SLO Wine Tasting & Festivities - San Luis Obispo, CA

The next morning we all loaded up the Wine trolley and made our way to the Talley, Edna and Tolosa tasting rooms...

My favorite was the Talley Pinot as it tasted like cola! I bought a bottle to enjoy with Scott, he is a major pinot fan too!

Melissa Good Taste tasting away...

Our group of stunning girls!

Back on the trolley...

The ride was a nice one but we got some wind blowing through our hair! 

Instant volumizer!

We all did some shopping at the tasting rooms. We picked up wine, of course, as well as pastas and risottos to try at home.

Another group shot!

At Tolosa we went back to a beautiful tasting room that overlooked the valley, very pretty.

Two wineries down and we were feeling pretty sassy!

Cheese, almonds, honey and crackers - All needed. We were getting hungry!

Charcuterie plate for me please! I loved the pate! it was not a crowd favorite.  

The cobra decanter was quite fun.

We finished our wine tasting and were dropped off in San Luis Obispo. We grabbed some appetizers at Luna Red and continued our drinking...

These crab fritters were amazing!

We danced on chairs...

the dance floor...

and eventually the bar!

It was a good time had by all.

Congratulations Shannon, you are going to be a beautiful bride!

Rosa's Italian Restaurant - Pismo Beach, CA

My cousin Shannon is getting married! She invited her closest girlfriends out for a weekend of wine, dancing and dining and I was thrilled to go! This group of girls know how to have a good time. We originally wanted to dine at Splash Cafe for chowder but the place was packed and we moved on...

Rosa's was a bit more fancy than we wanted but the service for 11 rowdy girls was outstanding and Pismo can be limited for such last minute groups.

My pal, Jody made this concoction for her bread... Olive oil, balsamic and parmesan -- It was heavenly! 

They claimed to have award winning Clam Chowder so who was I to not try it?! It was good. Not great but definitely on the upper end of my chowder trials. 

I was torn between dishes and decided to go with my scallop craving. I had the Shrimp and Scallop Pasta with sun dried tomatoes and a pesto sauce. It was ok. I am not a big fan of bay scallops, I prefer the larger sized sea scallops because they are usually not overcooked like these were. The shrimp were excellent!

My sister ordered my second place option and she didn't seem overly impressed with the Butternut Squash Ravioli. The garlic cream sauce was over whelming and seemed to take over the dish. I love garlic but I do not like it in large doses.

The night continued on with fun shots for the bride-to-be, a drink at Harry's Bar and more fun at the Sand Castle Inn suite. We got to bed at a relatively early hour to prepare for the next day's festivities... Stay tuned! 

Roxy - Reno, NV

Our last night in Reno was celebrated due to Cowboy Ron's success in the advancing round of the Non-pro division. He and his horse, Scamper were so awesome! 

We decided to try the Roxy, home to over 100 martinis!

Although at dinner, we did have Paul Hobbs and excellent choice to go with our Mushroom Ravioli appetizer. We had to try it again... 

I had the bright green, Asparagus Soup. It was smooth as silk but I felt like a parmesan crisp or something crispy could have been there to give it some texture. Otherwise it was very refreshing.

My last night of scallops during the Reno trip and this one was the worst of them. I did not care for lumpy mashed potatoes and under cooked artichokes that were served with them. The lack of sauce on the plate really killed the deal for me.

Scott had the short ribs and seemed to enjoy them. His mashed potatoes looked friendlier than mine did and I am sure tasted better with that gravy! The carrots were a little too al dente as well. Come on people, cook your vegetables! It wasn't a salad!

Cowboy Ron ordered a steak because that is what cowboys do. He happily enjoyed it as it was cooked to a perfect medium rare. He ate his fries but said they were just ok. When you serve fries at a fancy restaurant make them the best darn fries someone has ever had.

Enough griping for me. Reno was a long trip and I made it out alive. A few pieces of advice when traveling there: Stay in the casinos because the streets are quite scary. And gamble, do it. You will win, I have never had that much luck in Vegas. So bring a good attitude and you will leave with a smile!

Sandrini's Restaurant - Bakersfield, CA

Our good friends, Pete and Lisa, took Scott and I out on the town during our first night in Bakersfield for a horse show. It was a warm evening, so when we got to Sandrini's and we stepped down stairs into a cool, welcoming cave I was very excited! This restaurant was Italian Basque, so I knew it would be good eats.

We started with Sliced Tongue pickled with a secret family recipe. It was perfectly tender and made a nice little sandwich with roma tomatoes and fresh baguette.

We also tried the Italian Sausage Bread, a favorite of Pete and Lisa's. I could see why, it ate like a meal!

Scott started with a fresh salad with in house croutons.

And I of course did the soup - a spicy, Basque soup with softly cooked vegetables.

This is my plate and isn't it a beauty?! I saw Halibut, spinach, risotto and reduced balsamic vinegar... How could i go wrong? It was perfect, there was nothing it could be improved on. I will return for this meal again.

Pete and Lisa split the Rack of Lamb and it too was stunning. This is half of one order, the chef so kindly brought it out on two plate for them.

If you live in Bakersfield and have not been here yet, you need to go. It is located downtown and has a cool old school vibe. They have cigar room, which probably used to be for miscellaneous gambling transactions so it has extra cool points. I here when the sun goes own it is a popular spot for Bakersfield youth to shake their groove things, so come early and enjoy their fine food!

Bimini - Reno, NV

While we were in Reno it just so happened to be May 5, my birthday! So Scott told me to get dressed because we had a car waiting for us downstairs. I dressed up in the finest clothes that I brought with me to the horse show and we made our way to the PepperMill. Enter: The Bimini.

The bread service was amazing. I think the crisp flat bread slathered with butter was my favorite. I ate both of them and kind wanted to ask for more!

Scott went all out and ordered Sea Smoke. We had it once before in San Luis Obispo and were dying to give it another try. It was our lucky day and they had it in stock.

An amuse bouche of chilled asparagus soup. Don't you love how Scott is taking it like a shot in the background?! 

You all know how much I love seafood so I started off with the Shellfish Platter - King Crab legs, Lobster claws, Jumbo shrimp, Oysters and Ceviche. My idea of a meal! It was fresh and fantastic!

Scott ordered a little filet, and had a side order of creamed corn not pictured. He loved that it was so tender and cooked to perfection. The corn was good - just the right amount.

You better believe I had Scallops with Risotto. It is basically my favorite thing to eat! The risotto was saucy, just how I like it. The scallops were cooked just right - seared on the outside and opaque through the middle. Love it!

Thank you Scott for always making my birthdays so special. I was tricked into receiving the bill but as I opened it up there was a jewelry box with a gorgeous set of earrings and necklace. He is so clever! 

Our night didn't end there we had some after dinner drinks and did some people watching!

Cheers to being 31!

Amgen Tour of California

As America's most successful cycling race, the Amgen Tour of California is one of the nation’s largest and most recognized annual sporting events.  An eight-day event, this prestigious cycling road race features elite professional teams and athletes from around the world.

They whizzed passed our cutting horse ranch during Stage 4, Santa Clarita to Santa Barbara.  

We cheered them on as we sipped a cold one on this fabulous Ojai day!

Pedal, pedal, pedal!