Park Winters Summerland 2019

Oh, the magic that is Summerland!  If you read my Summerland 2018 blog post, you know how much I loved the event!  I was so lucky to be invited back to the blissful Park Winters for an inspiring day of fun and networking.  Unfortunately, we had previously agreed to another important function the same day so I didn't get to stay the whole time but I'm recapping what I got to experience.

All photos are by Shannon Morse Photography and used with permission from Shannon Morse.  Shannon is a phenomenal photographer, check out her site for more amazing photos!

Of course, Park Winters was decorated in the most amazing fashion!  They have the most amazing event planners and florists set up gorgeous areas to sit and lounge in.  This year the theme was Summer Solstice and they appropriately held the event on June 21.  There were lovely tones of blush pink everywhere!  It was a dream!

For things to do, there was a market to shop from amazing local vendors.  There was also a beautiful flower crown making station put on by Farmer Hands.  An artist named Greg Galinsky was painting a canvas live.  The stunning Park Winters pool was available for swimming or living your best floatie life as well as lounging in cabanas, listening to the DJ, and grabbing a drink at the bar.

We had a delicious picnic style lunch provided by Nugget Markets.  They had sandwiches, veggie trays, fruit trays, charcuterie boards, and a variety of lovely desserts.  Coffee was offered from a coffee cart called Whole Latte Love Bar.  A variety of different drinks were available at different locations throughout the property.

After lunch, there was a panel of amazing Sacramento and Bay area influencers moderated by my friend Kachet Jackson-Henderson of The Kachet Life and also creator of The Blog Bloc.  We heard from Melissa Johnson of Best Friends for Frosting, Erin Alderson of Naturally Ella and Grove Haus, Tamryn Miller of Wannabe Fashion Blogger, and Will Thompson aka GoodThompson of GoodInc.  The panel spoke about influence, vulnerability, and the importance of being yourself.  It was informative and inspiring to hear them all speak!

In the afternoon, the Bar Baby Co mobile bar opened with their amazing specialty drinks.  Bar Baby is the cutest trailer and they are actually based of out Sacramento so I've seen them before.  They made amazing drinks to match the theme of the event.  I had the Femme Rising and it was delicious!  It also had a cute little empowering message included to read.  Boba Guys came and set up a boba bar which was so delicious!  And the Meltdown Ice Cream truck came to help everyone cool off with their classic ice cream truck treats.

On our way out, we stopped by another area with a different coffee truck called Lady Falcon Coffee Club and got their bottles cascara for energy for the drive to our family reunion.  It was delicious and tasted so much like tart cherries.  VisitYolo, Hotel Winters, and Davis Farm to School had a great Farmer's Market set up giving out delicious produce and there was a station to make your own trail mix.  Another great snack to give us energy for our trip.

Thank you so much to Park Winters and all the amazing sponsors of the Summerland event!  Summerland is one of my very favorite days of the year and I'm so thrilled to be able to attend!  I can't wait to go back to Park Winters!

For those who've asked, my dress is from Torrid and my hair clips are from Amazon.


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Snow Day for Non-Snow People in Apple Hill

I love the idea of snow but if I'm honest, it scares me.  Growing up in the Sacramento area, we never got snow.  I don't know how to drive in snow.  I'm actually not all that great at even walking in snow.  But of course, my kids love snow even though my daughter had never seen snow in person before.  Last Monday, we had a short and sweet snow day that I wanted to share with anyone like me who is slightly anxious about snow.

This post is NOT sponsored.  I have no affiliations with any of the places or companies mentioned.  This an affiliate link, if you purchase from the link I earn a very small commission.  I wrote this post just in case you were someone like me who wanted in their heart to take your kids to the snow but got very anxious driving in and being in lots of snow.  I hope this can be helpful to you!

I talked to my husband's cousin after she posted that it snowed in the town where she lives.  Unfortunately, she told me that the snow was melting but recommended I go to Apple Hill to see snow.  Why have I never thought of this?!?

Wanna know if there's snow in Apple Hill right the second you want to go?  My tip?  Check Instagram!  You can go to either Apple Hill's page, a page of one of the orchards like Boa Vista, or you can check out posts from random people under the Apple Hill geotag.  The day I looked, I found photos posted within the hour with snow on the ground.  I tried checking the weather app and it only told me the current weather which was about 42 and did not tell me if there was snow on the ground.  The weather app will most likely only tell you if it's currently snowing, raining, etc...  That was not helpful to me.  I wanted to know if there was viable snow to be played with.

The beauty of going to Apple Hill in February is that it is not nearly as crowded as October.  LOL!  We went on President's Day which is always a Monday.  We did not hit any traffic.  There was NO snow or ice on the roads.  We went up HWY 50 and took the directions that our phone gave us.  There was snow on the sides of the road but NONE of the actual highway or streets.  This was really important to me since I didn't want to buy chains for the car.  (I did see online that people experienced traffic on the weekends.)

