i guess i'll start with the crepe :)
my last halloween flower of the year...
workshop samples in process...
if you follow me on instagram, i posted this yesterday, but it was so cute i had to share again! my baby boy brought this little pinecone in to me yesterday afternoon and said, "i thought, my mom would like this. maybe she can make like a replica or something." i love being a mom :) i'm going to do my best to "replicate" it just for him.
and thats it for the creative side of things today... leave now if you don't want to hear about my first wine tasting experience with my dear mom :)
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a couple of weeks ago,a friend and i surpised my mom with a weekend in sonoma to go wine tasting for her birthday. my mother-in-law happens to live there, so it was very cool to spend the weekend with all 3 of these ladies. my mom turned 73 and had never been wine tasting before, so that made it even cooler :) wine is not my thing, but i love the area and still had lots of fun.
for anyone planning on visiting, here are a few of things we did that i would recommend.
we started off the weekend with burgers at "the annex wine bar". every friday night is "burger night", and you have a choice of 3 types of burgers and choice of sides for $10. there is live music and a nice patio with a fire pit. the burgers were good and, i am told, the wine was pretty good too ;) very laid back atmosphere if you want to just chill for a bit and grab some simple food.
my mother-in-law works at a winery and had made reservations for our tour at 1:30, so we headed out for some sightseeing before the tour. the sonoma town square is so cool. the shops and restaurants are fabulous. we toured the mission and for our $3 admission. we also got to tour the general vallejo home. the tours are self-guided, short and sweet and we were done in less than an hour.
check out the creepy cherubs in the next photo... eeee :/
next stop, the wine tour at benziger family winery . it was great, even for this non-wine drinker. we went at the very end of harvest, which was a great time to visit. the "wine tram tour" took us around the vinyard and the guide shared a bit about the biodynamic process that they use. we were taken into the wine caves and we even got to try our hand at pushing down the grapes in fermenting vats. the property is beautiful and i definitely recommend going if you are in the area.
i am definitely NOT a selfie master quite yet...
from benziger, we went on to their sister winery, imagery. it seemed to be a kind of "younger" crowd here. they offered pizza and a large center bar area where we did our tastings. well, they did at least ;) the grounds were beautiful here as well. of course i had to get photos of flowers for inspiration for my crepe projects. at one point my fabulous friend P, was inside of a very large poppy plant trying to hold the flower for me to get my photo.... im spoiled, i know. there was a huge picnic area as well as the deck area. again, if you are in the area, it's worth a stop in to see. bonus: grama rosie, as she is known to most, found some jelly...
onward... the two wineries were about all we had time for, so we headed back to sonoma sqare for dinner. we decided on the swiss hotel. really great food; steaks, coups, salads, etc. the outdoor patio had a great atmosphere, however, the service was less than impressive. our waiter was pretty put out that we had so rudely come to dine in his space for my moms birthday. the customers seated next to us had a birthday as well and were brought the customary dessert to acknowledge the occasion... no such luck for dear mom. the waiter was duely compensated with his tip ;) the swiss hotel may want to evaluate the customer service of their staff in the near future. other than the waiter, it was an enjoyable dinner and the food was very good.
the rest of evening was great too and we stayed up late chatting. the next morning, we hit the square, YET AGAIN. i'm telling ya, it's a great place! we had breakfast at the basque boulangerie. we had seen the bakers working hard on friday night and had wanted to be sure to stop in before we left. the place was packed and had a long line, however, the service was so quick! they offer an online ordering service, but we didn't even need it as the line went so fast.
bottom line, everywhere we went was great and we had a great time.... even with the horrible waiter!
have a wonderful day!