Love in Los Olivos

For our anniversary, Christian planned a nice little weekend getaway to the Santa Ynez Valley, wine country east of Santa Barbara. The only word to sum of the weekend is "perfect." We had the best time in recent memory, drinking wine, eating delicious (not-so-clean) food and just enjoying each others company.

Christian rented an amazing little house on Bernat Vineyard. Let me tell you, this place was AMAZING! 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, a kitchen, patio, deck- all that looked out over 10 acres of grapevines. The absolute perfect place to spend a romantic weekend away!

When we arrived on Friday afternoon, we checked into our little spot, popped open the bottle of wine and dug in to the cheese platter that had greeted us upon entry. We went to dinner that night at an awesome little spot called "Los Olivos Wine Merchant Cafe." Their seasonal menu consisted of all local, organic, farm to table ingredients, which if you know me, is right up my alley! They have hundreds of bottles of wines from all over the world (but specialize in local wines) and the atmosphere is exactly what you would imagine when you think of a restaurant in wine country: quaint and elegant, but cozy and far from fussy. Definitely a spot to check out if you travel to Los Olivos or any of the nearby towns.

On Saturday we hit up the tasting rooms on Grand Ave, the hub of the tiny little town. As this was the first time I had drank in a few months, I can tell you that I thoroughly enjoyed myself! Refugio Ranch and Sarloos & Sons were my favorite tasting rooms, but I had a great time at all of the ones we visited. We had lunch at this great sandwich spot called Panino. Our picnic style lunch was so delicious that my mouth is watering just thinking about it! It rained most of the weekend but I wouldn't have changed it for all of the sunshine in the world. We had so much fun running in the rain from tasting room to tasting room and the gloomy weather almost made the weekend more romantic!

There is just something magical about this place. Everywhere you go you feel like you are an old friend who has returned after a long time away, as you are always greeted by a smiling face. Everyone is so friendly and there is no denying how beautiful the area is. We are definitely going back! In fact, we were planning our return trip before we even left town!

Here are some pictures from the weekend! Cheers!