A Sweet Surprise + Concannon Vineyard
Hello and Happy Monday! Did everybody have a good weekend?
Thankfully, mine turned out to be much better than last weekend. Late Friday night, I was delighted by the sight of this handsome face at the front door.
Being the thoughtful gentleman that he is, he had a surprise in tow from Aachen, Germany where he went for a conference.
He has traveled all over the world for work and always brings back some kind of sweet memento for me.
This time, he brought home a beautiful German hand-painted plate.
It’s so simple and elegant and I completely adore it. I already used it to shoot a dessert on a Saturday morning and it matched perfectly…he knows me so well.
Later in the day on Saturday, we decided to take advantage of the beautiful weather and went to Concannon Vineyard in Livermore.
Going to the vineyards out here is easily one of my favorite things to do. They’re just so beautiful plus I love drinking them in their fermented, liquid state.
I even made Brandon take a picture of me hugging them to show my undying affection.
I’m not obsessed or anything.
Concannon sits on a beautiful piece of land with vineyards and hills in almost every direction you look.
It was founded over 125 years ago when the current vintners great-grandparents migrated from Ireland to pursue their dream of wine making.
The Victorian home that sits right in the middle of the vineyards, the Ellen Rowe Estate House, is named after his great-grandmother who was known as “the entertainer” of Livermore valley. There was actually a Shakespeare-themed play in front of the Estate House that had just ended as we were arriving.
In addition to the Estate House, they also have a nice open grassy area surrounded by gazebos and a patch of shady trees for lounging outside with a bottle of wine.
We had originally planned on doing a wine tasting but a part in our refrigerator decided to bite the dust so we didn’t make it to the vineyard until after the tasting room closed.
Luckily, Concannon also has a really nice wine bar with a patio so we were still able to grab a seat and enjoy a few glasses outside.
The wine bar had a nice variety of wines to choose from and I opted for the flight of Interesting Whites.
![IMG_1644[1]](https://www.makingthymeforhealth.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/IMG_16441.jpg "IMG_1644[1]")
![IMG_1663[1]](https://www.makingthymeforhealth.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/IMG_16631.jpg "IMG_1663[1]")
It’s important to keep things interesting, right?
Right…bottoms up!
After enjoying another flight and a few appetizers we decided to say our goodbyes to the vineyards and head home.
I really wanted to go see the movie This Is The End but I felt guilty for leaving Coco at home alone for a long time so we decided to rent a movie at home instead. We picked Not Fade Away starring James Gandolfini. Overall, it was pretty good. The message was a little unclear at times but they did a phenomenal job capturing the time period it was set in, the 70’s. Or at least, I think they did seeing how I wasn’t born yet.
James Gandolfini was also hilarious in it and it’s such a shame that he lost his life so soon. Did anyone hear about his death? Such an awful tragedy. His memory will surely live on in through his great acting.
What was the last movie you watched?
What was the highlight of your weekend?
That’s a bummer about your fridge – I hope you didn’t have to throw out all of your food! Brandon is SO sweet!! I love your new plate, I’m sure it will be perfect in all of your photo shoots :)
We had lots of ice packs from the Chobani delivery (lol) so we put those on our dairy and everything survived. Luckily, it was a quick and easy fix.
And I am so lucky to have him, he always does a good job at making me feel loved. :)
What a beautiful plate! That vineyard looks amazing and the Victoria house is gorgeous! Looks like you had the most perfect weather!
The highlight of my weekend was having my family over for dinner on Saturday. We had gorgeous weather here too and it was great to spend time with everyone.
Thanks Holly! I’m glad you got to spend some quality time with your family and that your weather was gorgeous. I love living here but I sure do miss time with my family!
The plate is so gorgeous! I swear Europe has some of the best stuff.
All of your shots look so lovely!
The highlight of my weekend was getting an iPhone. After having a droid for two and a half years, I’ve finally switched to the dark side. ;)
Thanks Beth! It’s pretty cool the unique items that you can find in Europe. And all of their stuff is actually made there, not in China, like everything is here.
Congrats on your new phone, you’re going to love it!
