The Ultimate Cottage Giveaway

What better way to start a blog about cottages than beginning with the ultimate retreat, HGTV Dream House in beautiful Sonoma, California. I have always wanted to live in a farmhouse like this with a large sunny porch, there's plenty of room for wicker furniture to sit on and enjoy a glass of lemonade. Northern California weather is beautiful and those wide porches can be enjoyed most of the year. Oversized lighting fixtures enable you to enjoy it even as it gets darker. Sonoma is an ideal place to live famous for it's rich history, scenic beauty, and agricultural traditions...oh yes and then there are the wineries. Nearby are Napa Valley with the Niebaum-Coppola Rutherford Winery that's owned by famed director Francis Ford Coppola. It has movie memorabilia upstairs and an extensive gift shop. Across the street from that winery is an olive oil place, can't remember the name now. It has a ton of fun dips, sauces an of course, olive oil to taste. It's a fun stop and I always bought some hand lotion there too. My favorite little town of wine country St. Helena is nearby too. Wouldn't you love to say you live in St. Helena?

Okay enough reminiscing about life in California, there's more of that later on. For now more gushing about the house, besides an exterior with charm and historically inspired details, the designers certainly worked their magic inside too:
The Living Room: All that pretty blue, reminds me of the ocean. It's an oasis really, very tranquil; can't you see yourself reading on that sofa. Jane Austen is already there next to the chair in front. Old postcards are framed in linen mats for wall art, hmm...consider doing this with my travel postcards especially the vintage travel poster reprints. Love the white built ins or built-in looking bookcases...I heart built-ins, cause this mama's got a lot of knick-knacks and needs display space!

The Master Bedroom: Let me start by saying I really don't like Kelly green, so I'd have to paint this pronto. But Alicia's favorite color is green so maybe this would stay for her. I do love the contrast between the green and white and how could anyone not want that bed with it's sheer linen drapes and silk pillows, imagine laying in that watching your flat screen which is hidden in the cabinet. I'm coveting that bench at the foot of the bed, I have always wanted a bench like that, "Maybe one day I'll have enough room for one." she said wistfully. How fun to have a beaded chandelier in your room by the sitting area, it's a bit formal for me but check out those side chairs with the cane backrests.

The Guest Room: Heck I'd love to have this as my room cause like I said I'm not diggin' the green of the master. Actually, I don't really like red and yellow that much either but I am lovin' the color and pattern combinations in this room. Don't know if I'd be bold enough to put the large check on the floor but I like it turned out. I just got a new table for my entryway, it's an antique sewing table bottom with a new granite top that my Dad made for me. I need to fill the space above it, and there is already a mirror above the table on the other side of the door. I love the orderly arrangement of photos above the dresser. May have to steal that idea, as I'm always looking for a new way to display pictures. The bed frame looks a lot like one I've been coveting from the Potterybarn catalog. I have an obsession with secretaries and the reading nook by it has a view of the Sonoma hills, so if I was a guest in this room it might turn into permanent occupancy. Laundry Room: Okay, I know what you're thinking the laundry room?! But anyone who knows me, knows my type A tendencies and this orderly room is my idea of heaven. Look at all the storage, need I say more! I'd put things like my extensive vase collection in those cabinets up high, away but accessible. But wait, there is more...the right side is a little home office, and in one of those cabinets is a fold away ironing board, genius! The fixtures are even high end, who knew a laundry room could be so great?

The Kids Bedroom: I am about all things girly but I like this patriotic red, white, and blue theme that I think is decidedly masculine. And can I tell you, that car on the wall is clever and interesting. I like the twin bed idea, great for same sex siblings or sleepovers and I really like the blue plaid chair in the reading nook. As a former teacher, I think literacy is always to be encouraged and what better way than a comfy place to curl up. I think the car themed room with car parts on the wall is cliche but this take is nice nonetheless.
The Back Patio: It has a great outdoor kitchen, plenty of room to seat all your friends, hey no one sitting on mismatched plastic patio furniture here! Off to the side is an area for growing grapevines, because after all, it is wine country; the best part is a miniature replica of the Dream House that's doggie sized. Alicia's doggie Irma could be livin' large too!
The Garden: I have a total black thumb, the most successful farming I've done is virtual farming on MyFarm, read about it on my personal blog here. Alicia is the one who longs for a garden, and this is all planned out for her with botanical plants, vegetables, and herbs. She's also an avid cook so the year kitchen garden with herbs would probably delight her. There are beds of leafy greens, broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, and my favorite Meyer lemons.

I have to say that some of the interior isn't what I expected. The family room is not my taste at all and the office, while masculine is too modern. I like the white cabinetry in the kitchen, but somehow this one is missing that something that keeps me from loving it. However, I think I'd be able to suffer through it and stand the furnishing for a little while at least if Alicia was to win. Cause you know I'm crashin' the place the second she gets the keys!

Alicia dreams of winning and opening an exclusive bed and breakfast...she feels it's a great way to pay off the taxes would be looming after winning this multi-million dollar prize. I'm bummed because once again GM is sponsoring part of the prizes so since my Dad is a GM retiree I am not eligible to win...sigh.

I was lucky enough to once live in the Bay Area and downtown Sonoma around the plaza was one of me and my husband's favorite places to go and neither of us drink. There is plenty to do and the wineries are worth visiting for their picturesque beauty whether or not you're wine tasting or not. Our visit would usually start with a stop at the Sonoma Cheese Factory for a yummy made to order sandwich, so big that my husband and I would often split one. The cheese used to be made on site and you could sample little cheese squares to your hearts content, delish! The website says they still have samples and now have gelato and fudge ones too, but I think I read awhile back that the cheese making has been moved somewhere else. The atmosphere isn't five star, but it sure is nice sitting outside by the grill. There is also a nice big parking lot behind the building and clean bathrooms, always nice finds for daytrippers.

After eating lunch I liked browsing the stores, and I never managed to leave Baksheesh Fair Trade without a few new beaded necklaces or earrings. A little farther on around the square is Sign of the Bear a great little kitchen store with a wide selection of boutique soaps that always made me feel like a kid in a candy store, kitchy oil cloth tablecloths, and my personal weakness handpainted pottery. There are also stores featuring Northern California made items, we bought a beautiful trivet with a wine country watercolor and it reminds me daily of the fields of grapevines.
If you're visiting the California Missions, the chain of 21 descending along California's western border that represent the first arrival of non-Native Americans and the introduction of Christianity that changed life for California's Native Americans, then be sure to stop at the Sonoma State Historic Park. It's in the Plaza and includes the Sonoma Mission as well as other historical sites of interest. Plus then you can tell your mom you did something educational. If you're interested in the Missions I highly recommend the San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara Missions.

The last stop was always Basque Boulangerie. There's usually a line in the tiny bakery and that's sign of how decadent the treats are. I always got at least two lemon squares, one to eat right away and one for later. The layer of powdered sugar puts it over the top. There area lot of fancy-smancy places too but when we were living in CA my husband was a graduate student and I was a teacher so those places weren't in the budget. The CIA in nearby Napa Valley is a great find if you want to try haute cuisine, all the same I'd still skip the meal and go right for a dessert.
And while we don't drink we played tour guide to plenty of family and friends who didn't mind a sip or two. Favorite places to stop were the Buena Vista Winery, pictured above, where they were the friendliest, had beautiful art on the walls, and shady picnic tables, as well as Ravenswood and Gundlach Bundschu, pronounced Gun/Lock/Bun/Shoe. All of these wineries and many more provide wine tasting and often tours.