Visiting Gettysburg In March

For Valentine's Day I got my husband and I an overnight at a lodge in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. I did a search for B&Bs in the area and came up with The Lodges of Gettysburg. I've never planned anything for he and I because he's the one who usually does. He was pretty excited to get away even if it was only overnight.

Thankfully Gettysburg is only a few hours drive from us. If I remember right, I picked the last weekend before the prices went up on nearly all of the places to stay in the area. With spring around the corner, winter is definitely the time to get a reasonable price. I'm telling you, traveling during the off season is the way to go.

There are definitely pluses and minuses going during an off season. To start with for the plus side, the prices are better if you're looking for a one night stay or for the weekend. Another plus is that it's lacking all of the tourists. The minus would be that not all of the shops are open or they open later than usual.

Since we were getting to our lodge later in the evening, Fred did some research before we left and decided we'd eat at The Historic Farnsworth House. It's a bed and breakfast as well as a dining room. Our menu came as a scroll. I got to try food I've never had before. There was pickled watermelon rind which to me was absolutely disgusting. I have it on good authority that people, especially those in the South, love it. We also had Southern Spoonbread. It kind of reminded me of bread pudding and rice pudding when it came to texture and appearance. For our main courses, Fred had the game pie and I had the chicken pot pie. We both loved our food and our server. The house was just surrounded by history.

Our lodge was upgraded. I had chosen the cheapest accommodation (Corporal's Quarters) because I knew we were going to get there late and only be there overnight. A king size bed and a bathroom was all we needed. Well, once I saw our upgrade to the Captain's Lodge, I had wished I'd booked the entire weekend and I didn't want to leave the next morning. We had a HUGE main room with the king size bed and a couple of dresses. I loved that there was an electric fireplace in the corner already keeping the room warm. We had a kitchenette, which we didn't need, but would've been great for an extended stay. The bathroom was stunning with slate everywhere and a really large closet. The exposed beams in the main room were incredible, and there was a fan light over the bed.

The next morning, we had a better view of the surrounding area on the grounds. Out the back side of our lodge was a patio with a couple of Adirondack chairs. As beautiful as the view was in winter, I could only imagine what it looks like in the spring and summer. We headed down to the main lodge to have breakfast. There was only one other couple in there. They had a pretty basic offering, but I'd imagine with as few people staying there, they wouldn't have much. There was enough to make me full, that's for sure! I didn't realize they had a ballroom for weddings and events. What I also like about The Lodges at Gettysburg is that some of the lodges hold up to 8 people which would be great for a whole family getaway. They also have packages for families & couples to enjoy. Can you tell I want to go back already?

As much as I didn't want to leave, there was the mandatory check out time, so we headed into town. We started off with coffee at Eighty Two Cafe. I'm guessing it might be the only coffee place in town.  Then we proceeded to walk around the little town of Gettysburg for the next 5 hours. lol We had no idea that we were going to walk up and down it numerous times. Pap invited us to go to dinner with him so we had to find something to do.

We tried to go into every store that was open. Gettysburg Emporium has incredible outfits that resemble the Civil War era clothes. And listen, if I ever went to an event where we had to dress up, this is where I'd get my outfit from. I was also excited to find out there's a shop called Gettysburg Polish Pottery. What a strange place for a store like that, but I'm pretty sure I spent about an hour there and came away with my first piece of Polish pottery!

We ate lunch at Hunt's Battlefield Fries. Not a lot of seating and it was very "cozy". The gal who waited on us was extremely pleasant. We got there just in time because the next thing we knew, there were a lot of people in the entryway. We offered to share our table with some other people and they accepted! I love that.

After lunch we decided to walk over to the Jennie Wade house to see if any tours were available. We were the last 2 for the one coming up. Great timing! We had a man dressed in period clothing give us a tour and tell us all kinds of stories about what might've gone on during the time of Jennie Wade's shooting. She was the only civilian killed during the Gettysburg battle. Seeing those beds I'm thankful for the mattresses that we have these days!

