The Illustrious Biltmore Estate (aka American Downton Abbey)

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We are back from our TN/NC adventure!  It was good to see family and we had a fabulous time.  We did and saw a TON during the 9 days we were gone, but I think one of the highlights for me was getting to see the Biltmore Estate, the grand French Chateauesque mansion built by George W. Vanderbilt II in the late 1800s.  The property spans over 8000 acres and includes some of the most beautiful views of the Blue Ridge Mountains and the Pisgah National Forest.  The house itself has 250 rooms (we got to see approximately 40 of them) and encompasses almost 180,000 square feet.  It has been established as the largest privately-owned residence in the US.

Being a history nerd, I knew I would love it, but there is something about being there in person…  I told Tadd that while we were on property, I almost felt like we were in a real life fairy tale.  This is about as close to European castle as you are going to get on American soil.  And being Downton Abbey fans, Tadd and I could not help but make comparisons.  Especially when we got to the kitchen and the servants areas.  However, I think my favorite room of all had to be the unbelievable dining hall.  I think I remember the tour audio mentioning that the room itself is about 7 stories tall.  The fireplace alone is mindbogglingly enormous, and is technically three fireplaces in one.  You can see a small photo of it here, although to truly get the scale of it, you really have to see it in person.

We took a ton of pictures while we were there, but only of the exterior, since photography was not allowed indoors.  Please know that the photos do this place zero justice, and if you ever have the opportunity to visit this place, I highly urge you to do so.  Between the interior tour, walking around the grounds, with lunch and shopping in the middle, this can easily take up an entire day or more.  We still wanted to see more (including the on site winery!) but I figure it gives us a reason to go back.  And I promise, I will be back!  I would love to go at Christmas time.  The house debuted on Christmas Eve 1895, so Christmas is kind of a big deal here.  They also have specialized tours (focused on architecture, landscaping, even one specifically about the lives of the “help”) that give you exclusive access not granted on the standard tour, so I would love to take one or two of those as well.  See?  Lots of reasons to go back!

Here are some of my favorite shots from the day, which is a lot of them because pretty much everywhere you look is some astonishingly beautiful sight, large or small (makes it very very easy to pretend to be a “good” photographer…heh):

Some random thoughts…

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I know things on the blog have been quiet lately.  I have had some great ideas for posts and items to share, but have not gotten a chance to put the posts together in the way I wanted to.  So I just thought I would throw together a quick mish-mash of some random items that have been going on in my life or floating through my head lately.

I noticed I was running kind of low on my favorite foaming handsoaps and candles (and my collection of fall/holiday scents are so large that we have been using up those things, which feels so wrong in April…).  So made a large spring/summer purchase at Bath & Body Works recently.  Thanks to sales and coupon codes, I got everything shown for less than $30 shipped!

I haven’t tried everything yet, but I can attest to the fact that the Gelato candle is fruitier than I thought, but still yummy.  It’s a creamy berry scent.  Also, the Espresso Bar candle isn’t really all that great.  I was hoping for something similar to my FAVORITE Hazelnut Coffee scent from Yankee Candle, but it just wasn’t up to par.  Also, I haven’t burned it yet, but the Pineapple Orchid candle smells JUST like a tropical Starburst!  Haven’t tried any of the handsoaps yet, but the Citrus Fig leaked the tiniest bit in the box and it smells AMAZING.

Last Friday Tadd and I had the most incredible date night!  We went to dinner at this secret speakeasy on Sand Lake Road, called Pharmacy.  The fun thing about this spot is that there is no sign, and it’s kind of hidden/disguised, so finding it is part of the fun.  It’s a speakeasy, so of course that’s the point.  I won’t give away more than that, but if you search around online you will be able to figure it out.   The food was great (we had the fondue appetizer and the sausage pizza) and drinks are pricey, but STRONG.  Trust me, you only need one!  Everything is made from scratch, including carbonating and bottling their own fizzy cocktails.  I had a King Mark fizz, pictured below, which was made with 44 North Huckleberry Vodka, Great King Street Scotch, Maraschino Liqueur.  In addition to what was in the glass, I still had the cocktail leftover in the bottle to drink!  It was $12, but like I said…pricey, but one is all you need!  By the way…Don’t you love the glassware?

