Browse Month: July 2009

Vegas Weekend

The Venetian

Over the weekend, Jes and I went to Vegas to visit Kev, Karrie, and their little twin girls. Unfortunately there was a failure in planning so we ended up spending most of it at the Palazzo while the Wus were in LA for a family event. Our suite at the Palazzo was amazing. It had a double-door entrance, two bathrooms, a living area, separate bedroom, and bar. Ok, it was ridiculous. It turned out to be a nice refuge since it was a stinky 108 degrees outside!!!!  I think I took a total of 8 naps over the weekend.  Aaaahhhh…

bouchons

We spent Saturday and Sunday hanging out at the pool, window shopping, and had some pretty tasty meals. We went to Bouchon for brunch and had the chicken and waffles and chocolate “bouchons” (chocolate cake supposedly in the shape of corks). Both dishes were sooooo yummy. We also had dinner at Le Cirque and had such a good time eating, drinking, watching the fountain show from the window, and enjoyed the service. I had a really savory pork belly and fillet mignon topped with foie gras. *drool* We also had a wonderful spaghetti carbonara at Batali’s San Marco that I still think about every once in a while.

Karen & Katelin

On Monday, Kev was back from LA and picked us up for a day at his house. I FINALLY got to meet his little girls who just turned two years of age.

Karen and Jes

They have such distinct personalities and of course they were suspicious of their “Uncle Jesse”. Karen finally warmed up to him but Katelin wasn’t as amenable to him. We got back Monday evening and the Bangs seemed to have a decent time with Koa. They reported that he was pretty easy to take care of but always seemed “bummed out”. I reassured them that it wasn’t them and that it was his usual demeanor. What can I say? I have a lazy dog that sleeps all day. Thanks for your help, Bangs!!

Here are photos of the weekend.

An email from Bang

After the first 20 mins with the Bangs:

Watching Koa the ‘cat’ dog has been pretty boring so far. Pretty disappointed. He was super excited to get out of the car and marked stuff on the way to the apt. Then he ran around the house all excited, but then got bored. He’s been hanging out underneath the table, where we put his bed. I think he was a little scared of us after he got done with being all excited, so we gave him some treats. He’s sleeping right now on his bed though. You’re right, he doesn’t really act like a dog. 🙁

I’m hungry.

Jes has been in NYC all week for work and it was like a throw back to our old Charlotte days.  I think I managed everything on my own just fine but I noticed a few things while I had the house to myself.

1. I haven’t had to pick up any clothes off the floor.

2. I was still glued to the Tour de France.  I guess I really am a fan.

3. I didn’t sleep any better than usual.

4. I was still motivated to go for my regular runs.

5. I turned the stove on only once to boil an egg.

6. Cereal still makes an awesome dinner.

7. I’m too lazy to make anything else for dinner so I’m always hungry.

8. I had a craving for McDonald’s every night but refused to give in.

9. I felt like a mute this week.

10. I missed my best friend.

So, now it’s Friday evening and I’m currently packing up Koa’s belongings ‘cuz he’s going to sleep over at the Bangs’ this weekend.  I still have to pack my suitcase and will be leaving for Vegas tomorrow morning.  Jes will be meeting us there and it should be a nice long weekend for me to get some sun, relax in a nice hotel, and eat some tasty food.

Dat da da DA!

iPhone back

This afternoon, I bit the bullet and got myself an Apple iPhone 3GS!  I’ve been using a Crackberry for years and I have the same excited nervousness that I had when I bought my first Macbook.  Did I make the right move?  Will I miss the Crackberry?

I can still remember when the Gen 1 iPhone came out and Kenji went out and bought one.  It was so pretty but didn’t do much back then.  Later, Jes got an iTouch and I was amazed.  Three generations later, I decided to give it a try and the transition to the iPhone was painless at the Apple Store, of course with the exception of handing over the credit card.   In a matter of minutes, I was activated and out the door with a new toy that was ready to go.

apps

I went home and downloaded a bunch of free apps that I’m going to try out for the next few weeks.  There are some things that I’ll have to get used to like typing on the screen and trying not to drop it.

beakatude

However, it’s so fun to be able to surf the internet without having to wait a million years for pages to load and being able to access full webpages without the phone crashing or giving up.  Get ready for more on-the-go blogging, tweeting, and maybe even video posts!!  Here I go!!

P.S. Sorry for the sucky photos.  The lighting in this house at night is not very flattering.

Sunday Streets in the Mission

street closure

This morning I got up early to take Jes to the airport for a 9 am flight to NYC.  Once I got home, I got a message from Ryan that they were going out to The Mission for Sunday Streets.  “Sunday Streets” is basically a relatively new idea that involves closing down streets in certain neighborhoods to allow residents to roam the streets, get some exercise, and get a taste of the local shops and flavors.

jack and daddy

Jack had a great time running in the middle of the street making sure to stomp on each of the manholes.  He almost got to play with a ladybug that landed on Ryan’s shorts (above photo) but it got smushed.  Boo…  There were lots of people riding bikes, rollerskates, and pushing strollers.

horchata

I got to check out the different stores along the route and we stopped for lunch at Chavita’s Numero Dos, which turned out to be rather tasty.  Jack LOVED the horchata and I don’t think Michelle got much of her drink.

slide

We also stopped at a playground and tried to convince Jack that going down slides was fun.  I’m not so sure he was convinced.  By the end of the morning, we were all tired and full and had a fun day in the sun.

auntie beak and jack

Thanks for taking me along, guys!  Bee-too-bee had fun!

Here are the rest of the photos.

The Marina District x2

Tipsy Pig

The Bangs live in the neighborhood called The Marina.  They have a gorgeous view of the GG Bridge and have lots of cute stores up the street from their apartment.  Unfortunately, it’s also deep into the city and parking is really hard to find.  As a result, we don’t venture out there much and the Bangs get sad that they have to come out to our ‘hood most of the time.

Pulled Pork Sliders

So, on Friday night, we went out to their area for Happy Hour and dinner.  Bang, Jes, and I took the bus over and we had an evening at The Tipsy Pig.  We snagged a table out in the patio (without a reservation) and convinced the manager to get us an order of bacon mac & cheese from the kitchen.  We also tried the pulled pork sliders and a couple of salads.  They were all pretty yummy.

Renegade Craft Fair

The next morning, I rode the same bus and met up with Vyl near her apartment.  We walked over to Fort Mason and checked out the Renegade Craft Fair.

Eleen

They had a lot of really cute things and we also went to visit Eleen at her booth that was tucked away in the back.  I picked up a few gifts and also got a cute elephant wallet from Eleen!  Yay!

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