Wandering around more we made our way into A Lil' Something Gettysburg where Fred was able to sample lots of salsas. I think we went into the Country Curiosity Store at Dobbin House several times. Once it was just to look around, once it was to get out of the cold, and last was while we were waiting for dinner. Of course you can't go to Gettysburg and not visit a place that has some history. We walked through Gettysburg Museum of History and that was interesting to say the least. The number of items they have that are historic was pretty mind blowing.

I'm sure there are places I can't remember we popped into to burn the time until dinner. We thought we were going to have a late dinner so we grabbed some ice cream at Mr. G's Ice Cream. Needless to say, I was wrong and we were sitting down for dinner about an hour later at the Springhouse Tavern inside Dobbin House. That was a pretty cool experience. I wish I could've eaten something other than the Baked King's Onion Soup, but my stomach literally hurt from all of the eating we'd done that day!

Gettysburg is an incredible place to visit even if you don't do any of the tours (which we've done in the past). You also don't have to be a history buff to enjoy the little town. It's a great place for an overnight getaway or even an extended weekend when it's more bustling and there's more to do.

Our Captain Marvel Review

This past weekend the family went to see Captain Marvel. I have to admit, I was a bit worried this was going to be a waste of 2 1/2 of my life's hours. I'd heard about the bad reviews and was seriously hoping they were false. My brother & sister-in-law saw it the night before and they said they both liked it!

I'll be honest here, I didn't know who Brie Larson was before this movie. My hubby (if I remember correctly) told me that Captain Marvel is supposed to be the most powerful of all the Marvel characters. While I liked her character and for the most part enjoyed her acting, I felt like she wasn't "fierce" enough. I think the special effects helped with her intensity when she was using her powers. Otherwise I felt like she was constantly on the verge of smiling. All of her training for the role certainly paid off. The action scenes were exciting! Also, the amount of sarcasm and banter with Fury made me smile!



I had no idea Jude Law was in the movie. That was a shock as I haven't seen him in anything for what seems like ages. I liked his acting as well as his character. Then Annette Bening, it was so incredible to see her. That woman is timeless and I really like how she played her character. I'll tell you what, when I saw the young Colson and Fury I had to laugh. This might've been set in the 90s, but they made me think of the late 70s. Maybe I just remember the 90s differently.

And while we're at it, let's talk about Goose. Notice how they used a cat to play this part? And to see Fury's cat loving side gave me the warm fuzzies for him. lol Notice how they didn't use a dog? Cats were made to play roles like Goose! This is the first animal in the Marvel Universe. Smart move on their part!

Overall I liked the entire storyline. The movies this past year in the Marvel Universe have really won me over. I didn't feel like there were any political messages being thrown around in the story or that any feminine agenda was present. I took the movie at face value - an action adventure. I felt like the storyline was pretty easy to follow. There were a couple spots where I was confused trying to figure out who Carol Danvers really was, but other than that, the movie was easy to follow along. Also, the costumes and makeup were terrific! I think the costume designer and makeup artists should be up for awards next year.

Here's Jacob's review:

The first, of hopefully many, female led movie in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Captain Marvel exceeded my expectation of what this film could be. It was visually stunning and made the audience go ‘oh, so that’s how that happened’ numerous times.

Each main character, from Goose to Jude Law’s character Yon-Rogg, had a compelling story to tell. The whole movie, even at the end, I wanted to see the characters Yon-Rogg and Carol Danvers build their relationship onscreen, though for those who have seen the movie, I don’t think that’ll be happening anytime soon.

 

I loved seeing Fury and Coulson back in the mix in lager roles. I’ve been waiting to see Clark Gregg on the big screen inside the MCU again, and this movie didn’t disappoint. Here’s to hoping we see Coulson in Endgame.

