2006-2011 celebrated

Well, hello there.

In the midst of a pretty chaotic time 

(remember, house has sold and we still haven't the faintest about 

where we will lay our heads in a month) 

Matt and I had the opportunity to remember what its all about and how it started 5 years ago.

Some of the highlights from January 28, 2006 to January 28, 2011

(this is a microscopic view of the incredible amazing experiences and memories we have made the past half decade)


We felt like celebrating year 5 needed to be something special. A few months ago Matt and I began speaking about planning a trip to mark the occasion. While we travel quite often we realized it had been a while since we had taken a trip just for us. Matt came to me about a month ago with a few different destinations he was looking into, we discussed and in the end he informed me that he would be making the final decisions. So, now I get to tell you all about the amazing (long) weekend my husband and I had in....

WARNING. This post is going to have a lot of information. A lot. Mostly, because I want to remember all of it and this is a great way to do so. So, if you're not feeling it, I apologize, and will not be offended in the slightest if you just want to look at the pictures or want to skip it entirely (and it's not like I will ever know anyway, right?)


Thursday, January 27

Matt had filled me in the day before about our destination so I could pack accordingly. We landed in San Francisco and headed straight for Napa Valley.

 Let me sidetrack for a moment... 

I love the Bay area. Like want to move there. absolutely gorgeous. 

Matt had done quite a bit of research and we visited three wineries that were highly recomended and were new to us 

(our first trip to Napa was summer of 09 and we fell. in. love)

St. Supery

Really kind staff, some great wine, beautiful grounds...

but they have some seriously awesome artwork that they change with each vintage that I was loving.

On our way to the next destination, we stopped at the most adorable local market for a sandwich and other goodies. Another reason I want to live in Napa... the markets. I could make some amazing food with all those fresh deliciouso ingredients.

 And don't get me started on the cheese selection. 

We enjoyed our picnic lunch on the grounds at a winery... purrr.fection.

Grgich Hills

Here we enjoyed a little education from a former Texan. It was fun to discuss things that

 only a person familiar with SETX would understand. 

We definitely realized that visiting during the off season really allows you to learn and 

interact with the staff. We had another round of great tastings and left with some wine and some "chocolate covered wine"... 

imagine a chocolate covered cherry, take out the cherry and fill it with wine. 

Yep. AH-mazing.

We had some fantastic dinner reservations. Yes, had. I was reminded what 

marriage is really about.

 the good with the bad. 

in sickness and in health.

 Matt didn't feel so well and he tried to go to dinner, but we made a decision that if he couldn't really enjoy it, it wasn't worth it. So room service it was. But, the weekend was 

full of so many fabulous moments, we really don't have time to focus on the "not-so" ones.

Friday, January 28

Our Anniversary

We started our morning off with a fabulous breakfast at Boon Fly Cafe. 

One of the most adorable places I saw through the weekend. The food and coffee was fantastic and I want to decorate my kitchen like Boon Fly.

 And I could totally live in a barn,

if it was a chic as Boon Fly.

The rest of the weekend was full of surprises. 

My favorite wine is Cakebread. 

Matt and I have shared many special moments with a bottle 

(when we found out we had a contract on the house we opened a bottle of Cakebread Chardonnay Reserve).

 So, I was thrilled when Matt informed me that we had a food and wine pairing scheduled at Cakebread. If you have not ever had a bottle of Cakebread, 

I highly, recommend it. 

Their Chardonnay is on another level. 

The surprises kept coming as Matt had found a winery in which we had the opportunity to blend our own wines. 

Conn Creek

 offers an experience to learn about, taste, and blend wines from the various regions that make up Napa Valley. 

It was an absolutely amazing experience and I highly recommend it to anyone interested in wine and taking a trip to the Valley. 

The staff was so kind and helpful and it was both a fun and educational experience. 

Matt and I each have our own that we blended and bottled. 

We are looking forward to some celebratory moments in the future to taste each of our unique creations.

I know, I know, it's hard to believe, 

but the day got better at dinner. 

We ate at Bottega, a restaurant by Chef Michael Chiarello. 

Some of you may be familiar with Chef Michael from his show on Food Network, Top Chef Masters, or his retail store NapaStyle. 

It was amazing, the food, the ambiance, the service. 

What topped this dinner off was that handsome charming Italian chef... 

stopped by our table and complimented the lady at the table. 

The perfect ending to a perfect day.  

Saturday, January 29

The surprises were not yet over. Matt had yet another

 incredible day

 planned for us. We had plans to do a limo tour through some wineries in Napa. Accompanying us was 4 others. We had a great group, 

2 woman that were friends from college, and "co-workers". 

The tour took us to 4 different wineries 

(that's a lot for 1 day)

 but we thorougly enjoyed it and got to see parts of Napa we weren't 

familiar with while visiting both small and large wineries. 

Including:

 Rubicon Estate, a gorgeous winery that is owned by

 Francis Ford Coppola (yep, the guy who wrote & directed The Godfather is a wino). 

It was a beautiful estate, had great red wine, and had one heck of a "gift shop".

