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One crowded hour of glorious life is worth an age without a name. ~ Sir Walter Scott

In one hour you really can have it all. You can feel your spirit lift out of the doldrums of a day at work, clear your mind of thoughts that are veering to the dark side and tone your abs. Sound too good to be true? It’s not. And here’s why we can say that with certainty.

I (Julie) had just finished a killer couple of days working, on the heels of throwing a big birthday bash for my husband, which was on the heels of yada yada yada. In other words, my life is just like yours, going from one thing to the next, barely stopping to heed nature’s call to the ladies’ room.

But something funny happened a few minutes into the twice-weekly workout my husband and I have with our personal trainer. My spirit felt calm and connected and the stress of the last few days was released into the wind that blew on the hill top overlooking the lake where we jog and squat in front of those out for a stroll.

As I lunged across the grass I thought of all of you—our virtual girlfriends—and wished the same sense of calmness, clearing of the mind and killer abs (still waiting for mine) for each of you. So in the spirit of girlfriendliness, here is our recipe for combining all the benefits of Drink Wine and Giggle (mind, body, soul and funny bone) through a One-Hour Restoration. As with all our activities, it is best enjoyed in the presence of girlfriends for the moral support and the added element of joy that naturally comes when girlfriends get together.

One-Hour Restoration steps:

1. Gather your girlfriends together in an outdoor location and dress according to the activity you will be doing (see our next post for ideas on locations and activities).
2. Before starting your activity take 5 minutes to breathe in the fresh air and brush off the busyness of the day, week or month you’ve had. Feel free to sing “Kumbaya”, meditate or have a group hug. Notice how you instantly feel better. (Soul part)
3. Once everyone is feeling that they are present and not worrying about what they’re going to make for dinner, spend the next 45 minutes doing the physical activity you’ve chosen. For that 45 minutes focus only on that activity and don’t let your mind start telling you you’re too tired, too hot or too out of shape. Get moving and keep moving and don’t think about it. You’ll be glad you did when the time is up. (Mind & Body part)
4. When you’ve completed your activity, your next 10 minutes are for savoring the sense of accomplishment with your girlfriends. Shamelessly boasting about your success is highly encouraged. Acknowledge the girlfriend who did the best, the one that improved the most and everyone in between. (Funny Bone part – because we know you’ll laugh)

Spreading a red and white gingham tablecloth on the ground and serving up a crisp chardonnay along with a few nibbles of cheese and fruit would be the Drink Wine and Giggle way of bringing closure to your One-Hour Restoration. Make this activity a regular habit and you’ll be very glad you did.

We’d love to hear about your One-Hour Restoration so please leave us a comment.<form method="post" action="http://drinkwineandgiggle.com/" ><input type="hidden" name="ip" value="208.64.133.252" />

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Friend-cessorize is when you accessorize with the help of your girlfriends. At Drink Wine and Giggle, we know that adding girlfriends to almost anything we do will boost our confidence and inspire us to step out of our comfort zone to try something new. When you ‘friend-cessorize’, you give your girlfriends a new perspective on fashion accessories and encourage her to try something different to finish off her look.

Here are ten ways to ‘friend-cessorize’ the next time you are together with your friends:

1. Bring two or three fashion accessories to swap with your girlfriends—scarves, belts, chunky necklace or bracelet, beaded belts are great examples.
2. Visit a cosmetic counter and ask to have your make-up done. If you have a make-up expert in your group, you could ask her to a demonstration while the rest of you copy her.
3. Try a different shade of lipstick or lip gloss.
4. Buy something for your hair—a headband, a clip, or even a flower.
5. Try false eyelashes. They’re back and they’re beautiful.
6. Buy a pair of earrings for your girlfriend—something that you’d like to see her wear that she might not have picked out for herself.
7. Wear a color nail polish that you would not normally wear. Let your friends pick the color out for you. See our last post for some fun ideas with nail polish!
8. Swap a purse or clutch with a girlfriend.
9. Wear a funky hat—or any hat—either one you’ve had or borrow one from a girlfriend.
10. Girlfriend choice. Everyone comes with their favorite accessory to share or simply share a tip on the latest fashion accessory trends.

