Home Sweet Home...

I am home in Raleigh this week as we gear up for Lindsay's bridal shower and lingerie luncheon Saturday and Sunday. For those unfamiliar with the Southern wedding traditions, Southern brides have no fewer than 6 bridal showers for a variety of reasons. The bridesmaids throw one, the friends of the mother throws one, then the friends of the mother-in-law throw one, church friends throw one, co-workers throw one and we might as well have the mailman and sanitation worker throw one as well. It gets a little out of control if you let it, but Lindsay is having a fairly tame series with a traditional bridal shower tomorrow (Saturday) thrown by the bridesmaids, and a bridal "luncheon" and lingerie shower on Sunday for just the bridesmaids, Moms and two of mom's friends. Ooh-la-la.

It's been fun to be home this week! I visited with my BF Meg yesterday and the day before. She is a new Mom (see pic of her and Baby Dino) and we took Dino to experience his first pedicure yesterday (okay, HE didn't experience it, but it might be the first and last time he's in a ladies' salon and all of the mystery behind it, so I will count it).

Last night, Meg had 10 of us over for homemade lasagna (did I mention her son is all of three months old and she's making homemade lasagna for 10???) and it was divine! She and her hubby got the new "Wii" video game system and we had some friendly competitions after dinner which could certainly turn INTENSE if you don't keep it in check. The boxing game alone would be more exercise than I've had in two weeks. The Wii system is definitely the coolest video game system I have ever played and is completely addictive! Apparently they are very difficult to buy (our other friends have been stalking Wal-Mart and other megastores for a couple of months on the hunt), but well worth it once you get one!

“Oops, I Crapped My Pants!” And other lessons I learned at a 1-year-old’s birthday party

Dave and I attended our very first one-year-old birthday party this weekend. Our old La Jolla neighbors now live in Oakland, where instead of the one-bedroom apartment that we all had in San Diego, they have turned into real grown-ups and purchased a HOUSE. I hear that when you own a home, you can paint the walls, step on what’s called a “lawn” and other fantasy-like experiences. We are VERY happy for them and they have settled in beautifully to the new lifestyle.

This couple, Sarah and Keely, were our first true Californians that we met five years ago when we showed up in San Diego. They both went to UC Berkeley and taught us (okay, ME…Dave never had this issue) that not all Californians are ultra-green hippies who only surf and smoke doobies. On the contrary, Sarah (who, I can fairly state IS still a hippie in some regards) used to be a teacher before getting involved in fundraising. She is absolutely brilliant and her witty remarks will make you laugh so hard you cry without even realizing it. Her husband, Keely, is the quintessential Californian to me (my CURRENT view of Californians…not my prejudiced view from five years ago). By career definition, he is a public relations whiz for a major Fortune 500 company, but he has made it a life priority to not let a job completely define who he is and almost every day involves finding time to surf. He finds surfing is a place where he can relax and be on his own.

But, I digress. Onto the fun part of why one-year-old birthday parties are nothing short of hilarious. Making a short story long, these two people have created this amazing son named Eli. He is completely adorable and is sure to be charming the ladies by the time he’s three. The part that cracked me up most though are the expressions you’re “allowed” to have in public as a one-year-old that we later learn to pacify as adults. Such as this one – what I like to call The Crapper:

I’m not sure if the blog can convey the pure tension that is expressed in his brow line, but it was classic of either, “mommy, I crapped my pants” or it could just as easily mean, “daddy, I don’t want another f#&*$ng can of peas!”

My other favorite expression captured this day is again a mystery.

Does Eli want to say, “My life is so freakin’ hard and I’m not sure how I’m going to make it through the next 20 minutes of this party” or is it, “All I really want is a damn cupcake” or is it, “Seriously, does nobody care that I have snots bigger than my eyeballs on my face right now?” (To be journalistically accurate, I want you to know that Mom & Dad were BOTH by Eli’s side during both of these photos and he was absolutely fine, just considering a meltdown before thinking better of it. He really just wanted to be picked up for a minute while he had 50 new faces circling around him at once…. Fair enough, I would do the same.)

Anyways, Eli got me thinking about how darn hard it is to be a one-year-old. New faces, everyone is always holding you, you can’t quite express exactly what you want to anyone but your mom and dad and on top of all this, you have new parts of your body being “built” every day, such as those adorable two front bottom teeth that Eli is sporting in The Crapper photo.

Ahhh, to be parents. It’s a good thing friends like Sarah & Keely can experience it before us to work out all the kinks. We’ll be begging Eli to babysit for our infant by the time Eli is turning 16 or so…just around the corner.

My aunt’s-friend’s-daughter’s-grandmother’s- brother’s-dog’s-uncle… is a rock star …

Okay, so we’re not that far removed – it’s my sister’s future father-in-law – but I wanted to make sure you were paying attention.

