Spring.

For the Easter weekend, D & I decided to travel up to Northern California to visit my family. I got to see so many friends from high school and my grandparents were able to host their annual Easter Saturday picnic. It is so much fun to have everyone in one place. There is endless barbecuing, drinking and telling stories. No matter what, it's loud and fun and you pretty much just eat yourself into oblivion.

Three things never change at these family functions:

1) Aunt Shirley's deviled eggs, which are divine.

2) Singing the Johnny Appleseed prayer (I had no idea this was not a common Easter prayer until I hit junior high.)

3) A late afternoon viewing of the great Disney cartoon, Mulan.

I like these consistencies. I'm so thankful and feel so blessed that so little has changed over the years. I also love that the fun continued at the "After-Party" at my grandparents house where we were able to stay late into the night playing cards. Truly there is nothing better than playing cards with my grandparents. (Shout-out to my mom who definitely sacrificed some sleep and drove through a rain/lightening storm so we could stay so late when she had to wake up at 5 AM to sing at our Easter sunrise service. Mom, thanks for being an example for putting relationships first in life.)

A reenactment, 8 months later

An absolutely stunning day at the ranch.

Easter Sunday is an early wake-up call but always worth it. The sunrise on Easter is a beautiful reminder of God's goodness. Those who know me know I am rarely awake for sunrises, so it's always especially beautiful to me. We also got to dye Easter eggs with Alyssa and eat a delicious dinner of steak and potatoes (which felt like a light meal compared to the all-day feast from Saturday.)

Artists at work

Masterpieces

After such a wonderful weekend, it's always hard to get back into the work routine, but thankfully I also had this weekend to look forward to. I met Sarah in Los Olivos for a day of food and wine, and it really was the best day.

If you haven't gone wine tasting in Santa Barbara, go. There are about a million fun wineries tucked away in the Santa Ynez valley. We started out our day at Sides Hardware & Shoes and had an amazing breakfast. I ordered eggs benedict with the thickest cut of bacon I've ever seen, dripping with maple smoke flavor. Then we stumbled into Saarloos & Sons tasting room, which quickly became our favorite place in the world. Everything else paled in comparison.

I mean, when you offer a cupcake flight to pair with your tastings... there's just really no way to compete with that. We decided to hold off on the cupcakes until later. After a couple more wineries (Fess Parker & Firestone) and a crazy chance encounter with my friend Laura from New York, we stumbled gracefully made our way back to get our cupcakes.

Clockwise from the top: Blackberry Chocolate Syrah, Strawberry Ginger Chardonnay (the favorite), S'mores, I Forgot (not my favorite), Peanut Butter Cup

After totally indulging ourselves and deciding this was what heaven will be like, we found ourselves accidentally back at Sides Hardware & Shoes for a light dinner. We ordered calamari and burrata with apricot compote, both of which were amazing. I didn't hate that we ended up there twice because everything was so, so good. The day was perfect--sunny, warm, full of great food, wine and tons of laughter. I think we'll be back soon.

Thank God for spring, for sunshine and perspective, for moments of joy and glimpses of the eternal. D & I are thankful for this season and for our amazing friends and family.

-S