Do one or all of these to change up your fashion accessories and enjoy the experience of trying something new. Listen to your girlfriends with an open mind and friend-cessorize often. You’ll be amazed how your clothes closet will seem to expand when you do!<form method="post" action="http://drinkwineandgiggle.com/" ><input type="hidden" name="ip" value="208.64.133.252" />

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Friend-cessorize is when you accessorize with the help of your girlfriends. At Drink Wine and Giggle, we know that adding girlfriends to almost anything we do will boost our confidence and inspire us to step out of our comfort zone to try something new. When you ‘friend-cessorize’, you give your girlfriends a new perspective on fashion accessories and encourage her to try something different to finish off her look.

Here are ten ways to ‘friend-cessorize’ the next time you are together with your friends:

1. Bring two or three fashion accessories to swap with your girlfriends—scarves, belts, chunky necklace or bracelet, beaded belts are great examples.
2. Visit a cosmetic counter and ask to have your make-up done. If you have a make-up expert in your group, you could ask her to a demonstration while the rest of you copy her.
3. Try a different shade of lipstick or lip gloss.
4. Buy something for your hair—a headband, a clip, or even a flower.
5. Try false eyelashes. They’re back and they’re beautiful.
6. Buy a pair of earrings for your girlfriend—something that you’d like to see her wear that she might not have picked out for herself.
7. Wear a color nail polish that you would not normally wear. Let your friends pick the color out for you. See our last post for some fun ideas with nail polish!
8. Swap a purse or clutch with a girlfriend.
9. Wear a funky hat—or any hat—either one you’ve had or borrow one from a girlfriend.
10. Girlfriend choice. Everyone comes with their favorite accessory to share or simply share a tip on the latest fashion accessory trends.

Do one or all of these to change up your fashion accessories and enjoy the experience of trying something new. Listen to your girlfriends with an open mind and friend-cessorize often. You’ll be amazed how your clothes closet will seem to expand when you do!<form method="post" action="http://drinkwineandgiggle.com/" ><input type="hidden" name="ip" value="208.64.133.252" />

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Did you know that nail polish is considered a fashion accessory? Right up there with lipstick, nail polish is finally getting the recognition it deserves for polishing off a look. Coming off Fashion Week in New York, we thought we’d focus on accessories. First up is nail polish.

Last year, department stores reported a 67% increase in nail polish sales (perhaps due to the economic downturn and nail polish’s ability to upturn the mood at a reasonable cost). Last week, nail polish was a part of New York’s Fashion Week as Chanel announced three new nail colors— Délicatesse, Provocation and Infidèle. Nail polish even got some attention during the Democratic convention earlier this month; after much discussion about Michelle Obama’s dress and some discussion about her message, there was talk about the chic grey/lilac shade of polish that the first lady wore, later identified as “Vogue” by Artistic Nail Design.

Latest fall colors by Chanel!

Nail polish finishes off your look by either adding an accent color, taking a more dramatic role as the focal point or simply adding a finished, clean look to your ensemble. There has never been so much diversity in nail polish colors and with nail polish easily accessible and affordable, everyone can benefit from a fresh coat and new look.

Polish-it-Off Party is a get-together where you and girlfriends put the spotlight on your hands. Enjoy a manicure with your friends and accessorize with a gorgeous new color in nail polish, with a twist.…

First, purchase two new bottles of nail polish. One bottle will be for you and the second bottle will be for one of your girlfriends, so it’s best to decide in advance whom each girlfriend will buy for. The criteria for choosing the color are based on three factors:

1. The color has to be gorgeous;
2. It has to be a color you’ve never worn before (and we hope it is dramatically different than the color you usually wear);
3. The name of the polish (who thinks up these names?) has to remind you of the person you are buying for. The name of the nail polish you pick for yourself should relate to you or your personality and the name of the polish you pick for your girlfriend should reflect her personality in some way.

