Merry Monday

Good morning friends. Recapping a fun weekend here today and linking it all with Holly (Pink Lady) and Sarah's (Sunshine and Books)  Hello Monday blog hop. Here's how ours looked-

Many months ago I saw that a band I love was going to be in Knoxville in December, and somewhat spontaneously we bought tickets and invited hubs and his brother and sister-in-law to join us. In hindsight, spending a weekend away in the month of December might have added to the busy-ness of the season, but it also added to the fun festive feel we long for this time of year. 

Hubs and I drove over the mountain and through the construction woods to his brother's lake house on Friday. The ride through Asheville and also through the ongoing construction on the Tennessee border went pretty smoothly and we made it to their house early afternoon. The little brown dog is always so excited to see one of his favorite people, aka my sister-in-law. 

We chatted and caught up, then headed into town to meet a college friend for dinner. It was a fun night in a festive venue and we were seated just beside one of their pretty trees. 

Saturday morning we watched some College Game Day, then made our way to a Christmas market being held at Maryville College. Such a lovely campus and we enjoyed browsing the stalls there. This little hot chocolate truck, a remodeled horse wagon, was adorable-

We bought a couple of stocking stuffers then stopped in to see the RT Lodge we've heard so much about. It's stunning! I've added it to my list of places I need to spend a night. R.T. Lodge has an interesting history dating back to 1932 when Susan Wiley Cooper Walker, the widow of Andrew Carnegie's business associate John Walker moved to Maryville. 

She fell in love with the wooded grounds surrounding the campus and persuaded the administration to allow the building of a residence in those woods if she agreed to will the home to the College upon her death. 

She passed away in 1950 and the college President lived in the home for a time. In 1997 Ruby Tuesday leased with the university to develop the property as a training facility and retreat center. 

They restored the main lodge, carriage house, and grounds and added two additional buildings to the property. 

Insert sidebar here-we need these super long skewers and the containers for our firepit. Carry on. 

SANTA!! I KNOW HIM!!

The Lodge operation has expanded to become a hotel, restaurant, spa, and special event center and it is an absolutely beautiful facility. We tried to book dinner there for this weekend quite a while back, but there wasn't availability. Definitely going to do that another time though. 

We came home and watched some football before picking up hubs mom for dinner in another great spot in town-The Walnut Kitchen. 

They seated us beside the tree here too which made it feel very Christmasy. Sunday morning we went to church with my brother-in-law and sister-in-law and then Sunday night was show time. 

SHOW TIME! 

Also Episode 9 in our dating chronicles. 

We saw Needtobreathe at the Tennessee Theatre and they were, as always, fantastic. It was actually a double date, but that counts too. Hubs brother and sister-in-law went with us, and we all had a great time. 

The band has roots in our neck of the woods, and my girls saw them play at fraternity parties on their college campus long before they became well known. 

In a funny small world sort of thing, we ran into a couple who are neighbors of ours in SC. Turns out they're good friends with the parents of the band's bass player and he's leaving the band, so they came over to TN with his parents to see this last show. I love when these kind of unexpected connections happen. The venue is beautiful and I don't think there's a bad seat in the house. 

Also, the band is so good. 

We'll head home this morning so we're back in time to regroup before our Monday evening event. 'Tis the season! 

What kind of fun did you get into this weekend?

Episodes Seven and Eight

Linking today with Joanne for Talking About It Tuesdays 

If you've been reading here you know hubs and I are aiming for 52 dates in 52 (ish) weeks. I'm recording them here because I think it might be fun to put them all in a photo book at the end of the year. 

I'm two episodes behind because the days are flying and full and writing it all down isn't happening the way it used to. Today will be a two for one kind of post. 

Day date episode seven. Here it is-

Backing up two weeks to this day, which was part of a week where we had stuff on the calendar every single day. Now some of that 'stuff' meant we spent time together, but I'm trying to make these moments we mark as just for us. 

Lunch at McAllisters it was. 

