Albuquerque Wine Festival

What are you doing this weekend?  Take your friends out for a night at the 27th Annual New Mexico Wine Festival.   The event will be held this weekend at Camino De Pueblo in Bernalillo.   You can learn more about the event at Abqjournal.

t’s that time of year again to raise your goblet to the last of the warm summer weather and welcome the upcoming fall season with a nice glass or bottle of wine.

27th Annual New Mexico Wine Festival at Bernalillo
WHEN: Noon-7 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 30, Sunday, Aug. 31 and Monday, Sept. 1
WHERE: 243 S. Camino del Pueblo in Bernalillo
TICKETS: $16 online with early entry at 11:30 a.m.; $15 general admission includes wine glass; $40 three-day bonus pass, $5 ages 13-20, must be accompanied by legal age guardian. Visit newmexicowinefestival.com

ENTERTAINMENT SCHEDULE
Saturday, Aug. 30:
11:30 a.m.-noon Los Compadres
Noon-1 p.m. The Keys Band with Briana Perez
1:15-2:15 p.m. Joanie & Combo Special
2:30-3 p.m. Ballet Enfuego
3:15-4:30 p.m. Ziatron
4:45-6 p.m. Ryan Montaño Band

Sunday, Aug. 31:
11:30 a.m.-noon Los Compadres
Noon-1 p.m. Ben Martinez Project with MJ Wilde
1:15-2:15 p.m. Good Green
2:30-3 p.m. Ballet Enfuego
3:15-4:30 p.m. Zoltan Orkistar
4:45-6 p.m. Hillary Smith and the All Star Lineup of Hip Pocket

Monday, Sept. 1
11:30 a.m.-noon Los Compadres
Noon-1 p.m. Goddess of Arno
1:15-2:15 p.m. E. Christina Herr & Wild Frontier
2:30-3 p.m. Ballet Enfuego with Frances Lujan
3:15-4:30 p.m. Cathryn McGill
4:45-6 p.m. Floozy

A number of the best wineries in the state will be participating in the New Mexico Wine Festival at Bernalillo this Labor Day weekend.

Numerous New Mexico wineries will not only offer tastings of their best wines, but also provide information and insight on each wine.

The participating wineries are Acequia Vineyards & Winery, Amaro Winery, Anasazi Fields, Black’s Smuggler, Corrales Winery, D.H. Lescombes, Don Quixote Distillery & Winery, Dos Viejos, Gruet Winery, Jaramillo Vineyards, Las Nueve Niñas, Luna Rossa, Matheson, Ponderosa Valley Vineyards, Skarsgard Farms, St. Clair, The Grove, Tierra Encantada Vineyards & Winery and Wines of the San Juan.

This year’s commemorative poster is “Early Morning Harvest,” an acrylic image by artist Nicholas Montaño. Signed and unsigned versions will be sold at the festival.

A number of food vendors including Bread, Cheese & Grapes, Mr. Powdrell’s BBQ and French Riviera Bakery will offer tasty treats to accompany your favorite wines.

Also, peruse and purchase products from area agricultural vendors or pick up a piece of art from a variety of artists and crafters who specialize in ceramics, glasswork, pottery, metal art, woodwork, paintings, photography, clothing and accessories.

St. Clair is celebrating a milestone this year and will be serving its special wine, La Clairette.

“La Clairette is a commemorative wine we made for our 30th anniversary,” Southwest Wines regional supplier representative Christian Gallagher said. “It’s a blend of ruby Cabernet and Malvasia Bianca. It has some very nice earthiness and a little bit of minerality and some dark berry undertones, primarily blackberry. We want people to try it.”

St. Clair’s sister labels Soleil Mimosa and D.H. Lescombes will be serving up their signature concoctions.

The Soleil Mimosa Classic, Soleil Mimosa Pineapple, Soleil Mimosa Mango and Soleil Mimosa Pomegranate add a different twist to wine tasting.

“It is a high-quality product that speaks for itself,” Gallagher said. “We knew it would be a successful product, but we didn’t realize how successful. We are extremely pleased with the popularity of the mimosas.”

