What’s better than waking up next to Cameron Diaz in the morning?

That first cup of hot coffee in a perfect mug!

Unless you’ve seen “Bad Teacher” you may not know that Cameron isn’t aging as gracefully as our Beazley House Coffee Mugs.  Our mugs have always been short, stout and (when filled) hot.  Ms. Diaz will not look better in 20 years and MAY not be working. Our mugs will still be in service…if the LAST 23 years are any guide.

They come to us from Deneen Pottery of St. Paul, Minnesota. We were introduced to Peter Deneen and his squat creations at our first international innkeepers conference in 1988 in Philadelphia.

Peter had the brilliant idea to include a mug in each innkeeper’s welcome bag. We had our morning coffee mate for life!

It was love at first sight! Such beautiful curves and deep blue glazing with a heft that said “hold me tight!  Go on, you can use two hands, I’ll keep ‘em warm.”

After our guests have been sipping our Beazley House coffee blend in these babies each morning they often can’t part with them. So we swaddle them in bubble wrap and send them to their new home.

Like dotting parents we warn everyone about taking care not to drop the hefty new mugs on bare feet, the mug will be just fine, but YOU’LL BREAK YOUR FOOT!

You see, they have a strong sense of self preservation, they last forever!

What would you do if you lived 6 times longer than your closest rival?

PARTY, of course!!!

The Beazley House is not only Napa’s first B&B, but it’s been owned and operated by it’s ORIGINAL owners:  Carol and Jim Beazley.

Most innkeepers don’t last more than 5 years, much less 30! So when Carol and I celebrated the 30th anniversary of the Beazley House this year, we decided to throw a party to remember!

What better place than our lovely gardens.  And the weather gods cooperated with a lovely soft afternoon and evening.

Over 250 of our long time innkeepers, returning guests and Napa friends joined us in toasting the inn with Mumm sparkling wine and Raymond Barrel to Barrel Select Cab.

The inn was never more beautiful after getting a brand new paint job from Rasmussen Painting and new awnings erected by Danielli Awnings. And of course Nilda Douma had the gardens their most spectacular in years!

While the painters worked putting on their final strokes, party preparations were underway. Glasses were ordered, wine bought and tasting of caterer Jim Ayers’ delicious cuisine offered a preview of what our guests were soon to enjoy.

On the day of the party the temperature was about 20 degrees cooler than the scorcher the day before, much to our relief.

Beau Fleur, who we’ve worked with for years, generously donated flowers for our tables and entry way.

And Veronica, our most senior innkeeper (19 years!) used flowers from Nilda’s garden throughout the inn.

The over all impression was magical!

Here, left to right, former innkeeper Lorna Tobiasson speaks with the Beazley’s granddaughter Pheenix and her mom, the Beazley’s daughter, Brooke Peterson.

The Mumm champagne was placed on the side board in the dining room, adding to the festive scene.

The main focus was the gardens where Carol and Jim talked with guests and shared memories of 30 years of innkeeping.

Longtime Napa friend Johanna Muth talks with Carol in the gardens.

Harpist Charlotte Wolters asked to play for our party.

Guitarist Paul Binkley came highly regarded and we saw–and heard–WHY!

He was great!

As the evening approached scheduled guests were welcomed and mixed with old friends.  We were reminded why we have thrived longer than any of our Napa peers:  LOVE!

The love we receive from our happy guests. The love we have shared with our friends, family and the EXTENDED family of innkeepers who have blessed us over the years.  We were especially grateful for all of the work our daughter, Sonja Beazley Burch, put into making the celebration such a dazzling success.  Without her planning (and prodding!) the event would have never happened

All to wish us a happy 30th anniversary!

Saint Valentine would have loved this past February.

He’d have felt like he had never left: people still killing each other in a struggle to be free!  And he thought the Romans were mean, but he never met Mubarak’s & Gaddafi’s thugs.

But that’s a world away from Napa;  here it’s always about love.

Tomorrow is March first, and we are unofficially in SPRING time here: lush green hills, bright sunshine splashing on brilliant yellow mustard.

March is perhaps our favorite month in Napa. Not only are the fruit trees in bloom, but it seems like the whole valley is coming to life.

Spring buds burst by March in Napa's sunshine.

We stop pretending that this is really Winter; even the Weathermen can’t get Mother Nature to snow on us. Oh sure, she gives us a cold snap to keep us from breaking out the shorts and halter tops, but she can’t wipe the smiles from our up-turned faces.

We bring our guests in from their cold, snowy homes,  wrap them in our buttery soft sheets and introduce them to our old friends: Wine, Women and Song.  Okay, so they generally bring their own women, but we DO re-introduce them. Of course we have the gentlemen warm their hands by the fire first.  And the women get to take a nice long soak in our two person spa tubs.

We feed them body and soul.

Breakfast is so big at the Beazley House it discourages lunch and makes dinner more an obligation to spare our Napa Valley Chef’s feelings.  And we’re not talking ham ‘n eggs here. Carol Beazley’s breakfasts would please Julia Child!

There’s Mediterranean Polenta with pesto and cheesy scrambled eggs, or Sun-dried Tomato Potatoes with perfectly poached eggs. These delicacies are always accompanied by fresh fruit and a cheese plate and a multitude of muffin recipes.

Many of our guests stay multiple mornings, but they never have the same entree unless they beg.  We’re wimps for whining.

Maybe that’s why our guests keep coming back year after year: after 30 years we provide the will power to still be here for them so they can.