A Hidden Sanctuary in St Helena Plus a Sip and Paint Class

Last month, we celebrated our oldest son Curtis’ birthday in Napa and St. Helena. It was a fun filled relaxing day and a day to remember. We had had an excursion like this one once before on Thanksgiving at the Sonoma Mission Inn a few years ago. It was so much fun, that I decided to plan another staycation for Curtis’ special day. If you are interested in how we celebrated Andrew’s birthday you can check it out here. Unfortunately, Curtis couldn’t join us that day.

My husband and I picked up our son’s Curtis and Andrew who happen to also live in Walnut Creek at 10:00AM. We stopped off at Stanley Lane Smokehouse for sandwiches to eat in the car on our way to the Alila Spa in St Helena. Stanley Lane Smokehouse Deli is family owned and is a fun place to visit in the Fall. They have a gorgeous flower garden as well as corn mazes, pumpkins and gourds for sale. They had a pig on the property also. How exciting! I was able to buy a bottle of white wine there (I only had red with me), so that we could save money on drinks during the day. We like to drink together, especially in the wine country so I always bring along a few bottles of wine from home.

Alila Spa in St Helena

Alila Napa Valley Spa was very accommodating. They were able to get all four of us into appointments at the same time, and I had only sent an email the evening before. It doesn’t hurt telling people you are a food and travel blogger either. I had been given a tour of the property after enjoying lunch at Acacia House Restaurant and Bar a few months before. It’s a great spot to have a day away from the stress of the Bay Area. 

The spa offered a few different treatments, and we enjoyed being pampered. There were apples, granola and lemon, lavender cookies as well as cucumber water and green tea to keep us hydrated. After showers, we asked if we could sip the wine we brought by the pool. I even remembered plastic glasses and brought sparkling apple cider for my husband Ken who doesn’t drink alcohol. 

Here I am waiting for my spa treatment at Alila Spa in St Helena

Andrew and I were excited to be invited to a sip and paint event by the pool given by an artist named Andrea RJ Cazares. You can find her on Instagram under @AndrewCazaresArt or Andreacazares.com. A few other guests joined us and we had a ball getting one on one instruction painting on canvas. The wine was yummy too. Curtis and Ken talked by the pool and kept themselves occupied until it was time to meet us for cocktails at Acacia House Restaurant also on the property. I learned about this place while scrolling on Instagram. Chef Chris Constentino gave free cooking lessons online during the pandemic and kept me entertained. He became famous when winning Top Chef Masters, and donated the $140,000 winnings to the Michael J. Fox Foundation. How cool is that?

Artist Andrea, me and my son Andrew showing off our creative canvases after our sip and paint experience at Alila Spa

Affogato and biscotti at IL Posto

IL Posto “The Place” Napa was where we decided to dine since we love Italian Food. I had been there once before after dropping my Dad off at the Veterans Home in Yountville. I’m up that way often and love stopping somewhere for an appetizer and a sip of something if I’m not driving. You can find the locals here because they know founder Justin Graffigna makes great food. We had a substantial amount of food and wine including affogatos (espresso and vanilla ice cream) for dessert. The bill was just under $300.00 and it included a $50.00 tip for our waiter. 

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On the way home, Ken drove us to Stanley Ranch for one last cocktail. We didn’t want the night to end. I didn’t order anything else, but the boys imbibed. The Bear is the name of the Restaurant on the gorgeous Auberge Resorts Collection in Napa Valley. I like to sit at the bar and watch the bartender make drinks. It’s more fun and there is a certain vibe which you don’t get if you sit at a table. Try it. You’ll never go back.

Stanly Ranch is near the Stanley Lane Smokehouse where we bought our sandwiches earlier in the day, just down Stanley Lane. This place is a “must see” in the Napa Valley. Cyclists stop in for a Sightglass Coffee, freshly squeezed juice or a pastry made by Chef Harry at Gavel. They also sell unique gifts there. The property offers a Luxury Hotel, tours of the grange by farmer Nick Runkle which is where they grow the produce for the restaurant, Spa treatments, a wellness center where they offer classes, a wedding venue and more. I learned about their rare heirloom crimson flowered fava beans by farmer Nick who purchased them from Cottage Gardens of Petaluma. And if you are a gardener, you must make a trip there as well. It’s incredible.

My handsome husband Ken and son’s Curtis and Andrew at Alila Napa Valley in St Helena

Ken and I will often take a drive to Napa and enjoy lunch at Stanly Ranch, sometimes last minute. Solage in Calistoga, and Auberge du Soleil in Napa Valley are also very special places to visit. Two weekends ago we brought our good friends the Cowies out for the day to enjoy the good food and wine. I will write about that adventure later.

