j W f weekend = wine & wild.

colby and i flew to san francisco last thursday evening to celebrate jenny's bridal shower weekend. we spent thursday night in the city wining and dining with shannon. friday morning, we rolled our bags down the city streets, grabbed some starbucks (one of which we filled with champagne - a little trick we credit shmer with) and hopped on BART to meet Edie (jenny's mom) and head to Napa.

napa ranks pretty damn high in my book. my first visit to napa was when i was just 24-hours engaged, throwing around the word "fiance" for the first time and totally on cloud nine. this was my second trip and i was back with back with three fabulous ladies. totally different but both perfect in their own way. 

our first stop was the amazing swanson vineyards. the decor, picnic area and wine were terrific. we highly recommend it. that was our only appointment of the day, so the next few stops were on a whim.  it was such a wonderful day. one of those days with your girlfriends that is just good for the soul. lots of girl talk - weddings, husbands, girlfriends, families - delicious wine, cheese, crackers, sunshine and beautiful scenery. a big thank you to edie for being such a great sport.

after just two trips to napa, it's clear that no two will ever be the same, but they're each destined to be carefree days. 

{me, colby, jenny & edie}

{colby's first trip to napa!}

{the lovely mother of the bride}

{the gardens were so lush - lisa, we thought of you!}

 next stop...

next: louis m. martini winery....

{edie came prepared with a cooler filled with cheese, crackers & snacks}

{the wine has obviously hit... the photos are gonna start gettin' more sassy}

{my shades broke and died in san fran. colby came to the rescue with an extra pair}

{lookin' fine bride to be!}

 {this one's for you shmizz... SP!!!!}

on the move again... on our way to merryvale.

{setting up for a rehearsal dinner. beautiful}

{i didn't get sisters, but i really do have the best girlfriends}

{and then the polaroid came out. amazing snaps}

we ended the night back in danville with a farrell bbq. 

jenny's dad joe was debuting some of his "entrance" options for the wedding....

{mick. as in mick jagger. duh}

hi, i'm alive.

it's pretty sweet how the texts & emails start coming from friends & family when i don't blog or communicate for a few days.... especially following a very blog worthy girls weekend. apparently people do read this thing.

"are you okay? where are you?"

hello, all. i'm alive. i'm well. i'm just insanely busy at work and it all started the second i landed back in phoenix. like, i don't really remember the last time when my inbox, phone log or outlook calendar looked like this. #brainfried.

let's just say, i can add crisis communication public relations to my resume. for reals.  

danny gets a gold star for having food & wine on the coffee table when i get home. i eat, sleep and then push restart.

lots of fun photos from my getaway girls weekend plus other updates coming soon. xx

{this has been me & my world lately}



where's the puppy under the table when you need them?

now i get why there's always a big giant mess under kid's highchairs at restaurants...

we had lunch with makaela last weekend. it all makes sense now.

at just 16-months the little lady is miss independent and uses a fork to feed herself,

but that doesn't come without some misses - especially when rice is involved.

the best part was when she decided to dip her fork into my moo shu pork plum sauce.  

she took a big ol' taste which was followed by a spit and a sour face.

she's such a doll and a very good girl. love this little lady.

unplanned, ladies all in red for lunch.

unintentional flinging all over the place.

miss serious.

mimz and joe pa are in seventh heaven this week.

they have little girl allll to themselves while makaela's mom has some girl time in chicago.

everyone wins.