Best Weekend EVER!

We had a phenomenal weekend! We can hardly get over how much fun we had! We decided that we would take part in a craft fair for a wonderful charity, the Walworth Historical Society, which keeps our paradise looking like just that.

We had a great time meeting all of the ladies there, doing a little shopping, and talking with everyone about jewelry. Our booth was a huge hit, and we want to thank everyone for making it such fun! Here are some pics:

We also decided it was time to pimp out the car... So we smacked a couple of big logos on it and added a bumper sticker. What do you think?

I hope your weekend was as amazing as ours- and thanks to everyone who made our weekend so darn special!

For fabulous accessories, visit AshleysBigSecret.com. Please feel free to comment here, or give us a shout out at writeus@ashleysbigsecret.com.

© Copyright 2007. Ashley’s Big Secret, Inc.

The why, where and what of putting wine away for another day

Why - One of the great things about wine, and people, is that the good ones grow over time. With time and proper handling, they mature and mellow and today’s rough and bold one tends to become next year’s smooth and interesting one.

For those of us interested in being smart with our money (www.AshleysBigSecret.com members one and all), the great thing about putting wine away to age is that you can find a nice, reasonably-priced wine at your wine store today. You put it in storage for a few years and, then, bring it back as a truly great wine. In this way, you can drink amazing wines and spend a not so amazing amount of money to do it.

Where – Wine should be stored at less than 60°F. Ideally, wine should be stored at 55°F, the temperature in underground cellars. So, where in your house can you find a place that will remain less than 60°F, constantly?

The answer is not in your kitchen. The kitchen is the warmest part of the house, yet it is where people most often store their special wines. When they do, their special wines are being ruined.

You need to find a place in your house that is cool and not overly dry, such as a part of your basement away from the furnace and water heater. However, if you do not have such a place in your house, you can either buy a home wine cooler to store your wines or you can rent commercial wine storage space, both of which I do.

In terms of wine coolers, I bought a 48 bottle wine cooler at Home Depot on sale for around $100, not so bad. Larger wine coolers have, as you might have guessed, larger prices. Commercial wine storage is available in all large and most medium-sized cities. For about $325 a year, you can rent a wine locker at Strong Box Wine Storage in Chicago that holds 24 cases of wine.

The advantage of having wine in a separate, inconvenient location is that you tend to forget about the wine in storage which allows it to age unmolested. In this way, you are protecting the wine from you when you wish you had a great bottle of wine; or worse, you find yourself out of your everyday wine at home late one night.

What – This is the exciting part about storing wine, or putting it back, as we budget wine snobs like to say. You get to find a wine that you like, today. A wine that is priced right, today, but will benefit from being allowed to age. You are looking for a wine that will sleep for a few years and emerge from your cellar as a great wine at a great price.

I look for big (strong flavored) wines at reasonable prices. Weak tasting wines will not improve with age. They will just further weaken in taste. For this purpose, you are specifically looking for a wine that is bold and a little rough that would benefit from the mellowing that comes with age.

An example of a wine that was bought at a reasonable price and came out of storage a few years later as a spectacular wine was a 1992 Pahlmeyer Proprietary Red Wine. My son-in-law, Doctor Tim, suggested I buy the only case of it in the wine store where he worked at the time for about $18 a bottle.

While the wine was sleeping in my storage, the movie Disclosure came out featuring Demi Moore ordering a bottle of Pahlmeyer for her planned seduction of Michael Douglas. Pahlmeyer Wine, which wasn’t available anywhere anyway, became impossible to find and all the more valuable. Even without the excitement of the movie, this was great wine and when I pulled it out of storage a few years later, it was one of the greatest wines I had ever tasted and lucky me with 12 bottles. Life was good.

So, the object of finding a wine to put away is first to find one you like and that would benefit from being put away for a few years and, as any Ashley’s Big Secret Aficionado can tell you, it is lots of fun to find things to buy that are a deal.

In a coming blog, I will tell you some wines that are priced right, right now and would benefit from being put back.

