Life

Girls Weekend Trip to Napa

Weekend Trip in Napa | Napa Travel Guide | Things to do in Napa | It's All Chic To Me

A couple of weekends ago, my aunt and I took a girl’s trip to Napa Valley. I have been itching to go since I turned 21 and 4 years later we finally got the chance to visit the homeland. No we are not from California, but it might as well be our homeland with the amount of wine that both of us drink! We spent the weekend sipping our way through Napa one glass at a time with the occasional pause for some delicious food. Are you planning a trip to Napa soon? I’ve got you covered on the best place to stay, what wineries to visit, and where to dine.

Stay

We had the pleasure of feeling right at home at Napa Vineyard House, an adorable and completely modern bed and breakfast plucked straight off of Pinterest!

Weekend Trip in Napa | Napa Travel Guide | Things to do in Napa | It's All Chic To Me

We were greeted with genuine hospitality and a nice bottle of wine when we checked in.

Weekend Trip in Napa | Napa Travel Guide | Things to do in Napa | It's All Chic To Me

Some of the many perks of this adorable cottage-style bed and breakfast included the heated tile bathroom floors, king sized bed, open seating and kitchen area, fireplace, luxurious soaking tub, and private patio. We stayed in the Premier Collection suite.

Weekend Trip in Napa | Napa Travel Guide | Things to do in Napa | It's All Chic To Me

Weekend Trip in Napa | Napa Travel Guide | Things to do in Napa | It's All Chic To Me

Weekend Trip in Napa | Napa Travel Guide | Things to do in Napa | It's All Chic To Me

My favorite touch had to be the Bouchon Bakery goodies that were delivered to our door each morning. We enjoyed our fresh pastries, fruit and orange juice on our private patio while watching the vineyards, hot air balloons, and sights of the Napa wine train.

Weekend Trip in Napa | Napa Travel Guide | Things to do in Napa | It's All Chic To Me

Weekend Trip in Napa | Napa Travel Guide | Things to do in Napa | It's All Chic To Me

Weekend Trip in Napa | Napa Travel Guide | Things to do in Napa | It's All Chic To Me

Wineries

Weekend Trip in Napa | Napa Travel Guide | Things to do in Napa | It's All Chic To Me

Since this was my first time to Napa, I let my aunt be in charge of wineries and food. For wineries, we wanted a mix of something off the beaten path that wasn’t too commercialized, yet something that came highly recommended. You are coming all the way to Napa for some good wine so make sure your vineyard selections aren’t subpar. If you stick to our wino suggestions though, I can promise you that you won’t have any issues. Make sure that whatever your choices may be, that you call ahead to see if you will need a reservation or not. The majority of places that we visited required a reservation. We made our way around 5 wineries in one day and here are our favorites.

Weekend Trip in Napa | Napa Travel Guide | Things to do in Napa | It's All Chic To Me

Goosecross

Goosecross was hands down our favorite winery. Not only was it quaint and on the smaller side, it was gorgeous! I think it goes without saying that the wine was just as wonderful as the landscape view of the vineyard. They had a wonderful selection of whites and reds, with our favorite being the 2012 Howell Mountain Cabernet Savignon.

Weekend Trip in Napa | Napa Travel Guide | Things to do in Napa | It's All Chic To Me

Chateau Montelena

If you are looking for a castle experience that is not as commercialized as Castillo de Amorosa, you will love Chateau Montelena. This is one that you visit for more than just the taste of wine. There is a large tasting room and plenty of history to explore. Outside of the castle, there is lots of scenery to enjoy that will leave you wishing you had your camera. Don’t forget to bring it along!

Weekend Trip in Napa | Napa Travel Guide | Things to do in Napa | It's All Chic To Me

Del Dotto

Del Dotto was our first winery that we visited and the most memorable. Our guide reminded me of Vince Vaughn and had us in laughing fits the entire time. They are known for their cave style wine aging methods. The entirety of the tour is done through the caves and you will get to sip wine straight from the barrel. Talk about fresh! They give generous size portions and as good as the wine is, you won’t be complaining one bit. The tour is a bit on the expensive side, but I assure you it is worth the splurge.

Food

I’m going to be short and sweet with my food recommendations since we were only in Napa for two days, but these three recommendations were out of this world. I highly suggest all three of these if you are visiting the area.

