With Love, Mags: Labor Day = Unofficial Start of Autumn & PUMPKINS!!!!!

This past weekend I was up in Napa with my boyfriend and we had quite the adventurous kick off to unofficial start of Fall.
Saturday morning we woke up around 7:30am (which is sleeping in for the both of us) and got ready for our adventurous hike at Napa's Bothe State Park. Sean packed us a "gourmet" picnic lunch with lots of goodies and we headed out for the trails! We both didn't know what to expect, but after paying the $8 parking fee + $1 for a trail map, we soon discovered the trails were pretty rugged. We chose the 5 mile loop that took us up to the peak and back down. We were stoked!

For the most of the hike, we were in the forest (a forest in wine country?? I sure didn't expect that), and there were some PRETTY STEEP inclines! I mean, like nearly a 50% incline! And the higher we got, the more narrow the trail became...if there was even a trail at all! We actually crossed some rivers by walking over fallen trees!! It was pretty bad-ass!

I think we crossed a couple rivers via fallen trees! Okay so this river was not filled with water, but it still was pretty far down:

The environment became almost "desert-like" more towards the peak, with lots of dry brush and rocks, but once we did get to Coyote Peak, the view was unbelievable breathtaking!

We hiked back down into the forest area and around mile 4 we came across a little bridge that was somewhat our of place, but pretty cool!!

Sean kept teasing me because I blended in with the surroundings :)
After our strenuous 5 mile hike, we had our delicious (and well-deserved) picnic lunch near the trailhead! It was taaaaasssstyyyyyy...peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, a granola bar, organic fruit snacks, chips, an apple, and peanut butter chocolate crisps.

On the way back, we decided to stop at a couple wineries. After all, it is Napa! I really wanted to stop at Chandon for a little bubbly. It sounded refreshing, and boy oh boy it sure was! We had the "Reserve" flight which included their "voluptuous and creamy Chandon Reserve Chardonnay Brut, complex and robust Chandon Reserve Pinot Noir Brut, and elegantly rich étoile Rosé". Rosé champagne is my favorite (Veuve Clicquot is my #1). It was a beautiful winery to relax on a beautiful day like it was, and enjoy each sample at your own leisure, which we did.

Sean surprised me with a couples massage on Sunday afternoon, which was perfect, because my muscles were quite sore from the hike (especially my glutes!).

The rest of the weekend was perfect! I love Napa, and Sean and I always have the most incredible time :)

So here is my workout breakdown thus far for the past week:
Thursday, 9/2: 3 mile run
Saturday, 9/4: 5 mile hike
Monday, 9/6: 2.5 mile run
Tuesday, 9/7: 4.5 mile run
Wednesday, 9/8: 30 min walk + core strengthening for cross training

With Labor Day comes the unofficial beginning of Autumn. You know what that means???

These are my absolutely favorite!!! Anything pumpkin is for that matter!! I have some pretty delectable pumpkin recipes including:

my Grammie's pumpkin pie
my Butternut Squash Risotto
pumpkin ravioli (in a brown sugar and sage butter sauce)
my pumpkin bars and pumpkin muffins (with homemade cream cheese frosting of course)
pumpkin french toast with a berry mascarpone filling
pumpkin martinis