5 Ways to Save Money In Your Home

There are certain areas of your home that can save you money.  You do not need to use a service or hire someone with every problem that comes up in your apartment.  These quick tips will help you save money in the long run.  You will also learn something new in the process.   You can learn more at Apartment Therapy.

No matter how small your paycheck, you can always save money by doing things yourself that you would otherwise pay someone else to do. Below are five skills you should have in your domestic toolbox, ideally when you're just starting out on your own, but it's never too late to learn (and to save).

1. Cooking

Cooking is probably the most effective money-saving domestic skill you can possibly have. My cooking skills have improved a lot since my 20s when I was first living on my own, but even then I was able to (and did) cook for myself. Growing up, I spent a fair amount of time observing and helping my mom in the kitchen and I really believe this is the best way to learn. But I also came of age when the Food Network was taking off and I learned many basic techniques and was inspired to try new ingredients and recipes from watching food tv.

Nowadays, the internet offers so much cooking inspiration and instruction—there's no excuse not to learn.

2. Sewing and mending

Sewing your own clothes is usually not a money saver because clothes are relatively inexpensive these days compared to the price of fabric, but the ability to alter and repair your own clothes can save you plenty of money at the tailor's. (I'd love to know what percentage of people don't have to have new pants hemmed.)

Sewing for your home is where you can really save money though. Making your own pillow cases, placemats, napkins, curtains, etc. as well as gifts for others are places where sewing for yourself can amount to a lot of savings..

3. Gardening

Gardening takes time and patience, but pays you back with "free" food and herbs. Grow what you love to eat and "shop" from your garden before meals. I love snipping a bit of herbs to put in a meal knowing I'm not buying a huge bunch of basil, for example, when I only need a few leaves. Saving money is only one benefit of having your own garden—easy access to fresh, homegrown food when it's in season—may have you eating better, too.

4. Plumbing

Unless you are an experienced plumber you should not attempt big plumbing fixes, but everyone should know some very basic things like how to stop a running toilet, unclog a drain or toilet, fix a drain stopper, turn off a water valve, etc. Year ago someone gave me the book Dare to Repair by Julie Sussman & Stephanie Glakas-Tenet and I turn to it whenever I'm facing a very basic plumbing task.

5. Painting and Wallpapering

If you have more money than time, go ahead and hire someone to paint or wallpaper for you. But you will save a lot of money by learning to do it yourself. Painting is not as easy as buying paint and a slapping it up with a brush - do some research (or ask an experienced friend to help you) to learn the best techniques for both. And don't be intimidated to learn how to wallpaper. It takes patience, but is actually quite easy.

Finally, before you hire - see if you can barter.

You may not acquire all of these domestic skills, but even learning one or two, especially as a young person, will save you a lot over the years. For things you've yet to learn, try bartering with a friend or neighbor. A basket of veggies from your garden for shortening some pants, perhaps.

Easy Ways to Clean a Blender

How do you clean your blender? This is not the easiest appliance to clean.  Scrubbing all of the blades and taking the blender apart could be a giant hassle.  This blog will give you an easier way to clean the dreaded blender. You can learn more at Apartment Therapy.

Every well-run home is teeming with tricks and shortcuts to keep it humming along. We're sharing our best quick tips — for cleaning, organizing and repairing stuff at home — to save you time and money. Click through for today's helpful hint, and links to tons more...


When you're finished with the blender, pour some hot water inside and add a squeeze of liquid dish detergent. Then BLEND WITH SOAPY WATERon high for about 15 seconds. It's that easy! When you think about it, it's your blender's mixing that got the goop stuck in that unreachable place anyway. If you're not getting it all clean, try different blend settings—including whichever you used (ice crush, pulse) for mixing.

Try to Pickle These Fruits and Vegetables

Do you pickle anything in the summer?  You can pickle more than just the occasional cucumber pickle! There are many great fruits and vegetables that are great to pickle and use as a relish or addition to your favorite recipes.   Keep reading to check out the ten fruits and vegetables below!  You can learn more here.

1. Corn: Pickling tames the sweetness of corn and turns it into a great summer relish to serve with grilled meats or fish.

