Browse Category: holidays

Happy Halloween!

I spent this Halloween at the Oakland Museum of Art to check out the Pixar exhibit featuring artwork from the past 25 years.  It was so cool to see all the drawings and models that go into making a movie or short film.  Made me want to watch all the earlier films again like the first Toy Story and A Bug’s Life. Cameras and cell phones weren’t allowed in the exhibit so this is the only photo I got while I was in the gift shop.

On Friday, the Rehab therapists all dressed up like the Muppets.  I managed to put together a Beaker mask to wear on my head complete with buggy eyes, a big egg-shaped nose, and fluffy orange hair.  I borrowed one of the doctor’s lab coats and had to walk around wearing Jes’ work shirt and tie too. Teresa was Fozzie Bear.  I don’t have a group photo of everyone yet but I’ll post one as soon as I get a copy from my friend who took one.  We had Miss Piggy, Kermit, Animal, the Sweedish Chef, Gonzo, Fozzie Bear, and even Rizzo the Rat.

Here’s a photo of the mask close-up.  Too bad I didn’t have time to figure out how to make a draw bridge mouth.

Birthdays

On Saturday, I was on my way home from Safeway with a 6-pack of beer for our afternoon on the roof to watch the Blue Angels when I got a call from Ryan.  They were on Red Alert and I made a left turn to their house.  Jack was napping and Jes came over to keep me company.  Once Jack woke up, he wasn’t too surprised to see me and kept saying “Baby Sister in Mommy’s tummy”.  I guess they really prepped this guy for what to expect.

He happily played with his blocks and we watched Sesame Street together.  He had some juice and even used the potty before we headed out to dinner. We already had plans that evening so Ryan’s mom took the next shift.

That evening, Jes had planned a belated Birthday Dinner for me at Paragon.  He reserved the private room and had everyone join us.  Dayantha and Krissy drove down from Sacramento and Jen and Kevin drove up from Redwood City.  What a treat!  While we were having dinner, Ryan sent us a photo of Reese.  Woohoo!  If Saturday was my actual birthday, we’d be sharing the day!

McWino Birthday

Last Tuesday was my 35th birthday.  I had just gotten home from LA and Jes was still in NYC.  Luckily, I have some pretty good friends at work and they were happy to celebrate with me on a school night.  In February, we had a Happy Hour on my roof with wine and Chicken McNuggets.  We had such a good time that we decided to have Round Two for my birthday.

We ordered McNuggets and fries, packed Oreos for dessert, and had 4 bottles of wine to share.  Didn’t finish it all but it was fun trying.  It was also the last day of the heat wave in SF, which made it perfect for a rooftop HH.

The girls and I had a fun time snacking, drinking, and laughing and they all made it home safely.  I had a great birthday and went back to work the next day feeling happy to be a year older.

Here are the photos.

My Weekend at Home

Last weekend I flew home to celebrate my 35th birthday with my brother and the rest of the family.  I hadn’t been home since end of January so it was long overdue and perfect timing since Jes was in NYC for work.  I took some extra days off so I had the flexibility to score the $39 one-way fares.  My flight to LA wasn’t until Saturday afternoon so I actually got to enjoy a warm, sunny day in SF.

In the afternoon, Ryan drove me to SFO (thanks, dude!) and I flew a quick hour and 10 mins to LAX where Brother and Joy picked me up.  They drove directly to Beverly Hills to take me to Paulette.  It’s a place selling French macarons and they were so yummy!  They were about to close to all they had was lemon, coconut, and violet cassis.  We all got one of each and sat down at the Starbucks across the street to enjoy them with a nice cup of coffee.

Before dinner, we walked around The Grove and got a quick drink at a bar down the street from the restaurant.  Dinner was at AOC and Ben and Tiffany joined us for a feast of French tapas.  My favorites were the bacon-wrapped dates and the peach salad with burrata.  I hadn’t been there in over 4 years and it was just as yummy as I had remembered.  When the server asked us if we wanted to see the dessert menu, we kindly declined because we were headed to MILK for dessert!

It was just a few blocks away and I was delighted by their selection of ice creams and other tasty treats.  I opted for the coffee toffee on a cone while the others had Nutella and a grasshopper, which is mint ice cream sandwiched between two pistachio macarons.

I also had to try the cajeta and corn ice cream, which was like cold corn soup with bits of caramel corn mixed in.  Yum yum!

On Sunday, it was unpleasantly hot in Southern CA.  I was up pretty early so my mom made me some Kanom Krok.  Yesh!!  Around 10:30, I met up with Patti at a Korean-owned French pastry place.  It was really cute and I picked up a few treats to take home.  Patti and I got caught up over coffee in a nice air-conditioned place.

For lunch, we made arrangements to meet up with Pish, Debbie, Katie, and their new baby Kyle.  He was just born the day after Jes’ birthday!  My parents were also there and brought along some friends.  Jonathan and Janelle also joined us and brought Noah and their new baby girl Naomie.  We stuffed ourselves silly with Thai food and it felt like Thanksgiving with the non-stop arrival of food to the table and all of us seated at a really long table.

Later that day, we went to the Cerritos Mall to cool off but it was so hot outside that the mall was just mildly cooler inside.  Did I mention how fancy that mall has gotten?!  It has a brand new Nordstrom and even an Apple Store!  Whut?!  We then went to Pish and Debbie’s new house in Irvine where we hung out and Katie showed off her pink room and closet full of cute dresses.  For dinner, we met up with the Suminos at Uoko.  The boys had played baseball all day in the heat so they were all tired and sweaty.  But that didn’t keep us from devouring a ton of sushi and guzzling ice cold Sapporo.  I went home with the biggest stomach ache.

