WR: Christmas Celebration with the D's

Last weekend, we drove back to my parent's house to spend the weekend and celebrate Christmas as we would be in the Cities for the actual day.

It snowed/sleeted most of the way back, but we made it back safely by 7. Dad grilled some steak (fish for me) and shrimp for dinner, and we had a nice evening at home. We even watched National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation as a family.

On Saturday, we took my car down to the dealership to have the front brakes & rotors replaced. This was the perfect opportunity for Adam and I to finally get a tour of the completed new dealership. It is BEAUTIFUL. I've seen photos all along, as I've been updating the dealership facebook and blog, but pictures don't do it justice. I was blown away by how nice it was and how thoughtfully it was designed and layed out. While there, I went around and took lots of photos for the Before and Afters.

The customer lounge is beautiful. I enjoyed a few cappuccinos from the new coffee machine which also makes hot chocolate.

Adam and Dad took off to do some ice fishing, while Mom, Christine and I waited for my car to get done. 

 

While we waited, we walked next door and looked around at the former building. It was sad, but at the same time reaffirmed why the move was the right thing to do as the new facility is so much larger.

On the way home, we dropped off a few snacks for the ice fishermen, and Christine walked on the ice for the first time. 

 

Adam even caught a fish as we walked up!

The guys arrived home around 2:30, and we sat down for our customary Christmas Eve dinner of ham, mashed potatoes, gravy, rolls, corn, and cranberry sauce. Everything was delicious.

After a few family photos,

it was time to exchange gifts! There were so many generous and thoughtful gifts. 

 

Adam was sent on a scavenger hunt for his first gift. He unwrapped a note directing him to look on the back stairs. There he found a large toboggan with tall sides for his ice fishing gear.

His next gift was a note leading him to look in the hallway closet. There he was surprised to get the Abu Garcia Revo SX baitcasting reel he's been wanting. It's his third one, so I'm hoping he finally has enough!

 

He also got a shirt he picked out over the summer when Dad and him went to the Mississippi Rumble BassMasters Tournament.

Together we got a fun puzzle from my sister of signs on Bourbon Street in New Orleans. We also got a huge engraved rock with our last name, 2010 and a pug. I already have a spot in the garden picked out for it.

I received an old fashioned popcorn maker (Whirley Pop), C&B bowls, a quilting set with rotary + ruler + self-healing mat, and a travel kit. Probably my favorite gift was the big Tinsel Pig I had been wanting from Christine. I knew Adam would hate it, so made a big production of the unveiling. I was on the floor laughing so hard. It was great.

Chester was a big help opening gifts. He loves it.

 

He got a cute pug ornament from my sister, and a large Pottery Barn toy box shaped like a bone. He REALLY got into the unwrapping.

 

We gave Christine some treats from New Orleans as well as a Gomez Golden Glove Award t-shirt, and an alligator stuffed animal from the swamp tour we went on. Chester thought the gator was for him and was quite miffed that Christine wouldn't share.

 

For my dad, we got a non-stick green pan,

and my mom, a 2014 Humphrey the Pug Calendar. We love Humphrey!

We also gave them a variety of our favorite things from Trader Joe's since there isn't one near where they live.

That night, Mom and Dad went to a holiday party. Adam and I were supposed to meet up with some friends, but their flight was mega delayed so we weren't able to. We ended up hanging out with Christine and watching Jingle All the Way which was horrible, yet hilarious. It was nice to just relax and be together.

 

On Sunday morning, Dad made us a big breakfast and then the guys went ice fishing again. Mom, Christine and I played a never ending "quick" game of UNO (45 minutes long!) while watching the Vikings game.

We left around 4:30, and were home and unpacked by 7:30. Mom sent some gifts home with us to open on Christmas, and Chester was quite upset that he had to wait to open them. We couldn't put them under the tree, since he would actually open them, so he spent about 20 minutes barking and whining at the tub. Stinker.

I was sad that I wouldn't be celebrating on Christmas with my family, but I was so grateful that we were still able to get together and celebrate. It was a lovely weekend.

Merry Christmas!

One of our favorite Christmas traditions is exchanging holiday cards in the mail. This year, I once again ordered from Shutterfly. Except this time, I was a bit behind schedule and didn't order until December 4. Then they didn't arrive until December 17. It was ridiculous! I got them out before Christmas, but just barely. I think I'll be ordering from somewhere else next year...

