We ended our trip with a couple of days in Solvang. We stopped at a few wineries on our way in. Phantom Rivers, Firestone, Lincourt, Blackjack and one more but the name escapes me.
Our last day was spent wine tasting in Solvang, buying goodies {spicy mustard and spicy chocolate} and then we ended the day in Los Olivos for dinner. Next time we head up there I would like to stay in Los Olivos. Maybe that will be a good anniversary gift. 😉
spicy chocolate. Yum!Getting the girl some exercise.playing with uncle Brian at Solvang park
The tasting rooms with toys are the best. Not sure who is having more fun…
Sunday we packed everything up and headed out to Foley winery for a taste. Good stuff but overly priced. We continued down the coast to Summerland winery and a Thai lunch in Carpinteria.
Kaili and I left Shane in Ventura and headed home. Now it’s time to start thinking about Thanksgiving. Is it really next week?
Thank goodness for Winery animals. These critters allow us to have a great time wine tasting because Kaili is happily occupied.
Isn’t it strange that glasses = studious instead of broken eyes?brushing up on oenology
Kaili became  fast  friends with the Minassian Young winery cat. She was a sweet little thing.
nice kitty
Kaili chased this thing around the tasting room for a good 30 minutes but then the inevitable happened….the cat turned on her, biting her on the arm. Kaili was devastated. Not so much that it hurt but I think she felt betrayed by her feline friend. It was actually really sad to witness.
bad kitty
The day was full of different wineries, all sorts of animals…even fish.
Kaili was superb all day. She didn’t get an afternoon nap and she started to spiral down around 4:00 pm. Against our better judgement {even though Shane made it clear he didn’t think it was a good idea} we went out to dinner. Â Il Cortilie is a highly recommended Italian restaurant and we just had to eat there. The food = AMAZING! Unfortunately it was hard to enjoy because of cranky pants. She was overly tired and wasn’t having it any longer. But I must say my crostini with caramelized fennel and fresh burrata was to DIE for!
We were out of Ventura before 9:00 A.M this morning. We planned it so Kaili would take a nap in the car while we drove north to Avila beach, she did and it worked out perfectly. Shane and I were in Avila beach last year when we stumbled upon Avila Valley Barn. Kaili was just a tiny thing so I knew I wanted to take her back when she was a little older. We made the barn our first stop. Kaili got a little exercise and loved the animals as I suspected.
Apple Valley Barn
We left the barn with some yummy baked goods to enjoy at the winery. Next up, Avila pier. Avila beach is such a beautiful  place. We hit a few tasting rooms and then sat out by the water to enjoy some more wine and cheese.
AvilaKaili had to see the doggySpectacular viewsWoods Winerynot too shabby of a viewyum
Our next stop was Paso Robles. Before checking into our loft at EOS we wanted to try a winery nearby. Doce Robles was recommended to us and we were fans, we left with a lot of wine and are now members. Kaili loved the winery animals, I think tomorrow we will only go to the wineries that have cats and dogs. Good plan!
Doce Robles WineryAva the winery dogMin Min the winery cat
Last year when we did some wine tasting in Paso we decided that we would stay at the loft above the EOS winery tasting room. Shane is a member of Three Rivers Winery in Walla Walla and lucky for us they have  some sister wineries in CA. EOS in Paso, Firestone near Solvang and handful more. Part of the member benefits is the Loft at EOS. It’s a 2 bedroom apartment with a full kitchen and living room. We checked in, hit the store, grilled some steaks, pulled the cork and sat back and enjoyed the evening.
We are taking a little wine vacation this week. To start, Kaili and I made our way to Orange County  to meet a friend for lunch and visit with my dad. Kaili has adjusted just fine to the time change. She has woken up a little earlier than normal but everything else is right on track.
Enjoying the warm Fall weatherSunset over LagunaTalking to daddy during dinner
The next morning we hit the road to meet Shane in Ventura and visit with his co-workers. <—which actually means they wanted to see Kaili. After a nice little tour of the county building, Kaili and I headed back to the hotel for some R&R. After a little rest her and I headed out to the beach. The weather has been absolutely perfect.
It’s been about a year since we have spent some time in Ventura. These days Kaili is a big girl and can walk the pier all by herself.
See ya mama!checking out the scene
Did I mention the weather? I know I did, Â but you have no idea how amazing it was out there. After our little stroll, I talked Kaili into a photo shoot…
The “oh my” lookthe “concerned” lookthe “anticipation” lookhappy girl
After our beach fun, we headed out for a nice walk around town. Then headed to the park. The great thing about where Shane stays in Ventura, is that the beach is across the street to the west and a nice big park is across the street  to the East.  Oh and a ton of fun bars and restaurants just a few blocks up… not too shabby
she slid down all by herself. Then I attacked her with my sunglasses, apparently!love her face when she swings high
Once Shane got off work the three of us headed back out to the pier for some Tuesday taco’s. The food was good but the weather made it great, sitting outside in the warm weather and the waves crashing can make anything taste good….almost anything.
We ended the night with my Aunt and Uncle, sitting in the room, sipping wine and watching Obama bag four more years. Awesome day my friends!
I am not sure if Pinterest is a blessing or a curse these days. Once I get on, I can’t get off and before I know it I have a menu planned for the week, and the upcoming holiday…sigh.
Favorite Photo– How cute is this lil’ guy?
Favorite Recipe– This lemon loaf cake looks So delicious. I might have to make it on our vacation this week.
Months ago we had dinner at an Italian restaurant in Del Mar. Turned out our waiter Angelo was from Rome and when we told him about our upcoming trip there he told us to hit up his good friend Marco’s restaurant, located near the Spanish Steps. He wrote down his friends name and the name of the restaurant on a business card. Fast forward to August when we were in Rome we set out to find the restaurant, I wrote a little about it here.
Last night we gathered some friends and headed back to the restaurant in Del Mar to deliver the post card from Marco in Italy to Angelo in San Diego. Being the middle man is fun!
FrontBack
We enjoyed a very good meal, Burrata, prosciutto and arugula to start. Pear and mozzarella ravioli in a champagne sauce. Fresh Fettucinne with smoked salmon and Kaili dined on steamed veggies.
Angelo was happy to see us and his postcard. We enjoyed ourselves, the food, the wine and the sunset over the ocean. It was a fun night!
Kaili is now 18 months and still has no real words, although she does pretty much say “yes” . Can she understand? Absolutely. She can follow 3 step instructions and shows empathy, a trait she obviously gets from me!
I told myself that I would look into First  5 San Diego  to get her a speech assessment if she wasn’t talking by 18 months. Well here we are. First 5 is a  program that helps children 0-5 years old in all areas, health, learning, family, for free. They have arranged for us to come in and have Kaili observed by a speech therapist next month. They also wanted  her to get her ears checked, so that is what we did yesterday. Shane and I really didn’t think there was anything wrong with her hearing but hey, it was free, why not double check. They also threw in a vision test for good measure.
The outcome? She passed both the hearing and vision tests as we expected. So, her lack of words has nothing to do with her hearing. I know it’s not a huge deal that she isn’t talking yet, and I know that some children start talking later on but you know, with her birth story and all, I have to {for my own sanity} have her checked out.
After the testing, I took her down to La Jolla for a beach picnic. Why? Because that is what I like to do and that is what I did after a lot of my IVF tests. Plus it was a beautiful day.
However my  daughter doesn’t seem to appreciate the beach as much as I do. She doesn’t like the sand on her feet or her hands for that matter and she isn’t fond of the water. In time, I know she will soon love it and I will have to drag her home. I hope!
The Art of Thyming 