owner Muriel Matsey & Tatum Wan, 
{with Got Milk?}. 
Three lucky winners received a gift certificate for a return trip.

Caryn, Janis, Sandrini, Liz, Moi, & Marcela. 

We girls had a GREAT time!! Thanks Got Milk? ~ Toma Leche and Point De Vue salon for making our day so beau ti ful!!!


The above review on this post is unbiased. I have not received monetary compensation to write this review, although I may have received a party favor that was not part of this review.

Fresh & Easy

"Mom, someone is at the door!" *rolls eyes* My boys were sitting just a few feet away from the front door when the UPS man came with a delivery. "See who it is, please!" I was in the kitchen cleaning. "Mommmm, the door!" Oh my goodness! As you may recall, my boys are not little children; they are teenagers. "I'm busy!! Who's at the door!!???" I thought it was a solicitor of some sorts.

Jacob, my youngest came running to me to inform it was the UPS delivery man. "Uuuuuu!" He had two boxes for me from Fresh & Easy. Now this caught the attention of my guys. Immediately they wanted me to rip open the boxes to see what was inside. {They love surprises.}

As I was carefully opening box one, my boys were squirming with delight. {Remember, my guys Are teenagers.} When that box was finally opened, their eyes went wide followed by hmmmm sounds.

Fresh & Easy Snickerdoodle Cookies, Sweet Boutique Gourmet Swiss Truffles, and a tempestuous Fresh & Easy One Huge Hunk Chocolate Bar with Pecans & Fruit

Box two was met with equal anticipation by my boys. I was especially excited because I knew what would follow those yummy treats found in box one.

Montcadi Cava Rose {Rose Sparkling Wine} and McGuigan Hand Made Barossa Shiraz

"Awww, it's for you mom." I must say, I love Shiraz! Fresh & Easy caries over 170 wines, mostly all under $10. Wow!! My hubby and I are planning to enjoy the Shiraz with our friends during the Super Bowl game. The Montcadi Cava Rose will be savored over a romantic Valentine's dinner.

 

As for the goodies....I put a pot of water to boil for tea. Noooooo, we are not English, we are just a little fanatic over loose leaf tea. What better way to enjoy Fresh & Easy Snickerdoodle Cookies and chocolates. I know, I know...we are not your typical familia...And yesss, I have teenage boys.

Joshua and Jacob gobbling up the Fresh & Easy goodies over tea.

For more information on any of these yummy products from Fresh & Easy, please e-mail me. They are the perfect accompaniment to any and all of the upcoming celebrations and events: Super Bowl game, Valentine's Day and, Chinese New Year.

Thanks Fresh & Easy for the treats and, for making our day so sweet!