It’s Monday, which normally means that tonight is the night for Jersey cocktails with Alexis.  Unfortunately, Alexis is watching two of our cousins in Sonoma for the week, so she isn’t able to join me for our usual festivities.  Thus, I am having pea soup alone in the apartment (because KC is off playing softball).

Don’t feel too bad for me though, we had quite a wonderful day with Alexis earlier, as KC and I headed out to Sonoma this morning to spend the day with Alexis and Carey bumming around cafes, wineries and restaurants.

It’s a rough life, I know, but somebody’s gotta live it.

Sorry I don’t have a happy hour post to share with you tonight, but I do have a grand photo tour of a few of the things we did in Sonoma today.

First we went and had coffee and pastries at the Basque Boulangerie Cafe in downtown Sonoma.  I had a coffee and a croissant — heaven!

After breakfast we bummed around downtown a bit, wandering through the thrift shops.  After that, we decided to head to Gloria Ferrer for a wine tasting.  I love Gloria’s Sonoma Brut, which they sell at Costco (such a bargain!), and you guys have already heard all about my love for all things bubbly, so I was very excited.

Here’s what we saw at the winery:

Once we entered the tasting room, we realized that Gloria only sells glasses of their bubbly (no tastings), so KC, Alexis and I opted to each get a glass and share.

We ordered the Va de Vi, the Blanc de Blancs, and the Cuvee Rose (which is only available at the winery).

I was partial to the Blanc de Blancs, which was the driest of all the wines we tasted.  Although, clearly we liked all the glasses just fine…

After our tasting we headed to lunch at The Fremont Diner, which is an adorable little shack of a place that serves up some amazing comfort food.

I had read reviews of their famous grass-fed beef burger, so I ordered that (as did KC and Carey).  Alexis ordered the “Whole Hog,” which is a pulled pork sandwich.  Ahhh yum…

I was only able to finish half my plate; but, oh man, there’s nothing like a really good burger!  Am I right?

The other half of my burger is currently in the fridge, but I think I’ll stick with the pea soup I made for tonight.  Especially since KC and I leave for New York on Wednesday, which is sure to be a week-long foodfest.  I can’t wait!

On that note, because I’ll be out of town for a little over a week, I may not be blogging much.  Obviously, I won’t be having homemade happy hours while we’re shacking up in Manhattan and Brooklyn, but I’ll try to squeeze in some time to blog about some of the restaurants and sites of our trip.

Alexis may be doing a guest appearance on the blog while I’m gone.  We haven’t ironed out the details yet, but you’ll know if she starts doing guest posts on here while I’m gone.

Also, with my upcoming vacation and impending employment, I’m holding off on a June challenge for now.  I’d like to do a challenge for June; but I’m not really sure of work and all that yet, so I don’t want to commit to something now and then have to back out later.  As always, if you have any ideas for an upcoming challenge, please let me know!

Ok off to enjoy some pea soup and Jersey!  I know, it’s an exciting life I lead…