Now that most people have received the card, I can finally share it -

 

 

- 2012 -

- 2011 -

- 2010 -

We celebrated Christmas with my family over the weekend, and will be celebrating Christmas Eve and Christmas Day with Adam's family. Merry Christmas!!!

New Orleans Day 2: Thanksgiving in NOLA

Our first full day in New Orleans was on Thanksgiving, when most attractions are closed. As such, we were able to enjoy a leisurely day in the Quarter. I was actually surprised at how many shops and restaurants were open. It was another chilly unseasonably cool day in New Orleans, with a high of 47 and low of 36.

We started with complimentary breakfast at the hotel (your standard fare - expanded continental style), and then started wandering the French Quarter.

Can you believe this is the only photo i have of the architecture in the French Quarter? FAIL!

 We ended up in Jackson Square, and jumped in the long line for the famous Cafe du Monde. It was packed, so we decided to get it to go and enjoy it in the square. Even then, the "to go" line around back was long. Café du Monde is famous for its beignets (deep fried pastry square) and café au lait made with chicory coffee. We each got a 3 pack of beignets, and I had the café au lait, while Adam had just a regular chicory coffee. He didn't like it so much.

We found a quiet park bench and enjoyed our goodies.

After our snack, we took some photos in the lovely Jackson Square with Saint Louis Cathedral in the background.

 

Next, we walked down the Moonwalk to take in some views of the Mississippi River.

 

By then it was lunch time, so we tried to find somewhere open to eat. All 3 of our choices (Acme Oyster, Johnny's Po'boys and Central Grocery) were closed. We only discovered this after traipsing back and forth through the Quarter. We then headed to Bourbon Street where many of the restaurants were open. We stopped at the first place where the menu looked good - Olde Nola Cookery.

Adam ordered a fried shrimp po'boy with fries and an Abita Amber, while I went for the BBQ shrimp + bread. It was an appetizer, but it was the perfect amount for me. In New Orleans, BBQ shrimp is not what you would think - it's sauteed shrimp in a spicy brown butter sauce. It was amazing. These came "dressed" so I had to take them out of the shells (fine by me!).

After lunch, we headed back to the room to relax and watch the end of the Packers-Lions game.

Then we ventured out for a bit of souvenir shopping. It was nice to get that out of the way so we didn't have to carry around our haul the other days. We found a little grocery store, where Adam picked up a few beers and I found Barq's Red Cream Soda (my fav since discovering it in Kansas City) to enjoy in the room. I was quite excited!

 

At 5:45, we left the room and walked to Harrah's for dinner at Besh Steakhouse. John Besh is a New Orleans celebrity chef, so we were really excited for this meal. It was very disappointing. The service and food were pretty mediocre.

They advertised a "special 3-course Southern style menu featuring Shrimp & Mirliton Salad, Turducken, and Warm Praline Tart."

The salad was good.

 

The Turducken was not. I didn't realize it would be served with stuffing. Basically my whole plate was soggy stuffing drowned in gravy with two small pieces of turducken. One of these pieces was 90% fat. Interestingly, Adam's plate had barely any gravy. I should have taken a photo. The plating was shameful.

 

I asked the waitress, "My piece was all fat, is it supposed to be like this?" She says, "Let me check with chef." Uhhh what? Wrong answer chick.

She comes back and says, "Chef said the duck was more fatty so you must have had a piece with more duck. Do you want one that's more turkey?"

I'm like "yeah, sure." But what I'm really thinking is "I thought this was TURDUCKEN? Shouldn't it have some of each?"

She brought out a new plate with two large slices of turkey. At least I could get full off of this.

 

The dessert was good, but by the time our plates arrived the ice cream was half melted.

 

It was a really disappointing experience, especially considering how expensive it was. Maybe one of his other restaurants would have been better?

After dinner, we decided to play penny slots with $5 each since we were at a casino. It was almost like last Thanksgiving in Vegas! I quickly lost all mine, but Adam won $10! He decided that was as good as it was going to get and cashed out.

 

 

 

It was still relatively early, so we strolled back to the Quarter for a drink at Pat O'Brien's. This time, we bought our drinks out on the patio so we could get them in the cool Hurricane glasses. Adam even had a Hurricane! They were delightful.

 

We capped off another fun Thanksgiving by sharing what we were most grateful for - each other, Chester, our family, friends, jobs, health, home, and being able to travel.

 

Favorites:

Adam - Winning $10, drinks at Pat O's

Stef - BBQ shrimp, Jackson Square, finding Barq's Red Cream Soda, Hurricanes at Pat O's