Sunday, December 26, 2010

Technical Difficulties

Hi everyone! Hope a wonderful Christmas was had by all! I know I hAve been rather MIA lately...there has been some major technical difficulties going on in the Gerczak household. Our computer has decided it has had enough--meaning we ace the dreaded blue screen. Yikes. So, I haven't been able to blog since the computer has been out of commission! Santa did bring me an iPad!!! So I'm able to do this post, but am still trying to figure out how to put pictures on my posts... I'm planning to schedule an appointment with the Apple gurus so I will be able to blog to my hearts content soon!

In the meantime, I'm keeping warm and out of the snow! Wishing everyone a cozy, safe, and happy holiday weekend! Hope to be up and blogging soon!

~Lexie

Monday, December 13, 2010

Get your Decorating On!

So, life has been busy and I have been doing a little decorating here and a little decorating there to get our home in the holiday mood.  I wanted to share with you what I have so far!

I'm going to start with showing you the mantle--I made the wreath!  I will post a tutorial soon.  There is a theme I have going this year, which you will notice as you peruse the rest off the pictures...




Here is a close-up of the little dog looking at the cute Christmas tree that my sweet Mom gave me to add to our holiday decorations.

Then Holly came inside to tell me that it was snowing outside. (Notice the less than thrilled look on her face.)

Next, I wanted to show you my Nativity Scene.  My aunt and uncle started it for me when I was younger and my family added to it over the years.  It is one of my favorite things to bring out every year.

On the bottom shelf are pictures from all the Christmas cards we have sent since we have been married (please excuse the frame on the right, I need to get over to Garden Ridge to get a coordinating one).



 Here is the TV cabinet and coffee table.

And finally the dining room table.




So...I am loving the Christmas Balls this year and am incorporating in my holiday decor.  I still have a lot to do, but was excited to participate in the Nester's Tour of Homes to show what I've got so far!  I think it is looking pretty festive so far!

Our Christmas tree is on the screened in porch--we got it last night...in the rain (and then it got snowed on), so I am waiting for it to dry out a tad before bringing it in and getting it all gussied up!  Will post photos when it is all decorated...hopefully it will be before the 25th!


On another note we are about 98% done with all of our shopping and wrapping...just need to get that tree up so there is somewhere to put the presents!
~Lexie

Wednesday, December 8, 2010

If You're Going to San Francisco...(Part II)

Alright, so my fingers have rested up and I think I can finish up my San Francisco post!

We had gone through Day 2 (Tuesday), so onto Day 3!
We started out the day at Dottie's True blue Cafe--which I had scoped out on the Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives web site prior to embarking on this trip.  Oh my!!  How yumm-o! 

We had a totally delicious breakfast and my only regret is that we didn't get to go back again before we left!  When we left the line was forming down the block!



Before leaving Richmond, we had talked about taking a day trip across the Bay over to Sausalito while we were in San Francisco, so after our most delicious breakfast at Dottie's, we went on over to the Ferry Terminal and bought our tickets...and I am so glad we decided to check it out!
Ferry Terminal--very cool inside with a Local Market Flair to it--butchery, cheese, wine, fresh veggies, etc.

Our Ferry!

The Bay Bridge

We disembarked from the Ferry and started to wander around this quaint and charming town.

Love the houses built into the hills.







We passed a sweet Flower Shop with beautiful blooms lining the sidewalk.




Then we saw some Garden/Car/MiniBus Art, too.







 
 
  
 Then we decided we could live here...just need to win the lottery.

Rock Art--we watched the artist do this--they are all balanced--no super glue or anything--amazing!



 Views of Sausalito as we head back across the bay on the Ferry.  Bye bye Sausalito!!! Hope to see you soon!!!

Below are views of San Francisco, Alcatraz, and the Golden Gate Bridge as we head across the Bay back to the city.






Whew!  After a long day of exploring and walking around Sausalito, we headed back to the hotel to rest up for dinner.  We decided to check out a relatively new Italian place for dinner--Barbacco eno Trattoria.  Very cool, swanky place that also had delicious food!  Greg and I were feeling a tad out of our element and not up to the swankiness par when we were given an iPad that served as the wine list--so cool! Then we got to our table and there was a young couple with their baby there, so we figured we were going to be okay (just barely, though).

The food was absolutely delicious!  A different kind of Italian than Fino, but still top notch!
We had the risotto croquettes with mozzarella and braised short rib for an appetizer--yummmmmmm!

 I had the orecchietti with fennel sausage and pesto

I forgot to take a picture of Hubby's yummy lasagna he got...I was too busy eating
For dessert we split the vanilla gelatto with the baked apple and whipped mascarpone cream--mmmmmm

After we were sufficiently stuffed, we went back to the hotel to dream of Sausalito and get ready for Thanksgiving!

We had always planned to spend Thanksgiving in the Monterey area, so we had rented a car and decided to travel down to Monterey via the Pacific Coast Highway.
We stopped at Half Moon Bay on our way down and had breakfast at The Ritz-Carlton!


View from our breakfast table--not too shabby.


After breakfast, we wandered around Half moon Bay and The Ritz grounds. 

I am definitely up for going back and staying a few nights here--in case you were wondering in case you might need a travel companion.




 Gorgeous!

I love these ginormous pumpkins they had at the entrance!

 After breakfast and pretending we were staying in the penthouse suite at The Ritz, we got back in our Altima and headed down the road.  What a beautiful drive!  It is amazing to see the fertile, dark soil planted with crops right next to the beautiful blue-gray of the Pacific Ocean one stretch, then seeing the beaches with people hauling their surfboards out to catch waves at another.  It was great!

  

We drove through the town of Monterey on our way to see 17 Mile Drive--home to Pebble Beach!

 

Hubby is an avid golfer and has actually had the opportunity to play at Pebble Beach--by looking at these views, it is no wonder it is considered one of the top courses in the world--breathtaking!

17-Mile Drive was not too shabby to look at either!

 Pescadoro Point


 The Lone Cypress--has been here for over 250 years!







After admiring the nature of this truly amazing area, we headed to Carmel to check out where we would be eating our Thanksgiving dinner! 

A few moths ago, I had made reservations at La Playa Hotel in Carmel-by-the-Sea for Thanksgiving dinner--little did I know that it was one of the Historic Hotels of America!  It is located about 2 blocks from the beach and is such a sweet and lovely place.
 

The gardens were just charming and we enjoyed walking around and checking out the grounds.







Thanksgiving was Buffet style--the plate above would be the appetizer course.  The plate below would be the main course with turkey, mashed potatoes, butternut squash ravioli, stuffing, and some green beans for color.

I understand the pigginess and the unnecessary consumption of all this food, but it was Thanksgiving and we weren't going to be able to take leftovers home.


Afterward, we had to walk around the garden some more to let the food adjust and find a place in our stomachs before the ride back to San Francisco!



Then we saw a hummingbird! 

That was our last day in California before heading back East and it was a great way to end our trip.  We had such a great time and really enjoyed being together.  When we are at home, we are always doing a lot of different things, are preoccupied with work, busy running errands and looking after  house stuff, so it was so nice to be able to focus on each other without interruption.

I hope you all enjoyed hearing our story and seeing our pictures as much as I enjoyed telling you about it and reliving it! 
Have you ever been to San Francisco?  If you have, did you wear flowers in your hair?


~Lexie