4746. Go to Captain’s Walk Winery

Driving to Door County, I would see the sign for Captain's Walk Winery and I would see fun events on Facebook at the winery. I wanted to check it out especially since the name sounded so fun. Besides they are always having Groupon specials. What could be more fun than discounted wine tasting?

My Groupon was about to expire and I really wanted to use it. I persuaded my lil' sister to meet me there for some wine tasting since it was her favorite winery. It was hard to turn down a free tasting and free glass of wine.

I've been been to many wineries in various states in various buildings. What I wasn't expecting when I pulled up to Captain's Walk Winery was an old house in the middle of downtown Green Bay. The foyer was had settees and their was a tasting room up the stairs for large groups. Despite not what I was expecting from a winery, it was very classy. I just hoped their was more pirate decor.

We each got to taste 7 wines and/or hard ciders. For just $2 more we could have added any of the wines from the select list. We opted not too. Since I am a big fruit wine drinker, it was hard to find wines that were in my comfort zone as there were no real fruit wines on the list. This definitely was not the hubby's kind of winery who really only drinks fruit wines.

I went with sweeter wines and there were plenty to pick from.

7 Seas -- it was good but not something I probably buy. I would definitely drink it if someone gifted it to me.

Marquette Rose -- LOVED IT. This one would have come home with me if I was actually planning on buying any wine. The hubby won't like this as it's not fruity enough for him but it is definitely one of my favorites.

Gewurztraminer -- I've had various gewurztraimers in the past and they are okay. I can take them or leave them but this one was really good. It had a nice hint of fruit but wan't overly sweet. This is the kind of wine you'd sip on a hot summer day.

Captain's Red -- This is my lil's favorite. It is really good.. not too dry, not too sweet. It reminds me of the Vintners Red from San Sebastian Winery in St. Augustine. It's great to know that I don't have to go to St. Augustine to get one of my favorite (non-blackberry/non-cherry) reds.

Captain's White -- It's good but not one I'd see myself drinking regularly. It is a nice smooth, sweet white that is crisp. Yet I just wasn't all about this white. Maybe I am just spoiled with some of the fruitier whites or my palate isn't just developed enough..

Von Stiehl Naughty Girl -- I'll be honest I sampled this wine solely based on the name. Van Stiehl is the sister winery of Captian's Walk. This wine has a funky after taste. I can't quite place it but I just wasn't a fan.

Titletown Mascato -- It's a nice sparkling wine but I am not much for sparkling wines. I don't care for the added fizz. I guess I am just used to the Barefoot Mascato.

After we sampled our wines, we each had a glass and caught up. This is the best part of any wine tasting, having a glass with your sisters, cousins, friends and catch up on life. I don't do this nearly enough and really need to start to.

This has definitely broke the top 5 of my favorite wineries. I would love to come back with a group of people, order a glass and some appetizers and catch up. This is the part of wineries I need to start doing more of.. the glass and food and catch up.

Go Grocery Shopping... Meet a Packer

My brother texted me earlier in the week and asked if I knew when LeRoy Butler was going to be in Neenah. My reaction was "LeRoy Butler is going in Neenah???" After a few minutes of Googling, I found that he was indeed going to be in Neenah at Pick n Save from 12-2 signing recipe cards. Guess I was going to Pick n Save in Neenah.

After a nice lunch with some friends and a quick stop at Kohls to spend Kohl's cash, I ended up at Pick n Save. I HAD to pick up a few specials they were running anyways. It wasn't like I wasn't going to go to Pick n Save today... I just went to the one in Neenah instead of the one 5 minutes from my house.

I walked into the store, which I think I may have been in once or twice before, and was greeted by a lady asking if I was here to see LeRoy Butler. Duh, of course. She steered me over to the table he had set up with his recipe book and other pictures. She asked if I wanted my picture taken and "made" me to sign a waiver to be able to use my picture on social media. Hello, I won't want my picture taken if I knew there was a chance it was going to be all over social media.

