The last monthly ramblings post I shared was back in August with a round-up of summer highlights, so, today, it only seems fitting to pick up right where we left off and recap the fall fun we’ve been having.

Let’s go!

September Ramblings

True Food Kitchen

Over the Labor Day weekend, my little family and I went to Walnut Creek.  We were blessed with beautiful weather and had a good time walking around and people watching.  We even spotted one of the painted pianos that is sprinkled downtown and I, of course, couldn’t resist a good photo op.  #itsabloggerthing     

On me: Dress | Shoes | Belt Bag | Sunglasses

For lunch, I wanted to try a restaurant that serves vegan dishes so, we headed over to True Food Kitchen.  Unfortunately, I can’t say I’d recommend it.  The service was lacking, and our food came out dry.  #whompwhomp

Birthday Surprise Trip

My son frequently talks about becoming a train engineer when he grows up.  So, late September, we took a trip to Maine to visit the Railway Village Museum in Boothbay.  While there, he was able to work directly with their Chief Engineer on one of their steam locomotives from start to finish.  To say that he loved every minute of it would be an understatement.  As per usual, I’ll recap and share more about our trip in a later post.  So, #staytuned!

October Ramblings

Fall Break

During my fall break this year, I ventured to see my grandma for the day.  October is her birthday month so, I made sure to bring some goodies.  She turned 99! We laughed, we talked, we ate, but most of all, we just soaked in our time together.  

Pumpkin Patch

It wouldn’t be fall without a visit to the pumpkin patch.  This year, we visited the Three Nunns Farm in Brentwood, and it did not disappoint.  They had a tractor ride that took us through their orchards all the way to their pumpkin patch.  There, they had acres of different varieties of pumpkins, along with fun activities like a corn coaster, barrel train, melon cannons, hay forts, corn mazes and so much more.  And if that wasn’t enough, Three Nunns Farm had plenty of scenic views and backgrounds all around their property which made my photo loving heart happy! 

On me: Sweater | Leggings | Rain Boots | Bag | Sunglasses

On my son: Sweater | Jeans | Rain Boots | Sunglasses

Franklin D. Roosevelt

You may recall that at my son’s school, every Halloween the teachers decide on a historical theme.  From there, each student chooses an individual they want to dress up as and write a short speech about them to present on stage to their classmates and parents.  It’s always such a treat to watch! This year, the selected theme is United States President and the First Ladies, and my son dressed up as Franklin D. Roosevelt.  What’s more, he did so well with his presentation – he made eye contact, used hand gestures as well as his big boy voice.  He’s definitely come a long way! #proudmamamoment

Suit | Shirt | Shoes | Walking Stick | Hat

Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Coffee

I am a fan of pumpkin spice coffee so when I saw this Starbucks at my local Raley’s store, I had to try it! Spoiler alert: it did not disappoint.  In fact, it was delicious and had the perfect blend of pumpkin and all the great fall spices – cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and cloves.  Needless to say, I stocked up! 

Halloween

Late October, Karl Lagerfeld unveils Chanel Fall 2024 collection and with it, a limited-edition Halloween Boy Bag.  And, in true Chanel fashion, this bag is adorned with the usual tweeds, metallics, and pearls that make it one of a kind! Were you able to snag one?

November Ramblings

Luxury Picnic

Just a couple of weeks later, we switched over to celebrating my husband’s birthday.  I booked a luxury picnic at Valensin Winery in Galt, and it was perfect in every way.

Galpao Gaucho

The following weekend, we ventured to a Brazilian Restaurant in Walnut Creek with the hubs side of the family for his birthday lunch.  This was all our first-time dining at Galpao Gaucho, and my, oh my, what a treat it was.  From the ambiance to the service, to the food, it gets two thumbs up! #moremeatplease    

Michael David Winery

You can’t be in Lodi and not hit up Michael David Winery. It’s one of our all-time favorite places to visit. Since it had been several months from our last trip, we decided to venture over there the weekend before Thanksgiving and I am so glad we did.

Why?

Because after two years, I finally got the chance to try their fig & prosciutto pizza and wow, the flavors were amazing! I am not a fan of blue cheese, but I enjoyed it on this pizza. Speaking of, we also tried their sausage alla vodka pizza and that was equally scrumptious!

Thanksgiving

For Thanksgiving, we went to my parents’ house and stayed there for the weekend. It was a quick four days of catching up, visiting old stomping grounds to eat all our favorite things, and doing a whole lotta nothin’. Well, unless, of course, it involved retail therapy!

Speaking of, I ended up ordering a few noteworthy things during Black Friday. I usually include a shopping ramblings section to share them with you in these posts, but I am not going to do that with this one for a couple of reasons. First, this post is already way too long. Secondly, I’ve already posted said items on my LikeToKnowIt app. That said, if you want to see all my favorite finds, make sure to follow me on the LTK app for updates!

December Ramblings

Royal Tea Garden

And just like that, it’s the most wonderful time of the year!

Yep, my birthday month! #lol

To kick off the festivities, we went to the Royal Tea Garden in Pleasanton, and it was the perfect spot to enjoy an afternoon with my little crew.

Upon arrival, we got an assortment tower of bite size goodies such as lobster roll, mashed potatoes with meatball, apple pie, just to name a few of these treats. After that, they took our tea order, and it was hard to choose because they had a very large selection. We tried the chocolate chip, candy apple, and dubble bubble gumdrop blend.

Truth be told, we were kid of meh with the food. The sandwiches and wrap had way too much mayo and that was all we could taste. But their teas were fun to try, and I really liked the candy apple! If you do visit, I highly recommend getting this.

Overall, the Royal Tea Garden was a fun experience. The staff was friendly, helpful, and the atmosphere was cute with lots of photo ops. #husbandsworstnightmare

SanDai

I came across SanDai Walnut Creek while perusing places to eat and wanted to try it out. So, when December rolled around, I knew it was the perfect excuse to go for my birthday. It’s a small, simple restaurant that offers Indonesian-inspired food. The ambiance is relaxed, and the service is great. In fact, the entire staff there is so nice. On top of that, everything we had was so good.

To start, we tried their coconut cappuccino and kopi avocado. Both were unique in taste and out of this world yummy! For our main, I opted for their farmers market gado gado, while my two companions got the Indonesian-inspired beef chili, and kaya french toast. #yumyum I am seriously drooling thinking about it!

One thing I do want to flag though, it took quite a bit of time for our food to arrive. But, other than that, I’d definitely recommend SanDai. I would love to go back again and try their beef rendang.

Winter Break

And with that, I am going to wrap things up here. But before I go, I wanted to thank each one of you that read my blog. LMC has been such a fun project for me to work on all these years and I really do appreciate the time you take to visit. Your friendship is a gift – not just on Christmas, but every day of the year. That said, we are officially on winter break around this neck of the woods, and that means I am taking a break from posting to soak in all the holiday cheer and everything that comes with it, including the slowness and lazy days spent cozying up with my favorite people. But, I will be back at it in February. In the meantime, cheers to a festive, fabulous Christmas and a wonderful New Year!

*Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links.  If you click through and make a purchase, I may receive a commission (at no additional cost to you).  

**Additionally, some items linked above are not the exact item shown because it is either old or sold out, but I linked similar items for those that are unavailable.