A Personal Update

May 4, 2016

Hey there! If you’re a close personal friend or follow me on Instagram, I’m sure you already know that we’ve had some BIG life changes over the course of the past few months that have kept me away from my little home on the web. We bought a house and moved to Napa! I still can’t believe we’re finally in Northern California (a move that we’ve been talking about making for the past 5 or so years) and how much our lives have changed in 2016!

I’ll spare you the full ONEHOPE history, but Jake started the company in 2007 with a team that had followed him from Gallo. They were all based in Southern California at the time, so while the wine was being produced in Napa and Sonoma, our headquarters have always been in Orange County. At the beginning of 2015, as we started developing an estate/winery project for ONEHOPE in Napa, it became pretty clear pretty fast that we needed to have a bigger presence up here and that we really needed a few people closely managing a project of this scale. Jake’s dad has been a construction manager at Stanford for many years and was the perfect candidate for managing the build, but to not have full-time teammates in wine country as a wine brand of our size was starting to seem silly. Since I’m doing the interior design on the project, making materials selections and designing the home from Southern California was becoming difficult. On a personal level, we’ve both spent the last 7-10 years away from family and wanted to be closer to Jake’s parents and sisters. My best friend Carla, who is basically family, also lives in the Bay Area – finally being close to someone from home made me SO excited to move north! We decided we’d save as much as possible for the remainder of the year and try to buy at the end of 2015 or beginning of 2016.

When the cutest house came on the market in November, I instantly had a gut feeling about it and knew I had to fly up to check it out. Jake was in China at the time on business so his parents picked me up from the airport and we drove to Napa where I fell head over heels for this house. I KNEW it was the one that we were going to celebrate holidays in together and build a family over the years. We scrambled to get pre-approved, made an offer and then waited. Jake had written the most wonderful, heartfelt letter to the sellers, our offer was strong and we were positive we had gotten the house…

And then we didn’t. I was absolutely crushed.

Everyone kept saying “it was for a reason” and “the right house will come along” which I truly believed in my heart, but I was too devastated to even continue looking for the right one. I kept waiting for their deal to fall through so we could scoop up our house and get on with our lives – still envisioning us in that cute little house that never was.

For Christmas, Jake and I traveled home to Michigan to visit my family. Every year, Jake and my dad get into their token political “discussion” that is inevitably heated and teeters on being a full blown argument. Trying to drown out their seemingly endless banter, I hopped on Zillow and a new listing popped up. It was so cute, smaller than the house we’d loved, but also with a smaller price tag and still in our favorite neighborhood. We decided to put in an offer sight-unseen and to our surprise, our offer was accepted! We traveled to Napa just after the new year to see it in person and confirm we actually liked it before moving forward and it was perfect! It was built in the 1930’s, had a lot of charm and a big back yard – we were sold! We closed at the end of January, packed up our tiny home in Hermosa Beach and moved at the very end of February.

{ signing our lives away! }

At this point, we’re almost completely settled in with the exception of some wall art and window treatment updates that need to happen. There are of course a million long-term changes we want to make to this place that we need to save for, but we’re comfortable for now. And most importantly, even with the changes I’d like to make, I still get butterflies when I pull up to our cozy little house.

So what does that mean for the blog? I’ve had this little site for over 5 years now, but my consistency has definitely lacked – especially when life gets crazy. But through all the years, posting here still feels like home to me and now that we’re settled into our real home, my goal is to use this as a place to document this great big Estate8 project and our new house, as well as some recipes, styling projects and events I’ve been working on for ONEHOPE. And, let’s face it – when you’re living, working and building a company together with your partner, sometimes a girl needs a little “me” time. I guess that’s how I’ll look at this little site from here on out 🙂 Cheers!

