The Neighbor's Got to Go

I was in heaven all weekend. I had a house that I could pretend was my own and entertain people in it. Huge kitchen, dining table, etc. - it was a putterer's dream. And I am nothing if not a putterer :)

While I puttered - game night began. It began innocently enough with a lingerie shower of sorts where the bride had to guess who gifted each pair. Brownie Alligator's were easily the best. This blog is mostly PG, however, so there will be no pictures! It was followed by a drinking game where the bride has to correctly answer questions posed to the groom. Highlight here was the groom's answer that the bride's favorite activity is eating french fries while watching the Biggest Loser. A rousing game of Pin the Hose on the Fireman (and all that it implies) came next. A pictionary game followed. That's all I will say about that.

As the evening/early morning wore on, a select few of the louder girls (myself included) decided to hit the hot tub. Not more than 5 minutes in, we heard the neighbor yelling at us to keep it down. Not more than 10 minutes following that we were paid a visit by the property manager telling us our hot tub party had to end. Plots were hatched to "flamingo" her lawn with some leftover straws. The better part of reason kicked in and this plan was not realized.

Around 2:30, the last of us headed to bed. Or so I thought. At 5:08 am, we received the following picture via email from Ga.

Ly Bachelorette Extravaganza - Part Dos (aka Tasting the Wine)

Saturday morning I woke up and headed to the "gym." I got to the "gym" by means of a magical time-traveling elevator that took me back to the 1970s. There was a recumbent bike, a stairmaster and two elliptical machines that gave the user the feeling that they were headed downhill. It was less than ideal, but I do have to remind myself that I was back in 1970, and in 1970 this gym would have been considered "decked out." It's missing its disco ball though... that was sort of sad.

Being the group mom, I then headed to Walgreens to stock up on some snacks and sunscreen and went to Sbux to get my little chickies their morning Joe. Only one-half hour late, we were on our way in the PM to Sonoma. We arrived at Greystone Manor, a beautiful mansion to call our own at 10:45. Our first appointment was at 11, so mommy/drill sergeant/mini-Mussolini rallied the troops and got us on our way with Dan and other-driver, our designated drivers for the day.

First stop St. Francis. We tasted 6 wines here, a Sauvignon Blanc, a Viognier, a Cab Franc, a Cabernet Sauvignon, a Malbec and a Zinfandel. Our host (really a glorified bartender) was friendly, if not a bit salesman-y. He didn't let me rinse my glass or give me a new glass between tasting. This made the hobbit angry. Nonetheless, I did really like the cab and husband and I are going to enjoy some soon.

Second stop heaven-on-earth, aka Hanzell. We climbed a steep, single lane little path to get to Hanzell, which posted the most breathtaking views of the surrounding countryside. Our guide Ben, lead us around the facility, included the barrel room and let us see the fermenting tanks. They had this amazing chandelier made from the spokes (?) of old barrels where the light from the chandelier let you see the amount of toast that was on the various barrels from which it was made. Definitely a show piece, and definitely part of the wine-making process that I've not yet been able to see - as it's generally hard to see inside a barrel. I also learned how to read the "label" of a barrel to see where it was assembled, where the wood came from and the level of toast. We tasted wine (and ate chex mix and cupcakes (dignity, always dignity :)) in a gorgeous room with big wooden french doors at the end which opened up onto what can only be described as a majestic view. The wines were really lovely. We tasted their estate pinot noir which was extremely elegant and had a great earthy nose like old-world pinot. Their chardonnay was also great, and was really not oaky despite having spend 12 months in lightly toasted French oak.

Our third winery was Frog's Leap, which is a favorite of the bride-to-be. We sat at a great picnic table in the middle of a beautiful garden and tasted a Sauvignon Blanc, a Zinfandel, an oddly terrific Merlot, the Rutherford cab and other ones I can't remember now, because we were busy with some covert ops, and we had been drinking a lot already that day. I met a cat that looked like my old cat Graham Cracker.

Our fourth "bonus" winery was Domaine Carneros where we tasted a brut, a demi-sec and a rose sparkling wine. We basically had a sip of each and used it as a halfway point to stretch our legs, though the brut and rose were quite lovely. "Bonus" wineries sound much more practical when you are a bit toasted from drinking wine all day.

Next up: Game night at the house. The night of a case of wine for 11 women and one angry neighbor.

LY Bachelorette Extravaganza - Part Uno

Ly is getting married to Puma Tattoo :). We are all thrilled and wanted to celebrate. Ly is from San Francisco (by way of Chicago). There's wine close to San Francisco. There's also a five bedroom mansion we can rent for some insane price close to San Francisco that's even closer to the wine. Done and done! But not before, of course, we hit the town where Tony Bennett left his heart many years ago.

Breadstix for six minus one breadstick left JFK for San Francisco at 9:30am on Friday. Five and half hours, several coffees, some wine, some screwdrivers, a judgmental, French-speaking flight attendant, an EHarmony profile and 6 gossip magazines later, we arrived in San Francisco. We picked up our car, named her the PM and headed towards downtown. Michelle, Kelly and I went in search of cheese and non-vegan desserts to fortify ourselves during our mostly-vegan weekend. We went to the Ferry Terminal Market and looked out at the bay. We walked back the way we came, to avoid getting lost, avoided a Hanzel & Grettel-style fate and met Ga in Union Square to drink some more.

Lured by promises of free wine in the lobby, we headed back to the hotel. I met up with Rich-ay, one of the husband's groomsmen who lives in San Francisco. He bought me beer and gifted me with stories and gossip about my husband and his friends. Score two for Rachel!

We all got dollied/sluttied up and headed to Gracias Madre, a vegan-Mexican food joint in the Mission District. Here the adventures really began. There were special nametags, straws and a blinking pin for the bride-to-be. They were all in the same shape. A gold star to the reader who guesses what shape they were in! Joy, who sadly could not join us for the weekend, sent us pitchers of margaritas and sangria. We were joined by the last breadstick Lisa, the bride's sister and several of Ly's college pals. We had a merry 'ole time. My adventure stops there as I had to go interpret indemnity clauses back at the hotel while my pals went to karaoke.

At least I got a good night's sleep out of it! We needed it for the day ahead.......