Christmas in MT

I was very fortunate to spend this holiday with family in MT. We celebrated a week early, so while it threw off my schedule a bit, it was still a very relaxing holiday with my family.

In order to not overwhelm the boys, we basically opened a couple of presents every hour or so. That way they were excited about every item they received and actually had some time to play with everything. Here is a photo of Colter and Kaleb showing off some clothes from their great-grandmother. What cuties!
What an adorable family!
I was so very excited that while we were in MT, we could see Colter's Christmas program. Of course we were the paparazzi before we left for the concert and you can see the many faces of Colter. He did such a fabulous job at the concert. I hope I can make it to his Christmas concert every year.
We even were the lucky few that had a white Christmas! Here are some photos of us playing in the backyard.

I hope you all had a blessed Christmas, and that 2012 will be the most amazing year for you!

Book Review: November 2011

While this month's read was a break from my norm, I feel it is worthy to share. The book was The Gift of Fear by Gavin de Becker. I sort of wish I had read this book earlier in my life, but am thankful that my friend Renee passed it along when she did. The book focuses on recognizing real fear - listening to your intuition. And like with most self defense courses, it's about being aware. Fear can be a gift, as it warns us when we find ourselves in a dangerous situation. I definitely recommend this book if you're working on self-awareness and self-protection.

Blue Hoodie

So I've realized that a few of my recent posts have me in a blue hoodie. I promise I don't wear it every day. I sometimes don't wear it every week. But apparently, it is my favorite article of clothing for photos.
Sheesh.

Grandma made it to Chicago!

I kind of didn't believe it at first, but we were able to convince my Grandma Zenner to come down to visit me in Chicago! I never thought that would happen. :-) My mama was her traveling companion and they came in for a quick weekend visit. After striking out at two restaurants on Friday night, we decided to stay in and have a very late dinner.

On Saturday, we went over to Cassie and Brent's for an amazing brunch. If anyone is looking for a great quiche recipe, I will share this one with you! Oh, and did I mention that my Aunt Dani was in town for the weekend too!?!?! Crazy family fun!
After brunch we headed to The Field Museum. We had a fun time checking out all of the different exhibits. Some had us laughing, crying, and just in awe.
After a fun afternoon, we took a little down time before heading out to Casbah, our favorite Mediterranean (BYOB) restaurant in the neighborhood. We then finished the evening with cupcakes and polishing off the bottle of Bailey's I had in the house. Yep, crazy family fun!
Thanks for coming to visit, Grandma!! XOXO

Book Review: October 2011

In October, I read A Happy Marriage by Rafael Yglesias. This is a story told through the eyes of a husband. A man who didn't feel he deserved the love of his wife, who was head over heels in love with her (and then not), and the man who stood by her side as she battled cancer. This is a tear-jerker. But between the sobs, I could relate to the human story and real life nature of their marriage. I would recommend this book, but make sure you have a box of kleenex on hand.

Family Trip to LA

I was so blessed to travel with most of my family to California in October. We took Colter and Kaleb to Disneyland for the first time. It was unforgettable! Not only was it Colter and Kaleb's first time at Disneyland, it was also the first time that AJ got to meet Shaun, Annie and Christopher. Yay!

AJ and I arrived late Thursday night, and Christopher came to pick us up in his little Scion. Now, for any of you that have met AJ, you have to imagine him getting into a little Scion. He was such a sport! We got to the Disneyland Hotel, and who was up waiting for us, but Shaun and Kaleb. So fun! We spent most of Friday in the Disneyland park...getting our "ears", running around Tom Sawyer Island (although, I don't know if they still call it that), and seeing as many characters as we could. We also spent some time poolside - always nice to be able to do that in October!
On Saturday we spent some time in downtown Disney and then checked out and headed to Long Beach. We had a chance to have some downtime and really hang out with Shaun, Annie and the boys. It was really cute, because Kaleb finally opened up to AJ. Aw. On Sunday, Christopher picked us up for brunch and then we also did a few tourist stops in Hollywood. AJ and I enjoyed that a lot! All in all, a fabulous trip spent with the man I love and the family that I don't get to see very often. I can't wait for next year!

Ireland: Day Eight

Wow, I have to be honest, I really wanted to sleep in today. We've had some very fun days, but they have been long days! Janet treated me to breakfast at La Coco Cafe this morning and I had a fabulous pot of tea and a crepe filled with bananas and nutella - highly recommend!
We made a quick stop at the ATM and then a taxi ride to the Kilkenny train station, and we were once again on the move. On the train back to Dublin, Janet proceeded to kick my butt in both Pigs and Phase 10.
This time around in Dublin, we did purchase our tram tickets and then grabbed a taxi to our last hotel in Ireland. Well, this is definitely the smallest room I've ever stayed in, including rooms in NYC! Once we checked in, we walked into the Grafton Street area, where Trinity College is located. Sadly, we both thought Grafton Street was quite commercialized and a little touristy - not really our cup of tea. :-( While in the area, we stopped at the Davy Bryne's bar, and were actually underwhelmed by the joint.