  •  Breakfast
    • Bouchon Bakery– hands down our favorite food of the trip. If it wasn’t hand delivered to us, we would have sought it out. This is a must go to!
  • Lunch
    • Farmstead at Long Meadow Ranch– This was our last stop before we headed out of town and it was our favorite meal of the trip. Not only is the restaurant and surrounding gardens a fairytale, the food was exquisite. I highly suggest the lamb gnocchi.
  • Dinner
    • Brix– First off, this is not the chain that we were familiar with in Texas. Brix is a high end dining experience and the best dinner that we had here. While waiting for a table, we enjoyed a glass of wine on the patio and walked through the vineyards. Great food and a great view.

If any of you have questions about the Napa area or would like more details about something, please let me know. Get me talking about wine though, and I might never stop! 🙂 Good luck planning your weekend getaway to the best place ever!

*A special thank you to Napa Vineyard House for providing a discounted stay. All thoughts and opinions are my own.*

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What’s in My Bag?

What's Inside My Bag | It's All Chic To Me

What's Inside My Bag | It's All Chic To Me

What's Inside My Bag | It's All Chic To Me

What's Inside My Bag | It's All Chic To Me

What's Inside My Bag | It's All Chic To Me

What's Inside My Bag | It's All Chic To Me

BagTassel | Dry Shampoo | Brush | Hand Sanitizer | Phone Case | Mini Perfume | Sunglasses | Make-up Bag | Lipstick | Chapstick

If you have been following along with me on Instagram or Snapchat (username= shelbiadams), then you already know that I am happily residing in Napa for a little mini vacation! My aunt and I arrived on Saturday and have been sipping our way through the weekend! Yesterday was our winery marathon day, meaning that we skipped around from winery to winery all day long. You know when you have a really great dream and you never want to wake up? Yea that was me yesterday! Best. Day. Ever. Stay tuned soon for a Napa recap blog post featuring all of our favorite wineries and must see places in Napa.

Today we have plans to visit two wineries, explore Yountville, and then head back to Sacramento for the remainder of the trip! So today I thought that I would share with you guys what I’m bringing along with me in my winery bag. Many of these items are popular items in my everyday purse with a few added essentials specific for a day full of winery festivities.

  1. Bag– I chose to bring a decent sized bag that wouldn’t be too heavy but that could tote around all of my necessities. This bag is perfect for everything that you see pictured + a sweater, wallet and camera. The tassel charm is an accessory that I love putting on my different purses to add some character to a more simple bag.
  2. Dry Shampoo– I’m going to start off by saying that Batiste has changed my life. Dramatic? Well it’s true! I do not go anywhere without my dry shampoo! For long days, especially when it’s humid, dry shampoo is a necessity. If you haven’t already tried this, I’ll let you experience the magic for yourself because I will not do it enough justice! Before Batiste, I had little faith in dry shampoo as I had tried several others and none of them did the trick. I am now a believer. The best part is that you can usually find it at your neighborhood Marshalls in the haircare section!
  3. Brush– The humidity makes my hair go wild and having a brush on hand in between wineries to tame the mane is a must. I had been wanting to try this Wet Brush for awhile because it is gentle on wet hair but it is also great for dry hair and and it is not too big to tote around in your purse.
  4. Hand Sanitizer– This one is a must in every woman’s purse but especially when you are going to be touching a lot more than normal. Instead of having to constantly wash our hands, we found it very helpful to have our own form of sanitization.
  5. Mini Perfume– Nobody wants a stinker! A travel size perfume is perfect to keep in your bag for long days when your morning spritz start to wear off or if you are outside a lot. Being outside wears down your perfume and will leave you smelling musty. Having a back up form of perfume will be your best friend.
  6. Sunglasses– While the majority of the wine-tasting is inside, sunglasses are needed for in between wineries and the happen stance that you want to enjoy your wine on an outdoor patio. Several places that we went had outdoor areas to enjoy your wine.
  7. Make-up bag– Having a small bag devoted entirely to your make up prevents you from having to dig around in your purse longer than necessary.
  8. Lip Care- At the very least I always have my chapstick and favorite lipstick in my bag. Nothing is worse than crusty lips or bare lips for all of those pictures you will be taking!

Not pictured: I also brought along a sweater, back-up phone charger, camera, wallet, breath mints and a hair tie.

I love seeing what other ladies have in their purse because it’s always a fun mystery to reveal! What are your purse must haves?

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Mother’s Day Gift Guide

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I don’t know about you guys, but somehow every holiday seems to sneak up on me! If there is one holiday that I make darn certain to plan for its Mother’s and Father’s Day. So I’ve rounded up my top gift choices for all types of mamas to make things a bit easier when picking out your gift. To directly shop any of the items above, simply click on the item that you like!

