Two-fer!

What?! Two posts in one night?! Well, there is a lot to catch you up on!

First off, the holiday was lovely....how was yours? Ours consisted of lots of crazy family, waking up to a curious four year old a few times in the middle of the night, AMAZING food, laughing and holding our precious newest member to our insane family.

We got to spend the weekend with Justin's folks for his mom's birthday, which was so nice. They were up near here in Fairfield for a craft fair, so we got a great visit in. We also got to go to dinner at Cuvee in celebration but the food was less than we hoped for, but that is for a review another time...

Autumn here is SO gorgeous... See?!

 Now you really want to come for a visit don't you?

Free wine tasting at most wineries....

And dinner cooked for you by a professional student chef...

Come on...you know you wanna ;) 

A Review: Solbar

Well first things first.......

Solbar was LOVELY

It was a great excuse to dress nice (no, nicer than that photo up there) and spend the evening falling more in love with each other.

Justin's First

Crispy poached egg, radicchio, apple, cheddar, and fingerling potato salad

7.5/10

Justin's Main

Rosemary roasted pork chop with braised cabbage, spaetzle, and granny smith salad

8.75/10

Korina's First

Endive and cucumber salad, persimmon, avocado, pear, puffed rice, ginger vinaigrette, spearmint

9/10

Korina's Main

Diver scallops, calasparra rice with chorizo, king trumpets, saffron butter, cracked almonds

7.5/10

Wine:

Jean Marc Brocard, Chablis, 2009

Service was excellent- we also received a few amuse bouche* which were delicious. The plates were well balanced and Chef's recommendation for wine paired excellently with both dishes.

View prices and full menu here. 

* Amuse bouche: An amuse-bouche [amyzbuʃ] or amuse-gueule [amyzɡœl] is a single, bite-sized hors d’œuvre.^[1] Amuse-bouches are different from appetizers in that they are not ordered from a menu by patrons, but, when served, are done so according to the chef's selection alone. These, often accompanied by a complementing wine, are served as a little tingler for the taste budsboth to prepare the guest for the meal and to offer a glimpse into the chef's approach to cooking.

The term is French, literally translated to "mouth amuser". The plural form is amuse-bouche or amuse-bouches.^[2]

Solbar!

So, we like food. "Duh" I can hear you huff. Well, we are headed to Solbar for dinner tonight compliments of Justin's hard work this summer while he interned there. I am nervous because I am meeting all of his co-workers and lead chef for the first time. I am going all out guys....even lipstick. "What?! Who is this girl?" I hear you gasping from your living rooms. Well, special food calls for special circumstances. That and I am in serious need of feeling like Justin's trophy wife. With our wine in tow (generously gifted from my boss) we are off! I'll post a review soon of our dinner...although I am sure it's Michelin Star speaks for itself.  Eeek!

Welcome!

Come one, come all! We have finally made the plunge into the blogging community as a married couple! Well, for the most part it will be good for us to simplify and keep our musings all in one place, but also will make sure we post more often to keep all your eager hearts content with our rantings and raving about how luxurious it is to live in the Napa Valley. Because obviously this is where we drink wine all day and Justin gets to cook to his hearts content..... (cough).

Alright, alright so we don't do any of those things but we are learning so much and having a great time doing so. Why wouldn't you all want in on that action? Eh?!

So, to start things off here is a little update on things in the "B" household:

I (Korina) am still working as a nanny full time and it is a challenging but fulfilling job. Justin is still in school at the CIA, but graduates this May....huzzah! He also works on campus at the gift store (which is basically a Williams Sonoma/Sur La Table) We are still in Saint Helena, which I will touch more on later. We occupy a tiny little mobile with more issues than a 15 year old. We are a young poor couple in a community of 50+ millionaire retirees..... so yeah we have some awesome stories!

Stay tuned and you will get pictures folks....pictures. Get excited!

J+K