A Weekend in Napa Valley — Small Town Big Closet

She said, “Yes”

We said, “Napa”

Recently, some friends and I were fortunate enough to celebrate the engagement and impending nuptials of our friend Dani! And not just any celebration, a bachelorette trip to Napa Valley!

Napa has so much to offer from a wine lover’s paradise to a shopper’s dream, there’s tons of great food, beautiful scenery, and luxury activities to keep you busy from dawn to dusk. It’s a picturesque little town that is simultaneously relaxed and buzzing with energy.

It was an amazing weekend filled with so much love between friends, more food than we could ever eat, laughter celebrating our wonderful friend before she becomes #landon4life.

So here’s a look at our weekend and a day-by-day of what we did in case you’re ever in the area!

This is needlessly long and I’m sorry about that. I wanted it to be cute and short but I’ve spending hours writing and editing photos and this honker of a post came out of it. But it’s also a nice way to kind of journal about the experience (like my own digital scrapbook). So I’m very sorry for the length and if you make to the end I’m so appreciative.

Here’s a little reel I made just to capture a few of the moments.

What I Packed

Can I just tell you how well I packed for this trip?? I’m still so impressed with myself.

I’m usually a big over-packer but I only had a carry on for this trip and I was determined to come up with the best little capsule wardrobe I could to take on this trip and I feel like I did great if I do say so myself. Almost every item could be mixed and matched together and I wore everything at least once.

We were only in Napa for about 3 days but we had a lot of different events and occasions so I ended up needing about 9 different combinations of outfits because I wanted to look cute but a little different at each one.

I brought 4 tops, 5 bottoms, and 1 dress and it ended up being the perfect amount. I also packed 2 pairs of shoes, a jacket, and a swimsuit. We also received bachelorette matching t-shirts and sweatshirts and wore them on our last day which was fun!

Day 1: Travel + Napa

After a trip to Starbucks, 7-Eleven, and a pit stop to change, we headed out on the town for our first night.

Bounty Hunter + Exploring

Dinner was spent at Bounty Hunter which I highly recommend if you go to Napa. I’m still dreaming about their wings and pimento dip.

After dinner we explored the town a little bit. Unfortunately a lot of the shops do close early, at about 7, but there’s plenty of little restaurants, bars, and cafes that are open late. A few of the girls had champagne at Chateau Buena Vista. Pink feather lamps, sparkling chandeliers, rich jewel tone colors, and ornate detailing made this one of the cutes places we stopped in. They also had chocolates you could pair with wines which was something a few places in Napa do.

Very quick, funny story: we wanted a group photo and these sweet girls came up, who were most definitely a little wine drunk, and offered to take some pics of us. They were directing us, changing angles, the *works*. They had a *vision* for this group shot. We looked at the photos and all of them are blurry or they’ve cut someone out of the picture, but their CONFIDENCE was unparalleled.

We did some more wandering then found ourselves at Sky & Vine Rooftop Bar. It had incredible views of the sunset, delicious churros, and a relaxed atmosphere that was wonderful.Despite having some stomach trouble from a questionable taquito I had at a 7-Eleven, it was the perfect end to the night.

Day 2: Wine Trolley and the BEST Bagels

The next morning, we had a beautiful walk on our way to town. I stopped every two seconds to take pictures of everyone’s house and cute little yard. Pretty sure I added an extra 15 minutes to our walk but how could I not?

This was our fullest day so comfy shoes were a must but this was my personal favorite outfit I wore.

Okay, now I don’t care how long you’re in Napa for, you absolutely must and I mean MUST visit Loveski Deli for some bagels. Their heirloom tomato bagel and egg/sausage bagels are to die for and please if you go bring one back because it’s all I’ve been craving lately.

It’s located at the Oxbow Market which is also very important to explore. They have incredible empanadas and sushi and cute little souvenirs as well! Take some time and walk around because there’s so many different kinds of foods to try and they have a spice stall that smells divine.

Wine Trolley

Now, I feel like everyone associates Napa Valley with wine. And we visited not one but four different vineyards and all they had to offer.

I don’t really drink much but I did try every glass and even found a few I liked! This is a wino’s dream excursion so don’t miss it if you’re in the area.

We rode on this adorable trolley and did a wine tour of Napa and Yountville. The Wine Trolley was such a cool and nostalgic way to travel throughout the day.

So here is an amateur’s review of all the wineries we visited.

Monticello Vineyards

Monticello Vineyard was our first stop of the day. This was actually the only vineyard we got a tour of so it was cool to see how they make their wine. It was a cool place to start the day but wasn’t my favorite winery.

I personally have some bad feelings about this vineyard because we were almost done with the tour when I spilled wine all over myself. On my white sweater. My white shoes, My bag. My skirt. And I had to get full on naked in the women’s restroom to change into my second outfit I brought with me and I have never been more grateful I am so extra and brought a spare dress that day.

2. Ottimo / Chiarelli Restaurant and Tasting Room

I loved Ottimo for a few reasons but the biggest one being that we got food with our wine. It was divine; we had a fresh strawberry salad and three different kinds of pizza. The first wine we had here was also my favorite glass of the day. It was a white and paired really well with the margarita pizza we had and was one of the only wines I completely finished.