To address Fury’s eye, it was a cute little thing, but I feel like there could have been something more significant. Say if Law and Jackson had scenes of the two working together, Law could have betrayed Jackson in their scene and that would have fit the quote from Marvel’s Captain America: The Winter Soldier, ‘Last time I trusted someone, I lost an eye.’ There were many fun easter eggs to past MCU movies, and the one I think sticks out the most is in the last scene of the movie where Fury is typing up his Protectors Initiative plan to find others like Captain Marvel to help save the planet in the future. While looking into the files of Carol, he sees her old callsign from when she flew jets: Carol ‘Avenger’ Danvers.

Overall, I enjoyed the movie. One that I’ll be going to see in theaters again. I’m excited to see how she will fit into Endgame, and maybe even give Thor a run for his money.

It's Time To Give Winter The Boot

Have I ever mentioned I happen to be the jealous type? I wanted to surprise my daughter with a new pair of boots because, hello, living in Minnesota a girl always needs a good pair of boots in the winter! That's where Lugz come in. You already know how much we love them in our house so I was excited to partner with them again to share a gorgeous pair with my daughter.

Last month I made a last minute trip out to frigid Minnesota. My aunt wasn't doing well again, and I want to make the most of the time with her that I can. I made sure to schedule some time with Sarah and the boys. With the little time that I had, we only got to see each other during dinner.

I was able to give her the Lugz Women's Convoy Fold Fur 8 Inch Boot. They. Are. Gorgeous! Here's why my "jealous type" comes in. It was a good thing she is a 9 1/2 because if she'd have been a 7 1/2 I'd have been tempted to keep them for myself! I actually went back and forth on which color to get her. I would've asked her which she liked best, but these boots were going to be a surprise.

These Convoy Fold Fur boots are the kind you want in more than one color. I went with black because she could wear them with anything. Ok, she could wear the golden wheat tan ones also, but I had to pick one and it was basically throwing a dart and it landed on the black. Seriously, you can't go wrong with either and should actually have both! Go for the gold ladies.

Meeting Sarah for dinner didn't give us the opportunity to take pictures because in Minnesota it's dark until 7am and get dark by 4pm in the winter. lol Ok, that might be an exaggeration, but sometimes it feels like it. It was SO cold the week I was there we couldn't meet during daylight hours to take pictures. You want to know how cold it was? They even shut down the Ice Castle and the Saint Paul Winter Carnival. lol While the weather was terrible, the boots definitely came at the right time for my daughter.

Let's talk a bit about the boot, shall we? They come with a soft, faux fur lining. What I like is that they can be worn folded down or left up for a bit more warmth. And who doesn't love a padded insole? I think every pair of boots should come with them. The Convoy Fold Fur has a synthetic nubuck upper, and I have to tell you, they're so soft you'll want to pet them every time you put them on. I dare you to try to put these boots on and not give them a stroke or two. :)

I may live in Maryland, but if I had a pair of these boots I'd probably wear them nearly every day throughout the cold months. I would have to say they're an essential for colder states! Fashion and function. What more could be better? Trust me that you won't meet a pair of Lugz boots that you won't like!

Day Trip To New York City

For Christmas Fred surprised me with a day trip to New York City! Not only were we going to NYC, but we were going to take a carriage ride!! I could hardly believe it. He knew that Hallmark had been showing all kinds of scenes of carriage rides and I tweeted about how romantic it was. What's really romantic is Fred paying attention and then making this experience come true for me. The plan was for us to take Amtrak up in the morning and then back again around midnight. What a fabulous gift amiright?

Having never been to NYC right after Christmas I had no idea what the city would hold for us. Instead of planning what we were going to do up there, I just mentioned a couple things I wanted to do and figured the rest of the day would unfold however it was meant to. The only thing I did last minute the week before we went up was make a reservation at Tavern on the Green for dinner. My initial plan was to  visit the Empire State Building, Rockefeller Center, and maybe the Statue of Liberty. Oh, what foolish thinking.