We also FINALLY found the Bad Ass Cafe, but were too late to go in. We also stopped at Porterhouse (recommendation from Bobby Flay) for some Oyster Stout - pretty fun place. Then we decided to end the evening at Brazen Head, the oldest pub in Dublin.

I had some great potato and leek soup with the brown soda bread, and a side of chips. Unfortunately, I didn't feel too well after our meal, so it was a rather long walk back to the hotel. Janet and I curled up into our closet of a room at about 7:30pm with hopes of a good night sleep before our journey back to the USA in the morning.
Thank you, Ireland, for a fabulous vacation!!

Click here for more photos from our last day in Ireland.

Ireland: Day Seven

I'm really digging our room at the Butler House. It is so spacious and with a modern twist - very cool. Breakfast was served in a restaurant on the castle grounds, but unfortunately, was not impressive. In fact, in our walk around Kilkenny, I made Janet stop at a crepe shop for me to get more to eat.
We made our way up to St. Canice Cathedral. While we didn't go inside, it was a great place for photos and to learn about the history of the place.
We also walked around the gardens of The Butler House. Really stunning, especially with the leaves changing on the building. Again, some fun photos shot here!

And of course, we meandered around the castle grounds again.

Janet and I almost went on the Smithwick's Brewery tour, but it had set tour times, and we really weren't big on committing to have to be somewhere at a certain time on this trip. So we passed on the tour and just walked around the city some more.We ended up having a late lunch at Matt the Millers where I was persuaded to try the black pudding stuffed in chicken. Meh. It definitely helped to have a bite of chicken with the blood sausage, but I still wouldn't recommend it. I would have been happier with Janet's order of chips.
Janet and I found our way back to Tynan's and we met Liam, the manager. He was a hilarious storyteller and full of BS. We also met some nice guys from Dublin that were on a staycation, and there were lots of stories exchanged with them. Janet also arm wrestled one of them. Of course, they loved her!!

Janet and I finished the evening with dinner at Zun, a place that was highly recommended! We had a cheese plate to share (kind of a tradition for us), red wine and duck for me and tuna for Janet. We finished the evening with a Bailey's nightcap at The Blue Bar across the street from The Butler House. Fabulous day in Kilkenny!

Click here for more photos from Day Seven in Ireland.

PS - Should I get back to Ireland again, I would definitely stay 2 days in Kilkenny. The city has a good vibe, some great history, and fun people!

Ireland: Day Six

This morning Janet and I had breakfast at the hotel again, and even though I stuck with my porridge again, it was a pretty good breakfast. We then grabbed a taxi to the bus station and went on the hunt for an ATM. We finally boarded our 007 bus to Kilkenny and while on the bus, I came to realize that our trek was going to be 1.5 hours longer than planned. Oops. Thank goodness I had packed some granola bars.
Our road trip from Cork to Kilkenny was beautiful and we commented that I'm sure the woods were full of fairies and leprechauns. I mean, I see where the stories come from! Another highlight from our road trip was driving past the Bulmer's factory in Tipperary. Would have loved to have stopped in for a tour!

We finally arrived in Kilkenny and at our hotel, The Butler House. We were a little nervous at first, because all of the pictures they have on their website are from the back of the grounds, and not their main entrance. But once inside, our fears were calmed and our host Freida was so hospitable and she recommended a number of good pubs for us to try during our stay.
We had lunch at Kyteler's Inn (check out the story). Once again, I was a little underwhelmed by the food, but Janet and I found out that there was a Bodhran session that night. Oh, game on!
It was a rainy day in Kilkenny (shocking), but we still ventured out onto the castle grounds, and took some great photos.

With the rainy weather, Janet and I decided that we had two options. 1) go back to the hotel and nap or 2) stay dry in the pubs. Can you guess which option we choose?

We stopped in at Tynan's - the oldest pub in Kilkenny and had a great chat with Kelly, our bartender. We crossed the bridge into the other side of town and found our way to another pub. However, we were the only patrons. The bartender told us that everyone had been out earlier in the week, celebrating the Kilkenny Hurling Championship, so everyone was at home now with no money. Seriously? So Janet and I broke out the playing cards and had a good old game of WAR.

We then walked back to Kyteler's Inn for our amazing Bodhran session with Helen McLoughlin, Master Bodhranist. We had a blast learning to play the celtic drum and egging on our fellow classmates. (Sisters Eileen from Vermont and Maureen from Colorado were a hoot!!!)

After our session, we were pleasantly surprised to hear that Helen had talked to Richie (the manager) and had reserved us a table to catch the trad session that night. YAY! While it was a little touristy, it was still a fun session of great music, and I even danced a little jig at the end of the night.

