I will admit that I was skeptical of a bottle of wine that is the same price as a diet coke at a restaurant, but I figured it was only $3 and I might as well give it a try.   I must say that I was pleasantly surprised with my $3 bottle of wine.  Since my first bottle, I’ve been through quite a few of Trader Joe’s less expensive wines and have put together a list of some tasty, inexpensive wines that are sure to fit within your budget.

Reds

La Boca Malbec

Purple Moon Merlot

Charles Shaw Shiraz

Gascon Malbec (this one is a little bit of a splurge, but well worth it!)

Whites

Charles Shaw Chardonnay

Gaetano D’Aquino Pino Grigio

Espiral Vino Verde (This one is perfect for spring and summer! It’s a sparkling white wine, but not quite as bubbly as some. Very refreshing!)

They’ve got tons of wine at Trader Joe’s and these are only a few. But you won’t go wrong with any of these! Happy wine-ing!

When it comes time to cash out at the bar and you’re trying to decided if you should save your money and leave now or stay for a few more, 9 out of 10 times when you end up staying the bardenter’s tip gets less and less. What you’ve got to understand is if you had tipped your bartender well to start with, you would probably have a drink or 2 taken care of, not to mention your drinks would probably be a little stronger too.  Always tip big when you have your first drink, that way you aren’t going to have to wait in line for half an hour to get another - bartenders remember big tippers. Oh, and just because you’re at an event with an open bar, doesn’t mean you don’t have to take care of your bartenders. Even if they say that they can’t accept tips, give them  $20 anyway - hey, you aren’t paying for any drinks and if you were $20 for drinking all night is nothing.  So, this weekend when you’re out having a few beverages with your friends, make sure that you take care of your bartender, server, whoever you are getting your drinks from and that way, we’ll all be just a little bit happier.

even thought it was still a little chill yesterday, the patio at zink was filled with people (myself and one of my girlfriends included) having drinks outside. they’ve got different drink specials every day, yesterday happened to be half price wine by the glass, and with a different special almost every day you’re sure not to get burn out drinking the same thing every afternoon.  the patio also has plenty of tables, so you don’t have to fight for a seat.  and they’ve got aps and sushi that can help tie you over until dinner. another great thing about zink is that they serve food until 2am on the weekends, which is perfect when you’re coming home from the bars, starving, and want something other than taco bell or cook out.

As soon as these strange, creepy old men recognize her as a girl from the men’s club, she always makes it clear that she wasn’t a dancer. Yeah, we can all tell you weren’t a dancer and would love it if you kept your clothes on now. Even if you just work at the door or bartend at a men’s club, people are still going to associate you with naked women, and if you can’t get over that, you don’t need to work there. If you think it’s “more respectable” to work at a strip club with your clothes on, you’re wrong.  A strip club is a strip club, sorry.  I get that some of these women are well educated and just need to do something to make ends meet, but you could do a million other things before you start taking yoru clothes off for strangers.  But you can’t get embarrassed or ashamed by being recognized from the club. You were the one that walked in and filled out the application, and I highly doubt anyone was dragging you in there kicking and screaming. If you thought when you filled out the application that no one would recognize you, boy were you wrong. Even if you keep your clothes on, people associate you with girls who take their clothes off, and it’s probably not a terrible assumption on their part because most of the girls do start taking their clothes off, but again, please keep yours on.   Bottom line, if you work at the strip club, don’t bitch about it. You were the one who worked there (and we ALL know about it) and you’ve told everyone a million times you weren’t a dancer … so, either quit wining about people recognizing you from being around naked girls, or put your big girl panties on and deal with it, now.

I’m not bitter because I have to wait tables again, but I might be a little bitter because I have to work for someone that acts less professional than I do. I’ve worked at restaurants since I was in high school, so I know how it goes. The managers aren’t supposed to be out partying with the staff, but they do. I get that. But there gets to be a point when it’s just too much.

So I just started a new job and the the managers and the staff were talking about all the partying that they do. The GM said that he only gets a few hours of sleep every night because he’s always out partying then he has to go to the gym in the morning. Right after that he starts to show me pictures of everyone doing keg stands from some party that they had. Sure, I like to have a cold beer every now and then, but I prefer mine in a bottle or a cold glass, not coming out of a keg while I’m doing a handstand on it. Seriously. Keg stands? We’ve all graduated from college here. Do we really need to do keg stands. NO! A keg stand is cool when you’re at a party in high school or a college football game, but once you’ve graduated from college you are officially too told to do a keg stand. Or be hanging out with people who still do keg stands for that matter.

Back home in Charleston, we never had crazy house parties (except for around Christmas) and when we did go out, we went to bars. Sure when we were at work we all had fun together, but the manager was still in charge and acted like it at work. And now, while everyone is off talking about the party that they had the other night, I’m trying to get work done. Maybe I’m the one who is just over house parties and everyone else is more fun than I am. But I’m not so sure that’s right. There is a time in life when you just have to grow up. I’m starting to get to that point but everyone I work with sooo isn’t. Ugh. I hate my job.

