Hallow-Weekend

Friday night AG and I were excited to get into costume and attend the Farmer's Halloween party in Bernal Heights... just blocks from our place. Unfortunately, by the time we got to the party, it was almost midnight, the place was packed and the police had made a visit (probably not the first that night, nor the last). We decided, heck with it, off we went to meet Brimeeza for a drink.

Saturday, I met up with Sasha and her crew for brunch. We skipped the wedding conference, and headed to Marin to check out Colleen's Threadlounge sale. There, we met up with Brian, Tesla, Mie and Elida. Lots of very cool designer clothing, but none fit quite right. I did leave with a silk nighty in a beautiful orange with creamy lime edgings. It's beautiful, and so awesome to know that that particular line came from Colleen's collection. Sasha came away with a pair of Oliver Peoples sunglasses. I don't know, I've never heard of him - but he's supposedly well known.

That night, AG and I snuggled at home and watched Ray and The Piano. Two very good, Oscar laden movies. Sunday, I slept in... even with the time change. It was a lazy, lounge-around-in-sleepwear-cuz-it's-freaking-cold-outside day. As if instantly overnight, the season had changed from Indian Summer to brisk and overcast fall. Always feels that way around Halloween. I think of Halloween often of when the first rain starts.

So I decided to cook up a storm. The house is so cozy when you smell home cooking, and the living room is warmed from the kitchen. We also worked on the awning in the backyard. I hope to extend our bedroom out onto the deck by keeping the rain out and having a firepit to stay warm outdoors. Yeah, autumn... turning back the clock, chilly nights, warm kitchens. mmmm....

Colleen's bash continued

We didn't have time to look through our BM bags, so this is what I pulled outta my drawers. Can you believe I have this shit lying around?





I'll spice it up for next week's party by adding on the eyeballs for my Japanese PowerPuff Asian Girl. Hrm, I have to think of a special power... 

Colleen's housewarming pre-Halloween Bash

Saturday night I dragged AG outta the comfort of our house b/c I needed to see people, and most of our friends were at this party. Ran into Dana who I hadn't see in months, months!

And our little Kerry has turned into a Vamp! She's gorgeous, absolutely stunning.



The next day I ended up with a drinking rash... too much drinking in Mexico + drinking at parties = bad alcohol rash for moi.
 

Bored on the beach

I'm not a beach person, but it was fun frolicking in the warm waters and waves with AG. Naturally, I grew bored of that early on.

I've always wanted to see what I'd look like in braids. These women were relentless, so I broke down from boredom, curiosity and pressure.

I intentionally did not include the final results. I looked ... bald. Well, that satisfied that curiosity. AG was his usual patient self, watching me and I'm sure quite amused.

It's nice to end your vacation on the beach, not running around meeting coordinators and caterers and looking for wedding sites. We got dark, even burnt a bit here and there; which is surprising for being on the beach for 1 day. The sun is super hot here, and when you're drinking, you can't tell how badly your burning. Note to all the white people....

In summary, it was a great vacation. We had lots of time to ourselves... But I realized I need stimulation. I'm a stimulation junky. First thing I did when we got home was call Shelaine. I need some action. AG was fine, he likes to relax... me, I start getting itchy. Gotta be doing something, gotta be seeing someone, gotta be going somewhere...


 

Yes, it's official

Here we are in Puerto Vallarta (PVR).... canoodling. It was hot there, humid... not sultry.. Sultry is sexy, humid is not.

I chose this moonstone at Annie Bannie's in Sayulita. Was very drawn to it, this ring in particular. Also Annie Bannie uses a portion of her proceeds to help dogs in Sayulita. If you remember, Pepito? I was glad to see that the conditions for pets have improved over 200%. We saw lots of dogs still, but many looked well fed and loved, unlike 4 years earlier when we rescued Pepito from the garbage.

I was driven into Annie's shop when the locals were spraying DDT up and down the streets. We began talking about changes in life, and she led me to this ring. I love it....





Moonstone symbolises a holistic view of man and woman. Its soft shine will support the emotional and dreamy tendencies of a person. The associations thus involved make Moonstone of course the ideal stone for lovers, reputed to bring forth feelings of tenderness and to protect true love. It is also reported that wearing a Moonstone will further intuition and your sensitivity for others.

 

Last night in Sayulita

Here's the charming and handsome Miguel... ladies, I think he's single. Even AG liked him... He was so personable, attentive without being cheesy. You can tell he enjoys talking to people.

We highly recommend everyond to his little cafe, he decorated most of it himself with Aztecan masks on all the walls. Very cool spot, actually the best spot in Sayulita. If only he had views. 

Sayulita Cafe

So this very charming owner of Sayulita Cafe, Miguel, charmed us into his restaurant - bought us free delicious drinks (khalua and something delicious), and made us the most exquisite meal. My lobster was awesome and I have no idea what AG ordered.

It looks like some lava volcano erruption. He loved it and I have to admit it's very impressive.

 

Sayulita - chita

This is Dulce... can you believe that our wedding coordinator owns a little weeny? She was so adorable, sometimes a little brat - with an attitude - but when they are this cute and not yours, you can let them get away with it.

Andrea and Gabrielle are from the bay area too, and we hit it off immediately. He's been to BM 7 years ago, at 37, worked in both the film and computer animation industry and owns a weeny... they were perfectly matched for us.



 

Bowl-a-Rama

Catching up with my photos... After a hearty meal at our Sushi Buffett, 15 of the original 21 freaks met at the bowling alley in Pacifico.

Sion and I had our little fun. We picked the two teams; hoping to split the couples so we'd have a little more tension to play with. Somehow, our team had the top 5 bowlers... heehee...

