A Visit To Lavender Hollow

Hello Sweet Friends!  This past weekend I had the fun opportunity to travel with some gal pals to visit Lavender Hollow Farm.  This beautiful little farm is located in Escalon- only an hour drive away- and was a perfect, easy day trip.

 As soon as we opened the doors of the car the lovely fragrance of lavender greeted us.  I love the smell of lavender, so the fragrance was like heaven for me!

  The gardens surrounding the private residence are so charming.

 We enjoyed walking around the grounds.  There was plenty to look at...

 ... like this beautiful clematis climbing the entry to the private residence.  I love how it looks against that pretty used brick wall.

Aren't these beautiful?!  I love the vivid violet color.  No alterations were done to the color in this photo-- this is really how it looked!

  Lavender Hollow Farm is open for a very short season, only 5 or six weekends.  The lavender is in early bloom right now-- and I imagine that the color will intensify throughout the coming weeks.  Each weekend the farm offers lavender crafting classes under the canopy in the photo above.  On this day, the guests were creating heart shaped lavender wreaths~ so pretty!

Charm and sweetness around every corner...

 

  ...and a really great variety of lavender plants were available for purchase. I purchased two-- Sachet and Betty's Blue!

 I never knew there were so many varieties of lavender!  I love that this variety is named "Alice".  That happens to be my favorite auntie's name.

 Inside the lavender barn was a fun boutique.

I love the hardware on the door to the barn-- so pretty!

  We found a great variety of lavender goodness-- lots of bath, culinary, and gift products.  I ended up purchasing some ground culinary lavender for baking, and can't wait to try it out in a batch of shortbread cookies!

 It was refreshing to find items at such reasonable prices.  Sometimes prices of items in tourist locations can be so inflated, but that wasn't the case here at all.

 We wandered around the grounds, taking photos and enjoying the sunshine.  Lavender grows well here because of the Mediterranean climate in this valley.

 We enjoyed a really great box lunch catered by Leonardo's Cafe.  Every item was infused with lavender.  It was so good-- not overpowering at all.  Click here to see the yummy menu! 

Oh, and I couldn't leave without treating myself to a lavender infused pink lemonade for the road.  The perfect ending to a perfect visit to Lavender Hollow Farms!  (Now, off to shop the antique/vintage stores!)

Hugs,

Christmas Tea For Two

Happy Holidays, Sweet Friends!

The other day my friend Lisa and I went over to the beautiful city of San Francisco to take in the Christmas magic. Well, we were not disappointed! S.F. is such a beautiful city, and at Christmas it's even more magical. The homes display sparklie Christmas trees in their front windows, cable cars are dressed for the season with garlands and bows (and hosting partying passengers dressed like elves and Santa singing Christmas carols!), and the shops are adorned with beautiful displays.

Lisa and I have wanted to visit The Crown and Crumpet for Christmas Tea for a while now, so we made our way over to Ghirardelli Square for a lovely afternoon tea. The C&C didn't disappoint. It was decked out in all it's sparklie, whimsical glory!

Unfortunately, I'm having difficulty loading photos from the fun day onto my computer... but fortunately, I can link you over to Lisa's Blog to view her amazing photos and let her tell you about our wonderful day! Click on over to HERE, my friends!

Hugs,

PS: I purchased the ornament above at The Crown and Crumpet to remember the special day. My photo loading issues must be related to the memory card. This photo was taken with a new memory card and loaded just fine. Ah, technology...

The Beehive Tea Room

A few weeks ago I was out of town on business/fun with friends, and made a little unexpected discovery~ The Beehive Tea Room, in Downtown Salt Lake City, Utah. My friend Deb and I were just taking a walk around the block of our hotel and I did a double take. (I think my heart even skipped a beat.) I went to the door to check the hours and take a peek. They were closed, but the owner, Lisa, came to the door and invited us in and ended up giving us a little tour. I'm so glad that she did!!This cozy, comfy tea room is a little gem in the heart of the city. When you walk in, you feel like you've stepped into a 1920-30's bohemian scene where artists and writers hang out. Lisa use to work in set design for film and television, and she definitely used her talent to create an incredibly inviting place to meet with friends, stop in for lunch, or just hang out and drink tea. That evening a book club was starting to gather in the lounge, and let me tell you-- I didn't read the book--but wow, I would have loved to have joined them!

