September, You Were Crazy

MOMCATION 2020! 

I always look forward to my weekend away each year. This year was a little different since I had to work around a pandemic, haha. So, where do you go when everything is closed and you don't want to necessarily fly somewhere? NAPA! I have always wanted to go to Napa. I was so looking forward to this vacation, then the fires started in CA and Napa happened to be one of the places on fire. I cancelled my trip and started to look elsewhere. As September approached I had this feeling that Napa is exactly where I should go. I called the place I previously had booked to ask about the fires. They told me the fires weren't close and the smoke had died way down.  I decided right then and there to rebook my stay. I packed up the Venza, kissed my people good bye and hit the road. I took the scenic route up which ended up being a perfect choice. It was absolutely GORGEOUS! I sang along to my music and sipped on my crushed ice fountain Diet Coke on the way up. The best start to a Momcation!

I pulled up to this super cool mansion. I couldn't believe this is where I was staying. It felt more like a sorority house, haha. I checked in with Beth at the front desk and she let me choose the room I wanted to stay in. I picked the one closest to the pool and kitchen ;) It was PERFECT for me. I unpacked and made myself at home by checking out the grounds. Then I started thinking about dinner and where I should head to.

I was super worried that with COVID nothing would be open. I called the White House Inn before I rebooked my trip to ask. They informed me that everything would actually be opening the day before I got there. WOOHOO! It was so nice to eat at a restaurant and be served. I grabbed some paper and a pen and started jotting down what I wanted to see, where I wanted  to eat, and what I wanted to do. I made my list while eating one of the best pulled pork sandwiches I have ever had. The salad was incredible too. I had never had anything like it and I could have just eaten that. The meal was delicious! If you are ever in Napa hit up the Bounty Hunter. It will not disappoint!

This is the view from the Bounty Hunter restaurant. After dinner I took a walk along the river. It was a beautiful night.

Such a tasty restaurant!

The next morning I woke up and walked the grounds before heading to my massage. This is the pool, hot tub, and fire pit area. It felt so private and inviting. I just wanted to snuggle up with a book in one of those cabanas. Don't worry, I did just that later ;)

They had a masseuse right there at the White House Inn. There was a darling little cottage to the right of the pool and fire pits where they offered massages. I booked a 90 minute massage and didn't regret one minute of it. It was the absolute perfect way to start my first full Napa day. 

After my massage I went out on the town. I grabbed a sweet parking spot downtown and started walking Main St. 

I walked over the bridge to check out a farmers market and market place. I found two pairs of the cutest earrings and a sweet belt for Pres. The guy that made these leather belts was from Scotland so I got to chatting with him for a while. I LOVE meeting new people. He looked a little like Santa minus the beard, haha. Very kind grandpa. The lady that made my earrings was super sweet and told me about her business and how she started it all. 

Lunch...MMM! My favorite pizza is the Margherita Pizza. There's just nothing like it. I brought a book and read while I ate outside enjoying the view and breeze. 

The gardens at the Culinary Institute of America.

The CIA have their very own gardens they tend to. They cook and bake from the gardens. The land mass for this was HUGE. They had beds and beds of fruits, veggies, and herbs everywhere. The building was closed due to COVID so I couldn't go in the market area that they normally have, but I got to walk the grounds. 

Anyone that knows me knows that I LOVE to cook and have toyed with the idea of eventually attending a culinary program. It was fun to see this one in Napa. I had been to the one in San Antonio when we lived there. The day started heating up quite a bit at this point in the afternoon. I later found out that I chose the hottest weekend they've had in a long time, haha. It was 115* this day.

More gardens on the grounds.

Grapes!!

I spent the rest of that afternoon walking Main Street and checking out some shops along the way. It was a cute little Main Street. After a while I needed a break from the sun and I needed water, haha. I got in my car and stopped at my place to grab a few snacks and drinks and headed up to a winery. I had always wanted to see one and I was just about to make that wish come true.

I snapped a pic at a light on my way up. It's just beautiful up here.

Welcome to V. Sattui Winery

They had walkways helping everyone know where to go. I loved the covered walkways. They were beautiful.

