Cambria Weekend

Dinner at Black Cat Bistro.

Last weekend we managed to orchestrate a full two-night getaway -- our first ever since becoming parents!  We definitely had taken advantage of the one-night getaway, but pulling off two nights away from home without Tess took a bit more planning.  We are SO grateful for very involved grandparents who are eagerly willing to share weekend overnight babysitting duty. 

Chad really likes to get away in October and February -- his busiest months during the school year.  This time we journeyed to Cambria on Friday night, with a stop in Paso Robles for an amazing dinner at Thomas Hill Organics.  I can honestly say I have never had a meal prepared with all/only organic ingredients, and it was a taste sensation.  Rather than ordering the featured entrees on the menu, we both ordered a couple of appetizers.  What initially looked like not enough food had us happily satisfied and struggling to finish toward the end of our meal!
 

Amazing meal at T.H.O. in Paso!

We stayed the weekend at the "beach house" of our friends Jeff and Maggie, nestled in the hills above downtown Cambria.  It's a super cozy and quiet place, which turned out to be perfect for all the sleeping I did while trying to get past a nasty cold.  We spent Saturday reading and napping, took a drive down the coast to Morro Bay, and enjoyed another delicious meal at Black Cat Bistro in Cambria (the fuzzy pic of us above was taken while snuggled into a corner booth).   

 

After a leisurely Sunday morning, we slowly made our way back to Fresno via a lengthy lunch stop in Paso.  (No wine tasting, unfortunately -- the one winery we stopped at was closed for a private party.)  We came home to a happy baby girl and a clean house, with a quiet evening ahead of us.  Except for feeling like crud and blowing my nose almost nonstop, it was a super restful weekend!  And the countdown to our February getaway has begun....

 

Paso/SLO Getaway & The Best Souvenir EVER

Last weekend, despite the busy-ness of moving, we were able to take a quick overnight trip to Paso Robles & San Luis Obispo with some friends. Our mission: wine tasting, great food, coastal air, and relaxation. We managed to hit up 4 wineries in Paso (before we just couldn't. take. any. more): Daou, Justin, Opolo and Jada. From there we drove to San Luis and checked into our favorite B&B, The Sanitarium. We all took a snooze before dinner, which was at Ciopinot (delicious!). After dinner we relaxed at The Sanitarium in front of a fire while sipping port and nibbling on Hershey's Kisses. It was pretty much the perfect day, followed by an amazing night's sleep! On Sunday we slept in, enjoyed a late breakfast, and headed over to SLO for some shopping before we headed home. 

 

The highlight of the trip for me (besides ALL of it) happened during our stay at The Sanitarium. Chad and I have been staying there for years, and one of their rooms had this beautiful painting that I just loved -- in fact, we always tried to get that room because I loved it so much. Upon making our reservation, I was sad to hear that our favorite room wasn't available AND that my painting was gone.... Until Sunday morning, when I discovered it sitting all alone outside in the back of the property! I quickly inquired of the owner about purchasing it, and she agreed.....WOW! So we came home with the best souvenir EVER -- a 4'x5' painting from my favorite room at my favorite B&B. You'll see it at the end of the slideshow below -- there's a picture of it when it used to hang in the room we love, and a picture of it by itself. It's the PERFECT size to hang above our stairs in the new home. It needs some TLC from having been outside too long, but even if it's not in perfect condition, I am just THRILLED to have it!

A Getaway Weekend...

After an extremely busy January, we decided to get away for a weekend of R&R. For this trip, we decided on some wine tasting in Paso Robles and a few nights the Asuncion Ridge Bed & Breakfast.

Well, the weather wasn't the greatest -- lots of rain, fog, and even some hail -- so we were grateful for the fireplace and high thread-count sheets at our B&B. On Saturday we napped and read after breakfast and didn't venture out until 3:00. We tasted at Turley and Opolo, and hit up a fun/quaint restaurant in Templeton called McPhee's. We were back "home" by 8:00 and curled up on the couch to watch....of all things....Scarface. Hey, we hadn't seen it before and we both love mobster movies. "Say hello to my little friend...."

On Sunday the weather wasn't much better. We took our time getting ready to head out and hit the road around 1:00. On the way home we hit up Linne Colado (super cute labels but really expensive wine), Clautiere (very fun and whimsical tasting room!), and Eberle. We made it home by 5:30 and topped off the weekend with a fun dinner at Yosemite Falls Cafe with Chad's parents Geoff & Toni.

You know it's a relaxing weekend when you get to read 2 books! I (Sarah) managed to finish The Audacity of Hope and finished Don't Get Arrested in South Carolina (written by our family friend JB Simms), and Chad got a good start on the epic Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett. Some pics from our weekend are posted below:

Vacation With The Sullivans!

We took advantage of Chad's Spring Break to host our dearest friends from Dallas, Randy & Lindsey Sullivan, for our very own California adventure! The long weekend started off with wine tasting in Paso Robles -- we visited Tobin James Cellars, Martin Weyrich, and Meridian. Next we ventured to Santa Barbara for shopping on State Street, some beach time, and a night in Montecito. After that, we headed north to L.A. for shopping in the Garment District and hanging out in Hollywood. We hit up all your typical touristy spots, including Rodeo Drive and Sprinkles Cupcakes in Beverly Hills (they really ARE out-of-this-world delicious!).

We were so grateful that R&L made the trip out to CA. Their first visit to us was in 2004 and since then, they've been busy starting a family! They have 2 beautiful kiddos, Brynlee (age 4) and Degan (age 2). It was good to have them on our turf again!

For those of you who don't know, theirs is a very special friendship to us. Lindsey and I (Sarah) met on the Internet during the Summer of 1997. (I know, it sounds so seedy!) We were both working jobs at switchboards and were both engaged, looking online for wedding stuff. We happened into the same chat room on Yahoo and started talking wedding plans... Chatting turned into emailing which turned into LOTS of emailing and phone calls over the years. We became very close as pen pals and promised that we would meet each other in person before one of us had kids! So in May of 2004 it finally happened, partly due to a California busines trip for Randy and also partly due to the news that they were expecting Brynlee. It took us all of 5 minutes to be completely comfortable with each other. The best part is that our guys had never met, never talked.... but they hit it off, too! The four of us together almost instantly felt like the most natural thing in the world and we absolutely consider them family. Since 2004 we have spent holidays together and vacationed together, and loved every moment of it. The added twist is that EVERYONE (seriously, everyone) that doesn't know us thinks Lindsey and I are sisters because we really do look a LOT alike! It's uncanny -- even our families can't believe it! I often see pictures of her and get caught off guard thinking they are pictures of me, or see pictures of me and think they look like her. It's like icing on the cake, becuase if I could pick someone for a sister I would definitely pick Lindsey!