Good afternoon!
Today has been, you guessed it, another super busy day over here. My CAR (!!) finally arrived in Santa Rosa yesterday afternoon and today I’ve been working on unloading at my new place, which is in Healdsburg. How crazy and strange to actually have a car and all my things here…things are slowly starting to come together…a few minor glitches but I’m hoping it will all smooth out.
Anyways! This morning I had oatmeal. Obviously.
Had to return the rental car and drive the truck home. Then, ran 2.5 miles and did push-ups and crunches in the driveway. Is my half marathon REALLY next weekend??! Oh Lord. I snacked on an apple + barney butter after my run:
I met with my landlord and then met Rocky, Adam and Hardy for lunch in downtown Healdsburg. We went to the best place called Charcuterie! And I pretty much had the best salad…..EVER.
This was the smoked chicken salad and it had field greens, mango, jicama, orange slices and chicken in it, tossed with a dijon dressing. Seriously, if you could combine all my favorite things in one bowl this would be it. It was incredibly refreshing!
After lunch we decided to hit up a Kendall Jackson tasting since we were right next door. It’s all in the job description, people. 😉
Okay, not going to lie. One of the (ahem) awesome perks of working in the wine industry is tasting wherever you want, whatever you want, for free. You can literally walk into any tasting room and just have at it. How fun.
This was especially delicious—
The guys went back to work and I walked back to my new apartment, which conveniently is only a few blocks away. Stopped at Oakville Grocery for some water and sea salt topped caramels…because it was necessary. Trust me.
Sometimes you just really need some chocolate. Today is one of those days.
I also had an apple:
My things are currently evenly distributed between the guys house, my car and my new apartment. Awesome. I have a ton of work to do and need to make a Trader Joe’s run as well. Ahhhhhhhh my sanity.
See you tonight!
Brynn
October 6, 2009 at 4:21 pmHey Jenna! I don’t know SF very well so I have no idea if you’re anywhere near the ferry bldg, but if you’re ever nearby, I HIGHLY recommend the Plant Cafe. Their homemade veggie burger was the best I’ve ever had. Soooo good.
Jessica @ How Sweet It Is
October 6, 2009 at 4:24 pmOHMIGOSH I love sea salt chocolate caramels. So delicious. I want one now!
Jil
October 6, 2009 at 4:26 pmOh, I know the craziness of moving all too well — I JUST finished moving all of my stuff into my new Boston apartment…took me about a month, I guess? haha I can’t imagine the craziness of moving across the country!
That salad sounds amazing! and those caramels…look divine. 🙂
Steph
October 6, 2009 at 4:29 pmHope everything slows down for you soon!! Your salad sounds delicious!
Shelley
October 6, 2009 at 4:30 pmPerhaps working in industry wouldn’t be so bad… Wine biochemistry would be pretty spectacular, after all!
Good luck next weekend. I’m questioning my own fitness level now, and I’m supposed to run the full! We will make it. Especially if they have a Ghirardelli Chocolate Mile again this year!
Your blog is fantastic. Congrats on the big move and new adventures and foodie ideas!
Jolene (www.everydayfoodie.ca)
October 6, 2009 at 4:30 pmThat chocolate sounds like exactly what I need right now 🙂 Chocolate is my BFF sometimes!
Foodie (Fab and Delicious Food)
October 6, 2009 at 4:31 pmMmmm, that salad looks great!
brandi
October 6, 2009 at 4:31 pmi’m glad your car got there and you’re getting into your place!!!
Sarah @ The Foodie Diaries
October 6, 2009 at 4:32 pmGoood luck! I’m glad you sought out solace in sea salt topped caramels. OMG!
Jenna
October 6, 2009 at 4:33 pmA lot is going on for you, but HOW MUCH FUN!!! We are all living vicariously through you 🙂
I just signed up for my first half marathon today. I am freaking out!! Right now I am sooo excited, but closer to the race, I probably will get very nervous, eek!
Laura @ Backstage Pass to Health & Happiness
October 6, 2009 at 4:45 pmSea salt topped caramels are the best! I just tried them last week and I am addicted.
Sounds like another great day in Wine Country!
~Laura
Backstage Pass to Health & Happiness
LauraMKE.blogspot.com
Whitney @ Lettuce Love
October 6, 2009 at 4:46 pmAny job where frequent wine tasting is in the description sounds like my kind of career — I should look into that 🙂
A salad with mango equals heaven!
Nicole
October 6, 2009 at 4:48 pmI love all of your references to Healdsburg. Via your posts when going through the Murphy Goode interviews my husband and I have worked 3 nights in Healdsburg into our road trip in a few weeks. It looks and sounds like an amazing town. We can’t wait to visit 🙂
Evan Thomas
October 6, 2009 at 4:49 pmSea Salt caramels sounds great! Hope you unwind at Trader Joe’s
Katie S
October 6, 2009 at 5:03 pmHang in there, Jenna! It’s almost all over… you’re so close to being completely moved in!!
