Swirl, Sniff, Sip and Swallow: Part 1

"The Four S's "-that's how I spent the majority of my Spring Break!  I spent four wonderful days in Napa...a.k.a. "An Adult's Disney World".  For those of you who don't know my family, wine is very important to us.  Daddy and Momma D developed a love for the purple liquid a long time ago.  The two of them have been to Napa so many times that they don't even need a map!  They know all the backroads, cut throughs and quickest routes to all the hot spots.  Given the love my parents have for wine country, I was eager to experience it for my first time with them.

We started planning our getaway months ago...I wanted to hit as many wineries as I possibly could while I was out there.  We were supposed to fly out Sat, the 17th, at 5:50 AM...after checking in and going through security, we found out they had oversold our flight and we wouldn't be making it to Napa by noon.  Upset doesn't even begin to cover it...we had reservations at a winery that afternoon, not to mention it messed up our luggage, rental car, etc.  By the time we finally made it to Napa Saturday night, we had been awake for 24 hours...felt like we were flying to Europe!

I took over 500 pictures while I was out there.  In an effort to not completely overwhelm everyone with pictures, I'm dividing our trip into three parts...one for each day.  Enjoy!

Dad and I were thrilled to finally be boarding a plane...just wish it had not been almost 10 hours after our original flight!  

Even though there were no grapes on the vines, I was mesmerized by the beauty of the vines.

When I saw this sign, I knew I had finally made it!

We didn't eat at the restaurant below, but I had to at least photograph such a world renowned dining hot spot!

My very first tasting was at Whitehall Lane (WHL).  WHL is what I like to call the "Decker Family" wine...we drink it all the time and it's our go-to bottle for nightly meals.  It's probably the first wine I ever remember drinking that I really enjoyed.  It meant a lot to me that my journey in Napa started here.

Along with our private tasting, we did a little touring, too!

I knew whatever was behind these gorgeous doors was going to be wonderful...

And I was right!  It lead to these beautiful glass doors which lead to...

the HUGE WHL logo which represents the Leonardini family (owners of WHL).

I felt super cool when I saw this table full of wine and snacks just for US!

We tasted all of these amazing reds!

Jennifer hosted our tasting...think she probably thought we were OOC!

On the balcony of WHL...we were all happy campers after our over-the-top tasting!

After a yummy lunch at Rutherford Grill, we stopped by Silver Oak!

Along with our wine tasting and eating, we also did some shopping on Sunday...we were exhausted after our busy day so Daddy D built us a "fire" when we got back to our room.  It was in the 30s at night!

Sunday was the perfect start to the trip....little did I know that it would only get better!  Stay tuned for Part 2!

Jessica and John's Wedding Weekend

I was honored to be a part of a Jessica and John's wonderful wedding weekend.  The rain went away just in time for all the festivities to begin.  Britt and Andrew came and stayed at the Hotel de Decker, and we had a great time celebrating the new Mr. and Mrs. Hughes!

The Bridesmaid's Luncheon at The Club was so much fun!

The Rehearsal Dinner

Britt and I tried out Birmingham's new "Blowout Boutique" for the wedding...it is super chic inside...felt like we were in Miami!

This just makes me laugh...this is not the look I was going for...but I went with it while inside the salon.  A HUGE thanks to Lacey for repairing the "ringlets" once I got to the church!

Getting ready for the ceremony!

Jessica was a beautiful bride!!!

Our Bridesmaid's bouquets were gorgeous!

The Cyganiewicz'

First dance as newlyweds!

We sure do love the bride!

We busted a few moves on the dance floor!

Jessica and John-the weekend was amazing!  We are so happy for y'all and were so honored to be a part of all the fun.  Hope y'all are relaxing and soakin' up some sun in the Dominican Republic this week.  Congratulations, to the new Mr. and Mrs. John Hughes!!!

Photo Shoot with My Girls

Last Sunday, I busted out my new lens and took some shots of my girls.  Libbylicious was a little bit more cooperative than Doodle-Bug!  Caution, this is picture overload, but there were so many sweet ones I had a hard time narrowing them down.  Enjoy!