As soon as we got off the train we made a beeline for the Empire State Building. The line wrapped around an entire NYC block by 10am!! Isn't that crazy?! Scratch that off the list. We meandered our way over to the New York Public Library. I was excited to walk through this historical building. I was actually surprised that there weren't as many books that we could get up close and personal with. It didn't disappoint in its beauty though. If you get to the City, you should definitely take the time to take a walk through.

Having never been to Rockefeller Center I definitely wanted to get a photo by the ice skating rink. I thought it would be fun to go skating, but holy smokes the cost of that was outrageous! We weren't sure where we wanted to eat lunch, and I really wanted to eat somewhere the locals love, a place that had a great reputation, or somewhere fun. Unfortunately, we ate at a burger place in Rockefeller Center and were very underwhelmed. Next time I ask local friends before we head up.

We found out going to the Statue of Liberty was out of the question. My boys were up in NYC as well that weekend with their dad's side of the family. They were going out to it and were told it was a 3 hour wait for the ferry. lol So glad we didn't have our heart set on that. We also found out Ellis Island was closed. Because of that we headed over to Central Park.

I always had an idea of what Central Park looked like, and it didn't match up to what we saw. I thought it was This long, grassy area with trees lining the path. Boy was I so wrong. There were hills and large rocks jutting out, and paths that went all kinds of directions. You have NO idea how long it took for us to find the zoo. There were absolutely zero signs to point us in the right direction and the map we were trying to use wasn't very helpful either.

When we finally ended up at it, we bought tickets at the kiosk. At least that was up-to-date. Maybe they should considering putting in a few signs to make finding them easier. Ha! Anyhow, we started off with the sea lions which are smack dab in the middle of the zoo. It was incredible to see them so close up. Then we saw all of the rest of the animals. I couldn't get enough of the bears. The snow leopard was beautiful. It took a little bit for everyone to figure out where it was and once we had an eye on it, it jumped around to where most of us couldn't see it.

The rest of the zoo was fun, too. The harbor seals were playing which was fun to watch. I have always loved watching penguins, but I wish the windows to view them was better. We ended up our time at the zoo watching the very end of the sea lion show. I was so excited to have spent some of our day there.

We walked around Central Park and then went to a coffee shop close to Tavern on the Green because we were a bit too early to show up for our reservation. I was really excited about dining here because it's such a landmark. I had gotten reservations at the bar so I was sure how great the service or seating would be, but I held out high hopes. Let me tell you, I wasn't disappointed. The seating was perfect and we were only in the vicinity of the bar. If our section was so nice, I wonder what the regular seating was like! Our server was spectacular. The shrimp cocktail we got as an appetizer had the largest shrimp I've ever had! It didn't disappoint. I got the roasted organic chicken and Fred got the chardonnay braised short rib of beef. Both were absolutely scrumptious. For dessert I went with the carrot cake and Fred had the seasonal eggnog creme brûlée. I really wanted to come home with something from eating there so we went to the shop and bought the Apothecary Jar of Matches. Here are 2 things that are funny about that: 1) when I was on the site before we went I thought it was a bottle of q-tips 2) I thought it was a super small jar. Nope, they are matches and the jar is really large which I loved!

From there we made our way around to the other side of the Park to catch our carriage ride. Now, here are some things to think about when considering a carriage ride. If you go during the day there are going to be a lot of people walking through the park so that might hamper your experience. The plus side is you can see all of the landmarks your driver points out. If you go at night, there's pretty much zero foot traffic and you have the Park almost to yourself. The downside is that you can't really see much and in the winter it's pretty chilly.

Our driver was delightful. If I remember correctly he was from Turkey. Henry was driving Dennis who was pretty much taking our route by memory. I was even able to take the reins for a few minutes. It was an incredibly relaxing ride and I'd definitely do it again in the future. The only part that gave me concern was at the end when Henry had to make a u-turn with Dennis in the middle of the insanely busy street with a ton of traffic. I don't know how they do it.

