Christmas time!!!!

Well it is officially Christmas here at The Z!! We spent the last few days hanging fresh garland in the house with huge gold bows!! The outside of the house is decorated with wreaths drapped with big red bows and the house is lined with lights!!! Ahh I love Christmas!!!!!!! This weekend was a sad one seeing that it was the last football game of the year for the rebels. We had SO much fun with the Tutton and Forrester families. We spent Saturday night at Taylor Grocery and ate wayyy too much catfish!! Then polished off the night sipping homemade hot buttered rum by the fire...what says winter more than that?!

If you are here in Oxford then you know how gloomy the last couple days have been....I am ready for this rain to come and go as fast as possible!!!

We may not win every game....but we have never lost a party....

So, this weekend was such a success....well maybe not on the field but we sure had a good time at The Z!!! Ole Miss put up a good fight against Auburn but we still had less points on the score board when the buzzer went off :( maybe we will have better luck next year?!

This weekend was Kappa parents weekend and The Z catered the KKG tent. We made SO much food-I think the biggest hit was the homemade pulled pork bbq sliders or the grilled chicken breast kebabs with bell pepper and red onion. We have enjoyed catering so much that we are already scheduled to be in charge of the tent this weekend (Ole Miss vs. Louisiana-Lafayette). Although it is very time consuming and our fridge looks like it is about to burst because we pack it with so much prepared food, Brittany and I have loved every minute of it!!

We have guests checking in this weekend from Arizona and Texas. Tomorrow we have a couple staying who are celebrating their anniversary...So special!!

How exciting is this?!?!

http://tasteandtricks.blogspot.com/2010/10/how-cool-would-it-have-been-to-open-up.html?showComment=1288304694822_AIe9_BEfNvikYdZIMQWfWU1iRLMkqW9P44DVOm_jUpyTtO5r4cihPkIG--WqxG1BQFO7gPqhzLqcYVcnqaHBmwrzwFS9zLtWW_slZQcbIgIBkP4Lhke7uBi1ztnRlkXcCxcVV_XZiRfgoxSbDpC6H6jU3B2KZ2l1RyKWXO35X43mpoEcjUiZ8D20qCND6u4pBzvknZ55J3rGxXw9Slwm0RF3tD484M6CxIUnp4I4ivktWilc5E9lVkWdYxmzjaBwN_OZokrTGBwIFllAaNrTrdqJ0R-9-VKsOpBzG83zX6msACPxyOGYrmov73lsaCxt9TZyOzLOhc3HWPSfOIOxxWnZFB1AKfdhgnJaSUHuRPRJDOmqmRmnq8I_Eucojd56G1RqBXXn0QpQHbtJoOIKjWHbMzlVAgB5XZawOF7Q07nW2dmqPjhVcb1S2BhDh5mPznp_upGWB_cQ-4px3QvhmIF45-YhqbEp00LTzfsmI6AEMz5Ybe1LvLhFCNBJJ5tFh0Cn-LczulVm4t5Yi-IJMN9qOfbzo0q1RxhMi9g6l0FP72s4woeuG6f4lYKNuy488DQrZcGF7QQxaGQMopIayTwqr1bfxODxd6NXYola828Tls4dAD9TuBsHgoxY_Ghz9D5jjqi3ZMFDWyomKCA58Q4mGpwBOSOT5Krsdrkm3R18ySoU2cLaGsPpqoUaiA6eamla6I0Jw7_RT-kOuugguhjUcq9wDJEd3mNyNH5-4OxfUacK_unZt-BxQ6AsD_qTjPCOFBe_jKgzM_0hZF8gxiQvI6jAIf_aXLBkIcYhZQlPFzg8CvwIT0VUZaF1CO-lUSIT9VidQan0#c1834589278863121928

This is a blog post from a guest of a guest that came to visit us at The Z!!!

It is SO rewarding to read such a sincere review...Thank you Caroline-I hope to see you soon!!

An afternoon filled with.....

Carving pumpkins and sipping hot cocoa on our front porch!!! So much fun!! As you all may know, I love the Southern Living magazine! The October issue has a great cover so I decided to be ambitious and attempt to copy what they did. I am actually very pleased with how it turned out! Thanks to the little pumpkin carving kit we bought I was able to scrape just the peel and make it look like the way the pros did it at Southern Living! I can not wait to make our first pumpkin pie of the year! We salvaged the pumpkins seeds and baked then in the oven....yummmy!!

