5 years

holy moly. where has the time gone?

{I will never tire of getting to live near this beautiful bridge.}

I have been writing (or lack thereof) on this blog for 5 years. The blog all started as a way to keep my friends and family abreast of the goings-on with our move from Minneapolis to Northern California and then has turned into a way to document my favorite recipes, our love of wine and wine country and probably more posts than most of you would like about a little Westie named Barkley.  

Thank you for joining me on our journey in Northern California as we have become wimps to cold weather, refined our palates with wine and great food, started an Etsy shop and gone on adventures both in our backyard (not literally, we don't have one of those) and around the globe.  Thank you also for bearing with me during the 2 years of Mike's MBA program where we basically did nothing and had a boring blog to show as proof.  I apologize.  I promise I'll try not to be as boring now that I don't have my husband sequestered in his office for hours and hours writing papers.

{Freemark Abbey's Grapes}

{Sequoia Grove}

I can honestly say that I had no idea 5 years ago we'd still be here in Northern California.  I think it has come to a surprise to both Mike and I how much we really do love it here.  We moved to a nice little apartment figuring we'd stay here just a bit before moving again or eventually moving back to the midwest.  When we moved, we left our antique dining table back in MN and thought we'd stick with a card table for the time being since it didn't make sense to buy a tiny table for a place we wouldn't be living in for very long. Well, here we are 5 years later still using a card table as our dining room table/my office desk.  Who would have thought it would be our most used wedding gift item we have! (My mom's bridge club would be so proud!) Who knows what 5 more years will bring?  Dear Lord, please, oh please let us retire that card table back to its original purpose of a "table to play cards" before 2019. Oddly enough, we aren't card playing people, but that doesn't mean I'm going another 5 years without a real honest-to-goodness-made-from-logs table.

Here's to keeping the blog entertaining and enjoyable both for you as well as for me.  And if I do get boring, please tell me.  I appreciate a figurative kick in the pants when in need.

Now, who wants to go table shopping with me? 

I know. I know, this isn't a good practice and I promise you that the table gets washed after Barkley gets off the table.  AND, she won't be allowed on a real honest to goodness wooden table, I can tell you that!