Hello!  I hope you had a lovely weekend, we sure did!  I thought today the perfect day to share a few images from our anniversary picnic from last year.  We were married on September 5th which is Labor Day weekend, so naturally we celebrate every year on that weekend as well.  We decided to keep it close to home last year, so I thought rather than dinner at a local restaurant, why not style an elegant picnic right in the center of the Sonoma Plaza for just the two of us?

Here are a few scenes from our outdoor table for two.

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We spent our Saturday dedicated to one small goal: to catch a fish!   When you have little ones, and it’s their first fishing experience, you want to guarantee a result.  We’re so lucky, there is a place close by where you can go fishing, where the trout are plentiful, and they clean the fish for you once they’re caught.  Hagemann Ranch is a trout farm on the way to Bodega Bay, no fishing license is required, and they also supply the bait and poles if ya need ‘em! 

Here’s a glimpse through the lens of my recently discovered iPhone app called CameraBag.  I discovered it a few weeks ago and I’ve been having so much fun with it!  CameraBag gives you a variety of different filters, ranging from ‘Italiano’ to ‘Instant’ (like a Polaroid) to ‘1974’.   Here’s a look at our family friendly adventure through the lens of these CameraBag filters.

ColorCross filter

Walk the dock at Hagemann’s and you’re guaranteed a good time, simply bring or rent bait and poles.  This pond is filled with rainbow trout just waiting to be caught. 

Magazine filter

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I’ve had wine barrels on the brain ever since we began our plan to spruce up the upper patio.  They’re easy to get here in wine country, and they make the easiest and cheapest planters.  Just about everyone I know locally has a wine barrel for a planter, and I grow tomatoes in mine every year. 

Last week, I made a quick trip to my favorite source for wine barrels.  I had a few projects in mind, one coming up later this week!  A short time ago, they were only $10 bucks, but apparently they’re in high demand abroad hence the price increase.  But still, at $20 dollars for a half barrel, that’s a good price considering the amount of hours that go into the making of one single barrel (see below), and the many uses for the staves (the strips of wood bent to form a barrel).    

Rustic and reclaimed wood is all the rage in home décor.  We’ve seen tree stumps show up as endtables and pallets reinvented in all sorts of ways in interior design over the past few years.  Wine barrels are getting their fair share of reuse too. 

When used as just the right accent in unexpected ways, wine barrels are a fantastic source of reusing real French or American oak.  I love the pairing of natural wood tones with casual furnishings, they always work well together.  I also love seeing products made from reclaimed wood placed in formal settings or in contemporary spaces ~ they have a way of keeping the space from feeling too predictable.  When juxtaposed against anything modern and glossy, reclaimed wood can take center stage.

New wine barrels have a shelf life of 3 to 6 years for aging wine, depending on which vintner you ask.  Most become planters, yet others get turned into some amazing accessories.  I was excited to see so many creative uses for a used wine barrel when I went looking around the web. 

VivaTerra sells several products made out of barrels, like this beautiful stave bread bowl ($95)

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It was one of those weekends where we had out-of-town family visiting, which always means in order to entertain the troops, we play tourists in our own backyard.  

It was one of those weekends where instead of driving, we all walk the mile and a half to our downtown shops, and I can’t help but appreciate along the way the charm of so many of our neighborhood’s homes.

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A few weekends ago on a whim, I signed up for a cheese making class.  I don’t know why it’s taken me over 35+ years to do so, because one thing is true.  I revere cheese.  Or should I say, cheese is my Kryptonite.  It weakens me.  Yes, chocolate is tempting, champagne and wine are equally desirable (and quite frankly necessities), but the reason I will never be a Size 2 can be summed up in one word.  Cheese. 

There are several things in life that go hand in hand.  Hot dogs and baseball.  Peas and carrots.  Bert and Ernie.  Bo and Luke.  Around these parts, the two delectables that go hand in hand are wine and cheese.  It’s just how I was raised. 

I showed up a few minutes late at this ‘advanced’ artisan cheese making class, and they were doing that ‘icebreaker’ thing where they ask everyone to introduce themselves.  Quickly, it became evident I was out of my league. 

To my left was a distinguished Frenchman who’d been making cheese for a decade.  To my right, a Dairy Queen who knew everything there was to know about butter, eggs, and dairy products.  Then it was my turn to talk.  I was the self proclaimed rookie in the room.  All I could muster after a long awkward pause was this:  “Well.  I’ve never met a piece of cheese I didn’t like!”  They laughed.  I don’t think it was at my joke.  It was at my ignorance. 

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