Ketchup

Not sure why but I just haven't been feeling like posting to the blog lately...writing feels a little overwhelming right now, I guess. But I know a lot of the family stays current on our doings by reading this blog, so I figured I could just let our recent photos do the talking:

Melbabe Wedding: Lots of fun pictures here...the wedding was in Cambria and there was a dress-up booth at the reception! Plus, the girls did a dance for the newly nup'ed couple:







Lucy's 30th Birthday: 80s Party!!!





Lola's 5th Bday (my boss Cinthia's dog): We put a hat on her, she chooses a new toy, and gets to eat cheesecake (her favorite)



Met Millie and Jeff's new baby Anya:



Watching Baker (my co-worker Amelie's baby boy) grow up:





Went to opening night of the SF Shorts Festival (BTW, if you're in SF, check it out! Some great little films. If you're not, just click here. This short about procrastination is awesome!



And, a lazy Saturday at the beach:





We're off to Portland this weekend...hopefully I will be feeling a little more loquacious after that trip!

When in Greece...

This past weekend K and I met up in New Orleans for a girl trip. In the past year we've only had a chance to see each other at events (ahem, our weddings) so we thought it was time to get away and spend some real QT with each other. Why Nola? Well, the 10th anniversary of V-day was being held there...at the Superdome, no less.

We flew in on Friday and after a quick stop-off at our hotel/condo, we headed out to Port of Call for some burgers and fruity beverages. Here's K in the lobby of our building:



After we were sated, we headed off for a walk around town. We ended up at Jackson Square, where we saw this guy perform:



Scary, huh? Actually Mr. Headstand was just one of four guys, each of whom did flips and spun on their heads on the concrete like it was no big whoop.

That evening we ate at Nola, one of Emeril's restaurants in New Orleans. Normally I wouldn't have been interested, but Eddo said it was good so I gave it a shot. Our take: we liked it but felt it was a little mass produced. Great service, though!

The following morning we got up and had beignets and cafe au laits at Cafe du Monde. YUM!



This was followed by some wickedly good shopping on Chartres Street in the French Quarter and Magazine Street. We got some great deals! And it was really fun to shop with K, as shopping is pretty much a solitary activity for me these days. So it was fun to look at things that I might normally not look at and shop at a different pace than I might on my own...

That evening was the main event, V-day at the Superdome. It was really incredible to be in that enormous space around all those women! Here is a view from our seats before the show started:



We heard readings by Kerry Washington, Jennifer Hudson, Jennifer Beals, and a particularly heartbreaking piece by Rosario Dawson. I have to say, for a show featuring between one and four women on stage reading, the lighting and effects were incredible! The photos don't do it justice, but here's an idea:

Kerry Washington:



Liz Mikel, she was hilarious:



Jennifer Hudson:



Jane Fonda, she's amazing:



At the end of the show, Eve Ensler has a tradition of asking all women who have been a victim of rape, abuse, or molestation to stand up and break the silence. Kara and I watched as women stood up all around us and a good 85% of the women on the floor (African American women from New Orleans) stand up. It was a really powerful moment and we were both moved to tears.

The next day started with a lazy jazz brunch at the Court of Two Sisters. Here I am eating some crawfish:



We tried to go shopping after that but ended up getting frozen margaritas instead. When in Greece, as they say...



See the rest of our photos from the weekend here

It was a weekend spent eating, shopping, drinking, v-daying, and talking. And talking...in the company of my best gal. What more could I ask for. The weekend went by way too quickly. Ah, K, thanks for the wonderful time spent, I love you and really cherish the memories we made this weekend. Where are we going next year? ;)

the 411

Whoa, has it really been a month since my last blog entry? Time goes so fast these days it's getting kind of scary. Here's some of what we've been up to...

Several weeks ago we went up to Tahoe to stay with our friends Susan and Craig (Susan is the one who married us). They recently purchased a beautiful 2-bedroom home in Truckee area and we were delighted to hang out with them, Sacha and Maureen, and Suzy and Jeff. Here's Jeremy enjoying a beverage in their kitchen:



We spent one day downhill skiing at Sugarbowl (sorry no photos--the camera battery was dead), and the next day the boys went back-country snowboarding while the girls did some cross-country skiing (my first time!). Here's photographic evidence (with Maureen's dog Raja in the foreground):



Cross-country skiing is a hilarious sport, especially after getting used to the downhill skis. I have never in my life felt so out of control going so damn slow! Here's a cute thing we saw while on the trail:



The following weekend was Valentine's Day and J and I's 5 year datingversary. We celebrated by eating at Quince. Adam had generously given us a gift certificate there and we loved our meal! The only thing is, if we're ever out to dinner together, please remind me not to get the wine pairing. It's just a little too much for me to handle these days. ;) Here are the gorgeous roses J bought me for V-day:



I also celebrated by chopping off all my hair...don't have any great photos of the new cut yet, but you can get a feel for it in some of the photos below.

