Our plans for New Years Eve up in the Santa Ynez wine country changed suddenly when little kitty Parker suddenly became sick.

Thank God Parker stabilized quickly but leaving town was no longer an option.
What on earth for Plan B?

Dinner at Chez Weldon (aka home!) seems our best bet and somehow lobster tails from Fish King Seafood Market in Glendale became the only option! I’d been craving them forever and am still dreaming about how delicious they were!!!! Melted butter, lots of lemon, baked potato and green beans -SIMPLY PERFECT!

Fish King also sells a small selection of wines and we picked up a bottle of Nobilo Sauvignon Blanc which, nice and cold, went perfectly with the lobster.

The vet suggested Parker not be outside at night with the cold temperatures and this presented us with a real challenge! How would we keep Al and Gio from not attacking him?

We thought about it over a bottle of champagne and a piece of decadent chocolate cake and somehow, in the spirit of the New Year, it all worked out! (thanks kitties for your cooperation!)

Parker makes himself at home and somehow looks picture purrfect!
Hey Parker, quit bogarting the remote!

Happy New Year from all of us at Chez Weldon!

We did so much in the 4 short days the Florida gang was here, where to start?
Howabout Christmas Eve at Chez Weldon!
Florida family LuAnn, John and Vinnie fly in Christmas Eve morning just in time to help me prep for dinner that night!
The menu:
Assorted cheeses courtesy of Auntie Em’s and Cowgirl Creamery in Sonoma
Mushrooms stuffed with Spinach and pinenuts
Barefoot Contessa’s Parmesan Thyme Toasts

Pomegranate Martinis (instantly makes people happy!)

Roasted Red Pepper Soup with croutons and Parmesan
Scallop Gratin (Barefoot Contessa again!)
Lemon Parsley Rice
Carmelized Fennel, shallots and green beans

And for desert, warm chocolate puddings (thanks Bill Granger from Australia!)

Christmas morning, coffee, tea and warm cinnamon buns! (thanks Pillsbury!)

And now on to Lisa’s house where happily there were no Grinches but we did love watching and singing!!! (how on earth is it that we remember these words???)

First course crab cakes, second course White Truffle Risotto. Shown here with handmade “Idiot” ornament!

Decanted wines at Lisa and Neils. I lost count!!!

The Idiot as Santa…he changes seasonally – you can see he is quite chameleon-like courtesey of his creator Neil!

The fabulous Christmas dinner menu continues with:
Beef Tenderloin (wow!!!)
Mushroom Bread Pudding
Roasted Broccoli with Balsamic glaze
Cheese Course and Homemade cookies! (thanks for the goodie bag Lis!)

The next day a walk through Pasadena, some inspiring houses…

Old Town Pasadena, they do this every year!

Somehow this walk inspired us to go back to Weldon and make spaghetti and meatballs! (so dang good and lots of leftovers!)
The next day, and our last day, we rendez-vous’d in Woodland Hills to see The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.
What a great movie, all 2 hours and 45 minutes of it! Really beautifully done, we loved it!
A quick Indian dinner in Woodland Hills and off we raced to the airport.

We miss you guys already!!! Maybe next year it’s Christmas in Asheville, North Carolina snow and all!!!

I’m doing a little Christmas recap and lets start with right before Christmas because this was soooo much fun and the perfect introduction into the entire holiday season!

FONDUE AT CHEZ WELDON!
I think this has to become an annual affair! We had so much fun 2 Saturday nights ago at our Cheese Fondue extravaganza! Our master chef and authentic Swiss Marc stirs the decandant mixture of gruyure, ementhal, garlic, white wine and nutmeg! Served with little potatoes, bread and side dishes of gherkins, sauteed mushrooms, baby corn and broccoli and to be totally authentic, a beautiful French Cherry Brandy, aka Kirsch, wow!

the surprise appetizer from Miriam and Michael: a fresh shaved truffle with fresh pasta! WOW!!!

The table is set, the pot is ready, now all we need is the cheese!

Some might call this a FONDON’T!!!!

After dinner howabout a stroll down memory lane with great Christmas Classics, first A Charlie Brown Christmas and for the finale, Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer, circa 1964!!!

How old are we????

the Abominable Snowman apparently still scary after all these years!!! And who can forget Yukon Cornelius? Silver and Gold!!! (I know all the words!)

What is the appropriate desert after Cheese Fondue? We thought Hershey Kisses!!!

MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM AL AND COZYLAND!!!! SEE YOU IN THE NEW YEAR!

Just a little Christmas imagery courtesey of Terrain at Home – a very cool shop/restaurant/landscape service located outside Philadelphia, Pa. What a great combination of things they have, I wanna go!!!

At heart I guess I’m just an East Coast girl trying to have Christmas in Southern California and I need to look at pictures like this!!!! I’m inspired!!!!

OH THE WEATHER OUTSIDE IS FRIGHTFUL (and I LOVE IT!!!)

That’s what my amazing friend Gavin up in Seattle probably would say! This picture was taken from his bed, he always wanted a view and clearly he got il! He never was a big sunshine boy and now living up in the beautiful Northwest he’s finally got his wish! Looking at this picture, I for one certainly cannot blame him!

He sent me this email the other day and I just couldn’t have loved it more:

Sigh!!!!!!!!! (that’s what I say…)

and some pics
um, make mine a double!

like a movie set!!! (a remake of the Shining!!! sorry Gav, couldn’t resist!!!)

the whirl and blurr of a good party – wish like crazy we coulda been there….