French Broad Chocolate Lounge - Asheville, NC

Oh, my!

If you love chocolate, your mothership has landed!

I've read a few reviews that call this place expensive and refer to the staff as being pretentious. While it isn't exactly cheap, it isn't overwhelming. Although, anything adds up quickly when you have 4 kiddos.

Most importantly to note, though, the staff was PHENOMENAL. One young guy in particular, was probably the friendliest, most enthusiastic, most attentive service employee I've seen in years. I wish I would have caught his name, and I could kick myself for not having given him a bigger tip!

All in all, we ordered:

Milk Chocolate Hot Cocoa
Salted Caramel Drinking Chocolate
Triple Layered Chocolate Ganache Cake
Cookies and Milk Ice Cream
10 truffles, with a few duplicates

The hot cocoa was our safety net in a comfortable flavor. Heavy on the milk, but still plenty of chocolate. I thought $4.50 for a hot cocoa was a little much, but you're talking to someone who has never been to Starbucks. They have tons of custom flavors and options available, so I guess if you go for something more exotic, the price tag isn't terrible.

The Salted Caramel Drinking Chocolate was the hit of the evening. I've never experienced drinking chocolate, and none of us had any idea what to expect. Oh. My. Heaven in a cup. It's a little hard to explain. It pretty much is melted chocolate with a bit of steamed milk. Heavier in substance than cocoa, but it still flows perfectly when gently sipped. They refer to it as a Melted Truffle, and it wears this honor well. Again, you have tons of flavor options, so have a little fun with this one! You'll be oh-so-glad you did! $4.50 for a cup of the drinking chocolate felt like a smart investment. And one I definitely hope to make again as soon as possible!

The Ganache Cake was yummy, too. The outside layer felt like it could have used a touch of freshness, but the inside ganache was perfect...  They had several options of cake slices, but this one was a definite winner for our collective palates. Next time, I'd like to try the Olive Oil Chocolate Cake, as it also looked amazing and sounded unique. Most of the cake slices ran around $5-$7 each. They weren't as generous as, say, slices from the Cheesecake Factory, but they were definitely larger than you'd get in the average casual dining restaurant.

Ogie is a little less brave, so the Cookies and Milk ice cream was his selection for the occasion. The lady who waited on him was quite patient as he sampled a few choices, and then she loaded him up with a generous double scoop that kept him quite happy. The kids portion was $2 and change, but the double scoop was more our speed at $5.25.

Ogie tried three of the truffles, but they were a bit too exotic for an 8 year old; so we divvied them up amongst the ladies instead. The girls aren't quite as brave as I wish they were, so we didn't get anything vastly avant-garde from the truffle selection, but we each got to try Peppermint, Hazelnut, Turtle, and Sorghum. The kids all gravitated towards the Peppermint and the Turtle. Mama Bear loved them all, and one day will definitely try some of the more unique flavors from their Signature or World Collections, like the Indian Kulfi, Masala Chai, Mole Negro, Earl Grey, and the Canela Picante...

Oh. My. Mothership, take me away!  

I'd love to list all your options. From truffle flavors, to cakes, to ice cream, to other cookies and desserts, to all the hot drink choices...  But, you'd be better off visiting www.frenchbroadchocolates.com

Or, you'd be even better suited to go there. Now. Literally. Don't even get dressed. Just jump in your car and drive. To Chocolate Heaven.


PS... Happy 12th Birthday, Bibby!

The Biltmore Estate - Asheville, NC

Welcome to Biltmore!

The largest private home in America!

At 175,000 square feet, Biltmore, located in Asheville, North Carolina, boasts over 250 rooms, including 43 bathrooms!

We were looking for something special for Bibby's 12th Birthday. It's always been a bit of a challenge to have 4 winter birthdays within 3 weeks of Christmas. Between weather, finances, schedules, and everything else that life throws at you, it isn't always easy to navigate so many holidays at one time. Historically, it was always our goal to give all the "stuff" at Christmas, and save birthdays for going special places or doing unique things. Some years we've done service projects, other years we've taken day trips or overnighters to places like St. Louis, Indianapolis, Georgia, Legoland, Disney World...  It doesn't always work out that way for all 4 kids, but on this particular day, it did. ;)

This year, we decided a day in Asheville would hit the spot. We've had several annual passes to Biltmore over the years, but Bibby was pretty young the last time we went, so we knew she would be excited to visit again. I'm a huge admirer of the Vanderbilt family. We've visited multiple Vanderbilt homes over the years. This past year, I've also decided that The Men Who Built America is my favorite documentary ever, as it highlights several of my personal idols, including Cornelius Vanderbilt, John D. Rockefeller, Andrew Carnegie, and Henry Ford.

As are many of our trips, this one was a surprise. We left early enough that the kids slept all the way to Asheville. Upon waking, it didn't take Bibby long to figure out where we were. And, yes, she was pretty excited.

