Schwegmanigans: Wine Country Edition!

YOU GUYS there are like fifty pictures in this post and I can't even begin to narrow it down further because this was SUCH a fantastically fun day. 

My family came out to visit me about six weeks after I moved this summer - ostensibly to see my new city, tour Stanford, etc. - but in reality, our end goal was simple: CHANDON. 

As I have told you all ad nauseum, my sister Emily is a ridiculously gifted designer whose work was selected by Domaine Chandon for their limited edition "American Summer" champagne bottles this summer. With wine country the same distance from my new home as cabin country is from the Twin Cities, I've made it my new favorite weekend destination - and Chandon has become the winery equivalent of Cheers for me. (This was my third trip, and I've subsequently made a couple more...oops!) 

We were so excited to bring Emily to see all her work in action - and the winery staff were almost equally excited when we told them she had done the design work. They comped us a bottle of their reserve label cuvée, one of my favorites, to enjoy outside! 

...and enjoy we did. In addition to the bottle that we received from Chandon, I also had a wine club shipment to pick up, and they waived the corkage fee to open it on site. I also receive free tastings or full glasses as a club member...so needless to say, we had QUITE a few bubbles in our systems by the time we rolled out a few hours later. 

We quickly made our way to the Adirondacks out back, and while we started out perfectly respectable, I PROMISE...

...things rapidly devolved as we cracked into bottle #2. Jonathan will clearly make an excellent and HIGHLY professional sommelier someday.

I absolutely adore these people beyond all measure and reason. We had way too much fun popping bottles, taking pictures, and telling, I shit you not, EVERYONE we came in contact with that Emily had done the design work. I think she was ready to absolutely murder Dad by the time we headed out. 

Fortunately, Dad had provided for us with a massive haul at Bouchon Bakery down the street...he does this great thing where he kind of blacks out at any given bakery counter, and all of a sudden we have like three times as many pastries as any family of five could justifiably need. He also went HAM on the macaron selection, and they were an ideal re-up after all the bubbles. 

As temperatures soared into the 90s, we headed for our second stop of the day, Alpha Omega's gorgeous outdoor tasting patio. Could this setting be any more idyllic? 

The girls did a custom flight of white wines - perfect for the heat - while Papa Bear and Jonathan went full-out with the Beckstoffer To Kalon tasting - three wine archive-quality cabernets plus a current offering. It was, in a word, sublime. 

A little bit wined-out, we turned to one of my favorite hidden gems in St. Helena, Goose & Gander. With a Michelin-recommended cocktail program in their charming basement bar, it was the perfect mid-afternoon stop to beat the heat and take a break from wine for a time. Bonus: Dad adores their hand-chipped, crystal-clear giant ice cubes... 

From there, it was back down the road to Farmstead at Long Meadow Ranch for a happy hour glass of wine and some snacks while we waited out the worst of rush hour traffic back into the city. We loved their grass-fed meatballs and mini ham sandwiches!

As usual, an unbelievably lovely day in wine country with my Schwegfam faves :) 

A Capitol week!

I had the best intentions of being really on top of things this week with all the travel posts I planned on putting up, but as usual I've been distracted by work, books, laundry, sleep, and starting "Game of Thrones"/finishing "Bachelor in Paradise" with the roomies. OOPS. Delayed gratification builds character, friends - really, I'm doing you all a favor. 

I spent last weekend and most of this week in Washington, DC for a work conference - and the ever-fabulous Kaitlin was willing to join me for a quick weekend adventure before the conference started! I planned on taking a red-eye Friday night that left San Francisco at 11pm and arrived in Baltimore at 7am. Imagine my horror when Laura dropped me off and, at bag drop, I was greeted with this news: 

I was CRANKY, campers - I'm not a late-night person anymore, I had never taken a red-eye, and I was already exhausted from a super frantic week at work. What's a girl to do? First, buy some totally unnecessary but happiness-enhancing new perfume (I've gotten legit a dozen compliments on my choice, Jo Malone's Red Roses!). Then, hit the bar for the trifecta: bourbon, champagne, and books, duh. 

After a few further delays, the most hellish ride in the back row of an airplane from the 90s with a child next to me, and zero sleep + another whole book, I landed in Baltimore and finally found this girl!

We hadn't seen each other since my trip to Boston for the Shamrock Series in November of 2015 - I can't believe it had been that long, and weirdly, it didn't feel like it had been. Kait is the kind of friend with whom I can fall right back into our usual habits and rhythms - our inside jokes are never forgotten, our witty repartee is always fresh, and we have remarkably similar priorities for our time together. Namely, bottomless brunch. DC does an amazing thing in that they offer prix-fixe bottomless food AND alcohol at brunches, and we hit up Agora in Logan Circle for ours. Bottomless Mediterranean food and mimosas that, somehow, contained less and less orange juice as brunch wore on? Definitely recommend, friends. 

