A random mix of a post. I just started watching HBO's True Blood. We used to have a subscription to the channel but had it cancelled since we end up buying the dvds anyway. Thanks to Omz, who introduced Dino to an online source for tv shows. We just finished episode 1, will devour the next 3 soon.

Yesterday was Bindlestiff's potluck picnic in SF's McLaren park. It was great fun because it's always cool to be with our theater folks. No need for grand reasons, like a show or birthday, to gather. Well, it was some sort of holding on to summer fun. Except that the wind was at its fiercest, driving the point that it's the end of the season and we should have thought of optional venues for the bbq (the warm south, hello?).

The Aristocrat chicken was an almost disaster! I came close to cooking everything at home but Dino stopped me. Not that I had pyschic thoughts of the winds and the difficulty it would pose. I just didn't want to bother working the whole time we're out there. Dino made a good point though, the actual grilling is part of a true picnic experience. So we compromised, I was to pre-cook the meat in the oven and he would be bbq-ing them to perfection at the event.
The charcoal heat was too much and it burned some of the chicken pieces quite quickly. The wind was of course the enemy, blowing ash everywhere and all over our cooking. Then we ran out of charcoal, and had to wait for folks who were bringing some to the park.

I didn't get to eat any of the bbq. Everyone liked it though and finished everything...so it was not a complete failure. What I focused on yesterday were the sweets! How I lost to the evil sugar.
-some carrot-y cupcakes topped with s'mores-like icing and sprinkled with choco shavings (Greg and Gemma)
-leche flan from Valerios (i don't know who's responsible)
-oven fresh chocolate chip cookies (Al Manalo)
-cantaloupe swimming in Hennesy (Kevin Correa)
-guinataan with tapioca and beans (Evelyn)

Man, it was freezing! Too bad for those like me, who didn't play basketball, soccer or dodge ball. Eating accounted for some physical movement in an attempt to generate more body warmth.

Julius D was there yesterday. We rarely see this guy and he surprised us (dino and me) with a late wedding present. He gave us the film negatives of the photos he took during our civil wedding 2 years ago, plus some contact sheets and scanned images on a dvd. He also gave us a giant print of one of his works- its a street scene of a child sleeping inside a tricycle. I cannot wait to have this properly framed and displayed in our home!

I love the pictures he took during the wedding. I told him over text message today that his photos took me back much more vividly to that special day. We already have a wedding album gifted to us by Mike Ricca and we're so thankful that Julius was able to capture another perspective of the event.






If I'm to interpret the body language, I was indeed a bundle of nerves. I held on to that bouquet for balance and security. Gosh, I was so fat then LOL! I loved that I was wearing my Lola's dress, although I had to wear a wide obi-like belt to play down the fact that it's oversized.


Under the SF City Hall dome. Julius was kinda spidey/ninja. I don't think anyone else had the idea to take the shot from this view.




I like how Diane Arbus this feels like.

decadent wednesday

It's Dino's birthday!

He thought we'd have a "light" breakfast at McDonald's because he had his whole afternoon plan to have lunch and hang out in EA.

Here's our main guy checking out the Clone Wars toys. He didn't like them at all. No happy meals, boo!


As he was having barbecue and taking sake shots with his friends at work, I decided to indulge in some fancy lunch at Consuelo's. I've eaten at this mexican bistro a couple of times in the past and I haven't been disappointed.

waiting for my entree...












mango, mild and spicy!









my dream wall. an alcoholic's fantasy.









taking in the ambiance...









pan seared mahi-mahi on a bed of sauteed green beans and chayote, topped with a magical mushroom sauce!










On to birthday boy's dinner at Tanto in Sunnyvale...












uh-oh, epic diet failure! your base are belong to us.










let's throw in a picture of me...happy birthday, baby!


Just as I thought the day couldn't get any better, we saw Pineapple Express. BEST.MOVIE.EVER. We had so much fun!

my saturday in pictures

Breakfast of champs @ denny's; free monkey on a tree balloon from an emo guy; dinner at the Château Deck in Mountain Winery, Saratoga; Toad the Wet Sprocket concert.

cotton candy

It's our Cotton wedding anniversary. We have been very blessed and on our 2nd year, we are celebrating for two consecutive weekends. SWEET!

Yesterday was so much fun! Our first meal was at Just Breakfast here in San Jose. We both love this place not just for their YUMMY and generous servings but for its vibe. It's a very local haunt...very diverse and mostly family oriented.
Next stops were Office Depot and Office Max to look for my anniversary gift to Dino. We had chosen a specific computer chair and I'll be picking it up from Office Max later today.
Then we did a little more shopping. All I can say is, with the anniversary gift that I got,the next 20 years are pretty much covered. I will not ask for anything more.

We went home, rested for a couple of hours and got dressed for church. After hearing mass, we went to downtown SJ for our dinner at Morton's Steakhouse.
A little early, we walked around the area outside the restaurant and took some tourist pictures.

Dinner was superb. The steaks were so good, there was no need for sauces or any condiments at all. Perfect rib eyes! I didn't take any food photos cos it was so dark at Morton's. The lack in lighting was appropriate though. Considering I had the meat cooked medium, it was still a bit bloody and would be scary in photos.

At the end of the night, we were much happier and both very, very full.

Next weekend: dinner and Toad the Wet Sprocket concert at the Mountain Winery in Saratoga :)