Wine and Design

Many apologies for my absence! As many of you know, my day job as an educator keeps me very busy! And we all know what happens in August… Back to School! It's been quite a ride.

Now only was I busy meeting with teachers and preparing, but I was also preparing a certain 5-year-old for HER first day of Kindergarten! Holy Moly… this day arrived sooner than I ever could have expected!

(It's all about the bag and the shoes…)

She had a wonderful day and loves her teachers! We are blessed to have great schools and I know she will do great.

Sometimes when things get hectic…you need to de-stress. A couple of weeks ago, I got had a little adventure with some friends. We headed to Wine and Design in Charlotte for some wine, painting, and laughter.

When you first arrive, you put on your apron and pour yourself a glass of wine and just relax a little. (Note- you must bring your own wine.) Everyone's station is set up ahead of time with a blank canvas (only a pencil outline is provided), a palate of paint, and an assortment of brushes.

Next, your instructor will lead you in starting your painting. For our painting of Tuscany, we started with just the sky and the mountains. Our instructor demonstrated ways to paint each section and he also modeled for us on a canvas. I took pictures at different points along the way so that I could see how my painting progressed throughout the night.

Sky and Mountains

Next, we painted the house-- just an outline and the roof.

I'll admit that at this point, I wasn't thinking this would turn out to be anything special.

But it was fun to peek at each other's paintings and see how we all made them unique. Next, we added trees to our painting. THIS is where it really started to look like something. (Although, my husband said at this point that it looked like cucumbers.)

We then added windows to the house and added some shading to the trees to give them some dimension. I couldn't believe how much better the trees looked after adding the yellow! As you can see, we also added some shrubbery and bushes along the line where the land met the skyline.

Finally, the finishing touches were adding some red poppies to the grassy area and adding some white to the blue flowers-- which also added dimension.

When I finished this last step, I was so proud! I couldn't believe I painted this!

Of course, you must sign your work!

I loved walking around and admiring all of the other paintings. They were each unique in their own way, and we all really enjoyed ourselves.

Ta-da! Group Photo.

If you have never done one of the wine/paint sessions, I highlight recommend it for a girls' night out, a friend gathering, or even a date-night! I had a great experience at Wine and Design! If you visit their website, you can view their calendar and select the evening by the type of painting you would like to do. I really would love to do Charlotte's Starry Night. It's a Van Gogh-esque painting of the Charlotte skyline.

Have you ever done a wine and painting class?

Fitnessy Weekend: Electric Run and National Dance Day!

Happy Sunday, friends! I'm a little under the weather today, so I sent the husband to church without me. Mucinex and Drop Dead Diva on Netflix are helping me through the morning.

How was your weekend? The first half of the weekend was pretty full of action. Friday night, my friend Allison and I headed to Charlotte for the Electric Run! Here's a little recap/review of the Electric Run for you!

I actually registered for this run way back in the spring. I thought a night run at the Charlotte Motor Speedway sounded pretty interesting and exciting. I intended to do a little more running this summer... but I just hate to run when it is hot outside. Ugh!

The Electric Run Course at Charlotte Motor Speedway

 

However, lucky for me, the night of the Electric Run was surprisingly (uncharacteristically) cool! Allison and I (and about 20,000 other people) gathered at the gigantic start line.

 

This is BY FAR the largest 5K i have ever participated in. The Electric Run is so big that they have to release people at the start line in "waves" of about 1,000 people at a time. Believe it or not, when I FINISHED the race, there were actually people still waiting to START! We were in the 3rd or 4th wave, starting around 9:20 p.m.

If you do the Electric Run, you will not need your headphones- there is a speaker system set up all along the route with music. And there are tons of cool light displays set up all along the route, too. I had to stop a few times and snap a coupe of pics. (Where are the Google Glasses when you need them?!)

 

My time wasn't awesome- 44 minutes. But I will take that, considering I have not been running routinely. My first mile was about 14 minutes. Mile 2 was my quickest at 12-13 minutes. Which means I was dragging a$$ on mile 3, at about 17 minutes! Oh no! I need to work on my endurance.

After you cross the finish line, there is a huge after party. I have to say, I was blown away by the after party. It was HUGE. I was expecting a DJ and some dancing and people standing around chatting. Nope. It was actually a full-on RAVE.

