Our St. Helena weekend wedding

We did it!  We're married!  

It's such a cliché, but the day really flew by so fast.  

I'm trying my best to hold on to and remember every detail.

My friend, and our fabulous photographer, left our wedding and immediately sent us a photo from the day.  Seriously, how awesome is that?

What a perfect moment she was able to capture.  I am beyond grateful.

And beyond grateful to that man in the photo above, for marrying me.
I truly don't know how I got so lucky.

Why am I online 2 days after our wedding  Well, due to some commitments at work, I wasn't able to take a ton of time off.  But there was just enough time to get married and have a fabulous week-long honeymoon in Bora Bora, and for that I am grateful.

We leave tomorrow night. 

See you in a week!

LMF

jacuzzi family vineyards

Just a few pretty photos from a day at Jacuzzi Family Vineyards a couple of weekends ago.

 

{I want!}

LMF

Wine Tasting Weekend - Thanksgiving

I feel kinda funny about all the gushing I did about New York in autumn.  I guess I forgot how beautiful it is in wine country - right in my own backyard!

Last weekend, because Dan's sister and brother-in-law were up from Hermosa, we decided to spend the day in Napa picnicking and wine-tasting.

We headed to Hall winery first, which none of us had been to before, but was the perfect stop.

They were already all decked out for Christmas.

{Dan's sister, Lisa, brother-in-law, Sean and Caper}

We were at the St. Helena location but we're definitely planning on checking out their place in Rutherford.  Mainly just so I can see this chandelier in person.

As always, we headed to Napa Valley Olive Oil Manufacturing Company for our picnicking accoutrements.  I debated about posting about this place, simply because it's so so tiny but it's too good not to tell you about. 

It's a small white barn at the end of one of St. Helena's small streets.  An Italian family runs it and it's old style - as in cash or check only.  As in ask the Italian mother how to make something and she'll stand right there and explain in detail even when there's a line of people behind you.  Love it!

  They make the most wonderful olive oils and balsamic vinegars.  I picked up a pomegranate balsamic that I can't wait to try on roasted veggies or salads.

We filled our basket with salumi, cheeses, pepperoni, bread and mustards and then headed to Beringer to grab some wine and a picnic table.  

Family photo!

My favorite of the day.

Dan's mon packed a tablecloth which seems like such a small thing but made our lunch feel so much more homey. :)

Last stop: Rubicon

I love it here.

It's always prettier than I remembered.

Sadly, Pacino was coned for the weekend.     

 He got in an argument with his cousin, Caper, and she won.  Luckily he came out of it with only a minor scratch on his eye.  Should teach him not to fight with family!

Hope your thanksgiving weekend was gorgeous and beautiful and hopefully a bit better than Pacino's!

LMF

A Birthday

Pacino turned 1 this weekend and like any good pup parent with a new camera,
I strapped a crown on him and snapped a few photos.

Those poses!  Seriously, it's like he knew it was his birthday or something.

I made the crowns from a paper towel roll; an idea I found here.

{please note this photo was taken after a day of wine tasting}

Happy Birthday Pacino!

Today's one of those days when it's especially important to remember how lucky I am to live in a country where I can spend my weekends taking silly photos of my pup and wine tasting with my boyfriend.  

Thank you to all who have made that possible.
We will never forget.

LMF

Weekend of the FOC

This weekend was the FOC (Festival of Chris).  Dan's mom's birthday was on Friday and we had quite the three day celebration.  I'm still sorting though and editing photos but here's just a few snapshots from the weekend.

Bike riding and wine tasting through Healdsburg

Silverado Resort in Napa

Del Dotto Winery in Napa

Exhibit at the de Young Museum

 The Stinking Rose in San Francisco

 {yes that's a garlic hat she's wearing}

 
Hope your weekend was fun-filled too!

LMF
*all images original to Champagne Reveries

John Ash Celebration

A few weekends ago, Dan took me out to celebrate my raise and bonus.  What was so fantastic about it, was that it was completely unexpected! I thought I'd have to be here a year before getting anything.  Even better, it came with a killer review. I was thrilled.   My boss called me into her office, shut the door, looked at my worried face and said "no it's okay, it's a good thing".

I've been wanting to go to John Ash & Co. for a while, we just never had a reason.  He said this was our reason.  I'm so lucky to have a guy who always celebrates my successes no matter how small!

John Ash is owned by Ferrari-Carano Vineyards.  They have this gorgeous winery out dry creek road in Healdsburg and a beautiful tasting room on the Healdsburg square.