On Monday, there was record-breaking heat with Downtown LA reaching 113 degrees!  Whut?!  In the morning, I had another one of my favorite treats called Sakoo Sai Moo.  My mom ordered a bunch before I arrived and they were so yummy.

I also met up with Sandy, Linda, her 1-year old Christian, and Shaun.  We had brunch and got caught up.  I was so relieved that it worked out.  Sandy didn’t have to go to work until 1:00 and Linda was working the night shift.  Around noon, I headed down to Orange County.  I had to get my teeth cleaned.  Pish made me an appointment and so I went.  His new hygienist is nice and I left there with no cavities!  Woohoo!

Afterward, I met up with Marie and we picked up the boys from school a little early so that we could take Cole to the doctor for his Kindergarten check-up and shots.  I got to hang out with Brandon in the waiting room and we had a good time playing with the ball maze and he got a little snack too.  It felt like old times…hanging out with Marie and the boys while she does her errands and daily things.

For dinner, we went to Lawry’s for our birthday prime rib and creamed corn.  Yum yum!  My mom and I shared a slice and Brother and I got the usual birthday cake and song from the servers.  It was a nice way to end the last 3 days of gluttony.  Check out the free cheesy digital photo they gave us at the restaurant.  Pretty funny.

The next morning, it was our birthdays and time for me to go back to SF.  On the way to the airport, we stopped at Brother’s new office to check it out and to give him a big birthday hug.  It’s right next to LAX so it was perfect.  We had enough time to hang out for a bit and then I was back on a plane to SFO.

By the way, I got a nice surprise in my suitcase.  I was putting my laptop into my suitcase after going through security and found a pink birthday card from my mom.  It was cool.  I think I still like surprises. 🙂  On top of that, as I was waiting to board, I got texts from Ryan and Michelle who made arrangements to pick me up from the airport.  Thanks Michelle!!!

So there you have it.  I had a great time in Cerritos and I’m so happy that everyone was around that weekend.  I loved meeting the new babies and catching up with my family and friends.  Trips like these make me miss home the most.  I moved to a great city where lots of my friends are but I also left a bunch of people behind too.  *sigh*  At least I know they’re only an hour and a half flight away.

Here are the photos from the weekend.

Elephant Lunchtime!!

Michelle gave me a birthday gift!!!  It’s a lunch bag in the shape of an elephant!!!  It also had an ice pack in the shape of a baby elephant!  What’s the best part?

It has a tail!!!!

Thanks, Michelle.  I love it!

EuroTrip: Paris, Sept 6

We spent Jes’ 35th birthday in Paris and he woke up a little grumpy because he was feeling old.  But he quickly got over it and he had a fantastic day after all.  The day started at the Louvre.  After watching the movie “Eurotrip”, I’ve been wanting to go and was looking forward to seeing a Robot Guy outside of the line.

Unfortunately (and fortunately), we knew where to find the “secret” ticket kiosk inside the mall next door and got in through the side entrance without having to stand in line.  We also arrived a little after it opened so it was not as crowded as when we left.  No Robot Guy for us…oh well.

We saw all the famous pieces including the Mona Lisa!! It was a relatively small painting in a huge room and it was covered by a plexiglass shield and blocked off by a velvet rope.  From the back of the room it looked like a movie star surrounded by the papparazzi.

I managed my way up to the front of the crowd and got some close-ups of the painting with my zoom lens.  I admit that there was something really surreal to see it in person.

Here is The Winged Victory of Samothrace.  Cool, isn’t it?!  We also saw Venus de Milo and Grande Odalisque.  We spent probably 2 hours wandering the huge museum and were ready for lunch.

It was raining by mid-day so we went back to the hotel for an umbrella and found ourselves at the Jardin des Tuileries.  They don’t allow walking or sleeping on the grass so they supply a bunch of reclining chairs throughout the park.  It also has a few cafes where we stopped for a snack.

From there, we were able to find the Place de la Concorde and the Obelisk with the Arc du Triomphe in the distance.

We walked up the Champs Elysses and stopped at Laduree to pick up some French macaroons.

It was busy inside with a long line of people hoping to pick up a treat from the place that claims to be the creator of the macaroon.  Fancy.

We also walked by the Louis Vuitton store where there was a looooong line of shoppers outside of the store hoping to buy a really expensive bag.  We were also approached by a Chinese woman claiming that there was a limit to the number of bags that you can buy there.  She asked if we would stand in line and buy a bag for her.  It sounded like fat scam and we blew her off.

For Jes’ birthday dinner, we had a reservation for L’Atelier de Joel Robuchon.  The chef is a legend and it was one of our splurges on the trip.  We were truly not disappointed and pleasantly surprised at all the dishes and the casual bar-like layout.  Everyone sat at a sushi bar and we got the tasting menu.

My favorite was a martini glass filled with an egg custard at the bottom with a mushroom foam with mushrooms on top and a little soft-boiled egg hiding inside.  It was like a chawanmushi on crack!  So tasty.

My main entree was quail stuffed with foie and it came with Chef Robuchon’s famous mashed potatoes sprinkled with shaved black truffles.  It’s basically all butter with a little bit of potato and was super creamy and flavorful.  Mmmmm….  Anthony Bourdain just went to this restaurant on his 100th episode of “No Reservations” and raved about the same potatoes.  It was so neat to watch the episode the day after we got back from Paris!

We left the restaurant stuffed and happy.  By the way, there’s an awesome supermarket called Monoprix just across the street from the restaurant.  They price their items with a digital display and it’s sooooo clean and organized inside.

I loved browsing their fresh produce and selection of cookies upstairs.

Here are photos from this day.