Happy Holiday - Thanksgiving Escape to Napa
I hope everyone is having a wonderful Holiday season! We are
enjoying the winter temps and all of the parties, functions, and holiday get
togethers.
Meanwhile in the midst of the holiday fun we are busy working
away on our projects – ranging from a beach home renovation on the far end of
Long Island, NY to a beach home renovation in LaJolla, CA with a number of
amazing projects in between – of course most right here in Arizona.
Proud to see all three of the spec homes we recently designed in
Arcadia and one in Silverleaf all sell in 2016! We now have several new specs
in design!
I appreciate all who came to my photography show at Isabel’s
store Earth and Images. We had a great turn out and sold several of our
Candelaria Collection Pasta Machines and several of my photo pieces – thank
you!!!
It is definitely a busy time of the year and business wise it
has been really getting busier as the year is coming to an end. Usually the
slowest time, I am optimistic with what we might see in 2017. So to gear up and
get a little down time in the midst of my 70 hour work weeks, Isabel and I
snuck off to Napa to enjoy a long Thanksgiving weekend.
I know many of you have been to Napa – our USA version of Italy
just a two hour
We scheduled only one evening in the city so we had to make sure
we squeezed in a dinner at the Tadich Grill, supposedly the oldest restaurant
in San Francisco and California. http://www.tadichgrill.com/location-sf.php. Always
fabulous, the cioppino is a must.
The next morning we squeezed in our morning walk comprised of
coffee and some photography. Then we were off for Napa. This time we kept it
simple and charming and checked into the Cottages of Napa Valley http://www.napacottages.com at the
recommendation of our good friend, designer, and fellow Italy traveler, Rebecca
Curtis – great recommendation. Charming, simple, unpretentious and best of all
– quiet! We loved it and highly recommend.
We checked in and we were off to Michael Chiarello’s, Bottega,
in Yountville for a fantastic late lunch. Michael Chiarello is one of my
favorite chefs and have loved his show and recipes on the Food Network for
years.
http://michaelchiarello.com www.botteganapavalley.com The food was outstanding but what stood out
for me what the whiskey sour the bartender made with raw egg whites in a
shaker…..unreal. Fantastic atmosphere and the food was 5 stars. http://michaelchiarello.com Not a
bad way to start our Napa experience. After our fabulous lunch it was time to
do a little shopping, grab an espresso, a little more shopping then back to the
hotel to relax. The rain moved in and after a nice nap we were off to Sonoma to
The Depot for a quiet dinner. http://www.depotsonoma.com/dining/
The next morning was Sunday morning and so we started the day
with a lovely Thomas Keller, Bouchon Bakery https://www.thomaskeller.com/bouchonbakeryyountville basket
at our doorstep, the newspaper, hot coffee brewing, a crackling fire and some
George Winston playing on our Beats Pill we always bring when we travel.
After a leisurely and relaxing start to the day we made our way
out into the sunshine and a visit to the Dean and Deluca store on our way to
St. Helena, CA. http://www.deandeluca.com/sth-ca I always
love these stores and just browsing and exploring. From there our shopping
continued in the charming town of St. Helena. Loved this place with wonderful
stores and the Orin Swift Tasting Room smack dab in the middle of town. Nothing
like starting the day with a little wine tasting of the Orin Swift collection. http://www.orinswift.com
So after an afternoon of enjoying wine it was time to top it off
with a fabulous dinner at Bouchon. https://www.thomaskeller.com/bouchonyountville Be
prepared to take your time and bring adequate funds. It was fantastic – both
service and cuisine. What an amazing
sensory stimulating day – my favorite – from architecture, to beautiful
scenery, to fabulous wines to savory cuisine.
The next morning we had our day teed up by my good friend and
the uber-talented, Landscape Designer, Jeff Berghoff, who does the landscape
design on most of my homes. http://www.berghoffdesign.com Jeff is
currently working on the design for two wineries in Napa and he was so kind to
set us up with private tastings at the Caymus Winery http://www.caymus.com and the V.Sattui Winery https://www.vsattui.com both
near St. Helena. Wow – knowing Jeff’s style I knew this would be off the charts
and it lived up to my anticipation. From our two hour tasting at Caymus to our tasting
followed by a lovely picnic on the terrace with V.Sattui President, Tom C.
Davies. How gracious to spend time talking with us about our trips to Italy, wine,
and the current state of the wine industry. All very fascinating and how
wonderful to meet and make new friends in Napa. 
We finished our evening back in Sonoma with a stop at the
original William & Sonoma store and home of founder Chuck Williams – all
right there, in of course, Sonoma! http://www.williams-sonoma.com/customer-service/original-sonoma-store.html Very
cool and equally inspiring. You just have to go for it!
Well – our time in Napa was done and it was time to get back to
the drawing board but now filled with some wonderful dinners, fantastic wine,
some romance, rest, and of course many fun memories. Across the Golden Gate
Bridge and back to San Fran – but of course not with a stop at one of Gicela
and Anthony’s favorites and now mine the authentic Italian deli of Lucca for
Christmas raviolis! http://www.luccadeli.com
Comments