It was lots of fun. I had no idea the skill level of these people. Sandy bowled a 159, with Andy coming in 2nd at 123. Both Sion and I came in 3rd at 109.
Ilya made some impressive shots though.... Now I'd like to see how these people bowl sober.... maybe not so fun.
 

Happy Birthday AG

Today is the birthday of my special guy... Happy Birthday honey.

We have plans to hit Todai for a smorgosborg of seafood and Japanese buffett. Last year we celebrated both AG's and D.Yaginuma's birthday at Todai and barely made it out alive. Hoping for a repeat.

But this year, we've added bowling as an after dinner activity, to help burn the food off.

I'm so thankful that we found each other. He's brought magic and lots of laughter into my life. He's challenged my patience, my opinions, and my beliefs - and I've become a stronger person because of it.

Happy birthday baby - let's have a lot of fun in Mexico.... 

Decompression

Decompressing with our crew. I was a little out of my mind and wore an Elaine outfit. It was hot out until the sun went down.

Perhaps I was tired from the late night partying and wasn't so into the scene. There were tons of people and the costumes were great. But my heart wasn't really into it. We left at 9pm, and were so happy to be at home, snuggling on the couch, watching tv and being comfortable.

I'm getting old, old, old. If someone would have told me a couple years ago that I'd stop wanting to party, I'd think they were crazy, or just didn't know me very well.
 

Helsley Love

Helsley came into town Saturday night and we had the best time. Mohommad and Marmee invited us over to Saha's for dinner and made us the most wonderful mean. We had chocolate covered scallops, wonderful Morrocan soup, avocoda and shrimp salad and seabass as the main course.

After dinner we skipped over to their house and smoked until 2am. Then we persuaded them to go to the End Up... to dance until the wee hours of the morning.

Getting lots of Marmee/Mohammod time - getting to know them so much better and really enjoying their energy. They are on the same energy level.
When we got home, crazy AG gave me some mint drops and I can't remember too much of anything else after that. Helsley hung out and watched football with AG in the morning. Nice to have him not running out of the house.

A beautiful weekend, lots of love with Helsley.
 

Oh the little girls

Here's an adorable picture I found of the girls. Oh goodness, they were so cute, the most adorable puppies. But I enjoy who they are now because they're older and are more aware of themselves now.Last night we had another girl's night out event, same group: me, manisha, elaine and elida. We tried to get into the new Nopa restaurant on Divisadero and Hayes http://www.nopasf.com/hours.html but the wait was 1.5 hours. It worked out well. We went back for drinks and desserts and hated it. The atmosphere was stuffy and we were the only people of color. The place looked like a Medjool-copycat. We sat next to some stuffy shirts who thought they were dining in the Marina and looked at us as if we were out of place. The service was terrible. The waitress shoo'd us every 5 minutes and she wasn't all that nice about it either. The drinks were good, but expensive and the 1 chocolate pot dessert we ordered was good. But without the ambience, the people and a good, attentive and cool staff... we wouldn't waste our money there again. Too many other great restaurants in SF to offer our money to.We did find a very cool, hip and down to earth Morrocan restaurant two doors down called Ziryal. The owners scurried about and got us a seat within 20 minutes, even though it was also packed. There were tables outside with hookas to enjoy a smoke while watching night traffic pass through. The menu was delicious and very reasonable. I had a seafood melange with clams, mussels, salmon and monkfish for $19. The lamb shish kabobs were also tender and amazing at only $14.Afterwards, we talked a lot of girl shit and continued drinking at Fly Bar. The drinks were so good, so reasonably priced... the great sound system playing nostalgic 80's music put me right at home. I didn't bring my camera, wished I had... but this weekend will be lots to load up... Decompression all weekend and Helsley is visiting. And then off to Mexico next Saturday for a week in the sun 

Portland Weekend getaway

Here are our two little monsters, still trying to fit into their first bed. Actually, Sienna just enjoys laying on her sister. They still fit.

We left Thursday evening for Portland to visit Ari's family, Al and Chris. It was such a beautiful weekend, I was almost woo'd into the possibility of living there at some point - almost... until I got off the plane and breathed SF air... not quite ready to let go of this place.

Friday AG and I BBQ'd steaks at home. Wonderful dinner. Next day, Al took us to downtown Portland for the farmer's market - and we found a huge gem. 3 dozen oysters for only $15. Oh my, it was so sweet, so delicious - both raw and on the grill... some of the best oysters I've had in a long time, including ones in SF. We ate 2 dozen that afternoon and finished the remaining dozen on Sunday.
Saturday night, Al, AG and I teamed up and cooked a delicious Vietnamese dinner for 13 friends and family. Al made a beef and green bean stir fry and AG & I made: delicious spring rollss, chicken satay and a grilled/charred eggplant dish.

I drank a little too much and crashed out early.

Next day, I had a great lunch with my dad and Yi Dung. We had a lovely bowl of Pho at Pho Hung on 82nd street. Dad and I had a father/daughter lecture on marriage, commitment and stuff - now that AG and are I getting ready to set a date.

Just a wonderful fun filled weekend. They are so sweet and so easy to be with. I have always felt extremely comfortable and accepted from the first meeting.

Sunday night they took us out to a Peruvian restaurant (Andino) in the Pearl district - used to be industrial area with lots of brick buildings, now turned into a very yuppy - hip loft area with wonderful restaurants.
We both gained a couple of pounds after the weekend, only for AG to abstain all day Monday for Yom Kippur. I, on the other hand, met up with Keri for a nice lunch at S. Park.

We finally caught up on her life. She's one of the sweetest person I've met in SF. I've never heard a negative comment from her, no matter what life throws her way. She's just a beautiful and bright bubbly spirit.