Happy New Year!

Happy New Year my dear food-n-booze loving friends! My wish for you all is that 2010 be a year filled with love, laughter, prosperity, good health, and fabulously tasty food and drink.

Jay and I were recently forced to change up some of our vacation plans for this year due to work issues, so much to our disappointment we had to cancel the September 2010 transatlantic cruise leaving from Barcelona, Spain docking in Port Canaveral, Florida two weeks later. This was a rather bitter pill to swallow but it has been sweetened somewhat by the plans we've tentatively put together for the upcoming year.

February 2010 - we're going to San Diego to visit with our DIS-friendie Kabuki and her wonderful hubby Jason. We've never been to San Diego and Jay's never even been to California. Things we're planning to do: Sunday brunch at the Hotel de Coronado, seeing the sights in Balboa Park, and a day-trip to Disneyland!!! We can't wait to see our friends and visit a new city!!

May 2010 - we're spending a week in Vegas for the hubby's 40th birthday! We've also planned it so that we will be there during Vegas Uncorked so we will have an opportunity to experience a totally different food and wine festival. For his big birthday giftie, I'm taking Jay to the Mansion for dinner. The Mansion is Joel Robuchon's oooh-la-la restaurant at the MGM Grand - this place has been awarded three Michelin stars, that's how good it is. There is no question about what we're having for dinner: the sixteen-course tasting menu! Oink Oink, baby; Bendy loves you!!

We're also planning on dining at Stripsteak (that sounds naughty, doesn't it?); Fleur de Lys (Hubert Keller); Serendipity; a fabulous sushi place as yet to be determined, and the rest is up in the air. We may even try to attend the Grand Tasting event through Vegas Uncorked ... it's supposed to be pretty damn good!

October 2010 - the return visit to WDW and Epcot's 15th Annual Food & Wine Festival that wasn't supposed to happen because we were going to be on a cruise. We've got ten nights booked at our all-time favorite October stomping grounds: The Beach Club Villas!!! Our annual passes don't expire until the end of the month and we've got some Southwest Airlines gift cards to pay for airfare - this trip was just meant to be. No milestone birthday this year so I'm not ordering a custom-made birthday cake or hosting a wee get-together, but rumor has it that there are Ditch meets in the works already. Jay and I will be more than happy to join everybody in the Ditch for a margarita or five ... I promise not to spill water all over everything this time!

Big hugs and best wishes to you all - make 2010 the best year you can and don't forget to laugh!