A Crabby Kind of Birthday

 Song - Red, Red Wine by UB40

 

 

On February 14th - Valentine's Day - it was Mr. B's birthday!

And he decided he wanted a meal that my mom used to cook for him....

Spaghetti and Crab!

The table was set and the tools were ready for some fast crab work.

I made the spaghetti sauce the day before and all of the additions for the crab & salad like

hard boiled eggs & asparagus, etc.

Andy made a delicious berry cobbler for dessert.

Unfortunately no one took a photo of the spread. 

But trust me it was delicious.

 

Two days later Mr. B and I headed to Calistoga for a little R & R. Our first stop was R & D Kitchen in Yountville for their spectacular Ding's Chicken sandwich. It was a beautiful day and we sat outside and enjoyed our wine and fries while waiting for our yummy lunch.

 

 

 Heading north from Yountville our next stop was in the town of St. Helena for a little shopping.

Can you believe these are all silk flowers?

 

Onto Calistoga and check into our room at the Bergson Hotel.
 We had a nice room on the ground floor which was perfect as I'm still not walking up stairs too well!

Dinner on Monday night was at Sam's Social Club which is affiliated with 

Indian Springs.  It was a delicious meal and it was packed so we dined at the bar.

 

 

We both had an order of the caviar as it was only $225 per person!!! NOT!

 

We shared the Autumn Salad and Mr. B had the Lamb Shank on risotto 

with an arugula side salad while I had the Pork Chop on polenta with broccoli.

They were both a home run!

 

 Sweet dreams at the Bergson.

 

 

After breakfast in the Bergson social room we headed into town which is just around the corner from our hotel. We walked around shopping but we really enjoyed our time in the book store! The funniest thing of all was while we were just finishing up our lunch I spotted two friends - Jill and her husband John - walking up the street.  What a surprise! They had come up to celebrate Valentines Day.

We also drove back down to Saint Helena's to go to the Robert Louis Stevenson museum that neither of us realized was even in this area until Mr. B happened upon the information. It was a fun, informative place were they displayed his furniture, silver, paintings, photos, and some of his writing. The woman working there was very knowledgeable about his life. (Don't worry Mr. B kindly tested her knowledge!)

Dinner on Mr. B's official birthday was spent at the Calistoga Inn Restaurant.  Our friends happened to have reservations there as well an were sitting just a couple of tables away from us.

Mr. B had the paella which he raved about while I enjoyed delicious beef short ribs.

 

The following morning we had a delicious breakfast at Cafe Sarafornia 

sitting outside in the warm sunshine.

 

Time to head home.  Driving along the Silverado Trail we enjoyed viewing the bright yellow mustard blooming in the vineyards and the workers carefully pruning the vines.

We will be back....

The breakfast restaurants name is derived from this quote:

 

 The town's name comes from 

Brannan's tipsy malapropism 

that he would make this the 

Saratoga of California, 

which came out as the “Calistoga of Sarafornia.”

Fields of Gold

Song - Heart of Gold by Neil Young

Monday I took a leisurely drive up to Napa Valley to see the mustard in the vineyard and to walk with a dear friend.  I passed some Belted Galloway cows or better known as Oreo Cows!!!

Since I was early in meeting my friend, I decided to head on up to Yountville as a "Krwa-son" had my name on it!

While I was at Bouchon, I decided to get a couple of croissants to share with family and friends.  After thoroughly enjoying the buttery, moist, light, flakey roll, I placed the bag with the remainder of them in the far back of the car so I wouldn't be tempted to nibble as I drove.

My friend, Helen told me that the mustard had just opened up last week and it is beautiful. Actually it was a lovely warm winter's day. We had a delicious lunch and then walked around downtown Napa and past the Victorian homes called painted ladies and through the park.

We stopped by the Gallery where Helen shows her jewelry and hand dyed silk scarfs.  She is incredibly talented, brilliant, creative and has a heart of gold...... 

This morning, I woke up early and ran into the kitchen and grabbed a perfect croissant and ran back to have breakfast in bed while Mika gave me the stank-eye. 

Two lovely days after a tough month! Thank you Helen...... 

Scratch & sniff HERE........(jk)

"It's your road, and yours alone.  

Others may walk it with you, 

but no one can walk it for you."

 --Rumi

Ahh....that Smell....

Song - Life is Just A Bowl of Cherries by Rudy Vallee

Woke up to a warm Fall morning in Napa and this was the view outside of our hotel bedroom. And while Mr. B attended a business conference, I drove up to Yountville for a little breakfast and to people-watch.

The line to get into Bouchon Bakery was down the street which is normal for them.  I waited in line anticipating what was inside while enjoying the bakery scent wafting from the door. Mmmm....

Once inside the door I could get a glimpse of what I might want to order.....definitely a loaf of bread to take back to Mr. B and a couple of plain croissants.....and......

...I might need one of those chocolate & almond croissants......and.....

.....they had a few things ready for Fall celebrations.....

(Sorry I can't let you scratch & sniff....it was so wonderful that you will just have to believe me!)

The baker was just pulling out some fresh bread from the oven to test and turn.

Nuff Said......

Quote for the day:

Autumn at Home

 Song - Autumn Leaves by Nat King Cole

The last of the Tomato's & Basil has been picked, the Zinnia's and Impatients are about done for.

The Fall color is beginning to arrive along with the crisp nights.

Last week I did get in my flats of White Primrose and sweetly scented Stock.

If the snails and deer lay off of them for a few days, we will all be happy!  Well, the critters may not be happy but I sure will!!!

Mr. B and I watched our youngest son, Tyler, play one of his last Water Polo tournaments last weekend in Santa Cruz. The end of water polo season is a sure sign that Fall is in the air!

And he made the goal!!! Go Tyler....number 2!

This weekend we had our rotting deck replaced because someone has been watering too many plants on the deck.  But we won't point any fingers.....will we?

As the deck was being worked on, Mr. B and I went up to Napa for a business weekend.  The weather was glorious.  The crush was over but you could still get the scent of the fermenting grapes in the vineyards.

While Mr. B was in his meetings, I walked around the town of Yountville and snapped a few photos.  And of coursed dined on some yummy treats.

The line for Bouchon Bakery was out the door and around the corner at all times of the day.

Mr. B's company had dinner in the wine cellar at Michael Chiarello's Italian restaurant Bottega.  It was a wonderful comforting, family style meal.

After dinner, we headed over to R & D Kitchen for a glass of wine while sitting around their bountiful outdoor fires.

Good friends, great wine and crisp fall air with the addition of a warm fire.  Ahhh, it doesn't get much better than this.

And I found a new favorite wine. Salus Chardonnay from the Staglin Family Vineyard.

Unfortunately, a bottle was out of my price range but I sure did enjoy a glass (or two!).

On Sunday afternoon, we headed home to a brand new deck and to keep a Pumpkin carving date with Andy, Ashley & Tyler.


More on that to come!

BOO!

“Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower.”  
 -- Albert Camus