A Weekend Trip to Disney

Main Street Disney! 

I absolutely love Disneyland. The magic is undeniable. #Disneymylife

I finally got an annual pass!

This past weekend, my dad took my little sister and I for a quick weekend trip. We drove down Friday and came home Sunday. We never go on the weekends and now I remember why. It was PACKED. Some of our favorite rides were closed for hours during the day, which was annoying. BUT! Disneyland, California Adventure, and Downtown Disney were all decorated for Halloween and my Halloween loving heart exploded. This is the first year that California Adventure has been decorated and it did not disappoint. Downtown Disney had a bunch of pumpkin towers everywhere and massive pumpkins in all the planters. So cute.

stoked off Cars Land!

Cars Land!

I mean how perfect is this!?

I can't even.

me and my baby Maddie twinning

This was our first time staying at the Disneyland Hotel and it did not disappoint. We have stayed at Paradise Pier and the Grand Californian, so this was the last of the trio for us. I LOVED IT. I honestly expected it to be tacky Disney, but it was the perfect amount of Disney magic and class. We ate a bunch, walked a bunch, and soaked up a stress free weekend for as long as we could.

Chip (or Dale?)  watching TV when we walked into our hotel

Cotton Candy Lemonade from the Cove Bar in CA Adventure!

the most DELISH lobster nachos from the Cove Bar

My favorite time of day at the parks is first thing in the morning and later at night. The best!

Oogie Boogie Takeover! 

this is blurry but Carthay Circle!

the coolest ears! they also have orange bats.

Stay tuned for more Disney Halloween magic next month when I go to Mickey's Halloween Party (for the 3rd year in a row) with my best friend!

no detail was left out!

WE BOUGHT A HOUSE!

Hellllllllo from the other siiiiiiiiiiide! 

I lost my blogging spark for awhile... My  creative light went out temporarily... But I'm back! With news!

WE BOUGHT A HOUSE! 

We had originally planned on buying a house in the Fall, but the stars aligned, we found the perfect house on my favorite street in town, and it's ours! We get the keys on Tuesday and I cannot wait to share all about it! 

The inside is completely remodeled but the house was built in 1955 and it's so charming. I can't wait to show you how we decorate it and make it our home! Think industrial meets Joanna Gaines farmhouse. Eek! We will also be doing a ton of work to the front and back yard. If you have any tips, tricks, or ideas - shoot them my way! I have ZERO experience with yard work/planting things/anything related to the outside at all pretty much.

Here's a sneak peek to hold you over until I can take pictures of the whole house :)

Livermore Wine Trolley // Livermore, CA

I'm pre writing the intro to this post. It's currently Friday at 6:48 am. Tomorrow around 10:30 am, me, J and 6 of our friends are embarking on the Livermore Wine Trolley. I'm so excited and a little nervous. 6 hours of wine tasting...should be interesting! The rest of this post will either be written happy and carefree or hungover and miserable.

The consensus...not hungover!



Post Wine Trolley : so much fun! The weather was perfect. Our driver (Annie) was so funny and personable. I would highly recommend it. However, I was barely buzzed. So if you're looking to DRINK, do so before hand. Be advised that there is no drinking on the trolley either.

We visited the following wineries:
Garre - their Rosé is delicious. loved their white wines.
Rios-Lovell - beautiful outside area. we ate lunch here.
Ruby Hill - cutest winery/cute home decor items to buy
Tenuta - my favorite. very personable staff. they have a cat named Butters.



The lunch that you pre-order when you register is SO GOOD. I chose the turkey, apple and brie sandwich. Chips and a drink were in the box too. Beverage was wine of course.



If you're in the area, you should definitely check out the Livermore Wine Trolley. It's $99 a person. You visit 4 wineries, pre-order lunch, and get chauffeured around in a cool trolley. (This post isn't sponsored, but if anyone wants to sponsor a wine tasting trip, I won't say no!)

The Butler's Pantry // Escalon, CA

 One day, while I was perusing the explore page on IG, I came across a real gem. A house-ware boutique...and a house-ware boutique truck? Whaaaaaat. After IG drooling stalking for a few, I realized that this lovely place was located on Main Street in Escalon, which is just a short drive from my hometown. My brother in law grew up in Escalon, so I knew my sister would be up for a trip.We took my 9 year old niece for her birthday this past weekend. She is the definition of a blooming fashionista/stylista.

From the very second I laid eyes on this store, I was in love. I mean LOOK!

The door was open (which is always very welcoming) and other ladies were shopping around (which was a good sign). We loved everything. There was literally not one single piece there that I wouldn't love to have in my home. How is that even possible?

 

 

 

Confession: I spent $100. I got J his Valentine's Day gifts, stuff for his birthday party in April and a few things for myself of course. The store owner went to high school with my brother in law, so we chatted with her for awhile. SHE IS THE SWEETEST THING. She was so friendly and gave us a tour of the building. Her shop used to be the old butcher shop and a lot of the original wood/other items were still there. She had converted part into a small hair studio, another part into a nail studio, and there was still room for other fun things! The old refrigerator room is used as hair supply storage. Even the little conveyor belt on the ceiling is still there - draped with beaded light strings of course.

If you ever find yourself in the area, please stop in and see Jamie. Her shop is adorable and you'll leave with some really adorable pieces. She's getting a shipment of pineapple and cactus decor soon, so you know I'll be back!