{ the most beautiful welcome home basket from new neighbors }

{ exploring the new neighborhood – favorite spot for brunch! }

{ love the morning light in our kitchen nook }

{ working from home – something new for me and something I’ll be chatting about one the blog }

{ visiting ONEHOPE’s vineyard in Rutherford on the first sunny day in spring }

Have a Great Weekend / Update

October 23, 2015

Hey there! This week has FLOWN by… I mean, life is just pure insanity right now. Last week’s recap:

Tuesday-Thursday: On top of all of the other craziness at work, we were granted a Demolition Permit for our BIG Napa project (for next Monday. MONDAY! Eeeek!) so I spent the week finding and coordinating movers, reserving storage, booking a truck, figuring out what to donate vs. what to sell, and making plans to get the current house cleared out in time.

Friday: Shot cocktails (sharing the recipes soon!) all day and into the evening followed by a late night of laundry and packing.

Saturday: My only day off! Kind of… 😉 Up at the crack of dawn to fly to Oakland, picked up a huge moving truck and drove it to Lafayette to spend the day with my best friend and her husband to watch the biggest game of the year – MSU vs. Michigan. Our team had an EPIC win in literally the last second of the game, I lost my voice from screaming profanities and jubilation, we celebrated our asses off, and I probably drank a little more than I needed to. Ooops! 😛

Sunday: Another early morning to get on the road to Napa. Got our storage unit situated with Jake’s dad and headed to the house to join the movers. Sorted through three bedrooms of stuff and helped move out of our cute little vineyard house. Thankfully, we had the best help in the world and I was on the road at 6:30 (in my huge truck!) to have dinner with Jake’s parents. I was SO sad as I drove away from the house for the last time. It’s a super weird and wacky place with a ton of issues that it doesn’t make any sense to try the salvage the structure, but it was such a shining beacon of hope when we bought it. I staged the entire thing (2 dining rooms, 2 living rooms and three bedrooms) back in January. Since we were doing it on such a tight budget, I, myself physically moved everything in and painted a few of the rooms with the help of some of the best teammates. It was an enormous project that we pulled together in two short weeks and it was truly a labor of love. A few months later, Jake and I got engaged in the vines and spent our first night there as an engaged couple. The happiest day of my life took place on that property and we celebrated with friends and family in that house. As weird as it was, it was a special place that I’ll never forget.

Monday: Up at 4:30 to drive down to LA. That drive is usually so annoying (the central valley can feel ridiculously long), but knowing I was going to arrive at our office around 11:00am was encouraging and it felt really fast compared to what I’ve experienced making that trip before. Our team helped unload the truck when I arrived and I dove into the work week.

Tuesday-Thursday was kind of a blur… styled a big video shoot all day/night on Tuesday and then just tried to knock out as many priorities as possible, but I’m thrilled for a weekend at home with the kitty, celebrating Beth’s birthday, a little fall baking, and some time to mentally prepare myself for demolition on Monday. What are you up to this weekend? I’ll be back on Monday with some great posts planned so stay tuned! xo

Get the Look – Indigo Harvest Party

October 15, 2015

Yesterday I shared some of my favorite pictures from a party we threw at work in September that happened to be one of my favorite shoots we’ve done here at the office. Maybe we’re just accumulating good pieces that are really versatile or maybe I’m just better at knowing what to expect for entertaining + photoshoot days, but this party was honestly the simplest yet to achieve. I loved the laid back yet pulled together vibe and that nothing felt fussy. A relaxed host is the best host, so keeping the decor simple allowed everyone to relax without fretting over every detail and allowed us to just enjoy the evening with friends. At the end of shooting, we were all able to sit around the table, drink some wonderful wine over candlelight and share great stories.

I thought I’d pull together some of the key pieces to achieving this look below. For the most part, everything is pretty neutral with the exception of the pops of indigo to bring some color to the space so you could easily make this work with any color palette. I’d love to see if you replicate this at home! If you do, be sure to share over Instagram by tagging me @megrobins. Cheers!

