Bits of my weekend: vol. 29

25 04 2011

The Marina is always filled with people enjoying the water.  This weekend was no different.

QT observed every seagull she saw

It's always great to see family. Ally's pops was in town to join us for Easter.

Our friend Bobby celebrated his 60th with a wonderful party and a spectactular cake.

His rock/wife, Barbara, threw another amazing party

The only problem with the photo is the other brother is behind the camera.

can't have an Easter celebration without a hunt for eggs

It was a great see family this weekend.


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8 years ago

18 02 2011

I met a guy wearing a pork pie hat reading the sports section of the LA Times at Starbucks.  Who knew it where it would lead to but here are some highlights:

 

My first of seven trips to New Orleans. My first and last Brennan's Hurricane

My first crawfish boil and meeting with a Quinn

The first of many amazing vacations with that guy wearing the hat

A ring. And the incident when the diamond fell out - but was found in the bath tub by Al.

Our intimate wedding

A trip of a lifetime to Paris and Al's homeland, Italy

Brought the best dog in the world, Coco, into our family

My first trip to Brooklyn and Sheephead Bay, Al's hometown

took niece, Jessica, to the Kid Choice awards.

said goodbye to my dad

torn down a few walls in my house

transformed our living space

Celebrated my in-laws 50th anniversary

reminded ourselves how beautiful our national parks can be.

Loved my husband even more for embracing my mother and bringing her into our home

Missed my brother-in-law's wedding

But sent nine dozen mini-cupcakes

Welcomed two Sperrazzo kids (James was in his mommy's tummy when we got married)

welcomed twins, Kayde and Kayle into the family

said goodbye to Coco

Traveled to China for a trip of a lifetime to welcome, Quinn, our daughter into our family.

Celebrated all the wonders of my life with this great guy

Additionally celebrated many birthdays, friend’s weddings and births.  Met so many new friends through Al.  Had lots of amazing meals and laughter.   I can’t wait to see what life has in store for us!  Learn more about some of the cupcakes I’ve baked and my daughter Quinn by click on the links.


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Categories : Adoption, Coco, Family, friends, Husband, New Orleans, Quinn

Bits of my weekend: Vol 25

8 11 2010

My weekend actually began on Friday, because I took the day off.  I tried to accomplish a lot in one day.  The best part was having a girl’s luncheon with some of my friends who have adopted from China. Gwen and Kathy were eager to welcome me to the parenthood club and I learned quite a few things from them.  Click here for more thoughts on our journey to our daughter.

On Saturday, we took my niece Maddie to the Noah’s Ark Exhibit at the Skirball Center.  It’s a really fun interactive exhibit for young kids where all the animals are made out of recycled materials.

Maddie with a Zebra at "Noah's Ark" Exhibit

The "mane" is made out of brushes

Maddie played with the "vegetables" for over 30 minutes

Maddie played with the "vegetables" for over half an hour.

Too much vegetable play for Maddie

Sunday, I spent FIVE hours at the mall.  Pretty amazing for someone who doesn’t like to shop (I don’t count Target).  I accompanied a young lady (13 years) on a shopping spree.  We were granting her wish through the Make a Wish Foundation of Los Angeles.  We went through a lot of clothes and shoes and in the end, ran out of time to complete the shopping tour.  Never fear, she can go back to finish it with her family.

We closed out Sunday with a meal at a very traditional steakhouse in Westchester.  It’s an institution really.

It's probably been around since the 1960s. How do we know?

um, I think it's the photo of a very young Liberace and the owner on the wall that gives it away.

Thank you Steve and Hind for a great evening of laughter, friendship and food.


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Categories : Adoption, Family, friends, weekend

Bits of my weekend: Vol 24

31 10 2010

pumpkins 2010

Every year for the last 4 years, we’ve had a pumpkin carving party followed by dinner.  We’ve managed to pull it off, even when it’s been a week night.  But this year and last, it’s been on a weekend – so we get a head start.  Here are most of our entries.  And yes, the last one is a poser pumpkin – it’s a watermelon.  And yes, it won.  Great brains – the red interior was really necessary to pull it off.

Can you guess which Peanut's characters we are?

I made Al and my costume.  It was the first year we asked people to wear costumes.  And boy was I impressed with the everyone’s costume.

Which Alice & Wonderland characters are Sam & Thomas?

Jessica & Greg were a happy couple

Shelley and Joe picked their own favorite movie characters to represent

The shark after eating a bunch of candy

We offered some Halloween food:

Deviled Eggs

Mini Owl cupcakes with Mentos surrounded by "eyes"

vegan pumpkin chocolate chip cupcakes

And we had a few healthy things to accompany the BBQ ribs:

Eggplant

Asparagus, Italian-style

The beer and I share the same name. Courtesy of Jess & Greg.

My favorite shot.  Just beautiful.  Shot by my husband, Al.

Fresh veggies with truffle salt

Another Halloween success.


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Bits of my weekend: Vol 23

24 10 2010

A lot of my weekend was moving furniture from one room to another as we prepare to turn our tv room into my mother’s bedroom and turn my mother’s bedroom into a room for our daughter that we’re adopting from China.  That leaves a tv without a home.  So we’re moving that into the living room.  So three rooms in a disarray!

I know I love this little girl very much, because she will have a closet twice the size of mine.  Funny, the smallest person in our family will have the biggest closet.  Wondering how much a 2 year old can have?  I also launched another blog devoted to her, Quinn.  Click here to learn about Quinn.

We did take a nice break from moving and organizing on Sunday to go to the farmers’ market in Mar Vista.  We just love this place.  We met up with friends and the kids seemed to really enjoy their food.

Julien with a chocolate crepe.

Jake with remnants of PB&J

Avery teething

We accomplished so much this weekend, but it was great to just hang out and chat for a few hours.


