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| Eggnog Creams. Recipe can be found on my old blog, here |
Hey friends! Can you believe we're already in the last full week before Christmas? Craziness, I tell ya!
What's worse is that I had a 3-day weekend, but it was so jam-packed that I really didn't get a chance to relax. Granted, I enjoyed most of what I did this weekend, but I would have loved a solid three hours on Sunday night to unwind with some hot cocoa and a movie (or at least finish knitting my scarf- just a couple inches to go!).
Besides making the delicious Eggnog Creams pictured above, I also attended Ladies Day Out on Saturday. I was given a pair of complimentary passes in hopes that I would write about the event, so here you go. The event was held at the Doubletree by the Loyd Center and began at 9am. I decided to take my sister in law, since I figured she could really use a ladies' day out. This lady is not only the mother of two young boys, but she also goes to nursing school full time.
We got to the event early because we were promised swag bags (which were handed out to the first 200 attendees). There was music, vendors, waffles, and my favorite (I'm not a lush, I swear) booze. Hear me out though: I am really into local wineries and local distilleries. I am so fortunate to live in an area that has plenty of both, and it is so much fun to get out and meet the people behind the products. Plus, local distilleries tend to get more creative with their booze, which I will explain further.
I was pretty psyched to see that my favorite, Eastside Distilling, had a booth at the event. So excited, in fact, that I didn't take any pictures. This year, they have a holiday 3-pack of Peppermint Bark Liqueur (recipe using this stuff coming up later this week), Eggnog Liqueur, and Holiday Spiced Liqueur. All 3 of these liqueurs are amazingly delicious, and my little brother is one lucky guy because my sister in law bought him the 3-pack for Christmas (don't worry, I'm not spoiling a surprise- she gave it to him early; besides, I'm pretty sure my brother doesn't realize I have a blog).
Now, our actual first stop of the event was at the Dry Fly booth. I'd never heard of them, but they are a distillery based in Spokane, Washington. I noticed they had a gold-colored gin and I had to know all about it. It turns out that they age the gin in oak barrels, giving it an oaky flavor like a whiskey, but with the herbal flavor of gin. Let me tell you, I could sip this stuff straight and be a happy camper. Not only that, but their vodka is probably the best vodka I've tasted. I normally hate vodka, but this one is a keeper. The only downside- they weren't licensed to sell in Oregon, so we couldn't buy any bottles to take home.
My other favorite booth at the event was Phelps Creek Vineyards. I've visited their tasting room in Hood River, but I love the wines out there so much, I will never turn down a tasting. In this case, tastings were $3 for 5 wines (whereas the distilleries were giving free tastings). The Sauvignon Blanc was light and crisp- and a first for Phelps Creek! They've paired up with a Kiwi (New Zealand is known for great Sauvignon Blanc) to produce this refreshing wine. The Chardonnay was also very nice- it has only been oaked for a short time, so it's a bit cleaner than a regular oaked Chardonnay. My favorite of the bunch, however, was the dessert wine, Vin de Glace (Ice Wine for you non-French seakers). It was not sickeningly sweet at all. Instead, it was light and fruit forward- and actually tasted like pineapple!
As for the rest of the event, I found a Christmas present for my mom among the vendors (not saying who or what since this one is still a surprise), and my sister in law found a present for herself with the beautiful hand-tossed pottery booth. I was tempted to buy myself a small aqua pitcher, but talked myself out of it- I'm trying to cut spending, and I still have other Christmas presents to buy. My only complaint about the event would be the number of dieting-related booths. When I think of a "Ladies Day Out" the last thing I want to think about is losing weight. But, we all know how I feel about dieting.
As for the rest of my weekend, there was an inspirational goal-planning session with fellow Portland bloggers Kayla and Macey, which I will talk about in the New Year (because there will be a part 2!). What I will say is that I left feeling super inspired by these awesome women and the great things we shared. I also shared with them Unravelling, which I am currently working through as I prepare for the new year.
And then there was all kinds of holiday preparation going on at my mom's house. I spent a good chunk of time making Christmas presents (my siblings and I are exchanging hand-made gifts this year in an effort to be more frugal and thoughtful). Let's just say, if the boys don't like what they get from me, I will gladly keep their presents to myself.
Now I'll leave you with some images from mom's house, which is all decked out (though she didn't put out all of the decorations, and you really can't tell):
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| This is mom's Toy Chihuahua, Frodo, in a Christmas sweater. You're Welcome. |
How was your weekend? Are you ready for the holidays? I'd love to hear from you in the comments below!
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