Christmasland

Merry Christmas from San Francisco! We spent Christmas Eve at our friends John & Pamela Barrango's crazy Christmas showroom just south of the city. The Barrangos make carousels and the sort of giant ornaments you see in malls and department stores this time of the year. So it's Christmas craziness there all year 'round... and a terrific place for a holiday potluck. The giant wreath and elk head is just one example of the whimsical stuff one finds in the magical world of Barrango...

Hope you are having a wonderful holiday season yourselves! Jill and I are having an extremely lazy Christmas day at home. This is a well-deserved rest after something like 8 holiday parties in as many days. Most notably, last week we celebrated Jill-mas (Jill's 32nd birthday) at Benihana in Japantown. I don't think I've ever seen Jill as excited about anything as she was about sitting around the hibachi table watching the acrobatic cooking antics.

Next stop, New Year's Eve... Hard to believe we're almost to the end of this most exciting and eventful year!

Here's to a great 2008!

(Don't try this with actual polar bears, by the way.)

Keith-mas!

We just finished up the festivities from Keith-mas, which of course, is the week-long birthday celebration that surrounds December 4th (otherwise known this year as Keith’s 40th Birthday). Last weekend we drove to San Luis Obispo, shopped, ate, drank and visited the Madonna Inn (where more eating and drinking occurred, in an incredibly pink and festive environment).

The B&B we stayed in was quaint, very well located and SO not our style… here is a shot from inside the room and one from outside.

This weekend, we took the ferry to Tiburon and stayed at JDV’s gorgeous Waters Edge Hotel. Our friend La Dona’s birthday is the same day as Keith’s, so she and her friend Chris were also along to celebrate La Dona-mas. Both of our suites had amazing views of the Bay and San Francisco. Friday night we dined at Sam’s and then hung out on the balcony and in front of the fire, playing half-hearted game of Uno. Saturday was comprised of shopping along Tiburon’s Main Street and drinking and eating.

Though it was very cold in both locales, we had a great time and Keith-mas was celebrated with a bang! (I started to say "bone-chillingly-freezing" but it was really only in the high 30's and low 40's, and I don't want to hear the wrath from you folks in colder climates!)

The Honeymoon's Over

But the celebrating isn’t! And being married to my best friend is pretty awesome. We had an amazing wedding – the wedding of my dreams! (I believe Keith thought it was quite groovy too, but I doubt he’s been dreaming about his wedding since he was 8). We still have yet to pick our allotted 16 photos from the 115 the photographer took at the ceremony, but we’ll get there. Here are a few of my favorites (yeah, I love the one of myself - you can see my fabulous shoes!!). The weather couldn’t have been better, and the fountains going off at the end to “Fly Me to The Moon” are an experience I’ll never forget.

The honeymoon in Palm Springs followed, a few nights at an amazing house we’ve already rented for our 1st anniversary! If I can find the plans for this house, I will buy them in an instant (not that we have any where to actually construct a home, but just having them in my “back pocket” will make me feel good…)

The reception / party at Hotel Adagio was AWESOME. So wonderful to have all of our family and friends with us to celebrate. If you were there, thank you for being a part of our joy – and yeah, thanks a lot for not saying goodbye, were you smashed like the rest of ‘em? :) If you couldn’t make it, we sure missed you! But, we’ve decided if we could throw a party like this every Saturday night we would – so stay tuned. The mashed potato bar was a hit!

Okay, back to wedded bliss!

Las Vegas Here We Come!

As long as my suitcase closes...

Keith figures out which shirts to pack...

And the racoons terrorizing the roof across from us promise us they'll stay out of the trash...

So, hoping all of this goes well, the next time I post, I will be a married woman! Have to give a little Vegas "woo-hoo" for that!

Bachelorette Party I

This weekend a few of my SF girlfriends (and one guy, Armel, of course) threw me the most fun Polk Street bar crawl. Complete with a tiara and veil, made by my lil' sis Angela (who flew down from Seattle just for the festivities, awesome). Much fun was had by all, and that probably includes the "geek" I had to ask to buy me a shot of Petron, and the guy who probably still has "Jill" written on his chest in my deepest purple shade of Mac lipstick. Armel got me some "signature" undies, and most of what the girls signed is not appropriate for this site. Cute. Cute. Cute. I may frame them and hang them somewhere non-public (like the bathroom closet!).

Some of the pretty girls, in their gorgeous little black dresses! Angela is truly mezmorized by the disco balls at Vertigo. Ang, shall we expect to see a repeat somewhere around your house? :) Thanks again for coming, it was amazing to see you!!

Check Out This View!

A few weekends ago we had a debaucherous time on an amphibious vehicle that took us right into McCovey Cove while the Giants were playing Pittsburg. One of our friends was having a big birthday and what a great time was had by all… I’m below with my shot glass, maraca and duck bill whistle. This is a must-do for everyone!

Mom Celebrates "Birthday Month" in SF

I just came off the most relaxing and fun time last week with my Mom! Keith and I loved having her here for almost a whole entire week. She and I biked across the Golden Gate on Thursday morning (the picture below is surprisingly great... note to self, bicycle seats don't make the best tripod... thank goodness for a quick grab!) That afternoon we drove about 50 miles down to one of our hotel / resorts in Los Gatos. Beautiful place, we relaxed by the pool, shopped a bit, and of course found the nearest Starbucks.

We headed back to the City last Saturday and met Keith for dinner at A. Sabella’s, this retro-cool 50’s restaurant with wonderful seafood. (I’m not sure it’s actually supposed to be “retro” – it probably hasn’t had a renovation since 1952, but they’ve kept it up for long enough that it’s back in fashion!)

On Sunday morning we had brunch with a few of our friends at Levende Lounge. Delicious, as usual, and the company couldn’t have been better.

See what all of you have to look forward to that are coming to our party on September 22nd! You can bike and eat to your heart’s content. Click here to RSVP!!