Tuesday, May 28, 2013

Weekend Shenanigans - Touring Missouri Wine Country

Sami's Shenanigans

What a gorgeous weekend in Missouri!  Is it ok that I started my Shenanigans on Thursday?
LJE and I have been together for almost 10 years, and on Thursday night we FINALLY had actual pictures taken (not snapshots on a waterproof camera, etc.)  We were SOOO lucky to be photographed by the wonderfully talented Jessica Santo from www.pouphotography.com.....

 

Peace of You Photography is located in Kansas City, Missouri.  Jessica is another of my talented daughters.  She is currently cooking (that's what Reese says) our 8th grand-baby...


Isn't she just darling?  (Lucy Wynn - expected to arrive Mid July)

Friday night Jay and I took off on the Harley for a weekend of Wine in picturesque Hermann, MO....



You know what they say, if you don't like the weather in Missouri, wait a few hours.  So of course, this happened....


We were very thankful to see this abandoned gas station - we dried off and got back on the road. 


We finally reached our destination.  We stayed at the lovely Patty Kerr's Cottage.  www.pattykerr.com ($125 a night and includes an AMAZING breakfast delivered to your door at 8:45 am)....



Then we relaxed at The Bank.  (Is this not the most beautiful Rumchata Martini you have ever seen?)


Later that afternoon, I found this beautiful rosebush.  I tried my photography skills - what do you think? LJE picked a rose for me, saying "Lisa, will you accept this rose?"  He did.  He really did.  He will deny it. But it's true.



Now on to the winery tour - we traveled by trolley....





First stop, Stone Hill Winery.....


My favorite wine at Stone Hill - Vignoles..... 

Next stop, Adam Puchta Winery (one of my favorites).  This is LJE enjoying his weekend, deep in thought...



My favorite wine at Adam Puchta Winery is The Cat's Meow (as seen in the picture).


Moving on....we landed at Oak Glenn Winery.  This was our TOP PICK.  It is a beautiful winery overlooking the Missouri River.  We stayed the rest of the day....



My favorite wine at Oak Glenn was Moonbeam Melody.  It had a wonderful Pineapple Bouquet (yes, I am such a wine snob).  If I win the lottery, I will have a case delivered to all my followers.




As I browsed a gift shop at one of the wineries, I came across a coffee-table book entitled "Wines of Missouri".  There inside the pages was a picture of my favorite Vintner, a very young Kraig Keeseman working at Pirtle Winery in Weston, MO.  Kraig now owns Windy Wine Company - as you all know - my favorite winery of all time.  (www.windywine.com)

Heading home on Monday was not as fun as we would have liked.  Imagine my surprise when Jay pulled off the highway right into the Les Bourgeois parking lot in Rocheport, Missouri.  How lucky am I?  The best wine there - Jacquesse Kikn Berry.  Yumm-o. (Yes I had one sample.  But I was not driving the Harley so this is A-ok)



After a brief rainstorm, we got back on the road and ended up at a fireworks/gas station (yes, im Missouri it is not uncommon to find gas stations that also sell fireworks.  I never thought this was a bad combination until I typed it..now I am questioning the brains behind this combo)...



Not nearly as romantic, and they didn't sell wine - but at least we had company!

I met a biker at this stop, his name is Chuck and he and his buddies were returning from their Memorial Ride to the Wall (memorialride.com).  I thanked him for his service to our country.  God placed the the perfect person in front of me in a rainstorm.  We all need to keep things in perspective.

Have a Wine-derful week!

(We do not drink and drive the bike.  All wine and other beverages were consumed while walking or on the trolley. <3 <3)
















Monday, May 20, 2013

My Very First Freebie - Win a Free Copy of Les Miserables!

Follow my blog with Bloglovin - I guess you need to do this too.

Well, my daughter (Jen over at Thatiswhatsheread.blogspot.com) is MUCH TOO BUSY redecorating her life to help me figure out why I only have three followers...so I am going to try and help myself (as usual) <Insert Feel-Sorry-For-Mom Vibe here>.

Last year, my favorite movie was Les Miserables.  So I am going to share this little gem with one lucky follower.  (Not Eddie, just a new DVD)



Yes, I know this may not be the "official trailer", but the thumbnail has that cute little Eddie Redmayne and I just couldn't help myself.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Take THAT Jenni Ferdanley!!

