santa maria

a few weeks back, T and i visited our dear friends cat and matt in santa maria for memorial day weekend. it was my first time to see california and i was treated to quite the first experience as we stayed at matt's home on the grounds of his vineyard and winery. ...what! it was such a great trip that was of course filled with yummy food, great wine, and wonderful company.  

day one:

we flew in early in the morning and spent our first hours driving along the california coast where we made a pit stop to play in the pacific. even on a stormy day with chilly water temps, it was pretty gorgeous. later, we met cat and matt at a local shop for lunch where i fell in love with caneles, sampled wines while we unpacked, ate matt's infamous burgers, and took a tour of the vineyard. 

[a rainy romp in the ocean]

[gorgeous winding roads]

[matt working away on his burgers]

[a couple of bros talking all things wine]

[raul, our gucci fiat]

day two:

we ventured up the interstate to tour hearst castle in san simeon, snacked on delicious pastries from a local shop, learned how to make fresh orecchiette, and whipped up an amazing dinner with fantastic wine pairings. two things that happened by this point in the trip - i found orecchiette to be far easier to make than i thought and i found several pinot noirs to fall in love with (i previously swore off of them). 

[hello lovely pastries]

[catching rays and wind]

[stunning views from the top of hearst castle]

[hi there, little ears]

day three:

we had another day of overcast which meant it was perfect for wine tasting. we first stopped by a local restaurant to sample some seriously tasty food and wine. then, we walked down the street to sample more wines and got into some serious corn hole and bocce ball matches (the trash talking was pretty hilarious). after, we took a tour of matt's winery, snacked on cuban food, and boogied to our heart's content to an 80s cover band. 

[my new favorite snack - sardines on crackers with salted butter and sriracha (trust me, its divine)]

[all the deep belly laughs]

[tours of the cave aka tyler's new happy place]

[cat and i taking in the views and gearing up for the dance party to come]

day four:

after a lot of wine tasting the day before, we took it a little slower and headed to pisco beach where T and matt surfed the choppy waters. cat and i cozied up under the pier where we sipped on hard cider and chatted it up. after, we had in and out (no offense to tx, but ca in and out is far better) for lunch, slurped up tasty pho, and spent the night in watching marvel movies. 

[moody beaching]

[perfect cider sippin' weather]

[yum and yes!]

[steak tartare and fries...omg]

day five:

the am was spent with us gals lounging at the house together while the guys went on quite the bonding hike (aka it was pretty dicey at times). cat and i had an indulgent lunch and the guys met back up with us after they finished. on our last night, T and i thought we would whip up our homemade pizzas for our hosts and they treated us to a tasting of matt's wines. they were the perfect pairing and a great way to close out our trip.   

[more wines coming out for the tasting makes for a happy T]

[fresh pizza dough and wines]

day six: 

T and i, reluctantly, said our farewells to cat and matt, took one last drive/pit stop along the coast, and said adios to the gucci fiat. we had such a lovely time and i, of course, loved soaking up all the quality time with my cat. here's to our next visit and our wonderful hosts! 

bourbon crawl

in the nature of catching up on the past semester's fun, we are taking things back to a chilly february weekend where T planned out a bourbon crawl in okc for my birthday. we sampled cocktails at some of my favorite happy hour haunts with our friends and it reminded me of how much i love this gang of goofs. at each stop, T coordinated a different bourbon-themed cocktail for us to sample which, coincidentally, turned out to be some of my picks i usually sip on. 

first stop: the pritchard

cocktail: 'the final ward' aka 'the last word' with bourbon instead of gin

verdict: the cocktail to start our night with - yum!

[the final ward]

second stop: nic's

cocktail: the sazerac

verdict: i just love a good sazerac, it truly is hard to beat. that being said, i don't have them all too often as they are my go-to cocktail for leisurely sipping.  

[the sazerac]

[inadvertently becoming inspired to retell my own drunk history of ona judge]

[the old fashioned]

third stop: r&j supper club

cocktail: the old fashioned 

verdict: old fashioneds are pretty much one of my top four drinks aside from a sazerac, bourbon neat, or a quality manhattan. you really cannot go wrong with this cocktail in my book. 

final stop: o bar

cocktail: the author six

verdict: this one was the sweetest of them all and, to be honest, was a bit too much after the other cocktails. i was caught off guard by the bacon and orange juice hitting my mouth so, i stuck to a glass of bourbon neat instead. 

[a bourbon chaser and the author six]

all in all, it was a great night that was filled with loads of belly laughs, toasts, hugs, and the ones i love, oh so, dearly. and what a great way to say, hello 32!