I think you all know by now that really nothing in this world gives me quite as much joy a glass of rosé on the patio does (sorry Danny). Come May it’s nothing but sunshine, summertime, wine, and patios. With my parents living in the Okanagan we go up there a lot throughout the summer and love stocking up on Okanagan wines, although my heart still belongs to Miraval. Danny and I like to think we are wine connoisseurs and love to collect all different sorts of bottles. It’s so funny when we go wine tasting and they tell us a particular wine can cellar up to five years as if we’re not going to drink that baby within the month lol! The only exception to that rule is expensive champagne, because, well, it’s expensive and must be saved for a special occasion. We often talk about how when we get a house we want a room or area just for wine – until then and while we are still in our apartment, we resorted to stacking the bottles in our closet (sadness). Enter, Best Buy and the sleekest wine fridge. We picked up the Frigidaire 38-Bottle Freestanding Dual Temperature Zone Wine Cooler other day and it’s the perfect addition to our space. You’d think a fridge wouldn’t add much to a room but I love our space with it – makes me feel super adult. I love it because the racks inside are natural wood and it has duel temperature controls so you can store reds and whites. It also has the option of installing the door to open left, or right, whatever works best with your space. If this style of fridge isn’t your thing, they also have cute little countertop options (perfect for a smaller space), up to ones the size of an actual fridge which would look so good in a larger kitchen. This size is perfect for us and extra shelving space for decor (print, candle, flowers, pretty bottles/bar accessories). With all of that being said, I wanted to share some moola saving tips for these summer months and how we plan to utilize this new baby for money saving summer entertaining.

SAVE THAT MONEY

STAY IN
During the summer months Danny and I love watching the sun set on our balcony with a good glass of wine. We could easily go out but there’s something about staying in that’s much more romantic – also way more cost effective. A bottle of wine at a restaurant is easily double the price of the liquor store, and I’m not about that life. I love hosting girls nights or date nights for me and Danny and super easy to do it on a budget.

KEEP IT SIMPLE
Whenever I’m having friends over I always stress about what to put together, but I often find keeping it simple is much easier and way more cost effective – pick up a couple bottles of wine, a cheese, baguette, some fruit and nuts and voilà, a simple yet delicious charcuterie to have on the patio with friends or your beau. I’ve also seen things like donut pairing, or popcorn pairing – super budget friendly and so much fun.

BYOB
Unless stated, Danny and I always bring a bottle either for ourselves or for the host/hostess. There’s nothing wrong with asking your friends to bring what they plan on drinking for the night and this baby also holds up to 38 bottles – the perfect solution for storing everyones bevs for the night. Still stock some extra bottles just in case!

SCHEDULE A LATER AFFAIR
If you’re stressed about budget and having to feed a huge group of friends, simply schedule something for a bit later so everyone knows to have dinner before hand. Just a simple charcuterie and a couple spare bottles incase someone runs out and you’re set!

BUY IN BULK
There’s no doubt I inherited my love of the grape from my Mom. She’s a part of some wine club where she gets deals on cases and sometimes sends them to me if she thinks it’s something I’ll like. You can get wine by the case for super cheap sometimes! Definitely worth the investment because you’ll save money at the end of the day and can store for later entertaining.

xx

Tessa

Thank you to Best Buy for partnering on this post.