Christmas

Christmas this year was a bit different.  The weather was suppose to be bad Christmas day, so instead of leaving Christmas morning, we drove up Christmas Eve.


We had our Christmas a few days before we left.  I actually have pictures this time of me, Brian and Maggie opening our presents and us opening presents in Ohio.

Brian got me a Staub Oval Cocotte and Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking.  I liked the movie Julie and Julia so much so that is why he got me those.  You can do so much with a dutch oven.

I got him his own beer making kit.  He had a suspicion, but he was surprised none the less.  He says he can't wait to make is first batch of beer.

Since we left on Christmas Eve, we were able to spend Christmas Eve dinner with my family for the first time in about 3 years.  It was nice to wake up on Christmas morning and already be at our destination instead of driving 9 hours.  Christmas morning was spent at my sisters house to watch Lukie open his presents from Santa and breakfast, then it was back to my parents house in the afternoon to open our presents from them and dinner.

Christmas Cookies

Every year I try to make Christmas cookies.  To be specific Chocolate Chip cookies and every year they turn out horribly.  They either end up burnt or way under done.  One year I even misread the instructions and doubled the butter.


This year I was determined to make the cookies and not have them fail.  If they did, I vowed I was never going to make a Chocolate Chip cookie again.  I set out to make sure that I had freshest ingredients and I promised myself to be patient.  I decided to let the butter and eggs get to room temperature, instead of straight from the fridge and I used a small ice cream scoop.  I double checked in directions and did everything that I was suppose to do.

After I don't know after how many years, I was able to make the perfect Chocolate Chip cookie.

And they turned out great!  I had finally conquered the Chocolate Chip cookie.  I don't know if it was the butter and eggs at room temperature or the ice cream scoop, but all I know is now at Christmas time I will be able to make one of my favorite cookies!

Christmas Party

Last night was my Christmas Party.  It was a last minute decision to go and it was a good thing that we did.  I ended up winning one of the top door prizes that evening.  I won an iPod Touch.  I must say that it is pretty awesome.  I couldn't believe that I had won.  Everybody was asking me if I wanted to sell it.  Of course the answer was No.


I was able to get a couple of game apps and put a movie on it last night before our trip to Lexington today.  It was nice to have a distraction for the ride there and back.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Halloween decorations have been replaced with Thanksgiving decorations.  I must admit, this is one of my favorite times of year.  I am able to put out things that I've collected and items that have been made for me.

I decided to make a pumpkin pie for dessert this year, but I didn't want to use canned pumpkin.  I made the pumpkin pie from a pie pumpkin.  One pie pumpkin will give you enough pumpkin puree to make one pumpkin pie.  It sounds harder than it really is and I have to admit, it was easy and simple, that from now on, that is how I will make pumpkin pie.  The pie was made from homemade pumpkin puree and a gingersnap crust.  Delicious!

Halloween

We decided that this year our hearts weren't really into dressing up for Halloween, but I did still want to decorate the house and pass out candy.  Well, I think this year may be the last time we do candy.  We hardly had any kids show up.  I think that we maybe had 20 kids come by the house.  We'll see how I feel next year about passing out candy.

Oktoberfest

This year instead of going to Beer Fest we decided to go to Oktober Fest.  They always fall on the same weekend and since both Brian and I like to try different beers, Beer Fest always wins out.  This year since Beer Fest tickets were kind of expensive, $80 for two tickets, we opted for a less expensive option.  Oktoberfest Fest was fun.  We got see people in lederhosen, eat bratwurst and drink some German beer.  All in all we had a good time.  Next year we'll most likely end up back at Beer Fest.

Our Honeymoon

For our honeymoon we decided to go to the mountains of Asheville North Carolina and rent a cabin. We were able to take Maggie with us and we didn't have to worry about trying to board her or have somebody watch her. The cabin we rented was perfect. It had 2 bedrooms, 2 baths, gas fireplace and hot tub. We made use of the hot tub a couple of the nights.

Asheville is a town that lives by the concept of farm to the table.  We were able to eat a couple if different places where they get their food from local farmers from around the area.  One is Early Girl Eatery.  We ate there three different times.  It was so good.  So good in fact that I decided to get a souvenir to bring back.  The other one was Tupelo Honey Cafe we didn't discover until the last night we were there.  If we would have found them earlier in the week, we would've eaten more.

Since we were in Asheville we decided to go to the Biltmore Estate.  I believe it is called America's Castle and I can see why.  That place was amazing.  We spent two days there.  One day going to the house and grounds and the next at the farm.  I do not have any pictures from inside the house because pictures instead the house is not allowed.  I do have plenty of pictures of the outside of the house and gardens.

We also took a day to drive the Blue Ridge Parkway.  It was beautiful.  The leaves were just starting to turn.  We were able to stop along the way and get out to take in the sights.  During the drive we decided to go to Mt. Mitchell.  It is the tallest peak easy of the Mississippi River.  One thing that we didn't realize when we decide to go was that fact that it was cold and windy.  But the view and the smell of the pines were worth it.

More Pictures From the Wedding

Here are more pictures from the wedding.  Once we get the professional ones from the photographer I'll post some of those.  That should be some time after Thanksgiving.