Girrrrrrllll! 1. You are beautiful. 2. Let’s just switch lives for a week, mmmkay? I love all of these gorgeous places that you go and that you share them with me/readers.
Last movie was Star Trek…so good!
Weekend highlight…not a thing planned besides a run and pool time. So, so nice.
Aw, you’re too sweet Sara! I appreciate that compliment coming from such a beautiful lady like yourself. That photo of me is with an Instagram filter- they tend to be flattering. ;)
Glad to hear you had a relaxing weekend, I’m sure it is much needed!
The last movie I’ve watched is Gangster Squad. It was pretty violent, but it had an interesting plot line. Plus Ryan Gosling is in it, good eye candy! :)
Love the plate, and what a gorgeous vineyard! Looks like you had a great time!
I saw Gangster Squad a few weeks ago and enjoyed it too. There was a lot of good acting but I liked it mostly because of Ryan. ;)
What a thoughtful and sweet gift!
I am so jealous of you living so close to all of those goegrous wineries! Looks like you had a blast!
What a beautiful plate! That is so sweet that he brings you back little surprises from the areas he visits with work. I wish there were nice vineyards near us where we could go on the weekend, it sounds like such a fun and relaxing way to spend the day.
Thanks Nicole! I’m lucky to have him. I wonder if there are any vineyards out by you. Sometimes they are in the most unsuspecting places. I’ve found some in Connecticut and Texas, so you never know!
Oh my goodness, that plate is gorgeous!! How thoughtful! I cannot wait to see it photographed in some of your future posts :).
Thanks Hannah! It went very well with the strawberry pie I had planned to make. :)
I’m in love with that plate! It’s going to look so beautiful photographed. Knowing the thought behind it makes it even more special. :)
I’ve never been to any vineyards in Livermore, the one you went to looks amazing! I usually stick to the ones in Sonoma and Napa, maybe it will be good to go out of my comfort zone.
If Napa were closer to me, I would definitely be spending some time there but Livermore is much easier. Living in San Fran, it seems equidistant for you so I could see why you would head north. However, Wente Vineyards has an amazing restaurant if you’re ever looking for good wine and good food!
Definitely a food photography-worthy plate – so gorgeous! And that sucks about your refrigerator, hopefully you were able to get it fixed before you had to throw too much out!
I’m pretty sure I’ve only ever been to one vineyard, which makes me sad – I need to get going to more, especially if they tend to look that beautiful!
The refrigerator turned out to be an easy fix so it was repaired before we had to throw anything out, thankfully!
You should plan a trip to Napa and come see all of the beautiful vineyards here! :)
Love the pic of you hugging the trees- so cute!
My husband and I also visit many local vineyards- huge vino drinkers ova here!
Such a sweet gift your man brought you back :)
Love the plate :). I’ve never heard of the brand but did check their webside..shame that their stuff is just too expensive for my student budget.. It was kind of cool, that you posted something that I could actually get here in Germany :D
Yes, I thought of you and wondered how far you are from Achen! :) Brandon said the whole set was really expensive but he convinced them to sell him a single piece. The craftsmanship is beautiful though, well worth the price, I’m sure.
How nice that you thought of me. Aachen is a little over 2 hours away from Mainz, I’m not quite sure but I think I’ve nerver been there :).
Yes, you are my German friend now so I think of you! :) Brandon said Achen was much smaller than he expected and that the University is very spread out. He also said it wasn’t too far from the border of Belgium and he was tempted to drive there to get some chocolate. He’s a chocolate fiend.
What is the name of the University you attend in Mainz?
Awww, you’re soo cute :). Hope we can meet in person some day, either if I make it back to Cali or if you’ll visit Germany again. Chocolate sounds great :D..to bad Brandon didn’t get any. It’s called Johannes-Gutenberg University :)
Yes, I hope we get a chance to meet too! :)
What a sweet gift!! I love how simple yet unique the plate is. Sounds like you had a great weekend…I’m so jealous you’re so close to some amazing vineyards!
now I’m in the mood to go wine tasting! What a lovely weekend.
Looking at you wine tasting has so made me want wine now :)
That is such a lovely plate your man brought home for you and such a great gesture.
Jealous of you being able to wear shorts right now it is so freezing here!