These photos are from a couple days later, when my friends and I came back for lunch and tea. (I have no idea who those people in the photo are, but I really wanted a shot of this corner.) My awful photos just don't do it justice. There isn't a lot of natural light in The Willow Room, so I had to use a flash-- and well, you know how great that makes a photo look.

These rooms were vintage heaven... the furniture, the art and accessories... all of it! She hired an artist to paint the scenic murals. She told him that she wanted it to have the feel of a Maxwell Parrish painting. I think he did an incredible job!

This is the funky-fun hallway heading back to the front of the shop...

I love this cafe area in the front also. Lovelovelove those lanterns hanging from the ceiling. I tell you, this place has a magical feel to it. Again, my photos just don't do it justice!! Luckily, there's a pro out there who filmed a music video at the Beehive Tea Room, so you can enjoy a little bit of a "tour" also... oh, and the guy in the video is not so bad to look at either.

Although I'm not a food blogger, I've just got to mention that the food is great. I had the best quiche of my life here. I kid you not. Everything is made fresh-- including those wonderful warm scones that Lisa surprised us with! (Thank you sooo much, Lisa-- if you are reading this-- that was so thoughtful, and they were delish!) I sort of wish that I had taken photos of our food (like a good blogger), but I just wanted to be-in-the-moment with my friends. Oh, and I was hungry. Heehee.

So, if you somehow find yourself in downtown Salt Lake City, this is a great place to eat lunch and to drink from a great selection of tea. (They have other beverages also, if you aren't a tea drinker.) Give yourself time to enjoy the surroundings and to chat with your friends while they prepare everything fresh.

Seriously, if I lived or worked near downtown Salt Lake City, this would be my hangout. I'd buzz right back in a heartbeat.

Hugs,

PS: Be sure to check out their website for more details than I could fit in this post. Oh- and word has it, The Beehive Tea Room will be moving to Trolley Square, another historical location-- with very convenient parking and a beautiful new Whole Foods!

Road Trip: The Wild West Tour 2010

Welcome to Road Trip: The Wild West Tour 2010! Disclosure: Long post, lots of nature.

Anyway, recently I flew to Boise, Idaho to visit one of my dearest friends, Debra. We've known each other since- well, since I was born. Our mothers were best friends when we were growing up. Deb suggested we take a road trip up to Yellowstone, and I was all for it. I'd never been there and thought it would be fun to just go for it. I'm trying to be more spontaneous. Yep, I am. So here we are, hitting the road after a stop at Starbucks. We had our coffee, Cher blasting, and we were ready for adventure!

First attraction: Craters of the Moon, Idaho. It's all volcanic rock, and yes- it looks like the moon.

Here's Deb at Craters of the Moon. She's very excited to be at Craters of the Moon.

She was so excited, that she did the moonwalk at Craters of the Moon. Oh, Michael would be so proud.

Next stop: Arco, Idaho. The picture says it all. I'm not being snarky. It's a very, very small town, and this is it's claim to fame... atomic power.

Hillside at Arco, Idaho. Hey- I see an '84. That's the year I graduated from high school.

Okay, I couldn't resist. It's a potato truck, and people sorting potatoes. Idaho is famous for their potatoes.

We stopped at Lower Mesa Falls...

...and Upper Mesa Falls. It was really beautiful.

This is a lovely... rock formation. It reminded us of, uh... nature. Yes, uh...nature.

Another beautiful shot of Mesa Falls...

Next... we drove through part of Montana. This was a surprise for me. When I saw the "Welcome to Montana" sign, I said, "Oh my gawd, Deb-- we're in MONTANA!" I did not know that we were going to Montana. I thought Yellowstone was in Wyoming. Well, apparently West Yellowstone is in Montana. I did not know this. My first thought was... "Montana... where are you Tristan? Sigh..." (Reference: film Legends of the Fall)

The above photo is of a bison. It will from now on be known as a totanka. (Reference: film Dances with Wolves.) This was my first totanka.

I was surprised to notice that his hair-do is very similar to my Hagrid's hair-do. I think I have a new nickname for Haggie now... Totanka Boo Boo.

Oh, Tristan... where are you?

More totankas. Near the cars. Look how HUGE they are. I think this is the most cars we saw on roads in the park at one time. The park was empty. We were told that normally, this time of the year they have about three inches of snow. We were so lucky! I never even had to wear a coat. The weather was absolutely perfect for us!

Bye-bye, Totanka!