Thanks for joining me on today’s latest blog. I’m very lucky to have my boys in the Bay Area still and love hanging out with them. It was a memorable day and I’m grateful for being able to afford these luxurious “staycations.”

Do you have a favorite restaurant or place you go to get away? Please share in the comments below.

 

Sunday Fun Day with Good Friends Wine Tasting in the Shenandoah Valley

   It’s Tuesday. These days I rarely know which day it is. My husband and I spent last weekend in Eldorado Hills and Amador County’s Shenandoah Valley with our friends the Cowies and Castiglione’s.  It was refreshing to have social time again especially with some of my favorite people. It was nice to introduce good friends to our other good friends who happen to live in the same town. In today’s blog I will reflect on our weekend away and tell you what I’ve been up to lately.

 

The last four months have been interesting. Every day, I wake up, check on the latest news, water my vegetable garden, check email, have my coffee and a bit of breakfast, and do whatever chores are needed to get done. I’m not currently working, but I have worked harder in the past four months than I ever have. It seems there is always more laundry, more cleaning,  flour to mill and bread to bake, fresh pasta to make, pies to bake, or a new cookie or Rice Krispie treat recipe to try. 

Two of the masks I made for friends to protect themselves from Covid19

Covid masks made for the little people in my life

I’ve also made a dozen or more masks for family members, using up material I have had for years. It is rewarding to up cycle many fabrics that I’ve saved, knowing I could find a way to use them eventually.

My strawberry plant blossoms. Just one of the many plants I am growing in my victory garden

Just a few of my baby seedlings poking up through the soil

I’ve started an enormous vegetable garden, growing many varieties mostly from seed months ago. Not knowing whether we would have access to fresh fruit and vegetables, because of Covid 19, I decided to grow a victory garden. I’ve had edible gardens in the past, but never like this one. It is rewarding  checking on the size and color of the tomatoes and picking them off the vine when ripe. Many of them don’t make it into the bowl, but get popped right into my mouth. So tasty.

Many varieties of flowers from my March garden in Walnut Creek. Photos taken by a friend Linda Kwong

So when our friends Elaine and Craig Cowie invited us to their new home in Eldorado Hills, we jumped at the idea. They have postponed the visit at least three times, because the Bay Area has been on lock down. My husband and I have been good about not going out unless we wear a mask, and we social distance if we see one of our friends or family. We felt safe about going North since there aren’t as many cases of Covid there. The population is less, and it’s not as crowded there.

 

 

We have known the Cowies for over 30 years. We met them after moving to our second house in Concord California. They lived directly across the street, so we had many dinner parties with them.  Also included into the mix were the Faulkenberry’s.  The Cowies and Faulkenberry’s  have been friends since college at Chico State. Our son Curtis took Taekwondo classes from Ray Faulkenberry when Curtis was in elementary school and we’ve loved them ever since.

 

Every year, the three families  have stayed connected taking turns having dinner together, even after we moved to Walnut Creek. We’ve had great times together watching our kids grow up, attending weddings and sharing meals over the years. We were happy to finally meet again, this time at the Cowies new home in El Dorado Hills. They moved there in February, after selling their home in Concord, to live closer to their daughter Leslie, son in law Kyle and two precious grand kids.

Two couples enjoying the day at Iron Hub Winery and Vineyard.

Leaving the chores, the garden and kitty cat behind, Ken and I happily drove North and were graciously greeted by Elaine and Craig when we arrived. We unpacked the car with all the goodies and clothes and enjoyed the tour of their new home. I was excited to learn their floor plan was similar to our other friends the Castiglione’s, our friends from our current Walnut Creek neighborhood who have also recently relocated to  Eldorado Hills. Kayla and I have been in the same book club for over 20 years. I was happy to set up a day for the two couples to meet. We decided to get the six of us together on Sunday while wine tasting. Unfortunately, the Faulkenberry’s couldn’t stay overnight and join us having to get home to their puppies and cats.

 

We relaxed by the pool on Saturday while snacking on chips and mango salsa, fresh fruit skewers and pinot grigio. When the Faulkenberry’s showed up, I visited with their daughter Meg, who is a writer and social media expert. She wrote a book called Summer Rain. She had all kinds of great tips about how I should use Twitter to share my blog and many more new websites to check out like Blue Host, Hootsuite Wattpad, Booksie, 750words.com, Quotev.com and who to follow on Tik Tok. She should be teaching classes on these social media tools.

