Valle Crucis 1816 Farmhouse

The best part of my latest trip to the mountains is that I actually went out of my box and went a few places I had never been before.

One of them being, 1816 Farmhouse Restaurant and Winery in Valle Crucis.

Why I've never been here before? 

No clue.

Probably because for years my trips to the mountains included staying in a friend's gorgeous mountain chalet where we would cook.

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We heard about this Valle Crucis' well-known establishment from someone staying at our inn.

We had no idea what to expect.

The farmhouse was something out of the pages of Southern Living.

With a porch I dream of having one day.

Who doesn't love a wrap around porch?

I didn't realize until we got there that it wasn't just a restaurant.

But also a winery.

If you know me, I LOVE wineries!

We didn't do a tasting, instead just dinner with a bottle.

The fried green tomatoes were my favorite!!

I'm pretty sure their menu varies on season and week, but if they are offering this when you're there, it's a MUST ORDER!

My entree was shrimp and grits but the picture didn't turn out great.

After dinner we finished off our bottle of wine hanging out on the porch and watching it rain, yet again here in North Carolina.

1816 Farmhouse is also open for lunch, and I'm sure when the weather is good people break out these corn hole boards.

Or, chill on the back deck with a cocktail in hand.

I found this place charming and totally worth another visit.

It's just cute and different than the other restaurants in Avery County.

And, the view isn't too shabby either.

I think next time I'll choose to do lunch here though rather than dinner.

So, if you're headed up to the mountains this Summer or Fall put this place on your list.

These are just my opinions, I have NOT been paid for this post.

Cupcakes! Perfect Mid-day treat!?

I work in Uptown or technically what is Downtown Charlotte and enjoy seeing the different vendors they have on the Square when I take a mid-day walk.

On some days there is a Farmer's Market set up, flower vendors, more recently a taco truck.

And...as of this week??

A cupcake truck!!!

I noticed it a couple of days ago and today I couldn't resist so I stopped.

They're very new and don't even have a website yet but City Cupcakes is open for business at Trade and Tryon in Charlotte!

This cream horn was calling my name for a mear $3.

YUM!!

All of the delectable treats are made by local bakeries ranging from Suarez to Tizzerts.

I'm not going to lie.

I'm in love with this concept and am glad someone finally did it!

That's why I'm sharing, NOT because I'm being paid!

We'll just see what the general consensus is and if they can hold their own and stay in Uptown.

Because after all, who doesn't need a pumpkin crumble cupcake as a mid-day treat in the Fall.

Right??!!

Neighborhood Progressive Dinner #2

It's great to have awesome neighbors.

People that you have things in common with and can hang out with by just walking across or down the street.

I can say I've had that in most places I've lived but it's EXTRA cool as a couple to have other couples you can hang with, where the guys get along as do the wives.
We are lucky to have that.

There are 2 other couples we spend a lot of time with, including LuLu from Looks Like LuLu and Bryan from the Wandering Gourmand.

At the beginning of the year we started doing progressive dinners.

We had so much fun our first time, but because of crazy schedules we just got around to doing it again.

Last time we had the main course, but this time we got to do dessert.

(you get a sneak peek at my photo/gallery wall in the back. more to come)

LuLu and her husband came back sick from Mexico so they decided to bring their appetizer course over to our house to keep us out of their infected home.
We appreciate that!

Lu's husband Keith made buffalo chicken bites and homemade bruschetta.

Our neighbor Shannan turns 30 this week so we made a point to make it about her birthday as well!

Meaning...

Festive napkins were a must.

Our last dinner went WAY late and by dessert everyone was a tad bit intoxicated.
This time, giving that I can't booze, I made sure we stayed on a better schedule.

Which means we moved onto Bryan and Shannan's house for the main course about an hour later.

They cooked an amazing dish of coconut chicken paella from Tyler Florence's cookbook.

So good and not heavy at all.
That, I really liked.

Next we moved back to our house for dessert.

I wasn't feeling too good on Friday night so Brad decided to be on point for making our dish.

He made a tiramasu which I'm sure was delish, but after watching him make it I realized I couldn't eat it.

