Browse Category: photos

I ♥ Wine

On Sunday, we went to SFMoMA for their wine exhibit.  They had a bunch of really cool displays including this huge wall of wine that was categorized by label themes.

There was also a cool display of “portable wine”.  I was delighted to see these single-serving glasses of wine made to look similar to the juice containers you get at the hospital.  Just peel the foil off the top and you’ve got a tasty beverage!

On another wall, they had a bunch of flasks with a bulbs attached.  They’re made for you to squeeze the bulb and sniff the funnel to get a certain smell from the wine.  This one was gooseberry.  Pretty neato.  They also had bellpepper, star anise, and some others I can’t remember.

Overall, it was an educational and very unique exhibit featuring one of my favorite things in the whole-wide world.  Here are more photos from our afternoon.

Wine and Sunshine

On Saturday after lunch, we drove up to Napa and brought the dog along for the ride.  We got an early check-in at the Westin, dropped off the dog, and headed out to Far Niente where they were holding their Cabernet Release Party.

We got there at about 3 pm and spent the afternoon tasting lots of wine and snacking on a variety of appetizers that were passed around.  It’s a fun event since it’s in their maze-like cave system where there’s either another tasting station or a server with a platter of goodies around each corner.  My favorite was their 2006.  Of course at the end, we got a glass of Dolce dessert wine and an assortment of petit fours.  Mm…

Afterward, we went outside to enjoy the late afternoon sunlight with a cappuccino provided by the servers at the exit.  They have a nice grassy area down the hill and it was so nice to be outside in warm weather for a change.

For dinner, we went to Ad Hoc.  Our reservation was at 9:30, which was perfect considering we had stuffed ourselves so late in the afternoon.  We had a great time and everything was delicious!  Here’s the menu for the evening:

The prime rib had a nice salty crust and the buttermilk onion rings were so yummy. Dog even got to have some when we brought back a box of meat scaps for him.

My favorite was the apple tart…it was perfect.

On Sunday morning, we went down the street to The Model Bakery, which was featured in “The Best Thing I Ever Ate: Local Favorites”.  The episode featured their famous English Muffins and it’s true…they’re tasty.  The muffin is fluffy and chewy – different from your usual Thomas’ English Muffin.  Mine was used to make a breakfast sandwich of canadian bacon, egg, and cheese.  Yum.

Here are the rest of the photos from our overnight trip.

One month down…

…many more to go.  Yesterday, Rowan turned 1 month old and his family threw him a Chinese banquet.  We had a big dinner and I got to give Rowan his “Auntie Beak pep talk”.  I give all my babies at work a talking to and I’ve done the same with Jack and Reese.  Rowan is a squirmy little guy that likes to soil your shoulder with spit up but he’s still cute as can be.

Vyl and Bang look good so far and the grandparents are so very happy.  Congrats again to the Bangs!

Here are some more photos.

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.

Holiday Party

On Saturday night, I hosted a Holiday Party for my co-workers.  We are a deprived bunch and deserved a more festive party this year compared to our pathetic lunch last year.  We had about 40 people show up and we had lots to eat and drink while enjoying each other’s company.  I ordered all the food from Pete’s next door and also made a Costco run for appetizers and drinks.  Everyone chipped in $20 per person and also brought their own booze to make this all possible.

Midway through the party, we had some familiar faces singing Christmas carols for the crowd.  Jes and I had bid on this at a fundraiser and found out a couple weeks ago that it was actually a bunch of people we already knew.  So, when they started singing, I called Victor and Susie to come down to watch too.

By the end of the night, the older folks went home and we were left with the usual HH crew and their significant others.  We continued to eat and drink and played a silly game of “Celebrity”.  Overall, the party was a success and we all had a fun time celebrating the end of the year.

Here are the photos from the party.