Crazy Carmel Cruise

Jeff, Josh, and I headed down to Carmel this weekend to do a little wine tasting and hanging out. We had quite the adventure. Started with some wine tasting around Carmel, dinner at our favorite spot A.W. Shucks, and then partying with some new local friends. Then Saturday we got a private tour of Pessagno Winery, which was totally amazing, and then took Josh for a scenic tour on the 17 Mile Drive. And Sunday we went for our annual Carmel walk and house rating tour. So much fun, we can't wait for next year!

Jeff and Katharine, just outside the Pessagno Vineyard.

Katharine and Josh at the vineyards.

Gorgeous fall colors on the grapes.

Yum, vino!

A little roadside break.

The Carmel Coastline.

More gorgeous coastline.

A cute little Sea Otter came to say hi to us.

Josh, Kat, and Jeff by the famous Lone Cypress on 17 Mile Drive.

Our scenic coastline and house tour.

Jeffro modeling the cool red cactus plants.

Lange and Jeffro and Pebble Beach behind.

Tough guy here never smiles... so how's he still so cute?

Took the scenic drive home, along Highway 1, and came upon a crazy kite surfing spectacle.

These guys were really catching some sweet air!

Just a really cool view.

The Rygg's Are Back in Tahoe...for a day!

Brittany and Eric Rygg made the journey out from Philly to visit us in Tahoe. We got the whole gang together and had quite an eventful day. Started with a hike up to Five Lakes, then a gourmet Wednesday Night Dinner Party at our house, and then the late-night crew got a little silly... So fun hanging with all you guys, come back soon!

Josh, Kat, and Bygg Rygg hiking up to Five Lakes.


Brittany, struttin' her stuff!

Katharine whipping Josh into "Tahoe-shape" with plenty of hikes.

Brittany and Eric were all smiles to be back in paradise.

Gorgeous fall views up at the Lakes.

Water's getting cold again...Brittany stuck her toes in.

The gang is assembled for dinner: Kat, Marco, Brittany, Eric, Ryan, Stacia, John, and Josh (photographer).

And the menu for the feast? Spinach dip, Artichoke dip, Babbaganooche, Roasted Potatoes, Tri-Tip, Beet and Spinach Salad, Apple and Peach Pie, and of course, plenty of vino!

Brittany and Kishka doing some puppy wrestling.

A little after dinner trip down memory lane... down the trap door to the kid's basement hangout!



Eric, pretending to be a gentleman helping his wife down the ladder, but really taking advantage of a good opportunity to grab her ass!

Busted!

What up A-Train? Welcome back to the spot where all the magic happened!

Ryan, starting off the pull-up contest strong.

Kat and Josh step up to the boxing ring for a fight...

No fighting, just kissing, we're too much in love!

Brittany showin' us her pull-up skills as well.

And KatDog, never one to be showed up in a pull-up contest...

I think Rygger was laughing too hard to max out!

Check out this mottley crew at the end of the night...

Awe yeah, another fun night with the gang!

Bay Area Adventure

Josh and I headed down to the Bay Area this weekend for the Jason Mraz concert at the Greek Theatre in Berkeley. Cary Matthews joined us, and we had a fabulous night. Jason was awesome! Then we headed into the city to the Matthews' place for the rest of the weekend. They hosted a fun roof-top deck party to watch the Blue Angels for Fleet Week on Saturday, and then we hit the bars that night. It was quite the adventure, but I'm glad to be back in my quiet little Tahoe.

You can't have a nice picture taken if Markus Leunig is anywhere nearby...he never fails with the bunny ears!

A nice picture of Katharine and Josh at the roof-deck party (we tied Markus up).

Cary, another Katharine with a "K" and "A", Stephanie, Josh, Derek, and Dave "chilling out" on the cool, windy SF day.

Hot Home Improvements!

Josh and I just finished (well, almost finished) our first home improvement project together. I don't think he quite understood the scope of the amount of construction projects that I take on until now... Anyway, we built ourselves a new stone hearth to house our new woodstove! It was a bit of a test to our relationship, but we survived and came out on top... and we're warm to boot! Never woke up to a warm house before this morning, and let me tell you it was incredible!!

The completed hearth.

Check out our incredible rock puzzle work!

And the new stove all fired up and rockin'...

...ain't she perdy??

Up next, new living room flooring, and new TV and TV furniture. Then this place will really be coming together nicely. To be continued...

Josh's Birthday Suit!

We had fun celebrating Josh's birthday week over the last few days, starting with a big family dinner last Wednesday, and finishing Sunday night with a romantic dinner for two, where the food was burned to a crisp, and scalding hot oil exploded all over the kitchen! But it was still wonderful, and Josh got everything he wanted, including sleeping in, movie watching time, reading time, Steelers football victory, the first big snowstorm of the season, nice wine and dinner with his girlfriend, and his favorite new hoodie and sweats...not bad!

Josh celebrating in his birthday suit...

...don't worry, it was real clothing...hope you weren't expecting any naked pictures on this blog!