Amanda (modernation)
October 6, 2009 at 5:06 pmJenna,
What a day! Sounds like fun. You MUST go try Woodhouse Chocolate in St. Helena when you have a chance. It is just the cutest place and they have the best chocolate.
andrea
October 6, 2009 at 5:07 pmoh man…love oakville grocery….so want to retire to napa one day…..haven’t been able to visit while living in china, but when i return to the states, look out wine country, here i come! missing our yearly visit!
Fattie Fatterton
October 6, 2009 at 5:10 pmHow cool is all of this?!?! I can’t wait to see pics of your new place!
We have a wonderful gourmet ice cream place here and her original flavor is Salty Caramel. It’s SO good!
Nicole of Raspberry Stethoscope
October 6, 2009 at 5:16 pmooooo hope you post pics of the new apartment when you get a chance!
Shannon (The Daily Balance)
October 6, 2009 at 5:20 pmyour salad with mango sounds delish! so refreshing!
Courtney (The Hungry Yogini)
October 6, 2009 at 5:20 pmSo glad things are coming together for you!!! I want to see pics of your new place!!! SO EXCITING!!!!
Courtney (The Hungry Yogini)
October 6, 2009 at 5:21 pmSo glad things are coming together for you!!! I want to se pics of the new place. SOO Exciting!!!
angieinatlanta
October 6, 2009 at 5:30 pmThat salad looks UNBELIEVABLE! Yum!
And I have never had sea salt + chocolate but the more I think about it, the more I want to try it.
Can’t wait to see your new place!
Marisa (Trim The Fat)
October 6, 2009 at 5:32 pmFree wine? All the time?? You lucky girl!!
That caramel looks divine!
Trish (GirlatGym)
October 6, 2009 at 5:32 pmVery cool!! YAY on the car!!! Crazy busy is tough – but it’s at least all really great stuff. 🙂
Abby (Abby's VeGaN Eats)
October 6, 2009 at 5:35 pmYour salad looks so pretty (even to a non meat eater!). Hope your trip to Trader Joe’s restored your sanity! 🙂
ash @ on the rocks
October 6, 2009 at 5:43 pmI have no idea how you are even functioning right now…your life has been flipped upside down a million times in the last few weeks. Continue on having a blast and remember to take this great time all in!
Kristin
October 6, 2009 at 5:45 pmHow much wine do you think you are actually consuming a day for this job?
Stephanie
October 6, 2009 at 5:48 pmI love jicama! First time I had it was dipped in a sweet & spicy sauce and it was perfect 🙂 Good luck with all your moving / getting life in order activities today!
Stephanie
October 6, 2009 at 5:48 pmI love jicama! First time I had it was dipped in a sweet & spicy sauce and it was perfect 🙂 Good luck with all your moving / getting life in order activities today!
Emily (A Nutritionist Eats)
October 6, 2009 at 5:54 pmI hope the un-packing and settling in goes well Jenna! Moving is SO stressful and annoying!
amanda @ fake ginger
October 6, 2009 at 5:56 pmYay for finally having your car and your apartment. Have fun unpacking and organizing everything!
katie
October 6, 2009 at 6:02 pmhi! we are on a cross country road trip and just stopped in at your winery today – sooo amazing, and what a beautiful location! it was most definitely our favorite in the area and definitely made the trip for us!! we met a very knowledgeable guy who even gave us a tour of the bee hives. we are totally considering joining your club and making your winery our “place”!
Madelin @ What is for breakfast?
October 6, 2009 at 6:07 pmYum, I love chicken salads with mango! Yours looks great :). I make a great one with chicken breast, mango, lettuce, fresh strawberries, semi dried tomatoes, grated carrot, snow pea sprouts and a yoghurt dressing – so good!
Sarah
October 6, 2009 at 6:07 pmCongrats on finaling moving in to your place, but I bet you’ll miss the boys and all that early morning bacon! Charcuterie is so good, but I miss all the pig kitchiness they used to have around – too chic now! If you haven’t already, try Cena Luna for really good fresh pastas, etc. If you head over to Napa, Bouchon is a favorite and much less pricey than its sister restaurant the French Laundry.
Jenna
October 6, 2009 at 6:18 pmi am glad everything is slowly but surely coming along for ya!
jenna
Matt
October 6, 2009 at 6:29 pmWow everything sounds insane! I am sure you will be fine though once everything gets settled.
Is your half really next weekend? That is so exciting!
Chrissy
October 6, 2009 at 6:38 pmThat salty chocolate deliciousness looks amazing…btw…I keep looking for the bar of chocolate w/ salt inside of it that you have had in the past but can’t find it ANYWHERE!!!! I’ve looked at like 3 WF’s!!!
