Today on Weekend Meanderings sipping champagne in style, a delicious pumpkin recipe you’ll need this week, and a few fall outfit ideas.
Welcome friends!
It’s Saturday and I’m joining Kim and Elizabeth for our weekend roundup.
All manner of inspiration and goings on.
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It’s been an interesting week
Jim and I suffered the hardship and indignity of a broken dishwasher.
It’s fixed now.
Our weather had been so lovely I decided to move our Thanksgiving table outdoors.
Then it rained.
I’ve had tons of fun with our Bartesian Cocktail Machine.
Last week I tried the Old Fashioned and Cosmopolitan.
This week the Lemon Drop, Classic Margarita and Pineapple Margarita.
I plan to keep going until I’ve tried all the Bartesian cocktails capsules.
A cocktail a day!
What else is inspiring me this week?
Let’s go …
LUNCH AT ANGELE IN DOWNTOWN NAPA
Last weekend we made the trek to the wine country to pick up our Hall wine club allotment in St. Helena. They were closed for a private event so after we retrieved our bootie we headed to downtown Napa for lunch at Angele. It was the most gorgeous November day … and we had a delicious lunch on the patio.
Angele serves French country fare in a stunning location overlooking the Napa River. Their cocktail menu cracks me up with drinks like Clear Conscience, Les Incompetent (tequila based, obviously) and Cigarettes & Coffee. I skipped the cleverly named drinks and went for the Angele Spritz. Jim had a red Rhone wine. And we said YES to the bread and butter.
It was hard to decide between French onion or potato leek soup, but I settled on the latter as my starter. I talked Jim into the Cochon in a Blanket, which turned out to be our favorite thing.
We both ordered Steak Frites … we should have shared because we were pretty full after gobbling up the yummy bread, soup and pig in a blanket.
There’s always room for dessert and the chocolate tart in creme anglaise was out of this world good.
FALL OUTFITS I’M WEARING ON REPEAT
I’ve never adopted the capsule wardrobe philosophy. Probably because I’m not that organized and, quite honestly, don’t fully understand the rules. I mean how many pieces define a capsule? How many tops, how many bottoms, and do shoes and accessories count toward the total? I’m a rule follower and the term capsule wardrobe seems undefined. But as I glanced at my rolling rack filled with the fall pieces I planned to share with you today it occurred to me they could be considered a capsule. With the term seemingly open to interpretation, I’m going to call it that. Fair enough?
By the way, I get asked about this a lot and this is the rolling rack I use. It’s collapsable.
My summer closet clean out left my denim inventory depleted and I recently purchased three new pair. I’ve been wearing them on repeat paired with other new pieces I bought for fall.
Universal Threads high-rise, slim leg, raw hem denim are my new everyday jeans. I sized up because a high rise requires a little room to maneuver. I wore them to lunch yesterday with my BFF Jane along with my Quince cashmere sweater (my thoughts on Quince $50 cashmere here), Rails houndstooth blazer (similar blazers here and here) and DV ankle boots.
Madewell superwide-leg denim give me 70’s flashbacks in the best way and are still my favorite denim style. I’ve been wearing them with Topshop’s basket weave stitch cardigan (on sale) over Madewell’s very subtly ribbed tee (40% off with code LETSGO). It’s snug, but not too tight, with a flattering capped sleeve and an ideal length making it easy to tuck in or leave out. It comes in a bunch of colors. It’s hidden but I’m also wearing a thin leopard print belt (similar here, here, and here) and my bargain-of-the-century Re/Done clogs from local consignment shop, Rechic. You can find them new here and here – warning: they’re pricey. I love these J.Crew classic clogs too … and the platform version, both on sale.
LeJean wide leg, ankle denim that I bought at Flaunt. Similar look here and here. I tried them out with my Cole Haas square toed booties, Quince cashmere over Madewell tee and Rails blazer. My woven bucket bag has been my constant fall companion. It sold out but you can still buy the solid suede version .
Fall Capsule (click image to shop) ~
CHAMPAGNE PAJAMAS
Ok I guess we have to talk about holiday gifts. Toss Designs sent me these champagne bottle print PJ’s.
Do you love them or do you love them? I love them. And I posted about them on Instagram this morning, if you can give that post some love I’d appreciate it. Anyhoo … I took a scroll through Toss Designs website and found all kinds of cute champagne themed things like tumblers, tea towels, cosmetic bags and cozy socks … all of which would make fun gifts for the bubble lovers in your life. And I know quite a few. They also have a bunch of cute, fun stuff if you’re buying for a tennis or pickleball fan!
Pajamas | Champagne Tumbler | Tea Towel | Coasters
Slipper Socks | Cosmetic Bag | Cocktail Napkins
THANKGIVING DESSERT IDEA
My friend John Garaventa is a realtor in the Napa Valley and his most recent newsletter included a Pumpkin Coffee Cake recipe that’s perfect for the coming week.
HAPPY TO HELP CONCIERGE
Last month at Flaunt’s 20th anniversary celebration I caught up with old friend, Nicole Carberry. For years Nicole ran a popular local business called the Itty Bitty Bake Shoppe. She was the amazing baker and stylist behind niece Sammi’s beautiful baby shower dessert bar. And she catered the desserts for a couple other of our family events. Earlier this year when I contacted Nicole about granddaughter Deanna’s baby shower, she told me that she’d closed Itty Bitty to focus on a new venture. So while we sipped, nibbled and shopped at Flaunt she filled me in on her new business … Happy to Help Concierge. Happy to Help will tackle organizing projects, running errands and everything in-between. We can all use a little help here and there especially with the holidays bearing down on us … think shopping, wrapping or a trusted someone to look after our homes while we’re away. In addition to one-off projects, Nicole offers monthly memberships so you can hand off the mundane and focus on your bigger picture. Take a stroll through Happy to Help’s website and imagine all the possibilities. If you don’t live in the Bay Area, I’m sure you’ll find similar services available where you are. I think Nicole’s onto something!
