i will be the first to say how grateful i am that i was able to properly celebrate turning 30 in vegas this year before the entire world shut down. one by one, i watched as the cancellation texts, emails and phone calls came through for so many of the 30th birthday celebrations my friends had planned. it was a bummer for all of us – 30 is a big deal.

kennie was no different. she was hoping to get all her friends together in either hawaii or nyc – both places holding a special spot in her heart as a home away from home. during one of our lengthy facetime calls, she mentioned how it just seemed like there would be no way to celebrate. i just couldn’t allow that to happen, especially to someone who is ALWAYS willing to show up to celebrate others. from la to vegas to hosting my grad school graduation celebration, kennie is a ride or die. i told her it might look different but it could be done. i suggested doing a few small celebrations so her birthday could still be acknowledged in a safe way. she was shocked when i told her i would be willing to drive to the bay. then, she mentioned she had never been to napa.

kennie, born and raised in the bay, lover of wine, had never been to napa. that’s all i needed to hear.

i told her how most wineries were not seating parties bigger than six so to choose four other guests (in addition to us) and i would map out a full day of fun. it was good to see her getting excited about her special day again. lucky for me, brianna was one of the guests. as a fellow aquarian and master planner, i knew i would have some help getting her big day together.

this past saturday, we loaded up the car and made our way to napa. there were definitely some bumps in the road (like us missing our first reservation due to one of our guests being late for pickup), but somehow, everything seemed to work out the way it was supposed to.

we started off at hog island island oyster company for some much needed champagne, oysters and chowder.

next, we made our way to madonna estate where bob made sure we had the most delicious rosé and pinot noir. this is where these phenomenal boxes by brianna were served. who doesn’t love tortellini on a stick? it was everything i never knew i needed. i got these wine glasses from amazon because they were too hilarious not to purchase.

i will admit that we saved the best for last – i am a member at domaine carneros and wanted kennie to be treated like the queen she is. dan at domaine absolutely made sure that happened. from us being seated with the most stunning view to him serving kendall an exclusive glass of le reve to us staying far past our reservation slot, everything about domaine carneros was perfect.

happy 30th birthday, kennie! i love you so much.

xoxo,

k. tap