It has raw eggs, booze and expresso in it.

So, I made a pecan praline bundt cake Saturday morning.

Meaning, we had 2 desserts for our guests!

We also served Blue Bell vanilla ice cream with my cake which made life even better.

Of course, we took time out to sing Happy Birthday to Shannan.

She's entering her birthday week, so why not!?!

After dessert we all hung out and watched college football which included seeing the Arkansas Razorbacks lose to ULM.
Totally ridiculous!! LOL!!

And, I went to bed at 11:15pm while the rest of the crew, including Buddy, partied down until 1am.

I'm going to say we will do this again before the end of the year but truth be told, it probably won't happen.

Either way, always a good time!!

Christmas Day - Tablescape, Food and Family

Christmas Day came early as we were hosting dinner at our house with everyone arriving at two o'clock.

I prepared a breakfast casserole a day in advance and popped it into the oven.

Eggs, cheese, bread cubes, sausage, ground mustard.

Bake for an hour at 350-degrees.

It's become our Christmas morning tradition.

I forgot to buy orange juice so my Mom and I had cranberry Bellini's instead of mimosas.

I had to rearrange things from our Open House to make way for Christmas dinner.

First on my list was to move my centerpiece to our entry table.

I threw this arrangement together at the last minute before my cookie exchange and I think it turned out pretty good giving it was a bunch of fake items from Michael's.

Then I put together our Christmas dinner table scape.
I really had no idea what I was going to do until Christmas Eve.

All of my creative juices were spent on our Open House menu and decor. 

This just came to me at the last minute.

I think it turned our perfect giving I used items we already had at the house.

I love to tablescape any time of the year.
I've been this way since I was a little girl.

My job on holidays was to always set the table.

I can remember wanting to live like The Ewing's from the hit 80's show Dallas and trying to put together a table like theirs.
LOL!

When putting together dinner I cut up a pomegranate for us ladies to put in a glass of champagne.
The last I had around for the holiday season.

For dinner Brad made a prime rib.

It's his favorite thing too cook other than jambalaya and homemade pizzas.

I attempted the Louisiana traditional rice dressing but started it too early and kept adding water to it to keep it moist until I ruined it.

I was so mad.

I had to go upstairs to recoup from my anger.

But.. then realized we already had a ton of food and since we had been eating for 3-days it wasn't a big deal.

The rest of our meal consisted of broccoli salad, deviled eggs, herb and cheese scalloped potatoes, rolls, pecan pie and all the left over cookies and treats from the Open House.

Before all of our dinner hoopla we exchanged gifts.

My parents stayed with us so we did ours after breakfast.
Other than the Botox that my brother and his kids gave my Mom, I think her 2nd favorite gift was this Shutterfly book I made.

She cried.

I got Brad a Kindle Fire.

He's in love.

Buddy got a new bed so we can keep one of his others at the lake for good.

He also scored a few fuzzy blankets to be wrapped up in.

My big gift were these gorgeous cowboy boots.
I picked them out weeks ago and was with Brad when he bought them.

Sorta lame?

Oh, well.

I also received these cute ornaments from my MIL.
She said the shoe reminded her of my wedding shoes.

I agree!

So pretty and perfect!

Speaking of MIL, Brad picked up this sign for the dock at the lake.
We all got a good laugh!

Thanks to Classic Annie's suggestion, FIL and my Dad both received a Polar Bear Cooler.
Can't wait to see how they like them.
I had never even heard of the brand.

Paigee received a kitchen set from my parents.

Reed received a motorcycle toy from my parents and a remote control car from Uncle Brad and I.

He was entertained.

I wanted to buy Paige this trunk of dress up costumes last year but didn't.

This year, I couldn't resist.
All princess, all the time.

Of course, I didn't mention all the wonderful things we were given but that would take forever.
The best gift we received was that of family being together this year.

It was the first year for my family(minus my brother and his kids), and Brad's family to do Christmas together.

I feel so lucky to have in-laws that are drama-free.

I look forward to many more holidays together!

Until then, we're resting up!!!

Happy New Year Everyone!