#23. November TOTM (Trip of the Month) - Nashville and Franklin TN!

Big love to Nashville and Franklin, TN....

Because of the long Thanksgiving weekend, I decided this was the best time to go to a new place, like Nashville, and visit a very good friend of mine while I was there. You know, two birds...one stone.

We headed out across the Appalachian Mtns right after the tryptophan in the turkey wore off.  First stop on my trip to Nashville was the newly renovated Opryland Hotel, and it did not disappoint.  After living in Los Angeles for 10 years, I am no stranger to Las Vegas and the hotels there. If you like a little Vegas, this place is really amazing - a little Vegas-y, with big country style.

The Hotel has just reopened after the floods back in May 2010. It has over 2,800 rooms (seriously) with 3 main sections, the Grand Ole Opry, an outlet mall, and a riverboat. It's really a compound....totally worth the trip to see in person!

This is from the Cascades section - it's a conservatory. See the glass ceiling? With rooms around the center restaurants and gardens. It's huge.





The Garden Conservatory section. Note the glass ceiling, and the skywalks on the right. Beautiful.





This is the Delta section, which had a little "town" built in with shops and restaurants. Again, under a glass ceiling, and surrounded by gardens.

We loved it!


Then on to Franklin, TN - which was nothing short of absolutely charming.  My friend Mimi who now lives here (formerly from California) loves it too! The little, historic downtown of Franklin had great shops and restaurants.

We Had lunch at Merridee's Breadbasket - and it was outstanding. Great local place...but the tourists know about as well. I had their special: Chicken Salad Sandwich on fresh-baked wheat bread, chips, drink and a slice of homemade pie. (I opted for Fudge pie, and it was sublime. Not too sweet....with a homemade pie crust, of course.)

After a great lunch - a stroll around the downtown shops was definitely in order.

One of my favorite shops: The Iron Gate.

Beautiful things.





And Sweet Cece's  - the place for ice cream and candy. My favorite things was they were decorated for the holidays with pink and green...including pink and green christmas lights!

And finally, to end the perfect day in Franklin, we had dinner at the Boxwood Bistro. A beautiful, upscale restaurant dressed up for the holidays. The food was superb, and it as just like having dinner at your fanciest relatives home....delicious, beautiful, and comfortable.

Big sigh.
What a great trip!  So far, I am really enjoying the Travel Section of my blog. California, Tennessee, ehat could be next?  Stay tuned for next month's TOTM....to be announced on December 1st.

GT40

#17. Gobble Gobble - Orange Cranberry Sauce

Happy Thanksgiving!

Just a quick note to bid you a happy holiday - and to share my latest JOTM (Jelly of the Month) arrival. Again from CMB Sweets - an Orange Cranberry Sauce, just in time for The Big Meal.

Headed over to my Aunt Pea's house, and like most families...it's potluck. Momma is cooking sweet potato casserole, homemade mac & cheese, and a fruit salad. My Aunt Gigi who is not known for her cooking abilities, and is often teased at our family get togethers. She basically makes three things:

1) green beans
2) deviled eggs
3) biscuits (like my Grandma's!)

True Story: The running joke is that my uncle (her husband) often gives her great piece of jewelry for Christmas, and he hides her Christmas gifts because she goes in search of them. One year, he hid all her gifts.... in the oven. She never found them, and he pulled them out of the oven on Christmas morning. Hilarious.

So, back to the biscuits....she can make the BEST biscuits I've ever had - and I can't wait to enjoy my Orange Cranberry Sauce on a good old-fashioned hot, buttered biscuit.

Have a great Turkey day!

Next post on Sunday: Highlights of my TOTM (Trip of the Month) to Nashville, Tennessee!

#16. Daisies, and Lilies, and Mums. Oh my.

Flowers are on my list of favorite things. (BTW, did you see Oprah's Favorite Things shows this week? Lordy.... it was cool. I'd add seeing her show in person to my list of "Top 40" things to-do, but obtaining tickets to the show are not exactly in my control...so you know. Anywho.)

I am fortunate enough to live in North Carolina, where there are four distinct seasons, of course...and love the changing of the seasons and colors as one season rolls into the next.  I love the flowers outside in the garden, and along the roadside - but I also love fresh flowers. (Don't you?)

Certainly, fresh flowers are typically for  special occasions. But... this is the year of "the fabulous 40", so technically this whole year is a special occasion! Hence, this month I placed a standing flower with a local flower shop. I had researched other options including a monthly order of Martha Stewart flowers through Teleflora, but ultimately decided that I enjoyed picking out the flowers that I wanted.  This month, I opted for good old-fashioned fall colors and flowers  - just in time for the Thanksgiving holiday!