In the meantime, remember don’t put nice wines in the kitchen, put them someplace where they have a constant cellar temperature and humidity or drink them as soon as you can. As for the nice wines you have without appropriate storage for them, a good plan would be to invite me (wino@ashleysbigsecret.com ) to come over and help you drink anything nice that you have that desperately needs to be drunk, now.

One more thing to remember, jewelry from Ashley’s Big Secret (www.AshleysBigSecret.com) is meant to be enjoyed immediately and does not need to be put away for later. Enjoy it now!

In wine we trust, J.

© Copyright 2007 Ashley’s Big Secret, Inc.

E-Buddies!

So today I was messing around online, and I came across something that stopped me in my tracks. EBuddies.org, a subsidiary of the Best Buddies organization, is having their annual Friend-a-Thon. E-Buddies sets up intellectually disabled people with e-mail friends to foster not only friendship, but to teach real world communication skills.

People with disabilites and with special needs have always had a special place in my heart, and this is such a fantastic way to show someone you care. Gosh! I get so warm and fuzzy sometimes, don't I?

Actually, our generation is very civic minded, but we're also insane with work and school and whatever else. It's hard to find a cause you really care deeply about and can commit yourself to for any length of time. I'm sure I am just like you, I fire off about a million e-mails a day- why not make one or two count?

The picture above is of me and my brother- it was taken after months of intensive care and months more of physical rehabilitation and always reminds me that the fight, whatever it is, is always worth fighting.

For fabulous accessories, visit AshleysBigSecret.com. Please feel free to comment here, or give us a shout out at writeus@ashleysbigsecret.com.

© Copyright 2007. Ashley’s Big Secret, Inc.

It's WHO you know!

One secret to great wines is having a wine guy or wine gal who really knows their stuff and can lead you to wines you like at prices you love. After all, without outside help, you would be required to drink all of the wines that look like possibilities. After trying all the wines, you would have to try to remember which ones you liked.

To illustrate the size of the potential problem, Sam’s Wines in Chicago lists over 3,000 wines on their website. I, for one, could not even attempt to drink all of the wines that I think might look good at Sam’s or anywhere else.

What can you do?

You can find your own wine guy or wine gal and they can do the legwork, so to speak, for you. We at AshleysBigSecret.com understand the value in knowing someone with taste and an understanding of quality and value. So, allow me to give you two names of people at great wine stores in our area. You might let me know of anyone in your area who fits the bill.

In Chicago, there is only one person to see. He is Celal Ince at Binny’s at 3000 North Clark. Celal (pronounced Ja-lel) has helped people I know with nearly unlimited budgets and others, like me, who are interested in drinking great wine at reasonable prices. He helped me stock my cellar with reasonably-priced great 1997 Italian reds that are drinking beautifully, now. He introduced me to my favorite white wine Sancerre, with its earthy, clean taste.

Lake Geneva now has a great wine store, Pop More Corks, on Highway 50, 25 yards east of Starbucks (we always give directions in Lake Geneva in relation to Starbucks). David Biegemann is the owner and he has over 250 wines with 150 wines under $20. He always has a selection of 6-8 interesting wines to taste. He has a great selection of small vineyard wines that are fun to try and all are reasonably priced.

To pair your reasonably priced wine with something that looks, as my daughter would say, funky fabulous, I recommend wearing a gigantic CZ ring with one of these guys' reasonably priced wine. Showing how much great taste you have in your jewelry, and, in your wine, show that you are chic and sensible. What a combo!

So, there it is – my sincere advice on two people to help you be smart in your wine buying. As to being smart in bling buying, look no further than AshleysBigSecret.com.

In wine we trust, J.

As always, you can e-mail Jeff at wino@ashleysbigsecret.com.

Please feel free to comment here, or give us a shout out at writeus@ashleysbigsecret.com.

© Copyright 2007. Ashley’s Big Secret, Inc.

The Fanciest M&M Ever!

So M&M has a really cool feature where you can dress up an M&M to look like you. Lo and behold, I have created the fanciest M&M ever! Complete with cocktail and tiara, fabulous 'M&M Me' is going places, girl. She is born for stardom!

