{inspired} along the vineyards

Hi friends! I'm excited to be back here on this fine Monday. Again, I really appreciate your patience during this time of transition in my personal life. First day of my new job is today! I have some fun posts lined up for this week, but I am still behind on reading all of your awesome blogs. Hopefully I'll be able to tend to my Reader soon. I'm completely going through withdrawals :).

Last weekend I attended a friends bachelorette party, which just happened to be an entire day of wine tasting. Best bachelorette party ever, right? While most people think of California as *the spot* for wine tasting, Oregon has become internationally known for it's Willamette Valley wines, especially their Pinot Noirs. But, what I love about heading to the Valley for wine tasting (about an hour South and/or West of Portland), is how beautifully inspiring the landscapes and vineyards are.

I thought I'd share a few parts of the day that were particularly inspiring and recharging for me. Hopefully you'll find them inspiring as well! First, as goes without saying, is the scenery.

This was the first winery we stopped at. Wouldn't this table be a perfect location for spending an afternoon chatting with friends, drinking amazing wine and eating locally grown/produced appetizers? Or spend a romantic evening enjoying dinner at sunset? Yes, please :).

This winery was also setting up for a wedding later that afternoon. I caught a few shots of the simple, gorgeous center pieces. I love the rustic wood and pebbles, and I really like the lime green, pink and purple color scheme. The arrangement has a little color, lots of texture and would look brilliant when the candles are lit in the evening.

Spending the afternoon with my girls is also inspiring, especially when it's good friends I don't see that often. I love hearing about what they're up to, reliving awesome times from the past and dreaming about the future.

The second winery we stopped at was equally inspiring. I would love to spend an afternoon lost amongst the grape rows.

They specialized in Pinot, and it was so good. We also had a fantastic behind the scenes look at the operations, which was fascinating, and provided some completely unexpected decorating inspiration.

First, were these jugs. They were HUGE, and I wanted a couple. They would make great decor just as is, but I also think they would make a very cool, over-sized terrarium of sorts.

Wine barrels. Kate at Centasational Girl recently posted a number of creative ways to use wine barrels, and seeing them in person had my mind spinning with ideas.

This is a vintage copper cold wine storage holder. Yes, that's the technical name I made up for it :). But, it's beautiful, and would be a great addition to a room as its intended purpose, as a talking point, or as a vase. It really is a quirky, unique piece. Have you seen one before? This was first for me.

So, the obvious question here is: what's your favorite type of wine?? And, if you've been wine tasting, where's your favorite spot? :)