Galvanized Serving Tray // Pottery Barn
Indigo Pillow // A Beachside Bungalow
Glass Candle Holder // CB2
Indigo Pillow // A Beachside Bungalow
Galvanized Planter // CB2
Marble Candlestick // CB2
Pitcher // Ikea
Serving Board // Sur La Table

You can view the rest of the images here. Big thanks to Joel from Studio EMP for the shots!

Indigo Harvest Party

October 14, 2015

Last month, we threw a little get-together at work to congratulate two teammates who had achieved some major milestones. The vibe was supposed to be casual and nothing too fussy, yet I wanted it to feel pulled together with some commonality. Since it was almost fall, but was still so incredibly hot, I decided to play around with a harvest theme that incorporated some cooler hues to keep the design from being too stuffy and hot on a scorching September afternoon (no reds or oranges here!). Thanks to a recent trip to the Rose Bowl Flea, I had a ton of indigo fabric that I knew would make a great base. I picked up some weathered indigo cloth napkins from World Market to keep the look cohesive and to create some contrast against our simple white plates. Playing off of the harvest theme, each place setting had a little artichoke on the napkin and larger artichokes, bay leaf, and simple fall greens placed down the center of the table. I evenly spaced a few white marble candlesticks and some simple votives to bring in a little warmth and glow. Since we were super limited on time, I threw some extra greens in a pitcher for the buffet table and painted a really quick congratulatory sign with watercolor to hang above. The food was also kept simple with a cheese and charcuterie board to pair with each of the wines we were going to be serving that night. A few sprigs of green kept everything tied together and we were ready to go! Take a look at some of my favorite shots from the party below. Cheers!

{All images by Joel Maus of Studio EMP}

New Beginnings

October 12, 2015

Happy Monday! I hope your week is off to a great start! We spent the weekend playing major catchup (it was our first weekend without a wedding or major to-do in over a month) and fall is starting to feel a little less chaotic than the majority of our summer. I’m not going to kid myself, I know it’s going to pick up again soon since Q4 is the busiest time in our industry, but it’s nice to know that our major trips are out of the way for the rest of the year.

In addition to some serious headway on priorities around the house, I got one giant step closer to launching a fun project I’ve been working on for a while now. I don’t want to spoil the surprise so I won’t say too much more, but there is an exciting announcement coming this week that I can’t wait to share. Cue the happy dance! I’ll leave you with that, but will be back soon with an update!

PS: An old article, but still a great read for a Monday.

Have a great weekend!

October 9, 2015

TGIF! This week FLEW by thanks to being in the Bay Area until Tuesday morning and being under the weather/out of the office Wednesday afternoon-this morning. I’m super bummed that I won’t be going to camp this weekend as planned, but after 10 weddings this year (yes, 10!) and having 6 of them in the last 8 weeks, I’m totally burnt out and overdue for a weekend at home to recover. What are your plans for the weekend?

I can’t wait to try this easy crockpot recipe on Sunday!

This climate is cramping my fall style and it’s going to be a MILLION degrees in Hermosa for the next week. Thinking of whipping up a batch of this to stay cool while feeling festive.

I can’t stop laughing at this – it seriously gets me every year!

We’ll be in New Orleans for Thanksgiving, but I’ve never seen a better way to use up your leftover mashed potatoes in my life. Pinning this for sure. YUM.

The prettiest gold flatware I ever did see.

It might still be scorching in LA, but can’t stop burning through these candles. The Cinnamon Toddy is my favorite!

I had to watch this twice. So touching and a such a wonderful story. Worth the 5 minutes of your day to watch.

Fig & Chevre Ciabatta Toast

October 8, 2015

Toast is really having a moment. I’m fairly certain that avocado toast opened the toast door and now it’s everywhere in every shape, size and ingredient combination. And honestly, what isn’t there to love about toast? Growing up, I ate toast almost every morning (peanut butter was my favorite) and I don’t really know when or why I stopped, but I’m a big fan of this new toast trend and exploring new ways to enjoy it.

