San Franidazzle - 2008

I realize that it is the middle of January and these pictures are about a month old. I would skip this all together, but I know you'd be so sad. And frankly, so would I. I don't think I talked about this party very much before having it, so let me give you a little background.

My dear friend Mauri who lives in DC has hosted a Christmas party for the past few years, which she calls "Holidazzle." Upon hearing about this party a few years back, I was completely enthralled with the idea of hosting a fancy Christmas dinner party. I've even tried to get my roommates on board in 2006 and 2007, but 2008 was our year. Basically, there are some requirements - that are all based on Holidazzle. There are printed invitations. There is a nice seated meal. An activity of some sort is involved - as well as sometimes a musical number. Between six of us girls, we tackled those projects and then some. Here is the proof:

This picture is from my phone, so excuse the bad quality, but this is what everyone received in the mail.

My date: the infamous Scott Porter. He was in town for work and stayed an extra day so that he could dazzle it up with us. As usual, he was the hit of the party. Really, ladies, if you need to take a great date somewhere, you need to contact this guy. And please notice his blue velvet tuxedo jacket.

Kristine was in charge of background music. On top of being a fabulous Christmas party, this was a mini reunion with Kristine as well - she had just arrived back from France for the holiday a few days before this - and we are so glad she came!

Next on the list - before dinner, make Christmas ornaments...

And then hang them on the tree.

After dinner Kristine and I provided the musical number:
The First Noel

Then play bingo with awesome movie ticket prizes.

And you'd better believe that I'm saving the best part of the evening for last:
THE FOOD!!!!!

Andrea did an amazing job making the food - I seriously think about the food on a daily basis and it has been over a month. It was that delicious. But because we were all about the details, here is what our kitchen looked like - Kirsten decorated it beautifully, didn't she?

And here is the food - I'm stealing this from Kristine's blog since she is better at describing food than I am: Course 1 - Salad greens with pomegranate seeds, grapefruit, avocado, and hicama cut out in little snowflakes.

Course 2 - Pear slices baked with brie and wrapped in proscuitto with a honey glaze
(I'm drooling just looking at these - seriously the best thing I have EVER eaten)

Course 3 - Homemade ravioli stuffed with butternut squash and pistachios and drizzled with a browned butter and sage sauce aside a dollop of alfredo cream.

Course 4 - Beef Wellington - filet mignon and pate baked in a pastry shell that had little star decorations on top.

Course 5 was dessert - A trio of desserts. Homemade baklava. Orange chocolate mousse. And a white chocolate tartelette topped with candied cranberries. {no picture though - sorry!} It was at about this time that our crazy neighbor started pounding on the wall, which could be an entire post on its own.

And to top off the evening, here we are prom style in the living room.
Left to right:
{Andrea, Ryan, me, Scott, Kirsten, Marcello, Krista, Clay, Rita, Jonas, Kristine, and Jay}

Hands (Pants) down, this was one of the best parties I've ever been to - and this definitely will just be the first in many San Franidazzles yet to come. The food was to die for, thanks to Andrea's mad skills in the kitchen, the decorations were beautiful, the dates were all great, and most of all, it was great to all be together at Christmas with such amazing friends.

Tea Anyone?

To start off my long weekend, I was generously given a half day at work last Thursday. Jessica had the day off as well and since she barely moved to the area, we hit the town. She had never had Thai food before, and since it is one of my all-time faves, we hit up Osha on Union Street. After a wonderful lunch, I asked Jessica what she'd rather do more: The Japanese Tea Gardens or the DeYoung Museum, since I'd never been to either. She told me that she'd like to continue with our Asian theme, so we quickly made our way over to Golden Gate Park.

I'm not sure how I'd never gone here before, but if you're looking for a beautiful and relaxing place to hang out for a few hours in San Francisco, this is definitely the place. We both really really loved it.Did you know that fortune cookies were invented here in about 1914? Jessica and I decided to stop in the little cafe and get a drink and some snacks - as well as sample the infamous fortune cookies. Of course they are no different than fortune cookies anywhere else, but it is neat to eat them in the place where they originated.

Here's our little self portrait in front of one of the many pagodas. The rest of our day included going to Nordstrom Rack, Target, Oceans Taqueria for dinner with Peter, and running other random errands. I stayed with Jessica's family while I was in Charlotte this past weekend, so it was rather ironic that she took me to the airport on her way home that evening. If I told you that we were really sisters, would you believe me?

Rooftop Adventures

Yesterday was Colin's birthday, so a few of us gathered on the roof of his building for a little party. I wish you could see the scenery behind us - good thing that Rebecca was showing off her muscles for you so that there is some exciting scenery. Minus the pretty fountain, the view was basically like this. So pretty!

And since it was Collin's birthday afterall, here is a picture of Collin AND my roommates! I've kinda been holding out on that one for some unknown reason. Maybe its because they are so beautiful and nice and talented that I didn't want you to start liking them more than me.

Please notice that it is July 1st today and last night we were wearing coats, scarves, gloves, etc. Nothing like a summer outdoor birthday party in San Francisco! Happy Birthday, Collin!

So Blessed

I don't have a whole lot of time to post right now but I really felt like I should before I head home, because things will be a little hectic for a few days and I wanted to write this while it was on my mind.
Yesterday was Silvia's wedding (pictures will come shortly). It was really one of the most beautiful weddings that I've been to and I was so honored to be such a special part of it. Last night I rode home alone from the reception and I just cried and cried and cried. Not because I was sad that Silvia got married, but I was just so sad that this week had to end. Though my Portuguese is pretty much non-existent, I grew to love Silvia's family so much. SO much. I'm even crying right now writing about it. I also cried on the way home because I realized how much I really miss having Kristy in my life. No one laughs at my jokes or understands me the way that she does and I didn't realize how much I missed that until we were together all day yesterday. It was like we'd never been apart. I have had some amazing friends during the time that I've been in San Francisco and I feel so blessed.

Heck; it wasn't even my wedding yesterday and I would give everything I have to relive it again and again and again.

Merry Christmas, everyone. Be safe!

Where My Time is Going

Last year it was the Gilmore Girls. Now its Felicity. Tiffany owns the first season and so far I'm loving it. I'm not sure how I missed this show when it was on TV, but I did sit by one of the actors on a flight to London once. Remember that, Bev?? Maybe if you're lucky I'll post that picture tomorrow as its quite funny.

After watching a few episodes of Felicity last night, I went on a run. I was in a relay race on Saturday and although I haven't really run since the half marathon in May, I really enjoyed it. Somehow running this 5k got me in the mood to run again. I ran down Lake Street and a by the time I got to 18th Ave, I realized that I could see in the windows of everyone's homes and I could see tons of Christmas trees! I put a good song on repeat and enjoyed the scenery. I even said "Merry Christmas!" to the people that I ran past. In a city that is so often afraid to offend others, I was touched to see so many people openly displaying their Christmas decor. Who knows why they decorate or if they realize the true meaning behind the season, but it made me grateful for everything I have. The city I live in, that I can go running outside at night in December and not freeze to death, that I have incredible friends and family. I shouldn't worry so much about stuff that doesn't really matter.

I leave tomorrow for Atlanta, so I'll probably be light on posting while I'm gone. On Friday I'm flying to Utah for my Dad's 60th birthday party which should be a blast. There are a few people whose presence will make my canceled trip to North Carolina OK. That doesn't mean that I don't plan on going to North Carolina sometime in the near future; just that it is going to be OK this weekend. Have a nice week everyone!

Halloween Part 1

Last night was the big Halloween Party with my friends out in Danville. I love this holiday because you get to see how creative people are and plus, its just plain funny seeing your friends dressed up like this:

Little Red Riding Hood & the Wolf

(Silvia & Justin)

Siegfried & Roy
(Todd & Jason)

Caveman
(Rob)

Baton Twirler
(Tiffany)

Ladybug & Rockette Toy Soldier

(Donna and Me)

Yep, that's me. I figured that you'd want a whole body shot. Oh yeah. A full on Rockette. Biz, consider my costume a dedication to you and our friendship. ha! And for the record, only Colin knew that I was a Rockette. Here are some other great costumes from the night for your viewing pleasure.

Cowgirl & Cowboy
(Caisa & Adrian)

The Roller Derby Girls
(Sara, Kristine, Erica, & Juliann)

Me just loving Adrian.

Jason giving his tiger a drink.

I like to interpret Bex's costume as Nicole Richie, but really,
she was any given celebrity over the past two years.

I'm not exactly sure who Brittany was supposed to be, but she had an awesome costume!
Nya was Cleopatra and she looked great!

Something tells me that Marshall has an inner Goth.

Zorrooooooo!
(Dave Haynie)

This is what was directing us out of the driveway.

I should have taken a video, but you can imagine it for yourselves, I'm sure. Hilarious!

Next Time, Bring Me Some Pants With an Elastic Waist Band

When Scott told me that he and Zach were coming into town a few weeks ago, I had no idea what I was in for. I mean...I'd only seen both of them twice before in my entire life. All I really knew was that they make me laugh. A lot. With that knowledge alone, I was ready for them to come. I'd been needing a weekend full of laughs for a while, so it was just what the doctor ordered.

We started the weekend off right with dinner at Tasty Curry. Pants down, it is my favorite Indian Restaurant in San Francisco. I could seriously eat it every day. I've blogged about it before, so you know how I feel already. We saw some familiar faces there too.

Later on that night when we got back to my house, Rebecca and I introduced Scott and Zach to The Twins. Hello, Chuckie. Scary! We had many more photos from this little photo shoot, but I figure that this is enough to give you nightmares for a few days.

For lunch on Friday, I met Zach and Scott down at the Ferry Building for lunch. While we were waiting for everyone to arrive, we sampled these amazing dipping oils. At $14.95 a bottle, we figured it was best to just sample and not buy our own.

Sometimes you see something and you have no idea that its really foreshadowing your next couple of days.

Finally, our entire party was there, so we went to the Slanted Door for some fine Vietnamese cuisine. I'd never been there before and had always wanted to go; and let me tell you. It was worthwhile. The company was great too. Erica and I have a mutual friend from Utah who was in town for a few weeks, so she met up with us too. Our moms are good friends and neighbors in Utah, so it was great catching up!

Though I don't have any pictures from Friday night, we went to Cha Cha Cha's on Haight and wow. Being with Zach & Scott on Haight was quite an experience. I've never been offered drugs so often in my entire life. The food at Cha Cha Cha's was great, but since I was with 3 guys, we went to the Crepevine for dessert.

Saturday we met up with Rita at The Grove on Chestnut before heading out to Muir Woods. I hadn't been there since I was a little girl, and it was awesome.

So awesome in fact that we acted like Roman sculptures while standing on a big rock.

Ingonyama nengw' enamabala

Ingonyama nengw' enamabala

From the day we arrive on the planet
And blinking, step into the sun

Just kidding. ha! I'm sure that everyone who goes to Muir Woods has this picture, but what can I say? We're inside a tree! Hello!

Since I hadn't been to Muir Woods in quite some time, I don't know if this is a seasonal thing, but hello, LADYBUGS! They were everywhere...and lucky for us, they weren't flying. I did feel them crawling up my legs though after we'd been standing there for a while. Sick! Don't they look like little candies?

And here's the Power Point that we arranged for this photo.

Somewhere beneath these ladybugs you can see Zach's nose and facial hair.

Our next stop was Muir Beach. Scott swore to us that you could find sea anenomes there, but all we saw were huge waves and some people braving the cold water.

On our way back into the city, we stopped for a group photo. It's weird thinking that I just met these guys within the past 6 months. I love things like that.

For dinner that night, we met up with some friends of Scott & Zach's at Jackson Fillmore. We were due for some much desired Mitchell's Ice Cream. By the way...are Scott and Zach making my butt look big??

And don't you worry. Italian food & ice cream were obviously not enough because we had an 11:30pm reservation at Mexico DF for some tacos.

On Sunday afternoon, we had one thing left to do before Scott & Zach left town. It involved peanut butter and one slice of bread each.

FOLDYOVERS!!

This is where our friendship all began.

Don't be confused. This is not a half sandwich. Maybe a distant relative though.

Man I love these guys.

And you know, a lot of girls may have been running some type of marathon this weekend, but I was running a different type of marathon. In fact, I called it the "Lane Bryant Eat Your Way Across San Francisco Marathon"...and I won a pumpkin pie trophy.

On more than one occasion, I looked at Zach and Scott and said "You guys....I'm going to be bulimic for a few weeks after you leave." Don't worry...just kidding, but really, anyone have any ex-lax?