Mums, mums, and mums.  A few lilies, alstromeria, hypericum berries, and let the thanksgiving festivities begin!

Definitely loving #16 so far.....fresh flowers every month is "so posh, so nice" to go along with my pomegranate jelly from last month. (Missed that post? Look back at October...)

I can't wait for next month's flowers - I see red and green in my very near future.

GT40

#39. Shopping for Spode

From the "Treasure" section of the Top 40 list,  'tis the season to shop for fine china.

With Thanksgiving around the corner, and thoughts of beautifully decorated tables - I've started shopping for pieces of one of my china patterns. (And yes, I have more than one pattern of fine china....do you really want me to serve you Easter dinner on a turkey plate?)

I've chosen to focus on my Thanksgiving china: Westbourne by Spode (distributed by Williams-Sonoma).

Love it.

In order for me to complete this item, and ultimately check it off the list - I've come up with a China Acquisition Plan or CAP...

1 - Take an inventory of the items I already have:

8 Buffet/Charger Plates (pictured above) These are HUGE - 12 3/4 inches in diameter. Seriously.

4 Dinner Plates (pictured below)

8 Bread & Butter plates (the little one in the left corner)

1 Oval Turkey Platter (not pictured)

...and 8 Dessert/Accent plates (with the pumpkin below)





2. Research available resources.

Because Williams-Sonoma discontinued this pattern, I can't just run to the store and purchase a new piece.  The best resource I've found is Replacements, LTD in Greensboro, NC; thankfully they're online at www.replacements.com. This company boasts of carrying 300,000+ china patterns, and of course - they had mine! It's a great resource to identify all the pieces within a set...I didn't even know casserole dishes had been manufactured in my pattern at all! One drawback: seems a little pricy. Thus another source is eBay, of course.

3. Make a list of the pieces I'd like to collect:


4 more Dinner Plates
8 Soup Bowls
8 Cup & Saucers
1 Covered Casserole

Very good.

4. Acquisition Finalization

Based on the list above, I would like 21 new pieces. (Mercy.)

Well, Santa sounds like a good place to start, and I've been good all year long....(wink wink). So I think I'll ask for one piece from Santa, and then count up any Falaladaaallars that might come in my stocking. Stay tuned, we'll inventory again in January.

I guess this Thanksgiving will be a little more mix-n-match, but wait 'til next year!

Happy Thanksgiving!

GT40

#3. October Book Review - My Life in France

Grade: A, served with foie gras and placed on a bed of minced, roasted shallots.

My apologies, as I am a little tardy in my book review.

Last month, I declared to read one book per month and announced my October selection: My Life In France by Julia Child with Alex Prud'homme. As it turns out, Alex is a family member by marriage - her husband Paul's grandnephew. It apparently took a bit of time to convince Madame Child to document this story - and we are indeed fortunate for Alex's tenacity in writing this book!

Three main points:
1 - The story of Julia and Paul Child and their time is France is lovely. It's glamorous, and daring, and reminded me of a day long-gone-by. The details and photographs of events make it all seem so....first class, and left me wishing our culture had held on to more old-fashioned ideals, like etiquette...and four course meals. Additionally, I love that her husband loved her - and championed her even (at an age over 40), to become the Julia Child.

2 - Speaking of meals - this is a book about French food, and I was hungry the entire way through. The descriptions of the meals, the passion for the craft of preparing fine foods, and the almost reverence of the Cordon Bleu's chef professors - was infectious even in the printed word. It's inspired me to research some of the recipes she's described in her collaborative cookbook: Mastering the Art of French Cooking. Which of course, I ran right out to buy - and you will too after you read this book.

3 - Finally, dust off your dictionary. Rarely do I read anything that tickles my brain cells. I guess because typically I am reading Harry Potter, or the Twilight series - and it's middle-school level prose, for the most part. This book was elegantly written, and I feel like I've improved my vocabulary tremendously.

So, with dictionary in one hand, and a good snack in the other - I recommend this one to (you know) girls 40 and over.

Bon Appetit - of course,

GT40

Next up: November Book Selection! Stay tuned...

#5. 10th Annual Carolina Pottery Festival

Roaring Gap, North Carolina is a very tiny, little town near the Blue Ridge Parkway. I recently visited there, and had the great pleasure of experiencing good old-fashioned fall foliage, and we also visited a local pottery studio. I have to admit, I've never thought much about pottery...but I find myself absolutely smitten.

This is Roaring Gap - need I say more?