With a leftover loaf of ciabatta and a a handful of figs remaining from our fig frenzy at the office, I decided to try a combination of flavors that I’d been wanting to explore. This crostini was a huge hit so I decided on a toast and whipped these up in almost no time. The end result was pretty incredible. They were easy enough to throw together in under 15 minutes, but felt a little fancy with the drizzled honey and sprinkling of thyme. AND, with the perfect wine pairing, they were certainly something that you could eat anytime during the day or night. Toast isn’t just for breakfast anymore, people! Cheers!

Time: 15 minutes
Yield: 6 servings

I N G R E D I E N T S

6 slices of fresh ciabatta
1 tbs. butter (melted)
8 oz. chevré
3 figs (thinly sliced)
6 sprigs fresh thyme
2-3 tbs. honey

D I R E C T I O N S

Preheat oven to 350 and butter both sides of each slice of ciabatta.
Place slices on baking sheet and bake for 5-7 minutes (until bread starts to toast). Remove from oven and carefully flip toasts. Bake for another 3-4 minutes being careful not to let the toast burn.
Remove from oven and allow toasts to cool slightly.
While toasts are still hot, but cool enough to be handled, spread each piece with chevré and top with 3-4 slices of fig.
Garnish each toast with a few small pieces of thyme and drizzle honey over top.
Serve immediately and serve with Chardonnay (for white lovers) or Pinot Noir (for red lovers) – my recommendation is the Pinot which is known to pair wonderfully with chevré. Cheers!

Chicken a la Vendemmia

October 1, 2015

With pound of leftover figs from our Fig & Rosemary Sparkling Cocktail and Fig & Prosciutto Flatbread Pizza, I was on the hunt for a yummy fall harvest inspired recipe. When I stumbled upon Michael Chiarello’s Chicken a la Vendemmia recipe, I was sold. What better way to use up our figs than with ripe grapes that could be pulled off of our own vineyard? Since I was making this in LA and not at the Napa house, I opted to use table grapes instead, but next year when I’m in Napa for harvest, I’m definitely making this with grapes from our vines. I sought out to replicated the dish with a few little tweaks along the way and was delighted with how simple and delicious this turned out to be. I’ve never cooked a bone-in chicken breast, but it was so juicy and wonderful that I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to cook a boneless/skinless chicken breast again – so much better! The skin and fennel added just the right amount of savory crunch and it’s hard to go wrong with figs. The combination of the figs and grape made for a sweet sauce over the chicken that paired wonderfully with a well balanced, lightly oaked Chardonnay. YUM!

Find the original recipe here and make sure you check out Michael’s restaurant, Bottega in Yountville the next time you visit Napa – it’s one of our favorites. Cheers!

Time: 1 hour
Yield: 2 servings

I N G R E D I E N T S

2 lbs grapes (seeded or seedless table grapes)
2 large bone-in chicken breasts (skin on)
Sea salt
Pepper
2 teaspoons fennel
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 cup shallot, thinly sliced
2 teaspoons minced rosemary
1 cup fresh figs (halved)

D I R E C T I O N S

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.
Using a food processor, puree the grapes and then strain. You want to extract as much of the juice as possible so you may need to press the solids up against a sieve to do so. 2 lbs. of grapes should yield about 2 cups of juice.
Season your chicken breasts liberally with fennel. Sprinkle each with sea salt and freshly ground pepper.
Heat an ovenproof skillet over medium/high heat. Once your skillet is hot, add the olive oil and chicken (skin side down) and cook for 4-5 minutes. Flip the chicken breasts over and cook for another 2 minutes. Transfer pan to oven and cook until chicken is done (10-15 minutes).
Remove chicken from the skillet and discard all but 1-2 tablespoons of fat from the pan. Add the shallot and cook until softened and slightly transparent. Add rosemary for 10-15 seconds before incorporating your grape juice, stirring to evenly distribute the heat. Simmer for about 2 minutes (or until mixture starts to reduce) and add your figs. Allow figs to warm throughout (about 1-2 more minutes before removing from heat).
Plate your chicken and pour the sauce and figs overtop. Garnish with fresh rosemary and serve with a glass of ONEHOPE Chardonnay. Cheers!

