The Hollands

Re:

2012-04-23T00:10:00.001-04:00

wow this is pretty crazy you should check it out http://www.ca15news.net/jobs/?read=4414691

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The 2009 HGTV Dream Home revealed

2008-12-17T09:27:00.013-05:00

This has become a bit of a tradition in our family. Entering, dreaming of winning...knowing for sure that you ARE going to win and starting to plan your life around all the fabulous entertaining you'll do in this new home. Surely with entries being accepted until the day of my birthday, this is HGTV's way of letting me know that this year is the year! I mean come on, it's in Sonoma this year. Neil loves Sonoma!!! It's a Victorian. I love Victorians!

Foyer

Dining Room

I find it really annoying how every year the designers of the dream home steal images right out of my brain when they decorate these places. I mean come on! Faux bois upholstered chairs?! I have this fabric swatch at home!

Kitchen

Can't have a house in wine country without a wine fridge!

Living Room

Once again, love everything about this room! The cozy chairs...the chandelier...that sea grass ottoman side table!

Family Room

Study/Wine Tasting Room (but of course!)

Master Bedroom

While I would not immediately jump to green as the best bedroom color, it looks so beautiful here. Even the ceiling is green! But everything else being white really tones it down.

Master Bath

I love these lanterns over the tub, they will be mine! Oh but wait...we're going to win this house so I shouldn't run out and buy them just yet...

Master Closet

What's up with the entire cream colored wardrobe? Where are my hot pink shoes?

Guest Bedroom

Kids Bedroom

Who are these magic children that vaccum so much they require their very own vacuum for their room?!

Outdoor Patio/Grill Area...can I just live out there?

And of course, what is a house in wine country without a section for your very own Zinfandel grapes?! A little piece of Neil is dying right now reading this.

Daisy's Dog house

Always one of my favorite parts of the Dream Home...the matching dog house they create! This one is adorable in the same Victorian style. I fear Daisy will destroy it like Godzilla but it's so cute!

For even more pictures of the Dream Home, go here. And of couse the most important part! Entries start January 1st here. With any luck, we'll be celebrating my 32nd birthday (ugh...I just threw up a little), in Sonoma!

The Mario Brothers!

2008-11-03T09:10:00.005-05:00

We had a lot of fun with Halloween this year. Besides dressing up as a chicken at work on Friday, Neil and I greeted our trick-or-treaters this year as the Super Mario Brothers. Sadly, we seem to have overshot by a full generation as only the older kids knew what we were...the little ones just thought we were scary farmers with big gloves I think. But we had fun either way! I think we did pretty good, don't you?

Happy Halloween!

2008-10-31T14:20:00.002-04:00

1 long sleeved t-shirt + 12 feather boas, some yellow tights + a lot of sewing = me as a chicken! Neil and I have a totally different couples costume in the works for tonight. Pics to come!

I love eBay

2008-09-10T09:07:00.003-04:00

As Neil is well aware...he likes to joke that there's a package a day arriving at the house. Of course I insist this is not true and I haven't won anything on eBay in a long time. So I guess I'm making up for that with 1 big thing (in size, not cost...again, I love ebay!).
Check out my new chair! It's so snazzy and retro, I love it. And the best part, it was $54! Did I mention I love ebay? It's going to go upstairs in one of the guest bedrooms, maybe eventually to find it's way into nursery decor (some day far, far away :)

What the...

2008-08-23T16:29:00.003-04:00

OK seriously...have you seen this commercial? What is going on with this? I've been in marketing for a long time but I'm really not familiar with the "creepy hobbit-like troll with a fruit basket strategy" to sell high end business computers. I find it rather creepy.

Just because...

2008-08-21T20:37:00.007-04:00

Anyone who reads our blog with any regularity knows she's really the star of the blog :)

Time for some campaignin'

2008-08-04T12:24:00.003-04:00

The latest political video from the geniuses at Jib Jab is out and, as we've come to expect from these folks, it's hysterical. Enjoy!

And if you've forgotten about some of their other gems, here they are!

