.....Monterey Pictures ...

Monterey Pictures as promised...


A not so friendly looking shark ..


Happy Feet ?



Jelly fish... so pretty at the aquarium.. and a really really good dessert.. and the Mr. with his stunner shades :)

Plaza hotel..

Plaza hotel where we had lunch right on the ocean.. we saw a whale while we were eating lunch

Here is the fountain at The Plaza hotel:

The long weekend...

Keith and I had a good long weekend. We had weddings on Friday and Saturday that lasted ALL day both days. The first one was in three different locations, the parents home for the first ceremony, St. Joesph's church for the second, and Mt. Winery in Mountain View for the reception. The next day we had one at the Ritz Carlton in Half Moon Bay, it was really really nice although the couple and all the guest are New Yorkers with Irish/Scottish background and once the drinks started to take affect I don't think I have ever heard the "f" work used so much in common sentences. The staff at the Ritz were wonderful to work with, and Keith really helped out a lot he did most of the set up of everything. I will try and get pictures soon and share them here.

By Sunday we were pretty beat so we just relaxed at home, crashed really. That evening we bbq'd and then put our new outdoor firebowl to use. I got some pictures that I wanted to share here...

The new patio at night :



Roasting marshmallows



Another look :

Monday I went to Berkeley to meet up with Devyn and have lunch and walk around Telegraph. Then went home just relaxed, it was a nice long weekend.

pictures as promised...

So Keith got me a very nice camera for my bday, and I have been taking lots of pictures with it, but not sharing very many. Here are some I uploaded today. There are a lot here. ....

They cover my bday, Valentines' Day, Natalie's visit, Jana's band , Sofia and band at the bottom of the hill... and much more like st pattys and easter.. I hope to update more often so it won't be so many at once!

Enjoy!

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....Some favorites....

Last night I had an appointment and Keith came with so we could leave to go to Ikea right after. We were going to pick up more hardwood flooring to put down in what will be the babies room. Keith REALLY wants hardwood in there, I have a fear that the child will never learn to walk because their socks will slip all over the place. However much like the rest of the house I have caved, because in the end Keith usually knows best when it comes to these things.

So we ran to Ikea and got the hardwood and I had to EAT, it was 8:30 and I was starving. We decided to go to Angelina's Kitchen. http:///angelineskitchen.com/ . I went here with Sofia and Nicole about two weeks ago, and the food was wonderful !! Although the service was horrible just really slow, really really slow. I brought Keith a slice of Banana bread pudding, which I don't even like but loved the taste of theirs. As soon as he tried it he wanted to go back and get some, he went one evening and got take out. Since we were in the area he wanted to go back again. They have Boudin which is a favorite of Keith's from his days in Louisiana and he was amazed to find a place here that had it. He talked for a while with the owner who said they have been very busy and Keith told him he was sitting on a gold mine... because there is nothing like it around really. It isn't soul food, but just really really good Cajun food. Last night I had the Voo Doo shrimp and sweet tea which is now a new favorite of mine, and Keith had the Shrimp Po' Boy' Sandwich which he kept saying was REALLY good. It was a nice night. I recommend everyone go there and try the food.

But back to baby rooms.. here are some ideas I have about the babies room, actually I am pretty set on them. I know I want chocolate brown and pink or baby blue as the colors and a beige in there too. Here are some crib sets I love!!

This would be for a boys room, but we wouldn't do all the walls just the back wall that the crib would be against. I would also use more chocolate brown in the paint somewhere.

I also like this for a boys room, but I think that it would need some blue so I am not sold on it.

And then for girl rooms... I really love this one, but I don't think we would do the circles cause they look pretty hard, again it would be one back wall, and I think we might do these colors in squares like the first one.

Some others that I like that are pretty neutral I think...

This one is nice, but our living room has similar colors and I don't know if that would be overkill, I think it would be. I do like the circles on the wall and that might be a way to get the circles in on the first one
And we can maybe do the circles like this in the pink and chocolate brown stripes on the wall for the first one, I really like this one too.