LeRoy was busy talking to a father and two kids when I got in line. He finished up with them, took my picture, signed a few recipe cards, and off I went to pick up my groceries. I would have loved to ask him about his favorite recipes but another lady was already monopolizing his time. The hubby and him would have had a nice chat. LeRoy is just that kind of guy.

I am glad my brother informed me about this.. kind of amused Danielle failed to mention that hey a Packer is going to be at my store. He had to reschedule due to getting stuck in the blizzard (even though The Roy Butler doesn't cancel....). The hubby now has some recipe cards to add to his quite unique collection and I got to meet a very nice Packer. Win-win for us all.

An evening with R.L. Stine

A few months back I saw a teaser about the Green Bay Book Festival "UntitledTown" on Facebook. It said R.L. Stine, Christopher Moore, Roxane Gay, and more were coming to the book festival. I was excited R.L.Stine was coming because I read his Fear Street books in Middle School. I would love hear one of my favorite childhood authors talk.

Since this was a premier event, you needed tickets. As soon as tickets went on sale, I got a pair. Tickets were $30 for VIP and General Admission was free. For $30 you got a closer seat and a guaranteed book signing. I was willing to take my chances with General Admission where you may get an opportunity to get a book signed.. it all depended on how long it took to get through the VIPs since he was only scheduled to sign for 45 minutes.

Heather and I drove up to UW-Green Bay and sat in the back of the Weidner Center. I figured closer to an exit gave us a better chance of getting a book signed since the Weidner Center held 2000 people. It didn't matter where we sat because R.L. Stine was hilarious. I never laughed so hard at an author event.. especially for a horror writer. Apparently he find horror funny which is in part why his books are so good.

R.L. Stine spoke for about 30 minutes and had us laughing from the beginning. He answer some of his most asked questions like "where do you get your ideas?" -- Anywhere... walking the dog is always a good way to get an idea because you never know what snippet of conversation is going to spark an idea. He talked about growing up with a love of a typewriter and how his teachers begged him to stop writing. If that wasn't a deterrent to keep writing he didn't know what was.

After about 30 minutes, Rachel Manek (I think.. it was one of the Good Day Wisconsin people) sat down with R.L. Stine and had an informal Q&A Session. All the questions were submitted before hand and she draw them from a box. If she read a question that he already answer when he was talking he good humorly accused her of not paying attention backstage. It was fun banter between entertainment personalities.

Once the Q&A ended, Heather and I mad a mad dash to the line for book signings. The VIPs all had green bracelets. Even though there was a rope that separated the two lines, it was hard to tell which line was which. The VIP crawled along and finally after a good hour, the last of the VIPs got their books signed. R.L. Stine wanted to sign our books to but the organizers and R.L. Stine was trying to figure out the quickest way of doing this. At first, they said he was going to walk through the line and sign everyone's books. Then he walked out to see the line and scratched that idea. R.L. Stine ended up standing at the beginning of the line and we each could get one book signed and no pictures so they said. I could have had my picture taken if I really wanted I supposed but I was okay standing next to him while he signed my book.

This was probably an unforgettable evening. I never expected R.L. Stine to be so funny or so talented. Would I have paid to get VIP Tickets? Probably not. Even if he didn't sign books past his 45 minute signing window, it would still have been a great evening. Whenever you get to sit in a room and hear a writer, actor, everyday Joe talk and keep the audience in stitches, it is a great night. I am ever grateful to the UntitledTitle Book Festival for being R.L. Stine here and I will keep eye out for more great authors at upcoming book festivals.

Downtown Appleton's Ladies Day

Danielle picked up a FAN Pass to go to the Spring into Style Ladies Day event sponsored by Downtown Appleton. Unfortunately she had to work so Heather and I planned on going... then the blizzard hit. Heather couldn't get out her subdivision so the hubby was a nice hubby and dropped me off at the Paper Valley Hotel so I could at least attend. I was surprised that they didn't cancel but then again this is Wisconsin.

