So much fun in Sonoma!

JJ and I just got back from an incredible trip to wine country! We had beautiful weather and such fun experiences all over the valley. Instead of a detailed itinerary, I will just give the highlights of the trip:

Hotel: We stayed at the MacArthur Place Inn and really enjoyed ourselves, especially because of the free upgrade to the Spa Suite complete with an outdoor tub and shower (this was our room)! We used the fireplace every night and loved the gardens all throughout the property. It was within walking distance of all the restaurants and wineries surrounding the downtown square.

Wineries: Of course this was the focus of the trip. We went to Napa two years ago and knew we would have to come back and see all the Sonoma wineries. I read a bunch of reviews before we went and had a pretty good idea of where we might want to go, but in all honesty, some of our favorites were places that were recommended to us along the way.

Kunde...We liked it so much we joined the wine club! The estate is beautiful and they offer a mountain top tasting where you are driven up into the mountains overlooking their property (and the entire valley). We had great weather and could see for miles. This is also the winery used in the movie "Bottle Shock" that our good friends had made us watch before our trip. Good movie and beautiful scenery.

Mountain Top Tasting

View from the top

Cuvaison...The tasting room in Carneros is my favorite (we went to the one in Calistoga two years ago). Incredible views and the S Block Chardonnay is the best I have ever tasted. I had to stock up while we were there!

Gorgeous day, gorgeous patio for tasting

Chimney Rock...This winery is actually in Napa (we drove over for an afternoon) and came very highly recommended by several different wineries and they did not disappoint! Their cabs were AMAZING and the manager was kind enough to give us a private tour of the facilities. Very cool.

Jacuzzi Family...Great Italian wines, free tasting, and a really fun atmosphere! It was fun to try wines we had never heard of and they also had olive oil tastings in the same building courtesy of The Olive Press.

Other wineries we enjoyed...Cline, Viansa, St. Francis, Silver Oak, Reynolds Family, Acacia, Gundlach Bundschu, Kenwood, and Valley of the Moon.

Restaurants: Our favorites included the Fremont Diner in Carneros (seemingly in the middle of nowhere, great upscale diner food with a twist...should be on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives someday!), Dl Dorado Kitchen (a farm to table theme), Hopmonk (brewery and pub food), Sunflower Caffe (gourmet soups, salads, and sandwiches) and Estate (fabulous farm to table Italian food in a gorgeous Victorian estate).

Other: On a particularly beautiful morning we hiked the Overlook Trail and enjoyed beautiful views of the valley and downtown Sonoma. We were able to walk to the trailhead from our hotel and enjoyed all 6.5 miles!

View from Overlook Trail

We also rented bikes from our hotel on our last day and enjoyed a scenic 10 mile ride. Wish we would have done this sooner in the week so we could have gone multiple times. The Sonoma Bike Path was a great place to start and the we continued on and biked to Bartholomew Park and winery (where they have additional walking paths) and Buena Vista Winery. We didn't do tastings at either, but they were gorgeous and worth the trip to enjoy the views.

We ended the week with a fun drive through Sausalito while killing time waiting for our delayed flight, but got to experience great views of the Golden Gate Bridge and downtown SF!

Overlooking the Bay

2 YEARS!?!

How has it possibly been two years since we got married? Sometimes it seems like it was a month ago, sometimes it seems like it was 10 years ago (in a good way :) ). JJ and I are so blessed with wonderful role models of what a godly marriage should be, and hopefully we can help set that example for others.

To celebrate our 2nd anniversary JJ's parents were generous enough to treat us to a staycation at the Royal Palms. I have always wanted to stay here and the resort did not disappoint. The room was beautiful with a great soaking tub, the property was lush and green (even in the summer, yay!) and the cocktails by the pool were just what we needed to feel like we were on another honeymoon (JJ gives me a hard time because I refer to every vacation that we take, just the two of us, as another honeymoon). Whatevs, just keeping the romance alive, haha!

The Royal Palms

We spent most of the time in the pool, but on Saturday night we had dinner at the Wrigley Mansion, another Phoenix classic. We had a table by the windows to watch the sunset, a great bottle of wine, gorgeous view and a champagne toast to end the evening. The food was so disappointing, but we were really there for the view!

View from Wrigley Mansion

A little dark, but I think you can tell that it's us!

If you ever get a chance the Royal Palms is a great destination for a romantic weekend or just a romantic dinner. The lounge and the restaurant, T. Cook's, are fabulous...try the sangria!

May Flowers

May flew by like you wouldn't believe...well I'm sure yours did too so you believe it. The best part of May is that is is my birthday month. And yes, I celebrate for the whole month. It usually works out well for everyone else's schedule anyway to do things throughout the month instead of cramming everything into one weekend.

My sister cooked a fantastic meal at my parent's house for a family celebration and on top of that, treated me to a day at the Biltmore. We started off with a tennis lesson, taught by Lon, who also happens to have his own brand of marinades, Sake To Me. We learned a lot about his marinades...and tennis, haha. We had brunch at the Adobe Restaurant, and then spent the rest of the day lounging by the pool. Love me some sister time.

JJ took me out for a wonderful dinner at T. Cook's at the Royal Palms and then we met up with our friends, who live in South Bend, at the Jade Bar at Sanctuary to enjoy the view from Camelback Mountain. Wish they lived closer!!

We went out with my in-laws for a combination Mother's Day/birthday celebration at Cowboy Ciao and I had the best salad ever (along with other things, all their apps are great).

Speaking of mother's day...Carolyn and I took Mom to The Boulders in Cave Creek for a mother/daughter sleepover. We had such an amazing time! One of the best things about being in Phoenix in the summer (besides the cool weather...not) is taking advantage of the off-season rates at all the resorts Four- and five-star resorts at three-star prices, can't beat it. We sipped drinks by the pool, hiked up and around the boulders, drank wine in the hot tub while looking at the stars, and went to dinner at Cafe Bink. None of us had spent much time up in Cave Creek or Carefree so it was all an adventure and an amazing staycation.

For my mother-in-law's present, JJ and I bought a custom wine making experience at Casavino Winery in Fountain Hills. The five of us (Carla's sister was in town too!) did a private wine tasting of all their varietals and the were able to pick one and make a batch! We picked the Dolce Rojo (ironically, it isn't sweet like the name suggests...its a full-bodied blend of Spanish grapes) and got to make it from start to finish. It is currently sitting at the winery fermenting and waiting for us to bo back for bottling, But first we have to create a custom label. It will come as no surprise to anyone that the goldens will be front and center on the label and we are still trying to come up with a good name. My current favorites are "Golden Red" or "Barney and Bella's Blend".