Christmas at Biltmore White Wine

Wine: Christmas at Biltmore
Store: World Market
Cost: $4.99 (?) at a 50% off after Christmas Sale

I bought this wine on a whim. It was on sale and the label was pretty. Since we were having an after Christmas dinner the other night with a dear friend, I decided we would take it over and give it a try. When said friend pulled it out of the fridge, he said he was excited to try it as he had previously enjoyed their Riesling. Unfortunately, this white wine blend was so good. I didn't save the bottle or label and cannot find information from the winery about the wine, but I do remember it was listed as "semi-sweet." It was like drinking perfume. I absolutely did not like this wine. It tasted like a syrupy sweet moscato, and while I can appreciate a good sweet wine, this one was just too much. I'm thankful that I got this on clearance, and that I was not planning on giving it to anyone as a gift.

Rating: 1 out of 5 stars

Christmas Gifts

I was quite blessed with Christmas....
My wonderful Husband got me...

Vera Bradley Betsy Bag in Baroque

Apollo's Angels, a cultural history of the development of ballet.

Toaster Oven...we have been through several in the almost 5 years we've been married. This is the first we've really invest in, so I'm super excited.

Ceramic Take Out Coffee Cups (These are from World Market, but H got me 2 from Old Navy.)

Run, Toto, Run! Hallmark Ornament...The Wizard of Oz is my favorite movie, so it meant a lot that the hubs got this for me.








From My Parents...

Initial House Flag, Garden Flag, and a new flag pole.

Now I have to admit I knew about these boots, but I was so excited to get them. They are all I've worn in the past two days.








Vera Bradley Twirly Bird Pink Ornament-so excited to put this on my tree next year!

Gold Canyon Pod Warmer with 5 different pods.












TomTom GPS-I have to share this with the hubs....

Victoria's Secret Dreamer Flannel PJ's...I love that they come in tall! I unfortunately do not quite look like this model.









Flip Ultra. As the hubs and I are both in the performing arts, we wanted a convienent video camera that could capture our performances. This will work nicely.

Technically this was for Sassy, our hound mix, but I was the one that wanted it: LLBean Embroidered Dog Collar She has had a habit of losing her tags, so this makes me feel better. And no, that's not her name or our phone number listed.







From the In Laws...

Express Rouched Front Sweater in Turquoise (not pictured). This is from H's entire family, but SIL works for Express, so we know who really picked it out.

Yankee Candle Buttercream Candle. This is a staple, and I love it!

Subscription to Real Simple Magazine. I'm so excited...I haven't had a subscription in a while!

Gift Card to Applebee's










We had a wonderful Christmas, and I'm not ready to let it go yet!

An Unexpected Christmas Surprise!

We live on the east coast...an area that rarely sees snow. This is an area that when an inch or two is forcasted, it's quite likely we'll be out of school for a day or two. The hubs and I were headed to my sister's house (local) for Christmas morning, and then off to his parents house (approximately 2 hours away) for the remainder of Christmas Day. From there, we were scheduled to head to his grandparents house in Pennsylvania (6 hours from his parents house, 8 from ours) through Thursday, Dec. 30. We were hoping to stop in Pittsburgh to go ice skating in Heinz Field, on the rink set up for the Winter Classic and stop off at Ikea as well. Unfortunately, our plans had to change  a little. Christmas Day brought a snow storm of epic proportions to our area.

Currently, we have two dogs. Sassy is our hound mix that we rescued 4 years ago, and we are currently keeping Willow, a Siberian Husky, that belongs to a friend of the hubs in the military. We are keeping him until he can take her to where he is (anticipated to be February or March). Sassy is staying with my parents, by Willow has some aggression issues and is quite active. We thought it would be better to keep the dogs separate in this strange situation, so we asked a friend to pet sit. We were already safely up at his parents when our pet sitter called with horrible news. She couldn't make it to our house. That was 8:30AM December 26. I told her to just try to get over there as soon as she could-she had last been over there at 8PM the previous night, thinking she'd be able to make it later that afternoon. Not ideal, but doable. Well, as of 6PM, she said there was no way she would be able to make it there and it was quite possible she could not make it out the next day.

