Rob, Ender, and I went to Lake Tahoe for a few days this weekend and had the best time. It was so nice to spend a few days together with no real plans other than skiing, eating, watching Harry Potter on TV, and relaxing by the fire or in the hot tub. We don't travel with Ender very often, but it's always so fun when we do--he got to go on lots of walks and especially loved jumping in the snow.

Here are a few details from our trip, in case you ever plan on visiting South Lake Tahoe:

• Where we stayed: A magical little cabin we found on Airbnb--use this link to get $40 off your first stay. The place was perfect--a little pet-friendly studio apartment with a fireplace and a hot tub in an adorable neighborhood just a few minute walk away from a couple of restaurants. The listing has old photos so I was expecting a dumpy little place, but they've done some decorating and updated the TV recently so we were pleasantly surprised at how charming the place was.
• Where we skied: Heavenly. It was, well, heavenly. I used to ski several times a year but haven't been in a long time. These slopes were amazing--the intermediate ones were perfectly long and wide and had gorgeous views. We went on a Friday and luckily the slopes weren't too crowded. Also, you can't beat the gondola ride up the mountain. 
• Where we ate: 
  • Bear Beach Cafe: We walked here from the house and it was great. The food was delicious and the portions were so large that we brought home half of our entrees for the next day. Everything comes with a warm, fresh muffin that was worth the gluten.
  • Blue Dog Gourmet Pizza: After a day of skiing, all we wanted to do was get dinner delivered and hang out in the hot tub, so that's exactly what we did. Rob got a pepperoni pizza and I had the gluten-free pesto chicken pizza. They were great. Somehow we wound up with free cinnamon sticks but they weren't great so we ignored them (ever since we adopted keto, we want our carbs to be super worth it).
  • Tamarack Lodge (at Heavenly): We had lunch on the mountain the day we skied. The food was really good but super expensive (two beers, a bowl of chili, a burger, and garlic fries were $63)--next time we'll probably bring some granola bars or something.
  • Free Bird Cafe: This place is the tiniest coffee shop I've ever been to. They make their own chai and the whole place smells amazing. There's nowhere to sit, so be ready to take your drink to go. I got a dirty chai and Rob got a regular latte. The cafe is next to a sweet looking diner that we're planning to hit up on our next visit.

We ended up having to leave a day early because there was a big winter storm coming and we didn't want to get stuck, but two nights was better than no nights! We're definitely going to be back next year (and maybe even this summer). 

Do you ever visit Tahoe? I'd love to hear your favorite spots so I can add them to my list for next time!

As you probably know by now, Rob and I have moved several times. What you might not know is that by this point, it sometimes feels as though we have friends or family in almost every city in the country. Between the friends we've made in our many homes and the friends from home who have moved to other cities, we really can travel to a wide variety of places and meet up with people we grew up with, or people we've come to know and love more recently.

All of this is to say that over the years I've become a big fan of traveling and then staying in with friends for a cozy dinner now and then.

And of course, blogging makes the world a lot smaller. I feel really lucky to have been introduced to not just great friends, but creative colleagues in Annie and Kristan. Getting together last month to host our autumn lunch in Sonoma was so fun that it barely felt like work, and it also felt like no time had passed since we all met up to do the same thing in Seattle.

The night before we headed to Sonoma, we stayed in San Francisco--at a seriously gorgeous apartment in the Mission. There were five of us (Ozzie and John, our photographer and videographer/Kristan's husband), so it made more sense to rent a place than to get a couple hotel rooms.

We stopped at a nearby market for some flowers and snacks--we joke that The Cheese Board is really our thing, and for a good reason! We always manage to put together the most delicious cheese and charcuterie platters whenever we're together--maybe because we don't want to cook when we're hanging out, but also probably because we're usually drinking wine (as usual, we opened a couple bottles of La Crema's Sonoma Coast Chardonnay and Pinot Noir) and what goes better with wine than cheese? Grapes, olives, prosciutto, nuts, and just a little bit of chocolate--it's one of my favorite meals.

We spent an hour puttering around the kitchen, plating food, taking photos, sipping on wine, and as we brought everything outside to enjoy our happy hour party on the patio, suddenly it dawned on me that none of us actually lived in the city we were entertaining in! It's easy to make yourself at home when there's food, wine, and good company.

Annie and Kristan and I put together a list of tips for hosting a happy hour on the fly (especially if you're traveling), and you can check it out today on the La Crema blog! 

Many thanks to La Crema for sponsoring this post (and my amazing travels to and from Sonoma)!

Photos by Oguz Uygur.

Two of our best friends from Virginia, Tina and Michael, are in town for a week; and on Saturday we headed north to Sonoma and Napa for a weekend of wine tasting and lots of food. It has been so incredibly fun having visitors already--it pushed us to unpack a bit more quickly than we would have otherwise (although there's still a ton left to do), and it gave us a reason to start exploring our new state with enthusiasm. It's truly incredible to think about all the places available to us, and all within a one or two hour radius.

Wineries we visited:

• Iron Horse--one of the most beautiful places I've ever been, and some of the most beautiful wine I've ever tasted. Get the bubbles flight. 
• La Crema Estate at Saralee's Vineyard--obviously one of my favorites but it was even more special to visit their new digs. We got a private tour of the grounds and ended the afternoon with some charcuterie in their gorgeous cellar. I've been a fan of La Crema long before I started working with them, so getting to visit the new space was really a treat.
• Freemark Abbey--gorgeous space and an amazing restaurant, which I'll link to below.
• Grgich Hills--delicious Zinfandel and a really nice patio to hang out on.
• Artesa--super friendly staff and unreal views of the mountains. We'd go back here in a heartbeat.

Where we ate:

• Pascaline Patisserie & Cafe--great spot for a light lunch near Iron Horse. 
• Glen Ellen Star--cute little place tucked away in Glen Ellen near our hotel. We sat at the bar ("the chef's counter," as they called it) and had some of the best chicken ever there. It was so nice to sit and watch the chefs at work while we enjoyed some truly delicious food.
• Russian River Brewing Company--amazing spot to stop and have some food while enjoying a few Pliny the Elders. We go as often as possible.
• Two Birds One Stone--we brought a bottle of Freemark Abbey rosé over and enjoyed a few snacks. Get the chips and definitely don't miss out on the black sesame soft serve with plum compote.
• Basalt--pretty spot on the Napa riverfront with great cocktails.
• Napa General Store--we stopped here on our way to lunch for a bellini and some spring rolls. Gorgeous patio.
• Morimoto--one of the most amazing lunches I've ever had. The sake was incredible and every bite was delicious.
• Celadon--swanky but approachable place for dinner. We brought a bottle of wine we had bought earlier and had them open it for us there. Everything we ordered was good but Michael definitely won with the lamb shank.

Places we stayed:

• Olea Hotel--totally worth it for the hot tub under the stars.
• Merlot House at the Old World Inn
  • Both adorable places and both with amazing breakfasts included. Totally recommend each one.

Now we're back at our place in the South Bay and excited to explore Mountain View, Palo Alto, and some more of San Francisco before they leave on Saturday! If you've been to Sonoma and/or Napa, what are some of your favorite spots? I'm already making a list for our next visit.