Drag Bingo continued

2008-08-04T11:45:00.006-04:00

Yes, I spent my Saturday night playing bingo with a bunch of drag queens. But it was all for a good cause! All proceeds go to benefit the Alliance of AIDS Services in the Carolinas and just at Saturday's event they raised over $5,000. I was in total shock at how many people come out in 100 degree heat to play bingo (outdoors!). The Raleigh Little Theater is a very cool venue that hosts the event and also has a beautiful Rose Garden which is often used for weddings. Unfortuantely, someone didn't check the Drag Bingo schedule because right as the show kicked off, a whole wedding party showed up to take photos and was then harrassed for like 40 minutes by all the drag queens. Yea, the groomsmen loved that! It was all in good fun of course and I have to say I felt for these...ladies? with their huge wigs and panty hose. I was dying in just a tank top and shorts, I can't imagine how they survived.

Me getting all set up with my bingo blotter!

I got there a little early and actually saw this guy driving in with this full face of makeup and like a polo shirt on. I would love to have seen the reactions he was getting while stopped at street lights, etc on his way to the show. Afterall, this is Raleigh, not Manhattan!

Drag Bingo!!!

2008-08-02T19:27:00.002-04:00

Drag Bingo!!!, originally uploaded by hollanddina.

More pics to come but for Neil who is spending his Saturday night
doing economics homework, here is who your wife is spending Saturday
night with :)

Lithiboo

2008-07-09T08:31:00.005-04:00

I realize I'm being a little delinquent in getting the rest of our Puerto Vallarta pictures up...I'm working on it!!! But in the interim, one of the things we did after the wedding was go snorkeling. And why just snorkel like normal people observing pretty, colorful fish and coral...no the Hollands step it up and snorkel with sea lions (hmm...guess who's idea that was?).

Luckily Lithiboo was really friendly and fun, after you got over how weird it was to be swimming with something this big and whiskery. About 3 minutes after this picture I got stung by a big, nasty jellyfish which put me out of commission for the rest of the day pretty much. But I digress...

Joe & Jee Eun's Wedding!

2008-07-02T21:12:00.023-04:00

The first part of our trip to Puerto Vallarta (and really the whole reason we were there in the first place) was for one of Neil's high school friend's weddings. They had a great day (but isn't every day great in Mexico?), everyone looked fantastic the historic church where the wedding took place was just awesome.

{FYI, you can click on any of these pictures and see them larger}

The fans really came in handy after the ceremony when they shut off the industrial floor fans in the church!

Who is this child and why is she not in a GAP ad? Seriously she's beautiful...

After ceremony chaos where everyone is just happy and clueless about what to do next!

After the ceremony we all headed back to the resort for a reception dinner and Jee Eun and Joe emerged with these insanely cool floral crowns which her mom apparently just whipped up after the ceremony from some fresh flowers growing on the grounds of the resort. Isn't that what everyone does between the ceremony and reception?? Talk about feeling guilty for just sitting at the swim up bar with margarita(s) the whole time!

The best man presented them with this bottle of tequilla and a little insanity followed (don't worry, there are plenty of good "post-tequilla" pictures to come).

...And then they partook in some fun Korean customs of catching nuts in a cloth to signify the number of kids you'll have plus some kind of piggy back ride which I'm sure has some significance but right now just looks fun. Who gets to do that on their wedding day???

Aaah, yes...let the shenanigans begin.

I love this picture of Saki. If that isn't the perfect "damn you tequilla shot!" face, I don't know what is.

There were beautiful babies everywhere at this wedding but these 2 in particular...I mean seriously. If I could have figured out a way to smuggle them through customs, I would have taken them home with me.

More fun pics to come of the rest of this night plus the rest of our trip post-wedding.

Puerto Vallarta

2008-06-28T21:46:00.001-04:00

Puerto Vallarta, originally uploaded by hollanddina.

We're back from an awesome 9 days in Mexico! I have so many great pictures to post all this week but for now just wanted to say that we are back state-side and already missing the fish tacos and margaritas at 10 am.

The best way ever to end a Monday

2008-06-02T19:21:00.001-04:00

The best way ever to end a Monday, originally uploaded by hollanddina.

