Hope my American friends had a good Thanksgiving. Our table was filled with a bounty of food and blessings. We are so fortunate to never be hungry.
My favorite place to visit is New York City, and this trip we attended the New York City Wine and Food Festival at Pier 94. We had tickets for almost a year, and it was a SOLD OUT event. Each October, the Food Network holds a fundraiser for the Food Bank of New York City and the No Kid Hungry Foundation.Approximately 500 celebrity chefs and local chefs donate their time and talent to put on one of the biggest wine and food festivals in the country.We went on a Saturday, but it is four days of food-related events....the Grand Tasting and culinary demos were amazing.
We were the first group to enter the event when the doors opened. This allowed easy navigation and access to any vendor. As time went on, we noticed the volume of people and access to vendors became more challenging.If you are a fan of culinary personalities and celebrity chefs, you will be in your glory. Access to shows was easy. We are “Foodies” and enjoyed this event very much.I took some photos during the Cookbook signings, and it was the best spot to meet the chefs and culinary personalities. The highlights for me were being in the audience for Geoffrey Zakarian (Judge on Food Network’s Chopped) and Valerie Bertinelli (the next Betty White) We left with our bellies full, a swag bag of foodie items and a celebrity chef high.
In October, the gals and I traveled to the Sap Bush Hollow Farm Café for a tasty birthday lunch and to meet Shannon from the Radical Homemaker Blog. On our way home, we made a quick stop at Beekman 1802 so I could introduce them to the wonderful goat milk products. I can't wait to start using the Beekman Advent calendar.
We had a lot of fun picking apples this year, it was a perfect fall until Halloween. Then the unwanted weather began with flooding and then cold temperatures. Speaking of flooding, I hope they can protect Venice from rising sea levels.
In November, we enjoyed a trip to the Finger Lakes for the MacKenzie-Childs warehouse sale. We're very lucky to live two hours from MC and to be able to enjoy all the sales they have. I only bought housewarming and Christmas gifts, with the exception of a magnifying mirror for the bathroom. We also made a stop at the retail store where they had a limited amount of Christmas decor at that time.
This is the beautiful view when leaving the warehouse sale. Union Springs Park.
An adorable tote and tassel came home with me. The tote will most likely be a Christmas gift for a lucky lady in our family. They don't read my blog...who has time for that with littles.
Drum roll.... we have a special giveaway for our wonderful readers. Please visit The French Hutch and leave a comment to be entered for this giveaway.
The Traveling Totes would love you to stop by for a visit.
Debbie with Miss Aurora @ Mountain Breaths
Emily with Miss Courtney Childs@ The French Hutch
Jenna with Miss Coquille @The Painted Apron
Linda P with Miss Lola @ Life and Linda
Patti with Miss Kenzie @ Pandora's Box
Rita with Miss Luna C @ Panoply
Sarah with Miss Merri Mac @ Hyacinths for the Soul
Jackie and Miss Madi K @ Purple Chocolat Home
Ricki Jill and Countess De Monet @ The Sketchy Reader
Cherry Kay and Carrie Ann Hall @ Entertaining Women
Thank you very much for your visit! Wishing everyone a cozy holiday season. I'll leave you with one of my favorite quotes for this time of year.
I wonder if the snow loves the trees and fields, that it kisses them so gently? And then it covers them up snug, you know, with a white quilt; and perhaps it says, "Go to sleep, darlings, till the summer comes again.” ― Lewis Carroll
In my tote is something VERY special. A Surprise That Touches My Heart. Something I can't wait to share with you in A SPECIAL POST with giveaway details on January 15, 2020.