Tuesday, April 9, 2013

What a Weekend

I took a couple days off of work last week to attend a Wine and Food festival with my dad in Carmel.  Every year he goes and he treats one of us kids, or our spouses, to a ticket.  This year was my turn.  Brett planned to hang out with my mom and sister when he wasn't chauffeuring my dad and I to the affair.  About three hours into our drive to Carmel, my dad called and said he wasn't feeling up to going.  We swung by my parents' house and picked up both tickets.  Brett and I went together and feasted on amazing food (big name chefs from all over the country) and wine (the big wiz bang wineries from Napa, Paso Robles and Washington).  That was Thursday.

Friday, we decided to take a small detour to look at horse property in the gold country east of Sacramento.  It was a good three hours to the real estate office in Roseville.  Once there, we climbed into the realtor's car and she drove us through the windy roads, up and down the hills, crossing the American River numerous times.  We found a house that we liked.  A house that we REALLY liked.  We're going to make an offer on it but I don't know if it will be accepted since it will be contingent on our place selling.  Living at the top of a mountain is a bit... unique.  There aren't any properties like ours on the market.  Will it take a week or a month or ??  I guess we'll find out. 

What do you think of the house?

And the barn?

 and the big fenced pastures?

There's an arena, a hen house, an orchard... pretty nice.

After finishing up with the property hunt, we climbed back in our car and drove to Paso Robles -- another five hours.  How crazy is that?  We were wiped when we got to our B&B.

Saturday, we attended a party at a winery we like and picked up some wine.  My dad was feeling better so he and my mother met Brett and I at the party.  We sat at a table, in the winery owner's backyard, by a pool, sipping wine and nibbling on pizza fresh off the BBQ.    For dinner that night, my son Kyle met us at my favorite farm-to-table restaurant, Thomas Hill Organics.  Lori Skoog asked me to take pictures of our food.  I almost forgot (sorry, no pictures of the appetizers).

I had scallops and Manila clams in a wonderful broth with black rice and bok choy. 

Brett had Hawaiian monchong (fish) with kumquats and oranges and all kinds of colorful fruits.  He said it was amazing.

Kyle had the hanger steak (college boy - hollow leg - going for the steak) with avocado and ... I forget.  He cleaned his plate in nothing flat.

Sunday, we drove home.  And collapsed.  It was a good weekend but exhausting, to say the least. 

12 comments:

  1. It Looks Like a very nice property...What are the trees in the pastures??
    Tara

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  2. the house and barn looks awesome! fingers crossed your offer gets accepted - even with the contingency.

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  3. Wow - sounds like a great although very busy weekend. The house looks dandy - hope you get it.

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  4. The property is beautiful. Good luck. Blessings! Lara

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  5. That is amazing! It took me months and months of looking for a home...and I didn't even have all the horse details to worry about. Good luck selling your home, if nothing else you have a lot of fantastic pictures of it for the ad! How are you kids handling the move?

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  6. That place is beautiful! I love the barn. Also, that food looks delicious :)

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  7. Love the house, barn and pasture! Your critters would love it too. Glad they have a hen house, so all can move with you. Thanks for taking the food shots...amazing presentation!
    Brett! Glad you are ready to make a move....the place looks in great shape, so you shouldn't have to go overboard getting it up to your satisfaction. I wish you the best...selling your house and being able to move before Annette gets tired of flying.

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  8. Love the property and I'll send good energy your way for a successful sale and purchase!

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  9. Love the house, I can just see you guys there!
    That meal looked amazing, I must tell my sis about that restaurant, they sometimes go to Monterey or Paso Robles for the odd weekend & might like to explore further afield.

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  10. Hoe fun to go look at houses! That property is beautiful!!! So is Aspen Meadows...I don't think you guys will have trouble selling it. Best of luck to you!

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  11. Good luck with the sale - I hope everything goes smoothly for you Annette. The new place looks adorable!

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Thanks so much for commenting!