Bravante Vineyards, a smaller winery 

with beautiful views and fabulous wines. We had a great wine educator on this tour

 and we even had his dog accompany us on tour 

(can't you see Bella as a wine dog)

Frank Family, first thing I noticed here, pictures of Oprah. Apparently she is 

friends with the Franks and had a birthday party at the winery.

 Enough said.

Stags Leap, our final destination, has a connection to the movie Bottle Shock 

(movie recommendation) 

They also submitted a wine for the tasting in Paris. 

Chateau Montelena was the winner, 

which is a stop I intend to make on my next trip to Napa.

We finished our incredibly romantic and fabulous long weekend with dinner at Brix.

So, I have to say Thank You

to my best friend, 

the man who makes me smile,

laugh

and at times....

scream.

But there isn't a person I would rather be on this journey with.

And I know.

That I am.

I am.

The Luckiest.

Oh.

and check out the

 loot.

(if you are still with me, i promise not to make it so long next time. xoxo)

These Moments

I have been feeling anxious lately.
I can't concentrate. It's all I can think about.
Seriously, where are we moving?

I feel like a lot needs to happen in the next month.
But there is one detail missing. The detail needed to set the rest of this plan in motion.
When I arrived home this evening,  my conversation with Matt was trying to get him to "guarantee" me that we would have an answer by the end of the week.

But as I sit here writing, looking at my precious sleeping family I am reminded to really savor these moments...
"the calm before the storm".

Right now we are content. In our home. Living our lives.

While the news of a move and a new destination will be incredibly exciting and we look forward to our adventure ahead, it feels nice to just enjoy the moment. Right now.

So i will.

Bella's Yard

Her backyard will be greatly missed when she goes back to the dog on a leash 6 times a day. 

But I have a feeling she will be just fine. 

I'm so excited...

ummm hmmm. that's right.

It's been a waiting game, but they say good things come to those that wait.

We have sold our home!

Well, we have a contract and a closing date.
So if you have some extra time please send positive thoughts and prayers our way that everything goes well in the next few days.

What does this mean for us?
Well...
a) we will live in our first home for about 6 more weeks (closing date: end of February)
b) no idea where we will live
c) no idea where we are going

But I do have a sneakin' suspicion that everything else will fall into place and there will be a lot of exciting blog posts to come.

So stay tuned.

But for now Matt and I are celebrating with a special bottle of wine... and lots of memories.

Christmas

This...

is how our Christmas began. Well, a little like this. We arrived in Tennessee to Sarah's parents on Thursday evening. We had decided to make it a road trip mostly so our other family member (Bella) could join us in the festivities. We were sitting around, visiting, and discussing the plans for the week when all of a sudden...

My father came down the stairs in Santa Claus attire. Now, my family tends to be pretty traditional about our Christmas Eve agenda and Santa Claus still visits the nice little Schoenfelder/McQuinn children so Santa coming early was a little on the peculiar side. However, it is not on the peculiar side for my father to entertain us. However, when Santa began handing out gifts, we should have known this would be a Christmas to remember. Each of the children received a small gift bag from Santa and we were instructed to open it at the same time. In our bags we each found a Disney gift card. After a series of puzzled looks across the room, the announcement of our trip to Disney World became official. I cried. For those of you who don't know I am kinda obsessed with Disney...

*I truly believe it is one of the happiest places on Earth

*I turn into a 6 year old girl when I am there (this includes lots of smiling, giggling, & breakdowns)
*I always wanted to get married at Disney World (now that dream has reinvented itself into a renewal... You can see Cindarella's castle from the wedding gazebo, people...
*I seriously considered taking my honeymoon at Disney World. My husband and I are on a different wavelength when it comes to Disney World... he enjoys, but maybe not as a romantic destination


So, we packed our bags and prepared for a very Disney Christmas. We had such an amazing and special Christmas, one that will never be forgotten, but I don't even know where to begin in describing it, so I guess I will share the pictures as I took about 1000. Literally.


But to start here is a fun little story. My brother and I had a conversation in November when I was in TN for my sister's birthday about these new Disney commercials and how we couldn't wait to travel to Disney with our future children and maybe even someday surprise them. Our parents were in on the conversation, however little did we know their surprise was already in the works...

 






















The photos above were of the Osborne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights at Hollywood Studios. Apparently a family donated this "bright attraction" to Walt Disney World after his neighbors weren't really feeling this whole spectacle. Oh, and in true Disney Magic it snows while this spectacle is going on. Here is a clip of what the lights look like live....

As you can see it was a magical time spent with some very special people. The memories made we shared will be forever cherished...


Hope your holiday season was full of many magical moments.


The McQuinns
Matt, Sarah, & Bella

happy new year

1.1.11

lots of ones.

ones represent beginnings. starts... fresh starts.

The McQuinn's are looking forward to all the beginnings and fresh starts that lay ahead in '11.

I have a feeling this is going to be a big year.

Happy New Year and may your 11 be filled with fresh beginnings and blessings.

Love,

Matt&Sarah