Upon entering, I was super stoked to get a much better deal on our new annual pass than the price that was listed on the internet. I have no idea why. She didn't explain it to me, but, hey, who am I to question? :)

The beauty of visiting Biltmore the first week of January is the perfect timing of it. The home is still fully decorated in its Christmas splendor, but all the crowds are long gone. You pretty much have the place to yourself.

We grabbed lunch at the Stable Cafe, which I will review in a separate post, then we continued on to the house tour. Luckily Ribby is a good kid as far as her behavior. I can't imagine taking a tour through a historic home, especially through 4 of 6 levels of a 175,000 square foot home, with a child that isn't prepared to behave. Everything in Biltmore is original and painstakingly preserved. They DO have alarms. They WILL go off. So, if you are a parent of a small child, definitely know what you are getting involved with before spending the money to see the home.

With that being said, though, Ribby still doesn't have the longest attention span in the world before getting antsy, so the home tour goes a little more quickly when you're trying to keep the Mommy ride moving. Mommies with small babies don't necessarily get to appreciate and absorb as many of the breathtakingly intricate details of each room. When Bibby and Bear were younger, I would keep them interested in the house by challenging them to enter each room and look at the floor, the ceiling, and then find an animal. Between paintings, decor, and other accessories, they can usually find one.

During the holiday season, you can also keep younger kids occupied with counting the Christmas Trees. Biltmore offers a "Scavenger Hunt" booklet full of rhyming clues that correspond with most of the main rooms in the house. It doesn't require any writing, but it keeps the mental wheels turning.

When visiting Biltmore, allow yourself plenty of TIME. If you just go for the house tour, you're really missing out on the full experience. Walk the grounds. Make a wish in the fountains. Stroll through the gardens. Enjoy the greenhouse. Maybe you'd like horseback riding? Be sure to tour the farm and the equestrian center. The winery tour is fascinating, and offers tastings for grown-ups, and grape juice for the kids. Obviously, there are many gift shops, offering everything from kitschy souvenirs, to boutique toys, to Victorian-era decor. You can even hike, walk, jog, or bring your bikes and partake of the many miles of hiking trails, and riverside riding pathways that traverse the property.

Our favorite outdoor activity at Biltmore? Just letting the kids run across the expansive front lawn! (see picture above!)

There are several restaurants and cafes throughout the property that offer everything from counter service and outdooor seating, to spirited Bistros with live music, to fine dining where you need to know which fork is which.  Choosing a restaurant onsite definitely enhances the Biltmore experience, but there are an absolute plethora of exciting meal choices anywhere in the Asheville area.

At the end of the day, even though it was a bit chilly outside, we all enjoyed ourselves immensely. If you visit Biltmore, we hope you have a great time as well!

Ogie's NERFday Birthday Loot

Ogie, our resident NERF Junkie, wanted to post his birthday loot, and share his opinions on them:

Nerf N-Strike Elite Rough Cut 2 x 4 Blaster





Nerf N-Strike Elite Alpha Trooper CS-6 Mission Kit

NERF N-Strike Elite Retaliator Sonic Ice Series Blaster

Happy NERFday, Ogie!

Now, I'm no Pinterest-worthy cake baker...  So, don't judge me...  :)

And on top of that, the "H" had a little accident of its own.

Hopefully I can find a few more pics to add, but I had a memory chip go rogue on me and eat about 1,000 photos, unfortunately including my baby boy's 8th birthday party.

But, all that aside, and Ogie had a pretty fun birthday. We baked him a nifty little NERFday cake and held his party in his favorite backyard hide-out. Bibby designed targets and hung them on different trees so they could have a shoot out after we enjoyed cake and ice cream.

Special thanks to Gramma and Daddy for hanging out with us, and helping us get the table and all the chairs into the Secret Hideout!

Happy Birthday, Ogie!

Mommy loves you!

Sweet 16!

When you're not ready to do the whole car and license thing on your kid's 16th birthday, it gets a little trickier to think of something that will create memories that stand the test of time. After all, a 16th birthday is a very special milestone in a girl's life and should be celebrated as such.

I'm very fortunate that I have raised 4 wonderful, humble, and modest children, and my oldest in particular doesn't ask much at all. So she chose to spend her special day with her best friend.

We originally planned on taking the girls to Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg for a day of shopping, hanging out, and eating some yummy goodies...  But, Mother Nature was not a happy camper that day, and it poured NON-STOP.

So, instead we ended up in the Knoxville area. The girls did their shopping at the West Town Mall, and then we ate lunch at the Cheesecake Factory. After all, what could be yummier than CHEESECAKE?

After our meal, we got the waiter in on the deal, and he brought Bear a VERY special dessert.

Happy Birthday, Baby Bear!

NYC: Broadway

Happy Birthday to Mommy!

Forrest Gump and Big Fish are my two favorite movies ever. So the family treated me to a night on Broadway to see the stage version of Big Fish at the Neil Simon Theatre. It was such a beautiful production! I'm really sad that it didn't have a longer run.

But one of the coolest things about the evening? Is that I actually knew someone in the cast. Looks like all my years of enjoying live theater have stood the test of time!