Fig & Prosciutto Flatbread Pizza

September 29, 2015

Last week when I was experimenting with fall figs, I whipped up a yummy Fig & Rosemary Sparkling Cocktail that ended up being a team favorite. We had a pound of figs left over and some prosciutto so I fired up the oven to create a crispy flatbread. I was so surprised at how incredible this was! I’d never rolled our my own dough so this was the first pizza from “scratch” that I’d made, (although the fresh dough was still store-bought – can’t take all of the credit!) so I had no idea what to expect. I was ecstatic at how perfect the crust was and the combination of salty and savory prosciutto, creaminess of the mozzarella, sweetness of the figs and slightly sharp parmesan made this a crowd pleaser. This paired perfectly with a glass of Edna Valley Pinot Noir… with just the right amount dark cherry on the nose, concentrated fruit, a touch of nutmeg and fall spice on the palate, the Pinot really complimented the sweet and savory flavor profile of the pizza. I’ll definitely be making this again! So easy and so worth the TINY bit of extra effort to get that perfect crust. Cheers!

Time: 45 minutes
Yield: One 16″ round flatbread pizza

I N G R E D I E N T S

2 tbs. flour
16 oz. pizza dough (we used Trader Joe’s pre-made classic dough)
2 tbs. extra virgin olive oil
4 oz. prosciutto
8 oz. fresh mozzarella (sliced)
5-6 figs (thinly sliced)
1.5 cups arugula
1/4 cup parmesan cheese (shaved)
1/2 tsp. sea salt

D I R E C T I O N S

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. If you’re using a pizza stone, make sure your stone is in the oven during the preheating process (dramatic shifts in temperatures can cause a pizza stone to shatter if the stone isn’t warm before placing it in your oven).
If your dough is refrigerated, allow it to come to room temperature before working with it. Flour your work surface and gently kneed, stretch and roll dough to desired shape and size. Ours was ~16″ in diameter.
Brush a little olive oil on the dough and top with prosciutto and mozzarella. Transfer dough to your pizza stone and bake for 15 minutes (or until crust has started to crisp).
While the pizza is in the oven, carefully top the pizza with figs and bake for 3 more minutes. You want to give the figs time to warm up and heat throughout without over cooking them.
While the figs are warming, place arugula in a bowl and toss with olive oil and sea salt.
Remove pizza from oven and transfer to a cutting board. Allow pizza to sit for 1-2 minutes before slicing. Top with arugula and shaved parmesan. Serve with a glass of ONEHOPE Pinot Noir for the perfect pairing. Cheers!

New York

September 24, 2015

New York is one of my favorite cities in the world so when one of our closest friends decided to get married there, we were thrilled to be making a trip back. This is by no means a full city guide as we only had a few days to explore, but here were a few of my favorite places on this trip:

E A T

The Spotted Pig: It’s honestly tough to have a bad meal in New York because there are so many restaurants that the competition is incredibly high and some the best chefs in the world call it their home. The foodie scene is unparalleled. The Spotted Pig was the best meals I’ve ever had in New York City – so much so that I went twice in a day with two different groups of people – Shhhh! Don’t tell anyone! You need to order:

The Deviled Egg – My dad makes a MEAN deviled egg, but this one was easily my second favorite ever.
Devils on Horseback – Absolutely insanely delicious dates wrapped in bacon – a wonderful balance of sweet and savory. The perfect salty, savory crunch of bacon followed by a soft, decadent date on the inside – YUM.
Sheep’s Milk Ricotta Gnudi with Basil Pesto – My mouth is watering just thinking about this dish. I’m a huge pasta person in general, but gnocchi and ravioli are my jam. The gnudi is made up of several balls of ricotta stuffed pasta – a little smaller than a golf ball each. Lightly covered in a delicious basil pesto, the gnudi is absolutely perfect. I ordered this dish both times and had a really hard time sharing.
Chargrilled Burger with Roquefort Cheese & Shoestring Fries – I was lucky enough to try this burger on both trips. I can say without a doubt that this is one of the best burgers I’ve ever had in my life. Perfectly seasoned and juicy with just the right amount of mild/medium blue (which I usually don’t love on a burger). The shoestring fries take this dish over the top and are absolutely addicting.

