Pre Thanksgiving Photos

My daughter and son in law have been visiting since Friday and we have been having way too much fun to take many photos, but have managed to pull out our phones and shoot a few here and there.  The weather has been absolutely beautiful, with sunny, pleasant days, beautiful sunsets and cool nights spent outside on the lanai with candles lit, cocktails and music playing.

We have two puppies running around and making us laugh.  A lot of good food has been cooked. We have ventured out to the beach and have also spent a lot of time lounging by the pool.  We have watched football and basketball games together, even though we are fans of rival universities.  My husband and I also celebrated out 37th anniversary yesterday with a cocktail at the beach, followed by a lovely dinner at home, cooked by our daughter.

And, Thanksgiving is yet to come.

Thanksgiving Favorites

We are all getting into that crunch time where getting ready for Thanksgiving is a priority and at the same time, Christmas shopping and decorating are looming.  My daughter and son in law are coming to visit at the end of the week, so there will be a lot of fun times keeping me busy and that is why my lists will come in handy in the next few days.  I’ll be checking off what I can before they arrive and using down time by the pool to do a little on line shopping.  Since I need to ship all my gifts, being organized is critical.

If you are looking for some delicious Thanksgiving recipes, these three dishes are tried and true and loved by my family.  I believe that Thanksgiving is meant for traditional, family recipes and I am happy to share these with all of  you.  There are so many years worth of memories in these recipes, especially my mother’s stuffing, because sadly, she is no longer able to make it herself.

For two simple and beautiful touches to your table, this no sew burlap runner and a sweet place setting using a strip of burlap and a sprig of rosemary, make a big impact, without a lot of effort.

Let the preparations begin!

No Sew Burlap Table Runner
Cranberry Apple and Ginger Chutney
My Mothers Stuffing
Cranberry Almond Spinach Salad
So Simple So Sweet Place Setting

Aldi Wine Advent Calendar (The Story)

Last week, I did something so unlike me.  I’m not a trendy shopper and waiting in line to spend my money seems kind of crazy to me.  But, ever since last year, when I saw bloggers and Instagram friends enjoying their single serving bottles of wine each night during advent, I was determined to not be left out of the fun this holiday season.

For some reason, the Aldi Wine Advent Calendar is the one people go crazy for, even though other places like Costco have their own version now.  From word of mouth, I knew I needed to get to the store early and wait in line, because they sell out quickly.  I didn’t know what to expect, so I got there at 8:00 for a 9:00 store opening.  Conveniently, Starbucks in right next door, so I grabbed my coffee and pulled up to find only two people in line at Aldi.

More shoppers began to arrive and I got in line with about ten people in front of me. Of course, since I live in Florida, standing outside is no problem.  I was very impressed with how organized it was.  An employee gave us a flyer (maximum two per person) while in line and 15 minutes before opening the wine calendar shoppers (about 40 at that point) could enter early, trade our flyers for boxes and quickly check out.  I was on my way back home before 9:00.

I was able to purchase one for me and one for my daughter, Megan, who lives in Pittsburgh.  Her local Aldi does not sell wine (Pennsylvania law) and  she is driving here for Thanksgiving, so no shipping required.  We will be opening and drinking our wine together, long distance.

There are several different varieties of wine (red, white, rose and blends) and each bottle is pulled
separately from a numbered opening, so each one is a surprise.

I can’t wait until December 1st!

Book Club - Where the Crawdads Sing

The book club in my neighborhood met last night with a record twenty four women. There was wine and the discussion was interesting, lively and thought provoking.  The book we discussed, Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens was one of the best books I have read in a very long time.  It is beautifully written; part love story, part murder mystery and part scientific journal.  The North Carolina marsh, where the novel takes place, becomes a character in itself; as important as air to the main character, Kya.  The writing is lyrical and it’s one of those novels that stays with you long after you finish.

I have a love, hate relationship with best sellers.  It takes me a long time to want to read a book that everyone is raving about, because many times these books take on a predictably and formula. I call it the Gone Girl effect.  This book is not like that.  I promise you that you have not read a novel similar to this.  From the characters, to the setting, to the plot, there is something unique in how it is written and how it makes you feel.

Read this book, go see the movie when it comes out in the future and lose yourself in the story of “The Marsh Girl”.

Have a wonderful weekend.

  

Italian Food and Italian Cars

One of the things we enjoy the most about living in Florida is the spur of the moment opportunity to do something fun.  You can hop in the car and head to the beach, a great restaurant and on any given weekend; your choice of a festival or two.

Saturday, we decided that we would head to St. Armand’s Circle in Sarasota for lunch at our favorite Italian restaurant.  When we approached the circle over the Ringling Bridge, we noticed that there seemed to be a lot more traffic than normal for this time of year.  I usually check to see if a festival is going on wherever we are headed, but didn’t think to this time.  When my husband saw that there was a car show happening, he was thrilled and when we discovered it was Ferraris on The Circle, he was even happier.

So, as planned, we had wonderful Italian food (Eggplant Parmesan and sangria for me) at an outside table and then happily strolled around the beautiful Italian cars, picking our favorite color (red of course) and getting serious sticker shock at the prices.  But, it’s fun to dream, right?

Happy Monday!