PASSIONATE

I am very passionate about photography and wine. I am also VERY tired. It is 12:15 a.m. Orlando time and only 9:15 p.m. Napa time. I am going to post a few photos and hit the hay. Our first day was wonderful. At any given moment, I could have snapped a shot and it would have been of something gorgeous. I mean the vineyards, the river, the wineries, the food, the town...EVERYTHING. For those of you who have been out here before know what I'm talkin' about!

Here is how our day went in a few short words.  The below 2 photos are a couple from our commute from San Fran to Napa.  Just a bunch of touristy shots from the car...

 



We checked into our hotel to drop our bags off and then hit the road for some food and wine.  The is our view from the room.

This is just one shot of many (and we will be going back) of the Public Market.  It had ALL sorts of mini restaurants and shops and markets.  This is a shot of some of the cheeses at the bar in the back.  We went back up front and had authentic Mexican, sangria and a flight of beer.

This is a shot from Clos Du Val.  My favorite wineery of the day.  We bought 2 bottles from this winery and the gentleman who served us, Gonzalo, has a daughter who attends UCF.  Scott said he had graduated from UCF as well and then all of the chatting and FREE tasting began.  We sipped a Chard that was $24 a bottle all the way to a Cab RESERVE that was $125 a bottle.  Delish.

 We made a pit stop up a mountain.  Scott tends to go places he is not supposed to.  We ended up on the top where a private B&B sat.  It was right before sunset and was absolutely gorgeous.  This photo does even come close to capturing the moment.  My apologies....

Below is Stag's Leap Wine Cellar.  Look closely..who is that smooching couple in the window???

A friend from work told me I HAD TO visit PlumpJack winery.  I could not find info on it to save my life and as we were taking some back roads during sunset, we just happened to drive right into the driveway.  They were tiny and not open.  We are going to try again tomorrow. 

PlumpJack Vineyard

 

We ended up back in Downtown Napa for dinner.  I came across this place while researching online and we happened to run into it as well.  BBQ/wine bar on 1st street.

 Scott's dinner:  pulled pork sandwich and cole slaw.  We had an assortment of marinated olives for an app.

 My dinner:  spring mix salad with added blue cheese.  It was extra but so worth it.  They had feature cheese selections to choose from that you could add to your salad.  Oh, and jalepeno cornbread of course!

 Goodnight to all...

Leaving on a jet plane

Ugh...4 o'clock came very early. Kindly excuse any typos as I am posting from my phone. It is now 6:21 a.m. and we are seated on the plane. Bill & Linda kindly picked us up well before dawn. Thank you. A little emotional this morning leaving family. Called and texted mom & dad. I'll be okay. ;) Im not a great flyer. This is distracting me for the moment as my throat is closing up. Hopefully I will be able to sleep. The man sitting next to us just moved to a free seat. Yayyyyyyy!!

California-Feel free to follow and comment!! :)

So the fun has already begun.  All I can say is THANK THE LORD FOR MY MOM!!  She has spent all day here at the house helping us pack.  She has my suitcase fully packed...ironed and seperated by outfit and tissue paper.  Definately something I would never have the patience for without her help.  Now just the stuff that one could easily forget, stuff you have to keep out for the morning...face soap, make up, phone charger....YIKES...back to business...

Beautiful Family on a Beautiful Day

What can I say?  The day, the tides, the beach, the lighting...it was all perfect. Only if Frankie wanted to look at the camera for a few more shots.  :)  Cutie.  Regardless, could they be any cuter?  I introduce to you...The Daltons.

FAMILY

Overwhelmed Yet Thankful

Very overwhelmed with a lot of work but very thankful to have work. Posts coming up of wonderful new things in the craft and photography world.  Loving Life but very busy...

Trees....

I recently made the below piece for an Art Journal.  Another teacher created a sketchbook with a theme of trees.  She didn't put anything on the cover.  I find the cover of things the inspiration to be picked up, so I made a cover.  Once I was done, I wanted to keep it but knew I couldn't.  I had full intentions of shooting this piece with my camera but with my forgetful mind, sent it right off back to her without doing so.  Oops.  Wanted to make prints available but I guess I messed that one up, this pic was taken with my phone.  No quality for a print.  But regardless, I thought I would share.  I'm really into woodburning and natural materials these days.  I have been stainging things naturally and they are turning out beautifully vintage looking.  Check out my ETSY shop to see some examples and I will post photos here soon as well.

HOLIDAY MINI SESSION + CUSTOM CARDS!!

Get a few Holiday photographs and your holiday cards out of the way in 30 minutes!

Book a 30 minute mini-session during the month of November for only $150!

This includes a custom photo card design with your choice of photo(s).

This image can be e-mailed to you free of charge for you to print or send to any photo processor/professional printer OR you can order them professionally printed through Buffy Dowdell Photo for the following quantities & pricing:

10- $9.50

20 - $18.00

30 - $25.50

40 - $30.00

50 - $37.50***

All cards are 5" X 7" and  professionally printed on cardstock.

(envelopes not included)

***Already have a photo(s) you would like to use and don't need a photo session?  You can simply e-mail the photos to us and we will have your cards printed for the above quantities and pricing!

SHINE Salon