Snowman Cheese Ball Recipe!

Posted on December 7, 2014 by Jamie

I love this time of the year!  Every year I dedicate a full baking day of making cookies, and fun treats around the holidays.  This year I wanted to try to get more festive in my creations so this is what I came up with:

snowman-cheese-ball

A fun Snowman Cheese Ball.  It is so easy to make too.

Ingredients needed:

1 Box Cream Cheese (8oz)

1 1/2 Bags Shredded Coconut

1 tsp Vanilla Extract

1 jar Marshmallow Cream

1 Cup Powdered Sugar

Directions:

In a mixing bowl combine cream cheese, powdered sugar, marshmallow cream, vanilla extract and shredded coconut.  Mix together with a mixer for 2 minutes.

Roll into three balls, 1 small, 1 medium, and 1 large size. Roll the balls into shredded coconut until they are completely covered.   Wrap the balls with Clear Cling Wrap and refrigerate for at least one hour.  After the hour of refrigeration, take out and decorate.  Add in fun cookies, wafers, and fun things to dip with.

This is perfect for a holiday party!


Categories: Cooking, Desserts | Tags: , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Napa Valley Bed and Breakfasts Around the Holidays!

Posted on December 5, 2014 by Jamie

I’m going to be honest and let you in on a little secret?  I LOVE Bed and Breakfasts.  Last year, when I first moved to Northern California, I did whatever I could to explore both Napa Valley and Sonoma County Wine Country to take it all in.  Needless to say, I’ve found that I’ve only made a small dent into all there is to see in this vicinity.

Last year I discovered an annual event in Napa Valley. The Annual Bed and Breakfast Holiday Tour where local Bed and Breakfasts of the Downtown Napa area hold an open house and welcome the public into their homes for one evening where food, drinks, and entertainment is provided throughout the night.  After you’re done visiting one inn you then walk, or hop on a shuttle to discover the next inns within the area.  This event usually takes place the first weekend in December.

All the proceeds of this event then go to helping local organizations within the Napa Valley area.

I first partook in this event last year for two reasons: to help the local charities, but to also keep a peek inside the beautiful Bed and Breakfasts of the Downtown Napa area, and let me tell you these inns get decked out for the holidays, and always a GREAT reason to choose to stay in a Bed and Breakfast during any the Holiday Season.

Just take a peek at some of the photos below and see why I am such a fan:

Cedar Gables Inn:

486 Coombs Street, Napa, CA

One of the inns that truly went out that evening was none other than the Cedar Gables Inn.  They had one of their in-house Chefs cook up some delicious appetizers along with the Innmaker dressing up as Santa Claus along with Holiday Tunes, and a fun treat to walk away at the end of the night along with Sing-Alongs happening in the Downstairs Tavern area of the Inn.

Cedar-Gables-InnAbout the Inn:

Today Cedar Gables is a 4 star bed and breakfast. Following in yesteryears traditions it continues to host executive retreats, fancy dinners, holiday parties and grand social events. And, they still know how to do it.  Along with staying at the inn, they also offer a host of cooking classes throughout the year.

Some of the appetizers that were served that evening: The Dreamsicle Panna Cotta

Panna-Cotta

Beazley House:

1910 First Street, Napa, CA

Another WELL Known Bed and Breakfast within the Napa area is the Beazley House, and ironically the first inn I stopped into that evening:

Beazley-HouseJim and Carol Beazley opened the doors of Napa’s first bed and breakfast inn in 1981, and they’ve been providing unique memories for you ever since.

Truly the pioneers that started it out, and began to bring these beautiful Bed and Breakfasts to Wine Country.  Along with a prestige history, this inn is Dog Friendly.

Beazley-House-Christmas-TreeTheir beautiful Christmas Tree inside the Inn.

La Belle Epoque:

1386 Calistoga Avenue

This Inn truly left an impression on me.  From the Guitarist playing Holiday Music in the Foyer to the Stained Glass Windows found through the Inn.

La-Belle-Epoque

Stained-Glass-WindowsWithin one of the bedrooms at the Inn.

The Napa Inn:

1137 Warren Street

The-Napa-Inn

The Napa Inn is the creation from Brooke and Jim Boyer.  In their own words: Napa Inn is a labor of love for us. We designed and created many details of the inn, from tiling bathrooms to building flower boxes. I am an artist and you will see much of my work throughout the inn – including wall murals and faux painting in guestrooms.

Holiday-VillageHoliday Villages were found inside many of the local inns across the town of Napa.  Inside The Napa Inn.

1801 First:

1801 First Street

1801FirstAnd once inside see how the room is transformed:

Inside-1801-FirstTruly offering every bit of comfort while staying here.

McClelland-Priest:

569 Randolph Street, Napa, CA

mcclellandpriestTruly they know how to get into the Holiday Season!  And why it’s such a GREAT place to stay during the holiday season.  But not only that, Bed and Breakfasts truly know how to cater to their residents.  Of course, my favorite part, is breakfast the morning of your previous night’s stay when all the guests sit around the table, and often times may discuss their days events, their future travels, or much more.

Let me know about a Bed and Breakfast Experience you’ve had during your travels!

travel advent calendar 2014

This post is apart of the 2014 Travel Advent Calendar Series created by Sherey Paul.  The 25 Days of Travel.  Be sure to follow along here to see where we’re headed next.

 

 

 

 


Categories: Napa Valley, Northern California, Travel | Tags: , , , , , , | 3 Comments

A Wine Club That Will Wow You Every Time!

Posted on December 4, 2014 by Jamie

Disclosure: I received product for review purposes, but all opinions are my own.

wineofthemonth

There are so many GREAT options when it comes to choosing a Wine of the Month Club to join, however, some just do it far better than so many others.

For those that live in a wine region in close proximity, it’s easy to join a Wine Club at a local favorite winery, but for those of you that may not be as lucky there’s still a GREAT option out there for you.

Let me introduce you to The Wine of the Month Club.  I recently received my first shipment and I was so impressed with how the bottles came packaged.  They didn’t just show up in a box, but in a nicely wrapped box pictured above and below.

wine-club

In the Wine of the Month Club there are a variety of options to choose from.  I selected the California Series Wine Club (just 26.95 a month!) which sends out 2 bottles a month from different regions of California.  Being a huge California wine lover since residing here, it was the perfect option.

But the Wine of the Month Club offers far more than 2 bottle shipments.  They have Wine Basket selections to Wine Accessories to choose from and much more.  But it’s all in the details.  How they wrapped the wine was truly noticed, and they put the same dedication into their wine baskets and accessories as well.

The thing I truly love about this Wine Club is that I don’t feel as if it’s costing me a bundle to be apart of it, and the wines showcase a variety of California wines.  I was really impressed that the two wines I received with my shipment were wines I had not heard of before, and came out of two different wine regions within California (Napa Valley and Santa Clara County).

They truly were the first Wine Club that came to be and established in 1972, and in the end, that’s how Wine Clubs by mail truly began.  And from what I have seen, this one truly knows what they’re doing, and would make an excellent gift for a loved one this holiday season.

 


Categories: Food Products, Fun Stuff, Product Reviews, Wine | Tags: , , , , , | 1 Comment