What is Drinking the Whole Bottle about?
Ha! I’ve asked myself that question a million times. When I started a blog everyone said I needed a niche. I don’t disagree but I knew DTWB, a blog about living life uncorked and embracing the fullness of life, couldn’t be labeled in one topic. I couldn’t talk about parenting without talking about fun or write about our expat life without talking about travels. So, like with wine, I didn’t limit myself. It’s about all the life things. Check out the about page for a fuller description.
Where did the title, Drinking the Whole Bottle come from?
I answered that here but here’s the fuller version. My favorite author, Paulo Coelho, said, “Accept what life offers you and try to drink from every cup. All wines should be tasted; some should only be sipped but with others drink the whole bottle.” That was the metaphor of all metaphors for me; a metaphor about savoring every last drop of the good stuff while accepting, sipping, and trying everything else that comes along. Without the bad wines, you’d never know how to recognize, but more importantly, appreciate the good ones. Without tasting everything, you’ll never know what you like and what you absolutely love. The title was also born around the same time as my firs child was born. There was a beautiful symmetry between mama’s wine bottle and the baby’s milk bottle and the balance I would have to find as a woman and a mother. And also, of course, t’s a confession. I like my wine. and gin. and beer.
There is a category named The Mama Juana Series about your family’s time in dr abroad? What is Mama Juana?
Mama Juana is the official drink of the Dominican Republic and since all of the stories in that series are, in some way, about our life in the Dominican Republic, I wanted the name to reference our first country abroad. I plan on continuing this with each new place we live: The Ouzo Series if we ever live in Greece, The Mojito Series if we ever live in Cuba, or The (really exciting) Champagne Series if we ever live in France.
Funny you should say that…
We have since moved to Mexico and named that series The Cerveza Series. While Mexico is the land of tequila, beer is such a staple here and used in so many different cocktails like the Michelada, the Cheladita, and, my personal favorite and video-ed on our Husband’s Cock…tail Series, the Rusa.
What are some of the different series about?
Coffee Talks is my attempt at working through some of parenting’s big moments. Husband’s Cock…tail is a fan favorite video series where Husband mixes me cocktails and I drink them. Notes From a Local Scene is my travel journal of some of the awesome places we’ve seen abroad. Personal Journal shares some of my more introspecive thoughts while Fiesta Forever is a party planning series as written through our own fun times!
Do you write anywhere else?
Yes. The first other website I began writing for was Wanderlust & Lipstick, a go-to resource for all things travel, especially solo women travel. My blog there is called Expat Village which as the name suggests is all about my life as an expat. The next website I began writing for was Women Who Live on Rocks, a comical site written by a collection of women island writers who scribe about the ridiculously absurd moments of island living. I’ve also been featured on Huffington Post, Marriott Traveler, Matador Network, The Planet D, and Elephant Journal, among other fab spots.