Napa Vacation. Part 1.

The long awaited Napa post!! I've been so excited to write about Napa for two reasons: 1) to re-live the INCREDIBLE experience all over again, and 2) to share this amazing vacation with you guys! Let me just say that going to Napa has been the #1 thing on my list of places to travel for a while. My husband had All-Star break for 3 days at the beginning of July, and I figured this would be the perfect time to go since we were so close to Napa anyways. I talked my parents and brother into going, as well, to make it a family trip! Long story short, my husband got traded to another baseball team one day into our vacation, and he had to leave early. I was bummed about that, but I know it comes with the job....plus he promised me that we would come back together! I am holding him to that.....

Here are my recommendations and pictures from our trip of a lifetime! Please let me know if there are any places in/around Napa that I need to add to my list. Enjoy! xx

Wednesday: Chris and I met my parents in San Francisco for the day, before heading to Napa. We shopped and had dinner at one of my fave SF places, Balboa Cafe.  For a review of Balboa Cafe and a list of my San Fran picks, click here.

Thursday: We headed to Napa via The Golden Gate Bridge and Sausalito. On our way to Napa, we got word Chris was traded to another team, all the way across the country! I knew he would be leaving the next day, so we made sure to get in at Duckhorn Vineyards, which has our favorite wine ever! (Their 2005 and 2006 Cab) Then we had dinner at the amazing Brassica, which is one of Cindy Pawlcyn's restaurants. I highly recommend going to eat here and having the bacon wrapped figs & eggplant fries for appetizer!

At Duckhorn Vineyards...

Such beautiful grounds! Wine tasting on a wrap-around outdoor porch was heaven!

How tasting was set up. As you finished one wine, they came around to pour and tell about the next.

With my parents in the vineyards of Duckhorn.

The things you MUST try at Brassica: Bacon wrapped figs & eggplant fries...with this amazing sauce!

Friday: We had breakfast at the adorable Boon Fly Cafe before starting the day off with great wine tastings. The Boon Fly Cafe serves Breakfast, Brunch, Lunch, and Dinner so be sure and check it out while you're in the Napa area. It's at the southernmost end of the Napa Valley, in the Carneros region, so we took advantage of being down that way to go visit a winery that a local recommended, off the beaten path. (I love that kind of thing, and so does my fam!) It was called Ram's Gate. (pictures below) Then we went to Del Dotto, which was one of our top 3 wineries/wines on the whole trip! 

Some of the views from Ram's Gate... their outdoor tasting patio overlooked the Carneros Valley.

The beautiful inside!

One of the smaller rooms. We loved the decor and architecture! 

One last family pic before Chris leaves for the East Coast!

How cute is my little mama???

Entrance to Del Dotto

Del Dotto is one of the few wineries with a cave tour, which was so cool! If I am not mistaken, it's the only one where you can taste their wines straight out of the barrel. Very fun and unique experience!

The caves were dug by hand in 1885.

Mom, dad, and I inside the caves.

Here is our FABULOUS guide, Tim, pouring wines from the barrel into our glasses. We got to do a couple of side-by-side comparisons of wine aged in American oak barrels vs French oak barrels, which was a great learning experience! This was one of our favorite tours! You also got a great cheese & meat plate afterwards, with a little chocolate and port tasting as well. (if you go, Ask for Tim or Adam to give your tour)

Wines aging in barrels line every inch of the caves at Del Dotto.

Saturday: My brother finally arrives to San Fran, so we head back into the city to pick him up and take the Alcatraz tour! I tried to take the tour last time I was in town, but it was sold out. If you want to do this, which I highly recommend, definitely book as soon as you know you'll be in town. It sells out quickly! For dinner that night, we all met up with some SF friends at Garibaldi's - which was SO fun! They brought a couple bottles of great wine, and we enjoyed amazing food & conversation. If you go, get the lamb entrée!! We had dessert at American Cupcake, which is my version of heaven...

Cupcakes AND wine pairings?!? SOLD!

My happy place. You must go here!

I am doing our whole vacation in 2 posts, so stay tuned for the other half...I will tell you guys about our FAVORITE winery with an incredible view of the whole Napa valley! I also plan to give you guys a great guide to Napa, divided up into region. It helped me a lot, so I wanted to share it with you guys!

Summer Hits.

HELLO FRIENDS!!! Happy Summer :) Just getting back in my "normal" routine after traveling constantly for the past 2 months. Well, by normal I mean "baseball life normal." Ha! I've been dying to upload and share some pictures of recipes I've made - and LOVED - since the summer started! I would not share anything on my blog that I didn't think was amazing, so here goes...

Made this Champagne Mojito for the whole fam on Memorial Day. It was a HIT!

Get the recipe here.