Spring into Style Event started off with a continental breakfast at the Paper Valley while you waited for the fashion show to start sponsored by local businesses. There were a few booths that were sponsoring contests.... fashion trivia, prize pong, photo booths. If I actually had cash on me I might have checked them out. You could also buy a $10 candy bar and win a prize... a lot of the prizes sounded like BOGO at Basil's Pub.. Gee just what I wanted a free drink. The money went to a good cause but it was like a giant fundraising. Not what I was expecting.

The Fashion Show was at least interesting even though the DJ and the emcee were unable to attend due to the snow. The staff of Downtown Appleton did a wonderful job at putting on the fashion show with what models were available.

One part of the fashion show was like Project Runway where local artists/designers designed a garment featuring downtown Appleton. Some were quite wild but all very well done.

This was my favorite. You can't really tell in my picture but the bottom of the gown features Appleton landmarks.

Everyone who attend the fashion show also got a swag bag. I was expecting some really nice swag and was disappointed.

At lot of it was coupons and deals to use at downtown businesses. For someone not interested in fashion, on a tight budget, and really don't need any shoes I really wasn't interested in an extra 20% off from this place or that place. I get they want you to support the local businesses but when none of the local business are my kind of store, it's hard to get excited about a coupon. Maybe if Heather or Danielle were along to browse, I might have checked out some of the stores but in a blizzard, I really didn't feel like trudging alone in the snow by myself. It was nice that most of the sponsoring business accepted the Ladies Day specials all week long because of the blizzard.

However, the swag bag did have some nice lotion, a sweet pair of earrings, a luggage tag, my very own pop socket, and even a nifty coin purse.

Even though there was a blizzard raging outside, I did actually use one of my coupons. I trudged the one block to pick up some cupcakes for dessert. I figured I owned the hubby for taking me in the snow and Tamara's the Cake Guru was having a special Buy One Get One Free. Yes please.

Don't get my wrong, it was a great event sponsored by a great organization but it's not really my kind of thing. I am glad they put on this kind of event to get people out and to support local business. I would love to be able to support local business more if I could. I know Neenah, Menasha, and even my home town, Port Washington, put on similar events and I would hope other communities would think doing a similar event. It's a great way to learn about local business, browse the stores, meet new people, and who knows come home with a great door prize or even pair of shoes that you just HAD to HAVE (or leash for Sparky).

Despite not being my kind of event and there was a raging blizzard, it was a very well put together event that brought many people out -- even in the bad weather. Would I go again? Possibly. I probably would not buy tickets myself but if I ended up with free tickets again I would attend and even make sure I had cash to enjoy some of the booth.. maybe even buy a candy bar. If I do this again, I hope there is better weather so I could browse the stores and maybe find a hidden gem hiding on College Ave that becomes one of my favorite new stores.

6430. Have a lemon bar

A few months back I realized I never had a lemon bar and decided maybe I should try one. Heck, I made an entire batch of lemon curd cookies for Christmas and didn't even have one. I mentioned that I was deprived child and never had a lemon bar on Facebook. People were amazed. 

 Friend A: How are we still finding things like this?!? How have you never had a lemon bar?

 Me: Probably because I was afraid to try them

 Friend B: Well, buy or make yourself some and report back. I love them.

I really didn't see the need to make a whole pan of lemon bars just to try one. What if I didn't like them? What if they are too lemony or tart? Sure I could have shared at work but what if they didn't turn out?? Lemon is tricky in my opinion.

I didn't want to buy a whole container of bars because the hubby won't eat them. I didn't want to buy something I wasn't going to finish all it. 

We were leaving the Official's Banquet tonight and on a table were a couple of lemon bars left (we just had brownies on our table). I figured this was my chance. I swiped a lemon bar off the table and took a bite. 

Honestly... it was very tart and lemony. I won't say that I didn't like it but it left a lot to be desired. It was good but if I had my choice between a lemon bar and a brownie, the brownie will always win.. so will anything with chocolate. I won't wrinkle my nose and pass it over if it's the only thing left. It is definitely not my favorite but it could become a decent last choice. The poor lemon bar is not high on my list of desserts but to each their own. Who knows, maybe there are better lemon bars out there and I just haven't found the right one. 