Then, gather your manicure set, hand moisturizers and your new bottles of nail polish and head to your girlfriend get-together. Does someone in your group have a paraffin wax bath? If so, bring it along for a special spa treatment for softer hands.

Once you’re all together, discreetly put the nail polish that you bought for yourself in the center of the table without revealing your color. These bottles will be the second part of this activity (to be explained later).

To reveal the nail polish you bought for your girlfriend, go around the room and present the color you chose for each girlfriend, talking about the name and the color and why you made that choice. Any surprises?

Now it’s time to focus on the nail colors you bought for yourselves. With the colors on the table, see if you can match the colors that you each bought for yourself with the girlfriend that bought it. Do you see yourself as others see you? Were there any surprises?

Finally, chose either the nail polish that your friend picked for you or one that you bought for youself, promising to wear the other one soon. If you’re lucky enough to have a nail technician in your group or someone who wants to volunteer to be the nail technician then you can relax and allow her to manicure your nails. If not, then pour yourself a glass of wine and take your time as you give yourself a manicure while you enjoy the company of your friends.

If you want to know our results, here are the names we wore home:

Deb – Plugged in Plum. Purply-red from OPI’s Bright Collection that shimmers with purple and blue specks in the sunlight and simmers with sultry shadows at night.

Julie – Tickle My France-y. A brownish pink color that goes with virtually everything in Julie’s closet for a très chic, “I’m ready for the Champs-Elysées” look.

Lynne – Feisty Fuchsia. By Forever 21, this color is bright, sophisticated and oh so hot!

So polish off your outfit by wearing a fabulous new nail color that is totally YOU (even by the name) and if there’s any wine left in the bottle, polish that off too!<form method="post" action="http://drinkwineandgiggle.com/" ><input type="hidden" name="ip" value="208.64.133.252" />

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“You can speak well if your tongue can deliver the message of your heart.” ~John Ford

We could probably stop with John Ford’s advice—connecting with your heart is the best advice to give a novice public speaker—but we have another seven of our top tips to share as you prepare for Girls Speak Out as described in our previous post…

1. Build your speech around a great foundational phrase – the starting and ending point for any great speech is the foundational phrase. What was Martin Luther King’s foundational phrase? “I Have a Dream” is one of the most famous foundational phrases in the history of public speaking. “Trust is a Must” is the phrase that won Ryan Avery the 2012 World Championship of Public Speaking. Make it ten words or less, make it rhythmic if you can, and make it catchy.

2. Tell a story. People love stories—it must be in our DNA. Share a story with your audience and act it out as best you can with lots of dramatic flourishes in voice and body language.

3. Fill the room with your personality. Some people assume a larger-than-life public speaking “persona” as they are about to take the stage and their speech becomes a performance. Others would rather adopt a conversational tone in a slightly louder voice and just be themselves. Do whatever feels comfortable to you. If you feel better in front of an audience when you think of it as playing a role, then go for it. Whatever you do, be animated in voice and gesture and imagine amping yourself up so that you fill the room with your presence (be careful not to fill the room to overflowing as an overamped personality may come across as slightly nutty).

4. Make your speech about the audience. Be sure to use the word “you” far more than you use the word “I”.

5. If you can, make fun of yourself. There is nothing that will endear an audience more quickly to you than sharing an err of humanity.

6. Have fun. All audiences—especially audiences consisting of girlfriends—are empathetic. If you’re having fun, the audience will have fun too. Guaranteed.

7. Follow Dorothy Sarnoff’s sage advice—“Make sure you have finished speaking before your audience has finished listening.” Beware of information overload where you try to expound on the ingredients of oral contraceptives or how rats form habits (complete with the rat’s EEG) to an audience without pharmaceutical or neurological knowledge.

If you’d like more tips and a few suggestions on speech topics based on the Toastmasters competent communicators program, please click here.