My advice to you if you are still deciding what to get your mom, is to think about what she likes and what she might get the most use out of. Is she passionate about working out, the lord, cozy pajamas, or traveling? If you draw a blank there then ask yourself if there is something that YOU love that you think your mom must have too. Still drawing a blank? There is tons of stuff that has corny mom quotes on it that you can never go wrong with. Just remember, If it’s one thing I’ve learned from my 24 years of Mother’s Days, it’s that she’s going to like whatever you end up getting her and it’s the thought that really counts! 🙂

If you already know what you are getting your mom, I would love to hear! Any of you have special plans for what you will be doing with your mom for Mother’s Day?

Mother's Day Gift Guide | It's All Chic To Me
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Easy Mini Cake Donut Recipe

I think I’ve posted entirely too many donuts on my Instagram to deny that I have an obsession, although I blame my sister because her donut obsession runs a lot deeper than mine. I can’t complain too much because finding new donut places around town and now learning to make them on our own has been so much fun! Over the weekend we ditched doing the traditional Easter egg dying and went with a yummier treat, mini donuts. While these pictures make the donuts look normal sized, in reality they are a little bit bigger than an Oreo. This is the perfect size because you will probably eat a dozen in one sitting. What makes these even better, is that they are baked, not fried so you feel a little less guilty indulging! If you weren’t already hooked just look at how amazing these turned out 🙂

Mini Donut Recipe | It's All Chic To Me

Mini Donut Recipe | It's All Chic To Me

Mini Donut Recipe | It's All Chic To Me

Mini Donut Recipe | It's All Chic To Me

In order to make these you will need to buy a mini donut maker. We have the VonChef Mini Donut Maker but any similar one will do. I personally like this one best because it makes 12 mini donuts at one time instead of 6, which is the common number that you will find when looking for similar ones. Now all that you will need to make the donuts is your favorite boxed cake mix. For this recipe we used Betty Crocker StrawberryRed Velvet and Funfetti. I do want to point out that since these are made from cake mix, they will have the taste and consistency of a cup cake. One box of cake mix makes about 36 mini donuts.

What you will need:

  • Boxed Caked Mix (choose your favorite)
  • 1 egg
  • 1/4 cup of Vegetable Oil
  • 1 cup of water
  • Medium size Ziploc freezer bag
  • Scissors
  • A pair of tongs
  • 1 1/2 cups of powdered sugar
  • 2 tablespoons milk
  • 1 tablespoon butter
    • You will need to repeat the last 3 bullet points for each different color of glaze that you want to make.
  • Food coloring
  • Any toppings that you want
    • Suggestions: Coconut, chocolate sauce, sprinkles, pecans, fruit, candy, etc,

Directions:

  • Plug in your donut maker and let it heat up while you are making your mix.
  • Mix together in a bowl your cake mix, egg, vegetable oil and water until there are no clumps.
  • Pour the mix into your Ziploc bag and seal. Cut a small hole in the bottom corner. You will use this to “pipe” the batter into the donut maker.
  • Open up your donut maker and slowly squeeze the mixture into each donut formation. It will probably be a bit of trial and error in order to see how much you need to put in each one.
  • Once you have filled all of your donut formations, close the lid and let them bake for 3-5 minutes. Ours seemed to only need 3 minutes but I suggest checking them at 3 minutes and seeing if they need a bit longer or not. The outside should be slightly brown before you take them out.
  • Go ahead and make all of the donuts that you plan on making. While the donuts are cooling, we will make our icing.
  • Mix together your powdered sugar, melted butter and milk. Remember you will need to multiply the ingredients by however many different colors you plan to make. You can add in more powdered sugar if the consistency is too thin. You want the consistency to be pretty thick so that it does not run right off of the donuts. This is now when you can add in your food coloring. You will only need 1-2 drops depending on how dark you want your colors. I suggest starting with one.
  • Dip your donuts in to the glaze with the entire top side facing down. Give it a couple seconds and then lift out of the glaze. Again this will probably be a trial and error process and depending on your icing consistency you might need to dip the donuts twice.
  • If you are going to add toppings to the donuts you need to do it as soon as you get done icing them as they will dry pretty fast.
  • Once you are completely done let try for at least an hour to let them completely dry before stacking them.

Disclaimer: Once you make these you will be hooked! They are so much fun to make as the possibilities on flavors and icing techniques are endless! I can promise you that if you take these to an event, you are going to get asked to bring them again or at the very least you will be asked for the recipe, so make sure you Pin this one now!

