Shot of Brandi Gives Nemacolin Resort 4 Stars

Monday, November 24, 2014

A few weeks ago the hubs and I visited Nemacolin Resort outside of Pittsburgh. This trip was in part thanks to Santa Claus (aka my parents) who gave Brady a gift card to the resort last year. We decided on a last minute trip to celebrate his birthday!

The resort has a pretty crazy history that you can read here. The quick low down is that the resort is currently owned by the Hardy Family – the family that founded 84 Lumber.

If you plan on visiting, a few tips:

Don’t go on a Thursday, Friday or Saturday: This resort is a bit pricey and if you are looking to save a buck, go on an off day. For example, we went on a Sunday and saved $120 vs. the weekend night rates.

Take Time To Walk Around the Hotel: This resort is seriously like a museum. As you walk from building to building, you will see different items in the vast Hardy art/artifact collection. There are super old stock purchases, art and one of the largest salt water fish tanks. You will also see autographs of some pretty famous people. Joe Hardy goes all out for his birthday and parties for his children. You will see pictures and autographs from celebs like Robin Williams (RIP), Bette Midler, Bill Crosby, Hilary Duff, Christina Aguilera and more! Oh and Wiz Khalifa got married at Nemacolin.


Go in October or November: While there are a lot of activities to do at the resort in the summer or winter, I’d recommend this time of year so that you can see all of the glorious leaves changing!

Make Dinner Reservations in Advance: Like I mentioned we decided to visit Nemacolin at the last minute and weren’t able to land reservations at some of the restaurants. The staff mentioned that it was unusually busy on the Sunday that we visited, but most of the restaurants actually recommend reservations!

Book Activities in Advance: Nemacolin has a little bit of everything for everyone. You can ski, golf, go to the pool, spend a day at the pool, gamble, play mini-golf, have a VIP experience with the wild animals, hike…the list is almost endless. The golf course was designed by the famous course designer Pete Dye and pros like Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson have played here. For things like the Jeep off road experience or clay pigeon shooting, be sure to make reservations in advance. One downfall of going on an off day is that some of these experiences may not be available.

Don’t Forget to Drive Around The Resort: Per my mom’s recommendation, we made sure to see Taylor and Paige’s playhouse. Built for his daughters, the playground is more like an actual house. Next to the playhouse is the zoo. It isn’t a real zoo, but close enough. You can see lions and tigers and bears. No joke!

There is SO Much To Do Outside of the Resort: Near Nemacolin you will find Falling Water, Ohiopyle, the Christian Clay Winery and a TON of historical sites (General Braddock was buried here). Make time to visit the area attractions while you are here. Reservations are totally recommended at Falling Water!

If you can’t already tell, I’d TOTALLY recommend a trip to Nemacolin as a staycation around the Pittsburgh area!  





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Gifts for Your Favorite Wine Lover

Thursday, November 13, 2014

I understand. It seems like every year that Christmas spirit (and advertising) creeps earlier and earlier into the year. I’m on the fence regarding how I feel about this, but what I will say is that I do believe in preparing in advance what you will shop and craft for the holidays.

I didn’t mind at all when Nordstrom released a gift section of its website. I was even more pleased when I saw that they have a number of wine themed gifts that are seriously clever and adorable.

Here are some early gift ideas via Nordstrom to get you thinking about Christmas gifts!













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