Here’s to delivering your heart-felt message on whatever stage you happen to find yourself…

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“According to most studies, people’s number one fear is public speaking. Number two is death. Death is number two. Does that sound right? This means to the average person, if you go to a funeral, you’re better off in the casket than doing the eulogy.”~ Jerry Seinfeld

Does the thought of giving a speech make your palms sweat, your heart flutter and your brain flash a blank screen where your mental teleprompter is supposed to be? Each year in August, Toastmasters holds the World Championships of Public speaking—a process that begins with 30,000 participants in 116 countries and after six months of sweaty palm elimination rounds ends with nine finalists and twenty judges.

This year, Ryan Avery from Portland, Oregon won—at 25, he was the youngest person ever to win the championship. With the criteria for evaluating speeches of content, organization, voice quality and gestures in mind, let’s take a peek at the top three finalists…

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Looks easy, doesn’t it? If you have ever wanted to be a public speaker or would simply like to face a fear that for many is deadly, what better time to start than now and what better place to give it a try than among friends?

Why not turn your next girls night out into a Girls Speak Out? Set a three to five minute timeframe for your speeches rather than the five to seven minutes of the world champions. Although this activity involves zero monetary investment, it may take a few hours of your time to prepare your speech. But the self confidence pay-off is well worth your time and effort.

In our next post we’ll give you a few tips on making a speech that will leave your audience speechless, but for now simply think about what you would like to talk about. What moves you? What are you passionate about? The most important quality of a good speech is an emotional connection to the material that becomes an emotional connection to your audience. Ask yourself: “What moves me to speak?,” and see what comes up.

When you get together with your friends for Girls Speak Out, try to create the appearance of a public speaking venue. If you can create a “stage” with some inventive furniture arrangements, go for it. A sunken living room can turn a hallway into the perfect public speaking platform.

Pick a topic you love—children, animals, music, baseball—and tell a story about it as you share a key message. Don’t research a topic you know nothing about or have no interest in. Girls Speak Out isn’t about going back to school and taking your public speaking medicine. It’s about fun and self improvement among friends.

When you make your speech, have each member of the audience write down one thing they really liked about it and one way you can improve it for when you take it on the road. If you want some truly objective feedback, videotape your speech using a smart phone.

Everyone is a winner for participating in Girls Speak Out, so present each participant with a dollar store trophy or similar memento to commemorate facing one of humanity’s biggest fears.

If you enjoyed your speaking engagement or didn’t fear it quite as much as you thought you would, consider joining your local Toastmasters group. Perhaps we’ll see you at the 2014 World Speaking Championships to be held in Kuala Lumpur…

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Men had a starring role in our last post when we suggested that they decide what you and your girlfriends do the next time you get together. But as always we women have the last word and the last laugh.

This post turns the tables on the last one and puts you back in control. You and your girlfriends are challenged to come up with a list of suggestions of how the guys spend their time when they next venture into their male domain – aka the man cave, bar, sporting event.

We’ve come up with 10 things we wish our men would do when they get together. Feel free to borrow from our wish list when coming up with your own.

Here’s what we think men should do at least once with their friends:

• Talk about anything but sports
• Talk about something other than work
• Finish the guy project they start
• Clean up the mess after they finish the guy project
• Try to talk about their feelings (instead of sports)
• Take a cooking class
• Take the kids with them wherever they go – except the bar
• Do anything that doesn’t involve a TV screen
• Talk about anything but sports
• Drink Wine and Giggle (Drink Beer and Belch is okay too)

There’s always something to be learned from walking in someone else’s stilettos or Oxfords so debrief with your guy and girlfriends after you’ve had fun with these activities. Let us know how it went by leaving us a comment.

Lynne’s Comment: I’d like my husband to do our activity “Girlfriends in the Closet” with his guy friends and invite them into his closet to weed out his wardrobe. After that, he can kick back with a beer and do “Paper Dolls” with the latest edition of GQ where everyone cuts out samples of their favorite “look” and passes the envelope around for their friends to characterize. To complete the trifecta, they can either go shopping or to the movie theater to see Cirque du Soleil in 3D.

