Girls Weekend In Santa Barbara

Oh my gosh you guys, I haven’t posted ALL WEEK. On one hand, I feel I have failed you. But on the other hand, it was nice to have a little vacation. To be honest, it sort of refreshed my mind, gave me some time to think about a few content ideas and of course, spend some quality time with my family! We took our family trip, you probably saw on Instagram. This was both fun and exhausting! Part of the reason I’m so tired is because I was out of town for three days, worked two full days at the hospital, then went straight into our family trip #notimetocatchup !! To kick off the two weeks of vacation I had a girls weekend in Santa Barbara with my mom and sister.

It was SOO fun to get away with my mom and sister. I have only left the girls home one other time and that was the shortest two-day trip ever! I never leave my girls. You’re probably thinking “Oh my gosh…she’s THAT mom!” Yep, I sure am and I’m ok with that. I love being a mom and I love being a part of their everyday accomplishments. I hate missing anything they do while I’m gone, but that didn’t stop me from having the most amazing weekend!

Day 1 of Girls Weekend

To start off the trip I met the girls in San Jose Thursday afternoon, they flew in town there. We didn’t do a lot, just went to Santana Row, went into a few shops and then basically ate our way through the area. Ha, but really here’s a look at where we went.

Places To Eat and Drink In San Jose

Village California Bistro & Wine Bar – After a little bit of shopping we stopped here for a glass of wine. We were actually hoping to kick off Happy Hour, but this was not the place! They have a great wine list, which we ordered from, but quickly moved on because we knew we were going to do our own little Taste of San Jose tour.

Straits– We came here next because they had a great Happy Hour. It also had a little bit of a lounge vibe, which this Mama hasn’t been to place like that since before kids. It was really fun, and maybe a little outta my league these days, haha! Anyway, the food was good and the HH menu had great prices.

Vintage Wine Bar – I love a little wine store/wine bar. They had some amazing wines for sale, in fact a bought a really cute bottle for James for Father’s Day. This place also has tables so you can order from their wine list and hang out. You can bring in you’re own snacks, or order from their small snack menu. The staff was so nice and accomodating. My sister found a couple of bottles of wine in stock and wanted to by several, although they didn’t have the stock he offered to contact her once they got more in and could ship it to her. I loved this little place!

Bluefin– This was across the street from our hotel. Once we got checked in we walked over and grabbed a couple of rolls. They we so good! Some of the best I have had in a while. It sort of seemed like a hidden gem. It was the only thing open in the strip of stores around it, so it could easily be missed. But, if you’re in the area you have to stop in!

Day 2 of Girls Weekend

This was our road trip day. My mom, sister and I had never road tripped together, can you believe that? But, this was seriously so fun. I’ll be honest, my sister’s life has been a bit crazy lately and the drama on Jackson I have been hearing all about is a real thing you guys! That’s a little bit of an inside joke, my mom and sister live across the street from each other, I’m a secretly a little jeal, but there is always something crazy going on. And this weekend brought nothing short of the entertainment!

Anyway, on our way we made a quick stop in Paso Robles. One of our favorite wine store and bar owner’s in Kansas City, Paul from Red Door Wine Store, recommended a Bodega De Edgar when I chatted with him last Winter. This was such an AWESOME recommendation! The wines are mostly Spanish varietals, but there are a few others that were great too! A great story from this visit is that Edgar learned from and took over the winery Hugs. Which was the only bottle of wine I purchased from a wine store on our very first trip to Napa. I loved the the name of the wine so much I had it made into a candle and still have it atop our wine rack! Anyway the wines I bought were Pinot Noir and Mi Monsat.

In the same building is another tasting room, Villicana. This place was so cute. It was setup for Spring and Summer with lemons everywhere. Come to find out it’s also a Craft Distillery, Re:Find. Instead of wasting the residual juice their wine, they use it to create high-quality vodka and gin. Things we bought: Estate Winemaker’s Cuvée, Estate
Cabernet Sauvignon, Estate Liquid Hope Rosé, Lemoncello, Root Elixir Soda’s (great as mixers).

