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Last weekend my mom, old roommate, Becky, and I headed to the one and only wine country (in the States anyways), Napa. We started off the day by heading to my family's favorite winery. It was a gorgeous day, sun high in the sky and pretty warm out. Not much like fall weather, but I wasn't complaining! We did a little wine tasting and walked around the winery for a bit. As far as wines go, my favorite is rose, or a sweet glass of moscato, but I don't discriminate ;)
Instead of going out to a restaurant for lunch, we decided to stay at the winery. We went to their deli where we found a creamy gruyere cheese, a sharp, dry gouda, a fresh french baguette, sweet grapes, and of course, wine. I could seriously eat this every day! But I'm only fancy on special occasions.
Growing up in a Greek household, wine is kind of an integral part of our culture. I've had friends who think wine is disgusting or admonish me for drinking it since I was a toddler, but I look at it differently. In Greece, if you go over to someone's house for dinner, whether you are 60 or 10, the host offers you wine or beer. When you ask for water, they look at you like you're crazy. So there's my two cents. Drink up me hearties, yo ho!
There is just something about autumn that I will always love. I think when I was younger, the fact that school was starting and my birthday was at the end of September first sparked my love for this season. As I got older, the scenery during this time of year kept me happy. (Not to mention wearing my favorite clothes, boots and sweaters, everywhere!)
Something about autumn just makes me want this: sitting in the tub, writing or reading, sipping on delicious tea (or hot apple cider...yum!), with candles flickering everywhere. It's the simple things that always make me feel at peace. Too bad with today's crazy lifestyle this doesn't happen often enough.
I think in the end, the colors of fall really get to me. Sunset has always been my favorite time of day and the way the sun filters through the leaves in the fall is breathtaking. I even love the smell of the leaves. Weird, yes. But, what can I say? I don't know what I would do if I didn't live in a place that didn't have autumn.
Last weekend was the best weekend I've had in ages. My sister is all grown up and off to college, so I decided to give her a little 4-day weekend visit. Her school is in one of the prettiest places I've ever seen. Right by the sea, in the redwood forests, it's literally perfect.
I arrived on late Friday evening and we basically spent the night catching up, going to a pretty hopping party, and getting late night donuts. The next morning, we went to a cafe, grabbed some coffee, and headed off to the farmer's market. We bought some delicious grapes, apples, and the best lavender honey in the world. De-LI-cious. We saw quite a few bands playing around the market (my favorite included a banjo player & a lad on the spoons) and met a lovely young lady who sold poetry for "your subject, your price". Pretty neat-o. The poem she wrote for me is freaking amazing.
After hanging out at the market for a few hours, we took the goods we bought (along with some fresh bread and chai tea), and headed off for a hike. We came across a little hidden cove in the trees, nicknamed "Narnia" and enjoyed a little picnic. After the hike, we were wiped out so we relaxed, went out for a late birthday dinner, and came back to a night of movie watching.
Sunday we woke up and headed to our favorite little cafe for breakfast and then did some mosey-ing around the shops in town. We brought her guitar along and then headed to the park. Of course, being the amazing place this town is, people came around and sat down to either listen or join us playing. We ended my trip with a visit to an old friend from high school, complete with wine and more music playing. I am seriously contemplating moving there. Life there is so crazy relaxing.
Argh, I miss my sister. Just a few more weeks 'til I head back :)
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Well, hello there! I'm a bit bipolar when it comes to blogging. One minute I am updating all the time and then I drop it for a few months. So, yes, I am having withdrawals and feel it's time to come back! Sorry for annoying you with my blogging mood swings. There is just something about fall and blogging.
I've been getting into my photography again and felt the need to share, so expect more soon! (Also, I now have a tumblr, which I mainly use for posting random videos, music, and pictures that are mostly not my own. Hoorah.)
On a side note...I think I need to clean this blog up a bit. Expect a renovation, soonish.