Maybe one day I'll knock of #6432 Make lemon bars. Shannon keeps giving me this easy and good recipe. But first I think I will try a cronut, a macaroon, and a smoothie. 

Getting Crafty -- Wine Bottle Planters

I picked up a FAN Pass to make a wine bottle planter at the Bergstrom-Mahler glass museum. I saw the event on Facebook and wanted to go but didn't want to spend $15 to make one. Danielle and Gavin joined me.

Technically we "made" a wine bottle planter but it really wasn't worth the $15.


First we picked out our wine bottle which was already cut in half.

Then we sanded the edges to make the smooth and inverted the top of the bottle into the bottom.

Finally we added a piece of screen with a string, some dirt, and planted a couple of seeds.

And then you took it home. Let's see how long I can keep my beans alive....

Basically they gave you a cut wine bottle you filled with some dirt... for $15. I can get a whole lotta potting soil, seeds, and pots for $15. We didn't even get to decorate the bottle. I was hoping to make a fun design on the bottle with glass pieces so it would be some funky planter outside my apartment. Heck, I'd even taken paint or even Sharpies. It really was kind of boring. I get it was a make and take but it was seriously lacking creativity. Next year, I'll let someone else have the FAN pass.

Date Night at the Library -- Gangster Style

Libraries are a great source of entertainment and they don't just have books and movies to check out. They offer countless programs. As you know I am a library groupie and love going to library programs. Because Mother Nature has forgotten that it is April in Wisconsin, what better way to spend a night with the hubby than at the library... well okay for you non-dork people I am sure you can come up with plenty. But for us library groupies and dorks, the library can be a great source of entertainment especially when the topic is gangsters (or torpedoed WWII ships... not sure why the hubby wanted to skip that one).

The Kimberly-Little Chute library had Chad Lewis present a program on Wisconsin's Gangster History. I knew Capone and his friends hid up in the Northwoods... that Oshkosh was used in filming Public Enemies about the Dillingers... that Little Bohemia had something to do with gangster maybe. However, I knew there was probably more to Wisconsin gangster history than just that. The hubby agreed to come along. He thought it might be interesting.

And it was. Chad Lewis gave a very brief overview off Gangster Places and the history of them in Wisconsin. He covered Capone, Dillinger, Baby Face Nelson, and even the Barker-Karpis gang. We learned about bank robbings, getaways, the Valentine Day Massacre (which technically was in Chicago but you needed to know the background before diving into the good stuff), and hideouts.

The gangsters of Chicago loved coming to Wisconsin since prohibition was only a suggestion and it was much cooler in the Northwoods than in Chicago in the summer. They would spend lavishly and if need be kill anyone that was in their way. Chad talked about the places they liked to visit or maybe stopped at because of a car that broke down. He only covered the tip of the gangster iceberg in the 45 minutes he spoke. 

The hubby and I found it fascinating all the places that have a gangster tie and not just Capone's Hide-Out near Corduroy or Little Bohemia. It might be a bank they robbed in Racine or a little corner bar where they stopped for a cold one. What really surprised us is that the some of the current owners could have cared less than a gangster stopped at their bar, store, bank, etc bank in the 1920s. Soon all the remnants of this era will be gone and it won't be nothing more than blurb in a history book, a couple of shelves of library books, and a handful of movies. 

One day I'll like to take a Gangster Road trip and see the spot of Capone's Hideout (it's no longer on public property) and have a drink at Little Bohemia. Chad Lewis has a great book about places that have seen Gangsters in the past. It would be a good travel guide. 

Now I will just sit back and wait for the next library program.. maybe about monsters in Wisconsin or Neenah's community band. And maybe one day the libraries will start recording these events so in case of schedule conflicts (hello, too many good events on the same night), I will still get to learn about whatever I wanted to go see and couldn't. You should go check out the library.. maybe you'll find something interesting to attend.