it's hot.

What do you do when the calendar says it's fall but the temperatures aren't dropping below 105 during the day?

Well, I'd say it's time for a root beer float!

I only blog about this because:

1. I'm tired of this heat  (103 degrees today) - it's October for goodness sake!
2. I went to 7 Eleven to grab one root beer to make myself a root beer float.  And, they did not sell one single variety of root beer! Is there a root beer shortage along with a bacon shortage?!? What is this world coming to?
3. I found a root beer at the grocery store.  I danced. I sang.* I drove home and made myself a root beer float and for just a little while, I wasn't angry that it was 103 degrees on October 2.

*Yes, I seriously danced and yes, I seriously sang in the checkout line of the grocery store. Because no one knows me in this little town of mine and even if I did randomly run into someone I knew, I am pretty sure I would ask them to join in on my celebration for root beer floats!

soltice

"Live in the sunshine, drink in the sea, dance in the wild air..."

~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

Happy Summer Soltice!

happiness is...

... a deck full of flowers

winery: thomas coyne

Thomas Coyne winery in Livermore Valley was one of those wineries where we had a lot of fun taking pictures of the grounds but the wine just wasn't completely our style.  The wine was good, don't get me wrong. The people were very nice, tasting room was casual and the tasting was free...Bonus.  There were a lot of people at this winery and the bar was quite small, which meant that we didn't get a lot of attention to learn about the wine - completely understandable on a busy Saturday afternoon.  However, I think the wineries we love the most, are the ones that we end up walking away from have exceeded all expectations.  They are the wineries that no matter what the wine tastes like (well, to an extent) we have been able to learn a thing or two about the winery and all that making wine entails.  So, it comes to no surprise that a winery that moves you right along without offering any insights on the wines they are pouring isn't one that we are super enthused about.  Just another reason to give it another try, as we are always amazed how the atmosphere can change each time you go back to a winery.

We did however purchase one bottle of wine while at the winery.  The 2006 Tannat (red blend) is one that should be paired with BBQ.  We thought what perfect timing to buy this bottle at the beginning of summer when surely we will be barbecuing quite a bit.  We haven't tried it yet (step one: refill the propane tank. step two: grill meat. step three: open bottle of Tannat wine and enjoy.) We are sure to follow these 3 important steps very soon - since we've already had a string of 90+ degree days.  Summer has officially begun in the East Bay, now we need to start grilling and drinking wine. 

obsessed:

this week's obsession: Pottery Barn Pick-Stitch Quilt.

a few weekends ago it was 173 degree outside.  (actually, i lied, it was only 95, but when it's 65 and cloudy one day and then BAM! it's 95 the next, it feels like 173 degrees. Typically it cools down at night but not that weekend.  Which prompted us to buy a summer weight quilt for our bed.  Something I've been wanting to do for 5 years - since we registered for one and didn't receive one for our wedding and it wasn't one of the things we thought we actually needed at the time.  And I hate to be hasty when it comes to making purchases, so it took just shy of 5 years of thinking about a summer weight quilt to finally take the plunge.

And we love it. 

AND it's washable! You gotta love that.

This quilt is so soft and perfect for warm summer nights.  Totally worth the 5 year wait..however I don't suggest you do that. Just go buy one. They were on sale and totally worth it.

madison: take two

Because I took a bzillion pictures while in Madison...here's a few more to enjoy.

[sweet building in the middle of the botanical gardens...I'd tell you exactly what building it is, however I never knew in college and still don't know now]

[memorial union...this is the window that you'll find on your way up to the great hall. i love the great hall. Funny that I didn't take a picture of that.]

[lake mendota]

[the iconic chair that you are NOT allowed to steal and put on your porch, although I always wanted to...except I would have chosen an orange one, they come in yellow and green too (the three main tractor company colors to be exact) and apparently this white as well]

[botanical gardens, again]

the end.

any day in madison = a great day

Like every other time that we go back to visit Mike's family, we make sure to spend a day in Madison walking around State Street and campus. I may be...(ok, I'm seriously bias, right now i'm wearing a UW t-shirt AND sweatshirt) but Wisconsin's campus seriously can't be beat, especially on a nice summer day. We started off by getting Noodles to go (wisconsin mac n' cheese) and some waters and walked down State Street to Library Mall. The day was absolutely beautiful and there were people every where, along with a great band playing while we ate. There were many college tours going on and if I were a high school kid trying to pick a school, walking around on a summer day with people all over the place, music playing, etc. I would be sold. College search. Over. (thinking back...yes, that's exactly when I made my college visit to Wisconsin.)

After eating, we made the trek up Bascom Hill and down the other side to check out the Botanicals Gardens, the Soil Science building (my home away from home in college), as well as a new super sweet Biochemistry building. After all our years of living on campus, Mike never had a tour of the Babcock Hall Dairy store, so of course, we made a stop there to check out how the ice cream is made and a cone of cookies and cream for Mike and mint chocolate chip for me. Such a great mid-afternoon treat. And then as we walked down the lakeshore path back to the Union, we saw so many young faces, those sweet little freshman...and then i realized they could in fact be 12 years younger (you know the young ones that have really late summer birthdays)than me. How did THAT happen? So anyways...enough about me being 29...here's the pictures of fabulous day in Madison.

[an ice cream maker hard at work]

[bill's mice helped build the Biochem building, god bless Bill's mice...and Carl W. Bruch]


[old meets new....the reflection of an old Ag. building on the new Biochem building]

[entry way to the observatory, I walked many a bitter cold walk past

here on my way to Soil Science]

[Bascom Hall]