The Butler's Pantry
1730 Main Street
Escalon, CA

Turn 12 Bar and Grill // Monterey, CA

Woo hoo another restaurant review! This one is for Turn 12 in Monterey, CA.

My roommates and I have wanted to try this place out for awhile. We always walk by it late at night when we are heading back to our car from an evening downtown. We always forget about it and ALWAYS say we'll try it some time soon.

Well, we did! We went for lunch this week and we were totally impressed!

The atmosphere was fun. The prices were fine. The service was good. The food was delicious!

This place is totally decked out in racing things inspired by Laguna Seca Raceways. Lots of pictures on the walls. There's even a racing game set up in the middle!

Fun Fact #1: There is 11 turns at the Laguna Seca track. Turn 12...get it?
Fun Fact #2: their bar is the longest in Monterey.

We started out with the truffle fries. Yummmmm! They were crispy and delicious and didn't taste too oily.

I had the tomato basil soup with sour cream and croutons. I loved the sour cream and croutons. I wasn't a big fan of the soup. I didn't really know why until Jarad pointed out that it was kind of sweet. So maybe that was it?

For lunch, I ordered the beef short ribs with mashed potatoes and vegetables. My favorites! I loved it!

The boys each ordered the breakfast pizza. It was huge! It is totally share-able. There was eggs right in the center of the pizza. They cut around the eggs, which is a brilliant idea because the eggs didn't make the whole thing soggy. I'm a little too picky for everything that was on it, but it was really good. The crust was my favorite!

They also offer brunch and dinner! I definitely want to go for both.

If you ever get the chance, I highly recommend stopping into Turn 12.


Turn 12 Bar and Grill
400 Tyler Street, Monterey, CA 93940
http://www.turn12barandgrill.com/

*This post was not sponsored in any way. I just love good food.*

From Scratch Restaurant // Carmel, CA

The Barnyard shopping center in Carmel, CA

I promised myself that when I moved to Monterey, I would blog about all the fun things I was doing and all the delicious food I was eating. Well, I failed. Surprise! However...J and I decided to try a new place for breakfast. It's called From Scratch restaurant in Carmel. IT WAS SO GOOD. We ate there Saturday morning and loved it so much. We went back Sunday morning for breakfast. Oops :)

From Scratch was featured on Guy Fieri's Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives and we know why!

The menu is simple. They have a lot of create your own options, which I loved. I'm a picky particular eater.

On Saturday, I ordered their breakfast skillet. It starts with potatoes on the bottom, then eggs, then 4 toppings of your choice, annnnd then cheese. Holy moly. I ate 1/4 of it. The cheddar biscuit on the side was deeeelish. I ordered a hot chocolate as a day date treat and it was amazing.

On Saturday, J ordered their sausage biscuits and gravy with a side of bacon. He was in HEAVEN. He literally sat there with a dreamy look on his face, repeating "I love it here."

On Sunday, we both ordered the traditional eggs benedict and they were PERFECT. The english muffin was perfectly grilled, the ham was delicious, the egg was poached perfectly, and the hollandaise was mild and lightly poured on top. I haaaaate soggy food and I was so happy with how this dish was executed.

I apologize for the vertical pictures - they were not cooperating. I'm sure you still get the idea.

The food was delicious. The staff was friendly and hard working. We want to make this an every weekend tradition! 

When in Carmel, visit From Scratch! You won't be disappointed. 

Lunch At Sierra Nevada Brewery

I spent this last weekend in Chico for my friend's birthday. A group of us girls went to celebrate with her! I've been wanting to visit the Sierra Nevada Brewery for awhile now. Sierra Nevada is Jarad's favorite beer and I was obnoxiously snapping pictures of everything. All of these pictures are iPhone pictures. Nice camera + Chico = bad idea.

We didn't get to tour the brewery. If you plan on visiting, call weeks ahead! One week notice for us was not enough time. If you plan on going for dinner, get there early! We went at around 6:30 on a Saturday night and the wait was 2 hours. They do not take reservations. We ended up going back Sunday for lunch before we headed out.

this is the front of the lunch menu

There was 4 of us that went and we loved it!!!! The food was delicious. The prices weren't expensive. The beers were down right cheap. The gift shop was fab-u-lous.

For an appetizer, we had the pretzels and beer cheese. So good! The pretzels were giant. 2 girls shared 1 pretzel! I know the picture doesn't look too appetizing, but trust me.

I had the bacon burger for lunch. Brewer's yeast bun, malted bacon, white cheddar cheese. Yummm! Beth had the fish and chips. Our waitress said that these two are the biggest sellers! We can definitely see why.

Our waitress brought out the cutest little mustards. All three were different flavors. The employees were very friendly! Our water glasses were constantly being filled up and our waitress was very patient while we were trying to make our decisions.

Half pints were $2.50. A beer sampler with 4 beers was $3.00! We were happy to see that the prices were very reasonable.

 

This cool sign was in the gift shop. We were stoked that the prices weren't super expensive. Sierra Nevada definitely didn't take advantage of the novelty of everything. I bought 2 sweatshirts, a shirt, 2 pint glasses, 2 stickers and a chap stick for $104.  Not bad at all!

I would definitely like to tour the brewery and see what the dinner menu looks like. If you are ever in or around Chico, the Sierra Nevada brewery is worth the trip!