All she needs is pants and pearls. Go figure.

For fabulous accessories, visit AshleysBigSecret.com. Please feel free to comment here, or give us a shout out at writeus@ashleysbigsecret.com.

© Copyright 2007. Ashley’s Big Secret, Inc.

Go Ahead... Fake It!

WOW have we received the comments, looks, laughs, and questions since starting DoYouFakeIt.com. My girlfriends think it is hilarious and of course the men think of sex. Since our secret is out, my friends are asking me which of my bobbles are real and which are fake. The fact the question is asked should be a testament to good taste and good product.

I have for years worn costume jewelry along with the real bling. The reason I have done this, is because I think many times the costume jewelry is more beautiful and makes more of a statement. Plus I can have lots of it and not spend a fortune. I can change it according to my mood, my look or whim without feeling guilty. For a woman who owns several hundred pairs of shoes, you can imagine the drawers full of jewelry I own. Or maybe you can’t….my daughter is still amazed.

We are now starting to get repeat customers to our Ashley’s Big Secret .com website. and receiving many complimentary emails from our customers. However, if you are new to our website and are hesitant to order, or if have questions regarding any of the items, I encourage you to email us at writeus@ashleysbigsecret.com . If you want advice on what or how to wear something, again, I encourage you to email us. We would enjoy hearing from you.

YOU can dress like the DIVA you know you are and fake it too!

Toni

For fabulous accessories, visit AshleysBigSecret.com. Please feel free to comment here, or give us a shout out at writeus@ashleysbigsecret.com.© Copyright 2007. Ashley’s Big Secret, Inc.

Versace Fashion Show Spring/Summer 07

Gorgeous! The sillouettes are simply gorgeous! But don't you think they'd look great with some ACCESSORIES?!?! Seriously, I'm thinking of about 10 necklaces and big, fancy earrings that would go so well with those dresses!


For fabulous accessories, visit AshleysBigSecret.com. Please feel free to comment here, or give us a shout out at writeus@ashleysbigsecret.com.

Our March Newsletter

Happy March! I am so looking forward to spring- I can’t wait for my wardrobe and the weather to change! Good-bye, bulky parka!

I have several things to announce: we are once again having an amazing markdown event. Our March Mayhem sale has spectacular items marked way, way down. Almost all of our green items are included. We even have a 99 cent mini-sale going on that has been extended until St. Patrick’s Day! Make sure you’re pinch-proof before the 17th! Check out the sale at our specials page.

We have also launched a companion website, DoYouFakeIt.com, that gives tips and hints on how to pass off your fake jewelry with class and style. We are also giving out ‘I Fake It’ bumper stickers- there are more details about that on the blog.

Have a great month, everybody- here’s hoping it’s ‘in like a lion, out like a lamb’!

Best,

Ashley

To recieve our newsletter, become a member of AshleysBigSecret.com and opt in! It's that easy!

For fabulous accessories, visit AshleysBigSecret.com. Please feel free to comment here, or give us a shout out at writeus@ashleysbigsecret.com.

© Copyright 2007. Ashley’s Big Secret, Inc.

An 'Inconvenient Truth' about Boxed Wine

Last week, I wrote about a terrific wine in a box, Delicato Shiraz. I bought it for $16 at Woodman’s in Kenosha (a selection of condiments and potato chips, second to none) and was amazed that the equivalent of four bottles of wine was able to be put in such a compact container.

Therein lies the rub.

If you and a pal were to sit down for a nice evening of imbibing, you would pull out one bottle and drink it and, then, pull out another. Very likely you would go slowly on the second, as you have this, albeit imperfect, little voice in the back of your brain that warns you that opening too many bottles will lead to overload.

The inconvenient truth is that the benefit of the little voice telling you, “caution, caution” is completely defeated by the box. There is no way to tell how much of the box has been drunk in one sitting. So, without the little voice to warn you of impending doom, you drink and drink and it is very possible that you and your pal will not realize that too much has been consumed until you are slurring at each other or, dread, the box is gone!

