Home :)

*sigh*... Good to be home.

  

Before we could yell at Salty for being on the dining table, he found the salad bowl, hopped inside, and made himself comfy; watching the telly next to hubs and a sleeping kitty.

Gobble gobble

Pooped and dog tired, but figured I should mark the bloggie with a Thanksgiving recap.

Went to the in-laws' again, and had the turkey feast at dad-in-law's old colleague's up in Westmont. (It was really a test of willpower; it takes steely resolution to deny a second helping, even if you feel you're going to burst at the seams.) Like last year, I contributed a salad to dinner - just a classic Waldorf salad, nothing fancy, but I wanted an excuse to use the mango wood salad bowl set the hosts got us for our wedding. I wanted to give a little more than a lonely salad this year, so I added a mixed berry dish with mint-honey yogurt dressing for dessert, which I think ended up being more popular than the Waldorf. Our table at dinner was a riot; heard about a couple's adventures in Belo Horizonte, which fueled my unshakeable itch to visit that area (Brazil/Ecuador/Peru). Some day!

I skipped Black Friday entirely (*pat on my back*) and laughed while I read about the stampedes at the malls the next morning. Drove 4 hours west to spend Saturday and Sunday with C's family, old and new. When C and I were wee freshmen in college, I used to visit them all the time; now, with husbands and a baby, it was tres bizarre. Worlds collided. We stuffed our faces with incredible home-cooked food, cooed over Baby and played with puppies, huddled over board games and laughed over stories. C's sister didn't fly her dogs over from Texas, but her mum showed me little booties and a leopard print winter coat for her chihuahua. Ridiculous! Anyway, we had a great time and miss them sorely already.

Coming home to our little apartment in the city was a bummer, after what seemed like forever with a full house of family and friends. Still, nothing beats two warm kitties cuddling up to you and purring because they're happy to see you. :)

STG20

You know you're old when you feel icky and broken after 3 straight days of light social drinking. Bleah. But I got my fill of midori sours, Belgian beer, and a good g&t or two! It's fun when the old geezers come back for a visit - yay for spontaneous reunions.

Pics from White Rose Formal. Happy 20th anniversary guys!

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Surrounded by good men


Hubs got his share of pimpin'. He had fun with the girls, methinks.


With Dean, who is cute and unavailable


Hey hey, we match!

That's all of my non-fuzzy pics. Sigh, yet another manic Monday, and then it's time for tryptophan overload! :)

Little Asian Girls Dumpling Sweatshop debut

Spent the day at J's making dumplings with IC. We had been planning this for a long time, and even went shopping at the Strip yesterday to pick out the best ingredients. We finally got together, after all the excitement. (Although between the dumplings and Asian chickiness, I think the boys were more excited than we were. E was, anyway.)

The guys were gracious enough to vacate the first floor so we could have our estrogen parade in the kitchen. Once in a while, Marek checked in, brewed fancy tea for us, and put on fantastic jazz - Charlie Parker, Dizzy, Coltrane, Miles Davis, all on vinyl.

What do 3 Asian girls have in common? Let's see - demanding mothers, impossible mother-in-laws, Korean dramas, love of food, boy gossip, the cliche 'coming to America' experience, our Caucasian counterparts and the compromises we make, going home, comparisons of Japanese/Chinese/Korean stereotypes... The hours flew by. Everything about the whole afternoon was so cliche, it shouldn't be a shock if I said it helped me get in touch with my roots. (Cliche!) It was like chicken soup for the soul.

As dinnertime approached, the guys set up the table, chilled the sake, and decanted the wine; we must've made over 250 dumplings, they likened us to a dumpling factory. We dined with Peruvian music for some global well-roundedness.

It was a blast - nothing is more satisfying than a dinner with friends.

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And now, the story told in images:

Once upon a time, there were 3 Asian girls...



... who decided to have a dumpling party...

  

... and invited their beaux and friends for a jolly good time...

  
Tasty home brew, lovingly made right in their basement

All's well that ends sweetly:


Home-made apple pie, choc cake, and British bubble tea (made with Earl Grey)

Brit humor and wine

Spent the weekend observing two different strains of brit humor, a la Sacha Baron Cohen and Rowan Atkinson. On Friday night, we had dinner with L and W at a hibachi grill, then watched Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan. What a show - we walked out of it speechless. Between the grossly inaccurate portrayal of Kazakhstan to the raucous scene at the hotel (oh! my eyes!), I wasn't sure if it was possible for me to cringe and sink any deeper in my seat. If I had to pick a 'favorite' scene, it would be the bear on the ice-cream truck. That man has a gift for pissing off large crowds of people without being fazed even a bit. What a transformation from Ali G... and he's engaged to Isla Fisher! Brave woman - the thought of seeing Borat in his underpants... *shudder*

Saturday night, I vegged out on the couch and watched the entire 2nd season of Blackadder. It was okay - I had to experience the show after hearing so much about it. Like everyone else, I thought the Queen was a riot, and I can't wait to see Hugh Laurie as Prince George in the 3rd season.

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Had a low-key celebration of our dating anniversary by stocking up on booze at Stone Villa Wine Cellars, our local winery of choice for years. It was a good day.


Hardy evergreen by the little lake on the winery grounds


A small pier by the vineyard


The lake at dusk

I'm a horrible baker, but I mustered all my efforts and made a little surprise for E. It was almost a disaster, but I'm glad it turned out edible. :)


Happy anniversary, honey!