rachel.simonsen: weekend report!

This past weekend was spent with some of my favorite people, in one of my favorite places. My friend Lizzy grew up in Napa and her family grows grapes for local wineries on their vineyard. A couple of friends and I took a road trip (it wasn't that bad!) up there for a few short days. It was such a relaxing weekend - we took walks through the vineyards in the backyard, drove through the rolling hills taking in the grand architecture of Napa and Sonoma, and went wine tasting with her parents who gave us very informative lessons on the whole process of wine making and tasting.

To me the whole area is blend of quaint and rustic, because there is so much countryside - yet elegant and refined because good wine and food just has that aura to it. I really did learn a lot too - about grafting different varieties of grapes to the vines, the way they ferment the different kinds of wine, what makes a really great wine.

We stopped in downtown Sonoma for lunch on Sunday. I could have spent hours in that town square. Its so picturesque - old buildings, cute shops, delicious food. I snapped a few pictures of the lobby of the hotel next to the restaurant we went to. I loved the stairs and beautiful ceramics they had displayed next to the large fireplace. The green and white color combo just seemed so freshly-cut and crisp.

Oh and I had to take a picture of these beautifully packaged soaps that were in Lizzy's bathroom. I couldn't stop looking at them and exclaiming how much I like them. She couldn't remember where they were from, and I had to do some digging online to find out - but can you believe they are from Old Navy of all places?! I never saw them in a store around my area, and I guess they aren't being sold online anywhere, but if I ever do spot them I'll be buying them for their packaging alone! (although they do smell lovely as well).

Okay time to buckle down and get some work done! I hope you all get a chance some day to enjoy the lovely countryside of Napa Valley!