So, I have been a horrible blogger for the past oh, 10 months. I am sure it is not due to the wee child napping next to me. Couldn’t possibly be. There must be some other reason. :)
Let’s see- The Christmas card photo is done and printed, the envelopes are labeled but everything else remains to be done this week. Maybe I’ll pick up some heart stickers to go over the top and they will be Christmas/New Year/ Valentine’s day cards! The Christmas tree is still up although it is on my list of things to do today. We’ll see if it gets taken down. I didn’t get out much else in the way of holiday decorations. There just wasn’t enough time!
Christmas was wonderful though! All 4 different expressions of it! We had Christmas with Mr. T’s brothers and their families over Thanksgiving. Then we went up north to my grandparent’s and had extended family Christmas. Then Mr. T’s parents, Grandmother, and Aunt came over for Christmas day luncheon. Finally, we celebrated Christmas with my parents and brother on the 27th.
Oh, and get this, for my parents and brother for Christmas their big gift was dinner at the Catbird Seat restaurant. So, they went back home on the 27th then turned around and came back to see us on the 29th! Troopers! They said it was worth it though. Oh, you want to hear about the Catbird Seat? It should really get a post of it’s own but I don’t see that happening in reality so I’ll spare some time here.
We sat in one of the 2 booths–the other guests were parties of 2 and sat at the U shaped counter surrounding that kitchen. We had 9 courses, an amuse bouche, and a post dessert bouche (don’t know what that is called!) . Each course was accompanied by a cocktail or non-alcoholic drink created to match and enhance the dish we were served. The amuse was a porcini mushroom “oreo” filled with a parmesan cream. Then we had an appetizer trio of a petite radish with seaweed butter, a bacon creme filled cornbread puff, and a piece of hot chicken skin. The next course was diver scallops, oyster, and various sauces. The next course was octopus and turnip layered with kimchi, and stuff. The next course was a truffle and sweet potato soup. The next course was a duck breast with sauces and stuff. The next course was a wagu beef with charred kale, potatoes with horseradish (it was good but the char coating was too thick). The next course was a brie cream, earl grey foam, rye bread crumbs, pear (this was my absolute favorite!). Then dessert courses began with a chocolate and chicory dessert. Our last course was pineapple jelle, vanilla cake, bourbon balls, oak ice cream, and cherry paper. It was also a favorite of mine. A deconstructed pineapple upside down cake. Every single thing was cooked absolute impeccably perfect. Each course was served the chef who made it which was great. Everything was wonderful, wonderful. If you have a very, very special occasion to celebrate or are looking for the best restaurant in Nashville, the Catbird Seat is a perfect choice.
Other life changing things going on with us…we discovered the “Home Routines” app for the ipad and so our house is much more picked up and clean then it ever has consistently been which is really lovely. If you have a hard time keeping on top of your mess like we do I highly recommend checking it out. It is customizable and flexible. Also it rewards you with stars for doing tasks and doesn’t make you feel too guilty about missing some. We also like having a set list each day that we don’t have to come up with.
AU is busy trying to figure that whole walking thing. She is doing great and I cannot believe she will be 1 soon! That is just amazing how time is flying, flying.
From Mr. T and I, we wish you and yours a very happy and merry start to 2012!
