Contessa Grigia

The patio, this is the view from the balcony in the master suit.

A view from the balcony of the master suit.

In the kitchen.

More views of the enormous kitchen.

One of my favorite views of the kitchen. The picnic basket will be filled with goodies for the families that visit. My daughter and I painstakingly chose each one of the cookie jars.

A few view of the living room.

Two of the bedrooms.

I promise I’ll show more views of the whole house next week, and more of it is wrapped up and ready to showcase.

“I like to convey the idea that art is important in everyday life.” Georgia O’ Keeffe

Since the day I had our children, I have tried to live my life as though every aspect of every moment is a gift. When we linger long enough to appreciate a moment in time, it can become a work of art.

Just yesterday, I spent most of the day reading, and spending parts of the day with everyone. It was fabulous!…

So much has transpired since my last post. Sophie (our Cane Corso), continues to grow, and she still loves the cats, but Muffasa is her favorite cat.

Sisters

I enjoy living in the moment, and one day when I went to pick up my mail these two sisters were working at knitting. I ask them if it was ok to snap their photo. I just love the juxtaposition of their habits and the wall behind them. Plus, they are just so happy!

Baby goats

We had some baby goats on the farm (Terreni D’ Oro).

KRUSH radio

Roberto and I were on The Krush 92.5. We were talking about our wine and our new label. Actually, Roberto did most of the talking that day.

Napa

I was in Napa for a wine blogging conference. It was a cloudy day in the beginning, but super pleasant right about noon.

Wine Symposium

Demetra and I went to Wine Speak in Paso.  We listened to several Master Sommeliers, and saw many people that are local favorites.

Cookie Baking in the Villa

We started hosting cooking classes in the villa. This photo was from our cookie baking class. Of course we had a few glasses of wine while we learned to bake cookies. LOL

Bellagio

Las Vegas

Venetian Hotel

Venetian

I went to Vegas, and passed my WSET II class.

Tinkerbell

More goats

We had more goats.

Beginning of decorating

Finish line

I have also been busy renovating and then decorating our farm house at Terreni D Oro. This will be an additional place our club members can stay when they come to Paso Robles.

  Happy Birthday Demetra

Demetra had her birthday, so we wanted to make it special for her.

1st Artisanal Market Sunday

Last month we had our very first Artisanal Market Sunday. We plan to hold one every month. So, mark your calendars for the third Sunday of the month from 12 to 3.

Chicks

We got some chicks. Once I post more about the chicks, I’ll have to tell you the story of our first 100 chickens. This time we have learned our lesson.

I Missed This…

We are a species that needs and wants to understand who we are. Sheep lice do not seem to share this longing, which is why they write to little. Anne Lamott

What have I been doing with my time?

I’ve been all over the place these last few months, and just haven’t taken the time to sit down and write. I was at the IFBC17, which was such a blast. The food was good, and meeting the people that make…

We have a wonderful restaurant here in Paso, Thomas Hill Organics.I was recently invited to a private pairing. Wines from four different wineries were paired with food that the chef made. Each one of us also had the opportunity to talk to the journalist that were visiting the area. The other wineries had their wine makers there, and I was the only one that was an owner. Everyone was so engaging…

I was sitting down my husband having a hot cup of coffee, steam was still rising from the top of my mug that says “Greatest Mom”, and then I remembered…I told the kids I would make some fresh, hot, cinnamon rolls. Well, luckily, I purchased some Pillsbury Cinnamon Rolls from the grocery store the other day.

I leaped out of my French Country chair with the woven sea grass, and took a few splinters in my rear for getting up so fast. I ran across the cold tile with my bare feet to the fridge. Ahhh, a life saver, in tube form…the cinnamon rolls, just needed to be popped open, and put in a cast iron skillet, ya know, for a home made look. LOL!

I pop them in the oven that is 400 degrees, and mix about 4 teaspoons of cinnamon to 4 teaspoons of “sugar in the raw”, and add that to the top. Not everyone in the family likes the frosting that comes with the Pillsbury tube. They came out of the oven perfectly fluffy, and invigorating the whole house with the smell of cinnamon. The look of them in the cast iron skillet is such a bonus.

Yes, the kids were happy, and so was my husband.

Just a few weeks ago, my daughter ask me to send her several options of baby photos for the year book. The year book that will be her final year book as a child. As I sat at my desk with the several photo albums, I just cried. My baby is almost an adult. She will be off to college next year.

She was such a beautiful little baby too…

All these years of watching my beautiful baby become her own person. I will never forget when she was told by the dentist that she had to have braces. She said “I like the way I look, the gap in my teeth make me, me. I don’t understand why I have to adapt to what society considers beautiful.” Oh, wow, I had to dig deep to find a damn good explanation for braces.

She also was so brave to just be herself. She has never needed approval from her friends, and I always commended her for being Sabrina. Through the years she was often the friend of the newest kids in the class. She knows that her family is with her on her journey whatever it is she decides to do, we know that she will do it unequivocally her way! I love my gown up baby, and having her in our lives has been a blessing. I love the times we have spent together over the years in the Lexus talking, coming and going to volleyball games, French, cooking classes, art classes, horse backing riding, learning to drive, and picking up new animals for the farm. Every moment is special with her!

One of the biggest aspects of branding is making sure that people are aware that you exist. This has been an issue for a long time, but we are working hard to change all that by getting out there, and engaging with people that enjoy wine.