I would like to propose a solution here.

Let’s publicize this problem. After all, many right-thinking people must be incensed by this irresponsible, unregulated and deceptive packaging. Perhaps someone could make a movie showing what can happen and suggesting, well, demanding would be better, that these insidious wine boxes have a gauge on them, like a gas gauge in a car to warn you of well, you know, that your $16 investment is about to pay you some unwelcome dividends.

In wine we trust, J

For fabulous accessories, visit AshleysBigSecret.com. Please feel free to comment here, or give us a shout out at writeus@ashleysbigsecret.com.

© Copyright 2007. Ashley’s Big Secret, Inc.

March Sale!!!

We are having a huge sale for March- several items are available for 99 cents until March 6th!!!

Buy up your green for St. Patrick's day while it's on sale!

For fabulous accessories, visit AshleysBigSecret.com. Please feel free to comment here, or give us a shout out at writeus@ashleysbigsecret.com.
© Copyright 2007. Ashley’s Big Secret, Inc.

Fake It in the Kitchen!

I've always adored entertaining- I love to throw big, elaborate meals and feel that a dinner party I throw should have course after course after course on lush candle lit tables.

Dinner parties at my house are legendary affairs, one of which is simply referred to as 'the' dinner party and of the many parties I've thrown, there is never any confusion which one is being referenced. Once, Mom called me one afternoon and suggested dinner that night. "We'll just come over to your house and order a pizza or something", she said. "Oh no", I thought. No dinner at my house was going to be eaten from a box. Immediately, visions of lush pastas, field greens, fresh baked breads and sumptuous desserts filled my mind.

Keep in mind- I have never been particularly rich in time nor money. Champagne on a beer budget doesn't even begin to describe me. I have, though, always worshipped the God of All Things Fake. So I even fake it in the kitchen.

Over the years, I've collected recipes from Sandra Lee, time saving techniques from Rachel Ray, and money saving wine tips from my father to become quite the efficient little gourmand- if I do say so myself.

I thought I'd share one of my favorite recipes with you for faking it in the kitchen. Truffles are a simply delectable treat that are usually purchased at high end chocolate boutiques for an arm and a leg but are very classy. When your guests hear that you've made them yourself, I promise they will be in total awe of your kitchen goddess status.

You can find a truffle recipe in almost every gourmet cookbook, but I've combined several recipes and added my own advice and tips from trial and error to give you the world's best (and easiest) recipe.

Ingredients:

8oz. Semi-sweet baker's chocolate

16oz. (1 bag) chocolate or white chocolate chips

3 tbsp very heavy whipping cream

1tbsp of your favorite liqueur- mine is Kahlua. Mint or almond extract work well, too.

In a large pan half filled with water, place a smaller, heat-safe bowl. The stove should be at about medium. Add the baker's chocolate to the smaller bowl and stir occasionally until it's completely melted. Add the whipping cream and stir completely, then add the liqueur or extract and mix well- then take it away from heat immediately.

Place the bowl with the chocolate in the freezer for 40 minutes or an hour, until the chocolate is firmed up enough to be malleable and keep it's shape. Roll the chocolate into 1 tablespoon balls, put them on wax paper.

What you've just created is ganache. Some people just leave it at that- ganache is delicious! you can roll it in powdered sugar or chopped nuts and still make a big hit. However, for a true truffle, the next step is so easy and fun I've never successfully avoided it. The ganache can also be made far in advance and kept in an air tight container in the freezer until you're ready to use it.

Put the ganache in the freezer and let it firm up for 20 minutes. Take about 3/4 cup of the chocolate or white chocolate and microwave it in a small bowl in 30 second intervals. Between intervals, stir vigorously. Chocolate is only tricky to work with if you forget that it can burn and will keep it's chocolate chip shape as its melting. Stirring it vigorously between microwaving will help it break up and not burn. Using smaller quantities at a time will help, too. It usually takes three 30 second intervals to get the chocolate smooth.