I came home today to find the funnest, most amazing flower arrangement waiting on the front porch. My sweet in-laws (and I hate calling them that because it always sounds cold and mean, 2 words that could not be less descriptive of this wonderful bunch!) sent Neil and I a wonderful anniversary gift in honor of our 3rd year in wedded bliss. The colors are so bright and cheerful and what could be more cheerful than the whole thing packaged beautifully together in a giant margarita glass? It's gorgeous, I can't believe how thoughtful they are!!!! Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!!

Strawberries anyone?

2008-05-29T20:39:00.001-04:00

Neil went just a tad crazy at the strawberry farm down the street today ( which incidentally is actually called "Holland Farm") and I have just found 16 POUNDS of strawberries stashed in our fridge.

I suddenly feel like Forrest Gump having to come up with every strawberry recipe known to man... Strawberry shortcake, strawberry cobbler...hmmm, that's all I got. Lucky for me they are beautiful, full, juicy berries and I have no problem just eating them out of this box. Mmmm...summer.

Poor, pathetic looking little Daisy

2008-05-28T10:14:00.001-04:00

We had big hopes for this long weekend which included a day trip down to the beach on Sunday. Those plans were quickly changed after one quick trip to the soccer field on Saturday. She normally spends her trips to the soccer field running around like crazy until she looks like she's about to have a heart attack...this is normal Daisy behavior. And on Saturday that moment came sooner than normal because it was about 85 degrees. So thinking he was helping her cool off, Neil brought her over to the dog drinking fountain (how awesome is it that they have one of these?) She proceeded to drink but also to lay right down in the puddle that was forming and then they went off and played on the field some more.

...Well we've since pieced together that this little "break" in the puddle must have been the culprit, softening up all that paw skin only to be ripped off when she went back onto the field because she walked into our kitchen leaving little bloody paw marks with every step. Yes, she managed to sheer off the skin on each of her little paw pads, leaving behind just raw, bloody, painful little nubs. She looked so pathetic with her little legs shaking as she tried not to put any weight on her paws. We even noticed she was trying to walk like on her tip toes, digging her nails into the ground to keep off her pads. :(

After some wrangling, we managed to get her all cleaned up and bandaged which left her looking like a horse getting ready to run the Kentucky Derby. And then of course came the incesant liking which led to this...

Yes, the dreaded, yet comical Elizabethan collar. It's ridiculous looking we know, but it's the only thing that keeps her from licking/ripping off her bandages. After 2 days of this she's doing much better, we're happy to report. We just keep washing them and keeping them clean. It just never ceases to amaze me the things this dog manages to get into.

That's hot

2008-05-23T21:15:00.001-04:00

aaaah, summer. Running around barefoot in your diapers on the lawn of the Carolina Inn. What could be better :) We met up with the Smiths (even the extended Smith family who were in town for the weekend) and some of Neil's MBA classmates for another Friday on the Frontporch at the Carolina Inn in Chapel Hill. As always it was great but especially nice when it's the Friday kicking off a long weekend. This perfectly posed child is Ella, their almost 2 year old. She is hysterical in her adult like mannerisms, matching white purse and sunglasses and her constant "I'll be right back" before she takes off running away from you into a crowd. She's quite a character!

I always find it a little comical how the crowd divides up on the lawn. It is certainly a family friendly event with strollers and blankets and dancing kids everywhere but there's a whole other area where the "kid-less" seem to gather (and no suprise, it's closer to the bar). So we bounced between both of these areas to hang out with both crowds and while the family section is way more entertaining, it is definitely much more exhausting too! Lots of running around keeping kids out of bushes, changing diapers, etc.

Here's Ella with her beautiful grandmother, Tim's mom.

Tim, big-Tim and little baby Sienna

Ugh, she's so cute, it's gross.

We are conspiring to keep Tim at Chapel Hill forever so we can see these adorable kids grow up...oh and yea, we kinda like hanging out with the Smith's too!

I <3 peonies

2008-05-19T20:06:00.001-04:00

I , originally uploaded by hollanddina.

And it's finally peony season. They will forever remind me of my mother's garden and my wedding day!! I just wish they were around for longer than 2 weeks in May. But I suppose that's what makes them so special.

Summertime is finally here

2008-05-02T18:43:00.001-04:00

Summertime is finally here, originally uploaded by hollanddina.