They had an outside restaurant and wine tasting area on the left side and this beautiful place. They store the wine in the basement of this manor.

Walking the grounds. I loved the stone and beams throughout the manor. It was gorgeous and so old.

They had some old equipment in the basement. The employees let me explore the cellar and the "museum" part of the winery. It was really cool to see.

So many barrels of wine!

These barrels were giant! They lined one side of the basement wall. The other sides were smaller barrels. 

Les with wine barrels. That's not something you'd see everyday :)

A little history I learned while visiting the winery...V. Sattui Winery stands today as the result of hard work, dedication, and the extraordinary vision of two men who happen to be related. Vittorio Sattui started the business in 1885 after emigrating from Genoa, Italy. The law-abiding Vittorio was forced to shut down when Prohibition went into effect, and the winery would lay dormant until 1976, when Vittorio’s great-grandson, Dario, would realize his dream of resurrecting the family business in the town of St. Helena in Napa Valley.

History of the winery covered the walls as you walked through the cellar. 

Vineyards

The other side of the Winery. This is where they have weddings and events.

I just loved this building. I could have moved in here.

The gardens.

Such a cool shot of the vineyards with those mountains full of vineyards behind it. It was so green and pretty.

I did it! I made it to NAPA!

After checking out the winery and grabbing some dinner from their market I headed to Yountville. This town was what I expected when you hear Napa. It's such a quaint town. It looks like you stepped out of the US and were in Italy. 

This is The French Laundry restaurant. 

It's pretty famous in the culinary world. It's $350 a plate to dine here. Let's just say I passed on it this time, haha. Many celebrities will dine here when they are in Napa. I have heard it's worth it but I'm to cheap to dish out that kind of money to try it out :)

Another cute brick restaurant.

Main Street.

I just loved these restaurants. They were so cute.

I stopped at Bouchon Bakery to check it out. This is another one I had heard about and it did not disappoint. This was the best croissant I have ever tasted and the macarons were to die for. Absolutely exquisite.

Best EVER!

Once I was home I ate dinner and dessert in my room. I worked on a few things I brought along with me that I had been trying to get done but couldn't find the time before. After a while I wanted a little fresh air so I made myself a fire and hung outside for a while. I enjoyed the silence and star gazing.

The next morning I had my breakfast out by the pool. The White House Inn treated us to breakfast every morning. This morning we had pancakes, bacon, fruit and orange juice. It was so tasty. I loved sitting out in these cabanas. I took my scriptures, a book and my breakfast and enjoyed a chill morning.

I hung out at the house for most of the day so I could take advantage of the pool, hot tub and just some down time. There were a few other couples and a group of girls on a girls trip that were staying in the house with me. I ended up getting to know several people over the weekend and we laughed a ton and had a ball getting to know each other. I got close to the people that were in charge of the mansion as well and really enjoyed getting to know them. Beth, Caesar and Javari are incredible. Beth took me on a tour of the mansion and gave me the history of the building. It belonged to a german family that moved here the late 1800's. The husband owned a leather company and worked out in the back of the house. They had 8 children. The husband unfortunately passed away 10 years after they moved to the US leaving the wife with 8 kids. She renovated part of the house and used it as an apartment she rented out in order to make money. Super smart for that day and age. She was able to keep the house and pay for anything the family needed. I loved hearing all about the people I was staying with. It was fascinating to see the paths that some of these people took as well as the dreams they have for this life. After hanging with a couple people in the morning from the house I took back off to Yountville to grab more croissants ;) and dinner. I made a reservation at the RH restaurant. 

The line at Bouchon Bakery. 

Apparently everyone knows how good this place is, haha. I stocked up the second time I went. I brought something home for everyone and maybe a few extras ;)

When I pulled into park before heading to Bouchon I snapped a pic of the temp. I couldn't get over how hot it was that weekend! 

Eating at RH. They have beautiful trees, fountains, and unbelievable chandeliers all around you while you are eating. It was absolutely GORGEOUS!

I got a delicious burger, fries and Diet Coke. I curled up in my corner and enjoyed my Magnolia Journal while eating. 

