Christmas Eve in North Carolina

Bliss During Family Holiday?
solution - a great getaway place!

With four kids in our family, my two sisters and one brother married, it is always a challenge finding time to get together as a family. At least now we are all on the East coast with the exception of our parents who still live in Texas. Still, it is hard to coordinate schedules when in-laws and other obligations call. Add to this the good news that my younger sister is expecting her third child and we've got a challenge. We typically meet for every other Christmas in North Carolina or elsewhere
but we didn't want to invade my sister's home given her soon-to-be addition to the family. Instead my parents, my older brother and his wife, and my older sister and her family all converged in North Carolina at The Fearrington Inn for Christmas Eve and morning. What a wonderful, relaxing retreat. Each room is individually decorated and they upgraded most of us to the suite rooms with sitting space, fireplaces in two of the rooms, and more room than my studio in New York! The rooms are fantastic with CD players, nice televisions, and the most comfy beds I've ever slept in. The fabulous bathrooms and heated towel racks were divine. And turn down service includes port! I was in heaven. We used the common room house to open presents Christmas morning. It has the perfect living room feel with comfy couches, a fireplace, and it was decorated for Christmas. This was truly the best, no-stress way to spend Christmas with family.

We had Christmas Eve dinner at the Fearrington House Restaurant. We had great seating for ten in the reserved wine room. My soup was amazingly good - sweet potato with lobster if I recall correctly. Unfortunately the meal went downhill from there. My foie gras was nicely prepared but very strongly partnered with a duck confeti and too rich a sauce, thus drowning our the buttery flavors of the seared liver. The beef tenderloin was tough tough and often overcooked but some had a sea scallop appetizer which they enjoyed. I did enjoy the cheese coarse for dessert but a taste of the chocolate molten cake was dry and rather familiar. They did have these very yummy shortbread cookies during the coffee & tea coarse.

Christmas morning started wonderfully. No need to cook or wake up at 6 am to the sounds of antsy kids waiting to see what Santa left. We leisurely met over at the Inn Restaurant for their breakfast. I should have opted for the country selection but instead went with the shrimp and grits option given the southern atmosphere. Margs makes better. Orange juice was fresh squeezed and fantastic. We all then gathered in the communal family room in the center courtyard cottage. Lots of laughs looking at old pictures in Dad's new electronic photo frame. We also all enjoyed slide shows from C & M1's vacations and such. Braving the rainy weather, we all parted ways with C&M heading back home and the rest of us heading to The Homestead in Virginia.