After brunch, we took a long digestive/exploratory stroll around Logan Circle down toward the monuments, and Kait came up with an amazing game: statue selfies! Below, a few faves, with Webster (of unknown origin/significance, but NOT the dictionary guy!) and my BOY Lafayette - he's taking this horse by the reins. 

The ultimate, however: the statue outside the National Geographic museum. OMG, A SHARK!

Before we knew it, we had stumbled on this dump:

We seriously didn't realize we were on Pennsylvania Avenue until we walked right into the barricades and were like "wait is this the White House? It's totally the White House." So we did what cool kids do and took a selfie. 

Honestly, I was surprised by how chill things were around #1600...with all the focus on DACA we had expected much more hubbub and maybe a protest or two. The crowd around the gates was comprised mainly of selfie-taking tourists, the lone exception a "Free Tibet" placard and this guy, which we spotted abandoned halfway to the Treasury:

We had the best intentions of walking all the way to the Washington Monument, but the funny thing about 555-foot-tall obelisks is that they look deceptively close and tend to recede as you think you're approaching them. Instead of hoofing it all the way over, we surrendered, called an Uber outside the back of the Treasury Building, and headed back to our hotel for free happy hour. 

And here's where I totally become a shitty blogger: from the point when we took the photo above to the point when we took the photo below, I didn't take a single picture. What happened? We met up with our friend Michele from Notre Dame, who is an assistant principal in a DC school, and Kait's friend Andy from her Bmore days, who had recently moved to DC from LA. 

We had beers at Drafting Table, then met up with Michele's boyfriend and a few of Andy's friends to go to ChurchKey and watch the ND-Georgia game. After a few more beverages, a quick, late dinner, and freezing our asses off until the third quarter, we headed home to the comforts of our hotel, the Kimpton Rouge. 

A quick aside re: the Kimpton Rouge: Kait and I are pretty sure the theme was "bordello chic." The walls, as you can see below, were upholstered in red leather. There were twenty statues of the same coyly naked woman outside the entrance. The minibar was stocked with a "pleasure kit" (details NSFblog). And the suite we stayed in came with these bad boys: 

If THAT sight doesn't put you in the mood for romance, I don't know what will. Much hilarity was had. 

On Sunday, we slept in a bit and walked over to Dupont Circle for coffee and a breakfast sandwich, admiring street art along the way...

...and then, being true adults, we headed to the Smithsonian National Zoo! 

Not pictured: bonding with elephants from ten feet away; pandas taking the most adorable waddle around their enclosure ever; a baby orangutan that absolutely made my entire day with his antics. 

Pictured: a lioness brunch squad, and a golden tamarind aka the pet that I never knew I wanted (and definitely should never actually get to have). We spent over three hours walking around and people/animal-watching - it was an absolute blast. 

From the zoo, we walked to Adams-Morgan for a street festival, featuring the best "vegan" brownies I've ever had and plenty of art, street vendors, and live music. We met Michele again at El Tamarindo for jalapeno margaritas and pupusas, which are basically little tortilla Hot Pockets from heaven. Before we knew it, Kait had to head to Reagan to catch her flight and I had to head to National Harbor for my conference! 

The fun wasn't done, though - we were invited by our independent consultants, Baker Tilly, to join them in their suite for a Nats game on Tuesday night! We started the evening in the Bullpen, an old shipping yard-turned outdoor beer garden...

...headed in with a gorgeous sunset and perfect weather to enjoy...

...and got comfy in our suite, with pulled pork nachos, crab dip, a fondue fountain, and a fridge full of beer, wine, and champagne. Our view was incredible - the game, not so much (an 8-0 victory by the Braves). Highlight, for me? The Presidents' Race...I don't think I've laughed that hard or lost my shit quite so loudly with delight in a VERY long time. I tried to take a video, but I was laughing so hard that, on watching it back, it's near-impossible to tell what's actually going on. BOO! 

All that remained by Wednesday was to wrap up the conference and head to Dulles, where I very nearly bought my dad one of each of these sweet shirts: 

...scored an empty middle seat...

...endured a terribly turbulent but undeniably pretty landing in San Francisco courtesy of Karl the Fog...

...and made it home in time for the Bachelor in Paradise finale, two pounds of cupcakes, and plenty of bubbly to celebrate the second anniversary of this girl's twenty-ninth birthday! 

Excellent DC weekend - I'll definitely be back!

Christmas with the Redwoods

While we spent yesterday in wine country with friends, today we're heading just a bit south to the stunning Muir Woods, one of my family's favorite stops over the holiday trip to Northern California that started it all!

