Outstanding in the Field is Simply Outstanding

What a great day we had yesterday.  Blake and I attended Outstanding in the Field with my great friend Nick and her hubby Sash.  The event was being held at Wattles Farm.  Who knew this place existed off of Hollywood Boulevard, I certainly didn’t.  It exceeded all my expectations.  We had such a great time and met some fabulous people along the way.  Take a peek for yourself.

Everyone brings their own plates and places them here.  Fruit laying on a table.

I loved this view of the palm trees in the Hollywood Hills.The beauty of Wattles Farm.  

 The table being set up.  It was set for about 150 people and curved down a long walk way and under the trees.  It was amazing.

The staff getting everything prepared.  I snuck in to get a picture.

The beautiful flowers from the farm (Top to Bottom:  Gerber Daisy, Mexican Sage, and a Dahlia).

 

The winemaker Joe Davis and his wife Jill from Arcadian Winery located in the Santa Rita Hills.  They were pouring their 2008 Pink Pisoni Rose and 2006 Sleepy Hollow Chardonnay while appetizers were being served.

Sash, Nick, Me, and Blake sipping wine.

The founder of Outstanding in the Field welcoming everyone.

The guests listening below.

Everyone sitting down and finding seats (see below).

  Our great friends Sash and Nick above and Blake and I below.  Our neighbors at the table were rude and terrible!  Just kidding!  Had to say that incase they read this.  We had a blast with them!

Tim is on the Left and Patrick is on the Right.  Blake and I with the winemaker’s wife Jill.   She could not have been any sweeter!

They served throughout the evening their chardonnay, pinot noir and a syrah.  Lot’s of wine!

The Menu for the Evening.

 

The potted pork and liver pate below along with the main course, chili braised pork shoulder over grits.  Of course, I started yapping and having a little vino and completely forgot to take a picture of the yummy buttermilk salad and the chocolate cake with berries.  Oops!

Our waitress with Patrick.  I called her chiclet girl because her teeth were so pearly white!  She was super nice.  They had one server per eight people. 

After we finished our main course, people started looking up because it started to sprinkle.  This was so funny because it never rains in LA and you can almost guarantee any event you go to, it will always be sunny.  We had rain for almost a week and it had cleared up yesterday and late afternoon the clouds rolled in and we thought for sure it wouldn’t start sprinkling until after the event. 

Patrick’s wife covering her head.  We were joking that she looked like the flying nun!  She was great fun!

It started to get dark and continued to sprinkle and unfortunately, the last remaining photo’s I took of the dessert and some of our guests did not come out.  I thought the flash was on but somehow it got turned off.  Probably a good thing, since we were all wet, a little tipsy, but overall had a fabulous and wonderful time.   We want to do it again next year but in a different city.  If you love food and wine this is the event for you.

CHEERS!

House Inspiration

Ok, I’m going to let you in on a little secret.  I have been looking at buying a house in Napa, as a little weekend getaway.  Unfortunately, my budget is not St. Helena, it’s more like downtown Napa.  However, there are some great little finds in Napa right now.  The city is currently undergoing a revitalization.  The Ritz is building a new hotel there, some of the great culinary chefs are opening restaurants, the riverfront project is underway, and the amazing Oxbow market offers great shopping for fabulous cheeses, trinkets, and unique items.

I visited in January with a friend of mine to look at some houses and to get familiar with the different neighborhoods, etc.  I visited a number of houses, all under 1200 sq. ft, bungalow style and major fixer uppers.  I need a few more months until I’m ready to purchase but in the meantime, I continue to research homes to understand the market and look for inspiration on how I envision my little bungalow.  I want it to feel clean, uncluttered, open, and not over done.  I know how I want the kitchen to look and bathroom but the living room will be dependent on the house and space.  It’s been hard to find anything to serve as inspiration because most of what I see is too decorated.  I want it mixed with linen, woods, and sea grass.  Since most of the kitchens are so small – I want open shelving with white cabinets, marble counter tops, with a mix of new and old. 

I have longed for the Saarinen table with the white marble since I first studied in – in school.  Currently, it’s out of my budget so it’s likely i would use the white Docksta Table from Ikea pairing it with vintage chairs (see pink chairs down below).

 

 

 

Love the idea of a chalkboard in the kitchen and the vintage stove.

This most closely resembles what I envision.  I also want an apron sink (not pictured here).

Chairs to make the Saarinen table pop.

  I love the simplicity of this bedroom.  It feels very organic.

Outdoor spaces are very important to me.  I want a combination of an indoor porch with an outdoor space with a pergola and an eating area.

This photo below is very Napa.  I picture a zinc table with the some rustic chairs.

A Dutch Door is a MUST!  I have one now and love it. Any house I own will have one.  

To give you an idea of what style I’m looking at, take a peak below.  This was one of the houses I looked at in December. I loved this house.  It was just what I wanted as a little getaway house.  I drove by this several weeks ago with my boyfriend to see what they had done to it.  The people painted it gray and it completely took away from the charm of the house.  It’s funny, when the realtor took me to this house he said, “Your not going to like it, it’s a dump!” I walked in and I told him I loved it.  He started laughing.  He get’s me now!  I tend to like things that need a lot of work.  But I saw potential in this little gem!

The side view

I loved the garage. I would have made into a guest room and/or an entertaining room opening it up to the little back yard with French doors. Picture it all painted white, keeping the concrete floors (I would paint them white or gray), and keeping the beams for charm.  It would be ADORABLE!

How cute is this outdoor sink? I would have kept this outside and used it for parties and gardening.  Loved it. Can you see how excited  I am over the simplest thing!

Believe it or not the kitchen had potential.  In this little tiny house, it was actually larger than any kitchen we looked at.  There was a built in banquette seat in the corner going outside and the cabinets while old, I would initially paint and redo the counters and when I had extra money, gut the kitchen to look like my inspiration above.

What’s not to love about this  lemon tree in the backyard.

Here is another house I looked at.  The photo below is the front of the house, which I would have changed by adding French doors with side panels and getting ride of those windows above.   This house was so tiny but the best feature about this house was the view from the kitchen. This was the only one that I looked at in St. Helena.  The location was amazing.  Central to downtown.

This is the view from the kitchen.  This was taken in January so there were no leaves on the grape vines – can you imagine this view in the summer or during crush.

 

Here is one more that I loved in walking distance to down town.

My color inspiration.  The yellow and blue.  The blue would be a little softer.

I can’t get enough of Napa.  I love it.   I have finally narrowed down my areas, neighborhoods and where I want to be.  I fell in love with a house a few weeks ago and would have put an offer in on the spot but I need a few more months unless I hit lotto.   It kills me because I’ve missed some amazing opportunities however, I have to trust in a higher power that the right house will be there when I’m ready, just as perfect as the ones I have seen.  Until then, I continue to build my inspiration files and long for the day when I can share with you my journey on fixing up a little bungalow in Napa. 

Have a great weekend everyone!