Blogger Lunch at La Crema with Camille Styles:
Let’s start this by getting something very out in the open.
I don’t really consider myself an impeccably curated, manicured, flawless, pristine, crisp blogger/instagramer.
I’m drawn to picture perfect instagrams.
Like the dang fruit flies that circle my banana stash.
The bananas I buy to be healthy but never eat…
I can’t get enough of beautiful instagram feeds.
Entertaining, interior decor, foodie table scapes.
White, crisp, magazine worthy, white linen, flawless.
I absolutely LOVE this aesthetic.
Like when my sheets are perfectly tucked.
Scrolling through an instagram that is perfection makes my brain tingle with glee.
And yet I feel more like the smudge.
Like the perfectly set table with that little piece of food that escapes the plate and stains the tablecloth.
I’m more like…
Painting on red toe nail polish while running 5 minutes late and smearing polish everywhere.
I often describe myself in terms of baby giraffe.
Tall, clumsy, awkward.
Let’s all not forget the great blogger debacle of 2018.
Invited to Bucher Wines and within an hour…
I’d swirled my wine glass too hard and spilled wine all over the front of my shirt.
Brilliant.
That’s my aesthetic.
More wine stained.
I probably should include a disclaimer in my RSVP emails.
Something like:
Smiley.
Swirls wine aggressively when nervous.
May stumble while sober.
Known to have “wonky eye” in photos.
And yet I’m beyond grateful.
I keep getting invited to exquisitely elegant blogger events.
Here was today’s invitation:
A wine and culinary journey with blogger and entertaining expert Camille Styles.
11:00am-4pm
A walkabout food and wine tasting.
A seasonal lunch in the winery’s newly restored barn
Hands on cooking class
I’m there!
Here are my top 5 memory captures from this delightful day:
1. Camille Styles.
Expert in lifestyle design.
The host of HGTV’s new mobile party planning app.
Fabulous lady boss who is founder and creative director of camillestyles.com.
Guess what?!?!?!
After lunch, our lady blogger group met the chef back in the kitchen.
Chef taught us how to make apple galettes.
Each of our galettes was numbered before being placed in the oven.
They came out of the oven, and we stood around picking which ones looked more instagram worthy and beautiful.
Camille picked mine!
I think I may have shouted “That’s MINEEEEE!”
2. Saralee Kunde.
As we walked about the Saralee Vineyard at the La Crema Estate I was drawn to stories the staff shared about Saralee.
Saralee and her husband Richard, in 1989, planted vineyards on the property, which is now the La Crema Estate.
Saralee is a Sonoma County Icon:
Over 6 ft tall! Tall women unite!
A lover of floppy brimmed and brightly colored garden hats. Color lovers unite!
Called the county’s Daffodil Queen.
She would purchase thousands of bulbs and pass them out to anyone who would plant them along the highways.
I enjoyed learning about her zesty spirit.
3. Colorful food confetti.
Every dish served at today’s lunch came from the culinary gardener of Tucker Taylor.
Veggies so colorful you might be convinced they were hand painted.
Veggies so crisp and flavorful you might be convinced that Tucker Taylor is some Willie Wonka of the Veggie World.
4. The historic barn.
Like being up in a wine treehouse. Vineyard views surround you.
It only took me under 15 minutes to drive to La Crema.
Yet I stepped into the restored barn and felt like I was on instant luxe vacation.
5. Woman winemaker alert!!!!
A treat, Jen Walsh come out and talked to us despite being in the midst of harvest season.
You can tell Jen is a true artist.
Right before talking to us, she was out in the vineyards sampling and closely looking at the grapes.
Other fabulous blogger gals I met today included:
*Caitlin Flemming Sacramento Street
*Suruchi Avasthi of This Brown Kitchen