Shame on us….. here we have been so busy and caught up in everything that we’ve forgotten to keep you all posted on all of the fabulous things happening at Venue.  How can you, the wine enthusiasts, art lovers, and music groupies of central Illinois ever forgive us for forgetting about one of the most fantastic ways for you to see what we have going on here.  We apologize now if we have deprived anyone of fantastic live music Fridays, our world tour wine classes, poetry readings, or wine dinners because you only commit to reading the blog.  All we can say is that we are sorry…we’ve missed you just as much as you’ve missed us…probably more!

Now, the important thing is for us to move forward, both as bloggers and as blog-readers (deep sigh).

As I sit here now up at Venue I can’t help but feel a little bit lucky.  Lucky to have such a beautiful space to spend my Saturday in – surrounded by beautiful art, great XM radio tunes, and of course bottles and bottles of opened wine that is sure to spoil if not consumed in the near future.   For now I will just settle for my favorite coffee flavor from The Blend – a local coffee spot here in Washington that roasts and brews the BEST COFFEE I’ve ever had… and I’ve had a lot of coffee. 

As I was saying…(insert animated throat clearing here) Stephanie and I are constantly trying to come up with fun, creative ideas of things that Venue can offer to our community.  In fact, last night we just came up with an idea for a Mother’s Day afternoon tea on Saturday, May 9th – the day before Mother’s Day.  This would be a great way to bring all of the women that you love and appreciate together – we’re talking aunts, grandmas, cousins, best friends, neighbors, teachers, daughters, daughter-in-laws, mother-in-laws, and any other in-laws you can think of.  We’re thinking of maybe asking a storyteller or musician to perform for the group while we enjoy such things as mimosas and tea flights which munching on crumpets and tiny crustless sandwiches.  Can you think of any better way of honoring and loving the important woman or women in your life?  I can think of about ten women in my life off the top of my head that I would want to invite already.  Keep your eyes peeled for updates and details on our calendar, and mark your own calendar for May 9th.  It will be open to all ages of course.

What else should you be excited about?  Well, if you’re anything like Steph and I, you love good wine, good music, and great food.  I guess you could call us foodies, because even with all of our talk about wine and art, one of our first loves is eating REALLY GOOD FOOD.  (I am actually a little bit better at the eating part than Stephanie – that is, if you judge it based purely on quantity.)  On March 27th we our offering our second ever Flights and Bites.  The last one we had was in October and it was SO MUCH FUN!  I can’t tell you enough of how you should really come.  There are usually around 8 courses of “bites” (don’t worry big eaters – you will be satisfied!) that are paired with an entire flight of wine.  All of which is served to you at your candlelit table while DJ Mark Jones – our FAVORITE dj – spins (literally) sweet house and techno tunes as a backdrop to this elegant and all around fantastic evening.  Think about it and get back to us…..there is limited space, and it is only $35 per person if you sign up before March 18th.

Well, that’s enough for today friends.  I PROMISE that it won’t be long before the next post… in the meantime we would love to hear any ideas of events that you would all love to see here at Venue.

Until next time…

*.*.*.*~~~Tiffany ~~~*.*.*.*