For more donut inspired recipes, amazing donut shops around the Houston and surrounding areas, and some of the prettiest donut pics you will ever see, go check out my sister’s Instagram (glazed_and_confused_). You won’t be sorry that you did 🙂

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Easy Mini Cake Donut Recipe | It's All Chic To Me
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Where I learned To Thrive

As I promised, I wanted to do a full recap of my very first blog conference that I attended last weekend. Since I am still a newb to this whole blogging venture, I had so many people dumbfounded when I told them I was heading to a blog conference for the weekend. I got reactions like “Wait, bloggers have their own conventions?” or “What do you do at these things?”. I know it might seem like us bloggers just hop on any old computer and spill our guts on whatever tickles our fancy for that day but that really could be further from the truth. I used to think the same thing 6 months ago. Then once I actually embarked on this blogging venture I quickly learned that it takes a lot more behind the scenes work than you could ever imagine. I even did my research before I started this blog and nothing could have prepared me for how much work, knowledge, technical skills, creativity, and upkeep goes into a blog. So yes, it did take a full day to cram a whole lot of blogger tips and tricks into one conference and I’m sharing my biggest takeaways.

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View More: http://megcady.pass.us/thrive-blog-con-2016

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Photography by: Meg Cady

There were so many great speakers and I learned something from every single one of them. That just shows you how much there is to all of this blogging stuff! The speakers covered topics such as social media growth, blogger photography tips, working with sponsors, Google Analytics, SEO, and how to use Pinterest. My journal was torn up with notes on all of the things I should be doing yet had no idea were even a thing! Being a newb in this blogging game is overwhelming at times with there being such a steep learning curve but that’s what drives me to keep learning and improving. I have something that I have created on my own and let’s me share with the world something I otherwise wouldn’t have the chance to do. So here are my biggest takeaways from the conference.

  1. Remember why you started– Alissa Circle hit us with this thought right off the bat. It’s such an easy thing to forget when things get overwhelming and stressful but at the end of the day I love being able to have It’s All Chic To Me as a creative outlet and source of passion.
  2. Big things have small beginnings– Started from the bottom now we here? Don’t tell me you didn’t think the same thing. Well it’s true. You aren’t going to gain 100k followers overnight or suddenly become “blog famous”. It takes time, diligence and consistency. I can hear my mother’s voice now chiming in “patience is key”. Yea yea yea.
  3. Be authentic– In a world so saturated with bloggers and information being thrown at you from every form of social media, people crave honesty and someone they can connect with. Transparency is key, yet finding some sort of balance between perfect and imperfection.
  4. Saying no is ok– This one is a hard one for me. I like to think of myself as a “yes girl”. I try not to say no to many things. Why? Because YOLO, thats why. Well when it comes to blogging I’ve learned that you become a source for advertisement and that means all kinds of brands and companies are going to want to use your platform as a place to advertise their products, whether thats something you would normally support or not. It is then my job to say if I want that product or content on my blog. Saying no to new opportunities, free products, and potentially some sort of payout are hard, but in the end well worth it if it means not supporting a brand you don’t believe in and in turn saving yourself from sacrificing your authenticity.
  5. Stay humble– It’s funny how so many of my friends and peers have already jokingly told me “Don’t forget me when you make it big”. This baffles me because I know how much support all of you give me to keep writing and posting and it is that motivation alone that keeps me going on this crazy venture So don’t worry, I plan on bringing all of you with me, maybe virtually, but I promise you that WHEN I make it big, you guys will be the ones making it with me!
  6. Community over competition– I know I’m beating a dead horse here (if you’ve read any of my recent posts) but it really is true. It is amazing to me the depth of knowledge that some of these ladies are packing. I could have sat in that conference room and just absorbed every bit of information each girl spewed out. The ladies that I have had the privilege of meeting and doing life with are the ones who have helped me get to where I am. There is room in this world for all of us to thrive, so let’s get out and do it! O and check out my Thrive Tribe 🙂

View More: http://diamondoakphotography.pass.us/thriveView More: http://diamondoakphotography.pass.us/thrive

View More: http://diamondoakphotography.pass.us/thriveMake sure to check out my Thrive Tribe and their blogs for more details of their outfits and their experience at their first time at Thrive.

Roselyn – The Style_Lynn Kind | Brittany – Hello Honey | Hope – Tassels and Tabbies | Erin – Style Spies

Margret – Style the Girl | Sara – Haute and Humid | Dede – Dress Up Buttercup | Me – It’s All Chic to Me | Dawn – Dawn P. Darnell

View More: http://diamondoakphotography.pass.us/thrive

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Dress (similar) | Shoes | Necklace | Earrings | Clutch | Sunglasses

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View More: http://diamondoakphotography.pass.us/thrive

*Thank you Kendra Scott for sponsoring this post*

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