I had some comments about this dress after posting on Facebook, so I thought I'd share. The dress is from Express...they have several solid colors in addition to the one I purchased with stripes. I removed the sash belt that came with it and wore my own flower belt given to me as a gift from my sister. The shoes were from Charming Charlies. Not a place I would normally buy shoes, but Bryn & I were at the mall one day & my feet were freaking killing me from the pair that I was wearing. So I needed to either go barefoot or buy a new pair to wear. Believe it or not... this pair was comfortable. And at $30... CHEAP! Win... win!
We got home on Sunday night from a quick weekend in Sonoma, CA. We took the trip with Bob's aunt + uncle and his sister + her husband. We stayed in Healdsburg at the same bed & breakfast (The Grape Leaf Inn) where we stayed on our wedding trip. Upon arrival on Thursday night, we picked up our van for the weekend. Aunt Nancy & I got to ride in the back all weekend... as we were the 2 shortest people. I'm pretty sure we both got some extra quad work in, as we were constantly squatting to throw ourselves in & out of the van. I also think I flashed everyone at least a couple times throughout the weekend since I was usually wearing dressses. Sorry family! Forgot to take a photo of our red van, so I snagged a photo from the internet. We had dinner at Cacti in Novato, CA on the way to Healdsburg. I was starving. I'm thinking everyone was. It was like eating dinner at 9:30pm our time & after 2 flights to get to California, it was a long time to wait to eat again. By the time we got to our B&B, it was pretty much time to unpack & go to bed. We were on a 2-hour time difference, so it was past Midnight for us. We had a plate of chocolate covered strawberries on our bed with a note from the owners that said, "Welcome back, Bob & Deana" and a big plate of fruit & wine from Bob's uncle + aunt to thank us for bringing them. So sweet...
Day #1 was for wine tasting. Bob & I had a handful of wineries picked out to visit. Trentadue was our first stop... a favorite. Bob likes their Zinfandels (RED... not white. Puh lease.) I like their Chocolate Amore... a chocolate-infused port wine. The guy giving our tastes told me I should make a dessert with it. Start with a wine glass & add the crumbled cookie part of an Oreo (not the cream) on the bottom of the glass. Next a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Then top with blueberries & a drizzle of the Chocolate Amore. YUMMO. Yes please.
Next was Ferrari-Carano... another fav. We go there because their winery is BEAUTIFUL. Their reserve tasting in the basement is the best wine... especially for chardonnays, but we didn't end up doing any tastings here. Some of us bought some things in their little store area, but then we moved on...
Next was Francis Ford Coppola (formerly known as Chateau Souverain Winery... where we got married. Also the same place Bob proposed to me 8 months earlier, so that's why we decided to go back there to get married). WOW. It's changed a lot since they bought it. Not for the better if you ask us. I think a swimming pool at a winery is strange. I also think women standing at a wine tasting bar in their swimsuits is strange too... even if you do have a good body, which these women did not. Just sayin'. We ate lunch there. Even the restaurant has changed quite a bit. Just kinda sad for Bob & me. I'm sure there are many, many other people who love all the changes...
After lunch was Hop Kiln. New to us, but suggested by Bob's friend/client/optomotrist, who has $150,000 worth of wine in his own wine cellar. I think he knows good wine. We liked one of their chardonnays, so we bought a bottle to take to dinner with us that night. In most restaurants, even here at home, you can bring your own bottle of wine & they just charge you a cork fee to open it.
We planned to also go to Rochioli but by the time we made it there, they had just closed. Had a nice dinner at Zin that night... a place we'd been to before and really liked.
Day #2 started with another morning run for Bob & me. The weather was beautiful every day. And both mornings were chilly enough that I was glad I had packed a long-sleeved running top. After everyone's breakfast, we did a little shopping on the square... I bought a cute dress & some hand-made jewelry... and then we picked up lunch to-go and headed for Bodega Bay to see the ocean. Luckily we brought jackets because otherwise our picnic lunch would've been pretty chilly...
As suggested by someone at our B&B, we stopped for some salt-water taffy at cute little pink + white striped store called Patrick's. We all bought different kinds of taffy... in fact I picked out a multi-packed bag for Bryn... but Bob left it in Sonoma. Oh well! Had a yummy dinner that night at Bistro Ralph. The owner of our B&B said to order the "1000 Fries" so Bob ordered some as an appetizer (I went with calamari, myself) and sure enough... there were at LEAST 1000 fries. Eveyone but me ate them, so there was plenty to share & a LOT left over...
Got up early on Sunday to drive back to Oakland in time for our flight back. I didn't take a lot of photos on this trip. Not sure why. Maybe because we've been out there so many times, it felt redundant to take photos of things we've already done before.
But... the photos sum of the trip pretty well anyway... quick & busy!
Looks like an amazing trip!! I loveeeeeeeeeeeee all the photos!!! You two are BEAUTIFUL!! And I have heard other bad things about FCC's winery since it was taken over... sadly...I have had a nightmare of a time with their acct. at work too... craziness!!! Glad you had fun!! :):):):):):):):):):):):):)
Posted by: Julie Tucker-Wolek | June 29, 2011 at 08:02 AM
Looks like an amazing trip indeed. Your photos are so extremely beautiful and you look like you had a smashingly good time!!! awesome!!
Posted by: Jing-Jing Nickel | June 29, 2011 at 09:27 AM
Cute dress! And what lovely trip photos... how divine.
Posted by: asarasota | June 29, 2011 at 12:13 PM
It sounds like a great family weekend! All of your photos make me want to go back...NOW!
That's a bummer about Coppola, it was in the transition phase when we went and I just recently read about the pool, which I agree is very weird. The thought of bathing suites and wine confuses me. Even so, it looks like an amazing time and I'm pretty darn jealous :)
Posted by: Antonia Krajicek | June 30, 2011 at 05:58 PM
looks like a fun... but quick time... how sad that the place changed owners... especially with it being the place you were engaged and married... I totally agree with you on the bathing suits at a wine bar... not too pleasant... and you had to try to enjoy your wine... ugh... I hate it when things change... especially when it's not for the good. c'est la vive! {{hugs}} Michelle
Posted by: Michelle | July 01, 2011 at 07:29 AM
What a lovely trip! It sounds like you really enjoyed yourselves . . . it's neat that you got to go back to where you were married. Too bad they've changed it not to your liking.
Posted by: MelanieJ | July 04, 2011 at 02:19 PM