Take the ganache out of the freezer and one by one, drop it in the melted chocolate. To make sure it's coated completely, use 2 forks to 'juggle' it. That's it! Place your truffles on wax paper and wait until they firm up- usually 4 or 5 hours. You'll want to leave them at room temperature- if you stick them in the fridge they'll get that gross white stuff on the surface.

I like to dip my truffles in milk chocolate and then melt and color white chocolate and splash it over for my truffles as an added accent. The photo above shows green truffles I'm making for St. Patrick's Day!

For fabulous accessories, visit AshleysBigSecret.com. Please feel free to comment here, or give us a shout out at writeus@ashleysbigsecret.com.

© Copyright 2007. Ashley’s Big Secret, Inc.

Boxed In

In her opening monologue for the Oscars, Ellen DeGeneres said that she wouldn’t be critical of any of the Oscar nominees, unless she was halfway into a box of Chardonnay. It was a modestly funny bit, but it got me to thinking about boxed wine.

When we spent the summer in Spain some years ago, the best value in all of Spain was their boxed Sangria for about a dollar a box. Of course, Sangria is a fruity wine blend and not really serious wine, except if you drink too much of it and, then, the following day it can have a variety of serious effects.

Anyway, I have never tasted a boxed wine, except for the aforementioned Sangria. So, when I saw a 3 liter box (four bottles worth of wine in a box a little larger than an economy size box of Decon, except heavier) of Delicato Syrah for $16, I thought how bad could it be?

The answer is that it was great! It reminded me of the kind of wine that people in Italy Spain and France to drink very day. It is not expensive. It is good and it goes beautifully with food.

Instead of paying $10 a bottle for everyday wine, my suggestion is to buy one box of Delicio Syrah and save $24. My next bit of advice is to take the $24 you saved and go to http://www.ashleysbigsecret.com/ and buy a gorgeous necklace or a funky pearl set. Better yet, drink most of the box of wine and, then go on line to http://www.ashleysbigsecret.com/ and buy wonderful jewelry until you either fall asleep or you credit card maxes out.

In wine we trust, J

For fabulous accessories, visit AshleysBigSecret.com. Please feel free to comment here, or give us a shout out at writeus@ashleysbigsecret.com.

© Copyright 2007. Ashley’s Big Secret, Inc.

Do You Fake It?

We've always been big fans of pulling off costume jewelry without lying- here's how:

1) Never, ever lie. If you're really faking it correctly, you just don't have to.

2) Wear good costume jewelry. It's out there, and doesn't have to cost an arm and a leg. There is no excuse to wear cheap dime store jewelry that looks obviously fake or worse- turns your skin green. Our sister site, Ashley's Big Secret, specializes in just such jewelry.

3) Treat your costume jewelry with respect! Dress up for it the same way you would with the real thing. If you are dressed to the nines, everyone will simply assume that your baubles set you back a month's rent.

4) Blame it on someone else. Many women I've spoken to have told me that when asked directly about where a ring came from, they say, "oh, my mother gave it to me", or "don't I have the best husband?" Your mother is so sweet and you do have the best husband... no one needs to know your big secret!

We hope these tips help~ Remember... always dress like the DIVA you are!

Check out our newest adventures at www.DoYouFakeIt.com!

For fabulous accessories, visit AshleysBigSecret.com. Please feel free to comment here, or give us a shout out at writeus@ashleysbigsecret.com.

© Copyright 2007. Ashley’s Big Secret, Inc.

I totally know Jack!

Remember that really addictive game, You Don't Know Jack from about ten years ago?

Go ahead... see if it's less addictive now. I dare you. I played this game for hours on end back in the day when I was supposed to be doing my homework or some such thing. Now, you can play it online when you're supposed to be working or some such thing.

It's A Great Time to Be Single!

