The Sunday Summons — April 5, 2026
On Easter Sunday, champagne in Temecula, and the joy of a day with nothing but good things in it
Happy Easter.
This morning I woke up smiling, taking in the sun, listening to the birds, and thinking about family, kiddos, pretty dresses, and a glass or two of champagne.
We are heading out to Temecula to the vines, the mustard flowers, the green hills, the food, the sun, the ocean breeze, into the beauty of Southern California wine country on a spring morning. Kids will be running around hunting for eggs and candy, maybe a few face paints, playing with bunnies or chasing each other in circles until they fall down laughing. A small group of our family at the table. Yummy food thought about and prepared warm just for us while we laze in the sun and do absolutely nothing but watch the show. The outfits, the costumes, the palatial space filled with food and drink and dessert and joy on this lovely Easter Sunday. An adventurous day with the people you love, and if we’re lucky a visit from the Easter bunny.
I grew up hunting for eggs in backyard grass, looking for plastic shells stuffed with candy and, as we got older, money. And the occasional explosion of color that ended up in everyone’s hair when you found the confetti eggs. Chaotic and joyful, lots of giggling, completely worth it. Until suddenly the kids have grown up and you find yourself driving to Temecula for champagne instead.
This week on The Hearth we have a second meal for you. If you made Doug’s pork tenderloin last week, Wednesday’s post is what comes next. One tenderloin, two tables, a California spring taco spread so colorful it looks like the season, or the confetti, decided to show up on a tortilla, and a citrus tajin margarita that belongs at every spring table from here forward. It’s waiting for you Wednesday.
However your Easter looks today, I hope it finds you exactly where you want to be. At a farmers market, or a table filled with old friends and new, savoring spring’s bounty of sunshine and peace. Pausing to watch the world around you. Baby lambs and baby birds arriving, plants showing their happy green leaves, and us humans doing what we do best: gathering, dining out, or whipping up a table of tacos and a cocktail or two.
Join the ledger. Listen for the bell. I’ll see you at the table.
— Jen