Halloween Hodge Podge

Silver Terrace Cemetery . Virginia City , Nevada
* this photo not taken by me, found via google search 

 

Every year I try to do a Halloween themed post. I have shared all sorts of Halloween Ghost stories, legends, history and even my own experiences. After doing this for 6 years it is harder and harder to come up with new material. I had planned to go on a local ghost tour before it would come time to post this, but unfortunately that was not to happen.... maybe next year. I also had planned to get to a few of our local cemeteries and take different mini photo shoots and then tell of the lore associated with the location, but weather and my photographer ( aka my husband) having to work either at home or actually going in to his real job, also made those plans get set aside. So what is this post going to be about? Well, it is going to be a hodge podge ; a bit of everything. So up first a few fashion photos taken at the Silver Terrace Cemetery in Virginia City Nevada,  that I visited for the second time in the last 5 or so years during a recent mini getaway to Reno.

Dress is available through Le Bomb Shop , gloves are Amazon, shoes and petticoat are also Amazon, sunglasses and straw hat are vintage , pearls are Tiffanys . In the distance, you can
see the township of Virginia City a short drive from Reno Nevada.

Nestled in the hills above Virginia City, Silver Terrace is a mix of many different social levels and religious diversity and a combination of several cemeteries combined into one.

Graves like this is plentiful, but so are small wooden crosses and rustic wooden
picket fences with unmarked graves . 

You could spend an entire day exploring Silver Terrace, but if you plan to do that be sure that you
bring walking shoes, it is not heel friendly to say the least and some of the trails can be quite steep. 

The Silver Terrace is just one of many haunted locations in and around Virginia City Nevada. Explored by many a professional and novice ghost hunter ( get permission before you decide to have your own , as the cemetery closes at 8 p.m.) , and is rumored to be the home to not one but many spirits, some showing up as glowing orbs of light with no source, and the apparition of a young woman in a brown dress circa late 1800s. With so many deaths of miners, prospectors, ladies of the night, and even every day citizens from babies through adults that lead the tough lives that living in this remote western gold mining town dictated. Lives ended prematurely from disease, fire, and mining accidents to murder....perfect demises that might tie spirits to this charming western town. Read more stories here and learn more here. 

Have you ever felt like someone is watching your
every move?
* earrings are from Twinkleburst and the brooch
Housewife Chic by Ruby.... find links in the web version
of this blog in the side bars 

Next up in this Halloween themed hodge podge post, is a little spooky moment or two that I have had here at Muse Cottage. I have had many spooky experiences throughout my life, and quite a few I have shared here. I have always been very sensitive although I do not have control over it, as it is not like a light switch, I can not just turn it on and off at will. My most recent experiences began after having to put our dear Queen Bitty Kitty to sleep. I began to feel on occasion as if a cat was rubbing my ankles while at the kitchen sink, or a tiny fizzy paw touching the top of my feet when sitting on the couch and even stranger the feeling of a small animal jumping up on my bed, walking gingerly across and over my legs and finally settling down at my feet. Other times I have witnessed my grandpuppy Winston seemingly seeing something in the living room and then go looking for it under the furniture, specifically the couch Bitty used to sleep under most of each day, especially as she began to not feel so good. We see his reaction and body language change as well, much in the way that it did when Bitty was still with us and he was trying to make friends and she was having none of it. Muse Cottage before it became such, even while we were looking it over when considering purchase, had an odd feeling in parts of the property and I was not the only one who felt it...some spots, mainly our garage and storage sheds just had a foreboding feeling , they still do...and once again Winston's reactions to a few locations here make us wonder if he is not sensing something from the other side. Then there is late at night when I get up for one of many shuffles to the restroom and I feel as if someone is in the living room watching me, following me with their eyes until I close the door....I recently had a friend stay here and they too felt the feeling of not being alone and a presence or eyes upon them. It does not feel threatening, but it most definitely a regular presence that gives pause. 

Halloween is never complete without a visit to the Pumpkin patch! Here, my bestie @SweetStephStarr  on Instagram and Sweet Steph Starr on FB and myself stopped at  Boa Vista Orchards in Apple Hill area of California outside of Placerville
to take a few fun snap shots.

Sponsor mention....

Recently a lovely woman Jamie Corp aka Betties Beauty bar on Instagram and FB agreed to be one of my sponsors and also asked me to try and review products from the cosmetic company that she represents, Younique. She sent me a wonderful array of things to try, including a contouring kit, some skin care, and a great deep blue red pencil and lip stick....and later I also purchased one of the Splash liquid lipsticks also in the prefect blue red in Sizzling ( of which I am totally in love with) .... I have been doing mini reviews on Instagram and the liquid was part of the discussion on my FB fan page Live broadcast that I do each Monday afternoon. If you are interested in any Younique products visit the Betties Beauty Bar web page, and look for my mini reviews on Instagram and YouTube. 