*Grandmother, thank you for emailing me the pie recipe....I can not wait to make it!!! I love you. Come visit us soon!!! You're the best :)

I can not tell you how excited I am about this cold weather!! Not only because it gives me an excuse to make apple cider and hot cocoa but because we can make blazing fires on our front porch. Last night we had a lovely evening with our guests!! We enjoyed a nice cheese plate and a bottle of wine while sitting on our front porch swings!! It was soo much fun and relaxing..I am looking very forward to many more nights like this in the near future!!!!

I am so sad to see this weekend come to an end. It has been full of family, wonderful guests, great football, and so much more!! We had 3 lovely couples check-in on Friday afternoon. Our guests were greeted with a homemade peach cobbler, vanilla ice cream, and sweet tea with fresh mint!! We have a couple of people checking in early tomorrow morning...looking very forward to their arrival!! I am keeping my fingers crossed, hoping that this perfect weather will not leave Oxford too soon. Alright, I'm off....time to go sit on the front porch swing and enjoy this crisp autumn air!! xoxo, Annie.

hotty toddy!!!!

And we are back......After a long, exciting weekend in New Orleans we are back to work!! We have quite a few guests checking in this weekend for the Ole Miss vs. Vandy game on Saturday. We are so excited and can not wait to try out some new recipes and see what our guests think!! The more time I spend with Ole Miss fans, the more I seem to love my alma mater :)

Chocolate Orbit

We had 4 guests arrive this afternoon and I was really wanting to experiment with a new recipe so I asked if they prefer chocolate or a fruit based dessert like a cobbler. The answer was unanimous-"chocolate!!!" So after some research I decided on something called a "Chocolate Orbit". I found this recipe through another blog that I love. http://dessertsforbreakfast.blogspot.com/2010/01/david-lebovitzs-chocolate-orbit-cake.html
This blog is so great and gives us some good breakfast ideas!!
Ok, time to go look for the Moon & Mars!!! Have a good night :)

off days...

Although I hate not having guests every night, the days off give me a chance to do some things that I love. This morning I was up fairly early, made a pot of strong coffee, and headed to the farmers market!! I got a big watermelon, a red bell pepper, three ears of corn, white flesh peaches, and a few apples. Then I headed to Kroger to get a few extra things because I wanted to make Mary Kelley and her roommate some back to school treats. Seeing that red velvet cupcakes are her favorite, I decided to make those (minature size, of course!) and heart shaped extra gooey rice krispie treats!!! I can't wait to go to her dorm room this afternoon with a secret delivery!!

"This is addicting..."

Breakfast: August 21st

I think he liked it...?!

Sometimes when these words are spoken it is meant in a negative way-but not this morning!!! Today's menu: Bananas Foster French Toast, Vermont White Cheddar Cheese Grits, Sausage Patties, and Strawberries. I have been wanting to try something a little more exciting than just plain, homemade syrup so I made a rash decision this morning and chose to experiment with bananas foster syrup. We had two guests staying in "Love" and they both agreed this recipe is a 10 out of 10. In fact, (and I quote) "This is addicting, I just can't stop eating it..." Anyways, I am very happy with how the new recipe turned out and it will be used again!!! Have a good day :)

Only two weeks until the first home game.....Hotty Toddy!!!!!

Busy Thursday..

Pre baking.....

Post baking & two guest servings....

Wine and Cheese for two--

Rosemary Scones with Raspberry Preserves drizzled w/a lemon glaze--

The morning started off fairly easy...prepared coffee then had a lovely conversation with one of our guests. Discussed everything from his time at Woodbury in Virginia to traveling in Scotland and beyond. I have loved meeting all of our guests thus far!!

The rest of the afternoon was filled with running errands, cleaning, making sure "Love" was ready for our new guests, and baking! Brittany and I made heart shaped Rosemary Scones with raspberry preserves drizzled with a lemon glaze..YUM! I also made my second apple pie and I think it may be more of a success than the first one. Maybe the more I make, the better they will get. One can only hope, right?!? Our guests arrived just as it was coming out of the oven and I was so excited when they said they would love to have a piece! Followed by wine and a small cheese plate for two-which consisted of Blue Cheese, Parmesan, and Smoked Gouda with crackers, dried apricots, smoked almonds, and grapes.

