Thankful Thanksgiving!

Kody and I had a great Thanksgiving week. Last Tuesday I ventured to Springfield about 2:30 with Courtney, Jen, and Tara. We went to look for a new Sunday School study and to get a little eating and shopping in! We found Adam Hamilton's The Journey. I'm really glad we found this, it's a Christmas study and we weren't planning to get something like that but it was the perfect fit. And crazy enough, it goes right along with our pastor's sermons! They shopped until they dropped and I dropped about 8:30! I hit a wall at Target and was exhausted. We didn't leave Springfield until 10....and it's an hour and 45 minute drive home! Needless to say I was exhausted on Wednesday. Exhausted.

Wednesday we had food at work and besides being exhausted I ate way too much. I then didn't eat for 26 hours because I just didn't feel the need because Thanksgiving was right around the corner!

We made deviled eggs, 24 hour salad, and yum yum corn for Thanksgiving. We went to my grandparent's house (Mama & Nandad) and had a great lunch there. It was a special day, it was Mama's 76th Birthday. I was lame and didn't get any pictures besides this one.

The whole Prewett clan was together. We didn't make it to Jackson this year. It's tough because Kody works on Friday. We will be there for Christmas though! My favorite thing is either my 24 hour salad, Mom's dressing, or my mom's chocolate chess pie. YUM!!! Afterwards we went by my Mom's dad's house and visited with them before heading back home. I'm so thankful for my family, especially my grandparents. My Nandad said some really sweet things about Mama before the prayer at lunch. She is a Saint!

Kody did homework, but did get out our Christmas tree for me. I wanted to get it ready to decorate on Friday but we had a little light issue. Kody ended up fixing it Friday night late. Thank goodness!! The tree is only 2 years old. GRRR. Anyways, I think it's beautiful and I love the mesh!

My mother-in-law Teresa and her mom are here to visit now. We love having them here and we're lucky that Teresa & John (FIL) will be back to stay this weekend. They'll leave for Jackson tomorrow and we'll miss them! We took Christmas pictures for Grandma's Christmas cards last night. I thought they turned out really cute.

I hope y'all had a great Thanksgiving. What a blessing it was to spend time with family. Christmas will be here before we know it, are you ready? I'm getting there. Most of my gifts are bought.

Last Day in Hermann

Saturday, 11/12/11, was our last day in sweet Hermann. I had a sick feeling all day because I simply did not want to leave. We ventured out after breakfast in bed (both mornings by the way) Kody made waffles on Saturday though!

Here are a couple of random shots from Friday. After we went to Adam Puchta we saw this sweet old Dodge truck at a church. Kody was intrigued so we stopped for pictures. It was so cool! I’m sure some of these shots will go downstairs in the man cave. And earlier on Friday we went to Hermannhof cottages and took pictures of the Hermannhof grounds…because I love them.  

We had lunch at the Barrel/the Concert Hall (I had their pizza…delish!) and then went over to Tin Mill Brewing Company. It’s a small brewery in Hermann. Neat little self tour and then you can buy samples of their beer.  Afterwards we just snapped a few shots around town.

We then hit a couple wineries we missed and snuck Hermannhof back in too. I can’t imagine being in Hermann during Oktoberfest. Saturday in November was crazy enough for me and it wasn’t that bad. I like it nice and quiet though. We went to Bommarito Winery. They are a very small one and only open on the weekends. I was surprised how good the wine was though! We then went to Oak Glen, mainly for the view. We tried their wine but just like last year it was all nasty! They do have killer views though.

We had checked out of our cottage earlier…actually on our way out loading things into the car Kody locked us out. Right before the lady came to let us in he figured out he could climb around back and climb onto the deck and go in the back way….he made it! Good thing, this was our  view from the back so I’m glad he didn’t fall in! ;)

 

Before leaving town we stopped at the cemetery in town. Kind of morbid, but I love cemeteries, especially old ones. I love all things historic and Hermann is the PERFECT place for that. Seriously go if you live in Missouri and even if  you don’t drink wine! It’s just a beautiful little town!

We stopped off at the local park before leaving town to have a few more snacks and enjoy Hermann one more time. I was literally depressed having to leave. It was SOOO awesome to be out of town, worry-free for 3 full days. I’m so thankful for the time with my husband!

He tried to cheer me up so on our way home before we got to Rolla we stopped in St. James at 2 wineries there! They had NOTHING on Hermann though!

It was the perfect trip and just what we both needed. Time away! We plan to make our fall trip an annual trip every year and possibly go back in the spring, just because we love it so much.

Hermann: Take 3

Friday (11/11/11) was just a wonderful day in Hermann. It was gorgeous weather and we ventured out to so many wineries and had the perfect time just being together and laughing! After our stop at the coffee house we walked around town going in neat little shops. The Gold Rhino was my favorite. We spent at least 30 minutes in there. Not only were there antiques, but there was a lot of vintage items. (Meaning 1960s era) Lots and lots of vintage clothes that surprisingly I wanted. Maybe surprisingly for y’all, but not for me or Kody. I tend to like classier things that stay in style and not come and go! We were determined to find at least 1 Christmas gift while shopping there. We’re going for unique gifts this year and we found his Dad the perfect thing for his office. It’s called a Putter Prayer and he can sit in on the shelves in there. It still has the tag to explain what it is, and it’s from the 1960s! The owner was so sweet, she told us about this restaurant called The Cottage. We made reservations for Friday night….