 I hope this works - please feel free to comment helpful hints and well wishes - my goal is to get 10 followers!!!

PS - yes I see there is a wierd Rafflecopter comment right beside little Eddie.  I don't know how to get rid of it.

Thanks for helping!!

 

MUD - "Masterful. A major performance from McConaughey, Oscar worthy on every level." - Hitflix

I almost missed this one - don't ask me why.  I am glad I changed my mind.    Let me introduce you to MUD:


Matthew McConaughey may have just turned in the performance of his career.  Even a chain-smokin, chipped tooth,  filthy Matthew McConaughey is beautiful to look at, but it's his acting chops you will love with this one.



MUD takes place along the banks of a river in Arkansas.  As you know from previous blogs, I am a river kid.  So this movie hit pretty close to home.  It's a cross between Stand By Me and Winter's Bone. 

I kept thinking being a kid and the choices they have.  Kids can't choose where they live, HOW they live, kid's can't choose their parents; things like like.  But kids do make choices about who they believe in.  Sometimes those choices end up costing them their lives.



McConaughey plays his character with perfection.  Witherspoon is so believable as the victim in this story that even I got pissed during the bar scene.

The person I hope doesn't get overlooked is Tye Sheridan who plays Ellis.  Just a fantastic actor.



I read online this week - "MUD could be this years ARGO".  Let's hope so. 

Trust me on this one - go see the movie - you won't be disapppointed.


Sunday, May 19, 2013

Turbine - 2011 - available @ Amazon & Netflix

As I sat down this morning to review "Mud"(Matthew McConaughey/Reese Witherspoon/Tye Sheridan), my mind kept wandering. It took me a few minutes, but I finally realized why. My affection for this movie stems from my passion for another little movie about life near another little river....and that movie is TURBINE.



There are many reasons I love Turbine. The main reason is this one:



I have known Mike Burg forever. We went to High School together - he now lives in New York City, I am still in Missouri. I live vicariously through him and his acting life; he comes to me for 'news from home'. It's a great relationship. Mike plays Darius Clemens Jr. in Turbine...
 

Turbine was shot in the countryside of Rock Port, Missouri where Mike and I grew up. The film tells the story of a New York couple - played by the gorgeous actors Isaak James and Anne Marie Nestor - and their move to the Midwest. Nick heads to rural America for a career in the wind turbine industry, Anne Marie goes along hoping to make a fresh start and start a family outside the confines of a big city. It doesn't take long for a wealthy local farmer (played with perfection by Burg) to become intriqued with the young couple.... it's a story of lust & deception & trying to outrun the demons in one's soul.

Here are the other reasons I love Turbine.


~ I am personally invested. You saw me in the trailer, handing Nick a ball cap. Mike blessed me beyond measure when he asked me to help scout locations for the movie. The cherry on top was a small role in the movie. It is one of the highlights of my life.

~ Nick and Sarah's cabin is actually a little shack along the banks of the Missouri River that Jay and I took care of and spent many, many weekends. It is (was) one of my favorite places in the world. The filming took place in the Spring of 2011. That summer, the Missouri River flooded and destroyed the cabin (not completely - but damn close). It will never be the same. I will forever be indebted to Turbine for capturing on film this magical little place.

~ I met some wonderful people, such as this beauty, Miss Eva James, who co-produced this movie. I really, really like her. I really do.





~Lastly, Rick DeBuhr, who plays the trucker in the movie, was killed in a motorcycle accident a few months after the movie premiered. While I have also known Rick my whole life, I didn't know him on a very personal level. But my heart tells me that being in this movie was also a highlight for him.

You can rent Turbine on Netflix or purchase it from Amazon.  You will especially enjoy the movie if you are from the midwest - the scenery and backdrop are brutally honest.

I promise to get around and review MUD in the next couple of days....but I wanted to share this little gem, since somehow I hadn't thought to until today.

Cheers!

Follow me on twitter @take2review

 

 













Thursday, May 9, 2013

The GREAT Gatsby

Just like every literature geek, I read The Great Gatsby in High School.  The only thing I really remember about the book is how easily someone had created a life of untruths - and yet how exciting that prospect was.   That was 1922 - long before the internet.  Now pretending to be something other than your truth is as easy as a click and photo-shop.