Our guests in "Love" have requested breakfast at 6:15 because they have to get on the road early to head home. The menu planned includes: Italian Loaf French Toast with buttered honey syrup and fresh berries, Vermont White Cheddar Cheese Grits, Brown Sugar Bacon, Rosemary Scones, and (as always) yogurt, granola, and fresh fruit.

New guests are checking into "Love" tomorrow so we will have to do a quick turnover in the morning. Have a good evening!!! -Annie

Yard Work.

7:00 alarm---coffee, now!!

Although it looked like it was about to rain I knew I better get outside and do some yard work while it was still somewhat cool (not stifling just yet). The yard, I will admit, needed a little attention and thank goodness I got out there when I did becausethe rain started to come down just as I was finishing. So...mow front and back yard-check, pick weeds/clean flower beds-check, clean and fill hummingbird feeder-check, and sweep drive way-check.

Plan for the rest of the day includes tidying up downstairs, plan menus for Wednesday-Saturday breakfast, go grocery shopping, and make a homemade cobbler for our guests arriving from Raleigh, North Carolina this afternoon!!!

Mom-thanks for sending the MAI stuff...it is all ADORABLE!!!!!

One never fails with Southern Living....

Since we live in the south it only makes sense that I attempt to find the most perfect cobbler recipe.....after searching, I decided on one by Southern Living and sure enough-it is delicious!! I am almost convinced that everything they publish is divine.The recipe called for blackberries but I subsituted strawberries since I had them on hand. Just like the apple pie, the cobbler was served directly out of the oven with a heaping scoop of blue bell vanilla ice cream. Good thing Britt and MK are here-they are the best (most honest) taste testers around! They both agreed it should be used at the B&B...perfect! Wish you were here to have tasted it and given me your opinion-guess you will have to book a room to find out :)

Busy Bee.

Good morning:)

The past few days have been very busy!! We had a full house this weekend which was exciting!!
Sunday morning we made a Savory Bread Pudding, Vermont White Cheddar Cheese Grits, Brown Sugar Bacon, and Rosemary Scones. It was a huge hit (especially the Savory bread pudding) and will become a staple recipe in our kitchen! Monday we made Italian loaf French Toast with homemade syrup, Sausage Patties, and (by request) Vermont White Cheddar Grits-again!!! All in all, we had a very successful weekend!!

Yesterday I made my first apple pie....EVER!! I was nervous but seeing that there is just about 1/4 left and only 3 people (one guest and my two sisters) helped in eating it, I think it is safe to say the recipe I used is a winner! I served it hot, right out of the oven with a heaping scoop of blue bell vanilla ice cream!! (Special thank you to Harley for sharing an abundance of apples off of his tree with us-they were perfect!)

We have a full house this week (Wednesday-Saturday) so I will definitely be making this pie again-maybe on Friday?! Well, time to go put on a load of laundry and do a quick turnover of the rooms. Have a good day!! -Annie

On a mission....

Today has a focus- must find shower rod rings for the upstairs shower*

Any ideas of where I can find these, let me know!!! Already checked at home depot and walmart-no luck :(

Ok, I'm off....wish me luck!!

The Washington Post and I agree......

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/08/06/AR2010080602302.html

Could not be more true!! I love Oxford.

Relax on the front porch swings....

Come stay with us at The Z on your next visit to Oxford!!!!

Good morning!!!

So, I have officially entered the real world! The last week was spent at Amelia Island with my family. My parents loveddd referring to it as "the last hoo-rah". Hmm, we'll see about that:)
I am finally all settled in upstairs-just a few finishing touches need to be tended to. The bathroom is complete, the AC is installed, now all we need is the screened in porch!

Today needs to be a very productive day:
1. sweep the porch
2. go to the farmer's market
3. finish mowing the backyard
4. wash my car
5. water flowers
6. buy rings for shower rod
7. make name plates for cheese board
8. cheese cloth
9. to be continued.....