Girl Trip: Sonoma Edition

Girl trip 2012 was attached to a business trip of mine that took us to... wine country! As usual, we had a  great time. I'm sure you can imagine: wine, food, shopping, bocce...

Drinking wine, facetime-ing with Joo's brother and his fiancé and friends (right after he got engaged!)

At Ridge Vineyards (pretty)! They make wine there (yum). 

At Dry Creek Vineyard where Mandi drank her first rose (pink wine)!

At brunch with mimosas (which are made with sparkling wine) 

At Benzinger (where they make...)

Bocce at Imagery (where we drank...)

Big thanks to Stubbie for so many great food and winery tips!

Fall Soccer

Carter has played quite a few team sports over the last few years: soccer, t-ball, basketball. And they've all pretty much gone the same way. Carter primarily wants to wear the uniform and eat the snacks, but has no interest in playing the sport. So we stopped signing him up for sports. Which, of course, made him want to play more. We cut him a deal with t-ball this summer. He could play, but he really had to play or else we'd stop going. Also, we wouldn't sign him up for  a fall sport if he didn't participate in the summer sport. Naturally, he made a very good effort in t-ball this summer, so we signed him up for soccer. I actually think the change in his attitude was due more to him being developmentally ready than it was to our deal, but either way, he now seems to (mostly) be as interested in playing the sport as he does in donning the uniform.

Carter's soccer team this fall was the very BEST team we've ever been on! It was really fun for Carter and for us. There are several reasons for this:

1. We already knew the coaches and more than half of the team members (previously, we've been randomly assigned and didn't know anyone).
2. The team practiced and played games at a school that is just down the street from our house, so no messing with driving and parking.
3. The practices were on Friday nights, so we didn't feel the pressure about getting home and getting homework and dinner done by bedtime. 
4. The weather was perfect for every practice and game.
5. Carter really improved his soccer skills! 
6. The coaches were so great. During the first practice, Carter and his friend David found a stick after practice and several of the boys on the team really wanted to keep it. One of the coaches took it home, painted it gold, and made it their "team stick" it came to most games. 
7. Because the practices were on Friday nights, and walking distance from our house, I found myself with a sippy cup of wine or beer, chatting with parents I know and like on most Friday nights.

I think we're going to have to give up sports for good now, because I'm pretty sure we won't have it this good ever again!

The team (pictures, thankfully, before we lost Carter's jersey)

Post-season party on election night

Team cake

Girl Talk

I got to talk to some of my girlfriends face-to-cyberface this weekend. Thanks to ooVoo, we were able to do a three-way videocam call. Next time, we're going for a four-way. With just a glass of wine, a computer, and a videocam, we could pretend that we were having a night out together, despite our very long distance!

St. Patrick's Day

The chef , pasta-maker extraordinaire

Our little leprechaun

Dinner of homemade spinach pasta with green onion and Gorgonzola sauce, green wine and green milk!

Now THAT'S Service

I love good customer service. I really think it matters. I'll be loyal for it; I'll pay more for it.

I've written before about how much I love the hotel where I'm staying in Seattle. I love the robes, the bathtub, the desk chair, the countertops, the tv, the beds, the turndown chocolates, and -- most of all -- I love the alarm clocks. Seriously, they have the most pleasant alarm clock I've ever used.

Tonight, the hotel is running a big fashion show with a project runway alum, so the lobby was slammed with beautiful people when I arrived. Unfortunately, they all needed same elevator that I did (the only one that is currently in service). They also kept bumping the wrong buttons, so the elevator kept going up and down, skipping my floor a couple of times. Finally, they all got out, a hotel employee got in and the elevator headed to my floor. I made small talk with the employee during which I casually, offhandedly, with no ulterior motive, mentioned that I'd been taken for a few rides on the elevator. Now, I'm guessing that my travel-weary face (especially as seen in contrast to aforementioned beautiful people) made her think I was more than slightly annoyed by this. I hadn't told her my name or my room number. But, lo and behold, a bottle of wine and a written apology just turned up at my door.

I love this hotel.

European Wine Glasses

Years ago, when my parents were visiting me in Chicago, we stopped at the Crate & Barrel Outlet store at North and Clybourn, and my mom bought herself a set of European wine glasses. At some point after this shopping trip, I decided that these were the best glasses I had ever seen and that I had to own a set as well. Sadly, this was after the store had stopped carrying them. I've been on a quest to find exactly the same glasses ever since. I'll stop anywhere that carries anything remotely like glassware and scour the shelves for glasses of exactly this shape and size. Many glasses are similar; none are the same. This frustrates Thomas greatly.

When we were recently in Arkansas, my mom gave me an early birthday present and told me I could open it whenever I wanted - after we got back to Atlanta. Perhaps she had tired of Thomas' unceasing lament that it is impossible to find the exact European wine glasses; perhaps she tired of my not-so-subtle hints that the wine glasses were to be reserved for my inheritance; or perhaps she just got tired of using them. In any case, when I opened the package this week, I found my mom's set of European wine glasses inside.

Hooray! Thanks to mom, and cheers!

P.S. Mom, Thomas is so glad that the quest to find the glasses is over that he doesn't even mind having the additional glassware in the house! Also, I haven't told him about the party plates you brought in May. Shhh...

Girls' Night

The men went to a Braves game last night, and Ashely and I stayed home for girls' night - complete with wine, conversation and Pride & Prejudice. Pure girly heaven.

We also each took a turn entertaining both kids. Here's what was going on while I cooked dinner: