My Life, As Told Between (Baby Cakes') Naps

Can’t believe 2009 is ending already! November just flew by. I threw a birthday party for T’s 30th’s in early November. Inspired by the recent pizza-making party we went to, I threw a panini-making party. We bought tons of breads, meats, toppings, and cheeses. I prepared some appetizers (bacon wrapped dates, crab rangoon, and stuffed mushrooms), T grilled up some steaks and we had friends make their own paninis. I’d also prepared some crepes so we had crepes and ice cream cake for dessert. As usual, we bought way too much food and had leftovers from the party all week. I’d originally wanted to host a nice sit down dinner, but when the guest list started growing, I realized my plans were exceeding my limited cooking abilities. In fact, I almost failed to pull the panini party off, but fortunately several of T’s friends are excellent cooks and, more importantly, arrived early enough to help get everything ready.

The next day, we headed out to Disneyland to take advantage of their free-on-your-birthday promotion. It was fun, but exhausting. I don’t know how parents are able to spend all day with their kids running around that place – we were tired by 5pm and had to head home!

The following week we were off to Maui for my friend K’s wedding. It was such a great trip. T and I rented a three bedroom condo we shared with friends who were also attending the wedding. The wedding itself was perfect. Small and intimate on a golf course overlooking the ocean. The weather was beautiful the entire time we were there, we relived part of our honeymoon by laying by at the Westin’s pool, went snorkling at Molokini and Turtle Town, got massages, drove to the top of Haliakala, ate plenty of shaved ice at an amazing shaved ice place, and went to the Feast of LeLe, the best luau on the island.

Got back late Wednesday night and drove up to San Jose bright and early Thanksgiving day, with a stop in Fresno to pick up Alfie from T’s mom (who was dog-sitting for us). My parents and sisters went all out on dinner and totally outdid themselves this year. Delicious turkey, broccoli and cauliflower sides, home made buns, stuffed mushrooms, pumpkin cake, etc. In fact, my parents spent the entire weekend preparing all of our favorite dishes. We both came back 5 pounds heavier.

The best part came at the end of Thanksgiving dinner, when my littlest sister’s boyfriend proposed to her in front of the entire family. It was so sweet. My mom brought out a brown package at the end of dinner and told L someone had left it for her on the porch. Staring suspiciously at her boyfriend, she opened the package only to find another box inside it, and another, and another…we all started staring suspiciously at H at that point. But the boxes kept getting smaller and smaller and soon it was too small to contain an engagement ring. He denied any knowledge the entire time. At the end, she got to a tiny box with a note in it, he got down on one knee, pulled a ring out of his pocket and proposed. We were all in tears, it was so sweet! So now we have two weddings in the family to look forward to! Can’t wait! I love weddings.

Needless to say, all to this eating has been horrible on my diet and my running. I’d gotten up to a comfortable 18 miles before we left for Hawaii, didn’t run much in the subsequent weeks, and had to struggle through a 14 mile run yesterday. Hopefully, I’ll get back in shape soon. I’m really looking forward to this marathon and the new route, so I’d hate not to be ready for it!

What a great weekend! My friend M was visiting from New York, so on Friday, we all went to dinner at Il Fornaio in Santa Monica. M was in town to visit her nieces and to see her friend C, who is also currently living in New York, performing at a Jazz show.  Funny story about C – I had met her on a flight to NY (I was visiting, she was moving there), we started chatting, realized we had friends in common, and I introduced her to M. She and M have been good friends ever since!

Saturday, I went for a nice 8 mile rule with the Leggers, introduced M to the wonders of Green Monster Smoothies, had crepes at our local farmer’s market, and made pumpkin cookies for a Halloween party later that night.  We didn’t leave for the party until 7pm, so T and I waited around for trick-or -treaters.  Aside from our adorable neighbor, we didn’t get a single trick-or-treater in our condo complex, so T took matters into his own hands and took Alfie (semi-decked out for Halloween) and the candy out to hunt them down.  I think having the dog made it less creepy.  =)

After T got rid of most of the candy, we headed off to the Halloween party, thrown by T’s friends.  They love to cook and have an amazing kitchen, so they threw a pizza-making party. It was awesome! They prepared the dough and tons of toppings and we each got to make personal pizzas.  What a brilliant idea!  We stayed too late eating, playing Taboo and beer pong, and karaoking with the Magic Mic.

Sunday, T had a softball game, then we took M to In-N-Out where we introduced her to animal style fries.  We topped the weekend off with Cirque du Soleil’s new show in Santa Monica, Kooza.  It was an amazing show, but I have to admit, now that I’ve seen several shows, Cirque’s lost a bit of its magic.  I think Quidam, the first one I ever saw, will always be my favorite.

Oh, and in between it all, I devoured the recently-released and eagerly-awaited twelfth book in the Wheel of Time series, which I think officially makes me a nerdy 12 year old boy.  =)

Here’s the Halloween goblin we carved this weekend!  Isn’t he a cutie?

Finding it hard to motivate myself to do much these days, including writing posts.  I think I’ll take a break until I’m more inspired to write.  I just can’t keep up this grueling 2 or 3 posts a month schedule.  =)  I’d like to blame it on the weather, but I live in LA and we’ve really only had a few fall days so far.  

I couldn’t let this month pass without a post though, since this month marks this blog’s 5th anniversary!  I can’t believe this blog has been around that long.  I started writing it not long after I moved to LA and started working.  Back then, I was sure LA would be temporary.  Like most of my northern Californian classmates, I didn’t particularly like this city when I was an undergrad.  I certainly never expected to move back, but when I realized I didn’t want to practice in NY after all and the opportunity came up to work in LA instead, I had to take it.  Now, 5 years later, it looks like I’ll be here for the foreseeable future.  Fortunately, I’ve found my little nitch in the city, one that runs right along the ocean.  Our condo is a 10 minute bike ride from the beach, my office building overlooks the ocean, and my running group meets steps away from the Santa Monica pier every week.

We capped off a wonderful year of marriage with a wonderful weekend in San Diego.   We decided to celebrate our anniversary the same way we started our marriage – surrounded by friends – so  T and I drove down to SD on Saturday to meet up with one of my best friends, J, and her boyfriend, K, who were flying in from San Jose.   Actually, we kind of hijacked their planned trip and turned it into our one year anniversary celebration.  =) 

 T and I exchanged gifts on Friday, before heading out to SD.  I’d been adamant that I didn’t want to exchange gifts (my family’s never been much into the gift exchanges and I couldn’t think of anything to get).  However, at the last minute, I thought it’d be cute to make T a coupon book, with coupons in it for things like home-cooked meals and my attendance at sports events. Good thing I thought to do something since T, as usual, managed to surprise me with a romantic candle-lite dinner when I got home from work on Friday!  It was perfect, and harkened back to his proposal.  Best. Husband. Ever. 

On Saturday, we headed down to San Diego and spent most of the day at the San Diego Zoo, which I loved.  Zoos usually make me a little sad, but the SD Zoo is pretty spacious and the animals didn’t look at miserable at they do at other zoos.  Saturday night, we met up with J and K for dinner at Joe’s Crab Shack and then went out for a fun night on the town.  J and K surprised us with a lovely bottle of champagn to celebrate our anniversary.  Best. Friends. Ever.

Sunday, we met up again with them for brunch and then walked along the harbor and explored Seaport Village before heading back home (with a quick visits to T’s cousins in San Clemente on the way).  The weather was perfect the entire weekend.  Sunny with a nice breeze.  I couldn’t have asked for a better way to celebrate our first anniversary.  Same time next year guys?  =)

We had such a lovely Labor Day weekend.  Although we’d originally planned to visit my family in San Jose over the three day weekend – seriously, every phone call home starts with “When are you coming to visit?” nowadays – T had to work on Monday so we decided to stay in LA. 

The weekend started off with a good (albeit hot) 8 mile run with the Leggers on Saturday.  I’m really enjoying the challenge of running with a faster pace group.  Then T and I headed downtown to grab lunch at Kendall’s (we made the mistake of getting their french onion soup – ick) before seeing a matinee showing of the musical Spamalot.  I had been wanting to see it for ages and really enjoyed it, especially since we got $20 tickets the day of the showing instead of purchasing $90 tickets beforehand.  T, however, was a little disappointed because he remembered the source material much better than I did and felt the musical was too repetitive.

On Sunday, we went to a beach party in Long Beach.  The weather was perfect, sunny but not too hot.  The party was on the peninsula, in a protected enclave facing the bay.  The water was warm(ish) and peaceful.  We brought our canopy and beach chairs and enoyed the day with good food and friends.  It was relaxing.

Sunday night we met up with some other friends at a houseparty, where we continued to stuff ourselves silly.  Fortunately, on Monday, T and I headed to the gym after work and ran off some of the food we’d eaten!

And on a totally random note, I started using body butter daily years ago, after my littlest sis L pointed out that my skin resembled that of an alligator’s, and have recently discovered a new body butter which I love.  It’s cheaper than the body butter I usually get from The Body Shop, it’s thick and creamy, doesn’t feel greasy and smells great. 

Went on my first run of the year with the Legger’s last weekend.  It was only 5 miles but it felt really good to be running with the group early on a Saturday morning again.  To challenge myself a bit, I joined a faster pace group than I’ve run with in the past and was surprised by the difference in the group – this group is so much more intense than my previous one.  I wonder if it’s because there are more guys in this group? 

Anyways, I was proud of myself for keeping up…although a little worried about how I’ll do on the longer runs since I had to work to keep on pace for this one!  I hope that joining the Leggers will encourage me to work out more during the week and actually run the marathon next year.  It’s supposed to be a new route that starts downtown and ends in Santa Monica so I’m excited to try it.

Threadless is one of my favorite sites.  I don’t generally wear t-shirts, so I never actually buy anything, but I love their whimsical designs. 

Cake Wrecks, which features funny – and sometimes amazing – cakes is another favorite site.  So imagine my delight when I discovered that Cake Wrecks featured cakes inspired by Threadless designs this weekend!  The one below is based on a design I’ve mentioned before and adore.  (More amazing Threadcakes here.)

We had such a fantastic time in New York!  We were both braced for the worst weather – humid, muggy and occationally rainy – but we lucked out and had incredible weather the entire time we were there.  Sunny with a nice breeze for most of our visit.  There were showers and a thunderstorm Saturday night, but we were safetly tucked away in bed by the time the rain hit and it cleared by the time we woke up.  We couldn’t have asked for a better trip.

We arrived late Friday and met up with my friend K and her boyfriend, who generously treated us to dinner at Barboa, a yummy Vietnamese restaurant on the Upper Westside. 

Saturday we took a 7 hour walking tour through New York.  It was exhausting but the best possible way to see the City, especially since it was T’s first visit.  (Note gorgeous weather in picture of fountain at Central Park.)

After our tour, we met up with friends for a lovely dinner before going to see Avenue Q, which was hilarious.  T thinks it may have been the best thing we did in NY.  Since I was responsible for choosing the musical, and had to force my poor friend M into seeing one she’d already seen, I’m so relieved he liked it!

Sunday, T and I met up with friends for brunch before heading into New Brunswick for a wedding.  It was the first Jewish wedding either of us had been to and was incredible.  The service was beautiful, the food was amazing, and the decor was outstanding (as evidenced by the centerpiece pictured below).

Monday, we had time to go to the top of Rockefeller Center for gorgeous views of the City before catching our flight home (on Virgin America, which is the only airline I ever want to fly on again).

Happy belated 4th of July everyone!  I’m running a litle behind schedule with the posting this month.  T and I had a wonderful 4th, even though he had to work that day.  We were able to put together a last minute BBQ with friends in the evening and then walked over to the marina to watch fireworks and stayed up way too late singing karoke.  We’re going to try and make this a yearly tradition.  Last year, we went with my friend D and brought Alfie, but since Alfie didn’t seem particularly interested/concerned about the fireworks, we left him home this year. 

Heading to NYC tomorrow for my friend L’s wedding.  T’s never been, and the summer I spent in NYC seems like a lifetime ago, so we booked a private walking tour which I’m really excited about.  It’s gotten some ridiculously good reviews.  I hope our expectations aren’t too high!  Talked to my friend M, who’s been very graciously helping us coordinate our trip, and she advised me to bring an umbrella.  Umbrella?  In June?  What a crazy city.

Sorry for the lack of posts.  It’s been a busy month.  To start, T organized a fantastic dinner with friends at C&O, followed by drinks at Glow, a lovely outdoor bar in Marina del Rey, to celebrate my 31st birthday this month.  I got some wholly unexpected but totally awesome gifts. 

The following weekend, T’s mom and his aunt visited on their drive down to San Clemente for their niece and nephews’ (T’s triplet cousins) high school graduation.

This past weekend, we went to a super-cute picnic wedding, complete with fun picnic games like a 3-legged race and an egg relay.  Since the bride was one of T’s best friends from college, we had several of T’s college friends staying over at our place as well as tons of guests hanging out the entire weekend.  It made for a fun, but tiring, weekend.  Sadly, I was inevitably the first to call it a night – although I should mention I’m at least two years older than they are! 

Also visited the korean taco truck for the first time – and on a day they were giving out free tacos for a promotion at that!  Yay for free yummy food! (Updated to add: They were parked in front of Westwood Brew Co., so after lunch we drove through UCLA and reminisced about how easy college was compared to real life.) 

Looked at some houses for sale.  Since housing prices are at record lows, it’s tempting, but we still can’t really afford a house we want in a location we want, so for now, it remains a pipe dream.

In between all this, I’ve been trying to figure out how to make our condo more homey.  We had an interior designer, recommended by a friend of ours, come by and consult with us for an hour, which was surprisingly helpful.  I’m hunting for some pieces she recommended and trying to schedule a date to have some of our rooms painted (the task of choosing paint colors was a large part of this month’s activities).

I’ve been busy traveling the last two weekends and preparing for guests the next three weekends.  T and I were in SF for T’s cousin’s wedding in Golden Gate Park over Memorial Day weekend.  I, as usual, was drastically unprepared for the weather.  I have a knack for packing the exact opposite of what I’ll need on any given trip.   This time, it was much colder than the cool to slightly chilly weather I was expecting and the warm weather I was hoping for and packed for.

Weather aside, it was a great weekend.  The couple, who are both in med school and are self-proclaimed geeks, had so many sweet, personal touches to their wedding and the events surrounding it.  Their rehearsal dinner had a fun trivia game component.  Their ceremony involved the mixing of chemicals in a beaker.  Their reception was at a great organic, vegetarian restaurant overlooking the water.  Post-wedding activities included breakfast and a Giants game (they are huge fans).  It made me want to go back and do our wedding weekend all over again!  =)

This past weekend, I went to Cabo with the Quad for our 5th Annual Quad Trip. Since K is getting married in November, this year’s trip served a duel purpose as both a reunion trip and a bachelorette party.  I had a blast!  The weather was perfect.  Sunny with a nice warm breeze the whole weekend.  The girls got in Wednesday/Thursday and I arrived on Friday.  Although Cabo was less busy than during my previous visits (presumably because of fears over the Swine Flu and increased violence in Mexico), there were just enough people around for it to be festive without being overwhelming.  Plus, we discovered this wonderful, relatively secluded, beach which I’d never been to before.

This upcoming weekend, T’s high school friends are coming to town and staying with us.  Then T’s mom is stopping by the following weekend on the way to T’s triplet cousins’ high school graduation.*  And then one of T’s best friends from college is getting married in LA and many of T’s college friends are staying over.  The next month will be a whirlwind but I’m looking forward to seeing everyone!   (Although the prospect of having that many visitors in the next few weeks really makes me wish we’d actually gotten around to painting/decorating our place and hiring someone to clear our place, as we’ve been discussing for months!)

* Sadly, I have to miss our HLS birthday weekend/reunion in Virginia this weekend!  =(  Unfortunately, it’s just too many trips in too short a span (we’re also going to NY for a wedding in July).  I hope you girls have a wonderful time and will fill me in on your adventures!

I wish I could get married again just so I have a reason to buy these awesome wedding cake toppers…

Available here.

Or at least the polite request of a good friend.  =)

The weather was a little muggy and overcast in LA this weekend, which was apparently better than the blistering heat up in northern California.  I had a dentist appointment for a cleaning Saturday, which is pretty uneventful except that I love my dentist and want to be her BFF.  A friend/co-worker of mine had recommended Dr. E and I’ve since recommended her to a couple of friends, T, and my brother-in-law.  Dr. E’s really good at keeping track of all of these relationships and what everyones interests/hobbies/jobs are so it’s always fun to visit her.  I just wish she wasn’t, you know, doing dentistry on my mouth so we can actually talk!  =)

After the dentist appointment, I met up with T and his partner for lunch across the street.  Well, T and his partner ate and I watched since I was heading to the Peninsula Hotel to meet up with friend for tea later in the afternoon.  I love afternoon teas.  Yummy food, nice ambiance, and great company.  Plus, the tea service at the Peninsula is one of the best in LA.

Sunday, T and I started the morning with a lovely run on the trails behind our neighborhood followed by brunch at Picnik (banana chocolate chip pancakes!), a Laker’s game (T)/reading (me), and Star Trek.  I’ve never been a Trekkie, but I thought the movie was entertaining.  Just don’t think too hard about the characters’ motivations, which don’t make much sense.  Bonus – we saw the movie at the Landmark which is the only place I know of that sells Tim Tams.  Yummmmm.  Tim Tams.   Now available in chocolate hazelnut mousse!

All in all, it was a nice lazy weekend.  Between all the lounging around, we continued our year-long discussion on whether to paint our place, but (again) didn’t reach any conclusions.  We are paralyzed by the overwhelming color choices!

Oh – I almost forgot to add – we had a small earthquake Sunday night.  First one we’ve experienced in our new condo I think.  Always a little nerve-wracking.  It was cute to see T so concerned about Alfie though!

I’ve been on a major geeky reading spree lately, devouring Brandon Sanderson’s fantasy novels.  I’d stumbled upon his work because he was selected to finish the Wheel of Time series after the author’s death.  (The WoT series, by the way, is one of T’s favorite series and something he suckered me into reading last year.  I still don’t know how he managed to do it.  After all, he’d already informed me only the first 5 books of the, currently, 11 book series were any good and the remaining 6 books should be read only to see how the series unfolds.  We both hope the next 3 books, which are supposed to conclude the series, make this long journey worthwhile.  I’m optimistic given how much I’ve liked Sanderson’s books to date.)

When not obsessively reading, I’ve been trying to figure out how to decorate our place.  I’m beginning to realize I have absolutely no eye, or patience, for design (esp. when I have to accomodate T’s taste too) and I fear our place looks just as sterile now as it did when we moved in last year.  So, if any of you happen to be aspiring interior designers who’d love to decorate our place for free, let me know!

Next month’s update may be marginally more interesting as T and I are going to SF for a wedding next weekend and then I’m heading to Cabo for my annual Quad trip.  =)

Wedding season has started!  We went to our first one this past weekend in San Francisco.  One of my best friends from law school, R, got married at the Sir Francis Drake Hotel near Union Square.  We had such a fabulous time.  I got a chance to catch up with lots of old dear HLS friends and T, to his surprise, managed to enjoy himself despite not knowing many of the guests (the open bar probably helped).  It was the first wedding after our own that we’ve attended and I was looking forward to being a guest.  Putting together our wedding has given me a greater appreciation for the effort that goes into organizing one and I enjoyed all the little touches that I probably wouldn’t have noticed before.

We also got to spend some time with my family, which was lovely.  I’m touched anew each time I see how well T gets along with them.  My grandmother, despite severe back pain, looked fairly healthy.  (She adores T.  I think it’s because he always remembers to greet her in Vietnamese and smiles when she talks to him in Vietnamese like he understands.)  We also got to spend a lot of time with my parents and my sisters and their boyfriends, which was great.   Despite some snafu’s – I had to make a last minute trip to the mall to buy a new dress for the wedding since my sisters confirmed mine was entirely too informal for an evening wedding in SF and T forgot his dress pants in LA which necessitated a second last minute trip to the mall just as we were supposed to head up to SF for the wedding – the weekend couldn’t have gone better.

We had beautiful weather this weekend!  On Saturday, we took advantage of living next to the beach and went biking along the ocean (since we pay such a premium to live close to the beach, we really need to take advantage of it more).  We met up with our friends J and M for a bike ride along the ocean and lunch near the marina.  Then T’s fabulous brother came over to fix our computer and grabbed dinner with us a Piknic’s.  I think we’ve become regulars there.  It’s a little weird since I prefer anonymity when I’m dining.  Although (I think) we’re always perfectly polite and tip well so I don’t know why that should bother me.

Sunday, T had to work so Alfie and I met up with some friends in Pasadena for a doggie play date.  We love the Pasadena Dog Park, which is spacious and clean and always seems to have the best behaved dogs.   (Btw, Alfie’s ears are doing much better!  Thanks for the concern everyone.)

Oh, and in the inbetween moments,  I read on my Kindle.  I love it.  I can’t wait for our flight to Nor Cal this weekend so I can use it on a plane!  =)  I want to buy all of my favorite books on Kindle so I can have them on hand all the time.  I also want to buy books I already own and haven’t yet read – partly because they’re too cumbersome to comfortably read – on Kindle so I can cart them around with me and, maybe, actually read them some day!  The possibilities are endless…if a little expensive…

Poor Alfie has an ear infection.  He came bounding up the stairs at 4am today, sat quietly next to my side of the bed, and then shook his head violently until I woke up.  We tried to get him to stop, but even when his head wasn’t shaking, it was tilted far to the left.  A quick google search indicated he had an ear infection so we rushed him to the vet (whom we love).  Unfortunately, the vet was in the middle of surgery so we had to wait awhile to see him, with Alfie getting more and more anxious (he doesn’t love the vet nearly as much as we do) and stressed out.  It was a harrowing visit.  It took three grown men to get Alfie still enough to look into his ears.  Then, after the vet diagnosed the problem, we had to muzzle him and pin him down to get the ear drops in.  He got so worked up, he ending up peeing all over T!  We’re going to have to apply the drops twice a day for a week.  Fun.

He calmed down once we left the vet and seemed to be settling in okay at home, so I hope the worst is behind us.  Given that this is the fifth or sixth time we’ve been to the vet this year (routine check up, eye surgery and follow up, ticks, ear infection), I joke with T that we got a broken dog and we’d have to be more careful the next time we get a used one.  =)  Honestly though, I’m just glad he’s okay.  And in retrospect, it was even kind of cute how he rushed upstairs, sat down and started shaking his head, as if to say, “Um, People, my ears hurt.  Please fix them.”

I finally found the motivation to do a long run by myself on Saturday!  T and his partner met up with me around the first mile of my run (which happens to cross through T’s patrol area), so I stopped and chatted for a bit.  I managed to do the other 9 miles at a relatively constant (if slow) pace, although, unfortunately, my ankle started bothering me so I only did 10 rather than the 11 miles I had planned

Later that night, we had our friends S and K over for dinner.  I made hoisin-honey pork riblets, which are super easy and delicious, with white rice and green beans.  For dessert, S made fantastic chocolate chip, oatmeal, walnut, coconut cookies.  I love dinner parties, especially dinner parties where the guests bring fabulous desserts!  =)

Sunday, I met up with T and his softball team at Piknic, our local restaurant, for brunch after their big game (as it started pretty early in the morning, I slept through the actual game).  It was great getting to know the members of the team better. It’s a community team, so they’re all essentially our neighbors.  After brunch, and a short nap, we headed out to the Will Rogers State Park for a real picnic with Alfie and our friends L and E.  It was a beautiful day for a picnic and a relaxing way to spend a Sunday.  We had wine and an assortment of bread and cheese, fruit and other munchies.  They tossed the frisbee around while I tried to keep Alfie from jumping into the mix.

That night we saw Monsters v. Aliens in 3D.  I, naturally, loved it.  It was the perfect way to top off a great weekend.

Yay!  T surprised me with a Kindle for our 6 month anniversary!  He’s either incredibly sweet…or incredibly tired of me whining about how much I wanted one.  =)  I have been wanting a Kindle forever but have been too cheap to buy one for myself.  As much as we’re trying to be practical about money, I can’t return an anniversary gift, so I guess I HAVE to keep it.

I love the idea of having virtually any book I want to read at my disposal at all times.  And not clogging up my bookshelf with books I bought for a short plane ride and never plan to read again.  And being able to read the NY Times in bed.  Best gift ever.

LOL.  Yeah, I’m all sorts of dorky.