How beautiful is this place?!

The outside of the RH restaurant. It looked like it was straight out of a fairy tale.

When I got back home I went out to the fire pits where I met Caesar and Javari (part fo the Inn's crew). I asked if I could crash their party and they welcomed me. We sat and talked and laughed for over an hour. Beth the manager of the place showed up and I hung out a little longer before turning in for the night. We had such a fun time. It was the perfect way to end the day. I highly recommend the White House Inn if anyone needs a place to stay while in Napa.

A view of my room.

I curled up to this magazine and passed out one last time before heading home to my crew the next day. This Momcation was absolutely what I needed. It felt so good to get away and do something just for me. I absolutely LOVE and ADORE my family but I need to remember to make time for myself. I need the chance to be on my own and do what I want to do for a few days. Get to know new people, eat incredible food and explore a new place in the world. Napa, I will be back :)

This month I also had to have surgery for some sinus issues. One reason I wanted to do Napa at the beginning of the month is because I knew I was having surgery on September 10th. I have been having sinus issues for years. I found out in June that I had chronic sinusitis. A condition that caused me to have allergies more often than not and they never really went away. I had been to Urgent Care as well as my PCP several times for ear aches, ear pain, and sinus related issues. They did an MRI and scoped my nose and found that I not only needed sinuplasty surgery but I also had a deviated septum which needed to be removed. I was actually looking forward to this surgery because I had dealt with pain and sickness for so long. I was ready to breathe and feel better. I checked into surgery on Thursday morning and was done 3-4 hours later. The surgery went very well but the doctor let Pres and I know that what they found was much worse than they had expected. 

I have been partially deaf in my left ear since I was very young. They were able to go in and open it up to relieve the pain, hurt and sickness from that ear. It was the culprit to so many problems. When the doc went in to open up that part of my ear I had never felt pain like that. It was excruciating. He gave me a heads up but I had no idea what he was really talking about until he started. The sounds I heard and the pain that was felt was beyond what I imagined I would feel but I got through it thankfully. I think at one point I pushed the doctor's hand away so he would stop but he kept cheering me on and had the nurses holding my arms and legs down because I started to convulse. They were grabbing blankets and trying to hold me still but my body went into trauma mode. The nurses and doc kept letting me know it would be so much better if I could hang in there a little longer. Luckily that was the second to last part of the surgery. Every other part he did I was completely fine but when he went to that left ear it was hard to get through. The right ear hurt but not nearly as bad. It was a breeze compared to lefty.

After the surgery when Pres got there I found out that I had been breathing at about 30-40% when everyone else is breathing at 100%. Due to my deviated septum and blocking of channels I wasn't getting the oxygen I could be getting all these years. I had to drink some juice before I could go home but I ended up throwing up quite a bit due to the surgery as well. They gave me some water that I was able to keep down so they sent me home and I slept a lot! I went in the next day to have all of the packing removed. There was SO much packing! I had no idea that amount of cotton could fit in one persons nose, haha. It was disgusting and yet such a relief to have everything pulled out of my face, haha. I have since been recovering. It can take up to 9 months before I feel 100% but I am grateful to be on this end of it. Each day gets a little better. The last check up the doc said I am at 40% which was really good at three weeks post recovery. Especially for how invasive the surgery ended up being. There is still swelling and draining that needs to continue happening but I am taking it one day at a time.

On day 3 of recovery I received the sweetest get well package from my parents and siblings! Love those people! It made my day!

My little tribe stayed close even when I was just napping.

Recovery for those first few days was much harder and more painful than I had anticipated but Pres and the kids took such great care of me. They helped out in so many ways. I am so grateful for my family of five. So much love, service and greatness.

September ended up being a much more chill month than we normally have due to surgery, fires and COVID. We stayed in for most of September. The wildfires around us kept us indoors most days due to the air quality. We couldn't play outside or go anywhere really. I am so grateful for my Momcation and to be this much further in my recovery. I am so blessed to have the family and friends I do. 

Here's to hoping for an awesome, fall filled, and fun October!