We had lunch at Simon’s on the Waterfront, it was OK….maybe better at night. We then headed to the famous Stone Hill. They have a great tour and then an even better tasting time. Unfortunately we had an awful tour guide this year, but she didn’t stop me from taking pictures left and right. It was just Kody and I on the tour…and her. She was thoroughly annoyed that I kept snapping pictures. Excuse me!

       

After our time at Stone Hill we went to Adam Puchta Winery. Last year Adam Puchta had an employee that we loved and she paired the wines with great food choices. She now works at Hermannhof, so we’re glad we got to visit with her there, but missed her at AP. AP actually had our favorite wines last year but this year was more of a toss up. We enjoy being out there and took our snacks and enjoyed a little afternoon sunshine and some yummy treats.

After AP we headed out towards New Haven to Bias Winery and then on to Robller (sp?). Robller surprised us! It was really good so we had to take home a bottle. We headed back to the cottage after those two stops to get ready for dinner!

Before the dinner we went to the Barrel, which has great food and we just went  for a drink. I’m not really a bar person, but this is a different place! I love it! We headed out to the Cottage. Check out the website. It was an old house with tables just all over it in a very intimate setting. You could smell the ribeyes cooking when you got out of your car! YUM! They were actually famous for their fried chicken so Kody got that and I got a steak and we shared. We had to have dessert too…or so we heard! We had caramel chocolate chip bread pudding and left feeling sick! It was SOOOO good. Again, it was an early night just because we were so full…and a little lame.

Kudos to you if you read all of these entries. I really just want to document it all so I can remember one of the best trips we’ve taken so far.

Hermann: Part 2

I have no excuse other than pure laziness for my lack of blogging! SORRY! Anyways, I need to finish the recap on our wonderful anniversary trip to Hermann, Missouri. In my last post, you saw that we went ziplining. Always a fun time!

After ziplining we drove back into Hermann (about 10 minutes) and stopped off at a local grocery store (They have no BIG BOX stores) and got some crackers, cheese, snacks, and of course some wine! It’s cheaper at the grocery stores and I love a good deal. We headed to the main house at Hermann Hill. There we checked in and got a delicious cup of coffee. The main house overlooks Hermann and has some breathtaking views, much like this one taken from the kitchen.

 

Our cottage wasn’t quite ready yet so we ventured downtown and went to a little meat shop. We soon got the call our room was ready and headed to the cottage. Look at this. This is why I am in love with Hermann and Hermann Hill!

 

We stayed in this same cottage last year. We had a kitchen, stocked fridge (and we couldn’t even eat all the stuff in it!), living room, 2 fireplaces, killer view and deck with grill and private hot tub, king size bed, huge Jacuzzi tub, steam shower, and large vanity station. If we didn’t leave the room I would have been completely content.

After we oo’ed and aww’ed over things we headed out on the town to try to make it to one winery before dark. We made it to Hermannhof. I love the atmosphere at Hermannhof. It’s a quaint, really old, beautiful building. I just feel like there’s a lot of history there. We sampled a view wines and then bought one! :) Here’s a couple shots of us enjoying the finer things in life!

Hermannhof is beautiful at night too! We also snapped a few shots from their wine cellar. Beautiful, old, moldy bricks! :)

    After our tasting at Hermannhof it was only 5 p.m., but wineries close at dark and with the time change that was all she wrote for Thursday! We headed to our FAVORITE spot to eat in Hermann, Wings-a-Blazin’. It’s like a hometown Buffalo Wild Wings, except better. They always have killer specials. We literally ate until we were sick feeling. We headed back to the cottage and were asleep by 8 p.m! I actually napped on and off and Kody was out. It was just what we needed, good rest! We were rearing to go by 7 a.m. Friday!

Friday morning we headed out early and went up on this huge hill that we drove by each time we went to our cottage. It was nestled on a Century Farm, the Kallmeyer Farm to be exact. We had no clue what we would find at the top of the hill but there was a white picket fence with a very small and extremely OLD cemetery up there. We took all kinds of pictures (because that’s what we love to do!) We spent a good hour up on the top of that HUGE hill. It was a HIKE up to it. And then I wanted the tripod so Kody ran down it and HIKED back up. He likes to exercise! ;) Here are the awesome views.

Blah, I know like a ton of pictures of ourselves. My other pictures are somewhere on another computer. I will have to get those tonight.

After we did our mountain climbing we headed down to a little coffee shop! It was wonderful coffee and the cutest little gifts. I got our nephew Drake’s Christmas gift there!  We then headed back to change clothes and get ready to head to the wineries! More on that later!