Who Wants Pictures? We Got ‘Em!
Sunday, August 27th, 2006Looking at the calendar today, I noticed I’d be home something like eleven days in the month of September. So, I thought I’d better throw a couple pictures up on the blog in case you thought we’d disappeared… again.
We have a wine weekend with “the girls†from Chicago (actual biological girls, that is) over Labor Day. Then I’m on a business trip to St. Louis, then to Rockford to visit the family. Then we’re meeting up with “the other girls†(Howard, Ron and Larry) to spend a long weekend at our friend’s (Mark & Keith) beautiful new condo in Palm Springs and then driving to Santa Barbara to do a wine tasting trip in Southern Cali, for once. We rented a Hummer, so fear not; we’ll be traveling in L.A.-approved style while we’re there.
Anyway, on to the pictures. One of the many wine clubs we belong to is at Kendall-Jackson. Our very dear friend Carolyn works there, so no surprise we spend a significant portion of our disposable income at KJ. The annual BBQ for wine club members was this past weekend at their beautiful KJ Wine Center. We drove up with our dear friend, Kiki, the other half of the infamous Faux Dates. She drove, bless her heart, so we could drink until our livers seized up.
We showed up really early, so naturally Carolyn put us to work. Here we are setting up the welcome table to check people in. Connie, who runs the 1-800 line is back there unloading about a million wine glasses. Diane, who runs the wine club, looks super cute in that hat, huh? Their boss, Carolyn, might look innocent with that magic wand, but trust me, be afraid, very afraid (just kidding - we love her).
The theme this year was Mardi Gras, so we had to make sure the statues were appropriately attired.
Kiki made sure she, along with all the guests, were appropriately attired as well.
KJ made sure we were very well fed, naturally. For starters, we had appetizers in the garden. No Cajun-styled event is complete without oysters.
Did I say Cajun? Bring on the gator baby! Our friend Greg was dishing up spicy gator-dippin’ sauce and, surprise, wine! Not sure what’s up with my tongue…
Our friendly KJ crew made sure our wine glasses never went empty. On the left is one of the wine educators, Dale, a very nice and fun person. On the right is Robin, the hospitality events coordinator, another total sweetheart. In the center was the very funny comedienne who was from Mobile, Alabama. Her name is Belle Cadeaux and she was the assistant master of ceremonies (Carolyn, naturally, was the primary MC). Did you know Madi Gras actually originated in Mobile, not New Orleans? These, and other interesting facts, can be found at her website (www.bellecadeaux.com).
Dinner was absolutely great. They have an amazing culinary team at KJ. Jason, the executive chef, is the guy with the microphone.
Roger, who doesn’t appear in any of the pictures from yesterday, did have some fun at the table during dinner. His budding career as a commercial product placement photographer seems to be going well.