This last weekend was my bday and we started celebrating on Wednesday night with a big dinner at one of our faves, Bodega Bistro. Good friends and good food, what could be better?





On Thursday night, we saw a fantastic show at the Herbst Theatre with the Robucy...one of our favorite bands, the Magnetic Fields, were playing as part of the Noise Pop festival. WOW! What an incredible show! Stephen Merritt's voice is even more incredible in real life, and though I've never really loved Susan Anway's voice on their albums, I found her really charming live. While Stephen's voice is all dark chocolate and cigars and bear-skin rugs, Susan's is like that sweet, quiet girl in the back of the class with the heavy bangs and the Trapper Keeper. Beautiful.



On Friday we headed up to Orr Hot Springs for the weekend and spent our days sitting in hot water, reading, and making yummy food. Typically we are one of the youngest couples there, and everyone is making delicious, amazing meals in the kitchen beside us. Well, perhaps because they recently renovated the place to be more modern, there were tons of young people (mostly couples) and they were all eating yogurt and salads as we prepared meals like bacon-wrapped scallops, marinated hangar steaks, egg scramble with mushroom, sausage, and onion atop cheesy polenta. Funny!

We also took a gorgeous hike on Saturday morning in nearby Montgomery Woods. It was a beautiful time of year, as brightly colored green moss was growing over EVERYTHING. We also encountered many, many mushrooms and salamanders. Just gorgeous...

Doesn't this look like a postcard or something?



These don't look poisonous or anything:



OK, just a question, how the heck do salamanders stay alive? They are the slowest things EVER. Talk about an easy meal for some hawk or woodland creature...



And, the requisite "hold-out-the-camera" self-portrait:



So that's what we've been up to these past few weeks. This weekend we head up to Sun Valley to visit with J's parents, where I can put my newfound cross-country skills to use. I promise to update about that trip in a more timely manner. :) 'Til then! XOX

forgot to mention...

...that I've posted all our professional photos shot by Jennifer Kloss Heffner on our Flickr site here, so you can download as your little heart desires!

She took so many amazing photos; the emotions she captured were just incredible. Here are some of our faves...

The couple shots:





This one deserves to be seen very very big:



She made me look really good:



And Jeremy even better!:



I adore this photo of my mom and Jeremy's mom when they first saw each other at the tea ceremony:



And Kim, Jen's assistant photographer and best friend, caught Jeremy's reaction the first time he saw me that day:



Here's my dad losing it (one of many times that day!):



And this one of my momma watching me and my dad come down the aisle just melts my heart:



I loved her unique way of capturing the wedding party:



And this one of Kara helping me into my Chinese dress...oh, the beauty:



What a night, you guys...

See the entire Flickr set here.

XOX!

I heart Erika

Our favorite Miss Erika is moving back down to LA, so two Melissas and a Hope, heavily aided by the planning talents of Tickled Pink Events, threw her a party she wouldn't soon forget. First of all, the party was a wine tasting event, complete with ballots, dresses (and corsets and tube tops) to mask the wine bottles, and a winning prize for the best bottle:

It also happened to be a wig party, 'cuz you know we like to get our costume on:

For the record, Jeremy's wig was a purple and black punk rock mullet WITH FIBER OPTICS (his hair flashed red at the tips).

And it was a karaoke party...the inflatable instruments that Erika bought for our wedding made a comeback. Apparently I thought it would be really funny to have the giant inflatable microphone in the foreground of every photo, cuz about 2/3 of the 200 photos I took feature this composition:

Good thing I took so many photos, cuz now we'll definitely remember it. ;) Catch the entire Flickr set here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/hopemeng/sets/72157603404567316/

We really love you Erika! Though I'm pretty sad to see her move away, I also kinda like that Karl guy, so I guess it's for the best. :)

Karlika, come visit often, please! That goes for all of yous that moved away (ahem, Katrick and the Lichis), and some of you who never lived here (I'm looking at you, Jenny and Dan). :)

XOX, Hope