Time to celebrate! Today is our anniversary! It’s not just any anniversary, mind you; it’s our Silver Anniversary. That’s right, 25 years of wedded bliss. For those of you who still haven’t bought us a gift yet, it means anything made of silver (hint hint).

It’s also Wine Imbiber’s first anniversary. That’s right; we intentionally launched our blog last year on our 24th wedding anniversary. We didn’t realize then how operating a blog would totally consume our time and affect our everyday thinking. Everything from meal planning to family vacations and extra–curricular activities (like wine tasting and festivals) have taken on new meanings for us.

So much has changed since last year that we never would have predicted. Who among us foresaw the economy in such dire straits? It has certainly taken a noticeable toll on how all of us spend our leisure time and money. From what we’ve been hearing, the once economy–proof wine industry is even hurting. People aren’t giving up their wine just yet, though; they’re readjusting their usual spending habits to suit their new budgets. Wines in the $20 and above range have dropped in sales. It seems that people are now finding suitable replacements in the $10 to $15 range (and staying home to cook gourmet meals to go along with their wine finds). They are apparently seeking information online in record numbers on how to properly pair wines with the foods they prepare from recipes that they also found online.

It isn’t anything new to us here at Wine Imbiber, but hearing about this new trend has reminded us why we began this site in the first place. We plan on continuing our efforts in this area in the future and are planning on providing more information that wine and food lovers can adapt to suit their own needs in this tough economic climate. We’ll soon be introducing a column dedicated to providing innovative and economical ideas and tips about cooking and wine related topics that we hear about.

We’ll also be re–launching our Weekly Giveaway promotion next week for your recommendations of wine tasting experiences at wineries and tasting rooms around the world. We’ve made some changes to the program that we know you’ll appreciate and hopefully will encourage you to keep making entries and pass the word along. Be on the lookout next week for the official announcement.

As far as our furry friend–charities are concerned, we’ve moved them from the sidebar to their own webpage. We expect to add more to the list in the future and would love hearing about other animal charities you think deserve a spot of their own on the page. Don’t forget that animals are also being affected by the economy and being dropped off at shelters in record numbers.

Enjoy these photos of cupcakes (that I didn’t make). I finally had a good enough reason not to bake (come on, it’s our 25th anniversary!). I thought we’d try a local top–rated bakery and see if we were missing out on anything all these years. The general consensus was exactly as I expected. They were good, but at $3 each, I won’t be getting rid of my cupcake pan anytime soon. Besides, I usually have more fun making cupcakes than eating them!
 

 
Today’s post is dedicated to the memory of Joe, with loving gratitude.