Afterward dinner, we went to Hard Rock Live to see Anthony Bourdain!  We are big fans of all of his shows and books.  I was able to score tickets on Groupon for $33 each, which was a steal.  As you would probably expect, he told tons of stories about his life in the restaurant business, behind the scenes antics on his shows, and insights on the other Food Network and Travel Channel celebrities.  Extremely entertaining!  So glad I jumped on those tickets when I saw them on Groupon!  If you get a chance to see him live, I highly recommend it.

I am not sure when I will be able to post next, but keep a close watch on the blog, as well as my Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram feeds!  Tadd and I are going on another Tennessee adventure soon!  On the agenda this time: Visiting some breweries, geocaching, Jack Daniel’s Distillery Tour, maybe visiting Loretta Lynn’s dude ranch, and who knows what else.  Plus we are taking a bonus side trip to Asheville, NC!  Should be some fun and exciting sightseeing in our immediate future.  Follow along!

Also, don’t forget:  Tomorrow is “May The Fourth” Be With You/Star Wars Day!  I will proudly be wearing my Princess Leia shirt and my Star Wars headband.  I love that I am getting so much mileage out of them!

Enjoy your weekend!

Happy Earth Day!

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In honor of Earth Day, and Disney’s Animal Kingdom’s 15th anniversary, I thought I would share some of the pictures we took during our recent visit to Animal Kingdom.  One of my favorite moments of the day was seeing the tigers up and active!  Every time I haved visited them in the past, they have been fast asleep in the shade.  They were stalking each other and playing together.  So cute!

 

My Boston Pride

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I thought about posting some kind of reactionary diatribe about what happened in Boston this past Monday, but realized that it would only contribute to what this horrible excuse for a human being wanted…notoriety, fame, attention.  So instead, I will focus my efforts on something more sentimental and positive…What I love about “my” city.

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There are so many reasons to love the city of Boston.

It is not just filled with history, but it is layered in history, centuries deep.  I love that you can walk around and see buildings right next to each other in vastly different styles that work together to create the environment and skyline.  150-year old Romanesque cathedrals next to modern glass sky scrapers.  Colonial style marketplaces next to mid-century office complexes.

This is going to sound enormously cheezy, but when you are there, you can feel the history around you.  I challenge you to have a meal at Union Oyster House and wander around that area and not feel like you are surrounded by living, breathing history.  Some of those old pubs transport you to a different time & place.  We have nothing like that in Orlando.  Nothing even close.

I find the city to be incredibly visually pleasing.  From the aforementioned architecture, to the monuments, to the parks, to the gorgeous tulips and daffodils and flowering trees blooming everywhere you look in the spring.  Boston is beautiful.

The people of Boston are an interesting sort.  It’s a mixture of learned university-types from somewhere else and old-school folks whose roots run generations deep into the fabric of the city.  Another odd mix of old and new that just works.  It is said that people in Boston walk faster and talk faster and are always in a hurry, but I think it’s just that they know where they are going and want to get there.   They want to live life as much as possible and simply don’t feel the need to meander or dawdle in between.

And if you think that people are less friendly there than they are in areas better known for their hospitality, I would beg to differ.  As illustrated by the heroic and heartwarming actions that took place on Monday, I would say that Bostonians on the whole are a warm and welcoming bunch…They just go about it in a different way than their Southern or Midwestern counterparts.

If you are talking Boston, of course, you can’t forget the sports.  I have already talked at length about my love of the Red Sox.  And I’m sure I don’t need to elaborate on the fierce loyalty the city has for the Pats, Bruins, and Celtics.  This love also extends to the college teams.  And of course, the Marathon.  If it’s sports and it’s Boston, the whole city (and usually the entirity of New England) will be rooting for them.  I sometimes wish that Orlando had a similar “great sports city” feel.  But then I think that it still wouldn’t be Boston.  Nothing is like Boston.

I know I moved away from the area when I was 9, but I still feel my connection to the city runs very deep.  It’s one of those places that you don’t just visit, you become a part of it.  And it sticks with you after you leave.   And in all of this recent flurry of media coverage, I see Boston at its best: strong, no-nonsense, pulling together and doing what needs to be done during the hardest of times.  It makes me proud to say that I’m a Boston girl.

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Exciting news!