Nicole Carberry | Happy to Help Concierge
Odds & Socks ~
Friends of ours renovated a home Marin County and it just hit the market. To say it’s stunning does not do it justice … take a look!
Still in search of a winter coat? Kim and Cindy have you covered … here and here.
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.
Any thoughts you’d like to share?
I’d love to hear from you in the comments below.
Cheers from Snowberry!
Hi Juliet!
Your blog is so … refreshing to me! I love your writing style and well, everything!
I’m loving clogs! Still cant’ get my head around the frayed hem anything. My Mom would be horrified.
Thanks for your blog … I love it every time I read it.
Happy Holidays!
Georgia
Georgia! Your comment means so much to me … thank you. I appreciate you being here and being part of this community. As for frayed hems and ripped jeans, my mom would have been horrified too. I can only imagine what she would have said! Wishing you the best weekend … and a wonderful Thanksgiving! xo
Thank you for a lovely blog. You always have great suggestions that make my life better.
Claudette! Thank you so much … I appreciate you being here. Have the best weekend. xo
Love your CA style, Juliet! You look terrific in your neutrals and jeans.
I still need to source a foldable rolling rack: I purchased a wonderful non-collapsible one to use for packing, and then realized how unwieldy it was to put away (now moved to pet sitter guest apartment). If you have a recommendation, please advise.
Love that pumpkin coffee cake for Thanksgiving breakfast!
Good morning, Joan! I plan to make the pumpkin coffee cake tomorrow. Can’t wait! As for a rolling rack … they’re the best. But having an easily collapsible one is everthing. I’m linking the one I use … I’m down to one now (we had a bunch of them when we lived in a temporary rental during our renovation) but it’s easy to maneuver around and once you have the hang of it easy to take down and put back together. It can also slide under a bed. Let me know what you think. xo
https://bit.ly/3vL8Gzy
Thanks, Juliet: I missed that you linked it in your post !
I will miss the shelf in my non-folding rack for folded items, but perhaps I can put a plexi glass shelf at the bottom…
I do wish it had a shelf. Plexiglass is a great idea. xo
Juliet that pumpkin cake looks like a winner. I have to save.. Love all your fall looks. Are those DV boots the same as my black ones? I love the suede…may need that too! They are so good for the price and look cute with all your fall pieces. I still need clogs.
I adore those pjs! So you. Toss has the cutest stuff.
I love the jeans you have too. Frayed hems are still my favorite. I hope you have a beautiful birthday weekend!! xoxoxo
Thanks, Kim. I hope to make the pumpkin cake tonight if my cream cheese softens in time. Stay tuned! I got the DV boots at the Portland Nordstrom sale rack … looks like they come in severl colors. Are they the same as yours? I wore mine for the first time without socks, big mistake. Hope you’re enjoying this cozy, rainy day! xo
Thank you for mentioning the coats! So nice of you… I almost forgot. xo
Juliet,
I LOVE all of your looks! You look fabulous in each one, especially the cute pjs. Neutrals look beautiful on you.
Your adventure to NAPA sounds fin and lunch looked delicious, as does the pumpkin coffee cake. I have screen shot the recipe and cannot wait to try it!
Sorry about the rain on your Thanksgiving table…hopefully not on Thanksgiving.
Love the idea of concierge service, honestly there are only so many things a person can get done in a day and it’s nice to be cable to pick up the phone for help.
Enjoy your cocktails, they look delicious.
Have a wonderful day!
P.S.: That house!!!!!! It is stunning!
I know what you mean about the jean refresh.
I got 3 or 4 pair last year, but every time I try to style them, I can’t get it quite right. Still trying.
Wow that house is so gorgeous! I loved looking at it! The prices for homes out there blow me away. Ours is a tad smaller than that with almost an acre, and it would sell for about 80% less!!
You’d definitely get sticker shock here on Vancouver Island, Gray. Canadian real estate has often been considered expensive… and typically Vancouver, Victoria, Kelowna in British Columbia demand a premium. In the past couple of years, prices are even more outrageous. Waterfront homes here on eastern Vancouver Island are easily 2 million -5 million CAD .Checking out areas in the US, prices are so much less. Just what you noted with your home in Virginia. I did enjoy having a wander through the 71 photos though!
Denim has and always will be a challenging situation, right?!!! xo
Juliette!
I love your blog and was SO EXCITED ( as I’m certain you gathered) when I recognized you, Jim, and your sweet pups walking on our local trail!
Thank YOU for all your fabulous inspiration!
(And by the way. ….The breeder told my kids Alfred was going to be 25 lbs, not 50!). I just remember they were told he was going to be MUCH BIGGER!)
Suzanne! It was so great to meet you but of course I was mortified to be out in the wild dressed like a schlub. Mortified. Alfred is just perfect at 25 lbs and the best behaved little doggie ever. Mine could learn a thing or two. So happy to meet you and so appreciative of your reading the blog. Let’s get together for lunch in the New Year. In the meantime, happy Thanksgiving! xo