Our 1st Napa Trip (Last) Weekend

I know, I know. I'm a little behind. And for good reason. Sort of. I've been under the weather and basically a couch potato for the last few days, and I finally have the energy to catch you up on last weekends festivities. For obvious reasons (like I said, im sick as a dog-had to call poison control- stuffy-head, throwing up sick) im just now getting to this. ANYWAYS.

Last weekend Colby and I decided it was time to take a drive to Napa. Thats right, drive to Napa-- doesnt that make you jealous?! He had been begging me to go visit a brewery and I wasn't about to go to napa without making a stop at a winery, so we planned out our day, and off we went!

It's only about an hour and a half's drive to the wine country, and it was a beautiful drive. Unlike the drive from Austin to Fredericksberg, this drive was scenic. Our first stop was at Domaine Chandon - it was still kind of Valentines Day-ish, and well, I love bubbles, so bubble it was!

Chandon was sprawling with people- all of which were of the trendy variety. Hipsters, pretty people, and us. haha. We decided on the reserve tasting, which was perfect! my fav was the blanc de blanc, and Colby liked the carneros vintage brut. 

 

We spent a couple hours just sipping our sparkling wine, exploring the grounds and just relaxing. It was blissful. 

 

 

 

 

 Since we hadn't eaten, (yes, drinking on empty stomachs...) we decided the next stop would be lunch in Yountville. Yall, Yountville is the cutest town. Colby yelped a restaurant, and lucky for us, there wasn't a wait. We enjoyed a long lunch on the patio while people watching.

 

 

Our next stop was Russian River Brewery in Santa Rosa. The drive was interesting. another scenic, twisty road, but beautiful none the less. When we arrived, I noticed that Colby's excitement was a little out of control. He was in beer nerd heaven. 

We decided on a couple beers, a sampler, and a snack. All that beer with no food, would not be a great idea! The beers were awesome, and we left with full bellies and a growler of Pliny the Elder.

 

 

 

We had such a fun time just enjoying the area and each others company. We can't wait to go back- i made a list of all the wineries that we have to visit!

Valentines Day, Continued!

In years past, Valentines Day hasn't always been my most favorite holiday. Luckily I married a guy who aims to please and this year, he really did a good job! He woke me up about 7am on his way to work to give me my gift-- he just couldn't wait! I was SO surprised to see this!

I had been eyeing these sandals for a while and he knew I loved them! thanks babe!

 then i got home from the gym to these! SO Beautiful!

He had to wait until after work to get his presents! I had them for weeks, but hadn't wrapped them yet- oops! I had this waiting when he got home! Colby has been begging asking me to legally change my name since the moment we got married. Well, he was shocked to see this as his gift! Yup, thats right, im officially Angelica Louis!

 we decided to stay in and cook on Thursday night and avoid the crowds, set menus, and overpriced food. I cooked scallops and made boston cream cupcakes! we actually used our fancy china, and used the flutes we used at our wedding!

 

Friday night we went out for 'Valentines Day'. Colby made reservations at Sundance Steakhouse in Palo Alto. It was delish! 

 

I hope you all had a great Valentines Day! I know we felt loved!

xoxo

angelica

Happy Valentines Day!

hope you and yours are enjoying your love-filled day! we are offically celebrating tomorrow! i'll be sure to fill you in with all the delicious and beautiful details!

xoxo

saw it. pinned it. did it.

if you follow me on pinterest, its no surprise that i pin a TON of diy things. im crafty afterall ;) anyways, a couple weeks ago i got a bee in my bonnet and decided to break out my practically brand new sewing machine and make this skirt. it seemed simple enough, no?

here's what you need:

this tutorial- part 1 & part 2 (seriously, i referred to it a million times)

this zipper tutorial (for real. super easy)

a sewing machine

2 yards of fabric

a great pair of scissors

garmet pins
crochet thread

1 zipper

iron & ironing board

patience, time and a lot of space

i won't bore you with all the boring details, but its super beginner friendly- its basically two rectangles that you sew together! you can use any fabric that you want! i didn't line mine (although I should have (its a little see-through.. oops!)) here are a few steps in photos!