Hubs had an appointment in the city and I had an appointment to get my nails done. We met for lunch on his way home, after I left the salon and also after I stopped to mail a package, but before I hit the grocery store which happened to be in the same shopping center as McAllisters. 

Some weeks are like this, and I'm going to say simple is very welcome in the middle of busy.

I like their food and we each got a half sandwich with their broccoli cheddar soup which was delish. We had a nice time and talked about some of the day date places we might go and see and do in the new year. 

Day date episode eight happened on Saturday. Originally we had decided on Wednesday, but then the weather was spectacular and it made more sense for hubs to get the outside lights up while he could wear shorts since cooler weather was on the way for the weekend. 

We pivoted to Saturday and we bundled up. Actually it felt festive to put on my furry boots and my 'Canada coat' as it's been dubbed because hubs bought it for me in Canada more than 25 years ago. People still stop me whenever I wear it to ask where I got it. The boots I got in France, not quite 20 years ago but they're still a favorite and so warm. 

We headed into the city to check out a small Christmas market. When I see hubs in his hat I feel like it should have a post of its own.  He bought the hat in Austria after much hard selling on the part of the vendor. She told him she'd add the Edelweiss pin for free if he purchased so he said yes. This hat has been such a fun thing all these many years, the start of many a conversation with people everywhere who spy a pin from a place they love, or who are just curious about what the pins represent. 

The pins (currently numbering 53) started mostly by accident. He added one when he bought the hat, then ended up adding another on that same trip, and then another the next place we went, and so on and so on, and suddenly it became a thing. He's traveled all around the world adding pins to mark the miles, and now this hat tells the story of a most interesting life. 

I love going in to the city this time of year. The past few years we've gone to a Christmas show at the theatre there, but this year we can't make it work, so this might be it. 

The market was set up just outside of The Grand Bohemian Lodge, a luxury hotel whose architecture was inspired by the National Parks. Lots of stone and cedar and it's really beautiful. Besides lodging they have a spa, restaurant, bar, and an art collection featuring both local and internationally known artists. 

The Bohemian has been around for about three years now, but we've never stayed overnight or eaten in their restaurant. It was a chilly day, but we enjoyed browsing the stalls and made a couple of gift purchases before heading inside to warm up and have lunch.  

We sat at the bar, and per usual hubs immediately made friends with the people beside us. It's one of his very best qualities and something I love about him. It can also be annoying but mostly I love it. 

They had a brunch menu with some lunch options and I ordered eggs benedict because if it's on the menu that's what I order. Hubs got shrimp and grits for the same reason. Both were delicious. 

We also had to try an order of their deviled eggs which were so good-pickled mustard seeds, crispy maple duck confit, and chives. 

We walked through town and went in a couple of shops too. It wasn't overly crowded because locals were all inside somewhere watching the Clemson-South Carolina game. Yay Tigers! We were home in time to watch Tennessee play Vandy which was super painful, but we did finish decorating the tree while the madness happened and that helped. 

And now here we are, another week filled to the brim with happenings. Our next date might just be be that trip to Costco with lunch somewhere after since we've put it on the calendar. This is retirement. And December. And our life in this season. 

Which is actually pretty sweet. 

A Holly Jolly Weekend Recap

Another weekend in the books and it was a good one. Lots of holiday-ing with friends and some much needed down time too. I feel like the last quarter of the year was a literal sprint to December, but December is proceeding at a manageable pace, or at least it is for me. 

I've got to hit one more shop today to finish up my gift buying, and look forward to having that done. Almost everything is wrapped, except for the two or three packages expected to arrive this week, and the decorating is done too. I'm looking forward to lots of tea sipped by the tree from now until January. 

I was going to include some of our holiday decorating in this post, but instead I think I'll make that a post all it's own here tomorrow. Today I'm linking with Holly and Sarah for their Monday morning weekend recap. This was ours-

Friday night hubs and I went into a nearby little town to see their Christmas market. The town square had a beautiful tree right in it's center, the restaurant on the square had a little tavern set up where you could buy mulled wine or spiced cider, and Mr. and Mrs. Claus were set up in the cutest little cottage on the opposite side of the square. 