It was a really cool little restaurant and there were little shops and beautiful scenery all around us. There were beautiful old brick buildings, open walkways, and olive trees everywhere. We walked through their garden area deciding we all collectively wanted to get married here and then Britt got a chocolate duck at Kollar Chocolates so how can you beat that?

3. Cosentino Winery

In terms of experience, Cosentino takes the cake. Our sommelier was so nice and funny and really just made the experience top notch. This made it most of our groups’ favorite stop because of how relaxed and comfortable we all felt here.

Cosentino is also the home of the Game of Thrones wine which is pretty cool. Ciara loves Game of Thrones and got a cool dragon wine stopper thing there.

4. Jean Edwards Cellars

Jean Edwards Cellar was our last stop on the tour and thank goodness for that because I was so done with trying wines but this was a great place to end the tour. It’s a small little tasting room that’s connected to a few others and we got to sit outside under the pavilion and enjoy the warm sun and beautiful scenery around us.

The staff just kind of let us do our own thing and so it just felt like a nice place to hang out and rest, taking in the whole day.

You know me, I can’t pass up an opportunity for a photoshoot. So we also spent like 20 minutes making our very sweet and accommodating trolley driver take some group photos of us and a bunch of polaroids on the trolley.

I have been waiting years, and I mean years, to wear my grape dress to a winery. It was literally the thought when I bought it I was like, “oh yes I must buy this dress because even though I don’t like wine, I will one day visit a winery and I need something to wear.” So here are a few photos of my beautiful dress.

After our wine trolley (and I changed back into my OG outfit), we were dropped off back at the Oxbow market for sushi and actually the most delicious empanada you can imagine. And also after spilling wine on myself earlier in the day, Alexa caught this very attractive photo of me trying to drink champagne and also it spilling all over me so that was cool.

Then we went shopping! I got a gorgeous vase I’d been wanting from Anthropologie, we all got friendship bracelets (mine already broke lol), and a few of the girls got jewelry at a cute little boutique! On our walk back to our house though we all wanted to stop into this antique store that was already closed. Krista snapped this hilarious candid of us with our faces pressed up against the glass trying to calculate our odds of breaking in.

Jeanty Bistro

The rest of our night was spent at an amazing french restaurant called Bistro Jeanty. This is an absolute-must-stop if you’re in Napa. It’s a bustling little restaurant that’s cozy and comfortable yet bustling and loud.

We were there for a few hours just eating, drinking, and laughing. Four of us ordered these tomato soup dishes with a pastry on top and oh my. We tried a few different dishes and each one was absolutely delicious. My favorite thing on the menu was their orange crepe. It was so mouth watering and I know if we ever go back we’re for sure going to be making a stop there.

Day 3: Final Day

This was far and away my favorite day of the trip.

We started the day by walking to breakfast at the the Culinary Institute of America. Their restaurant, Copia, was delicious for brunch but it was the Portobello Patty Melt that really took the cake and was one of my favorite things I tried all weekend.

Then we went back to the Oxbow Market so I could get another delicious bagel for the plane ride home (because I’m weird like that).

Although sad story, three of us got bagels to take home but only two made it because one of these very sweet yet mischievous dogs reached into the bag and ate one! Wrapper and all!

Carneros Resort and Spa

Then it was on to what seemed to be the collective favorite of the trip: Carneros Resort and Spa. We felt like such fancy ladies because this was such a treat and one of the most luxurious things I’ve ever done.

We had full body massages and I’m 90% sure I fell asleep at one point because I was so relaxed.

We were able to explore the resort and take in the beautiful scenery all around us. This was a pretty go, go, go trip so this was a wonderful opportunity to take a moment and relax and slow down. It was a peaceful moment to really take everything in. I’m so grateful we were able to do this trip altogether and spend so much time with each other. Sitting outside and enjoying the scenery and the serenity of the moment was most definitely a highlight.

After the spa, we had a few hours before our next reservation so we spent it walking around local boutiques and window shopping. I had been looking for a sweatshirt but found a cute t-shirt instead at Camino! There was also the most bougie plant store I’ve ever seen? It made me want to become a plant mom even though I can’t keep anything alive.

It was fun to walk around more of Napa and see as much as we could before we had to leave.

We also all wore our sweatshirts! Dani’s says “bride” and ours says “I do crew”.

Restoration Hardware Wine Vault

After our final outfit change back at the house, we headed to the Restoration Hardware Wine Vault in Yountville to sit in one of the most beautiful places I think I’ve ever been. If you don’t know how obsessed I am with RH then how dare you? So to be in one of their vaults where every detail, every aesthetic and experience is so beautiful and luxurious? I absolutely did not want to leave and yes I am planning on trying to copy everything about this look for my house. Glittering chandeliers, vines growing on old stone, golden lighting, and olive trees galore are just a few of the spectacular details this place has to offer.

Bone tired, we had burgers, shakes, and fries back at the house from Gott’s which was one of our most casual yet delicious meals. Krista and I keep talking about how we’re craving food from Gott’s and any burgers we’ve had since just don’t quite compare. After scarfing down our food, most of finished packing and conked out, getting ready for our 3 AM wakeup call to go to the airport.

Overall, this whole weekend was like a dream. We got to go and do and see so many things we never have before and spend so much time with each other, laughing and having fun. And the best part? Our beautiful friend has found the love of her life and we get to be there to celebrate her and shower her with love every step of the way. <3 love you Dani.

Bachelorette’s in Napa