Recently, I was at our 2nd annual charity dinner. All of us on the Pleasant Valley Wine Trail, host a dinner at Hartley Farms. We hired Trumpet Vine Catering, and we were very pleased with their food. We pair the foods with the wine, and sell tickets for people to join us “Under the Estella Sky”. We then gave our money to the Pleasant Valley School, so they could have computer equipment. Here are some photos of our shenanigans after the party…

  Then, I was off to Petaluma for a Polo Match, and pouring wine…

  Pouring wine in Pismo…

Pouring wine in Fresno for Wine and Wishes…

This next month, is full of pouring at more events, and meeting more people. We love being out there and engaging with an audience that enjoys wines!

When my children were younger I wanted to share the cycle of life with them in a real way. I wanted them to be able to see, feel, experience how the circle of life really works. I purchased some worms, (red wigglers), and purchase a box that would allow earthworms to procreate, as well as eat all the garbage that we generated. We would put our shredded papers in the box, coffee grounds, and the…

Both are rural Italian scenes, a farm house in the background. I used to having these little gems beside my bed, when we lived in the city. I’m guessing they made a subconscious impact on us, since now we are people that have a town and country life. With all the heavy clads it reminds me of the end of summer, and beginning of the autumn is looming in the horizon.

I love how the artist made use of the light just breaking through the clouds, and the detail is amazing for such a small painting. One has touches of orange, indicating the poppies that are still in bloom. The other has a creek with a waterfall, with light bouncing on the rocks. I just love how paintings take us out of existence in this time and space, then transports us to another location. Well, of course, you have to be willing to use your imagination.

The other day, my daughter and I had a wonderful day together. She’s a senior in high school. It was a special day at school when the parents go to Liturgy, then the seniors are dismissed to spend the rest of the day with their parents. My husband couldn’t attend, since we are harvesting our grapes. She and I went to Barnes and Nobel, we are avid readers, and then went to eat. When we were eating she asked me “Do you miss our house in Oakland?” I answered…I miss the memories that we created. She told me that she missed the way the sun came into the front room, and the time we would spend in that room just reading together. We then remembered the Bradbury and Bradbury ceiling paper story that always makes us laugh. I believe it would make anyone laugh.

It took us years to get our house to be the gem that it was before we sold it. We had reconstruction done to our house, and that was so labor intensive for all of us. Then after the contractors went away, it was time for us to do all the finish work, and one of those projects was the ceiling paper for our living room. This would be the room where the family would gather for conversations and reading.

We ordered our Bradbury and Bradbury paper, and it doesn’t come precut, or at least at the time, it didn’t. You have to do all the trimming for the paper yourself or hire a professional. It is also paper that is hung using a clay. The paper sat in the large tubes until it was time for Roberto to take his winter vacation. The anticipation of the paper going on the ceiling was intense.

Roberto broke out several saw horses, and made himself a cutting space. After all that was done, he was ready for me to help him. He had two ladders, one for me at the back of the room, and his ladder was near the clay. The paper was folded according style as we gently put up section by section. I was in charge of holding it while he made sure all the bubbles were out of the paper. Success! We had the first section up, only 12 more to go. The first section took so long, and the kids were young, so they had questions to ask…which made the whole process seem longer.

We were on section 2, and I was holding the accordion piece with one hand and holding the paper with the other. Sabrina came into the living room, and told me something that was funny, but Roberto told me “Stop moving, you’re going to rip the expensive paper.” I told Sabrina, I would be in the family room once we finished this section. My arms were shaking from keeping them up in the air for so long. All the sudden, almost the whole part that we just put up on the ceiling peeled away, and drooped to the floor. Roberto was pissed. He walked over to the five gallon buck and picked it up, then slammed in on the floor in frustration. At the same time his glasses slipped off his face, and fell into the bucket of mud. I just busted out laughing so hard. I couldn’t stop laughing. He grabbed his glasses and took off to the kitchen where I could hear him laughing too. Then the kids came into the kitchen saw his glasses and laughter filled the house.

I got down from the ladder, and he told me; “We need to figure out a better way of getting the paper on the ceiling.” We all took a break together, and then he told me to stay out of the living room. He had an idea…I was replaced by a ladder and a cardboard box! LOL!!

“In seed time learn, in harvest teach, in winter enjoy.” William Blake

There’s something magical about harvest season when you live in wine country. It’s a current of electricity that runs through the everyone and everything. I always think of Dr. Seuss. Ya know those giant machines that come in to clean up after “It 1 and 2 and the kids? Well, there are grape. Picking machines driving on the…

Just a few weeks ago I attended the San Jose Jazz Festival, and it rocked! I was pouring wine in the “Blues” section, and other were pouring our wine in the VIP section. Here is my booth…

I was just so excited to be a part of the festival, and the city was just buzzing with energy. Since I was a vendor, I got to go behind the scenes, you could feel the city waking up…

This was the longest amount of time that I had ever spent in San Jose, and I loved it. Additionally, I visited the San Jose Museum of Art, St. Joseph Basilica, and did some people watching at a cafe.

One of the most exciting aspects of the whole trip was going to the Mayor’s Brunch, and he even thanked us at the brunch. A view from the rooftop at Scott’s Seafood, and the crowd coming in that day.

We donated 25 cases to San Jose Jazz Festival, and all the pours that were sold went to the festival, so we were happy to help.

The babies are staying in the breezeway until they are bigger. If I put them in the pasture, they can wiggle under the gate. We don’t want that to happen.

“…and then, I have nature and art and poetry, and if that is not enough, what is enough?” Vincent Van Gogh

One of my favorite artists (of our modern age), that paints scenes of nature, is Fawn Mc Neill, she see’s and transfers her vision on canvas so beautifully. I unfortunately, only own one of her paintings, but it is one that I see everyday. 

I love flowers, and this is perfect to see first…