There were musicians adding to the festive atmosphere and it was chilly which is how I like my Christmas season to feel. The market was small, and I'm sure will likely expand going forward. We browsed the stalls, then grabbed dinner at one of the restaurants on the market street. 

Saturday hubs and I made a trip to Hobby Lobby as he needed something for his evening's 'costume' and I of course always need something from Hobby Lobby. We shared a plate of nachos for lunch at a favorite Mexican spot before heading home. 

Saturday night was our annual Santa Pub Crawl with ninety of our closest friends lol. Everyone dresses for the occasion and while it originally was almost all Santas we now have quite the mix of elves, reindeer, Grinches, snowmen and more. 

It's so much fun and we raise money for a local charity at the same time. We missed it last year as hubs was under the weather, but the year before that I wore my leg lamp costume (from A Christmas Story) and it was a big hit. 

I also froze and my feet ached by the time we got back to the hotel lobby where the band was playing so I opted for warmth this year. Hubs wears his leg lamp suit every year and it's extra. This year I had three layers on under my Mrs. Claus dress and wore my favorite furry boots. We had a great time with the whole gang. 

Sunday was gray and rainy all day long so I made a big pot of vegetable beef soup Sunday afternoon and we sat by the fire and the light of the Christmas tree. So nice!

What did your middle of December weekend look like? I hope it was merry! 

Weekend Tidings of Comfort and Joy

Nobody's mentioned the weather on their blog today, have they?  Ha!  It seems the whole US of A has had some weather this weekend, unless you count Florida, but I won't because who doesn't love a little ice and snow in early December?

We had a full weekend filled with all manner of festivity. Raise your hand if you love this most magical time of the year? I won't tell you how many attempts were made to capture this selfie, but it was so pretty when we came out of the restaurant last night I insisted we try. And try again. And again.

As we walked to our car snowflakes were falling, tinytowns Christmas tree beside the lake was aglow with its mass of colored lights, the trees in the village were all twinkly and fairy-like, and we both agreed that we love it. All of it. Even the craziness that we woke up to this morning, which essentially is a driveway turned skating rink.

I got up to go to bootcamp, because FYI the weekend included more than a little eating out, but alas no boot camp.  No way could I get my car down the driveway. I guess maybe I could have gotten down the drive, but not without taking out some serious rocks and the pillars at the curb. Hubs made a valiant attempt to get to his office at the normal time, but it just wasn't happening. He finally headed for the office a few minutes ago, so I'm hoping the roads are in better shape than our driveway.

Friday evening we stayed home. It was nice. I sometimes think I'd like to have a Christmas tree in my house year round, but I suppose the special-ness of that would wane. Maybe. Arctic air swept in here on Saturday...naturally, because that's the day hubs needed to put up the outside lights. He tries to do that job in November, but his travel schedule this fall didn't cooperate, so he had to settle for the coldest day of the year.

Anyone out there hear a few naughty words when their hubs is dealing with the outside lights? I'm asking for a friend.

The lights are up, and we're still married, so win-win.

Friends who live a few towns over called and said they were headed to the German Christmas Market in our town, and did we want to meet them there?  Hubs was happy to take a break from the lighting debacle so we spent most of the afternoon on the boardwalk browsing the stalls and sipping Gluhwein to stay warm.

Afterwards we headed home where hubs commenced with the lighting shenanigans and I indulged in perhaps the greatest nap ever.  He woke me up asking about dinner at 7:45. Yikes! I think all the 5 AM mornings, combined with all the holiday to-dos finally caught up with me. I am still thinking about that nap. Merry Christmas to me!

We went to a local Italian place for dinner, and had a few clams with our garlic.

Not a vampire in sight!

Sunday afternoon we trekked over to some friends for their annual Christmas party, which is always so much fun. It's a fundraiser for a nearby food pantry, and they really do it up right. There are inflatables for the kids, and live animals, also for the kids, but hey we're all kids at heart, right?

Disney should call his agent.

Along with all the fun and games, there is always lots of wonderful food and conversation, plus jolly old Saint Nick makes an appearance too.