Spring is almost here, and it's a fantastic time to be single! I have long held a dating theory that goes something like this:

If you are in a relationship for Holloween, it's bound to last through Valentine's Day. If you're dating someone on Holloween, no matter how long you've been dating, you'll probably make it to Thanksgiving. Once you hit that turkey of a holiday, it's too much to break up before Christmas, so you're in through Christmas. Even if you decide not to introduce each other to the folks, you can't make it through Christmas without ringing in the new year together. Once you've shared the new year kiss at Midnight, you're in until Valentine's Day because what's one more holiday together?

It is simply cruel to break up before anyone of those winter holidays, and besides- who wants to be single for New Years? Upon getting to V-Day, a couple has either had too much of each other or still can't get enough. Those who still can't keep their hands off each other after Christmas cookies and candy hearts will stay together- those whose coupledom isn't going to make it will realize that no more obligitory hoidays are coming for another eight months and break up. Suddenly, every year about this time, eligible bachelors and bachelorettes come on the market in scores.

So, all my fellow single Divas, it's time to put our game faces on. Which brings me to another piece of brilliant dating advice: boys like shiny things. Yep, of all the rules of attraction, this is the easiest and most sure fire way to get the man of your dreams.

It may seem like I'm comparing the male population's mental capacity to that of apes, but it just so happens that if you want to get the attention of either ape or attractive human male, go for shiny. I prefer a dazzling, wild necklace like our gold necklace with dangles, or a fun silky necklace with matching earrings. The bigger the better, and if your best friend thinks it's a bit too much, it's perfect- you're a total man magnet.

For fabulous accessories, visit AshleysBigSecret.com. Please feel free to comment here, or give us a shout out at writeus@ashleysbigsecret.com.

© Copyright 2007. Ashley’s Big Secret, Inc.

Christina Ricci and other news

I just found this picture of Christina Ricci, who I just adore, wearing a stunning pair of black pearls. Do you think she spent more or less than $28.00? She always looks so gorgeous- I love a dramatic look!

So I decided to do something about my unfortuantely expanding rump and joined a Curves! Yay for me! One of the things that I really like about it- other than it only taking 30 minutes- is that there are NO BOYS ALLOWED! I think this is about the greatest thing ever. Girl, if I'm going to hop around sweating in spandex, you can bet I don't want any boys to see.

The owner of my Curves, Julie, is really great about giving away prizes to the ladies who lost the most weight, the most inches, or who have been really good about coming 3 times a week. I decided to help her out, and gave her some fun jewelry- she loved it! She even was able to get someone who was on the fence about joining to sign up by giving her a Kissaka Pearl Necklace as a welcome gift! We are so happy that our jewelry is helping women in so many different ways!

Happy Day!

For fabulous accessories, visit AshleysBigSecret.com. Please feel free to comment here, or give us a shout out at writeus@ashleysbigsecret.com.

© Copyright 2007. Ashley’s Big Secret, Inc.

Whew! What a week!

Our Valentine's Day 14 cent sale was a HUGE success! We're so glad you all had such fun getting such gorgeous things for so little!

I love our customers- you guys have phenomenal taste! Although our 14 cent sale is over, we still have fabulous deals all month, and new items coming online all the time.

We have really cool stretchy bangles that go so well with our 24k gold overlay bangles. They're pictured together above. Both are a great deal and look so fabulous!

Again, congratulations on all your gorgeous new baubles!!!

For fabulous accessories, visit AshleysBigSecret.com. Please feel free to comment here, or give us a shout out at writeus@ashleysbigsecret.com.

© Copyright 2007. Ashley’s Big Secret, Inc.

Fab Feb Finds - ON SALE until Feb 14 for 14 cents!

There is a great restaurant in Chicago that prices their soup at the current temperature outside. If is 25 degrees outside, you get your soup for 25 cents!

We decided that they had a great idea and we would go them one better and offer many of our Fab Feb Finds at 14 cents each until February 14th.

After the 14th, our Fab Feb Finds will be a good deal, but they will never be 14 cents, again!

Look on our website for Fab Feb Finds!

The 14 cent specials only last until Valentine's Day and there is a limit of one 14 cent item per order, so get 'em while they're hot!

This is the place to buy yourself a great Valentines present. Tell your significant other that you will take care of the jewelry, he can take care of making reservations at the Four Seasons for dinner on the 14th.