This is the beautiful, historic Old Faithful Inn. It really is beautiful. The lobby is stunning, with all the lodge pine wood beams, and the huge fireplace. We didn't stay there, but we had a wonderful dinner there. We stayed at The Snow Lodge, right next door.

We parked the car at the lodge, and took a little walk down to the geo-thermal pools. I'd never seen anything like it. It was bubbling hot. I felt a little urge to throw some spaghetti noodles into the "big pot". But I didn't. (I must have been getting hungry.)

Okay, no trip to Yellowstone is complete without seeing "Old Faithful". This geyser erupts about every 70 minutes. Here it goes...

... and goes...

And here it is, in all it's full glory. Everyone went, "Ooooooh! Ahhhhh!" I noticed that it sounds pretty much the same in all languages. There were people from all over the world standing there together for this fabulous nature experience. I love being in locations where you hear the various languages of people from other countries. I think it makes the world feel a little cozier.

This quote was on the wall in the newly opened Old Faithful Visitors Center. I thought it was kinda' cool.

We drove towards Yellowstone Lake, and crossed the Continental Divide. I'm still not sure what it is. I think I'll google it...

Here we are, at Yellowstone Lake. It's a very peaceful lake. The surroundings seemed so surreal to me... like a big science experiment... but in nature.

More thermal pools, but with streams leading down to the freshwater lake.

The colors and formations were amazing...

I'd never seen anything like this before...

I felt kind of like I was on another planet. This is so different from the Sierra's.

Isn't this color amazing? This looks like a tropical ocean to me.

Each pool was very unique... lots of different colors.

Then we got back on the road again. Now we're headed for...

... and here we are!

This was my first sighting of The Grand Tetons once we entered the park. It really is a gorgeous mountain range.

The colors were changing into all their fall glory. Lots of gold Aspen trees...

Getting closer... we arrived close to sunset. It was absolutely beautiful. We stopped by Jackson Lodge and ate outside on the patio. We had a great view... and then we were off to Jackson Lake.

This is one of my favorite photos. I love the reflection. Do you see the cowboy? I couldn't exactly ask him to move out of my picture, so I worked him in. I like to think he's a real Wyoming cowboy. For all I know, he's some guy visiting from Los Angeles and bought a cowboy hat. I'm just going to believe he's a Wyoming cowboy though.

Here he is again... Tristan, is that you??

We saw lots of these fences... lots of beautiful ranches too.

Moose sighting!! My first moose sighting! It was a bit of an ordeal to get this photo. The other photos looked a lot like those hokey photos of Big Foot. Oops. I mean this photo.

I snapped this photo as we crossed the river. That moose is HUGE. And that tourist is STUPID. Hello, have you heard of a telephoto lens? Zoom?

Obviously, he did not see the signs about approaching the wildlife.

Next stop: Jackson Hole, Wyoming. If you've ever been here, you probably recognized this arch immediately. There's one on each corner of Town Square. They're made out of...

Anteliers! I'm not sure what kind, but it was kind of cool. By the way, no animals were harmed in the making of these arches-- that I know of, anyway. Apparently the animals just shed them at some point.

This is the famous Million Dollar Cowboy Bar in Jackson. I wish that I had been able to get a photo of it at night. It's much more fun at night, with all the lights on and everything.

This is inside The Cowboy Bar. Yes, the bar stools are saddles. I did not sit on one. I should have. I could have yelled, "Yee-haw! Giddy-up little... whatever!" Or perhaps sung "Rawhide". But I didn't. Deb must have had the forsight to keep me off of them.

Later, we left Jackson and returned to Idaho...

Idaho really does have it's beautiful areas. I loved how the trees were changing color.

This is the Snake River. It seemed like it wound it's way around us the whole way home.

When we returned to Boise, we met up with Deb's daughter, Chelsey, and had a late lunch at the restaurant that she works at-- Locavore. The food is totally awesome. I wish we had one in my 'hood. If you ever go, tell Chelse-Woman I sent you. (Look for the stunning red-head.)

After lunch, it was off to the airport! Let's see, five states in five days... California, Idaho, Montana (bonus!), Wyoming, and Oregon (layover in Portland... does that count??). I had a great time, saw some beautiful nature... and I'm now glad to be home.

Home, sweet home.

If you've made it to the end of this post, I'm stunned and amazed. Thanks for hangin' in there. Next up: Fall decorations!

Hugs,