I hated to do it, but I told the hubs we needed to head home. The interstate roads we traveled were not bad at all, but as soon as we got off of them, we entered treacherous territory. We were looking at a foot of snow on the ground in an area that shuts down after an inch of snow. It was frightening trying to drive home, and I was afraid our little Toyota Corolla wasn't going to make it. Gladly, we are safely home now. Willow was quite thirsty, and had made a minor a mess in her kennel, but was otherwise OK. I feel horrible about how stressed out she must have been while trapped, so she has been napping under the pool table all afternoon. After getting home, though, I understand why our pet sitter had difficulty getting from her house (10 minutes away) to our house.

In preparation for the Holidays...

So it's been a while. I'm sorry for neglecting you, my lonely little blog, but it's my busy season. Today is the first Saturday I've had free since August, never mind all the Fridays and weeknights I've been busy as well. And unfortunately, there's no wine in this entry either, but rather a little bit of anticipation for the holidays.

Mom and I went stopped by a little local Christmas shop today, which happens to be run by an old high school friend of hers. Our intention was to look for a piece to go with my Fontanini Christmas Nativity set. (Ironically, the couple that runs this shop sent us a "starter" set that included the Holy Family, a stable, and an angel when we got married.) These pieces are not cheap, but they are beautiful, and I'm quite content to accrue pieces slowly over time. We went in and found Jeremiah, a piece I actually referenced last year on my Christmas list.

Then we found David, the innkeeper's nephew. My 14 month old nephew's name is David as well, and he is currently in the hospital, recovering from a difficult surgery. We decided that David needed to be a part of my set as well.

Of course, you can't go into a shop like that and not browse around a bit. That also meant that we ended up picking some ornaments for the tree, too. I'm an M&Ms fiend, so we couldn't help but pick up this ornament.

Being a dancer, I have plenty of ballerina ornaments that I absolutely love. My passion, though, is jazz dance. Rarely do you see jazz dancer ornaments, and usually they are ugly or skanky looking. We found this cute "jazzerina" ornament.

 But I couldn't resist getting one more ballerina ornament, especially seeing as I'm doing two trees this year-one in gold with white lights and one with colorful lights and our "fun" ornaments. I can't wait to see it lit up with the lights. 

 So now I'm ready for the Christmas season...or at least Thanksgiving so I can start decorating. And the hubs is currently watching Home Alone, so I guess he's feeling it, too.

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The Christmas Wish List Revisited

I don't usually make lists, but since I did this year, I thought I'd revisit it. I cannot believe how generous my family was this year. But to start off on a negative note, here's what I didn't get.

A monogrammed wine stopper. I thought this was a shot in the dark. When I didn't receive it, I thought, "Well, I'll just buy it myself." No such luck. 2 BB&B were sold out of my letter...but I found a really cute one in Wegman's. I was so excited I had to buy one for myself and one for my mother in law.

Elements to go with my Fontanini Nativity scene. They're expensive, but my Nativity is really special to me...I wish I had more pieces, but I guess I'll just have to get them myself.

An Electric Tart Warmer and Yankee Candle Wax Tarts. While I didn't receive any tarts or a tart warmer, my in-laws did give me a yummy French Vanilla Jar Candle. I can retire my tarts for a while in honor of that.

Bath and Body Works Foaming Antibacterial Hand Wash. I'll have to hit Bath and Body works during their semi-annual sale.

LLBean Ultra Absorbent Monogrammed Towel. No towel this year. I guess I'll have to get one myself if I want to make it a pair.

So here's what I did get

Shiatsu Neck Massager. My aunt got me a Shiatsu pillow, which is fabulous. My neck has really been sore and it's helped it out a lot! My mom got me an actual neck massager, too, so I'm in style this year.

Fuzzy, Comfy Socks. The hubs finally did a stocking for me this year for the first time ever, and he put these in there. Woohoo!