It was a very fun day in Kilkenny!!!
Thumbs down for empty glass and thumbs up for full glass!

Click here for more photos from Day Six in Ireland.

Ireland: Day Five

I woke up quite refreshed this morning. There is something to be said about a nice bed!! Janet and I grabbed breakfast in the hotel. I had porridge again, but sadly, it could not top Susan's porridge.
Afterwards, we hurried to the Cork Bus Station to grab a 10:30am bus to Kinsale, only to find out that there was no 10:30am bus. Oops! This was our only hiccup with using public transportation on this trip. So we meandered around Cork until the 11:45am bus that would take us to Kinsale.
But we finally made it to Kinsale, a beautiful little coastal town. We immediately went to the Fishy Fishy Cafe for lunch, as it came highly recommended. And boy, this place did not disappoint! It was a glass of prosecco for me, amazingly fresh oysters to start, and then a warm seafood salad. By far, the absolute best meal I had on the entire trip.
After lunch, Janet and I walked around this adorable town. There were so many colorful buildings, beautiful flowers, and small doorways. Really, Kinsale is just the cutest coastal town I've ever seen.

We found another souvenir shop and I bought my lifesavers - knee high Guinness socks. (Just wait for next St. Patrick's Day!!) This was my best purchase of the trip, as those socks kept me warm the rest of the day and the rest of the trip.
Janet and I found our way to the International Museum of Wine, and while it's nothing to write home about, we had some fun with the wax statues.

The museum is in Desmond Castle, which is of course, rich with history. Including the fact that during the Revolutionary War, American prisoners were chained to the outside of the castle to make examples of them. This was my interpretation of being locked up.

With another recommendation, we stopped into Jim Edwards (a pub). We had our customary Bulmer's Cider and I perused their dinner menu and vowed that we would be back so I could try their lobster risotto.

After walking around the town a bit more, Janet and I decided to walk out towards Charles Fort and stop into Bulman's for a pint. It downpoured during most of our walk, but we were prepared with our poncho and umbrella. And there were no sidewalks, so we were on car alert while walking. But we saw the most amazing views of the harbor and took many photos of the scenery.

So, take a look at Bulman's - orange and blue building (Auburn colors), and the women's bathroom door had the name 'Janet' on it. A sign? Yes, I think it was meant to be for us to spend some time here.

We had a pint and some chips and watched the Ireland-Russia soccer match. Meanwhile, the wind picked up by the time we made our way outside, and it made for an interesting walk back into Kinsale.

Of course, we had to stop at The Spainerd (CUTE pub) for a glass (aka half a pint), and while it was a great looking pub, the people were just not as friendly as we had met in other pubs.
Janet and I decided to head back to Jim Edwards for dinner. Janet had another pint of Guinness (yes, she became a Guinness drinker in Ireland), the soup of the day, and mussels stuffed with garlic breadcrumbs. Yum. Meanwhile, my wish was granted, and I had the lobster risotto with a glass of wine. O.M.G.
We both passed out on the bus ride back to Cork, and once we were back there, we stopped at Amicus for another glass of wine, and said hello to our friendly hotel bartenders for a nightcap. What a day!

Click here for more photos from Day Five in Ireland.

PS - Should I get back to Ireland again, I would spend 2 days in Kinsale. This was my #1 stop on our trip, primarily because it was the best food we had during the entire trip. I cannot say enough great things about this cute coastal town!

Ireland: Day Four

After a filling breakfast at Glenorma House, our sweet hostess, Mary, drove us to the bus station in Ennis. We then caught a bus to Cork. While it was rather a long trip, we were able to get in a few naps on the bus. Upon arriving in Cork, we took a cab to our 5 star hotel, Hayfield Manor. Amazing! After dropping of our luggage and taking in our beautiful room, we hit the streets of Cork and and did a lot of walking around.

The English Market was a great treat! Too bad we didn't have our own kitchenette to cook our own meals. I would have gone crazy in there!

For lunch we found Cavanaugh's pub. Not many people in there on a Monday afternoon and while the food was nothing to write home about, we do think the owner may have been part of the Irish mob. Sort of kidding, but he did have a couple of "meetings" while we were in there.

We found a great souvenir shop - spent some good money and swapped stories with the owner, Michael. Per his recommendation, we grabbed a glass of wine (nice little treat after all my Guinness) at Amicus and then dinner at Soho. I had the most amazing duck wraps at Soho - still salivating over them!
On our way back to the hotel, Janet and I grabbed this photo opp to show the small doorways we encountered on this trip.

We then finished the evening at the hotel bar where I polished off some hot chocolate and Bailey's along with some chips (aka french fries). I was feeling very spoiled as I faded off to sleep on such a comfy bed in our nice hotel room.

Click here for more photos from Day Four in Ireland.