I love traveling but I'm always ready to be back in my own bed and living my Florida life after about 5 days of a trip. This time was a bit different. I met Laura and Eric when I first visited Social House. After casually chatting with Laura, it didn't take long for me to have a real feeling that we'd probably definitely hopefully become friends. Fast forward three years, friends is an understatement, and I'm hopping a plane to visit for her birthday and see this magical place she's been gushing about for as long as I've known her. I was on the other side of the country but I immediately felt at home as I was scooped up and toted about town.

We had spent the past two years sitting in Social House together, with Laura zooming in on Google maps so I could see the location of her various stories- and now I was seeing it in real life. I was seeing every mood board she had shared with me come to life in her perfectly designed homes, I was tasting wine I had been introduced to miles away in the Social House wine bar back in Florida, but now I was on the actual property where it was grown and produced. It felt like a total dream and it still does.

The next day the rest of our crew started arriving and surprising. Desiree and Eric O. landed and waited for Frankie and GA's surprise arrival. After a day of wine-ing we were finally all together, birthday surprise mission accomplished and sitting around a picnic table, drinking at a local brewery, eating the tastiest wood fired pizza.

The rest of the week was full of laughs, grand ideas, road trips, hugs, picnics, cooking, and of course wine. Lots and lots of wine. Our little Social House family was complete and buzzing off the Oregon air. I spent time in the garden trimming blooms for arrangements, Frankie made frittatas, Eric O. assembled furniture, GA attended town hall meetings, Laura menu planned, Desiree and Eric disappeared for hours on end grocery shopping and having their own bestie adventure. It was perfect.

Laura has spent the better part of a year trying to tell me that as soon as I visited I wouldn't want to leave. To which, I'd promptly say, "Yeah OK, not gonna happen". Well it turns out the stranger sitting next to me on the flight over and Laura were right.