Victoria's Secret Sleepover Flannel Pajamas in Red Stars. The hubs attempted to order these, but they were sold out. *Sigh* I thought I would have to get another style sometime later. Mom came through, though, and while the red ones were sold out, she got me the white ones with blue stars and matching slippers. I'm so excited to put them on tonight.

A Nice Travel Coffee Mug. My cousin's wife drew my name in the Secret Santa Exchange we do, and she got this exact mug, but in emerald green. It's lovely...and she put it together with a basket of Lindt and Ghiradeli chocolates and a sampling of Starbucks hot chocolate. So thoughtful...and yummy.

Wizard of Oz Pez Dispensers. Mom and Dad came through for this one. I was soooooo excited to open these up this morning.

Cuisinart Gourmet Griddler...the hubs and I went ahead and bought this for ourselves. We just couldn't pass up the deal on it. My parents also couldn't pass us the deal either...the one we purchased will be going back to the store

Other Gifts:
The hubster got me a iBook G4. Yes, it is a used old school iBook, but it is actually perfect for what I need. Now I won't have to lug my work computer home and deal with the eccentricities of that any more in my personal life.

The hubs also got me a warming electric throw blanket. I had one a few years ago that got ruined, so I'm so excited to have one again. I'm constantly freezing and love to be bundled up. The hubs knows me well. My parents also got me one, which makes the hubs happy as now we can both curl up in one.

My in-laws were super generous. In addition to the aforementioned candle, they also gave us some cute ornaments, Bath & Body Works Sea Island Cotton Lotion and Body Wash, and a Fossil make up bag along with a gift card to Dunkin Donuts.

My 4 month old nephew gave me a cute magnetic frame that says "I Love My Aunt." But who am I kidding, it was really from my sister. A four month old doesn't do much shopping.

And finally, my parents gave me a cute ornament of a train, in honor of a favorite Christmas song of mine.

I cannot believe how generous my husband and our families were to us. Gifts aside, it has been a spectacular Christmas, and when you add them back in, it was a Christmas waaaaaaaay beyond expectations.

Christmas Morning

My body somehow decided this morning it wanted to be up early, so I here I sit, Christmas Morning, waiting for the hubs to get up so we can go to my sister's house for Breakfast. It has been a fantastic Christmas thus far. We had a great time with my family last night-my grandmother's health was good, my nephew is doing remarkably well, and in general there was a sense of happiness and frivolity.

The hubs and I came home last night and enjoyed Christmas between us. He was extremely thoughtful with his gifts this year, and really seemed to enjoy what I had for him. On top of all that, we really enjoyed each other's company last night.

Today the plan is to go to my sister's for breakfast and be with our nephew for his first Christmas. From there, we will stop and see my grandmother who is in assisted living and then make our way up to his parents house for the next couple of days. We'll get the opportunity to see his grandparents and his uncle who, in our 7 years together, I have never met. We also have plans to go shopping and enjoy Ikea.

In the midst of all this exciting, I'm so thrilled to be able to share it with close family and friends. It is important for me to keep perspective on this Holiday. And while I am a Christian, I think that there is a lot to be taken from this season regardless of what belief system you follow. Love, kindness, and peace are all universal ideas , and I hope that you see examples of them throughout your day, week, even year.

God bless us, everyone.

Gift Giving

This morning I was reminded of why we give gifts, even small, seemingly insignificant ones. A teacher I work with is going through a very rough time. Her husband has been going through some quite severe health issues. They thought they had a diagnosis, but now the doctors are not sure. He's dealing with something that appears to be terminal, and they really do not know what is going on.

This weekend, the hubs and I were making some home made fudge and Chex Mix. I was putting together little gift buckets for some friends here at work and decided on a whim to make one for the aforementioned teacher. When I gave it to her this morning, her eyes lit up. She's going through such a hard time right now, something so insignificant as my little bucket of goodies made her day a little better. I'm sure it wasn't the prospect of fudge or Chex mix that made her particularly happy, but the unexpected gesture in such a dark time. I had no idea it would have such an impact, but I'm so glad I did what I could for her.

While I may have made her day a little better, she certainly made my Christmas.