Men had a starring role in our last post when we suggested that they decide what you and your girlfriends do the next time you get together. But as always we women have the last word and the last laugh.

This post turns the tables on the last one and puts you back in control. You and your girlfriends are challenged to come up with a list of suggestions of how the guys spend their time when they next venture into their male domain – aka the man cave, bar, sporting event.

We’ve come up with 10 things we wish our men would do when they get together. Feel free to borrow from our wish list when coming up with your own.

Here’s what we think men should do at least once with their friends:

• Talk about anything but sports
• Talk about something other than work
• Finish the guy project they start
• Clean up the mess after they finish the guy project
• Try to talk about their feelings (instead of sports)
• Take a cooking class
• Take the kids with them wherever they go – except the bar
• Do anything that doesn’t involve a TV screen
• Talk about anything but sports
• Drink Wine and Giggle (Drink Beer and Belch is okay too)

There’s always something to be learned from walking in someone else’s stilettos or Oxfords so debrief with your guy and girlfriends after you’ve had fun with these activities. Let us know how it went by leaving us a comment.

Lynne’s Comment: I’d like my husband to do our activity “Girlfriends in the Closet” with his guy friends and invite them into his closet to weed out his wardrobe. After that, he can kick back with a beer and do “Paper Dolls” with the latest edition of GQ where everyone cuts out samples of their favorite “look” and passes the envelope around for their friends to characterize. To complete the trifecta, they can either go shopping or to the movie theater to see Cirque du Soleil in 3D.

So far we haven’t mentioned men very often in our posts since after all, Drink Wine and Giggle is about girlfriends connecting and inspiring one another. And yet, we wondered what men think women do when they get together.

To our surprise–NOT! –we found that some men have strange, possibly fantasy-fueled, ideas of what women do when they get together. When we conducted a mini-survey with the men in our lives asking them what they think women do when they get together we heard things like:

• Have pillow fights in our lingerie
• Talk about cute guys (the dentist, doctor, firefighters, garbage men)
• Wrestle in the mud
• Sit around in our undies talking
• Brush each other’s hair or put nail polish on each other’s toes
• Complain about the annoying things men do
• Drink wine and giggle (our personal favorite!)

We thought it would be a laugh to give some of their suggestions a try and see how it feels to put the Oxford on the other foot and act the way men think we do. So if you’re up for getting down and dirty or being whacked by a pillow then we’d love to hear your experience with a guy’s take on girl’s night out.

Give one of the activities above a try—or any other activity that the men in your life suggest—and let us know how it went by leaving us a comment. It can’t hurt–well maybe it can–and it might just be a lot of fun…

So far we haven’t mentioned men very often in our posts since after all, Drink Wine and Giggle is about girlfriends connecting and inspiring one another. And yet, we wondered what men think women do when they get together.

To our surprise–NOT! –we found that some men have strange, possibly fantasy-fueled, ideas of what women do when they get together. When we conducted a mini-survey with the men in our lives asking them what they think women do when they get together we heard things like:

• Have pillow fights in our lingerie
• Talk about cute guys (the dentist, doctor, firefighters, garbage men)
• Wrestle in the mud
• Sit around in our undies talking
• Brush each other’s hair or put nail polish on each other’s toes
• Complain about the annoying things men do
• Drink wine and giggle (our personal favorite!)

We thought it would be a laugh to give some of their suggestions a try and see how it feels to put the Oxford on the other foot and act the way men think we do. So if you’re up for getting down and dirty or being whacked by a pillow then we’d love to hear your experience with a guy’s take on girl’s night out.

Give one of the activities above a try—or any other activity that the men in your life suggest—and let us know how it went by leaving us a comment. It can’t hurt–well maybe it can–and it might just be a lot of fun…

In our last post, we proclaimed what every woman knows deep down: Our girlfriends are our superheroes. We also suggested that you give each of your girlfriends a superhero name based on their special abilities and talents.