The weather was warm and yet there was a nice breeze which kept us cool. Elaine and Craig made fish tacos for dinner which we gobbled down and I made two apricot dishes for dessert. The first dessert was an apricot pie. I picked these ripe and juicy Patterson apricots from a farm in Tracy a couple of weeks ago. I also made two gluten free apricot turnovers with Teff flour and Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free Flour. These were special. I had heard about the Teff flour from The Sourdough Podcast, so when I stumbled across it at Lunardi’s Grocery Store I quickly swept it into my cart. I had a little sticker shock when I got to the register. It was over $7.00 for a small bag, but was worth the price. It is high in fiber, high in protein, has more calcium than any other grain and is the only ancient grain containing Vitamin C. Teff flour has a subtle hazelnut earthy taste, is cultivated in Eastern Africa and is found in Ethiopian flatbread called injera. I enjoyed these hand pies more than the apricot pie made with all purpose flour.

 

After the Faulkenberry’s left Saturday night, we got on our “jammies ” or pajamas and watched a couple of episodes of Schitt’s Creek on Netflix. Ken and I had never seen it before, so it was nice to find a new funny night time splurge. I haven’t laughed that hard in years. It was so fun. 

 

Before bed I assembled my Overnight Baked French Toast recipe and placed it in the fridge. I make it with two loaves of cinnamon bread,  cut it into thick slices and pour a custard over the top to soak overnight. In the morning, you spread on a brown sugar,  butter and maple syrup mixture on top of the soaked bread and bake in the oven for one hour. I made a fresh blueberry sauce ahead of time, before we left for our trip.  I served the sauce along with maple syrup on the baked French Toast. I was introduced to this recipe from my friend Carolyn Regan. She made it when we went on a St Mary’s religious retreat in Guerneville many years ago. It is the perfect breakfast served with Italian sausage or bacon.

 

Sunday morning, Ken finished off preparing the breakfast and baked the French Toast while I stayed in bed a little longer. Most people know I love to sleep. At 9 AM, we ate breakfast and got ready to drive to the wineries. My husband Ken drove since he doesn’t drink. It was a gorgeous day and it was nice to drive through the countryside.

 

Ken and I outside at Iron Hub Winery

Our first stop was Iron Hub Winery and Vineyard. The views here were simply spectacular. They only charge $10.00 for a tasting and if you buy a bottle of wine, they give you a tasting for free. The pours were tiny, but we tried two whites and four reds. There was hardly anyone there with the exception of one other family of three tasting at the end of the outside bar.

We had an appointment at Cooper Vineyards at 12:15 and met up with our friends Kayla and John Castiglione. The six of us sat outside in a shaded patio where we shared stories and drank more delicious wine. Unfortunately, I didn’t get a photo of all of us this time. We will have to go back again the six of us.  The Cowies are members there, so our wine tastings were free. That’s a bonus. The 2017 Barbera Riserva was the group favorite and the server generously gave us another pour.

Cooper Vineyards tasting room and patio

Safety Instructions everyone must read and attend to while wine tasting at Cooper vineyards

The last place we ventured into was Jeff Runquist Winery where John and Kayla were members. We enjoyed the beautiful and welcoming tasting room, especially the fresh wild flowers of black eyed Susan, clarkia, yarrow, daisies and queen Anne’s lace in vases in every corner. We tried their Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc,  Petite Sirah, Zinfandel, Barbera, and Petit Verdot. At the end of the tasting, we said goodbye to John and Kayla and sat outside for a quick picnic before driving back to El Dorado Hills. It was lovely and the perfect day with friends. It was nice to see John and Kayla exchange numbers with Elaine and Craig. Especially since they are practically neighbors, living less than 10 minutes from one another.

 

We had hoped to check out the Amador Flower Farm in Plymouth, but it was getting late and we still had to drive back to the Bay Area. The weekend couldn’t have gone any better. We thanked Elaine and Craig for the generous hospitality and good food, packed up our things, cleaned and changed the sheets and were off. Our drive home was uneventful and I had plenty of time to get home and water the garden before dark. It’s nice to know our friends won’t be lonely since they now have a new couple (The Castiglione’s) to play golf with or have dinner with. Here is the blog from our day in Sonoma in February 2023.

Today, I’m back to my cleaning, cooking, gardening, baking and writing. It’s good to be home, back to my meowing kitty and small homestead. I’m grateful for friends, their generosity and love. We have so much to be grateful for, even during a pandemic.

Stay healthy. Thanks for reading and following my blog. I promise to add a recipe next time I write.

One last photo to bless you with. This photo was taken at Ben Runquist Winery’s tasting room

 

 

Ray, Linda, Craig, Elaine, Ken and me posing for a rare photo many years ago.