Browse Category: holidays

Double Birthday

On Saturday night, we celebrated Susie and Victor’s birthdays.  We all met up at Spire for dinner and got invited to the birthday party that was being held upstairs.  At first we thought we were going to head over to 25 Lusk but the line was ridiculously long.  So, we headed back to Spire and crashed the birthday party after all.  It turned out to be just fine.  There was a DJ and a bar.  What else do you need?

Holly also got into town that evening so we all got to catch up with her too.  Happy Birthday to the Masayas!

A Gift from Mommy

When we were in Italy, we stayed in a cute hotel in Florence where they served breakfast every morning.  One of our favorite things to eat there was the soft-boiled egg that they would make for us and serve on a little egg holder.  When we got back, Jes talked about it a few times and my mom remembered.  So for Christmas, she bought Jes a pair of egg cups from Crate and Barrel.  Thanks, Mommy!  Last weekend I made a soft-boiled egg and overcooked it.  Aw shucks.

Maybe I need this iPad app.

Happy 2011!

Happy New Year, Everyone! I said “goodbye” to 2010 and “hello” to 2011 with my dear husband and the Masayas this year.

The party started at 10:30 so they came over for some champagne first and then we headed out to a little place called Nombe in the Mission District for all-you-can eat Japanese tidbits.

It was pretty chill inside and the food was good.  At midnight, they broke open a new sake cask and we had help-yourself sake for the rest of the night.

The waitress that helped us was quite a character and I think she showed up to her shift already wasted.  When it was time to go, we each took a cup of sake to-go for the quick walk in the rain to the BART station.

Have I made any New Year’s Resolutions yet? Not formally but I’m sure it will include some form of watching what I eat, exercising more, and saving some money.

Did I keep any of last year’s resolutions? Meh. However, one that I DID actually follow through with was my Project 365. I managed to take a photo a day for the whole year. It definitely helps to have multiple cameras available including my trusty iPhone with all its apps for making some pretty cool Polaroids and plastic camera-looking shots. I’ve decided to keep the project going again this year and look forward to what else I’ll be able to capture. Brother will be trying again this year and Joy will also be joining me. Who else is in?!?! Happy Snappin’!

More Post-Christmas Meals

On Tuesday, we had an impromptu lunch with the family including my parents, Jes’ parents, the Suminos, Jason and Jia, and Marie’s parents!  Good thing we planned on having dim sum because they can accommodate a table for 13.

It was so much fun to see the boys again and Brandon sang “Joy to the World” for me.

I promised that they’d get a surprise if they ate all their food and were so excited to open their Christmas gifts. Cole even gave his Uncle Jesse a big thank-you hug.

After lunch, we took Jason and Jia to the airport and then spent the afternoon just kickin’ it in the Magical House.  Later that evening, we met up with the Sokol-Juns who were sans children.  We shared a big meal of Japanese BBQ with at a taste of almost every part of the cow.  It’s a place called Tsuruhashi and it’s hidden away in Fountain Valley.  Good times…

On Wednesday morning, we headed out for our drive back to SF.  It started out pretty rainy and hit a little bit of traffic in Commerce but once we were out of the Grapevine, the rain stopped and the sun came out.  I think we saw 4 rainbows on our way home! Too bad I was driving while it all happened so I have no photos to show for them.

Dog did a good job just hanging out in the backseat again but seemed relieved to be back in his bed again.

Here are photos from our Christmas Vacation in Southern California.

Post-Christmas Festivities

On Sunday, I picked up Holly and we spent the afternoon at Huntington Beach for a long walk and some catching up.  Afterward, we headed to Irvine to visit Patty and Johnny’s new house where a bunch of old friends from Whitney were gathered with all their little children for the evening.  It was a brief but very cool reunion.

For dinner, we drove back to Cerritos for a dinner gathering.  We shared pitchers of Hite, chicken wings, and bulgogi pizza.  It was so fun to have everyone together in one place.  Times like this make me miss our Christmas parties in Irvine.

On Monday, I drove to El Segundo with Joy to pick up Brother for lunch at Simmzy’s.  We spent a couple hours in Manhattan Beach where the sun was shining and it was pleasantly warm outside.  We took Koa along for the ride and after sniffing and peeing along the beach, we had to tie him up outside of the restaurant.  To minimize the barking that usually occurs when strangers try to pet him, I posted a sign on him.

I spent the rest of the afternoon in Cerritos at my parents’ house until it was time for dinner.  We met up again that night and had some tasty Korean BBQ at Shik Do Rak.

Christmas

We spent Christmas Day in the house with the exception of taking a preemptive 3-mile run in the morning.  The brothers got matching outfits from their mom again and Jia and I each got another coat.  We had leftovers from 3 different meals from the day before and hung out in our pjs playing games and making dinner.

Jes prepared a standing rib roast while we worked together to warm up the pre-cooked turkey and honey ham that his mom bought.  For dinner, we had WAY too much food but it was still fun.