In this post, we want to share our cool superhero names and talents with you.

Lynne – Mighty Maestro: Not only is she muscular and strong, the Mighty Maestro is the mistress of words and music. She can control anyone’s mood by her selection of music, taming even the most savage of beasts (or making them beastlier if that is her intention). She has hidden eyes all over her body, which is why she has a unique—and often humorous—way of looking at things, seeing what others might have missed. The Mighty Maestro is the girlfriend you go to when you want a different perspective or a light lunch and a laugh.

Deb – Turbowoman: W ith super springs on the bottoms of her feet and stamina ten times greater than an Olympic triathelete, Turbowoman jumps from task to task without ever slowing down. She gets more done in a day than most people do all week. Besides having a to-do list that would make most mortals wilt, Turbowoman’s powers lie in her ability to make people feel comfortable. Strangers do not intimidate her, nor does her arch enemy, Mistress Chaos. Turbowoman is the girlfriend you go to when you want something done or want to feel welcomed.

Julie – Glamorella: With the cloak of an unassuming demeanor, Glamorella commands attention when she walks into a room, turning heads from men and women alike. But don’t be fooled by her meek ways; if you negotiate with her, you will lose. Glamorella’s secret power is in the flexibility she has mastered after years of practicing yoga. She can contort her body and mind into any position and make it look easy. Glamorella’s flexibility makes her the girlfriend you go to when you need someone to listen to you or you’re in need of fashion advice.

Together we are Drink Wine and Giggle, superheroes who vow to help women improve their lives—mind, body, soul and funny bone!

Now we invite you to share the names and descriptions of the female superheroes in your life. We’d love to hear from you, our superheroes we have yet to meet!

Are you familiar with the Fantastic Four? They were the superheroes in comic books that got their powers from an accident involving cosmic rays while exploring outer space. Each of the four possessed a special power: Mr. Fantastic was a scientific genius who could stretch his body to amazing lengths; The Invisible Woman could make herself disappear; The Human Torch created fire and could fly; and Thing was made of stone, using his superpower to break through buildings without bothering to find the door. Another group of do-gooders called Super Six were part of the Saturday morning cartoon lineup and consisted of Granite Man, Elevator Man, Magneto Man, Super Scuba, Captain Zammo and, their leader, Super Bwoing.

Fantastic Four

Besides having unique super powers used to improve the world, what did all of these heroes have in common? They all made mistakes and had mood swings—and they all had an indestructible friendship and loyalty to each other.

Sound familiar?

Girlfriends around the world have similar traits. They don’t always do or say the right things at the right time and sometimes they are grumpy or moody, but they are always supportive, helpful, and they enjoy each other’s company and listen to each other’s trials and tribulations.

Do you have specific friends that you go to for their unique “super powers”? You know, girlfriends that you think of at certain times? For example, you may have a girlfriend that is really good at listening and talking about fashion and makeup. You may have another friend who is great at helping you set goals for yourself, challenging you to take action and supportive when you tell her your latest dream of opening a soup kitchen. Then there are those friends that are reserved for the times when you have an issue with your aging parents or you need some marital advice.

In other words, our girlfriends are our superheroes! They have super powers for making us feel better when we’re with them, making us stronger and more confident and healthier.

Girlfriends are Superheroes is the activity where we celebrate our girlfriends, highlighting their best features and their abilities that set them apart from others. It is also the activity where we give each girlfriend a superhero name and description for their special girlfriend skills.