A lazy weekend FINALLY!

Keith and I had a really good weekend. We didn't do much of anything and that was the nice part. I have so many appts. and weddings on the weekend so it is not often I get to stay in bed late and really have NO place I have to be! It was really nice and a long time coming. I made sure to not book any appts. this weekend just so I could do just that--anything I want. I had only planned one thing and that was to cook a fancy dinner for Keith on Saturday night. Friday night we did nothing but watch TV and hang around the house. Saturday we went to see Dad and I grocery shopped for that night. Then we came home and Keith stayed in the room while I put together the four course meal. I had printed menu cards, made centerpieces, and planned the menu to a T. Everything turned out really well, but dessert was just okay, I don't think I will make that again. Keith said it was my best yet and was very impressed by the effort. It was a very nice romantic dinner at home.

Sunday we just laid around and watched football (niners won yay!), and then I went to dinner with my friends Sofia and Nicole. It was a good weekend!

Here are some pictures of dinner on Saturday.

Second Course:Spring mix Salad with hearts of palm, pine nuts, and raspberry vinaigrette

First Course: Pear and Blue Cheese Tartlets
Centerpieces
Fourth Course Ricotta Cappuccino with chocolate sauce, biscotti crumbles Main Course, Roasted Chicken Breast with Dijon Cream Sauce, Baked Fennel with Parmesan Cheese, and Rosemary potatoes
Place setting with menu cards
Menu Cards with monogram on top..

Centerpieces

Halloween for the Grown-ups...

Keith and I had a wonderful Halloween. I walked into the house to a candle-light dinner...it was sooo nice. Keith had put together a wonderful meal of grilled salmon with a nice wine sauce, and some grilled asparagus. He also had a sinful dessert that we shared. We also had a bottle of the wine that we bought on Keith's birthday, really good white wine by Chappellet. We were celebrating...celebrating Halloween..not really we were celebrating freedom. Free of what you ask? Roommates in the form of in-law's. Yep you read it right. After 3 long months Keith and I have our place back, we can get back to us and romantic meals in the middle of the week. It is so nice to never turn a TV on, only music --and to talk with just us in the room.

We did leave the guestroom light on so if trick-or-treaters came by they could see we were home, and we lite the jack-o-lantern in the front. We only got the family that lives across the street and their two boys. They were SO cute! We have been waving hello to this couple for the past few months but never got over to say hello. Well last night we finally all talked, and we are going to be trying to get together and have dinner sometime soon. All in all it was a wonderful evening!

Here are some pictures

The dessert...
The set up...
The wine..
The aftermath...it was REALLY good!

Date Night

Keith asked me on a date last night, we tossed around a few ideas. We finally decided on dinner and a movie. We went to Pasta Pomadoro in Pleasant Hill. It was okay the food wasn't wonderful but the company was. It was SO nice to get out and have a mid-week break!

After the dinner we went to see the movie. It was a really good feel good movie about a guy who decides that in order to change the lives of the young jailed juvenile's he works with he needs to start a football team. We recommend that everyone go see it. We didn't get home till a little late but the date was well worth it!

....Date Night...

Keith and I *heart* the Cheesecake Factory. So much so that we often fight the parking and people traffic of Union Square in SF to go there to eat. We love the appetizers, the martini's, and the cheesecake! So I am very excited to say that they are opening one in a month at the Stoneridge Mall in Pleasanton! I work in Pleasanton! SO when Keith comes to meet me out here for our date nights we can go to the Cheesecake Factory! VERY EXCITING!

....Friday Night....

Friday Keith and I went to see Mary J Blige at the Concord Pavillion. Keith didn't really want to see Jahiem or Latoya who were opening up for Mary J. , so we left a little late but got there right in time. We got there right as Mary J. Blige got on stage.
It was a really fun time, and Mary J. was amazing to hear in person. She sounded as good as or better than her albums. She sang songs from way back till now...and she sang Keith and I's song "Be Without You". We had a wonderful time singing and dancing together! Great way to start a weekend!