I owe you an email…i KNOW! xoxoxo
Yayyy for your new apt and car! 🙂
Jess
October 6, 2009 at 6:46 pmCongrats on your FoodBuzz nominations, Jenna! Well deserved.
maria
October 6, 2009 at 6:52 pmIt is always so good when things start to fall into place. 🙂 And having a car will be so helpful. I am so excited to continue following you on this exciting journey! 🙂
Deva (Voracious Vorilee)
October 6, 2009 at 6:53 pmThat salad looks really good, and the benefits of your job sound amazing ;). I am glad that your car arrived and can’t wait to see pictures of the new apartment!
Chelsea
October 6, 2009 at 6:56 pmAs a natural born Cali girl (although from SoCal), welcome to California! It sounds like you’ve already been having a crazy, awesome blast. Isn’t this state amazing?????
I hope we’ll get to see pics of your new place once it is all put together. Considering how your schedule has been going, I’m guessing in a year or two. 😉
You might be my next excuse to travel to wine country so I can check out the vineyard you work in! Once your settled, maybe there could be a blog meet up for all of us crazy California readers?????
Good luck on the half-marathon. Walk it. Run it. Jog it. Do all three. It doesn’t matter because what is important is that you are a survivor and you’ve come so far in the last six months and you’ve dealt with all of life’s problems with grace and humanity. Next weekend is not just a run for others: it’s a celebration of life. You’ll do wonderfully because you always and forever have the right spirit.
Marcia
October 6, 2009 at 7:10 pmGood luck on the half. I have a couple of friends who are running it next weekend too!
skinnyrunner
October 6, 2009 at 7:30 pmthat salad and caramel look delicious! glad you got your car and apartment. unpacking bites but you’ll be so happy when its done!
Daria @ Daria Can Cook
October 6, 2009 at 7:37 pmWhat a beautiful salad! Congrats on finding a place – it’ll feel so good to get settled, I’m sure!
Lizzy
October 6, 2009 at 7:56 pmgood luck unpacking girl! how exciting that everything is coming into place 🙂
sue
October 6, 2009 at 8:03 pmyay…glad you finally got your car..only a matter of time until everything falls into place, right? love the sea salt caramel- looks so good!!
Suzanne de Cornelia
October 6, 2009 at 8:16 pmThat salad looks fantastic, and Oakville Grocery…love it. BTW Jenna, was checking/comparing a lot of website stats today on Alexa.com that ranks traffic of about 400M sites globally. Cracked me up that Government and Chamber of Commerce sites that have lots of employees and $$/tech people and have been around since the 90s have US rankings at the 200K levels and your site is ranked around 27K! Crazy!! That is a HUGE accomplishment!!! Congrats!
Heather @ Health, Happiness, and Hope
October 6, 2009 at 8:17 pmHooray for things getting settled for you! I bet it will feel so nice to have your own car, your own place, and all of your things organized. It will feel like home in no time! 🙂
That salad sounds fabulous! What a neat mix!
Ali @ Food, Fitness, Fashion
October 6, 2009 at 8:34 pmWOW! That is great that your car arrived. I hate unpacking, but I bet you are happy to have your stuff.
Cyndi
October 6, 2009 at 8:37 pmYour life is good. Doing all the right things – testing the waters, exploring your boundaries, experimenting. I wish you well!
JessJoy
October 6, 2009 at 9:33 pmHooray for your apt and car ; it is all coming together!
And Jenna, that bowl of salad is missing one of your favorites…uh …HOT SAUCE!
cassandra
October 6, 2009 at 9:37 pmHey Jenna
I am a long time reader and I love that you are in Santa Rosa!!! My sister lives in Windsor, very close to Healdsburg, and I love the area! It is so cute and “gilmore girls”. I imagine the east coast to be like Healdsburg. But I am a CA girl so I really don’t know! You should check out East West Cafe!!!!! It is to dieeeeee for! Healthy and delish! I go there everytime I am in Santa Rosa! I just started a bloggie of my own
Check it!
Cassandra
RAE
October 6, 2009 at 10:36 pmI don’t even like chocolate much, but I looove sea salt chocolate caramels!
And that salad sounds amazing!
Diana
October 6, 2009 at 11:55 pmI’ve been curious to know what sea salt chocolates taste like but I can’t find any! I shall keep looking!
Lauren
October 7, 2009 at 5:46 amYour job sounds so amazing! And not just because I, too, would so appreciate convenient access to wonderful wines 😉 You really seem to have found the right fit for you, job-wise. Very exciting! This is kind of a cheesy thing to say, but I’m loving all the cool, delicious foods that keep appearing on your blog…Healsburg seems to have some truly great dining.