Here are six questions to ask yourself about each of your girlfriends that will help identify her superhero strengths and character:

1. As a superhero, what would she be most likely to wear:
   1. A business suit
   2. A sexy, sporty workout ensemble
   3. A frilly blouse and sexy jeans
   4. Sweatshirt and comfy khakis
2. What one word best describes her:
   1. Loyal
   2. Compassionate
   3. Jokester
   4. Intelligent
3. Finish the sentence: I go to _______ when I want:
   1. Advice
   2. A laugh
   3. A shoulder to cry on
   4. To get something done
4. What expression does she usually wear:
   1. Happy
   2. Curious
   3. Determined
   4. Skeptical
5. She feels most comfortable:
   1. In a garden
   2. In the shopping mall
   3. In the kitchen
   4. On her computer
6. Her super skill would most likely involve:
   1. Water
   2. Fire
   3. Her eyes
   4. Her legs

Now that you have answered the questions for each girlfriend, think of a superhero name that has the attributes you came up with and give a superhero description for the kind of girlfriend she is. (We will reveal the names of our alter egos in Thursday’s post.) For bonus points, bring your Superhero Girlfriend to life by cutting pictures out of magazines to create her image.

Gather your superhero friends and vow to fight fashion faux pas, procrastination and premature aging. Everyone knows, girlfriends bring more joy to the world!

The art of labeling the wine you produce to consume with your girlfriends on girls night out consists of two phases—designing the labels and producing the labels.

Designing your wine bottle labels—a front label with the name of your wine and a back label with the description—is the fun part. For the front label, come up with a catchy name that captures the mood of your girlfriend get-togethers or the qualities of you and your girlfriends. The sillier the name the better as silly names are welcoming and will overcome any perceived quality deficits in the wine. Hit the Glass Ceiling Chardonnay, Shoe Fetish Shiraz or Let’s Do Our Kegels Chianti are a few of the names we came up with that you can feel free to use.

Now comes the really creative part. Describe the wine with your girlfriends in mind. Here’s a couple of samples to get your creative grape juices flowing…

To produce the labels, you will need to be an artist or have some flair with software such as PowerPoint using 3.5” x 4” as the custom size for each label. Try to squeeze six labels on each page if you can and print them off on sticky-back paper that you can cut down to size.

If you are as talented and persevering as Deb, your finished product may look something like this…

Cheers and giggles,

Lynne, Deb and Julie

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The art of labeling the wine you produce to consume with your girlfriends on girls night out consists of two phases—designing the labels and producing the labels.

Designing your wine bottle labels—a front label with the name of your wine and a back label with the description—is the fun part. For the front label, come up with a catchy name that captures the mood of your girlfriend get-togethers or the qualities of you and your girlfriends. The sillier the name the better as silly names are welcoming and will overcome any perceived quality deficits in the wine. Hit the Glass Ceiling Chardonnay, Shoe Fetish Shiraz or Let’s Do Our Kegels Chianti are a few of the names we came up with that you can feel free to use.

Now comes the really creative part. Describe the wine with your girlfriends in mind. Here’s a couple of samples to get your creative grape juices flowing…

To produce the labels, you will need to be an artist or have some flair with software such as PowerPoint using 3.5” x 4” as the custom size for each label. Try to squeeze six labels on each page if you can and print them off on sticky-back paper that you can cut down to size.

If you are as talented and persevering as Deb, your finished product may look something like this…

Cheers and giggles,

Lynne, Deb and Julie

<label for="s2email">Your email:</label>
<input type="text" name="email" id="s2email" value="Enter email address..." size="20" onfocus="if (this.value == 'Enter email address...') {this.value = '';}" onblur="if (this.value == '') {this.value = 'Enter email address...';}" />

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“Fan the flame of hilarity with the wing of friendship and pass the rosy wine. ~ Charles Dickens

Wine and girlfriends go together like girlfriends and giggles, so why not bottle your own fun and make your own girlfriend-inspired wine?

Becoming your own vintner has never been easier. The easiest way to make your own girlfriend wine is to slap a girlfriend label on a bottle you buy at the local grocery store. In our next post, we’ll talk about how to make the perfect wine label, but for now, let’s concentrate on the wine…

Speaking of concentrate, you may want to become more intimately involved with the selection of the grape concentrate that goes into your wine rather than simply picking it up off the shelf and carrying it to the cashier. If so, you and your girlfriends can go to a winemaking store and make a batch or two from the varietals they offer. Simply add the yeast and let the store do the rest until it’s time for bottling. If possible, split batches with your girlfriends to reduce the overall cost and monotony of drinking the same wine bottle after bottle.