My favorite thing about any tapas restaurant is that it’s the perfect place to go with a group of friends and you can each get different aps and everyone can share.  The Greek dips that they have are great! The htipiti is amazing - it’s a Greek feta cheese spread and I like to think of it as a spicy Greek pimento cheese.  If you’ve got a bunch of people I would go with 2 because it’s gonna go fast!  The spanakopita is so so so yummy! I love feta cheese and this is basically spinach and feta in crispy phyllo triangles.  If you don’t like spinach, don’t be scared away - the cheese is the main flavor.  And the best for last - the meatballs! Ahhh, they are so good. I can’t say anything more. You’ve just got to try them for yourself. As far as prices go, it’s not to pricey. You can go in and get 3 or 4 aps for about $30 to $35, and they aren’t the aps that will leave you wanting more.   The more people you bring, you can split everything and that will keep the price down more.

Make sure that you go early enough so you can check out the bar! Besides being able to grab a drink before dinner, the bar itself is beautiful! It’s white marble and just really really pretty. I have to stop at a good looking bar when I see one. Just stay away from the Ouzo. Ewwwie.

My whole rant on open relationships started while I was on the way to work the other morning and a crazy woman on the radio was saying that her marriage was so wonderful and her husband has had 4 mistresses in the 16 years that they’ve been married. My first thought - WTF, that woman is crazy.  She kept on about how great her marriage was and that was partly because her husband was allowed to date other women on the side.  After the crazy woman quit talking I was kind of sad for her. She honestly believes that her marriage is a good, solid, stable marriage. I just don’t see how that is possible when you allow your husband to openly see other people.

If you’ve been in a relationship for a significant period of time, it’s only natural to want to stray away if the passion that excited your relationship in the early days has started to die.   By suggesting an open relationship, I think people are looking for an easy way out. Rather than working on the things that are starting to go south, when you have an open relationship you are coping out and having a comfortable relationship with one person and a new, exciting relationship with someone else on the side.  An article from YourTango suggested that affairs can help your relationships and again all I can do is shake my head.

Just by suggesting an open relationship, I think that the relationship has made a turn for the worse. It means who ever suggested it doesn’t want to work to make your relationship better, but simply looking elsewhere for what they aren’t getting from you.  You can try to justify it by saying that they just want something different, but why aren’t they happy with what you’ve got to offer?  If they want to stay with you because you can provide them with everything but what they can get from this other random person, they’re pretty much telling you that they won’t work with you on fixing the parts of your relationship that could use a little improvement.

Bottom line - if you’re in a relationship that is great, but it just happens to be an open relationship where your other half can see other people if they choose to,  it’s probably not really that great. If it were so wonderful would they really want to have another person to take care of what you can’t - whether it’s emotional support, sex, or just company. If you’re ever dating someone and they suddenly suggest that they want an open relationship, tell them that they can’t have their cake and eat it too then run far far away.

What do I recommend at Basil? Pretty much everything.If you’ve never had Thai Food don’t let that scare you. It’s kind of like Chinese food, but better. The Sweet and Sour Chicken is a good dish to try if you want something “safe”.  The Pad Thai is my favorite and my boyfriend loves the curry dishes, but honestly, everything on the menu is great! I’m sure when Basil opens they will have a line out the door, but don’t let that run you off.  At home, you’ve got to wait about an hour on any given night (especially Fridays and Saturdays) but it’s well worth the wait! Entrees will run you about $15 a person, but it’s enough food to take some home. If you get one of the big dishes like the Duck (super awesome!) or the 3 Flavored Fish (also super awesome) then it’s plenty of food the split between 2 people. And be sure to leave room for dessert! Fried Green Tea Ice Cream - need I say more?

By far the best Sushi we’ve found in Charlotte.  Nikko’s is on South Blvd in the Pink Building (don’t know the name, just know that the building is pink). You can also valet your car so you don’t have to worry about finding parking. The sushi itself isn’t expensive, but the drinks can get a little pricey.  The spicy tuna roll is awesome - by far my favorite! The rainbow roll is also really yummy! It’s got lots of veggies in it, so it’s probably a little healthier than some of the other things they offer. Nikko’s makes for a great date night because it’s a see and be seen kinda place - that being said, it was the site of the run in. So, if you’re in the mood for some sushi and feeling like a night out, Nikko’s is the best Charlotte has to offer.

If you’re in the mood for something a little more relaxing, Press on Trade St is just the place. Press is more of a wine bar than a sushi bar, but the sushi that they have is really really good. The atmosphere is a complete 180 from Nikkos, but the biggest plus is that you will only have to pay retail price for wine by the bottle!