10 posts tagged “summer”
Although I am quite sad to not have attended the wedding of Papi Chulo and Secret Agent Scotch, I am super happy for the internets and all the photos and videos that folks posted. It was like I was there with all of the 6a folks! Congratulations to the happy couple. I wish the two of you many years of joy and laughter.
As for me, I had another set of festivities to attend to and it was quite the busy week. It started off with a Wednesday evening bridal shower for Melissa. While it was very cute to have a tea party wedding shower, I expect all parties after 6pm to serve booze. Really. That's the only way you can have me socialize after a long work day. If I'm not drinking then I want to be on my couch in pjs.
Friday I attended a traditional catholic ceremony at St. Mary's Cathedral for Suzanne and Conan's wedding. Catholic ceremonies tend to be very long but they amazingly got everything done within an hour. The reception was held that evening at Yank Sing restaurant at the Rincon Center. There were dragon dancers, lots of good food and too many shots of tequila. Not too surprisingly, Conan got the biggest wedding ring that I've ever seen on a guy. Such a pimp. :)
Saturday I peeled myself out of bed and drove to Wente Vineyards
in Livermore for Melissa & Derek's wedding. I was hungover and
tired but it was hard to not be enthusiastic by the beautiful
surroundings and the happy couple. They had outdoor tables with trees
lit in Christmas lights and pink and white balloons strewn around the
dance floor. So pretty. The same circle of friends were at this
wedding as well, so well I ended up doing a lot of shots again. Ugh. All in all a fantastic time despite how shitty I felt on Sunday.
I'm taking the day off tomorrow to see my good friends Suzanne and Conan tie the knot. Some may say they are doing things a bit backwards since they've been living together for the last five years. But conventional lifestyles has never really been a thing for Conan. They are the happiest couple and I can't wait to become an auntie to their future family of three to five kids. ;) They were highlighted on the front page of today's San Francisco Chronicle because they booked their special occasion on one most coveted wedding dates in Asian history, 8/8/8.
There's been a whirlwind of social events in the last month with several more packed weekends to go. I want to say that every summer is like this but the last few have been quite mellow in comparison. Except for the usual birthday week, I generally have several weekends where there's absolutely nothing to do. And there's something nice about being able to be spontaneous (yes, it's quite true that I don't always plan ahead).
This past weekend I attended my college roommate's bridal shower and bachelorette party. Rarely does anyone plan for both in one weekend much less in the same day. It's a lot of socializing and quite honestly very exhausting. But it was great to be able to celebrate this special occasion with her. Betty looked beautiful and so happy (see left).
Next up, I have a bridal shower tomorrow for Melissa who's getting married this Saturday. Yes, so much going on. Did I mention I have to attend another wedding on Friday too? We're having dessert and tea at the Japanese tea garden in Golden Gate park. It should be quite fancy. Cocktail dresses of a specific length are required. That part I didn't like so much but every party needs a theme! I yanked an old dress out of the closet last night that will have to do because I don't have time to shop.
Next weekend I have two birthday parties to attend to and the following weekend another bridal shower. Just thinking about all of the events kind of makes me want to stick my head under the covers and not come out until winter.
I got there kind of late in the day but the sun was still shining and the company was great. Yay for free festivals. Heard Bitter:Sweet for the first time and the lead singer was amazing. I will have to buy their album.
It's been quite the week of celebrations. Initially I was kind of sad to be celebrating this birthday on the single wagon but so many friends came to the rescue that I didn't even reflect much on it. I really am so very lucky to have such wonderful people in my life. Growing up I didn't have a ton of friends so it's really surprising to see how many close relationships I've been able to hold onto through the years. It makes getting older much easier.
Wednesday started off with early morning birthday wishes, gifts from Sippey and Sarah, then lunch with my 6a peeps and finally a late night dinner with girlfriends at House of Prime Rib. I love this restaurant and frequent it often for holidays and birthdays. There was an old man at the bar celebrating his 105th birthday that evening. He's been a regular there for years now. Very sweet. We closed down the restaurant with two bottles of champagne, a bottle of wine and shots of tequila. Not sure how but I didn't even have a hangover the next day!
I took Friday off to get some pampering done and then had quite an epic birthday party at District. I was there from 5pm to well after midnight because people just kept on coming. I don't think I was ever empty handed either as the champagne was definitely flowing. Sadly because of all the people I couldn't make it over to Chris' celebration in the Mission. :( I might have overdone it on the invite list but it did make me feel very loved that so many old friends showed up.
The next morning despite my aching feet and a banging headache, I managed to get up and go at it again. The afternoon was spent with Sarah on Joann's sunny deck celebrating Nico's birthday. We did shots of mocha infused vodka, ate coconut and pineapple cake, and took sneak peeks at her hot neighbor over in the other building. After that I drove to the other side of the city for Suzanne's bridal shower in South Park. She held a cocktail event with champagne and hors d'oeuvres rather than the traditional house party. Loved it.
So you're probably thinking that this has to be the end of the night because I've been drinking for way too many hours. Right? Um, not quite. We went from the bridal shower to Suzanne's bachelorette party at Circolo. Crazy. I changed from flats to heels in the car and was ready to go though. After buying Suzanne a few rounds of shots, Patty and I headed to the Elbo Room in the Mission. WeFunk Radio djs were spinning and we caught the last hour of an awesome set. I found Randy, Krissy and Garth but couldn't find Steve in the crowd of sweaty people (thanks Steve for the invite, I wish I could have come earlier because the music was off the hook).