Don’t worry about the high-school-science-project aura of many winemaking stores. Just be sure to do your homework and research the store’s reputation to produce decent wine at a reasonable cost.

If you aced chemistry in high school and would enjoy a boozy science project, you may want to become an amateur winemaker, a most intoxicating hobby.

Winemaking equipment can be purchased from homebrew and wine shops for around $100, and winemaking kits that use fruit juice concentrates range from $70–$200, depending on the varietal and region of the grape. These kits will make about 30 - 750 ml bottles of wine at a price of about $3–$8 per bottle that can be shared with your girlfriends if they want to join your chemistry experiment and enjoy the fruits of your collective labor.

If you discover you have a gift for winemaking, you can take your hobby a step further and start your own winery. Many wineries have their origins in a passionate hobby.

And if you want to take it many steps further with the squish of grapes between your toes, you can’t beat a trip to Italy as in the classic wine stomping episode from I Love Lucy…just don’t get into a fight.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DBh4ATroI4M

To summarize…

Regardless of how you approach it, giving your girlfriends something to wine about on your girls night out is never a bad idea.

<label for="s2email">Your email:</label>
<input type="text" name="email" id="s2email" value="Enter email address..." size="20" onfocus="if (this.value == 'Enter email address...') {this.value = '';}" onblur="if (this.value == '') {this.value = 'Enter email address...';}" />

<input type="submit" name="subscribe" value="Subscribe" /> <input type="submit" name="unsubscribe" value="Unsubscribe" />

“Fan the flame of hilarity with the wing of friendship and pass the rosy wine. ~ Charles Dickens

Wine and girlfriends go together like girlfriends and giggles, so why not bottle your own fun and make your own girlfriend-inspired wine?

Becoming your own vintner has never been easier. The easiest way to make your own girlfriend wine is to slap a girlfriend label on a bottle you buy at the local grocery store. In our next post, we’ll talk about how to make the perfect wine label, but for now, let’s concentrate on the wine…

Speaking of concentrate, you may want to become more intimately involved with the selection of the grape concentrate that goes into your wine rather than simply picking it up off the shelf and carrying it to the cashier. If so, you and your girlfriends can go to a winemaking store and make a batch or two from the varietals they offer. Simply add the yeast and let the store do the rest until it’s time for bottling. If possible, split batches with your girlfriends to reduce the overall cost and monotony of drinking the same wine bottle after bottle.

Don’t worry about the high-school-science-project aura of many winemaking stores. Just be sure to do your homework and research the store’s reputation to produce decent wine at a reasonable cost.

If you aced chemistry in high school and would enjoy a boozy science project, you may want to become an amateur winemaker, a most intoxicating hobby.

Winemaking equipment can be purchased from homebrew and wine shops for around $100, and winemaking kits that use fruit juice concentrates range from $70–$200, depending on the varietal and region of the grape. These kits will make about 30 - 750 ml bottles of wine at a price of about $3–$8 per bottle that can be shared with your girlfriends if they want to join your chemistry experiment and enjoy the fruits of your collective labor.

If you discover you have a gift for winemaking, you can take your hobby a step further and start your own winery. Many wineries have their origins in a passionate hobby.

And if you want to take it many steps further with the squish of grapes between your toes, you can’t beat a trip to Italy as in the classic wine stomping episode from I Love Lucy…just don’t get into a fight.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DBh4ATroI4M

To summarize…

Regardless of how you approach it, giving your girlfriends something to wine about on your girls night out is never a bad idea.

<label for="s2email">Your email:</label>
<input type="text" name="email" id="s2email" value="Enter email address..." size="20" onfocus="if (this.value == 'Enter email address...') {this.value = '';}" onblur="if (this.value == '') {this.value = 'Enter email address...';}" />

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