Napa- Bouchon Bistro

While home in California for Thanksgiving, C and I headed up to Napa for a few days. Both of us have been super busy with work and needed a vacation, even if it was just for a few day. As serious foodies, obviously we were thrilled about eating delicious food just as much as going wine tasting. So naturally we did our research. Our dream would have been to be to go to French Laundry, but seeing as we didn't plan the trip 3 months in advanced... (do I plan anything that far in advanced?)... that wasn't an option. So we did the next best thing by trying Thomas Keller's other restaurant Bouchon Bistro for lunch.

To start, I had the watercress-endive salad with Roquefort cheese, Fuji apples and walnuts. The salad was light and fresh just the perfect starter to the meal.

C had the french onion soup which was incredibly good.

After starters, I grabbed the gnocchi with garden vegetables and brown butter sauce. The gnocchi was light and fluffy and the ultimate comfort food.

Also, if you are interested in gardening or farm to table cooking, all the produce for the kitchen is grown in their garden located across the street making everything incredible fresh and delicious.

C has the Croque  Madame and truffle fries. I helped myself to more than my fair share of his food... guilty as charged, but my love of truffles trumps all.


Bouchon makes Thomas Keller's food much more accessible to the public (no fixed price menu and no 3 month wait) but for being his more casual dining experience he doesn't short on the flavor or quality of any of his food. I highly recommend stopping by for a bite if you are ever in Napa. 

California Style

Happy Day after Thanksgiving! 

Spending Thanksgiving with my family at home in California means lots of sunshine! Honestly it is a huge relief after the winter chill that has hit the east coast. 

To help with Thanksgiving, I was responsible for the table centerpiece and so I decided to do some research... aka Pinterest... and decided on doing succulents and silver for table settings. 

Putting together the pieces were pretty fun and simple. Grab a few little succulents and replant them in glass containers makes them look simple and clean with a touch of flair for the table.

After setting the table and catching up on any last minute cooking, we heading down to the beach for a Thanksgiving Day stroll (aka time to build up an appetite).

Such a beautiful day! Thankful for the sun and for being with family.

Shiloh lead the walk mainly, running around and playing with other dogs. 

After a fun time... the best time for Shiloh... we headed home to begin the endless hours of eating, drinking and family time. I hope everyone had a fun filled day with family and friends. 

A day at the MOMA

Recently my parents came to town for a quick visit. It is always nice when family makes the journey to see me and so I always try to do something fun and a little bit different. As New York has such great museums, what better way to spend some time together than to take in the sites at the MOMA.

Honestly, I have to admit for how many museums I have been to in my lifetime and for how close the MOMA is to me, I have never been to the NY location. Finally, upon arriving with my parent's, I realized how much I really was missing. I can't believe it took me so long to get there and I honestly can't wait to go back. Just a few of my favorites...

After a long day of checking out the amazing and eclectic collection, we did what any hungry family in NY would do and headed over to the Shake Shack... sadly no pictures as I was far to hungry to stop and snap one. Maybe next time. 

And we're off...

Just a way to catch up on life, food, friends and most importantly the adventures that bring them all together.

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