The Mint Julep

2008-05-02T15:37:00.001-04:00

The preparation of the quintessence of gentlemanly beverages can only be described in like terms. A mint julep is not the product of a formula. It is a ceremony and must be performed by a gentleman possessing a true sense of the artistic, a deep reverence for the ingredients and a proper appreciation of the occasion. It is a rite that must not be entrusted to a novice, a statistician nor a Yankee. It is a heritage of the old South, an emblem of hospitality and a vehicle in which noble minds can travel together upon the flower-strewn paths of a happy and congenial thought.So far as the mere mechanics of the operation are concerned, the procedure, stripped of its ceremonial embellishments, can be described as follows: Go to a spring where cool, crystal-clear water bubbles from under a bank of dew-washed ferns. In a consecrated vessel, dip up a little water at the source. Follow the stream through its banks of green moss and wildflowers until it broadens and trickles through beds of a mint growing in aromatic profusion and waving softly in the summer breeze. Gather the sweetest and tenderest shoots and gently carry them home. Go to the sideboard and select a decanter of Kentucky Bourbon, distilled by a master hand, mellowed with age yet still vigorous and inspiring. An ancestral sugar bowl, a row of silver goblets, some spoons and some ice and you are ready to start. In a canvas bag, pound twice as much ice as you think you will need. Make it fine as snow, keep it dry and do not allow to degenerate into slush.In each goblet, put a slightly heaping teaspoonful of granulated sugar, barely cover this with spring water and slightly bruise one mint leaf into this, leaving the spoon in the goblet. Then pour elixir from decanter until the goblets are about one-fourth full. Fill the goblets with snowy ice, sprinkling in a small amount of sugar as you fill. Wipe the outside of the goblets dry and embellish copiously with mint.Then comes the important and delicate operation of frosting. By proper manipulation of the spoon, the ingredients are circulated and blended until Nature, wishing to take a further hand and add another of its beautiful phenomena, encrusts the whole in a glistening coat of white frost. Thus harmoniously blended by the deft touches of a skilled hand, you have a beverage eminently appropriate for honorable men and beautiful women.When all is ready, assemble your guests on the porch or in the garden where the aroma of the juleps will rise Heavenward and make the birds sing. Propose a worthy toast, raise the goblet to your lips, bury your nose in the mint, inhale a deep breath of its fragrance and sip the nectar of the gods.Being overcome by thirst, I can write no further.

Sincerely,Lt. Gen. S.B. Buckner, Jr. Of Kentucky V.M.I. Class of 1906
*Killed in Okinawa, 1945

As lovely as Lt. Buckner's description is, I don't know anyone with that kind of time on their hands so instead, here is my favorite recipe for the Mint Julep. The only thing you might not have readily available is fresh mint (although you really should because how will you make your mojitos without it?). A proper Mint Julep is made with Kentucky Colonel mint, distinctive for it's red stems and spearminty flavor. But really any mint will do. And the most traditional of mint juleps is served in a frozen silver goblet, also known as a julep cup. I'm not really sure why that is other than the fact that the silver keeps the drink cool for a lot longer than a normal glass does...I'm all for that since nothing stays cool for long down here. But of course, no one's checking so make your's in a paper cup if you want! The other thing you'll need to prepare ahead is simple syrup (equal parts sugar and water, brought to a boil to completely dissolved the sugar, then cooled completely).

INGREDIENTS (makes 8 drinks)
2 cups water
2 cups white sugar
1/2 cup roughly chopped fresh mint leaves
32 fluid ounces Kentucky bourbon
8 sprigs fresh mint leaves for garnish

DIRECTIONS
Combine water, sugar and chopped mint leaves in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat until the sugar is completely dissolved. Allow syrup to cool, approximately 1 hour. Pour syrup through a strainer to remove mint leaves.

If you are using silver goblets, place them in the freezer for at least half an hour before serving. You may want to handle the frozen goblets with a clean towel, holding them by their edges, so as not to mess up their pretty frosted surface. Fill eight cups or frozen goblets with crushed ice and pour 4 ounces of bourbon and 1/4 cup mint syrup in each. (Proportions can be adjusted depending on each person's sweet tooth). Top each cup with a mint sprig and a straw. Proceed to the nearest rocking chair and enjoy.

