At La Condesa

You know it’ been too long since you’ve blogged when you have to think twice about your password. My apologies.

A few weekends ago, a friend and I soaked up the goodness that is Napa’s Saturday farmer’s market at Oxbow. It’s a small deal–you could almost stand in one place, turn a tight circle and peer in every stall–but, oh, not to be missed! (I haven’t been able to confirm, but something tells me the farmer’s market is over for the season–that’s the thing I hate about fall/winter!) I picked up some gorgeous bell peppers, a pomegranate (that turned out to be rotten–true tragedy!) and something else I don’t recall.

The pomegranate was for the next day’s Canadian Thanksgiving celebration with my book club and our significant others. (Note: we’re never too picky about the date, and this year we celebrated a week out from what our neighbors to the North consider true Thanksgiving.) The book? We had the awesome honor of reading fellow book club member Laura’s memoir–yet to be picked up by a publisher (only a matter of time). But back to that pomegranate–I was making a wonderful fall salad with spinach and arugula, red onion (thinly sliced), pear, gorgonzola, and instead of the standard dried cranberries, I thought I’d through in those gem-like pomegranate seeds. (see “rotten” above; see major disappointment–there was no time to find a replacement) The salad was still amazing.

The next weekend, I met two girlfriends who have, in recent years, acquired husbands and children. Our lives are busy-busy and though we all live fairly close to each other, we hadn’t seen each other in awhile. The occasion called for drinks at Fish Story and dinner at Morimoto. Delicious and fun, start to finish. (A bottle of EnRoute Pinot Noir with dinner–fantastic!)

Through all this, harvest–crews combing the vineyards for grapes, crews sorting and crushing and pumping juice into tanks … There was a lot of hand-wringing this season. A cool year, with a pesky rainstorm to boot. And now, grapes are in (please tell me they are!), and we’re thinking about Thanksgiving (at least I am).

There’s been a lot going on (again): margaritas and guac sampler at La Condesa (not to be missed!), sips at 1313, Halloween kiddie parade in Calistoga (which makes even the non-parents among us say, ‘awww how cute!’), a catch-up at the bar at Redd, shopping excursion to Corte Madera (it’s what we Napans do–travel for clothes!), and tons of other things I can’t remember now. (You don’t want to hear about my sharpened resolve for gym-time, do you?)

This Sunday Robb and I are attending the Mutineer Magazine Red Carpet Party (Third Annual) here at the Napa Vally Opera House. Click that link and see for yourselves–an epic evening is ahead. I promise a tell-all next week. Hold me to it, will you?