task 1a- load the bobbin. if you can do this, you can make this skirt. for real.

task 1b. get all the threads ready to sew! once you master this, your golden.

i forgot to document the cutting of the fabric, ironing of the fabric and sewing a bunch of straight lines. whoops. i also forgot to show the gathering, which i did straight from THIS tutorial. it was easy-peasy and if you pin the skirt to the waist band at the two ends, and the middle, you can pull the fabric to gather evenly!

installing a zipper for the first time. go slow. its hard, but worth it!

fully functioning zipper right there!

close up of the waistband and skirt.

ta-da! finished skirt! it fits perfectly!

Sunday Funday at Castle Rock State Park

one of the best things about northern california is definitely the weather. we keep finding ourselves craving to spend our days outside, exploring our new home. sunday was no different.

we decided to take a hike.. so off to yelp we went! (we seriously yelp EVERYTHING now!) and found what seemed to be a good hike, so we grabbed our sunday breakfast (bagels and coffee at this place by our house) and headed out.

the drive was SO pretty- long, winding roads that lead us up the mountains. i was concentrating on not throwing up my breakfast, while colby was trying to figure out if there were bears. (seriously) 

the hike was so incredibly beautiful. every time we turned a corner we were just in awe. we seriously are enjoying living in this part of the country! here are a few pics! enjoy!

 

 

 

 

hope you all had a great weekend! valentines day is right around the corner! i can't wait to give colby his gift!

Capitola, Santa Cruz, & Super Bowl Sunday

after a long week (no seriously, this was one of those long, dragged out, seems to last forever weeks!) we had a long, open weekend. we kicked our weekend off with dinner at Parcel 104. They only use Farmers market finds, and yall, it was GOOD. By far one of the best meals we've had since we moved here. a month ago. (yikes! a whole month!!)

 

 

 saturday we had planned to going to capitola and santa cruz but we woke up to overcast, gross weather. with nothing else to do, we decided it would be more fun to go in crappy weather than to sit at home all day, so off we went.

the drive was gorgeous. the sun came out and burned off most of the overcast weather. its just crazy to think that we live in this beautiful area. the trees and mountains are enough to blow my mind every time we leave the house. we got into capitola and circled the village a few times before finding parking. capitola is a sleepy little surf village- full of cute restaurants, shops, and tons of wetsuit-clad surfers.  now, im all for surfing in the winter, but its just bizarre to see people running about in ugg boots, jackets, scarves, hats and gloves mixed with a bunch of people skipping about in bathing suits on the beach. 

we grabbed lunch at the fog bank- burgers and beer, before heading out to explore. we hung out on the beach for a while.. yall the sea gulls are HUGE here. haha. i guess im just used to the tiny ones in texas, but they were giant!

 

 

after watching the surfers for a while, we headed to Sante Adairius Rustic Ales, a brewery that Colby had found and wanted to check out. It was so tiny! we became accustomed to Austin Beerworks that when we got to the tiny tasting room, we weren't surprised that there was only standing room in the parking lot. the beer was good, but we left after one- an anais for me and a nonna's #3 for colby.

 

 

we decided to venture to the santa cruz boardwalk for the rest of the afternoon. i can only assume that the boardwalk isn't as sad in the summer as it was on saturday. it was just kind of pathetic. now im saying that because the only ride i wanted to ride was closed-- as were most of the rides, games, etc. we walked the boardwalk in its entirety before deciding that it was time to head home. it was fun, but i can only imagine that its a little more fun when its warm out.

 

 sunday was the superbowl. we had high expectations with the 49ers, but alas, the ravens came up on top. we went to a watch party at our apartment's gamewerks- free food, beer/wine and a huge tv? why not! 

 hope you all had a great weekend!

xoxo

angelica