We got done early because we'd been able to start our ride about 30 min early so Fred and I decided to high-tail it back to Penn Station to see if we could get on an earlier train. If we couldn't we would've had to wait 2 more hours to catch our scheduled departure time. We had to walk through an incredibly busy Time Square which was PACKED with holiday tourists and the city getting ready for the New Year's Eve countdown. We got to the train station, Fred was able to get us new tickets, and we were on the next train leaving for Maryland! We got back around midnight instead of 2am which was an awesome bonus!

If you are able to spend a day in NYC, no matter what the season, I would say go for it! You won't be able to do absolutely everything, but you will have a fun time no matter what you end up doing. It's the city that never sleeps and there's always something to do there. I've made a list of where I want to go over the next 1-2 trips we might make in the future:

Bronx Zoo
Coney Island
Brooklyn Botanic Garden
Statue of Liberty & Ellis Island
Empire State Building
St. Patrick's Cathedral
Top of the Rock
Freedom Tower (One World Trade Center)
Castle in Central Park
The Cloister
Babeth's Feast for a meal

The Nutcracker And The Four Realms On Digital and Blu-ray January 29 & Giveaway

When you don't have a chance to get into the theater to see a movie, but you receive The Nutcracker And The Four Realms on Blu-ray for review, you know you're having a good day!

TODAY'S the day - January 29th! The Nutcracker And The Four Realms releases on Blu-ray + DVD + Digital Code and I'll be giving away THREE of them! Time to get excited everyone. I know I am. When this movie was coming out, and I was watching the trailers, I was hoping I could find time to get into the theaters to see it on the big screen, but is just never happened. Tonight we get cozy on the couch to watch the Blu-ray. I'm sure one of my boys will snag the Digital Code. It's always a race to grab it first.

Let's talk about the actual movie!

Disney’s “The Nutcracker and the Four Realms”
The Stunning, Magical Adventure Arrives Home on Digital and on Blu-ray™ Jan. 29 

Featuring a star-studded cast, including Keira Knightley, Mackenzie Foy
and Misty Copeland, with Helen Mirren and Morgan Freeman

BURBANK, Calif. (Jan. 8, 2019) — Disney's dazzling adventure "The Nutcracker and the Four Realms"- inspired by E.T.A. Hoffmann's classic tale and the beloved ballet "The Nutcracker"- carried audiences along with 14-year-old Clara (Mackenzie Foy) to a magical, mysterious world with breathtaking performances by Misty Copeland plus sweets, snowflakes, soldiers, scurrying mice... and no shortage of surprises. Destined to become an annual viewing tradition for adventurers of all ages, the film arrives home instantly with never-before seen extras and deleted scenes on Digital and Movies Anywhere, and on 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray™ and DVD Jan. 29, 2019. 

Bonus features include a discussion with American Ballet Theatre’s Misty Copeland about her role as the enchanting Ballerina Princess, her personal history with “The “Nutcracker” ballet, and her inspirational and historic rise within the world of dance. Extras take viewers on the set of “The Nutcracker and the Four Realms” to meet both new and reimagined characters, and discover how the Land of Sweets, Land of Snowflakes, Land of Flowers and mysterious Fourth Realm were created to such dazzling effect. Deleted scenes provide a look at magical moments that didn’t make the final version of the movie.

In “The Nutcracker and the Four Realms,” Clara travels along a golden thread, presented at Drosselmeyer’s (Morgan Freeman) annual party, eagerly searching for a one-of-a-kind key that will unlock a music box that holds a priceless gift. When she enters a mysterious parallel world, Clara encounters a Nutcracker soldier named Phillip (Jayden Fowora-Knight), a gang of mice and three Realm regents, including the Sugar Plum Fairy (Keira Knightley). Ultimately, she must brave the ominous Fourth Realm, home to the tyrant Mother Ginger (Helen Mirren), to retrieve the key and return harmony to the unstable world.

