Week 7: Napa Valley

How awesome is California? Snow one weekend and amazing spring weather the next. I had a hard time choosing where to go this weekend... but we had some friends in town and they wanted to go up to Napa to go wine tasting. Twist my arm.

Napa is much different than Livermore. It's super touristy (read: expen$ive) but beautiful. All of the wineries are really extravagant and are like mini-resorts.

Our first stop of the day was Reynolds Family Winery. The coolest part about this winery is this pond outside covered in red algae - making it look like clay. Oh! And they poured us some fancy wine for saying nice things about them on Twitter. Gotta love that.

Next we headed over to Peju Province Winery which has stunning grounds: fountains, stained glass, absolutely amazing. The wine isn't bad either. We stayed there for some time even got to check out the art gallery they have upstairs.

Finally, we headed over to Mumm. We've been to Mumm before, they make sparkling wine (not to be confused with champagne) - and they have a great little tour and a knowledgeable staff. Thanks to the weather cooperating, we got to sit outside and enjoy a view of the vineyards.

Really really happy with the way the photos came out this week. Choosing only a few to post was difficult but there are more on flickr.

Does Marc Jacobs Make Camera Bags?

Seriously, do cute camera bags exist or must I be forced to nerd out? Now that I have my sleek fancy (compact) camera, do I haaaaaave to get the giant canvas bag? Marc Jacobs, Louis, are you listening? I think there is a significant opportunity for you to bring together two of my favorite things here. You'll thank me later.

Okaaay, back to work. Sometimes being a grown up is hard.

Week 6: Winter Wonderland

Let me start by telling you that after skiing for two days, every muscle in my body is sore. All of them. Even typing is a challenge. Plus the Saints/Vikings game is in OT now so multitasking has become exponentially difficult.

Anyway, for those not in CA , you should know that over the past week Northstar got 79 inches of new snow. Absolutely unheard of. We'd planned this weekend long ago but we totally hit the jackpot with the conditions. They were amazing.

I brought my camera for the weekend but was too terrified to take it on the slopes (I'm still learning how to ski and spent a significant amount of time on the ground this trip so probably a good idea to leave it in the condo). I managed to get a few photos here and there - I would've loved to have taken more but we were on the mountain basically sun up to sun down so I didn't get much of a chance. Here are a couple that I particularly like though and if you're not satisfied, there are 21 more photos on flickr.

Mobile Blogging is the Future, Obviously

Bonus weekend day! Enjoying this rainy day inside and watching the snowfall totals in the Sierras get higher. Movie day? I think so.

Also, I just installed Blog Press on my iPhone so now I can blog from my couch without getting up to get my laptop. Technology is neat.

- Posted from my iPhone, yay technology!!

Location:Bryant St,Palo Alto,United States

Week 5: If you're going to Saaan Frannnciscooo

When I started thinking about this project and listing down all the places I wanted to go, I had about 4 weeks reserved for San Francisco. After today, I think I might need to up that to 8 or 9. There is just way too much to see.

I went up with my friend, Lauren, who is an AMAZING photographer (I've been trying to convince her to get a blog to showcase her photos and I know she'll give in soon so stay tuned). We talked about of lot of places we wanted to go on the way up but decided to start at the Alamo Square.

Alamo Square is home to the famous "painted ladies" - the Victorian houses from Full House and Mrs. Doubtfire. The view is amazing, behind the houses you can see the SF skyline, no wonder this place is so famous. And there are some awesome blue trees there, reminiscent of the Summer of Love (false).

Next, Lauren and I went to the Marina area and on the way drove down what was literally the scariest hill I have ever driven down (Divisadero St.) - terrified / glad I wasn't walking. Anyway, the second we got there it started POURING. I found shelter in a phone booth (does anyone use those anymore?). Soaked, we decided to go somewhere else...

We decided on the Palace of Fine Arts since it was pretty close by. They have these really cool structures there we'd be able to take cover under in case of another downpour. There is also a lake which is home to some fearless birds.

Afterward, the sun came out again and I wanted to go back to the Marina. We went and I'm pretty glad we did. I got a couple shots of the Golden Gate and a nice lady let us onto the docks. Definitely my favorite shots of the entire outing.

... Lots more on Flickr

Week 4: Livermore Wineries

Note to self: Wine + Photography = brilliant combination.

Everytime someone visits us we use their visit as an excuse to go to the Livermore wineries. Livermore is a small town next to where I grew up and has (in my opinion) some of the best wine around. And since moving back to California, I've become a self-proclaimed "wine snob."

We visited all my favorite wineries - Fenestra, John Christopher Cellars, & Retzlaff. It's amazing how there is such a rural area only 40 minutes away. It's a nice escape from reality.

I played around in photoshop a bit this time, I'm trying to pick up little things here and there. Most notably, I figured out how to make all but 1 color black and white (see last pic) - patting myself on the back now.

As always, more pics in the Flickr set

Week 3: Wunderlich County Park

Where did vacation go and how can I get it back? Two weeks went by way too quickly... but it feels good to get back into a routine, however hectic it might be.

Since I was travelling Saturday last week and spent most of Sunday unpacking and getting pampered at Burke Williams - I had to try to find time during the week to snap some photos. I wanted to head up to Woodside since its close by and I found Wunderlich County Park online not too far from home.

I was able to get to the park late in the afternoon - but unfortunately its on the East side of the hills and with so many trees there wasn't a lot of light left. I used the short time I had to explore some of the manual settings on my camera and was pleased with the results. Although dull at first glance, there were many vivid greens strewn throughout the park which made for beautiful contrast... aaaah, yes. Back to reality.

More photos on flickr!