Jon’s dad, Kurt, is a super-talented musician who plays jazz guitar (like a rock star, as was mentioned in blog post title) in his spare time. Jon’s parents are moving from Sacramento, CA to (near) Dallas, TX in a few weeks and Dave and I wanted to hear Kurt play live before they moved. Last Friday, we didn’t have plans (can you tell how our social life is brimming here in San Francisco?) and decided last-minute to drive to Sacramento (about two-hours away) and hear Kurt perform at his regular Friday-night gig while we still had the chance. It was amazing! How great it was to see Jon’s dad perform on his home turf. We had a great dinner with Tammy (Jon’s mom – the beautiful blonde in the photo) and Kurt joined us in-between sets. I felt like a groupie!!! The great thing about Kurt is he is quite possibly the most humble person you will ever meet. He’s wicked smaaht (went to school at UC Berkeley and Berklee College of Music in Boston) and has parents who really lead by example of how important it is to take advantage of each day and truly make it what you want. I feel so lucky to have them in our lives and can’t wait for Lindsay and Jon to tie the knot in June to make it all official. Insert shameless plug for everyone to click and listen to Kurt play yourself HERE

SURPRISE!!! Happy Birthday to ME!

So I am reminded that I have the absolute best sister in the WORLD yet again this week. Today is my 29th birthday (still edging towards 3-0 but not there YET!) and on Friday night Dave and I were at dinner with a friend when Jon calls to tell us that Lindsay was arriving at 9:00pm from San Diego for a surprise visit! It was perfect timing and the best birthday gift I could possibly ask for. We had a wonderful time together and I'm pretty sure we walked the concrete right off the sidewalk with the amount of shopping we did. Here's a quick rundown:
Saturday morning: 7 mile run to Golden Gate Bridge! We took the camera with us this time and it was really fun!

Saturday afternoon: Trip to Ferry Building Farmer's Market - PHENOMENAL! It was a very thorough farmer's market with anything from fresh (organic of course) fruits & vegetables to delicious sausages (chicken-apple AND the real kind, which I devoured) to dried lavender (my closet thanks you, lavender-vendor-whose-delivery-truck-runs-on-vegetable-oil). The grand finale was Cowgirl Creamery where we sampled the BEST cottage cheese I've ever put in my mouth and went home with a chunk of "Drunken Goat" cabernet encrusted cheese and a cup of fresh chevre goat cheese which we made into an hors d'oeuvre that night. We toasted french bread slices in the oven (once we finally figured out how to turn the pilot light on in the oven - 20 minutes later), spread the warm bread with the chevre, added an apricot on top and drizzled with olive oil. Delicious!


Sunday: Shop Until We Dropped! We walked down Polk Street, along Union and Chestnut Streets, up Fillmore Street and beyond. I can't imagine there was even one shop that we missed! We did meet Dave for lunch and considered the option of coupling every store visit with a bar visit (1:1 ratio...you know, to keep things fair), but I decided I'd be asleep before 2pm if we went that direction. Alas, I bought a new pair of jeans with my birthday money (thanks, Mom!) and a few fun items for the apartment.

Monday: Lindsay's future mother-in-law came in town from Sacramento and we went wedding dress shopping for her in Union Square. It was a fun, relaxing day and wonderful to spend more time with Jon's mom. The perfect finale to an already perfect weekend!

It's 5:00am. Do You Know Where Your Wife Is?

Well, Dave unfortunately DID know where his wife was at 5am this weekend all too well. I had heard about this amazing antiques/flea market fair that happens once a month in Alameda (east bay). I had it bookmarked on my computer and wrote down directions to get there. I prepped Mom (visiting from NC) and Dave to be ready at 5:15am on Saturday so we could get there when it opens at 6:00am. The price was $15/person just to walk in the gate! So on Saturday morning, we start driving...and driving...and driving. 45 minutes later, we are in the middle of nowhere on the east bay and I am apologizing profusely because I wrote down the directions wrong AND missed our exit. We finally make it to where the fair is supposed to take place and it's EMPTY! So it's 6:30am by then and I call my dad (9:30am EST) who looks up the website to discover - it's the first SUNDAY of the month...not SATURDAY! Yikes. I really thought Dave was going to toss me into the San Francisco Bay. He's a trooper, but getting him up unnecessarily at 5am on a Saturday is not exactly his idea of a good time. We headed home and geared up to run the same drill (minus the bad directions part) the next day. I'm happy to say that the trip(s) were worth it!!! There were HUNDREDS of vendors there, selling anything from rooster decor to carpets to furniture and more. Everything sold at the Alameda Antiques Fair has to be at least 20 years old. We bought three pieces that day, but you'll have to stay tuned to see the transformations/end results!

We're Not in Jersey Anymore!

Mama Dianne is in town and we went to see Jersey Boys last night! It was showing at the Curran Theater on Geary Street and - not surprisingly - I selected the $30 "cheap seats" on the 2nd to last row for our tickets. Even without seeing the facial expressions (is that Frankie Valli or Little Richard down there??) - it was FABULOUS! If you like Frankie Valli, you will definitely enjoy this show! Our dear friends Kitty and Colin in La Jolla recommended the show to us as it began at the La Jolla Playhouse prior to hitting it big on Broadway in NYC. I had to nudge mom a couple of times to stop singing out loud (as melodic of a voice as she has - wink, wink). The story was cute, the songs wonderful and the acting great!

The only minor hiccup that occurred during the performance was - oh yes...the 4.2 EARTHQUAKE that shook the entire theater! I seriously thought the end was nigh. Mom was about ready to trample the other thousand or so people in the theater to get out (good luck - remember, we're in the 2nd to last row on the very top level). It lasted about 5 seconds (felt like 5 hours) and the entire production stopped while the actors fought to compose themselves as well. They took a short break while the murmurs in the crowd died down, then reconvened and the rest of the show was a major hit! I highly recommend seeing the performance, but find out more info about the venue first and pay for the closer seats if it is an option - they will be worth it!