Wishful Wednesday: Dinner party

On this Wishful Wednesday, I wish we could have a dinner party together. The kind of party where we eat great food, giggle and learn more about one another. Having little Martha Stewart's entertaining touches are great, but after a glass of wine I no longer notice them. Throw together some candles, flowers and friends and I'm good to go.

Wait, is this picture of children helping in the kitchen. How wonderful! Does this really happen?

I love this fashion stressed picture; she looks too fabulous to not be eating her meal.

A friend laughing is the best medicine...



Let's have our dinner party outside. As long as the weather is OK, I think this is a lovely alternative to eating inside.



This takes 'going green' to an entirely new level.



Please hold my seat as I go and get another helping of food. And who just said a funny joke? Tell me, do you enjoy dinner parties? When was the last time you went to one? Happy Wishful Wednesday lovely. (Check out this wonderful dinner party book by Williams-Sonoma).

Free on a Saturday night? Wear your boyfriend's shirt

It was 4:00 on Friday afternoon, when my best friend called to ask for advice. Her husband was at work and her daughter was sleeping at her Grandparents, so suddenly she was free for the night. She had seven open hours to devote to whatever she wanted to do. She asked me to make some suggestions to her for her time off? How would you feel for example, if your partner called to let you know there’s been a change of plans. He’s going to a ballgame game with some co-workers and you can do whatever your heart desires. This call started me thinking, what do people do with sudden unplanned time for themselves?

What do you do to fill up your free hours?

For my friend, I suggested that she watch something on T.V. that she doesn’t normally get to watch, have a bath and drink some wine. However if she was missing her husband, I also suggested that she put on his T-shirt or sweatshirt. 

(Do you think that men’s clothes are comfortable and inviting?)

I am not recommending to you out of loneliness and despair, that you should scream your partner’s name from a rooftop, but rather try to become comfortable spending time by yourself. I have found that staying in the here and now, helps me appreciate my days.

So, do you feel unsettled and out of schedule when plans change? What are some of the things that you do to fill your time when you're suddenly free for the night? Tell me, am I the only one that thinks men’s clothing is comforting?

Perfect Picnic of my Dreams

Tune in tomorrow for my interview with Couture Carrie and Under the Sheets-shhh.

Have a wonderful Memorial Day my blogger friends.

~ Laura

Come with me to a trip to the Napa wine country

I wanted to share with you some lovely pictures that we took on my birthday trip up to Napa Valley, California. The wine country is one of my favorite places. There is so much to learn from the hard working people who run the vineyards that produce the wines we love. 

Honey surprised me with this trip to Napa after we saw and loved the movie Bottle Shock. Bottle Shock is the real-life story of how the California's wineries garnered world recognition, after they won 'Judgment of Paris,' a wine-blind-tasting (or is it blind-wine-tasting) against the French. 

The photos below were taken at Chimney Rock Winery, Chateau Montelena Winery (the winning vineyard in the white wine section in the "Judgement of Paris" wine competition), Castello di Amorosa (the vineyard is a castle), and finally at Sterling Vineyards.

We took the last picture, shown above, at the Cliff Lede winery. I loved the gardens, their art gallery and their huge tabby cat that slept the entire time. What are some of your favorite types of wine?