This Hot Corn Dip has been floating around Pinterest for a while, so I decided to try it out on everyone.

WOW! It was all gone in about 30 minutes! Amazing appetizer for a crowd! Here's a little tip:

Chipotle Peppers in Adobo Sauce can be hard to find sometimes. Look at Dollar General, that's where I found mine - and for cheap!

Apricot Chutney - I can't take credit for this one... my little mama made this, and let's just say we were so full we could barely eat our dinner by the time we polished this one off! 

It's from the cookbook, Sunday In the South.

Recipe below.

Watermelon with Feta with Mint

Simple but wonderful - perfect for summer! I added a little something extra on top of the salad:

Cranberry-Pear Balsamic Vinegar (get it here!)

We made this twice in the span of a week: Brown Sugar Fruit Dip

Bonus: It has Kahlua in it, which MAKES the recipe! 

Another new find for me: Double Blind Pinot Grigio 

I am usually not a white wine drinker, but this one has won me over! 

Read about it and buy it here.

Also made these Sweet & Spicy Grilled Chicken Breasts! Full of flavor and simple to make...

only THREE ingredients! I used boneless, skinless chicken breasts, and they turned out just fine!

Here is the recipe for the Apricot Chutney:

2 (10oz) jars of apricot jam (we used peach preserves; either one is fine)

1 cup rice vinegar

1/4 cup mustard seed

1 TBS fresh ginger, minced (fresh ginger is preferred, but 1 tsp. dried ginger may be substituted)

Combine all ingredients in a medium skillet and bring to boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat slightly and continue simmering, stirring frequently, until mixture is thickened and reduced to 2 cups - about 8-10 mins. Allow to cool before serving. Store in airtight container in the refrigerator. 

We just poured it over a block of cream cheese and served it with toasted baguette slices.  You could also pair it with grilled chicken, pork, or fish! (Tip: To serve with pork - which I think would be amazing - slice pork thinly across the grain and drizzle with this mixture!)

Here are a couple other amazing summer recipes that I love:

Parmesan Cilantro Skillet Corn (Making this right now!)

Heirloom Tomato, Fresh Peach, Pecan, and Goat Cheese Salad

My husband, family, and I just got back from a week-long trip to Napa!! It was one of the best trips we've ever taken, and I will be blogging about it this week! Stay tuned :)

Life, Lately.

Pretty sure I am a horrible blogger. I haven't posted since the Super Bowl. WORST! Three days after our Super Bowl party, my little honey and I left for Spring Training in Scottsdale, AZ. My life was pretty much baseball, Lululemon, Nike, and sun for the better part of a month and a half. Sorry for being MIA, but my fashion blog would be pretty boring if I posted my everyday outfits that have been consisting of workout clothes. Here's a few things that have been happening in my life, lately.

Went to the NHRA Arizona Nationals, wearing these vintage Chanel studs & 

an Auden multi-cross silver necklace (Check out the Auden website - LOVE their stuff!) 

You guys know I love to find great restaurants when I go/move to a new city...

We found two we loved: Cowboy Ciao and FnB Scottsdale. This pic was taken at FnB.

If you're ever in Scottsdale, put these two places on the top of your list! 

The "Chopped Salad" at Cowboy Ciao was the best salad I've ever had. IN. MY. LIFE. (and I don't even like salads since my pageant days, years ago)

Everything at FnB was incredible!! Just ask your server what they recommend & go with that. 

Trust me. (P.S. How do y'all like my little honey's shirt? haha)

The huge cross cuff with chain is the newest addition to my collection! Been wearing it a lot with all black ensembles. My earrings are from The Montage Collection. (Thanks Myrna!)

Toured the Wrigley Mansion with my adorable mama (seriously, look at how cute she is!!)

We also toured the AZ Biltmore and ate lunch there, too, which I highly recommend!

Guess what else we did while my mom was visiting....???

We took a hot air balloon ride in the dessert with these guys - AMAZING!

We went up with 2 other balloons that afternoon.

I got to get inside the balloon as it was on its side, being blown up (which was HOT) 

because I wore a dress... I know, I know... who wears a dress to go on a hot air balloon ride.

This girl. 

This was my view from inside the basket... very pretty!

Mom and I up 5,000 feet!

Beautiful sunset in the AZ desert.

After our (rough) landing, we had a champagne toast and hors d'oeuvres in the middle of the desert.

Shopping in Carefree and Cave Creek

 (which is another thing I highly recommend if you are in the Scottsdale area)

In Carefree, be sure and eat lunch at English Rose Tea Room and have a late afternoon sangria at the newly-opened Venues Cafe!

Mom and I got these amazing sterling silver aztec-looking rings in AZ! 

I loved being in Scottsdale for the two months of Spring Training! We saw a lot - and ate a lot! Hoping to get back there soon!!