All I Want for Christmas...

I’m trying to be positive about the fact that I am working this week (my only day off being Christmas Day). I’m trying to think of all the work I’ll get done and how quiet it will be here during the day. And yes, those are good things. But to be honest, I would much prefer to be at home with the hubster, my mother-in-law and my parents and brother. We could bake yummies, watch Christmas movies, sleep in, drink coffee and take walks.

 

This year I’ll have to settle for doing all of that on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. There is a TON to pack into those 36 hours hours!

Sweater

My company had an “ugly Christmas sweater” contest at work. Here are the contestants and “patchwork Sally”. J

 

Christmas came early

Beau had a surprise Christmas gift for me tonight!  Surprise reservations at Tristan's for dinner and then tickets to The Nutcracker! Do I have the best husband or what!?!?

I cried I was so happy! It's wonderful!  Love this man!

On the Gamecock Field

A couple of months ago, I (Kathryn) contacted a friend of mine who is the chaplain for the Carolina Gamecocks asking him if he could get Beau and I field passes for one of the upcoming games. He said it was doubtful, but he would  try and to ping him back in a couple of weeks. Had to put that one my calendar so I didn’t forget, but it happened. I pinged him and much to my surprise he was able to snag us two passes to the field for the pre-game before Coastal Carolina. My friend said he can never get passes when asks for them, but miraculously was able to do so this time. We were so thankful!

 

Our good friend, Dan, met Adrian (chaplain) at the stadium earlier in the week and picked up our passes. And that’s when I spilled the beans to Beau. He was thrilled!

 

Saturday we show up way early to the 1:00 game so that we can really enjoy every minute that we’re allowed to be on that field.

 

Walking into the stadium, we’re kind of nervous about where we’re allowed to go and what to expect. But everyone was so nice and helpful, wanting to show us things and let us take plenty of pictures.

 

We were able to personally say “Thank you” to Adrian, stand under the tent that the Gamecocks run out from under, stand super close to some of them and literally stand on the sidelines where they spend six Saturdays a season. It was wonderful. It really was neat to be there.

 

 

Sibling Outing

Sent from my iPadBeau and I drove up to NC in October to celebrate Dad's birthday. Unfortunately I don't have any pictures of that evening...

But the night before we went out with the siblings! We shared dips and drinks and crazy jokes! We always have a great time with them!

Tim Tam Slam

Sent from my iPadI had a friend a few years back that introduced me to Tim Tams. I will be forever grateful to you Dimity! Our friend, Danny, visited the lovely country of Australia a few weeks ago ( where these cookies are made) and was kind enough to bring us a few packages!

On this day Beau and I arrived at our tailgate spot to find Danny heating up water for tea and brewing coffee over a Coleman stove in preparation for the Tim Tam Slam!

Here's the deal...it's a chocolate wafer cookie stuffed with chocolate and coated on all sides with chocolate. It's that really milky smooth chocolate like Cadberry's. You bite off two corners of the cookie on opposite ends and then dip it in coffee or tea and suck up the beverage through the cookie. All the while the chocolate is melting giving a wonderfully smooth chocolate coffee flavor in your mouth.

Butter Tasting

I was blown away when I saw the butter tasting on this menu. Holy cow!
Butter tasting?!?!


http://etchrestaurant.com/index.php/menu/dinner-menu/

Advent Wreath

Beau and I have great neighbors that are here for a few years from Germany, Eddie and Steffi. They have three great kids and they’re so much fun! Steffi never ceases to amaze me as she is Suzie Homemaker for sure! She makes her own bread, pasta and mustard! A couple of Saturdays ago, we were greeted in the morning with fresh out of the oven homemade pretzels for breakfast. It was fantastic!

 

On this Monday night Steffi invited us over to make and Advent Wreath with her. I had never done one. We’re not Catholic. And that’s shown because I only bought three candles instead of four. Whoops. But they were gracious stating that one Sunday had already gone by so it was actually quite fitting.

 

What do you think?!?!

 

This is the way it is

Driving back from Columbia after crashing at a friend's house, this is what we've got...Beau in his Gamecock pants with an under shirt and my sunglasses while cleaning the windows at a gas station on Rivers Ave. Geesh.

