M’s birthday was this past weekend, and we decided to head to Napa for a few days! Hence my not posting anything for a while – we were too busy enjoying the sun and warmth! We found a lovely house through VRBO to rent, and it was up in the mountains, about 20 minutes east of Napa. The view was spectacular (and the photo above doesn’t do it justice)!
The house was beautifully appointed in a rustic French decor, and had local artwork shown – which I fell in love with! This is just a couple of this artist’s lovely work. They are small – about the size of a photograph, but so full of color and energy! I’m definitely going to purchase a few for myself!
The best part about renting the house is that we can cook for ourselves. Hotels always make you eat out for *every* meal, and here we get the option. We got to eat our standard breakfast every morning, and then enjoyed a couple evenings in, relaxing and reading a book after a leisurely meal. Electronics are shut off (except for the Kindle!), and we get to just enjoy the vacation.
In the morning, it was bird-a-palooza outside! There were always at least 3 or 4 woodpeckers hammering away at any given time, and then all sorts of various birds visited the trees surrounding the house. If you can’t tell, I love birds! Most of the photos I took were blurry, as they are so quick – but I did get at least one clear shot of one of them (a lady cardinal, maybe? My books are only for WA state!).
Safe to say, the highlight of the trip was just the relaxation, the disconnection, the quiet. And maybe the wine…
The second morning we were there, a family of deer cut through. We were mostly ignored, but for one of them – she kept glancing back at me, making sure I wasn’t a danger. I was just taking some snaps, so they just continued on their leisurely way.
We took a few walks down the hill from the house – it even had a quaint little walkway and door!
And there were these large nuts (chestnuts, maybe? But I’ve never seen them this big – they were about the size of your fist! HUGE!) all over the place.
Growing up in a big city, I’m always drawn to the more peaceful vacations. I prefer Kauai over Maui; staying in a house in the hills over somewhere in town; watching the birds over watching the game… This was quite lovely, and fit that requirement well. I think M enjoyed his birthday, and we both came back refreshed and a bit calmer.
As we were heading out, there were a few more clouds in the sky, but it was a breathtaking end to a good vacation.
Plantiful Eats 
Looks like a great getaway you had. BTW the bird in question is a Tufted Titmouse. We have oodles of ’em at our feeder here in PA
Ah yes, the tufted titmouse! I have seen those before! Thanks for the ID. š
What a beautiful place for a getaway, Veronica! Sounds so restorative. That would be my kind of vacation too. I loved the birds in the art you photographed. They are so textural I thought they were tiles at first. Lovely!
Thank you, Maria! It definitely was restorative. I figured you might like the peacefulness, too – you feel very connected, and the backdrop is a perfect place for those morning sun salutations. I’m glad you liked the art – they were very unique.
It looks a wonderful getaway! I like the overview picture…Btw, it’s horse chestnut, not edible.
Thanks, Sabrina! Horse chestnut – cool! It looked like a giant chestnut, so that makes sense. Sucks it’s not edible – imagine roasting those! š