For fabulous accessories, visit AshleysBigSecret.com.

Please feel free to comment here, or give us a shout out at writeus@ashleysbigsecret.com.

© Copyright 2007. Ashley’s Big Secret, Inc.

This year, the Chief Secret Keepers of Ashley's Big Secret decided to throw a Superbowl party! While we are not neccessarily inclined towards spectator sports (that's the polite way of saying it), we thought it would be fun to have some people over for cocktails, snacks, and well, ok- football.

We were very suprised at how into it everybody got, and we had a blast!

Pictured here are our friends Pat and Bev, who very clearly were rooting for the bears. Our guests were split just about down the middle between the Colts and the Bears.

The we had Pam, who came dressed for the weather in Miami, despite the cold temeratures here! We just love her spunk and enthusiasm!













I have to admit, I had much more fun visiting with everyone than I did watching football, but would have another Superbowl party again in a minute!


Our neighbors, Mary Lou and Bernie, were such fun! She is an artist, too, so we got to talk shop... I can't wait to see her paintings!











Our friend Elke and her husband, Larry, came as well. Elke is in the same boat as we are... we like socializing more than we like watching the game. She arrived looking gorgeous as usual, and employed on of my favorite party techniques for looking fabulous- overdressing. It works like a charm. If you're going to a party where everyone is wearing jeans, wear a skirt or black pants with some fancy jewelry. I dare you to try it next time you go out- it gets you lots of compliments and you end up totally being the best dressed. I had a party not long ago with some friends, and when my best friend called to ask what the dress code was, I told her jeans. We were both kind of surprised when she arrived... I opened the door, and we were both wearing dresses and heals. She laughed and said, "I knew you were lying about jeans!". Needless to say, we were the two best dressed people at the party and everyone commented on how great we looked.





Other fabulous things happened over the weekend, too! The morning after the superbowl party, I looked out of my window, and right outside were three deer! You never see that in the city! Life is much different in this country winter wonderland!


In business news, we have a huge february sale coming up! And great new stuff is being added everyday, including our new fauxture line, that I am very hyped about!




For fabulous accessories, visit http://www.ashleysbigsecret.com/. Please feel free to comment here, or give us a shout out at writeus@ashleysbigsecret.com.© Copyright 2007. Ashley’s Big Secret, Inc.

Much Maligned Merlot

Drinking wonderful wine is not about the money you spend. It, as in Ashley’s Big Secret (anything for a plug), is about being clever and realizing that the most important test of a great wine, or great jewelry, is whether you like it or not, not whether some critic says it is great, except for me, of course.

Let’s talk about Merlot. You probably like Merlot. You were probably insulted in the movie “Sideways” when the co-star screamed that he wouldn’t be forced to drink Merlot no matter how great the girls serving it looked.

Well, let’s talk about Merlot. First, the main grape variety used in the most expensive wine from France is, you guessed it, Merlot. The wine is called Petrus and if you are having some please give me a call. However, before you start inviting your friends over to taste this wonderful Merlot, you should know that it could cost well over $1,000 a bottle.

So, there you are, you like Merlot. I like Merlot and the guy in the movie is just being dumb.

In terms of great Merlots, my favorites are Paloma and Duckhorn. Both are a bit pricey. However, I’ll bet that you can pick out a great Merlot just by going to your local wine store and buying a Merlot in the $8 to $15 range. Buy a couple of different bottles and try each with a friend or two. Next, write me an e-mail telling me what you liked best. I can be reached at wino@ashleysbigsecret.com.

In terms of what to wear during your Merlot tasting, Ashley suggests the Silver Faux Omega Set and a Shiny Silver Cuff. Simplistic and very classy.

Lastly, don’t forget to include me if you decide that you must taste Petrus.

For fabulous accessories, visit http://www.ashleysbigsecret.com/. Please feel free to comment here, or give us a shout out at writeus@ashleysbigsecret.com.

© Copyright 2007. Ashley’s Big Secret, Inc.