Day 4

Day 4 was very laid back. We ate some excellent Mexican food at El Molino Central. Really fresh ingredients and interesting ways of combining them. The tacos we ordered were almost like empanadas. We then headed back to the house and chilled out before walking into town where the girls shopped and the us guys watched the NFL at a bar in the square. We then headed back to the house to head to Ad Hoc. This was in my opinion the best meal we went out for. The only option was a prix fix menu but we added the wine pairing. It started with a salad, followed by a pasta and the main course which was pork belly and scallops. Then there was a cheese course and finally desert which was a deconstructed apple pie.

Day 3

Day 3 began with the Gamecocks losing the TN, but it was nice to get it over with early since it started at 9AM. I can't imagine getting up early enough to watch gameday. Anyway, we headed to our wine tour. We hit 5 wineries of various sizes, but all were great. The first picture in the cave is from Deer Field Winery. We concluded the night at Press. Great restaurant but the service took away from the experience. They were slow to seat us by 45 minutes and the bar didn't seem to want our business. That said they food was awesome. Kathryn and I split a 48 oz bone in ribeye.

On the way to be slaughtered

We're on our way to a friend's house for dinner and the slaughtering of this little fella. He has no idea what's in store for him...but at least he's safe until he gets there.

More pics from Day 2

Sent from my iPad

A day of our own

Sent from my iPad

Day two:
We left San Francisco and drove to Sausolito for lunch. We ate at a fantastic place at the marina called Fish. We sat outside with sun shining down and the cool, crisp air blowing our hair. I tried my hand at a hard Pumpkin Cider made in Sonoma. That was so good I had another! The food? Fish and chips, oysters on the half shell, ceviche, shrimp tacos with cashew salsa, calamari salad, salmon Bahn mi, etc.

We then hopped in the car and drove onto Sonoma. We made a stop at the store and bought everything we needed for linguine and clams! We bought some great cheese with truffles initial and the Trojanowski clan treated us with a chocolate soufflé cake from Tartine. :)

The boys also went off looking for bourbon and stumbled upon a distillery :) Very cool place with the barrels all around as you can see!

Sent from my iPad

San Fran day 1

We flew into San Fran to start our vacation with Josh and Kelly and kicked it off with lunch at the Fisherman's Wharf. Pretty good but a little touristy but it was the start of amazing weather. We then dropped the car off and found a place for drinks, Hog and Rocks, in the Mission district while we waited for Ivania and Martino to arrive. We then ate at the Chinese Mission which was awesome!!! Some of the delicious dishes: Briskett with broccoli, Pork Belly with Radishes, Egg Noodles, Fried Long Beans with Chilis, Smoked Lamb Shank and Lamb Dumplings. That's right! Fantastic! Cool story http://missionchinesefood.com/sf/ that it started as a roving kitchen that developed a following.

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Sent from my iPad

The Spa for Mom's Birthday

Jenn and I (and Chris) surprised mom with a day (a few hours actually) at the spa. We had scheduled an hour massage for all of us. All staying in the same room. That place really pampered us! We were given tea and foot scrub/soak prior, and a neck warmer prior to going in.

 

And really, one of the best massages I’ve ever had.

 

After that, mom and I had pedicures to finish off the day. Super relaxing and fun!

 

Mom's Birthday Weekend Cont'

I just realized I never posted the rest of them!

 

That Friday night we took mom to one of Jenn and I’s faves, Curate. It’s a Spanish Tapas joint that’s super tasty. We had a very long and lazy dinner as we continued to order more and more small plates.

 

The next day we made a stop for lunch at FIG, a French Bistro. We all ordered salads that actually hit the spot quite nicely.

 

And for dinner we took her to the Redstag Grill. It had the décor of an old hunt club inside. Men would love it! So you can imagine…they’re known for their steaks. And steaks we got! Fantastic. Super tendy and flavorful. And the staff was great, bringing mom and chocolate lava cake for her birthday. We had a wonderful time there and would highly recommend it for the future. Our goal, is to stay in their hotel at some point!