Napa Style

 

 The Girls and I got up early to make our way to Napa after stopping in Walnut Creek for a bit.  We just had to stop by Brighton and check out the jewels first.  We went into Crate and Barrel as well.  The weather was just gorgeous and it was great to stroll around Broadway Plaza for awhile and check it out.  They always do such a nice job of planting gorgeous flowers and they seem extra especially welcomed in the winter.  Even though February in this  area is always pretty outstanding.  Today will reach 70 degrees our forecast says.  It is hard to imagine when I see figures in the 20's and 30's where the kids live.  So I know the lovely weather while they were here was a boost to both Jen and Laura.

We didn't buy too much in Walnut Creek, but it was delightful to just be outside and most of all together.  Our destination in the Napa Valley was actually in the town of Yountville, just north of Napa.  They have a lovely collection of shops and galleries there housed in this old brick building called 1870. That was our first stop of the day over there.

This area is noted for its gourmet and epicurean shops, this was right up the alley of our two daughters.  They love all things in the cooking realm and actually gave me a little boost of enthusiasm about it.  They have a shop called Napa Style that has the most amazing array of flavored salts, sugars, vinegars, oils, and the like.  We spend quite a bit of time in there and came away with some goodies for sure.  We were collecting a few things to give Grampa as a 'thank you" and he loves Balsamic and flavored vinegars so he scored here.  What attracted my eye at Napa Style was the gorgeous tableware, the Mercury glass, copper and these clocks.  And  the flowers were stunning!

I thought this name quite appropriate for this excursion.  There are lots of grily-girl shops in here for home and for the dressing room and the jewelry box and for the art lovers and for those who might enjoy a real, authentic, Italian gelato.  I bought a fabulous new scarf for my red coat in one of the shops.  It was a fun time.  Of course we had to try the gelato which met with grand raves, and pushed our lunch time closer to dinner and that was just fine as we had no schedule!  Laura bought a clock here which escalated into her finding not one but five new clocks for their home over the week!  Why is it so much more fun to shop on vacation than at home?  That's simple...memories of a fabulous time evoked whenever you see the treasure.

The countryside was stunning as it always is here except in the summer when it is so hot and dry.  It's hard to imagine that when you see these photos.

Absolutely loving the new camera for our outdoor photos especially.  The iPhone is more convenient and less intrusive in the shops but outside the Canon Sure-shot SX 500 is amazing!  Part 2 of this day is coming soon!