Be Still and Know...Then and Now

This one is just for you Linda , well and every other Gingerbread lover. Since The Grove Park Inn was just under five miles from Biltmore we could not head for home without stopping by on our way out of town. Each year The Grove Park Inn host The National Gingerbread Competition . You can click on the link above for addition pictures. Some of the top winners were no longer on display and had been sent on to New York (bummer) but there were still lots of amazing pieces available to viewing. View Full Album I will also say that in the very brief time we were at the Grove Park Inn it looked like a very nice place to stay should you have the time and the funds. It had an amazing Sunset Terrace and just as we were leaving the sun was setting. We Took a brief detour before heading home and spent a few minute watching the sun set over the North Carolina mountains. God is just to awesome! This picture just does not do the sunset justice. If you look closely at the picture abov...

Just down these steps and a short walk from the main house is the Conservatory.   There were no restrictions on picture taking in there so having been restrained for the better portion of the day I had an absolutely wonderful time snapping away to my hearts content. It was just amazing inside. If you are a regular visitor here at my blog you will know how exacted I get over God’s creation, and boy was He showing of in big way inside the walls of that conservatory. Here is my tropical adventure in the middle of a winter wonderland! Y’all take my advice if you make a visit to Biltmore make sure you take the short walk down those steps and explore the Conservatory. To sum up our visit to Biltmore, it really made me think. On the way home my husband and I discussed how different life must have been, and the reality that we have no concept what it must have been like growing up with that sort of privilege. Cornelia Vanderbilt, the only child of George and Ed...

  Without boring you to tears here is a very brief background on the Vanderbilt's and Biltmore Estate. George Vanderbilt III (he was not married when he began building the house, I would call this the ultimate bachelor's pad wouldn't you) opened Biltmore on Christmas Eve in 1895. It still maintains the title of the largest private residence in the United States. It took six years to build. The total floor space of the estate is 4 acres, y’all want to vacuum that???? The mansion has a total of 250 rooms, 43 bathrooms, 33 family an guest rooms, 65 fireplaces, three kitchens, and indoor swimming pool as well as the very first bowling alley built inside a private residence. In 1650 Jan Aertsen van der Bilt emigrated to the United States. The family did not become the American industrial icon’s until Cornelius Vanderbilt began the family empire, legend has it that he borrowed $100.00 for his mother and then launched a ferry service across New York Bay which he eventua...

A long time ago in a land far far away, which really means when we went for a visit to my MIL, she had an extra copy of the much loved and treasured Southern Living magazine. Now to give you some brief background on this chocolate adventure I was at my local grocery store standing in the check out lane. My cart was loaded to the brim with all the fixing's for my thanksgiving dinner. As I patiently waited for my turn to empty my checkbook the magazine vendor was there diligently refreshing the racks at all the check out stations. All of us ohh’d and ahh’ed as we saw her depot the December edition into the rack with this amazing cake on the cover. Seeing as I was still basking in the warmth of my success from my spectacular German Chocolate Tower of Amazing-ness at Thanksgiving. I decided to throw caution to the wind and whip up something equally spectacular for our Christmas Celebration. I again asked the age old “Be Still and Know” question “How Hard Could it Be??” Sho...

Here is the money shot prior to the carnage of unwrapping. My tradition of rising early and getting the coffee going allows me the privilege of having a few quiet moment alone. However now that my little ones are nearly all grown up the chaos of Christmas morning is a lot calmer. In fact I had to finally go and wake the DD up after I had endured the peace and quiet long enough. Mom wanted to open some presents! But moving on the really important things…My Little Sock Monkey on her first Christmas! She had a wonderful time playing with all the torn up paper and empty boxes. Merry Christmas Y’all Blessings Robin Stay tuned for a post about our snowy adventures at Biltmore Estate and an exciting tale about the perils of 7 minute frosting and a chocolate cake extravaganza!

Where to start… On Thursday I went to meet the newest addition to the world. She was born Thursday morning at 10:27 to the DD of one of my oldest and dearest friends. She is a precious 7 plus pound bundle of sweetness. I am looking forward to being able to share the blessings of grandmother-hood with my friend, however we are having a slight disagreement. Going under the principles of seniority I feel I deserve the lone title of “Her majesty” gather than granny, ma ma or whatever other grandma-ish type names are out there and she is sadly under the mistaken idea that she can claim this prestigious title for herself. Oh well, I suppose there is room in the world for two supreme rulers of the grandmother realm, even if I was first. In any event I suppose our grandchildren will decide for themselves what they will call us in due time. We both wait with great expectation to see what that will be. On Friday I met skoots1mom for lunch and she brought me my birthday present. It ...