Anniversary SuRpRiSe!

Gabriel planned a surprise mini-getaway for our anniversary: a trip to St. Helena in Napa Valley + dinner at my favorite restaurant, Cindy's Backstreet Kitchen.  If you have never been to Cindy's, you have not lived.  My only instructions for the surprise were to be ready at 2, and to look cute.  Well, I was ready by 2:30, but I did look cute in my new top + skirt from J. Crew and my EmersonMade flower! :)

We sat at the same table, and I ordered the same thing as on our honeymoon: Schramsberg Blanc de blancs, avocado + papaya salad, Incredible Mushroom Tamale, and coffee, sans campfire pie for dessert {no room}.  Gabe ordered something different this time: the special.  He had the most delicious halibut we have ever tasted, accompanied by the same beer he ordered on our honeymoon, Death and Taxes Lager.  Although we passed on dessert, our server brought us a sundae of strawberry ice cream topped with chocolate and a warm baked chocolate chip cookie {all made in house}, with a lit candle on the plate.  It was so sweet, and we felt as though we were once again on our honeymoon.

After dinner we walked down Main St., which was eerily empty seeing as how it was Sunday night, but we enjoyed the peace.  When we returned to our car we decided to go fantasy-house-hunting through the neighborhoods of St. Helena...neighborhoods that rival Stars Hollow in charm.  We were happy to see several residents sitting out on their front porches enjoying the early autumn weather, and wished we could join them.  When all sunlight was lost, we headed back home.  Upon returning, I jumped online to check the MLS for listed homes in St. Helena... :::and:::

...Maybe we'll just continue to visit on occasion. ;)

Nostalgia always hits me hard.

Autumn is my favorite time of year, no question.  And it is at this time of year when my nostalgia kicks in to high gear, and I long for Gabe's homemade tomato soup and grilled cheese, my boots {any/all of them!}, layering, crackling fires in our fireplaces, and...October Road. 

Like all wonderful things I become so reliant on but are too soon taken from me, {Gilmore Girls, Shop Etc. mag, domino mag, [forgotten-brand] old fashioned glazed devils food donuts -- just to name a few}, October Road was a TV show that lasted only two seasons.  Does anyone remember this show?  I do!  I think about it quite often, actually, and miss the warm soft lighting and the abundant fall colors in their town of Knights Ridge.  A fictional town, like Stars Hollow of GG, Knights Ridge had bright autumnal-leaved-trees lining every neighborhood street, a sub shop and bar that offered locals a hub, and a church whose pointed roof stuck out prominently from the surrounding charming landscape.  I remember feeling completely transported into this setting, and envisioned living in a place exactly like it someday.

The main character, Hannah Daniels {Laura Prepon}, always had her shiny blonde hair styled in a perfectly wavy 'do, which rested effortlessly on her cozy knitted wrap cardigans.  Her character's hair and wardrobe still serve as stylish inspiration for me when temperatures drop {which, I really hope will be any day now in N.CA, seeing as how we're officially in Autumn, but it's still icky triple-digits}.

Just look at these colors!  So vibrant. So cozy. So jealous am I not to live in a place that looks like this year-round.  Such a place does not exist, of course, but if it did, I would certainly call it home.

 

 

 

This post isn't all somber though.  Thanks to hulu, I can watch full episodes of October Road as many times as I want.  And I did.  Just now.  Then I watched the ten-minute series finale special that the producers filmed when they found out the show was being cancelled, which reveals who Sam's father really is.  :::drumroll:::
It's Nick! Duh, the peanut allergy. Dead giveaway.  Anyway, I suppose I could own the DVD sets, like I do GG, and watch them whenever, but that thought hadn't occurred to me until today.

Tomorrow is the beginning of October!  Which means, Halloweentime!!!  Many posts to come.   

{photo sources: 1. ultimatedisney.com, 2. 3.bp.blogspot.com, 3. addic7ed.com, 4. dvdtalk.com, 5. ew.com, 6. coffeehousebanter.wordpress.com, 7. tvjab.com} 

"Well, just part of our local color. He's purple."

-Lorelai Gilmore

One of my top five favorite things to do is to escape to the Delta--the Sacramento Delta, that is.  It became my second home when I attended high school there [years ago], and continues to recharge my batteries when I visit.  Although it is only a short fifteen minute drive down the River Road to get into the heart of the Delta, I still treat every visit like a mini-vacay. 

Today, I was fortunate enough to spend some solo time there.  While driving back to Sac from a business meeting in Stockton, the interstate abruptly became a parking lot due to some highway construction.  I seized the opportunity to explore an alternative route back to work.  I exited the interstate, followed some signs, and before I was conscious of what I was doing exactly, I had pulled over in the town of Walnut Grove.  I recognized the name of the building next to where I had parked;  it was Alma's River Cafe, a place I had eaten at with my Delta friends a time or two before. 

 I walked in, took a seat at the bar, grabbed the newspaper and a menu, and ordered a cup of coffee.  Since that was all I had in my system all day, I ordered pancakes and eggs for something substantial--not something one would think would elicit so much attention...

While waiting for my food, a few regulars feathered in every couple of minutes, each one parking at his habitual stool or table.  The woman running the place knew each man's drink of choice, which in 4 out of 5 cases was iced tea with lemon.  Two men ordered their routine hot pastrami sandwiches; another two simultaneously grumbled over the woman's announcement that she was "out of chili."  I was nestled in my own fantastical version of Stars Hollow.  {I don't believe I've ever mentioned my obsession with Gilmore Girls to you readers.} 

I practically inhaled my blueberry pancakes when they arrived, only taking a short break to slather more butter and syrup over top.  "I don't think I like that young gal down at the end of the bar," I heard a man tell another patron, over my left shoulder.  I turned and smiled;  "Me? You don't even know me," I said sweetly.  He replied, "Just the way yer devourin' those pancakes there.  Just 'cause you can.  My doctor says I can't eat any flour;  no potatoes, no pancakes, nothin'."  "Well, then, hate your doctor, not me," I replied.  That made everyone in the place laugh.  'glad they got the joke.  I took a sec to text my best Delta friend "A" to let her know I was eating lunch in her neck o' the woods.  She replied that if I had only been there two hours prior, her dad would have paid for my coffee...he eats there daily.  That's the kind of joint this is. 

Later, I assisted an older couple when they found themselves stuck in their crossword puzzle.  I had overheard the woman ask her husband, a few minutes before my food had arrived, "you know, the big whale fish?"  He replied, "o-r-c-a."  :)  This time the husband had taken over the puzzle, and was asking for the capital of Alaska.  Several patrons were debating over Anchorage or Juneau.  No one had established the correct answer, so a few minutes later, when conversation in the place had lulled, I asked, "did you get Juneau?"  He said he didn't know how to spell it.  "J-u-n-e-a-u" I offered.  "Yeah! That works! Thanks," he smiled while bouncing from box to box with his pen.  The banter continued among the patrons.  I was right at home.  

I finished my plate, paid my bill, and before I left, snapped a shot of the view from the cafe.

It was difficult to drive away, but I took comfort in remembering I would be back in the Delta a month from now for the annual Courtland Pear Fair.

Where, besides your residence, do you call home?