In anticipation of the movie, I listened to The Great Gatsby Audiobook.  All the characters, all the wonderful lines from Fitzgeralds book were fresh in my mind.   I was not disappointed.



I loved The Great Gatsby - it was BEAUTIFULLY done.  (Although, I didn't think 3D was necessary).  The people;  the makeup; the clothing and the GORGEOUS Tiffany jewels which hung from every perfect neck and adorned every slender finger - would make any girl jealous.

The sets - the locations - Baz Luhrman did a wonderful tribute to the novel. I want to fly to Australia and take a Great Gatsby tour - anyone care to join me?

This film adaptation started a little slow for me - I was already writing my disappointing review, when Gatsby turned his face towards me (I mean the camera) that first time.  I felt as though I was standing on the dock with him and my life was forever changed.  The screen got brighter - everything came to life.  Leonardo De Caprio nailed it.  And he never once wavered. Carey Mulligan as the adored Daisy was spot-on. 

When I heard who was producing the soundtrack, I was hesitant. I am not a Jay-Z fan - and who is Lana Del Ray? I was being a fool - the soundtrack is one of the best I have heard in a long time.  I LOVED IT.  One of the things my daughter (thatiswhatsheread.blogspot.com) loved was how completely still and shadowed everything seemed to be when the focus was on Gatsby & Daisy and their love for each other.  The music would fade, the colors seemed to mute - it was just a wonderful effect - you truly got lost in the moment.


The most romantic lines from the book - brought brilliantly to life on the screen were these:

"He could climb to it if he climbed alone....his heart beat faster and faster as Daisy's white face came up to his own.  He knew that when he kissed this girl,  his mind would never romp again...so he waited...then he kissed her...at his lips touch she blossomed for him like a flower and the incarnation was complete."

"He talked a lot about the past and I gathered that he wanted to recover something - some idea of himself that had gone into loving Daisy - his life had been confused and disordered since then but if he could once return to a certain starting place and go over it all slowly he could find out what that thing was."

This movie was beautiful, is was authentic, and it will not disappoint.  And I recommend buying the soundtrack too.


Follow me on twitter @take2review





Thursday, May 2, 2013

Disconnect - A Relevant Movie - A High Recommendation
















Studying this definition, a thought occurred to me;  To disconnect implies we are already connected to something or someone in the first place. I understand this definition is literal - we really are connected to the telephone, to the computer, to the headset.  The problem with the"cyber world" we all live in is that we are NOT connected to those we encounter on the other "side". We may hope we are - we may truly believe with all our hearts that we are.  But the sad truth is, there are many, many lonely people - adults and children alike, who are making life and death choices with every click; without really knowing who is on the receiving end.  The families who love and care about them may never know this loneliness until it is too late.

 

Disconnect is a movie I couldn't wait to see.  The trailer had just enough Creep Factor to intrigue me; just enough of a Soundtrack  to send me running for the first tickets I found on Groupon.  The summary is this:  
  •  A hotshot attorney, played by the gorgeous Jason Bateman, is a Dad we have all come to love and hate at the same time - so busy trying to support his family that he tends to forget he even has one.  He and his wife are raising a daughter who dines at the cool kids table, and a son  who is seemingly invisible to everyone else.
  • A young couple working their way through a tragedy who find themselves turning to people they meet online instead of turning to each other.
  • A widowed ex-cop trying to raise a mischievous son, while trying to be his friend.
  • And a sexy young journalist chasing a story that will make or break her career - finds herself  way too entangled with the young runaway she befriends.
The film is written in the style of 2004's Crash; all the characters are strangers until their stories collide in a "hold your breath" ending.

My heart broke for Ben Boyd (played skillfully by Jonah Bobo). I had watched the trailer over and over again - and based on this characters appearance in the trailer - thought I had him all figured out.  Sounds about right in today's world, doesn't it?  We are so quick to judge children by the protective garb they wear on the outside without getting to know their heart.  Their souls.

At the end of the movie, I thought more about connecting, than disconnecting.  A thought provoking movie for sure - one I recommend to every parent - every brother, every sister, every friend.