For a minute I thought I was back in that episode of 90210 when everyone goes to the Rave and Emily gives Brandon Ecstasy. It was a little insane. Or a lot insane.

So overall... It was definitely an interesting experience. Would I do it again? Maybe...it was pretty expensive, as far as 5ks run. (It was over $50) But it was pretty cool. We also encountered a lot of traffic on the way in, but we realized we were caught up in TI/Lil Wayne Concert traffic. (Taking place about 2 miles away on the same night).

Thinking of doing the Electric Run? I would definitely recommend getting there early so that you can be in one of the first waves. I would HATE to be starting the race at 10:00 or after. Also, even though Electric Run claims this is a "family friendly" event... I would leave the kids at home. It's really loud, and there are definitely some drunk runners using some not-so-kid-friendly language. Get a babysitter. Unless your children are into getting their rave on.

You'd think that after running a late-night 5K that I would, sleep in, but Saturday was National Dance Day! So...I was u bright and early to help my friend Ashley and host a 90-minute Zumba class to celebrate! Aother instructor friend, Jennie, also came to help. It was so much fun teaching together, and we had such a fun group of ladies dancing with us! Happy National Dance Day!

(Photo credit: Ashley)

 

Now, THAT is what I call a "fitnessy weekend." How was YOUR weekend?

 

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How to Host a Holiday Brunch

Get out your favorite holiday china...

Add some greenery...

Brew coffee and have some holiday coffee creamers on hand (pictured here: Cinnamon Sugar Cookie and Peppermint Mocha)

Pop some champagne for mimosas...

Bake some delicious goodies...

And invite some friends!

Cheers!

 

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Holiday Goodie-Swap

Tis the season of holiday craziness! I love this time of year...the cards, the holiday parties, the family traditions...

Reading the holiday-themed magazines...

 

Going to holiday shows and pageants...

 

Holiday parties with friends...

 

Dressing up in red and green clothes... (Or dressing my child in them...)

 

Holiday baking...

 

Visiting Santa...

 

Decking the halls...

(Day view)

(Night view)

 

Making gingerbread houses...

 

And the Elf on the Shelf!

 

This holiday season has seemed to pass by extra quickly for The Confessions family. A few days ago, our Elf on the Shelf, Elfie, brought Sadie a paper link chain so she could count down the days until Christmas. I cannot believe that there are only 6 days left! Fortunately, our last "busy day" is tomorrow, so after tomorrow, I think that we can settle in and just enjoy being together.

On Monday night, I had the pleasure of attending a Goodie-Swap. If you are looking for a fun idea for a holiday party, this is a great one. If you have never been to a goodie- swap before, here is how it works. You make a food (or craft or whatever) to share with each person attending the party. When you attend the party, you get to collect one item from each person, and you come home with a basket of goodies!

Our goody swap was food-related. I wanted to make these sweet and salty spiced nuts, because they are delicious! Then I considered making this minty hot chocolate. But in the end, I decided to make my grandmother's butter cookies. These cookies are extra special because I used my grandmother's recipe AND her cookie press to make them. They are light, crunchy, and buttery! (Plus, they are super cheap to make and use ingredients that you usually have on hand anyway: sugar, flour, butter, milk, vanilla, eggs, and baking powder!)

 

 

 

Click here to view my post on how to make these butter cookies!

 

I made three varieties: flowers with a cherry center, camels with a chocolate sprinkle for the eye (because when else will you ever have a camel cookie??), flowers with red sprinkles, and Christmas trees with red and green sprinkles. My personal favorites are the ones with the cherry center. I forgot to buy maraschino cherries, so I used cherries from a can of cherry pie filling that I had. I just rinsed them off and cut them in half and set them fit in the flower centers before baking.

 

 

 

I came home with lots of goodies, including white trash party mix, gluten-free chocolate-oatmeal cookies, cheese rings, fresh-baked bread with pesto-butter, and more! (Read: I came home with lots of goodies that I do not need to be eating!). Hopefully the whole family will get to enjoy all the goodies!

I thought this was a great idea for a party and it was fun catching up with friends. And we all made samples to share with each other, so we had fun snacking, too!

 

Later this week, I have my second annual holiday brunch with my college friends! I am looking forward to a relaxing morning catching up!

 

Reader Question: Do you host any holiday gatherings? Do you have a favorite one that you attend? What is your favorite tradition?

 

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