Our department’s annual symposium takes place in Napa, which gave me an excuse to bring my wife along for the weekend to indulge in the culinary mecca. With clinic canceled, I drove up on Friday in time to share tender seared scallops & cumin-y lamb meatballs at Redd for lunch. After dropping some cash for macarons at Bouchon Bakery, I quickly changed in the car and arrived at the hotel just in time to catch the first session. For dinner, we went to Oenotri for speedy, efficient service and delicious Southern Italian fare including a salumi plate, a fava bean pizza, and mushroom tagliatelle. I awoke early Saturday for my morning presentation, but ducked out early for lunch at Morimoto Napa, where the dense bone marrow appetizer and heavy sea urchin carbonara was offset by a chirashi rice bowl that was a feast for both our eyes and taste buds. In the afternoon, we were overwhelmed by the tradesmen and exhibitors at the Napa Home & Garden Show, and decided instead to unwind with a matinee showing of Pitch Perfect 2 before heading to the faculty dinner at Bottega. We drove back home on Sunday to check out a few friends’ houses with recent renovations, before firming up our design plans with our designer for our upcoming kitchen and bathroom remodels. With our new outdoor patio set, and a mid-century modern dining set from Bryght and Overstock, we finally feel our home starting to come together.