We finished the evening with dinner on Stearns Wharf at The Harbor Restaurant. It was cute, and the food was good. It’s not an overly dressy place, and love it looks like your dining on a boat.

Day 3 of Girls Weekend

Our last full day of our trip was kicked off by me running the Santa Barbara Wine Country Half Marathon. I poorly trained for this, but still managed to run it in two hours and fifteen minutes! I would’ve been closer to my two hour goal had the last leg of the run not been up hill. Oh well for only a few times I can’t be mad at my time. I was done by 9:15 and ready to get out and about by 10 AM. We stopped by the Wine Festival at the race finish line, then walked around Solvang for a bit before grabbing lunch. After lunch we went wine tasting.

Rideau Vineyard

This is seriously the prettiest place you guys. I have been to bunch of great wineries in the Santa Ynez Valley and this place is one of the best. From all of the gorgeous rose bushes outside, great picnicking area to the cute cafe style of the tasting room. Rideau was such an amazing host for my Mom, Sister and I. We had a cute table in the porch area, and I loved how they had a sign waiting for us. You can tell the attention to detail at Rideau is important.

It was a rather busy day being Mother’s Day weekend and the Marathon in town, but we had the sweetest guy pour for us. He was very knowledgeable and was able to help my mom find wines she would like, as she’s still acquiring a taste for it. Rideau wines lend themselves to the Rhone style. I loved several of the wines we tasted and ultimately ended up buying the Estate Syrah. Ps: if you’re in the area, just mention my name/blog and you’ll get an EXTRA FREE WINE TO TASTE!!!!

Demetria Estate Winery

We found this gem on a recommendation. It is appointment only, so we called after we left Rideau and they happen to have an opening. It was only a few miles down the road so easy to get to…so we thought! Haha. If you saw on my Instagram Stories while we were there, then you may know that we missed the drive-way up, mostly because there is a gate and you have to be buzzed in. Then you drive along a one-way road for a few minutes to get there. There is some stopping and sharing of the road, but you guys it’s worth it. The property is also amazing. It’s set back and the view is so pretty. In fact once we got seated the first thing we heard was “The pours are heavy because we want you to hang out, enjoy the wines and enjoy the views!”

We had a lot of fun, the energy was high and everyone on the patio was having a great time. We tried several of their wines and loved almost all of them. Demetria is also Rhone and Burgundy style wines, which I happen to like. I ended up buying the Grenache Rosé, Sparkling Rosé, Pinot Noir and Tempernillo. Let’s just day the Rosé is not to be missed here because it awarded the highest score given on a California Rosé by both The Wine Enthusiast and Wine & Spirits Magazine. 

Root 246

This is where we ate dinner. This place holds a special place in my heart because James and I ate here during our Honeymoon. We spent the last three days here in the Santa Ynes Valley and fell in love with it. This is such a great place to eat. It’s contemporary food, but has some classic flare to it. I remember just loving it and this time was no different. We sat on the patio, and even though it was a col night the heaters were on, and it was perfect. So if you’re in the area this is a MUST. They have a great wine and cocktail lists as well. What we ordered: Starters – brussel sprouts // Entree’s – buttermilk fried chicken, oak grilled barramundi + oak grilled filet mignon // Dessert – Ice Cream Sandwich (butterscotch chip & chocolate chip cookie, vanilla bean gelato)

Last but not least I want to mention where we stayed, Kronborg Inn. It’s on the far edge of the Solvang downtown area, but it’s still easy to walk every where from here. It was so cute, the beds were plush and super comfy and the jacuzzi tub was perfect to enjoy after the half marathon! You can look through some of the other great Amenities here, but to a note few are free wi-fi, complementary breakfast, a refrigerator and microwave in each room.

Sunday our trip came to an end. We ate breakfast at Ellen’s Danish Pancake house…you guys this was soo good! Then headed back to take my mom and sister to the airport. I was so sad to have them leave, but was also thankful to enjoy such a great Mother’s Day weekend my Mom and Sister.

Have you been to Santa Barbara Wine Country? I’d love to hear some of your thoughts and recommendations below looking for places to visit while here!

Thanks you so much for stopping by. I hope you enjoy your holiday weekend!

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