→ Get a recipe: Pickled Corn - Bon Appetit

2. Eggplant: Don't like eggplant because you think it's bland? Use eggplant's spongy texture to your advantage since it'll readily soak up pickling liquid and take on new flavors.

→ Get a recipe: Pickled Eggplant - CHOW

Canned Soy & Wasabi Pickled Green Beans

3. Green Beans: Green beans are some of the easiest vegetables to pickle since you don't even need to cut them up. Use these as a fun garnish for cocktails like bloody Marys.

→ Get a recipe: Canned Soy & Wasabi Pickled Green Beans - Cook. Can. CSA.

4. Okra: Okra pods are hollow and soak up a lot of pickling liquid, turning any unpleasant slime into a thing of the past.

→ Get a recipe: Pickled Okra - Simply Recipes

Quick-Pickled Cherry Peppers

5. Peppers: Pickled peppers add a winning combination of spicy sourness to sandwiches, hot dogs, nachos, or burgers.

→ Get a recipe: Quick-Pickled Cherry Peppers

6. Peaches: This may seem like an unusual fruit to pickle, but juicy pickled peaches go well with pork, ham, or fried chicken.

→ Get a recipe: Pickled Peaches - Saveur

7. Radishes: Pickled radishes are tangy, sweet, crunchy, and have a natural spiciness, plus the skin on red radishes dyes the pickles into a beautiful shade of pink!

→ Get a recipe: Pretty-in-Pink Pickled Radishes

Pickled Sugar Snap Peas

8. Sugar snap peas: These may seem like an unusual thing to pickle, but crunchy, super sweet sugar snap peas take well to garlic and vinegar and make them even more snackable.

→ Get a recipe: Pickled Sugar Snap Peas - Smitten Kitchen

9. Summer squash: Skip zucchini bread — pickling is a healthier way to use up that bumper crop of summer squash.

→ Get a recipe: Pickled Yellow Squash

10. Tomatoes: If you're tired of eating tomatoes raw or turning them into sauce, try pickling and using them as bruschetta topping instead.

→ Get a recipe: Pickled Red Tomatoes - Serious Eats

Make That Twin Bed Feel Like a King

Do you not have enough room in your apartment for a big bed?  Just because you could not buy that King, does not mean you can not feel like you have a giant bed to come home too.  We have some great tips on how to make that small bed feel like it is from a hotel.  Keep reading and check out Apartment Therapy for more information.

Blessed with only enough room for a twin bed? Trying to make a double work for two while you save up for that California king? Buying a bed that's properly in proportion to your space (or your budget) means you're usually left wishing there was a little more room to spread out at night.

Not all of these strategies will work for your life, and some of them only give you extra space visually. But when you're desperate for a few extra inches of sleeping space, it just might help you get through the night.

Go monochromatic with linens.

It's fun to get punchy with patterns, but to visually maximize the size of your bed, stick to an array of solid colors in the same color family; whites with other light colors give the biggest boost.

Be a minimalist with pillows and throws.

Most people sleep with too many pillows beneath their heads at night. Figure out what you really need on the bed, then stash the rest of it in a storage bin. The exception? A neatly folded plush comforter can actually make your bed look bigger.

Grab a headboard (or a big piece of art).

A headboard does more than keep you from losing pillows. It visually frames your bed, making the whole thing look more substantial in both big and small rooms. In lieu of a headboard, a large-scale piece of art (just smaller than the width of your bed) hung above can work in the same way and make the bed a focal point in the room.

Add a bench to the end.

A well-proportioned bench can actually elongate a bed for taller folks or pets who like to sleep at your feet. It's tempting to snag a storage bench for the extra space, but if you've got a small room to start with, a bench with lean legs won't take up more visual real estate.

Kick pets (or kids) out of bed.

My tiny dog manages to take up as much room in our queen bed as either one of his human companions. I'm thinking it might be time to wean him off of sleeping with us so we can reclaim our space.

Save the bed for sleeping.

Stop watching TV or surfing the web in the bedroom. Treat your boudoir as the sanctuary that it is and you might find your small bed seems that much more calm and inviting at the end of a long day.