As luck would have it, the 10th annual Carolina Pottery Festival, just happened to be in my home town AND was sponsored my one of my favorite magazines: Our State.
(Our State is a mag with content only about North Carolina. It's sooooo great! I learn so much about our state's history, local/regional foods - people, places, things.) Yippee!!

....Ok, I'm a dork. (Takes one to know one, don't cha know.) 

You'd think that an event of this caliber would certainly be held at the local Arts Council. Over 100 local and regional potters were exhibiting, including several from Seagrove, NC....the mecca of potters in these parts. But no, this event was held at the Cleveland County Fairground. So, a bit of elegance went right out the barn door...

Anywho, all I can say is, it was truly incredible!


Pottery unlike anything I've ever seen.

Some of my favorites were:


Hamilton Williams Clayworks, Valdese, NC




Linda Dalton Pottery, West End, NC





Lucinda Dulin Pittman, Saluda, NC





This event was soooo much fun, that I've crossed it off my list - but I may have to reinstate it! I feel sure there's more out there to see and do - so stay tuned for more.

Big, big love for some clay of my own, so I'm off to research pottery classes...

GT40

#12. Panthers vs. Saints

This past weekend, I successfully checked off #12. Take my family to a professional football game.


I don't know about you, but where I live high school football and college basketball are bona fide religions.   Have you ever seen Friday Night Lights? Well, that's my hometown. We're born-n-raised lovin' football in this town, and I admit....I do like football. Reality Check: I am not planning my weekend around a game, or any other activity for that matter, but I enjoy it - if it just happens to be on television. And I just happen to be home.

Because the Carolina Panthers are the closest professional football team, and because I thought it would be cool to take the family, this activity made the cut for (you know).... the List.

I was fortunate enough to score (no pun intended) four tickets from a friend at work. The Panthers are really.....(being kind) struggling, to say the least, so getting tickets is not so hard.

What was AMAZING was the scores of people walking in DROVES into what seemed to be the only open door at the stadium. My mother (she's 70) who has never, ever been to a professional level sporting event, fervently stated that she wished she had gone to town and gotten her flu shot. Then pulled her scarf over her mouth, so she didn't "catch" anything.

It was an absolutely, beautiful fall day - about 65 degrees. Look at all those people - about 73,000 in attendance...maybe Momma was right about the flu shot.

About midway through the game, we opted for some refreshments - as we were on the sunny side of the stadium, and it was getting warm. See the shady side in the back? Those people froze.

We ran up to the concession stand - bought one Coke, oops -need another Coke, and bought a bottled water.   Total bill? $15. Seriously. $5 each. Those prices make the movie theatre fare look cheapy-cheap cheap.

Halftime show was cool: The Summerall Guards from the Citadel in Charleston performed their drills, with precision - but the interesting part was that they asked the fans to observe their performance in silence. Really? Is it possible for 73,000+ people to be "silent"? Well - color me happy, most did - and it was a very interesting halftime show. 

Sad ending to this fine day for the gridiron: Saints 34 vs Panthers 3. 

 - GT40

#8. OMG. Massage Day.

Back story:
I have a very high-stress job, and it's taken a serious toll on my back, neck, and shoulders. Seriously.
Hear that clicking? It's my vertebrae rubbing together.... with constant computer work, and constant commuting - my upper back is clearly aging faster than the rest of me.

Present:
Thus, I have taken the plunge into the wonderful world of spas and massage therapy.

Oh my goodness.
Oh my.
Oh heavens to Betsy.... I had no idea.
It's sublime.

So, on keeping with my 40-drops list, I now have a standing appointment for a massage the first Saturday of every month. My massage therapist is Kim T. from Balancing Act. She was referred to me by a friend, and I have to admit I was a little nervous.




















Her place is very simple, but very comfortable.

I have been to other spas, and admit I have mixed reviews with my previous massage experiences. Most spas I've visited have felt very "pretentious" which left me feeling very "awkward." Not with Kim. She's great - and the experience is not only comfortable, but wonderful for my back!

Love this fountain. Something about the moving water, is quite soothing.




And how about spa music? Is there anything like it? This time, my musical selection was breathy, soulful  flutes - with loooooong, very loooow tones... if-you-know-what-I-mean.

My fav part is the private bath. Yes, private bathroom. No more random, alarming naked people - that you'd really rather not...see, if-you-know-what-I-mean. *Sigh*

I just spoke with a friend who goes regular to a very well-known spa in LA, with a superb reputation - and she said it was like a factory. Gobs of people...gobs of naked people, and not very relaxing.

I'll take my little private suite, with my private massage therapist. Thank you very much.

Loose as a goose,

GT40

PS - Kim, love you!