Be sure to connect with me on my other social network homes Instagram, FB, Twitter and YouTube . Live broadcasts Mondays at 3:30 p.m. unless stated otherwise on the Ruby's Musings FB fan page and New Episodes of At Home with Ruby's Musings on YouTube every Friday. 

A Weekend Getaway

Some days you just have to getaway 

*sorry this is a day late, had doctors appointment that lasted a lot longer than I expected.

A few months ago hubby came home and told me he bought a hotel package for The Peppermill Resort up in Reno, which is about 2.5 hours from where we live. We kept trying to figure out when we would take advantage of this, but time kept passing by, until this last weekend. we finally were able to make the trip up. The weather was scorching hot here in the valley and we had high hopes that we might escape some of it, but that was not the case, we left in triple digit heat and it was just below that when we finally arrived at our destination. 

Ready to head out for a fun weekend get away

image via destination360.com

Taken above the city of Reno

My first impressions of The Peppermill was that of just what it now claims to be, an upscale resort, quite the departure from the strip portion of S. Virginia there in Reno which is in some areas dank and dirty and unchanged in years and just what you might expect for an older casino strip that has been around forever, and in where in spots you can begin to see that they are trying to spiff it all up and add a bit of polish to it to compete with Vegas. It seems to be designed to resemble Ceasar's Palace but with it's own unique flair. As we drove in there was columns, large stone statuary and the ever present in larger resort hotels, fountains and indoor lighting used to light the valet area. As we entered the hotel check in area, marble flooring, shades of pale rose pink, terra cotta and gold and giant screens pretty much everywhere you look with high definition screens with beautiful moving scenes and photos from all over the world. That portion was a bit of a departure, in my mind to the over all theme, but still quite beautiful in comparison to the standard art work or non stop logos found in other hotels. Our check in was swift, even for a Friday night and we quickly made our way to the elevators and up to our room, the whole way glancing at these moving artworks. 

As we entered the room, it was beautiful in shades of cream, champagne and gold. The tv was on, again beautiful images playing upon it and set to a radio station playing much to my delight Frank Sinatra. Our view? Our room overlooked over the pool area, the spa, steak house and night club. It was gorgeous... busy, but gorgeous in shades of terra cotta, rich blue from the water and deep rich reds of the seating, and as the sun was setting, the lights made everything sparkle. The view expanded far past the roof tops to make it possible to gaze upon the surrounding mountain tops.

 Once we were settled and freshened up, we went down to find something to eat. There was a lot of wonderful places to eat, but we chose to go to one of the more casual bistros there at the Peppermill by the name of Biscottis. It being nearly 9 p.m we simply wanted something light to eat, so we ordered a lovely cheese plate, a salad for myself and a sandwich and salad for hubby. As Biscottis is centered around having a wood burning pizza oven, the cheese plate came with grilled bread, the bread and turkey on my hubby's sandwich, also the shrimp on my salad were all prepared in this oven creating a wonderful flavor profile. Once eating our fill of the above, we headed out to do a little bit of sight seeing of the hotel and found the non smoking slot area as well as the Fireside Lounge ( of which I shared with you from my trip to Vegas when we went to the Peppermill Fireside Lounge there) , to partake in a cocktail before returning to the slots...we did not do very well, up by 20 and then lost the 10 invested.

Settling into our comfy room, and after snacking on a cookie we bought before returning to the room, we turned in for the night. Unfortunately sleep was hard to come by since there was not as good of air movement as we are used to here at Muse Cottage ( we sleep with standing fans aimed on us) and so it got a bit stuffy. The next morning red eyed from lack of sleep and the exposure to cigarette smoke in the bulk of the casino area, we awoke to room service and a wonderful breakfast set up for us in front of the beautiful view of  the pool. My husband had the cinnamon french toast and I had the fresh apple danish.  There was fresh coffee, real cream and fresh squeezed orange juice. After a leisurely breakfast and taking my time to get ready, we headed out for a day of adventures.

First stop was to a short portion of Virginia St. just about a mile up the street was a delightful retro dress shop by the name Dressed Like That. I had been wanting to visit Cynthia's shop for at least two years now as soon as I discovered it was in the scheme of things so very close. I was not disappointed. Greeted with a warm smile and hello and hugs exchanged, I was delighted to poke around this adorable pin up clothing store. There was something new at every turn and so much eye candy. In the end, I bought three blouses, from various brands, including Heart of Haute ( see link on side bar of web version) some Suavecita grooming spray, a pair of gloves and an Elvis wallet.  After a few photos and some goody byes, we headed out for the next portion of our day....Virginia City.

We had been there about 5 years ago and really enjoyed the fun western environment, the historic buildings and general enjoyable, easy going feeling. The drive is beautiful and a quick trip from Reno. The first time we visited we knew we wanted to take the 30 minute round trip steam train trip to Gold Hill and then back, so after a yummy lunch of grilled cheese and avocado sandwich for myself, and fish and chips for hubby, at the Mustang Ranch cafe and a stroll up and down the main street we headed out to the train depot. It was such a fun and interesting little trip, filled with amusing commentary, wonderful scenery and history of the mining area we were seeing, it is worth the 10.00 per person and is truly a must for any visitor.

