Wine in Walnut Creek + Trouble in Paradise
I don’t know about you, but the weekend went by way too fast. Can we have one more day please? Just one?
On Saturday, the weather was perfect so we ventured out on a bike ride for a little while. Later in the evening, we decided to take a drive to Walnut Creek to check out a wine bar there named Residual Sugar. I ordered a glass of Sauvignon Blanc and Brandon had Cabernet.
We also ordered a few vegetable paninis which we ate before I could remember to take a photo. Woops. The wine bar was a pretty nice place but I didn’t see any wine flights on the menu which I am a big fan of.
After the wine bar, we went to Blush which is an organic frozen yogurt place. We both got the traditional tart flavor along with the Nutella flavor and mixed nuts on top.
Blush is not like your typical yogurt place in that you don’t serve yourself nor do they go by weight. But I thought the yogurt was really good and would love to go back.
Now here is where the night got really fun. As we were pulling out from the yogurt shop, my car started making a really funny whining sound. About a quarter of mile later, the check engine light came on and it would not shift into second gear. It quickly became obvious that something was up with the transmission.
We attempted to drive it a few more times and got about a mile down the road before realizing it wasn’t going to work. Since Walnut Creek is about 30 minutes from home, we had to call a tow truck to come get us. Fun, fun and more fun.
The tow truck ended up taking 3 hours to show up then took us and my car to my mechanic which is only about a 10 minute walk from home. Finally, after a short walk at about 1:00 in the morning, we made it home, safe and sound.
Since I have to drive about 40 minutes each way to work and Brandon goes the opposite direction, we decided it would be best to rent a car. Luckily, Brandon gets a small discount on rental cars through the company he works for, so I am sporting a Hyundai in the mean time while I wait to find out what the damage is on my car tomorrow.
Times like this remind how lucky I am to have someone like Brandon in my life. He made sure to joke with me during the 3 hour wait for the tow truck and to remind me that everything is going to be okay. I would have broke down crying had he not been there to make me feel better.
This morning he offered to make me anything I wanted for breakfast and I got a craving for scrambled eggs with cheese and a side of my favorite English muffin along with some fresh blueberries.
For the eggs, I usually use 4 eggs (for both of us) with a small amount of egg whites and a touch of milk added. Instead of just scrambling them, I like them kind of folded over so they are in between an omelet and a scrambled eggs. And then, of course, a sprinkle of cheese on top! I’m not picky or anything…
Brandon is so patient and made them exactly how I like them. 
The blueberries were begging me to take their picture as well.
A good breakfast got me back on track and I accomplished making a few new recipes in the kitchen which I plan on sharing soon!
We are going to eat one of them now for dinner while catching up on an episode of Girls on HBO. Hopefully it is a good one this week. Season Two’s episodes have been hit or miss so far with more misses than hits.
I hope you all had a fun weekend and a good St. Patrick’s Day. See you soon!
How do you react when you have car problems?
If you have a dog, have you ever had their teeth cleaned?
Hi! I just recently found your blog. I grew up in the Lamorinda area (now living in the midwest) and it is so nice to see the pics and read about your outings in the east bay. Thank you!!
Hi Melissa! I am so glad you found me. Lamorinda is a beautiful area! I worked in Orinda for a short while and spent some time in Lafayette as well. You are lucky to have grown up there. What part of the Midwest are you in now? I will try to cover as much area as I can for you to see! :)
We are near Indianapolis. My mom and sister moved out here as well last year (bay area cost of living = yikes!) So now I don’t have an excuse to go back and visit and I really miss it. I will just have to live vicariously through your blog!
I am glad to hear you get to be close to your family though! That is the hard thing for me right now. And yes, it is super expensive out here! The housing market is insane right now. I don’t know why anyone would want to live in perfect weather… :)
Sounds like a great time and I wish that fro-yo place was in Canada, it looks super good!
I had never seen an organic frozen yogurt place until I moved to California. It’s a perfect fit for us healthy foodies!
Your floral shirt is very pretty! I love it :).
Thanks Hannah! I got it online a while ago- I’m pretty sure it’s from Nastygal.com. Nice name, huh?
Ohhh no! I hope everything turns out a-ok with your car! The rest of your weekend seemed pretty awesome, so I’m sure it made up for it! (or at least made it bearable…!)
Thanks Ashlee! I still haven’t found out anything but I know it will all workout in the end.
Sounds like you both had a great weekend. Important thing is that you didn’t let your car problem ruin it. Way to go! Even though I can’t eat eggs but your breakfast looks delicious :).
Yes, I’m trying to stay positive! I hope I don’t torture you with eggs on here. :)
What a bummer about your car – but at least you have good perspective on the situation! Thank God for the patient men in our lives, right? :) Hope you have a relaxing evening tonight…I’m desperately wanting to get into watching Girls but just haven’t had the time yet…soon though!
I honestly don’t know what I would do without him. :) Girls is a very different kind of humor. You’ll have to let me know what you think when you get around to it!
I’m so fussy it’s not funny!
$700 for teeth cleaning is crazy!
For a yoghurt place I think I’m better going to ones where they serve you. When its self serve I always overload it :)
I know, it is so expensive to have their teeth cleaned! Yes, it is nice to have the freedom to pile as much as you can when you’re at a self serve place. :)
You’re right about the car! It’s only a material thing!
Thanks Andrea! I have to keep reminding myself of that.
Hey there! We get our dog’s raw bones from either the “boutique” pet store near us (not a big chain like petco), or you can sometimes find them at the grocery store in the meat case. Pet stores will keep them in the freezer- and one thing that sucks is that you have to then pry the bones apart if you buy them in a pack. We spent around 20 minutes trying to do it the first time. Sigh!
Another thing we do since raw bones are a once a week “treat” for our pup is give him about 1/3 a carrot every day. Any veggie like carrots should help with teeth cleaning a little bit. And they help in the poop department too, haha :) Good luck!
I really appreciate this information Nina! I didn’t even think to check at the grocery store. Although I am not looking forward to breaking the bones apart. :/
I feed them carrots all the time and it surely does help them poop! lol :)
Oiye. Dental work for animals…. I love my pets dearly as if they were my kids, but $700 for teeth cleaning?? Ouch. A vet said I needed to get Gambits teeth cleaned and it’d cost $600 for a cat! My family’s cat Shadow lived until she was just shy of 19 (outdoor all her life, visited the vet twice) and never had dental issues. lol.
Car troubles suck :( Mine has broken down a number of times. Threatened on the freeway (managed to get to a parking lot safely before it shook and died), died on the freeway, and smoked up in my driveway. It’s always great to have support with you. I was alone for the freeway meltdown and boy it was not fun waiting in the dark on the side of I5.
I haven’t been to a wine bar lately. I love trying the flights, for sure.
Yeah, unfortunately the car means I will have to put the dog cleaning on hold. I’m hoping they manage to live long lives from all of the extra love I give them.
You have certainly been through a lot with your car! That is awful you were all by yourself when it happened. I was lucky in that department.