 Ferrari - Carano Winery in Healdsburg

Wine tasting there a few months ago

The restaurant is located in Santa Rosa and shares property with Vintners Inn, an absolutely gorgeous place I've always wanted to stay but the practical side of of my brain keeps popping up reminding me I live less than 6 miles away. Maybe someday...

All dressed up for our dinner celebration.  {I tried my first "sock bun".}  

Dan told me I looked pretty and that I had sumo wrestler hair. :)

Before dinner, Dan and I walked the property a bit just because it's so gorgeous.

They had a small ceremony set up.  Dan teased me saying that it looked like the type of ceremony I would want, with only 6 chairs on each side.  I would love something with like 10 of our favorite people, but he says no way that's possible!  I'm just so nervous about all the attention focused on me!  It sounds scary!  But you couldn't pick a more beautiful setting. I wish the photos could do it justice.

Dinner was perfect.  The setting was perfect.  And the company was perfect.  

Happy Monday!

LMF
*all images original to Champagne Reveries

Wine Tasting - Healdsburg

Work's been crazy - it always is the first week of the month.  But last weekend I managed to have a bit a fun and hosted friends for the weekend.  I always get a bit nervous having friends stay at my home.  It just feels so new still.  But good nervous, like butterflies in the stomach nervous, or when you're a kid and waiting for relatives to come over for a holiday.

I made snickerdoodle muffins {recipe here} and salted toffee chocolate chip cookies (recipe coming soon, I promise!).  It makes my house smell lovely and it always makes people smile to see a platter full of treats.

We spent Saturday wine tasting in the Healdsburg square (i.e. Alexander Valley - a bit northwest of Sonoma and Napa).  Sometimes it feels so luxurious living so close to the heart of Wine Country.

Dan and I end up spending a lot of weekends visiting different wineries and tasting rooms.  They're just so close and so gorgeous, plus Pacino gets to come too :)  We have some favorites in Healdsburg, but last weekend we discovered a few more that I just had to share.

Kendall Jackson - It's just up the street from my house, but the last time I was there was almost 10 years ago looking for a wedding site for my best friend.  The grounds are gorgeous.  They do food and wine pairing which is always fun and they have great outdoor seating in the back.

{this was the "before" shot}

Oakville Grocery - This is always our first stop for lunch.  No seriously, I brought Dan here once and it's the only place we can eat at now when we're in town.  Oh but it's so so good.

Topel - Directly across the street from Oakville is the Topel tasting room.  The guys here were so friendly and they even had treats for Pacino at the door.

Roadhouse Winery - Just on the other side of Oakville grocery - a small selection but definitely worth popping in.  Mostly pinot noir, plus a deliciously chocolatey dessert wine.  I'm not usually into the sweeter stuff, but just a few sips was perfect.

Vintage Wine Estates - This is always one of our stops when we're in the Healdsburg square.  They've got quite the family of labels so there's always something fun to try.  Fire Station Red was one that we discovered here and it's perfect with anything off the grill. A real mans wine if there is such a thing.  Paul is our favorite behind the bar.  It's so much about the people you meet too.

JCB - Now we didn't taste here, I'm only mentioning it because the space is pretty cool lookin'.  I've been here before and I hate to say this, but the taste is just a bit lacking, which was a huge disappoint since I'm such a fan of bubbles.  But if you happen to be walking by, definitely pop your head in at least for the design decor.

Toad Hollow - Paul from Vintage Wine Estates suggested we go here and I am so so glad he did.  We had such a great time and Ben left as a wine club member and with a case of wine, claiming we'd have it drunk by the end of the night. (That didn't happen.)   It's just off the square - less than a 5 min walk.  Just past the delicious restaurant Willi's Seafood.  Go there too :)

Williamson - Loved it here!  That's Jason in the back in the photo.  He's the owners son and was so great in putting up with our shenanigans.  He did wine and food pairing for us and we bought this delicious tasting beet horseradish mustard - sounds weird, I know.  But it's delicious!

Spoonbar - We were on our way to the car and passed by this bar / restaurant and had to stop.  It's part of the h2hotel and has this  fantastic indoor/outdoor seating.  We're will definitely going back soon to check out the eats!

Cutest couple shots:

I think B & P win :)

LMF

Disclaimer - this is a fairly aggressive wine tasting day, we shared flights and not everyone tasted at every place  :)