Bleecker Street Pizza: The first time I had pizza in New York, it was at a shitty, 7-11 style joint at 4:00 in the morning and it was TERRIBLE. The crust was flimsy, the cheese resembled that of 90’s cafeteria pizza and it was honestly disgusting. To this day, it was the only bad meal I’ve ever had in New York. I swore that I was a Detroit style (square) or Chicago style (deep dish) girl at heart and that my life was totally fine without New York pizza. Since so many people rave about it including our foodie friends and since it was 4:00 in the morning on Saturday (and I was a bit tipsy and easy to convince), I decided to give it a try again at Bleecker Street Pizza and my pizza world was flipped upside down. The PERFECT size slices that can be folded in half (but not flimsy by any means!) with the best, unforgettable crunch. NOMS! Absolutely mouth-watering pizza. Order:

Whatever the hell kind of pizza you like because absolutely nothing is going to suck.

Burger Joint: Hidden behind a curtain in the back of Le Parker Meridien on 56th and 6th, this place rocked our world. We went after a 7:30 showing of Les Miserables and I’m so glad our friend made the suggestion. While they have the best diner style burgers and shakes imaginable, there’s nothing fancy about this place. I felt like I’d been transported to a funky old diner in Detroit with mismatched decor, autographs on the wall, wood paneling and all sorts of grease and smells. So delicious. Order:

A cheeseburger with everything on it.
Fries
Shake

D R I N K

Experimental Cocktail Club: Jake and I aren’t exactly big into clubs (although I did have a clubbing spree when I first moved to LA – hay Hollywood!), but we were spending time with our friends who know all of the best places in the city, so ECC in the lower east side it was! Slightly swanky with great decor and an incredible DJ, ECC brings in the best mixologists in the world to craft cocktails that are some of the best you’ll ever have…. so good that we were there until just before closing. Eeeek! Order:

Burning Passion Punch – But ONLY one! An awesome combination of rum and passion fruit. They slice open a passion fruit and set both halves on fire before delivering it to your table. Delicious.
Brazilian Magic Punch – Yaguara Cachaca, coconut milk, almond milk, pineapple, verjus, agave, black and white peppers, Chilean peppers, cocoa beans, vanilla, rose buds – WHAT?! Hands down the best cocktail I’ve had in years. Order it. You won’t regret it.

B R E A T H

The High Line: If you’re eating and drinking as much as we were, a trip to the High Line is a must. An elevated railroad turned beautiful park, the High Line runs from Gansevoort St. in Meatpacking to West 34th Street on the city’s west side. It can get a bit crowded so go early and enjoy some pretty stunning views of Manhattan.

Battery Park City: I’d never been to southern most point of Manhattan, but it’s where our friends were getting married and I couldn’t wait to explore a new part of the city. Watching the sun set over the Statue of Liberty was simply unforgettable and an experience I couldn’t recommend more.

S H O P

ABC Carpet & Home: There is so much shopping in New York that it’s hard to go wrong, but my favorite place there is still ABC Carpet & Home. I went exploring with Beth on Thursday afternoon and we spent a few hours wandering around each level getting design inspiration and doing some preliminary sourcing for the Napa project. We bought way too many cards and little gifts on the first level, but honestly could have walked away with anything in that store provided we had the $ and means to drag it back to LA.

And that’s a wrap! Where are your favorite places in NY?

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