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Showing posts with label wine. Show all posts
Showing posts with label wine. Show all posts

Tuesday, November 4, 2014

Wine and Christmas

One of the people I wanted to see while I was in Ohio is my pseudo mom, Mary. We had a date planned for that Thursday. And something that we love to do is finding wineries to go to and of course try all of the wine that we can. *wink*

Mary found a wonderful winery for us to visit called Maize Valley. It is located in Hartville, OH. Hartville has many other sites to see but we were there for the wine. *grin*

When we walked in there were all kinds of goodies: food, produces, wine goodies, etc. The wine bar is located in the back and after browsing through all of the goodies we headed straight for the wine. Jen was the girl behind the counter. Wine tastings are only 25 cents and they have an assortment of choices. Jen handed us a wine "menu" (a list of all the wines they offer) and we got to tasting. 


The inside was beautifully decorated with white lights and garland of leaves. It reminded me of the inside of a cottage.






Look at all of those choices *wink*


Mary holding up the wine menu.






Yes a wine called Mad Cow and Middle of the Road. There was also Red Neck Red, Little Red Pecker and Big Red Pecker... along with many more.


This wine is a combination of three different wines and I liked it mostly because of the bottle and the fact that I love Christmas. The wine was also very good.

After trying all of the wines that we wanted it was time for lunch, we were all getting hungry and a little tipsy *wink* Jen handed us a menu and gave us some wonderful recommendations. 


She recommended this wonderful sandwich. The sweet and spicy chicken, delicious yet very messy. My plated ended up needing a napkin.


and to start out their red pepper soup with Gouda cheese. YUM!


After we left the winery we went to another favorite place of mine and Mary's, Donzell's. The reason I love Donzell's so much is because they really know how to do Christmas!! And Christmas is my favorite holiday.









Yes that is a leg lamp, like the one from A Christmas Story. I love a traditional Christmas and this display was just wonderful, brought back good Christmas memories. I ended up purchasing a few faux TV ornaments.







Donzell's was in the middle of setting up their Christmas displays so they did not have everything out *sigh* I wasn't going to get to see everything they had to offer this year. Mary did promise to take pictures for me though. *wink*

xo

*My Thoughts*
Here is the link for Maize Valley Winery.
And the link for Donzell's.
If you are in the northern Ohio area I highly suggest checking out both of these places, especially if you like wine and Christmas.
Donzell's is a happy place and a wonderful place to visit during the holidays even if you don't buy anything.

Monday, June 30, 2014

Destination Daytona

A weekend getaway to the beach was just what I needed, after my long trial of schooling (that has now come to an end) and a break from work. There was only one person I wanted to take and I am glad he came with me. We have been friends for about 2 1/2 years and its been a roller coaster relationship but he is one of the most important people in my life and I am very lucky to have him... to share this weekend with him.

If you follow me on IG (itskelly7) then you saw some of the photos I posted from our getaway already... if you don't go check them out.

We stayed in a lovely resort that is located on Dayton Beach, the Shores Resort and Spa. Our check - in wasn't until 4pm on Friday afternoon so we stopped and had lunch before heading to the hotel. We still arrived early but to our relief they let us check - in early. Upon arrival they give each guest a welcome pack which includes items to make s'mores... the hotel has fire pits located on the pool deck so guests can enjoy a sweet treat while watching the sun set and listening to the sounds of the beach.




After unloading the car we headed to the room (sorry I am a terrible blogger and did not get any pictures of the room, while it was still clean). The room was bright with color and the beautiful Florida sunshine. The view was spectacular




At one point on Saturday, after being in the sun all morning, I made myself a drink, pulled up the chair in the room, and opened up my Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 to read the current book Timebound. It was wonderful to just sit staring out the window at this beautiful view with a drink in hand enjoying a good book.

I was anxious to get down to the pool so I unpacked a few things, threw on my bathing suit and was ready to go soak up that beautiful Florida sunshine before it disappeared behind the hotel... but not first without having the boy take a few pictures of me.





I just love hotel beds... they are so plush, comfy, and white. Its like falling into a bed of clouds.

Bathing suit is from the Victoria's Secret outlet and the hat is from a consignment store, I do not have links for either of them.

I snapped a few pictures of the hotel from the pool deck...



A beautiful and unique hotel with lots of bright colors and its right on the beach.

 
They have cabanas guests can rent and use for the day to relax, take a nap, enjoy a cocktail and even lunch; whatever your heart desires.



And of course there is a pool deck bar to indulge in some summer beverages or cocktails... my preference Pina Colada. YUM!


This is the view from the window in the hallway outside our room.

Friday night we had cocktails at the bar before heading out for dinner at a local restaurant Ocean Deck. The food was good but we think the drink made us sick : /   Sorry no pictures we sat in a corner off to ourselves and just enjoyed each others company, chatting about whatever topic came to mind. 

Onto Saturday... I got up before the boy because was still feeling a little bit off, so I got ready and went for a walk down the beach.









A relaxing walk along the beach was wonderful but nothing like laying out by the pool catching some more rays... which is what I did next *wink* After a morning filled with rays, waves, and pool days it was time to head in to get cleaned up for lunch.

We had lunch at the hotel restaurant Azure. They have seating inside and outside on the terrace. We chose to sit inside to get a break from the sun.

We started out with balsamic glazed fried calamari. YUM! 


I paired my lunch with a glass of Malbec, my favorite red wine.




For lunch I had a salad with baby arugula and pears with pecans, stilton and a white balsamic vinaigrette. Full of flavor and the cheese was delicious. N was hungry and too quick for me to be able to snap a picture of his lunch he had a chicken quesadilla that looked tasty... I did taste the guac that came with it, it was yum. I do love a good guacamole.

After lunch we headed back up to the room where we both fell asleep for a couple of hours. I woke up with enough sunlight left so I snuck downstairs to snap some pictures of the inside of the hotel. Its a marvelous sight so be prepared...





Along with the bright colors throughout the hotel the inside had aspects of dark wood and plush furniture. The hotel is homey and inviting.









I love these chandeliers... I took a lot of pictures of them but I liked this one the best.


The chandelier in picture above has monkeys sitting on it... how cute ;)
This is the amazing bar we had drinks at Friday night with the wonderful bartenders.

Saturday night the boy and I ordered room service, picked out a movie from the hotel library and stayed in bed. It was relaxing and comfy.
Except for the loud people above us who I thought were going to come through the roof at one point. There were a few weddings going on that weekend and one of the receptions was going on right above us... frown. Other than that we had a wonderful two days together and I would do it again.

xo

*My Thoughts*
The hotel was gorgeous and the staff was wonderful. The lady at the front desk was kind enough to put our leftovers in the microwave in their office for us since there was no microwave available to guests. I would definitely stay at this hotel again if the chance arrives.

I cannot wait for my next adventure.

You can find hotel information here. If you book online through the hotel's website you receive a 10% discount with the code WEB10.