We were stumped as to what to do on Christmas Day - almost all the wineries were closed, and we knew most of the restaurants and attractions in San Francisco would be too. Emily had the brilliant idea to see if the national parks were open, and sure enough, they were - so we were up at the crack of dawn in our Sonoma Airbnb and at Muir Woods before they even officially opened! 

A word to the wise: if you are planning to visit Muir Woods, do plan to arrive early. The parking lots and road spaces tend to be filled as early as 9:30-10am on weekends and holidays, and there are no alternatives for parking in or near the forest. While there are shuttles, those, too fill up and it's better to arrive early and not have to deal with the hassle in the first place. 

It's fairly clear from our attire in these photos: the Schwegfam is not composed of hardcore hikers. We love nature...we are just generally poorly equipped to do crazy-intense hikes. We loved Muir because there was a really wide variety of trails, with a range of difficulty suited to the group. The main loop is a clear, paved path with signs and handrails - legit even a child or older person could handle it - but there are other, lengthier, more challenging loops that can be tackled too. We did a short one that ran parallel to and above the main trail and really enjoyed it. 

As for the redwoods - words can't do them justice, and I feel like a sad imitation of a writer even trying to do so. I had read plenty about the redwoods over the course of my life, but to be honest I couldn't even have told you the difference between a redwood or a giant sequoia. Muir Woods had great educational information scattered throughout the park, and I geeked out hard throughout our hike (stroll). Who's surprised? Nobody. 

The sheer height and scale of the redwoods can't be captured on camera - or at least not on my iPhone. Christmas morning was cold and misty, and the woods were utterly silent when we headed in. The peace and quiet created a truly otherworldly atmosphere, one that left me completely in awe of what we were seeing and experiencing. 

As we explored, the sun peeked through and burned off the fog, and the day got warmer. Watching the sun filtering through the trees - absolutely gorgeous. We made approximately a hundred jokes about finding the perfect Christmas tree and having a "Muiry" Christmas courtesy of Emily, but we also all constantly repeated how stunning the scenery was. 

As the day wore on, the woods got much more crowded and hectic - and we got a little sick of the chatter and tourist traffic jams. So we headed out of the woods and over to Muir Beach for a change of scenery! 

The beach was blustery and cloudy, and far less crowded than the woods - definitely not swimsuit weather, but the views of the Bay were ridiculous. I would certainly not hate having a little beach shack there...right?!

Looking back, I'm probably sentimentalizing this quite a bit, but I think this is about when I started to maybe percolate the idea of heading west. The clouds over the bay were illuminated from behind by the sun, creating a hazy mid-afternoon sky that looked almost twilit. With the salt wind blasting my face and my toes so cold they were numb, it hardly seemed like an idyll - but that wild, severe, varied beauty was something I hadn't experienced like this before. 

I'm not going to assign more emphasis to this than I should, but I think there's something about redwoods and the ocean around here that makes everything seem amazing and possible and just a little bit fantastical. 

It's Travel Week(s) at MinneapoLiz!

I just spent my weekend rampaging through Washington DC with Kaitlin – a much needed reunion, as we hadn’t seen each other since Boston 2015. WHAT?! That got me thinking – I’ve been fortunate enough to go on some seriously kickass trips in the last year or so, and I’m terrible about actually chronicling those trips. Since I’m out of town (and will be busy with a national conference for the next several days), I’m officially declaring it MinneapoLiz Travel Week(s)!

Going back through my photos, I never touched on the Norway portion of last summer’s Scandinavia trip, which is egregious (because Norway was my FAVE part of that trip). So that’s getting covered for sure, along with the rest of last winter’s trip to Northern California (before this move was even a thought in my head!! AHHH!)…and this February’s Miami and Puerto Rico trip for Josh and Tash’s wedding. I’m also finally going to post photos from the Schwegfam Cali trip this July…I hate posting on such a lag, but it’s worth waiting for Emily’s pro-quality camera’s gorgeous photos. And finally, of course, DC shenanigans…because with Kaitlin and me, there WERE obviously shenanigans. (And mimosas.)

Can’t wait to show off some of my favorite adventures with my favorite people!

Worst weather, best people: a weekend at home!

Dorothy Gale hit the nail square on the head... "There's no place like home." I snuck back to Minneapolis the weekend before the Labor Day holiday thanks to an insanely good flight deal, and had a fabulous whirlwind 72 hours with my parents and best friends in the process! 

At first, Dick, Jodester and I had grand plans of spending all day Friday on Lake Minnetonka - boating, scoping out stunning real estate, and getting me in a Minnesota lake for the first time this summer. Instead, the forecast was for weather in the low to mid 60s and rain all weekend. Damn it, Minnesota! What was this bull? Fortunately, I have the world's best parents, and they planned a doubleheader Friday evening of my favorite places: Spoon and Stable and the Guthrie! 

