Turns out January birthdays are better in California

My birthday *week* is officially coming to a close, and boy was it uber fabulous.

I was super worried about turning 30 away from all my (long-time) friends and family. Would I feel lonely? Would I have anyone to celebrate BIG with? It felt odd to be hitting such a milestone away from those who have spent my entire, or majority of my entire, life with me.

But my blog lovelies, I don’t know what I was so worried about. I felt the love. I felt it from afar, I felt it in San Francisco. I just simply.felt.loved. I guess that’s why birthdays have always been my favorite.

I had many, small celebrations this week with those close to me, which just felt better than the usual big hooplah I throw for myself each year, which ends up being stressful and a big blur. This year, I celebrated with one of my Seattle BFFs who flew in for a quick mid-week trip. She made reservations for us at an Indonesian restaurant I had on my SF Bucket List (smart cookie, she is) and we closed the restaurant down and drank two bottles of red wine with another friend of ours. She brought me the sweetest handmade card I’ve ever received from three of my girl friends who created a list of 30 things they loved about me. I die!

Thursday I did a small group dinner with my Seattle and San Francisco friends. We went to a cool restaurant called State Bird Provisions, which uses the dim sum concept for farm-to-table food (wish I would have thought of that). It was so fun! One of my girl friends made me a cool monogrammed etched glass from a wine bottle. It’s one of the best presents I’ve ever received! I love homemade gifts.

We ended Thursday with countdown-to-30 birthday shots at midnight (*gulp* I needed someone to hold my hand through that transition!) at Cha Cha Cha in the Mission.

By Friday, the snail mail love had rolled in. I received more presents and cards in the mail than I could have ever expected. It made me smile over and over again. (If you sent me something – thank you, deeply, from the bottom of my heart.) If you have a friend’s birthday coming up, mail them a card or small present! Snail mail gifts on your birthday are by far the best thing ever.

And finally, I topped off my birthday week with a fun, small girls night in Napa Valley with two of my San Francisco girl friends. Not only is it mid 60s in California for my January birthday, but it’s also Napa Valley Restaurant Month! So, we drove up for the night of my birthday and stayed at a cute little B&B called Lavender (with birthday balloons, a fireplace and a big jacuzzi tub in our room that we might or might not had a bathing suit, wine and bubble bath celebration in) and had dinner at an amazing restaurant called Cindy’s Backstreet Kitchen. My birthday cake was a giant marshmallow concoction (natch) called a “Campfire Pie.”

THAT is the definition of an uber fabulous birthday *week*, in my opinion.

And now… I have the rest of my birthday *month* celebrations to look forward to. I am leaving this decade with a bang, I tell you! In less than two weeks, I’ll be in Maui with my mom, dad and sister (the only thing I wanted for my 30th birthday) and in two weeks after that, I’ll be celebrating our 30th year with nine of my high school girl friends on a cruise of the Caribbean.

Is it possible for one person to overdose on birthday celebrations?

I think not!

Currently Feeling: Glad to have slowed down after a crazy week and enjoying a quiet rest of the weekend to myself!
Currently Anticipating: Another hike at Fort Funston tomorrow – a new Sunday routine.
Currently Loving: My new tradition! I’ll share it with you this week.

 

You will always return

When my parents visited at the end of July, the three of us took our very first trip to Napa Valley – something I’ve been wanting to cross off my bucket list for quite some time!

I read somewhere that local legend says “Napa” translates to “you will always return,” which is true! Since my trip with my parents, I’ve been to Napa Valley three times. I’m totally in love – with dozens of beautiful estate wineries, world-acclaimed restaurants, HOT sun and cute little towns only an hour away from San Francisco Bay, it’s my new happy place (although Maui is still at the very tiptop).

I thought I’d share two short posts about Napa Valley – first THE WINE (of course) and second THE FOOD (cause it’s seriously drool worthy).

The first day my parents and I were in Napa, we rented bikes at the popular Napa Valley Bike Tours in Yountville. We had a bit of a bummer experience, but I would still recommend using the bike rental place. Just don’t start your bike tour at 2:30 p.m., make sure you check what wineries are open or closed, and bike straight up and back on Highway 29 instead of using their bike loop maps. Despite the pitfalls we ran into, biking through Napa was so pretty and warm! I totally experienced one of those “life is grande” moments while peddling under the trees on a quiet side road with birds singing and views of vineyards.

The second day, we drove all the way up to Calistoga then worked our way back (a highly recommended approach). There are literally dozens of beautiful wineries to stop at along the highway that links Napa (the city) to Calistoga. It’s hard to make it to all of them, and hitting three to five in one day is a FULL day, so expect to visit Napa over and over if you want to visit all the wineries.

We went to Sterling Vineyards, which has a gondola you have to ride to the top to wine taste. It was really fun and something you won’t find at any other winery!

We also visited Chateau Montelena, the winery that put Napa Valley wines on the map when their 1976 Chardonnay won a blind taste test in Paris. This winery was my all-time favorite! They had a splurge-worthy Cab that was $135 a bottle, but was hands-down the best wine I’ve ever tasted. My parents picked up a bottle to save until their 30th anniversary in four years. I’m already marking that date on my calendar with a big red star so I can just happen to be home when they pop that bottle.

We also made a stop off at Castello di Amorosa – a huge castle winery, which was my dad’s fav. I’ve been told Sterling and Castello are “tourist traps,” but still think everyone should visit them once!

Let me know when/if you make plans to visit Napa, and I’ll share all my favs with you. By this time next year, I should be an expert!

Currently Feeling: That usual pre-vacation stress. Why is it so difficult to get ready for vacation?
Currently Anticipating: My first Girls Dinner (San Francisco edition) on Wednesday!
Currently Loving: My new homemade popsicles – post on them coming soon!