Ending 2010...

...on the road.  Where else?  True to form but not the counting endless hours at my office lately, I never seem to be in one place for very long without a travel-related adventure in the midst.  Today I'm heading out to the Charlotte, NC area to spend some time with Dave's parents.  They moved down there about 2 months ago, leaving the more harsh New England winters happily behind.

I have never spent time in NC, so I will report back with my thoughts! I always get giddy when it comes time to check out a new place.  I know that they live very close to Lake Norman, which is probably lovely in the summer.  We'll have to see about the winter.

To add a nice bonus to our trip, we are heading over to Atlantic City, NJ for New Years weekend.  The amazing couple below is picking us up from Philadelphia airport on Friday afternoon and driving our butts over to AC.

We just so happened to hang with these kids (then engaged, now married) last NYE at Club Ultra 88 at Mohegan Sun.  Since we got the invite again this year, I guess they must not have thought too much less of us after that crazy night!  It's always nice to see them since they live in Newark, DE and we live in siberia.

I'll write again in the New Year with all the dirty deets!  For now, I'll leave you with a few pictures from last NYE...

Merry Christmas

Christmas Day was spent at my cousins' house.  True to tradition, Norm, Kris, Jake and Kasey had us over for breakfast and continued feeding us throughout the day.

Christmas strata with veggies and sausage:

I look forward to this dish every year.  The ingredients are pretty basic but the add up to pure deliciousness.  While at on a break from gorging ourselves, Dave and I enjoyed taking in some down time by the tree.

Then more gift giving began, highlighted by a great group gift for my mom: a new LCD tv.

I received a new Betsey Johnson watch which I think is pretty awesome.

Kris followed up gift giving with our Christmas dinner, which included:


Chicken Cordon Bleu
Roast Port wrapped with Bacon
Crescent Rolls
Mashed Potatoes 
Green beans with sliced almonds
Asparagus
Spicy corn dish...perhaps it was succotash?

After playing a few games, including Cranium and whist, Kris put out the desserts.

Karen is holding "holiday presents" which were sooooo good.  They are comprised of three layers (strawberry ice cream, lemon cream and yellow cake) and are covered with chocolate ganache. I must get the recipe from Kris.

We also had a Ho Ho Ho cake for the hostess.  Despite what she thought that may imply, Karen had nothing but the best intentions with this purchase.

Kris and I were also drinking out of these special holiday wine glasses.  She is the best host!

Merry Christmas everyone! Hope your holiday was everything you hoped it would be and more! For me, it was a great chance to indulge in some great home-made dishes, share quality time with amazing family and enjoy some much-needed days off.