Pull up a chair and chat with me for a few minutes.  I just came home from Trader Joe’s and put a bottle of Pinot Grigio in the freezer.  It should be nice and chilled soon!

It’s been a long while since I’ve done any writing.  One of my friends fired up on Facebook and said too many people were just sharing recipes and not saying anything about life.  Guilty as charged.  I am one of her friends sharing away all the recipes I hope to try one day.  That is if I can ever get my nose out of the insanely amount of cookbooks and Bon Appetite magazines I have surrounding my desk.  Yup, it’s an addiction!

So what’s up? What brings me back from the writers block?

A move.  Many of you know my blog was born in Santa Barbara, CA. Who couldn’t be inspired to write being surrounded by paradise.  It was a big leap for me moving from Napa.  But wine country to wine country can be very inspiring.  I learned a lot and made life-long friends.

The decision to move back to Arizona was a long and thoughtful process.  So, John and I moved (gradually) from the middle of December and finally finished in February.  Whew!  Fires, mudslides, and all kinds of changes thrown into the mix.

So here we are, and I’m really excited to bring myself back to life in Scottsdale!

I feel so blessed to have experienced so much while we lived in California.  From Orange County to Napa and then Santa Barbara.  The adventures we had, the food we ate and the wines we drank.  Oh. My. Goodness!  But most of all I will say again, the amazing life-long friends that we will always have in our hearts and minds.  The door is always open when visiting the beautiful Sonoran desert.

After 8 years away, we come back to what feels like a more vibrant culinary scene and vineyards are north of us in Cottonwood.  Wilcox has grown leaps and bounds in wineries.  The wines we’ve tasted so far have been really good.  John and I have barely scratched the surface exploring the terroir of Arizona, but we definitely will be heading out soon to check them out.

So here I am.  Back at it again. Excited for changes and looking forward to sharing our adventures in California and our next journey in Arizona.  Stay tuned!

Wine is chilled and time to make dinner.  Cheers!

 

 

 

 

On a recent Friday late afternoon, we sailed on a Catamaran Sailboat cruising along the American Riviera.  Perfect weather, a special birthday celebration for one of our friends, and of course clinking glasses of fine wine.

Riding the waves and feeling the salty air fill my lungs once again reminds me of how blessed John and I are to be able to experience God’s wondrous graces.  How often we buzz through life without those special pauses.  The captain motored around and then lifted the sails throwing caution to the wind.

I’ve never been on a sailboat or a catamaran.  It was so much fun, relaxing and I can’t wait to do it again!