The Race for the Roses (and a damn good excuse to drink a mint julep)

2008-05-02T14:59:00.000-04:00

In honor of the 134th running of the Kentucky Derby tomorrow, I thought we'd do a post all about the race. Most people I talk to back home know almost nothing about it...it's a huge deal in the south but goes by relatively unnoticed up north. So for everyone wondering what all the fuss over enormous hats, seersucker suits and furlongs is about, read on:

7 Facts about the Kentucky Derby
1. The race has been run every year since 1875 on the first Saturday in May.

2. The only horses allowed to run in the Derby are 3 year olds. Hence you've got one shot and one shot only...there's no "maybe next year" because next year you're 4!

3. The Derby can only be run by Thoroughbred horses, all of which can trace their lineage back to 3 common ancestors, the Byerly Turk, the Darley Arabian, and the Godolphin Barb, which were imported into Great Britain from the Middle East and North Africa between 1689 and 1724. Mated with strong English mares, they produced offspring with both speed and endurance.

4. "My Old Kentucky Home" is the official song of the Derby and the state of Kentucky and is sung by everyone in attendance before the crowning of the race winner.

5. The Derby covers a distance of 1 1/4 miles...that's furlongs to everyone in the know. What's a furlong? The term is almost exclusively used in horse racing now. It's an old English measure that equates to 220 yards or roughly 1/8th of a mile. Hence 8 furlongs = 1 mile.

6. Secretariat was one of history's most famous Thoroughbred racehorses. In 1973 Secretariat won the Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes, and Belmont Stakes to win the coveted Triple Crown, the last horse to earn such a distinction.

7. The Mint Julep is a tradition as old as the Kentucky Derby itself, as much a part of Derby tradition as bugles and roses. The julep is the official toast to the winning horse, but fans at Derby parties tend to start long before the finish (hence the out of control in-field!). It is, in my opinion the absolute best part of the Derby tradition and is deserves a post all to itself, which is exactly what it will get tomorrow morning...plenty of time for you to run out and get the necessary ingredients.

Nurse Holland!

2008-05-02T14:08:00.000-04:00

YAY KATE!!!!!! Neil's sister just finished a grueling 2 years of Nursing School, passing her final exam today! She's a total rock star, we knew she could do it! Graduation is in a few weeks and then it's on to keeping people alive and healthy. Suddenly makes me feel like I do absolutely nothing significant for 8+ hours a day but that's a whole other story :)

Look out Wonder Dog

2008-04-28T20:30:00.000-04:00

As promised, some action shots of Daisy's first time out dock jumping this past weekend. I have to admit, I wasn't sure if she'd exactly know "what to do". Yes she loves the water, but would she actually launch herself off the end of a dock? I mean how does she know the water is deep enough? I guess dogs don't really think that far ahead. Well, needless to say she didn't need much coaching. And while she's pretty much obsessed with her orange floaty toy, retrieving it from the water actually seemed to be secondary to just jumping over and over and over...a few times we didn't even throw it. She would just go. Some fun images...look at that air!! Next time we're bringing a cape for these pictures. Click on any pic to see it full size.

And I have to say, this one is my favorite. Look at that form!!?! Legs together, full extension...ears all crazy and flapping. She cracks me up.

Daisy's dock jumping adventure

2008-04-26T14:39:00.001-04:00

Daisy's dock jumping adventure, originally uploaded by hollanddina.

We had a crazy fun day with Daisy today at a dog dock jumping place in
the middle of no where Youngsville, NC. Come back layer today for some
awesome action shots of her super-manning of the dock.

Today's awesome iPhone discovery

2008-04-16T14:15:00.001-04:00

Today's awesome iPhone discovery, originally uploaded by hollanddina.

At the risk of sounding completely dorky, I am continuing to find something awesome and new that I love about my iphone every day. Yesterday I discovered the joy of visual voicemail and why every phone doesn't have it built in I'm really not sure.

Today I have discovered that I can take pictures from my iPhone and upload them directly to my blog...no downloading or anything. I'm sorry but that is just too cool. Now if I only had more interesting things to take pictures of!! For now my Daisy will have to suffice.