Christmas Wish List

Christmas seems to keep coming earlier and earlier. I, however, refuse to acknowledge that the Christmas season begins any early than the day after Thanksgiving.The only problem is, frequently at ThanksgivingDinner, everyone wants to know what you want for Christmas. So this year I havebeen putting a little bit of thought into what I would like/need for Christmas. I like to think I'm now armed for whatever price range someone is shopping in.A monogrammed wine stopper. I love them, and they love the wine I drink. $9.99/Bed, Bath, and Beyond.
Elements to go with my Fontanini Nativity scene. We received the Holy family, a set of sheep and an angel as wedding gifts, and I also have a donkey now, too. One day, I hope to have a full set, but these things aren't cheap. At least $20/character. I'd like to have Jeremiah (pictured), Melchior, Balthasar, and Caspar as well as a camel.
Shiatsu Neck Massager. My neck is constantly killing me. I hate those stupid vibrating "massagers," but this one I think would make much more of a difference.HoMedics Neck and Shoulder Shiatsu Massager $24.99 at Target.



An Electric Tart Warmer. I know I've seen these in stores, but I can't find a durn picture online. At any rate, it would be nice to have one and not have to worry about lighting a candle underneath it.

Yankee Candle Wax Tarts. I'm fickle about my scents so this works better for me than a large Jar Candle. And I love most scents.

Fuzzy, Comfy Socks. I would live in these if I could. I don't care what color, but I love these chenille socks. The ones pictured are $5 at Old Navy.

Victoria's Secret Sleepover Flannel Pajamas in Red Stars. I hate spending this much money on PJs, but these are worth it. They come in a long length, which makes me happy and they are super comfy. Besides, I only get a pair every 3 years or so.

A Nice Travel Coffee Mug. This one is nice from Starbucks for $16.95, but really anything that is well insulated will do.

Bath and Body Works Foaming Antibacterial Hand Wash. I love this stuff...makes my hands feel yummy and doesn't leave residue in the sink. $5, but usually on sale at B&BW.
LLBean Ultra Absorbent Monogrammed Towel. I have one of these, and would love to complete the set. $18.95 in cadet blue.

I have an unhealthy Wizard of Oz obsession...and I'm not quite sure what I would do with these pez dispensers, but I desperately want them. $17.99/Target or $19.99/World Market or $15.99/KMart


Cuisinart Gourmet Griddler...the hubs and I have drooled over this for years. You can make paninis, hamburgers, open it up and use it as a griddle....I'm pretty sure it'll even clean your house for you. And it's back on sale at Costco for $89.99.

So much to be Thankful for...

'Tis the season to be thankful. And on this Thanksgiving Day, I'd like to take a moment to discuss some of the things I'm thankful for.

1. My husband. He drives me crazy from time to time, but seriously, what human doesn't. He loves and respects me, despite all my quirks, and truly enriches my life. It's been a long year for him, but he's on the cusp of something new and exciting, and I truly admire all the work he's doing.

2. My family. I have wonderfully supportive and caring parents, an honest and humorous sister, and a loving extended family. We have had dealt with our share of health issues as family, and as we continue to deal with them, it's good to know we have each other to lean on.

3. My friends. Thankfully, I have friends that are just as cynical and sarcastic as I am. In that cynicism and sarcasm ,though, they've been strong and supportive to me. And without them, I'd never make it through this world.

4. My job. As much as it drives me crazy, I'm lucky to have a job, particularly one in my rather limited area of interest and expertise. And I feel like I'm finally starting to get some of the respect I deserve.

5. My house. I love my house, as "Brady Buch" as it may be. It's beautiful, it's fun, and it keeps the elements away from me.

6. My Pets. Nothing compares to the unconditional love of a dog, except for maybe the random moments your cat decides she really does love you and wants to cuddle. I am fortunate enough to have both.

7. Coffee. And everyone who encounters me first thing in the morning is thankful for this, too.

8. Wine. What a yummy treat.

9. Chocolate. See above.

10. Beautiful Fall Days. There is nothing like the beautiful colors and crisp weather of a fall day. It truly reminds you there is beauty every where.

What are you thankful for on this Thanksgiving Day?