Today on Weekend Meanderings I’m sharing the drink of summer, flower filled ice cubes, a quick trip to Napa Valley and the next step in my closet clean out.
Happy weekend, friends!
It’s Saturday and I’m joining Kim and Elizabeth for Weekend Meanderings.
Our weekly roundup of inspiration and goings on.
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I’m overwhelmed with sadness over the devastating fires in Maui.
And tragic loss of life.
We were married in Maui and have lots of special memories from that visit and many others.
I know many of you do too.
It’s hard to know how to best help those coping with unimaginable tragedy.
My first thought goes to World Central Kitchen providing meals and assistance to those in need and to the brave first responders.
Update: Reader Leslie, has a friend who lost everything in the fire (sigh), recommends donating to Maui Food Bank.
Lahaina town’s historic banyan tree before the fire \ AP Photo-Jennifer McDermott
Haunting news video shows Lahaina town’s banyan tree, planted in the 1870, scorched but still standing.
Shall we move on to happier topics?
LUNCH AT YOUNTVILLE’S R&D KITCHEN
Jim and I took a quick trip to St. Helena and Yountville last weekend. To collect our Hall Wine Club allocation and enjoy a glass of sauvignon blanc in the members lounge.
I wore my tried and true Jenni Kayne seersucker summer dress. I’m surprised I haven’t worn it out, but it’s still going strong. See more of my favorite white summer dresses here.
After collecting our wine we stopped for lunch at R&D Kitchen in Yountville. We love the town of Yountville but had never been to R&D. I had visions of lunching al fresco, but it was a very hot day so we opted to eat indoors. Lunch was yummy, but the highlight was dessert. Best carrot cake ever.
After lunch I snapped some photos of the lovely patio and we walked through the restaurant’s kitchen garden.
Yountville is a great place to stay when visiting Napa Valley. It offers a very walkable downtown with wonderful shops and restaurants. And it’s a nice central location to head up, or down, valley to all the amazing wineries. There are many hotels to choose from in Yountville but the Hotel Yountville is our favorite. We discovered it in 2001 when we were desperate for a last minute Labor Day Weekend getaway and it was the only room left in the valley. We fell in love with the hotel and have gone back frequently over the years. I may get in trouble for posting these throwback photos but what the heck.
Hotel Yountville 2014
Celebrating niece Sophie’s 21st birthday along with her step-sister Casey. This was just a few hours before the big South Napa earthquake. Yikes. The hotel didn’t regain power and we had to check out and take refuge in Sonoma. A memorable weekend.
Hotel Yountville 2018
Celebrating our 15th wedding anniversary with niece Whitney, Michael, Kyle and Melody.
I’m running short of time and better stop the search for old photos (the rest of my family breaths a sigh of relief). I wrote about what to pack for Napa Valley here.
HUGO SPRITZ … THE DRINK OF SUMMER
I’ve been hearing a lot about the Hugo Spritz. First from my friend Mary Ann of the Classic Casual Home blog. And then in numerous publications like People Magazine declaring it the drink of summer 2023. It has my name written all over it and I had to give it a try.
If you Google Hugo Spritz you’ll find many recipe variations. Some suggest applying the Aperol Spritz 3 – 2 – 1 ratio. That’s three parts Prosecco, two parts St. Germain (elder flower liquor), and one part fizzy water. I did some experimenting and prefer the Wine Enthusiast recipe which goes a little lighter on the St. Germain.
It’s a delightful, refreshing and light summer cocktail. I hope you give it a try!
Tap images to shop ~
Speaking of summer cocktails, earlier this week Cindy of the Cindy Hattersley Design blog joined a bunch of her friends – and favorite bloggers – to share outdoor entertaining tips. These ladies know how it’s done. Cindy creates the best platters and boards … and of course sets amazing tables. What really caught my eye was her vintage Mexican table set up as an outdoor bar. Isn’t it fabulous?
Cindy Hattersley Design
GARDEN UPDATE
We enjoyed the first of many salads from our garden!
And we started to train our tomato plants onto the new arched trellis’ using this velcro garden wrap that Stefani of Homestead Design Collective recommended. It’s reusable.
I ordered these mini ice sphere silicon molds, and this one too, (in the hopes that one set would arrive in time) to freeze our lemon star marigold blooms like my friend Taylor did a couple weeks ago. They’re a fun adornment for cocktails.
Stefani told me that a favorite local restaurant, The Cooperage, floats these flowers in their signature G&T’s. The ice molds I ordered arrived late (but at the same time!), so I ended up freezing the flowers in a regular ice cube tray. Later today I’ll fill the mini-spheres in preparation for flower adorned G&T’s next weekend. Stay tuned.
THE SECRET GARDEN
All this talk of gardens has me searching our bookshelves for one of my favorite books, The Secret Garden. I suppose it’s a children’s book, but I didn’t read it until I was an adult. It’s absolutely enchanting, full of wonder and possibility and I’ve read it again and again.
Have you see the 2020 movie version starring Colin Firth? I haven’t but it’s queued up for this weekend.
CLOSET CLEAN OUT & CONSIGNMENT
Last week I mentioned being in the midst of a serious closet clean out. And I mean serious … ruthless. I ended up with piles of clothes headed to donation and consignment. And I’m going to put a few things for sale on Postmark.
I also designated a stack ‘if I can’t wear it by December’ good-bye.
ReChic is a darling high-end consignment shop in our little town. What a great name. Anyway, it’s a charming boutique and I’ve bought several great pieces there over the years. I’d never consigned though. So I made an appointment online and took some of the my better things in to see if they’d make the cut for the shop.
Shop owner Maureen gave my stuff the once over while adorable Addie logged and uploaded everything at lightening speed. Meanwhile I shopped.
In addition to consigned items, Maureen carries new things too. Jewelry, beauty, cooking oils, bar cart items (hello!), candles, cute kitchen things and paper goods.
Maureen took most of my things. Some pieces did not work for the shop, and some others she asked me to bring back in late September as it gets cooler and closer to the holidays.
I came home with a new Orinda pillow. I’m a sucker for these latitude longitude items and have one for my hometown of Lafayette too.
If you live in the Bay Area and haven’t been to ReChic, what are you waiting for? Be sure to follow the shop on Instagram for a heads-up on new arrivals.
In other news ~
Linen Pieces to Boost Your Wardrobe … guess which one I bought?
This looks like a refreshing cocktail … I’m going to try it!
Current favorites ~
And that’s what I have for you this week.
Let’s see what’s inspiring Kim and Elizabeth …
If you missed my last post, you can catch up here.
You’ll find all my weekend roundup posts collected here.
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As always, I appreciate your visit and welcome your thoughts in the comments below.
Cheers from Snowberry!
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