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Tadd and I made a decision on what we want to do to celebrate our 10 year anniversary next year.  We booked a 10-night British Isles cruise!  I know it’s way far in advance to be super excited yet, or even to really be able to do much real planning, but I just wanted to share!

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Day 1 – Harwich, England

Day 2 – Paris (Le Havre), France

Day 3 – St. Peter Port, Channel Isl

Day 4 – Cork (Cobh), Ireland

Day 5 -Waterford (Dunmore E.), Ireland

Day 6 – Dublin, Ireland

Day 7 – Liverpool, England

Day 8 – Glasgow (Greenock), Scotland

Day 9 – Holyhead, Wales

Day 10 – At Sea

Day 11 – Harwich, England

From the History Geek Files: Fort San Lorenzo

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This week marks the 2 year anniversary of a really fun vacation that Tadd and I took with some really great people.  Back in April 2011 (about a month before I started this blog!), a group of 12 of us sailed for 8 nights on the Carnival Freedom, stopping at Cozumel, Mexico; Limon, Costa Rica; and Colon, Panama.

I really loved this particular itinerary because it wasn’t your normal Caribbean island hopping cruise.  Not that there is anything wrong with Caribbean island hopping (we will be doing just that later on this year).  It’s just that the ports of call for this cruise were more focused on adventures in the rain forest, interacting with some incredible wildlife, and learning about different cultures.  Something totally different, exotic, and FUN!

One of my favorite moments on the trip was our stop in Panama.  We took a tour that had multiple stops.  We got to see the Panama Canal, took a brief hike through the rainforest, but the best part was after the hike.  We were taken to a small, secluded, driftwood-laden beach on the banks of the Chagres River.

Our guide pointed to a teeny bit of what looked like ruins on the top of a cliff and stated that this would be where we were headed next.  You can see the cliff with the ruins behind us in the picture at the top of this post.  Didn’t look like much from the beach.  But this is what we saw when we got there:

This is Fort San Lorenzo, and it dates back to 1587.  However, as military forts throughout history often are, this one was destroyed and rebuilt a few times, most recently in the 1750s.  It was built by Spain to protect the Pacific/Atlantic trade route across the isthmus of Panama from pirates.  I was totally enamored with the fact that some of the cannons (which were, as you can see, haphazardly strewn about the “gun deck” which has now completely been overgrown with grass) still had the seal of the Spanish crown.  And these cannons were not roped off or encased in glass…They were just lying around in the open.  As a matter of fact, the entire site was completely open to the public.  Unlike Castillo De San Marcos in St. Augustine, which requires you to go through a ticket booth and purchase admission for a tour and even contains a gift shop, this has no gates or even anyone who appeared to be in a “park ranger” type role.  It was just raw history, there to be discovered by anyone who cared to check it out.  Aside from a few handrails and some signage, it didn’t look like it had been touched for hundreds and hundreds of years.

Between getting to be so close to some fascinating history, appreciating the impressive architecture of the fort, and those gorgeous views, I really felt like I was in a special place, and it’s something I have looked back on fondly over the two years since the trip.  If I am ever lucky enough to make it back to Panama, I would love to go back (and with a much better camera!).

For us history geeks, there really is nothing like a beautiful, old Spanish fort…

No Bake Banana Split Cake

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Hope you had a fabulous weekend!  And a belated happy Easter to those who celebrate.

We had a busy day, starting with exchanging Easter baskets with Tadd…

Followed by a trip over to my Great Aunt’s house for a big family gathering, then a trip to a local park to hang out with some friends.  It was a lovely day.  Gorgeous weather too.

As usual, I contributed one of the desserts to the family Easter meal.  This time I decided to make something that my mom used to make when I was growing up.  She passed the recipe onto me, and whenever I make it, it’s always a HUGE hit.  It’s a great warm weather recipe, because it doesn’t require use of the oven.

No Bake Banana Split Cake

12-oz box vanilla wafers (ignore the fact that there are 2 boxes in this pic)

2 sticks butter

1 brick cream cheese

2 cups confectioner’s sugar

20-oz can of crushed pineapples

5 or 6 bananas

1 tub of whipped topping

a handful or two of chopped walnuts

12 or so maraschino cherries

The first step is Tadd’s favorite part…Crush the vanilla wafers (click the link for an amazing demonstration of this important step)!  Melt the butter and combine with the crushed wafers.  Press evenly into the bottom of a 9×13 pan.

