Wine Country, Here We Come!!!

Well, Julia is still in town, so we had another amazing day out. This time we took a trip to wine country! The landscapes are so beautiful in Northern California. Sorry to say this is yet another pic heavy post. I can't help it, I am awed by beauty.



Our first stop was Francis Ford Coppola's Winery. The place was just breathtaking!




I have a weakness for lavender, so I had to snap a shot of the lovely bush. Also, here is a shot of the award case inside the building.


We did a wine tasting there and I must say I enjoyed it. I have a bottle of Sofia Blanc De Blanc as a memento of the occasion. It was just perfect. I was very impressed with this winery. I recommend getting there early though, because by the time we were leaving, the place was jammed pack!


Out on their patio, we enjoyed the scenery and a bite to eat. The food was delicious! Their very own grapeseed oils, and pasta sauce was exquisite. I just kept dipping the fresh rosemary baked bread in the garlic grapeseed oil. Yummy!!!




Another highlight of the day for me was The Korbel Champagne Cellars. I loved having the tasting here because I have always loved Korbel. It is the bottle I reach for most often when a celebration calls for some bubbly. I was very impressed with their selection of the sparkling goodness. I hadn't realized there were so many. My absolute favorite was the Rose, I just wish I could find it in stores. It was scrumptious and sweet. I really liked their Sherries as well. It was like candy lol.


We did visit a few others throughout the day, though none worthy of mention I am afraid. At those we did not linger.



Except here at the Martinelli's Winery, where we stopped for a break in their vineyard and feasted on some homemade cheesecake:) It was a day of sweetness.

After all that we decided to take the scenic way home. California Highway One. What the perfect end to a wonderful day.

We did stop along the way here, and there to walk on the beach and admire the scenery.

It was very cold out on the shore, we were all bundled up, but that didn't stop me from kicking off my shoes and walking in the water. Of course this led to my feet going completely numb for awhile lol, but definitely worth it!


What a great Day this was!

Thanks for letting me share it with you.

San Francisco Dreamin'

Well, my good friend Julia is visiting and we all spent the day in San Francisco. So much fun to be had!

First we went to the Fisherman's Warf. Grabbed a bite to eat at Bubba Gump's. I just loved the atmosphere at this restaurant. It was so lively and fun, and the staff was just incredible. The food was amazing. For an appetizer we had Bubba’s Far Out Dip: Spinach, roasted red peppers, artichokes, and monterey jack cheese make one of the tastiest dips you’ve ever had. Enjoy it with our homemade tortilla chips. YUMMMMMMMM!!!!
For Lunch I ordered the Shrimp Po’ Boy Of course we have a Po’ Boy, and of course it’s made with our famous beer batter shrimp. Delicious!
After walking around the pier, we went to the Ghirardelli Square. Amazing Chocolate and cute little shops.

Then we drove around the City for awhile taking in the sites, drove over the Golden Gate Bridge. We really enjoyed the Hills lol.
In the afternoon, we stopped and walked through the Botanical Gardens. This place was so beautiful and serene. I never wanted to leave. I could have walked around and taken in the beauty forever. I asked Mr. T to take me back for a picnic one of these days.

I did take quite a few pictures at the gardens since it was too beautiful for words.







Hope you enjoyed all the photos. You can imagine how awed I was by this place since I took so many photos. I am renowned for forgetting to use the camera even though it is always in my purse. I really recommend visiting the gardens here.

Odessa

So, a friend of mine is coming to visit me. She is a wonderful friend from High School whom I lost track of for several years. We have just recently been re-connected. I'm so excited by her visit that I decided to make her the Odessa Hat from MagKnits. I left off the beads though as I don't really believe that to be her style.

Pattern: Odessa from MagKnits
Yarn: Caron Simply Soft in a grey colorway
Needles: Size 4 circ, size, 6 circ, and size 6 DPNs

I'm a tight knitter in case anyone is wondering about the difference in the yarn called for and what I used. Well, it hat been sitting in the stash, and I got gauge, so I used it. Besides, I know the people who can be gifted hand wash items and who can't lol.

She loved the Hat, but unfortunately, no action shots. We were far too busy running around San Francisco for me to remember.

Quick Fix

I really enjoy knitting little, tiny projects for the Instant Gratification feeling. I love bestowing little gifts on family and friends just to say "Hey, I'm thinking of you."


This Soap Holder is great. I have made quite a few of them actually, but in the tradition of, well me, there aren't any Pictures of any of those done in Peaches 'N Cream and Sugar 'N Cream. Rest assured that they were very pretty with beautiful colors. Yet, I present you with the one plain, solid color that I did in Microspun yarn.




Pattern: Quick Fix
Yarn: Lion Microspun
Needles: size 5 metal DPNs
I didn't modify the pattern, just used different materials for this one.

My reason for switching up on the yarn after making all those cotton soap holders was that the cotton has a tendency to get, well, soggy. It stretches terribly, making it possible to get about 2 or 3 bars of soap in there (I'm guessing ha ha)
Now I know that cotton is the standard for wash cloths and the such, but I wanted to experiment a bit. Another benefit of the microspun, I have noticed, is that it dries much faster than the cotton (of course.)
All in all, I like this version better. I only wished there was some variegation to the colors to make it colorful and fun like it's cotton counterparts. So though this isn't my first, it is also, not my last. I love this pattern. What a great idea for a last minute gift as well.

I did just find a pic of one of the cotton ones I made so I am going to post it.

Yarn: Sugar 'N Cream