 Once the ride was over, it was back to Reno and our hotel. We once again freshened up, as it was only a few degrees cooler than Reno up in the mountains, a sponge bath was much needed. We made reservations and headed to supper at Romanza . A short stroll from where the elevators were located we were greeted with a mimic of the rest of the hotel, statuary, shades of pink, gold and lush greenery. As we were actually guided to our seats it unfolded to be so much more, semi secluded high back booths in a deep salmon color, drapery, columns reaching to a faux sky filled with puffy clouds and twinkling starlight and floral arrangements all glowing by the table top candlelight, it was truly one of the most romantic restaurants that I have ever been in, lending I am guessing to the name. Italian food was the theme of the food, and the menu would make a foody swoon! Fresh house made pastas, breads, risottos and polenta offerings as well as a nice selection of appetizers, seafood and meat dishes. My husband ordered crab stuffed shrimp with the house made pasta and a creamy lemon sauce, for myself I had the panceta wrapped bay sea scallops served with a lobster asparagus risotto... and as a special treat I ordered the house Bellini that was made with peach sorbet, rum, red wine and persecco....  it was AMAZING...wonderfully refreshing on a hot day! Hubby had the Chianti and it was quite yummy as well. As it had been a very long day and we were tired we retired early to our room, enjoyed the perks of room service, ordering a bottle of sparkling wine to be delivered to our room and watched the Olympics until we turned in. 

As the sun rose on another day, and it was time to check out, we headed out, and ate breakfast at Ihop, and started out on our drive home. We did make some stops at a couple local wineries on the way home, to pick up some bottles for our wine cabinet and made it back before supper.  All in all, other than the red eyes, a cold I happen to get and lack of sleep it was a pretty good weekend getaway and I hope one day to repeat it. Now to look forward to our trip in September! 

As seen from the front of Biscottis in a near by bar.

image is via google search

Day 2

*dress in first few photos Sara USA

accessories all but shoes and pearls are vintage

Second dress is Lindy Bop 

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A Summer's Day in Winters Ca.

Main St. Historic Winter's Ca 

A couple of weeks ago my husband and myself spent the weekend in Winters California, a small town of just over 7,000 people in Yolo County.  We did not actually spend the night, instead deciding to go back after having stopped there  this particular Saturday,  as a way to spend the day before going to a car show in Woodland Ca., called Midnight Mass later that day. We had done some wine tasting at the two wine tasting rooms in the historic district, Turkovich and Berryessa.... there are other places that serve wine or have a wine bar, but actual winery tasting rooms there is only two. 

The first day that we had stopped in, it had been a number of years since we had been in to do any wine tasting or to sample the cheeses that they also offer for sale there. We enjoyed each of the offerings, but one sparkling wine, a reserved Brut, made in the traditional way that Champagne has been made for centuries, was in one word, DIVINE! From the golden color, to the aroma to the way the bubbles never died off grabbed our attention, sadly, it was not something we could purchase that day as we, as mentioned were headed off to other destinations and with the weather being what it is has been, it could not be shipped. We decided right then and there that we would make the 40 or so minute drive back to purchase a bottle, or two.  Flash forward to Sunday, we did just that....before going back to Turkovich however we choose to go have a bite to eat. We found a wonderful Mexican food place that fit the need for substance and for a craving that has been nagging at me.

If you are ever in Winters Ca, and need to pad your belly
before doing some wine tasting, this is the place. Great food,
and reasonably priced!

Plus they have these beautiful circle skirts decorating
all the walls. Sorry for the glare...could not disturb the
patrons.

I think this one was my favorite....

Or maybe this one was! 

After getting our fill of the yummy food at Chuy's , we headed back down to Turkovich to sample that yummy bubbly again, and this time we would not leave without a bottle, maybe two. 

After revisiting and trying some new wine offerings, we headed up hwy 128 to our other long time favorite Nichelini , the oldest family ran winery in the Napa area and one that has been both owned, ran and the wine made by one of the family members since it's conception. It is always as I said a favorite and worth the drive to it's remote location right along the highway between Winters and Napa. You are always greeted with a warm smile and friendly hello, and get to taste some amazing wine poured (weather allowing) among the trees, greenery and singing birds, poured by a family member. If you are lucky you will get a few family history lessons as well. 

Parking is limited and the walk from where you do park
and where the entrance of the winery is can be a little scary,
 so do be careful and aware of cars.
What you see here is across the road from the
Nichelini homestead and tasting rooms.

Down a couple of flights of stairs await good times and
fine wine. 

Until Next Time....

*skirt is from Kitschy Kitty's Clothing Shop 

Purse by Sourpuss Clothing

Shoes Amazon

Petticoat from Malco Modes

Blouse is thrifted and brooch is 

Housewife Chic by Ruby

Earrings are by Twinkleburst 

Sunglasses by Retro Betty  SLC.