The stunning feature film will be packaged and released in several different formats, giving families the flexibility to watch it on a variety of different devices. Viewers can instantly watch the film in Digital UHD, HD and SD, and bring home a physical copy of the film as the Ultimate Collector’s Edition (4K UHD, Blu-ray and Digital Code), Multi-Screen Edition (Blu-ray, DVD and Digital Code) or a single DVD.

 Bonus features include*:

BLU-RAY:

• On Pointe: A Conversation with Misty Copeland - Copeland shares the thrill of portraying one of her favorite characters in a whole new way.
• Unwrapping “The Nutcracker and the Four Realms” - Dive into the production design, sets, costumes and more that helped transform a beloved ballet into an adventurous movie.
• Deleted Scenes –
  • The Stahlbaums Arrive- As the Stahlbaums enter the Christmas Eve ball, the butler attempts to announce them to the assembled guests.
  • Follow Your Ribbon- Drosselmeyer encourages a reluctant Clara to go find her gift.
  • Deleted Scene: Clara Asks About Her Mother- Sugar Plum gives Clara a tour of her mother’s bedroom.
  • Left, Left, Left, Left, Left- Wandering lost in the forest, palace guards Cavalier and Harlequin quarrel about which way to go.
  • Out with the Old- Sugar Plum makes sweeping changes to the palace decor.
• Music Videos -
  • “Fall on Me” Performed by Andrea Bocelli Featuring Matteo Bocelli- Experience superstar tenor Andrea Bocelli and his son Matteo Bocelli performing their first duet together in this uplifting song.
  • “The Nutcracker Suite” Performed by Lang Lang- Get swept up in a series of images from the movie, set to Tchaikovsky’s music and featuring world-renowned pianist Lang Lang.

ON DIGITAL:

• Unwrapped: The Visual Effects of “The Nutcracker and the Four Realms”- View a reel that explores the layers of effects in sequences of the film.

ABOUT “THE NUTCRACKER AND THE FOUR REALMS” CAST AND CREW: 
In the coming-of-age tale, “The Nutcracker and the Four Realms,” Keira Knightley stars as the Sugar Plum Fairy and Mackenzie Foy portrays Clara. Helen Mirren brings much-feared Mother Ginger to life, and Morgan Freeman stars as Clara’s eccentric godfather, Drosselmeyer. Eugenio Derbez and Richard E. Grant play Hawthorne and Shiver, the regents of the Land of Flowers and Land of Snowflakes. Jayden Fowora-Knight was cast as Phillip Hoffman, the Nutcracker soldier come-to-life. Matthew Macfadyen, Ellie Bamber and Thomas Sweet were called on to play Clara’s father Mr. Stahlbaum, sister Louise, and brother Fritz, respectively. Omid Djalili and Jack Whitehall portray palace guards Cavalier and Harlequin, and the film features a special performance by ballet greats Misty Copeland and Sergei Polunin.

Filmed in England at Pinewood Studios and various locations in and around London, “The Nutcracker and the Four Realms” is directed by Lasse Hallström and Joe Johnston. Suggested by the short story “The Nutcracker and the Mouse King” written by E.T.A. Hoffmann, and “The “Nutcracker” ballet written by Marius Petipa, the screen story and screenplay are by Ashleigh Powell. The film is produced by Mark Gordon and Larry Franco, and executive produced by Sara Smith and Lindy Goldstein. Linus Sandgren, F.S.F., is the director of photography, Guy Hendrix Dyas serves as production designer and Stuart Levy, ACE, is the film editor. Jenny Beavan and Jenny Shircore are the costume designer and makeup and hair designer, respectively. Max Wood and Marc Weigert are the visual effects supervisor and visual effects producer, respectively. Music is by James Howard with a score conducted by Gustavo Dudamel, featuring piano soloist Lang Lang.

SOCIAL MEDIA:
Facebook:                        Facebook.com/DisneysNutcracker
Website:                           Movies.Disney.com/the-nutcracker-and-the-four-realms
Twitter:                             Twitter.com/thenutcracker
Instagram:                        Instagram.com/disneysnutcracker



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