A dream come true and Beef Bourguignon

I have been dreaming about a new mini-van for the last couple of years. Specifically the Honda Oddyssey. I know this may sound weird to anyone besides a mom, but if I could choose ANY car in the entire world, it would be that car. The automatic sliding doors, the heated leather seats, 8th seat, DVD system, etc...are just a few things that make my head spin with pure joy.  This car is my dream come true and Scott finally agreed that we could take the plunge. My Dodge Caravan was a good van, but it had it's major limitations. No one, other that my own children, knew how to open and close the non-automatic sliding doors. The driver side seat belt would get stuck in a weird way so that unbuckling myself was a huge feat, often leading to the skin on my thumbs splitting during the dry winter months. Also, the drivers side window would sometimes work and sometime not. I can't tell you how many times I would drive to a drive-thru and not be able to get my window to go down - FRUSTRATION! Anyway, I am a happy mom driving this car around town along with the million other moms that are driving the same thing.

Ever since Scott and I watched the movie Julie vs. Julia a few months ago, I have been dying to make Beef Bourguignon. When Julie made it in the move, both Scott and I were drooling. It was so fun to see the portrayal of Julia Child in Paris, especially since Scott and I visited Paris last year.  I chose to make Ina Garten's version of the recipe. I think I am a little intimidated by Julia Child, but I've made a lot of Ina's recipes, so I guess it felt more comfortable. Anyway, it was so fun to try something new and truly French. Scott declared it one of his all time favs and for the most part the kids scarfed it down. Now I want to try Julia's recipe to compare.

 It was so fun to have both grandma's come for dinner too!