We decided to stop at Boa Vista Orchards since I knew from being there in the fall that they have a large open lot across the street that they normally put their pumpkin patch in.  They are open all year so I was also excited to buy some baked goods while I was up there!  It was really easy to park in their parking lot and cross the street to the snow.

There were a few inches of snow on the ground it was was perfect for playing while not having to worry about my tiny daughter sinking into a large area of snow.  Since it was just a couple inches, we were mostly fine in our sneakers and regular winter boats without needing snow boots.  In fact, it wasn't all that cold so some gloves, a jacket, and a hat was all that was needed.  The boys didn't even wear hats.

When we got too cold and needed a break from the snow, we headed across the street to Boa Vista's bakery and got hot chocolate and hot apple cider to warm up.  We also got some still warm donuts and it was basically bliss.  They have a small fire place where you can warm up a bit too.  They also have hard cider and wine for the 21 and up.  I suggest bringing a little spending money and taking some apples, baked goods, and drinks home with you too!

Things I Wish We Had:
1. Plastic Sled (this is an affiliate link, if you purchase from it, I earn a small commission.) for going down the hill they have.
2. Things to decorate a snowman ie carrot nose, charcoal eyes, etc...
3. Waterproof gloves.  We brought the cheap knit kind.
4. Waterproof shoes.  We wore regular shoes and mostly did ok but we did get our feet a little damp.

We spent a couple hours and the kids got their fill of snow.  It took about an hour to get there and an hour to get back.  I'm glad my daughter finally got to see the snow.  It wasn't anything ground breaking but it was a nice, fun time and inexpensive!



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Summerland 2018 at Park Winters Recap (Photo Heavy)

I was lucky enough to be invited to the most dreamy, wonderful event called Summerland at Park Winters on June 28.  Today, I'm writing a recap and sharing some pretty pictures with you.  I had heard of Park Winters before but had never visited.  Do not make the same mistake I made!  This place is nothing short of magical and you need to get over there as soon as you can!  Park Winters is known for being a wedding and event venue but they also have a bed and breakfast as well as a Farm Dinner several times a month.

Summerland was an amazing event filled with gorgeous vignettes all over the property and different events throughout the day.  I'm just going to go through the day chronologically with you because that's how it makes the most sense in my head.  Also, I will be sharing my photos and photos of me.  I will link you to a place to see more photos at the end.

Park Winters is about an hour drive from where I live.  The property is stunning!  Upon walking in from the parking lot, you are transported to a different world of lush green gorgeousness.  I will admit, I walked in the wrong way and missed the sign in table but I found it later.

However, I was a lovely pink tent of flowers and balloons and my feet just took me over there.  Somehow I ended up in the Rose tent first off.  I guess the heart wants what the heart wants.  And while I was there I figured it would be rude to turn down the drinks.

Me and my amazing friend Sadye of Lovely Splendid Happy

Then we wandered over to the pool area to check it out.  We chatted with some friends and hung out a bit.

#Theodoor

Dress from Torrid (hello, please sponsor me, lol.)

It's like they designed this for me!

Then we heard a lovely speech from Rafael Galiano, owner of Park Winters.  He's the most lovely man!  (I was so busy listening to him that I forgot to take a picture of him.)  He said he put together the whole event because following bloggers like Sassy Red Lipstick and Wannabe Fashion Blogger gave him so much joy.  He wanted a place where we could meet, have a great time, and foster relationships.  I could not be more grateful to have been invited especially after hearing the why!  I love building community and making new friends!

I met Sarah Tripp aka Sassy Red Lipstick!!!  Then I fainted!  Not really but almost.

Rafael also told us to explore the property.  Now if there's one thing you need to know about my husband it is that if you tell him there's exploring to be done, he will explore it.

I love Poppy and Oak gift crates!   

Lunch from Nugget Markets

Then we headed into the main building at The Inn at Park Winters which has 4 suites.  There were people staying in the suites so we didn't explore them but we did get to see the lovely downstairs of the bed and breakfast.

Top from Torrid, Shorts from The Pomegranate Boutique

We found a sweet surprise inside The Inn!  Sacramento chocolatier Ginger Elizabeth was inside setting up a display, a flat lay, and a chocolate tasting.

After cooling off at the chocolate tasting, we went to explore the property.

Original Foreman's Quarters

Original Foreman's Quarters inside where they have bouquets from the weddings that they've had.

My new friend Kevin that I met at the Red Barn

The Chicken Palace

My hubby on the seesaw because why not?

Took a moment to enjoy nature

They had so many beautiful artichokes!