Mix the cream cheese and sugar until it has a creamy, frosting-like consistency.  Spread over the vanilla wafer crust.

Drain the pineapples and spoon in an even layer over the cream cheese.   Slice the bananas and place on top of the pineapple layer.

Spread the whipped topping over the bananas, and then sprinkle with chopped walnuts, and top with cherries.  Viola!

When I say it was a hit…Some people had seconds and I know of at least one person who had thirds.  I have zero leftovers.  People just love this stuff.  Give it a try!

My Wine List

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I want to preface this post by stating up front that I am NOT a wine expert by any means.  I like what I like, and it may not be what you like.  However, I wanted to share 5 vastly different wines that I happen to love for various reasons.  If you ARE a wine expert, I would imagine that this list would seem silly to you.  However, if you are an average, casual wine-enjoyer like me, some of these suggestions might help you the next time you are trying to decide which bottle to choose.

By the way, these are in no particular order…

1. Banfi Rosa Regale

BEST FOR: Celebrations

Banfi Rosa Regale, Brachetto d'Acqui

This is my go-to special occasion wine.  If you are celebrating, there is nothing better than a chilled flute of bubbly Rosa in your hand to toast with!  Regular old champagne is great on its own, but for me, this is a step above.  It’s a little more fruity, and a little more complex.  We always bring a bottle on board with us every time we cruise.  We have also used it to celebrate birthdays, promotions, anniversaries, you name it.  Lots of happy memories with this wine!

2. Ca’ Montebello Sangue di Guida

BEST FOR: Girls Night In!Ca' Montebello Sangue di Giuda

My girlfriends and I love this one.  Actually, Tadd loves it too.  It’s sweet, but not cloying, and ever so slightly carbonated.  Not to the level of a champagne, but enough so that we have all nicknamed it “wine soda”.  Just delicious.  Because I can’t always find a bottle of this, honorable mention goes out to Stella Rosa Rosso, which is not quite the same, but fits the bill when we have a craving for “wine soda”.  Random fact: “Sangue di Guida” means “blood of Judas”.

3. Conundrum

BEST FOR: A reasonable splurge

Conundrum

Conundrum is a white blend (Viognier, Muscat, Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay), and is a little more expensive than the typical wines I drink in average, everyday settings.  Being somewhat frugal-minded, I tend to lean towards wines in the $10 range, and this is usually twice that price at Total Wine.  However, I think if you were to push me to pick 1 wine as my all-time, all around favorite, this would be it.  So when I want to indulge myself in a little splurge, this is my choice.  They have a red blend as well, which I also love.

4. Pacific Peak Merlot

BEST FOR: Budget shoppers

Pacfic Peak Merlot

I  must give credit to my dad for introducing me to this one.  This is one of those quality-for-the-price picks.  Is it the best Merlot ever?  No, but it’s actually pretty good and perfectly drinkable.  And here’s the kicker: I can buy a bottle of Pacific Peak Merlot at Total Wine for $2.97!  I have also tried their Cabernet and Chardonnay at the same price, and while not bad, the Merlot is definitely better.  It’s wonderful on a Tuesday night after a hard day of work when you don’t necessarily want to drink something fancy, but still want an enjoyable glass of wine to relax with.

5. Skinny Girl California Red

BEST FOR: The calorie-counter.Skinny Girl California Red

We all know that alcoholic beverages are not the best for us.  They are high in calories and carbs and don’t always jive with a healthy eating plan.  A glass of wine here and there in moderation is fine, of course.  But if you are really watching your diet, you can still enjoy a 100-calorie glass of Skinny Girl wine.  To be honest, I am not a huge fan of the other Skinny Girl products.  The white and rose wines are not bad, but not great.  The margarita is AWFUL!  But I find this red wine to be fairly enjoyable.  Especially when you consider that each glass is only 1 Weight Watchers point.  My only complaint would be price.  I can get them occasionally at my local Publix for $14/bottle.  It’s not totally unreasonable, but I would be happier to see it closer to $10.

What is your favorite wine?  Do you drink the same wine all the time, or do you buy different wines for different occasions?