Holy Cow Fall!

Y'ALL!

When did it turn into October?!?

(also, did someone wake up the Green Day guy??)

This is my first fall in California, 

and I came up with a "must do" of sorts. 

(to ease the pain of not going to the NC State Fair, or the Ren Fest..)

1. Apple picking at Gizdich Ranch 

2. Make a pie (of any variety) 

3. Learn two different soup recipes

4. Master a cider recipe. That's right, I said MASTER

5. Make a minifire (the grill will count..WE LIVE IN CALI y'all..) and make smores. 

6. FOOTBALL & TAILGATING!

7. Find a festival or fair to go to. 

Oakland Game

 A little bit ago, 

Mike made our way out to Oakland for an A's game. 

It's an adorably small stadium. 

OH! And when we went, they had Green Day themed fireworks. 

On the way out, 

we checked the A's store. Seeing a Cespedes jersey in Mets colors was pretty cool. 

It was not $120 cool, however.  

Like a Fish!

I mentioned that we took Shiva to the beach this weekend. 

She'd never been around water before: not a lake, a beach, even a large creek. 

So, we weren't sure how she would take to it. 

We packed her in the car, drove the hour up to Half Moon Bay, and crossed our fingers. 

As soon as she was off the leash at the beach..well, just look at the photos. 

Before:

We also met a very LARGE puppy. The big guy absolutely dwarfed Shiva, 

but they hit it off and LOVED playing together.  

size reference

After: 

Poor thing was so sleepy when she got back in the car, she was asleep before we left the parking lot. 

She barely moved when we pulled into the brewery for dinner. 

(Don't worry about the heat, it was 58* that day, the windows were open and we checked on her often..during which she was still sleeping)

We're definitely planning on taking her back as much as possible. 

I think she slept for two days straight afterwards. 

When it rains...

I had the fullest intention of posting all about Shiva's trip to the beach for you on Tuesday. 

Then, 

Monday night- 

Mike texted that he was in an accident, 

but he was ok, 

and I needed to come get him. 

He's fine. So is the other driver. 

I'm so SO grateful for that fact, especially when you see the photos:

Here's Mike's Mazda.

Here's Mike's bumper. 

still attached to the other person's car.  

The cop said it looked like the other person was going 50-60, 

and Mike remembers hearing the brakes squeal.

(Meaning she was going FASTER than that..)

He was stopped, in traffic on a regularly congested interstate at 5:30pm.

READ: The person who hit him was definitely not 

paying any attention to the road or her surroundings.

oy. 

So, now we're in the market for a new car. 

Recommendations for a hybrid/EV anyone?

Weekend Update

After a week exploring cowboy country, 

Mike came home Friday night. 

So we just spent the night chilling and catching up.

Saturday was a busy day, 

but in the "errand" kinda way. 

New tires, paper goods, petsmart, office max, yadda yadda. 

HOWEVER, it was a good mail day!

We got out engagement book in the mail, 

and baublebar beauties! 

We did manage to sneak a nice dinner on Santana Row, 

and caught a very pretty Cali sunset.

Sunday, we took Shiva to her first beach. 

It was also her first body of water, but I'll tell you all about it later. 

I promise. 

It deserves so much more than a blurb.

Later, while Shiva was napping, 

we snuck into Half Moon Bay brewing company. 

We had a couple of their signature brews, 

and their food is AMAZING.  

I think we're finally settling in here in California. 

Little weekends like this, definitely help.

Let's Go Mets

A while back, 

Mike and I went to a Mets Game. 

At AT&T Park. 

I'm not a huge "lets go somewhere and cheer for the visiting team" person, 

but, this one was kinda fun. 

The adults don't really care, 

but listening to the kids reactions to seeing a Mets jersey was HILARIOUS. 

In the parking lot, there were a couple "EWWW! METS FANS!"

but the real hilarious part, was when I went to the bathroom. 

This little boy, maybe around 6, watched me with WIDE EYES

as I walked into a stall, then he whisper-yelled to his mom 

"MOM! THERE'S A METS FAN IN THE BATHROOM!!!"

to which she responded

"maybe she has to go?"

Yes, I laughed out loud. 

Yes I was still laughing when I came face to face with him at the sinks. 

ANYWAY, 

The view from the stadium is GORGEOUS.  

We had stellar seats, and the people directly behind us were also Mets fans. 

Later in the game, a group of guys sat next to us, also Mets fans.  

Around the 7th inning, 

GRAND SLAM!

We celebrated appropriately, as the sun set.  

It was shortly afterwards that the fans sang along

to "Don't Stop Believing" 

and then all of them promptly left. 

I guess they stopped believing. 

We stayed for the rest of the game, 

enjoyed a Mets win, 

and happily went home listening to the replay on the radio. 

I guess this counts as 1 of my sporting events for the 27/27 list.

BUT, I have a feeling we'll be going to a lot more. 

Weekend Fun

This weekend really had ONE main event. 

The Renegade Craft Fair was in San Francisco. 

Since it's on my list, I met up with my friend Teresa, 

and we went exploring. 

Another foggy day in the Bay.

Wood Art

Word Art 

Let's call this one:

Teresa and the Bear. 

We also got disco nail mani's from Sparitual.  

Where the Wild Things Are. 

Afterwards, 

we braved SF traffic to meet up with Chris. 

For beer. Duh.

All in all it was a great afternoon!

They have another festival around Christmas, 

so I might just have to go back. 

I'll bribe Mike with beer and Teresa with bears.

Wine Country

On Saturday Morning, 

we dropped Shiva off at the boarder, 

and headed up to wine country. 

First, we stopped in Santa Rosa. 

The weather was perfect, 

so we meandered a bit, 

before our table at Russian River Brewery was ready. 

To say the place was "packed" is an understatement. 

BUT, the "everything" sampler, totally made it worth it.  

You HAVE to get it if you go. 

It's really not -that- much, 

especially when drank with food and over time. 

AND it's tasty. 

Then we drove around, looking at vineyards, 

sampling some of the wines, 

and generally enjoying the day. 

We eventually found ourselves at Red Car Winery. 

If you're in Santa Rosa, you should really stop by. 

Fun atmosphere, great people, even greater wine.  

We might have joined their wine club. 

OH, and all the artwork on their bottles is STELLAR. 

Check out this set, which have a boxing theme going.  

Finally, we went to Rosso for dinner.  

While the pizza is excellent, 

the bruschetta is A.M.A.Z.I.N.G  

Sunday, 

we headed over to our meet our wedding coordinator, 

and walk around our venue. 

THIS is the only photo I have. 

I didnt take a lot of pictures, 

because I was getting a lot done. 

I'm not going to tell you anything about the wedding, 

except its going to be beautiful and perfect. 

I'm so excited. 

We had one last chance to grab some food in the Valley of the Moon, 

before heading back to the work week.  

<3