Now I'm back at home and finally getting the chance to relax. Looking forward to the upcoming week where I actually don't have anything planned ...at least not until the weekend. ;)
Last Wednesday Stef called with an offer that I couldn't refuse, purchase a ticket to Vegas and everything else would be covered for the 4th of July weekend. Her manager was flying there with a high roller friend and apparently two hotels were covering all of their expenses. Crazy! They put the two of us in a suite one floor below the penthouse at the Palazzo, the new Venetian towers, with a fantastic view of the strip. We treated ourselves to lots of pool time, the spa and several decadent meals. It was fabulous.
I've known Stef for a few years now but this was the first time that we've done a solo thing together. I feel kind of special that she thought of me for the trip. It was a great time and we got along so well. We're more alike than we first realized and I know this is the beginning of a close friendship. Here are highs and lows from the weekend:
- Our suite came with three flat screen TVs including one in the bathroom, remote controlled curtains and a walk-in closet
- The lounge chairs directly in the pool were awesome. Who needs a cabana when you can sit in the water all day?
- Ran into a friend's bachelor party and got to hang out with friends that I haven't seen in years
- A very drunk girl fell into a friend’s birthday cake and then wiped her hands on my dress
- Went to Jet at Treasure Island as a favor to Stef's manager and discovered it was the "5’4 and under" club
- Pulled an all-nighter on Saturday to fly out at
7:30am on Sunday. I felt a little crazy
at the airport but well that's how Vegas is done I suppose
- My feet still hurt from dancing in heels all
weekend. Heh.
After years of going to Vegas for birthdays, getaways, bachelorette parties and one very cold New Year's Eve, I know better than to come into work the very next day. It takes a full day to recover from the excessive drinking and lack of sleep. Almost all of yesterday was spent either in bed or on my couch, minus the hour I spent unpacking and cooking dinner. Today my legs are still sore from all the dancing that I did on Saturday night. It was a fun time despite initial my concern that I was too old to be partying like that. ;)
The roundup from the weekend (includes only details that I could talk about in a public blog like this):
- Stayed in two awesome suites at The Hotel at Mandalay Bay. Very swanky but it was about a mile of walking to get to the pools. We were hooked up with a discount so the rooms ended up being cheaper than staying in Mandalay Bay.
- Average temperature in Vegas was 105 degrees. Such a shame that I only spent a total of four hours in the wave pool.
- My longest stretch of dancing in one night without sitting down? 5 hours.
- Celebrity takeover: Kardashians at Pure nightclub caused the lines to shutdown at midnight. We thought there was going to be a riot since they had a zillion people waiting.
- Bill for bottle service and table at Prive: two bottles of Grey Goose vodka at $450 per bottle.
- Stef's friend hooked us up with a "party bus" that came equipped with a dancer's pole. I would like to note that I did not partake in the pole dancing.
- Met Steve Kim from Chippendale's at Seamless, a new after hours club.
- Missed breakfast every day. But we did dine at Bradley Ogden and Social House.
The latter's tasting menu of sashimi was amazing and worth every
penny. Bradley Ogden is owned by the same restauranteur as Lark Creek
here in San Francisco but it definitely wasn't as good.
- I slept a total of four hours in two days. Woo.
Summer has made it's way to the bay and with it comes the onslaught of weddings and festivities. On my coffee table are the first set of invitations with another two still on their way. One invitation sadly went from having Nick's name to just a singular "1". People sure like to punish the single folks. Ha. I really thought everyone was done getting married years ago but they just keep coming. I'm looking forward to each of these especially the ones out of the city. The first couple will be married at Wente Vineyards in Livermore, the second at a private estate in Palo Alto and the third at one of my favorite restaurants, Yank Sing.
This weekend I'm headed to Vegas for Mel's bachelorette party. I've been to Vegas more times than I can remember so I'm only looking forward to the part where I hang out with girlfriends by the pool. In July it'll be Suzanne's cocktail bridal party at a french bistro in South Park (btw, I love this idea since it's neither a shower nor a bachelorette) and then in August I'll be taking a Napa wine tasting and spa trip for Sarah's shower. It's going to be a busy but fun summer. I'm looking forward to the time spent with friends.
I went down to Monterey this weekend. It's been years since I've gone. Sounds like a wonderful idea doesn't it? At first it was hard to remember why it is that I never go. It's only 2 hours away - that's just a hop, skip, and jump from San Francisco. But I had this nagging feeling that I was forgetting something very particular.
Well, that two hours turned into almost four with the weekend traffic. When we finally reached Seacliff, nothing but gray skies for as far as the eye could see. Bleh. It all came back pretty quickly.
Except for the aquarium, I pretty much hate Monterey. Yep.
We went often when I was little, it was always cold and drizzly. And one way or another, I would be dressed inappropriately for the weather. As if that torture wasn't enough, my parents would force me to walk up and down the strip bordering Cannery Row looking at wind chimes, owl figurines, and golf clubs. Can you imagine?
Wind. Chimes.
The visit to the aquarium itself was rather pleasant. Not much has changed though the price has gone up. There is a great white shark but it's rather small. Most people couldn't tear their eyes away from the tuna swimming around it. They were HUGE. I wish the giant octopus hadn't been in hiding, that would have been awesome to see.
