Harvest Fun

Hi All,

This weekend was no exception for fun, friends and chores. (You always have to mix a little work in there somewhere!)

Friday we went to the opening of our new mall "Streets of Brentwood" -- very beautiful outdoor strip mall; reminded me of the ones they have in Vegas. We have a lot of new, fun stores to chose from now. Soon we will be getting a Red Robin and a PF Chang's (one of my favorites). Our little city is growing big.

Saturday we spent the entire day in the Napa Valley. Started the day at Del Dotto with a cave tour and plenty of tasting for the gang (of course I am the DD). From there we ventured into St. Helena for a little lunch at Armadillo's - very yummy mexican food and spirits (they have the smallest bathroom I've ever seen). From there we ventured off to the second Del Dotto Winery -- a new, upscale Italian decorated cave winery -- didn't meet my expectations but it was nice -- this winery was recommended to us in Italy. We had to hit up our old stomping grounds at Alpha Omega. Since we are wine members, they give very generous pours for free to us and our guests. It was the perfect day to sit out on the porch and enjoy some wine and the views of the Napa Valley. We also got a VIP tour of their "behind the scenes" crushing technique. We relaxed for quite some time before going to dinner at the Rutherford Grill. This hotspot has excellent food! We always make reservations because it's very well known and always busy. They win the prize for the best french dip! YUMMY! Our last and final stop (the reason we event went to Napa) was to attend the Harvest Winemaker's Festival at Castello de Amorosa. This event was held at the castle amongst various of their rooms (107 in total). They had stations set up for wine pairings (some with pizza, cheese, truffles, fruit, or desserts). Being at the castle at night was very "spooky" and a great venue for such an event. It was very well attended.

We wrapped up our weekend with chores: laundry, yardwork and painting of our family room. Never a dull moment at our house! It keeps things exciting and fun!

Hope you all enjoyed the beautiful weekend -- we sure have been having some awesome fall weather (not for long though -- it's due to rain this weekend -- but of course we need that too).

Enjoy!

V