It is a truth universally acknowledged that Spoon and Stable is the best restaurant in the Twin Cities. And if you don't acknowledge that, I will fight you. No, I kid. But not really. We showed up nice and early to clock time at the bar with Elliot, who made me their Daily per usual. The feature of the day involved, among other things, bourbon and orgeat, a an almond-and-rose liqueur that was revelatory. I adored it. Then again, I've never had a cocktail at Spoon that I didn't adore. 

We sat down to dine, and right after our salads showed up, so did this little munch!!

LOOK at the chins on this pumpkin, my baby cousin Hugh Arnold! He (and his parents Jake and Brook, as well as cousin Matt and aunt/uncle Mary Beth and Dave!) had been down the street at the Hewing having happy hour, and popped over to say hello (and for snuggles/second base, obvs). Such a fun surprise - I hadn't seen Hugh since he was a tiny two-month old at the third Arnold brother Josh's wedding in Miami. 

My very favorite person at Spoon is our server of choice, Nikki, who is an utter delight and spoils us rotten at every turn, chatting all evening and surprising us with treats in the form of extra dessert. Papa Bear loves to debate the age-old quandary: would you choose greatfood and average service, or average food and great service? Fortunately at S&S, you don't have to choose, but the service provided by people like Elliot and Nikki is so outstanding that it's almost ruined me for normal dining experiences. I seriously love it there so much it's a bit absurd. 

After doing a fairly obscene number on the honey and cream cake (sue me), we headed down the street to my other fave place in the Cities, my beloved Guthrie, for their final performance of "Native Gardens!"

Having no idea what we were getting into, we were all blown away by the show, a comedy about neighbors warring over their yards and property lines. It felt shockingly topical and universal, and I think, based on the audience's response, we weren't the only ones who could relate. For me, the highlight was my dad laughing his ass off, which rarely happens in a theater!

I spent Saturday morning having a much-needed catch-up with my hairstylist Jen, getting colored and cut and cleaned up, before a reunion with my very own ride-or-die, Kelsie! We chose to spend the afternoon doing what we do best: an alcohol crawl through the Twin Cities, duh. 

We started at Rojo with margaritas and guacamole...

...moved to Tattersall for a peek at their totally revamped cocktail menu...if you go, I HIGHLY recommend the new 18th and Central or the Humzinger...

...And we wrapped up our day out at Indeed, where I drank IPAs (and a Mexican Honey, duh) to my heart's content! Look at the changes California has wrought in me...and it's only been two months! 

We headed back to the Schwegfam World Headquarters for a fantastic Inner Circle dinner with my parents, who love Kelsie so much that they actually use the hashtag #4thchild with her. Realistically, we've been friends for literally half our lives and I'm pretty sure at this point she's grandfathered in. My dad grilled us burgers, we drank plenty of wine, and had a blast catching up until late!

Sunday morning marked the first time all weekend that I'd seen Minnesota blue skies, and we celebrated by heading to Lake Harriet for a morning lap. While I'd been on-and-off nostalgic all weekend, this was the first moment that I really, truly felt like I'd left the Cities, rather than just gone on some bizarre extended vacation. Looking at the skyline on the horizon tugged at my heartstrings in a way that metaphorically screamed that that view doesn't belong to me anymore...it's incredibly weird, and I still haven't really synthesized it. More to come, eventually. 

We vacated the premises as storms loomed more seriously on the horizon, and I headed home to clean up and pack before meeting Hannah in Edina for coffee! We chatted for nearly two hours about everything from "The Bachelorette" to our love lives, and I was so engrossed that I didn't even bother to snap a picture. Shame on me! That said, she's coming to California in a little over a month, and I can't wait to spend a week catching up then! 

All too soon, it was goodbye to Hannah and time for a crazy-enthusiastic hello!!!! to baby Ryan Reuvers! 

This not-so-little cutie pie (and his amazing parents, Zach and Colleen!) met up with me at Tavern on France for patio mimosas and a ton of cuddles. He was so excited to finally meet me that he pooped straight through not one, but two outfit changes. I have that effect on guys, apparently ;) 

The side-eye says it all...I'm clearly ready for parenthood. It was beyond fun to catch up with Zach and Colleen and meet their little man, who is just as precious as they are...can't wait for more quality time when they head to the Bay Area in THREE weeks! 

My parents came and met me, we had a disastrous dinner at Al Vento, and before I knew it it was time to head to MSP and board a late flight back west. While the weekend was a total whirlwind of activities and socializing, it gave me exactly the boost I needed as I headed into Stanford's year-end. Minnesota is good for my soul, friends - or at least it is now. We'll see if my tune changes come wintertime, when my thin new-Californian blood has to deal with subzero temps again!