Tuesday, July 24, 2012

A Very Vintage Weekend

We escaped the Bay Area fog for the weekend, heading to Valley of the Moon in Sonoma where we rented a house with a small pool. The wine country is just an hour drive away, but with Mediterranean temperatures. A very vintage kind of place.

Sebastiani Theatre, Sonoma

There was slip-and-slide in the backyard, climbing through the broken fence to retrieve the ball from the neighbour's yard, palm-wrinkling hours in the pool, sipping full-cal Coke and lattes from a place that sells old scooters. And the kids uploaded some vintage photo apps onto my i-phone (which is the best, do you reckon?) and tried to teach me that new-fangled Instagram.

Teddy with the High Schooler

Tallulah at the Yeti restaurant in Glen Ellen

Cy and The High Schooler at Yeti restaurant

Cy retrieving the ball from the neighbour's yard

Backyard Slip'n'Slide

Me and Cy at Cafe Scooteria

Vintage also because there was some curly-round-the-edges moments when the kids resumed their at-home bickering. No wonder really, they each have a different MO: Cy, 8: to live each day as if it's his last, The High Schooler, 14: to lives each day as if he will never see TV again, the daughter, 11: to get to the nearest nail parlour and ....I can't remember the other one's name (that's a Fifties thing, right?)


Cafe Scooteria

Driving home Cy opined: "This wine country is great. But it's like we're paying someone to fight at their house." He added with a satisfied sigh: "Let's go back next weekend." And we are. How terribly vintage - a new family tradition.


While I was away I was featured on Chocolate, Cookies and Candies, written by Marlene, a fellow Kiwi, who now lives in London. Her blog is a delicious treat of outfits and scenes from her life. How chuffed am I to find myself in such stylish company - thanks Marlene!



38 comments:

  1. Looks perfect. That is the thing about traveling: you can take the kids away from home, but they are still kids. Mine bicker everywhere!!!

    We are so done with the Texas heat and leave tomorrow for NC. Yea - just me and the kids in the car for a solid 12 hours tomorrow and 8 the next!!! I'm certain they'll be on their best behavior. Ha!

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  2. I only have one child (and she's 26 now) so I didn't have to go through that as a mother. It's nice to get away from chores and errands, even if it isn't too far from home. I would LOVE to have played on that slip 'n slide!
    Did you see the movie? I enjoyed it :)

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    1. Jeanette - I only got to chat to the wax lady at the ticket office...looking forward to seeing it.

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  3. I love your posts Jody, they always make me laugh. And your weekend away--it sounds wonderful! Sonoma is such a gem. I moved there for a summer after grad school and go back whenever I'm in northern cal. And you're going again in 3 days--yay!

    xo Mary Jo

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  4. Sonoma is top of my list of places I haven't visited in the US. Sounds perfect (apart from the bickering).

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  6. Ha! How familiar the bickering sounds ! Love Cy's line about paying to fight at someone else's house...I have a feeling our hols may turn out the same!

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  7. Looks lovely. Our kids (31 and 26) still bicker on occasion.

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  8. Sounds like you had a wonderful weekend away!I love instagram too... a lovely way to add a vintage touch to photos:)
    ~Anne

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  9. What kids don't bicker, that's what I want to know. And if not, why not?? (hint: are they robots?)

    I love the look of the slip 'n' slide too, just my thing that, although at my age one doesn't launch oneself on it for fear of not being able to get up...

    The scooter looked fab too, would love to have a go on that. What a marvellous place you found.

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  10. You always make me laugh...looks like a fun place. And I loved slip and slides as a child...we couldn't afford the expensive ones at the store and always made our own...was better that way!!! Love the photos! Hope your week is going great so far!! xxx

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  11. What a great mini vacation! My grandmother lived in Santa Rosa, I think that's by Sonoma. I was little, don't remember much, it's a fifty thing, LOL!!!
    Love Di ♥

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  12. Ahhhhh... I need a weekend away! Terribly. But alas, my husband new job has been all consuming. FRUSTRATING!

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  13. You have such an incredibly gorgeous family; love these photographs - though that slip 'n' slide dive looks like it ended very painfully. :P

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  14. Mine are only 3 and 6 and they bicker. I've got years of it to come then? The Instagram photos are lovely but my phone doesn't support the app and I'm too lazy to take on an Iphone just so I can do the pics - actually that's not a bad idea. Maybe I should.....

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  15. So funny Jody.. the bickering happens no matter where you are! What a wonderful trip! The CA wine country is amazing. I love the Los Olivos area too.. have you been? (talk about vintage!) It's nice that you rented a house so the kids could have the pool.

    Hope your week is going well.

    leslie

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  16. how wonderful for you to be in napa. my oldest son went to college there. i loved visiting him a lot.

    also love that you forget your kids names. i still do too.

    xo
    janet
    going over now to see what other people really think of you.:)

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    1. You two ! My mum still calls me by sisters names too!

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  17. Cy is hilarious, but we know where he gets that from. :D

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  18. I'm glad you had such a delightful time. I've been as far south in California as San Francisco. Being there was a treat, believe me.

    BTW, how much wine did you bring home from wine country?

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  19. Great little weekend. Yeah, I don't think there is such a thing as rest and relaxation with kids around....at any age.

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  20. I am FREAKING out over that scooter that you are on!!! SOOO SO cool! :-[)

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    1. Thanks for stopping by so I could find your wonderful illustrations!

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  21. oh lucky you..just the IDEA sounds good to me! I do not even realize my kids are arguing or bickering ... haha

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  22. You are giving your kids such a wonderful childhood Jody....and getting to record images and thoughts for posterity along the way......I'm a little jealous...firstly that there was no internet/blogging when mine were small and secondly that you get to visit such great places at the weekends!

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  23. it's like we're paying someone to fight at their house...hilarious! i love that quote. what a fun weekend. the picture of the run and jump slip and slide scares me just a little!!

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  24. You look so eternally cool on that bike!!

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  25. Great images - I'm addicted to Instagram. Love Cy's comment. My kids have been bickering a lot lately, too - what is it about the dog days of summer??

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  26. "we're paying someone to fight at their house!" I love that, at what age will the fighting/bickering stop?!

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  27. When you have more than 1, they bicker. If you have just the one, she moans and whinges. Just can't win :P

    Awww.....you're so welcome, Jody. I always look forward to your posts. I'm so thrilled to connect with a fellow Kiwi.

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  29. Jody,
    Love these kind of getaways. Sonoma is really cute. Love the old time square there. The kids sounds like ours! Of course when the a vacation is over we only remember the fun parts thankfully. The bickering is wiped out of my memory thank god, or I couldn't do it again. Guess it's like childbirth! ;p

    xo
    Kim

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  30. sounds like good times...love the slip n slide picture! I love the vintage effects...there are so many out there, hard to choose a favorite. I'll check you out on instagram!

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    1. Oops, I thought the link would take me to your instagram. If you feel like sharing your name and photos, pls do? Or you can find me @rockoomph.

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    2. OOps sorry, I haven't really signed up yet, just taking the pictures, now you can see how technically useless I am...

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  31. Now that you mention it, there is a dazzling resemblance between you two. I think you just need to sew some pompoms on one of your tops and it's a done deal!!

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