SANTA!  I KNOW HIM!

We left the party about 4 PM, right about the time the snow made its way into our area. We didn't get more than a dusting, but we did get inches of ice which is a bit more troublesome.

When I look at my front steps I can't help but think of that scene in Home Alone where McCauley Culkin pours water on the stairs to keep the burglars away.  Effective.

Today was my day to volunteer in a local soup kitchen, but even that has been cancelled. I guess that means I'm out of excuses as to why my Snow Village is still tucked neatly away in the basement as opposed to on display upstairs. I love it once its up, but what a job! All the dusting, and the rearranging of the tabletops, and the stowing of stuff on the tabletops, and the hauling umpteen bins up and down the stairs, and the chords which will not make any sense, and all that styrofoam packing that leaves little beads in its wake. I'm missing my elves today!

Okay, time to get busy.  Rome wasn't built in a day, and neither was my Snow Village.
So what's it like where you live?

The Magic Hat

We had a fun busy weekend that felt as full as Santa's sack on Christmas Eve. I have a sneaking suspicion this post will feel that way too. Friday night hubs and I had planned to knock out a little shopping, but he called on his way home from the office and asked if I wouldn't prefer a glass of wine and a lovely Italian meal at one of our favorite restaurants instead.

Why yes...yes I think I would.

So we did. And it was fun. And not totally unproductive in that I think we do need to just stop the madness every now and then and enjoy what's right in front of us. It was a lovely evening, much lovelier than any mall or shopping center on a Friday night three weeks before Christmas could ever hope to be.

We each had a fairly long to-do list for Saturday which included baking and decorating and a trip to the hardware store and then another trip to the hardware store and maybe a third trip to the hardware store, but we also penciled in a fun midday break. Our little town has some German roots and in early December they host their own version of a German Christmas market.

Oh, it makes me so homesick for my other life. This is the first year I haven't been to a picturesque little European market since 2003. Sigh. Such happy memories of times spent with friends and daughter2. Big sigh.

Our little market makes for a pretty good substitute. We met the very lovely German woman who started the market ten years ago and she knows a thing or two about what's needed to make small town New Jersey feel like a charming German village for one weekend in December. For starters you need a beautiful setting...

add vendors manning stalls selling handmade German smokers...

lots of wonderful food, a few thousand of your nearest neighbors and of course some Christmas music to keep it all festive.

Consider this next photo my entry in the Christmas Photo Challenge for today. Our prompt was 'something warm and tasty' and stroopwafels definitely qualify.

If you've never tried one you must...they're a Dutch treat, waffles made from thin layers of batter with a caramel-like filling.

Set one atop your steaming cup of coffee and the center gets gooey and even more delicious. Know what else is delicious?

Gluwein in a specially designed mug...this is key if you want your market experience to be authentic.

And now I must say a word about the hat. I jokingly call it the magic hat because whenever hubs wears it we make new friends. It's like a magnet. As we made our way thru the crowds he was stopped over and over and over again and asked about his hat. No less than five people took his picture. Several were German and they told us about their childhood homes across the sea and how it came to be that they were eating bratwurst and sipping German beer in the New Jersey countryside.

Hey, even Santa needed a closer look...

The hat is special. It was purchased several years ago in a teeny tiny town in the Austrian Alps, this one in fact-

The wonderful little shopkeeper insisted he take the edelweiss pin to make the hat complete and so it began. He started adding a pin most everywhere he traveled and now that hat is chock-a-block full of flags and emblems and memories. A very special keepsake.

Is this post long? Sorry. I told you our weekend was full. Besides all of the above and a whole lot of decorating in between we also managed to squeeze in two parties, one on Saturday night and another on Sunday afternoon. The Sunday afternoon gathering is an annual event held at the home of hubs former boss.

She and her husband raise money for a local food bank at this event and its possible her hubs walked a llama thru their gorgeous family room. He and my hubs are like two peas in a pod. Not literally of course because her hubs is uber-uber tall, but in spirit? They are so kindred.

Thus concludes the weekend. You are welcome.