We climbed all the way into the Fig Forest and I had to try a fresh fig right off the tree.

When we got back to the main area, we found even more amazing things to experience!

Wine tasting

The Meltdown Ice Cream Truck

Dress from The Pomegranate Boutique 

Cocktail hour with passed appetizers

Then we got to experience a dinner at Park Winters.  I've had several friends tell me about the amazing dinners at Park Winters and I was so excited to try it!  It was everything they said it would be and more!  Every single thing was absolutely delicious!

Watermelon salad

Bread with olive butter

Steelhead Trout

Elderberry dessert 

Then we took a couple parting photos in the Golden Hour light before heading home.  (I will save most of those for my Instagram since this post has SO many pictures in it already.)

Me with Sadye, Ruthie Ridley, and Candice Stubblefield who are just the nicest, loveliest bloggers.

Thank you Suha Musallam for taking this photo!

On the way home, I couldn't help myself.

I cannot explain to you how lucky I feel to be invited to such an amazing event!  Every single detail of this event and Park Winters is literally out of a dream!  I was so overwhelmed by the beauty that I forgot to take pictures of a lot of things.  (If you want to see a lot of really beautiful photos and an amazing recap, check out my friend Katrina's blog post.)

I didn't know where life was going to take me when I switched from DIY blogging to Lifestyle blogging.  I mostly did it because I couldn't manage to create projects anymore but I just loved and missed blogging so much.  I never in my wildest dreams thought it would take me to the most beautiful places I've ever seen and meet the most amazing people!  I'm so grateful and humbled!  

Here is a list of the vendors and their social media handles typed out by the remarkable Katrina.  Used with permission.  

WINE TASTING AND FOOD // Bailarin Cellars Wine Tasting @bailarincellars Berryessa Gap Wine Tasting @berryessagapvineyards Ginger Elizabeth Chocolate Chocolate Tasting@gingerelizabeth Honig Vineyard & Winery Wine Tasting @honigwine Insight Coffee Roasters Coffee @insightcoffee Nugget Markets Lunch Caterer @nuggetmarkets PURE Honey Honey Stand @purehoneyca Sun & Soil Juice Juice Bar @sunandsoiljuice The Melt Down Ice Cream Truck Ice Cream @themeltdownicecreamtruck Turkovich Family Wines Wine Tasting@turkovichwines Wente Vineyard Wine Tasting @wente

POOL PARTY // Dixon Florist Eyeconic Booth @dixonflorist DJ Z Rokk DJ @zrokk Eyeconic Sunglass Bar @shopeyeconic Made In the Shade Tent Rentals Cabana Tents @madeshade_com Standard Party Rentals Arbor, Cabana Furniture @standardpartyrentals The Plant Library Plants @theplantlibrary Tres Fabu Events Cabana Designer @tresfabuevents Wild Flower Linen Linens and Decor @wildflowerlinen

VIGNETTES // Alluring Events Vignette Designer @alluring.events Blossom Farm Vintage Rentals Furniture Rentals @blossomfarmvintagerentals Celebrations Party Rentals Rentals @cprandtents CL Decor Rentals @cldecordesign Debra DeAngelo Tarot Reader @debradeangelo Dixon Florist Florals @dixonflorist FlowerMama Boutonniere Bar @flowermama323 Found Rentals Rentals @foundrentals KMK Design Company Vignette Designer @kmkdesignco La Tavola Fine Linen Linen Rentals @latovolalinen Lemonee on the Hills Gratitude Journals@lemoneeonthehills Nicole Ha Designs Florals @nicolehadesign Paper Heart Patisserie Dessert@paperheartpatisserie Poppy & Oak Vignette Designer @poppyandoakgoods Sacramento City Signs Sign Fabrication @sacramento_city_signs Standard Party Rentals Furniture Rentals@standardpartyrentals Swoonable Rentals @swoonable Tan Weddings and Events Vignette Designer @tanweddingsandevents Tres Fabu Events Cabana Designer @tresfabuevents With Grace & Love Events Vignette Designer @withgraceandloveevents

DINNER// Function45 DJ Lighting @function45dj Celebrations Party Rentals Chair Rentals @cprandtents Dixon Florist Florals @dixonflorist La Tavola Fine Linen Linen Rentals@latovolalinen Theoni Collection Table Settings & Decor @theonicollection

OTHER// 5 Star Limo Transportation www.fivestarls.com Ashley Baumgartner Calligrapher@ashbaumgartner Blackfield Media Videographer @blackfieldmedia Chris Howard Photography Photographer @chrishowardimagery Creative Excursion Glamping Tents @creativeexcursion Crystal Lynn Photographer @crystallynnphotography Giggle and Riot Photobooth@giggleandriot Hannah Muller (Full Belly Farms) Photobooth Backdrop @farmerhands

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