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Categories : Adoption, Family, friends, weekend

Bits of my weekend: Vol 17

13 09 2010

I had to work most of Saturday, so my weekend was cut short.  We started to celebrate Al’s birthday early with a dinner at Il Forno with all the parents.  And then we drove to Chinatown to see Joey Chou‘s first art show.

Joey and Al

Joey is a fellow Art Center grad.  Al and I love his art.  So as a surprise, I commissioned a painting from Joey for Al’s birthday.  Well, it was going to be a surprise, but Al really wanted to purchase something at the show and I finally had to let the cat out of the bag.  He was thrilled.  Funny thing is that the show was at a cool, hip shop called Flock Shop which is owned by Michelle.  Someone that Al has known for years, but hasn’t seen in 7 years.  They reconnected at the show.

On Sunday, we took a trip to the historic Farmers Market.

New Orlean's food y'all

Okay so we gobbled the food and there aren’t good photos to show.  Except one.

collard greens. tasty!

Then we started to search for the perfect dessert.

You can't go wrong with an apple fritter and hot coffee.

We closed out the weekend celebrating our friend James’ birthday.  He did an amazing job catching a tuna and then serving it for four courses.  Each one yummy and unique.  Happy birthday James!


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Bits of My Weekend: Vol. 15

29 08 2010

Summer is coming to an end, but the tomato crop seems endless…

Tomatoes from the garden

So I roasted four pans of tomatoes

These were turned into sauce, soup and some were kept to top pizza and open-faced sandwiches

toss these cherry tomatoes with balsamic and it's a simple side or pasta dish

I also got to help my friend Paulo celebrate his second birthday.  There is nothing like it.  Suddenly without cause, a day filled with presents, chocolate cake and Curious George.

Paulo is also a budding artist. He has the smeared paint look down.

Paulo's mom made a four layer cake with George perched happily on the top. Looking curious.

The anticipation was killing Paulo

He got the first and largest slice of cake.

chocolate-bearded Paulo

Next year, he’ll be old enough to understand how special this day is. Happy Birthday Paulo!

I got this idea from Michelle, author of Six in the City Blog. Unfortunately due to a family tragedy, she’s on hiatus from her regular weekend updates. Prayers going out to her family.


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Bits of my weekend: Vol 14

22 08 2010

On Saturday we attended a fundraiser for Father Greg Boyle’s Homeboy Industries.  It was hosted by our friends the Morescos and it was such a worthy cause.  I’ve known about Father Boyle for quite sometime as he’s an alumnus of Loyola Marymount University where I work.  But nothing can really explain what he’s done for gang members and people who have been incarcerated most of their lives.  Only the words of those people can truly provide you with a sense of what this Jesuit priest has done for so many.  Their stories and words were so powerful. I really respect them for all their work to turn their lives around.  Because for most of them, it would have been easier to stay in a gang and on drugs. To hear a recent story on NPR about Fr. G as he’s referred to by the Homeboys, click here.

Sunday was spent gathering the fruits of our garden.

San Marazano tomatoes. The pinnacle of tomatoes for many Italians. Tomatoes are fruit.

We had some friends over for pizza night.  So of course I had to make a dessert.  For the recipe, visit my qt-cakes blog.

Lemon blueberry cupcakes

We had some great starters.  I suppose anything with cheese that costs $32.99 a pound would be good.  I obviously didn’t ask the price when I was convinced to buy some after sampling it at Whole Foods.

black figs with sharp cheese, drizzled with honey

We bought some fresh anchovies from the Mar Vista farmer’s market that we love.  Al mixed ricotta cheese with lemon zest and parsley for a yummy appetizer.  I had a tough time getting the camera to focus on the fish -  so a slightly out of focused photo.

white anchovies with ricotta cheese mixture on crostini

It’s always good to end the weekend with some friends, food and wine.

I got this idea of blogging about my weekend from Michelle and typically she posts links to many others who have followed suit.  Unfortunately her family suffered a tragic loss and she is on hiatus.  I pray for her family and in particular for her brother-in-law’s young children and wife.  Learn more here.


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Bits of my weekend: Vol 13

15 08 2010

fresh yellow roses are my mom's favorite

We’ve been going to the farmer’s market a lot lately.  And each time, we make an effort to buy some fresh flowers.  It makes the week seem more pleasant.

We got together with our friends, Alex and Jen (Aka Avery and Jake’s parents) for a nice birthday lunch.  Yes, I’m still celebrating.
We’re known as Auntie Cupcake and Uncle Owl (Al).

Pensive Avery

I tried to get lots of shots of Avery, but she spend a lot of time giggling and kicking me.  So most of my photos were blurry.

Happy Avery

Her brother, Jake, spent most of the meal asking when the cake would be arriving.

The anticipation is killing Jake.

A delicious and light cake with strawberries and whipped cream. Thank you to all the Steins for a great celebration

Jake focused at the task at hand

Last weekend, I made banana muffins and forgot to photograph them for my cooking blog.  This week I was determine to post a photo of my vegan carrot cake cupcakes.  Then I found out that my husband gave all of them away.  There is a lucky fellow with 5 cupcakes at home.  So I decided to make more.  Just so I could photograph it – yeah, I’m CRAZY.  Luckily Al was going to meet some of his fishing buddies, so I had someone to give them to.  For the recipe, click to my qt-cakes blog.

1/2 vegan carrot cake cupakes. The cake if vegan and the frosting is not.

My weekend posts have been inspired by Michelle.  Unfortunately her family suffered a tragic loss and she’s been on a hiatus.  If you are interested in helping her brother-in-law, Ryan’s, family please click here.


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Categories : cupcakes, food, friends, weekend

Bits of my weekend: Vol. 12

8 08 2010

This weekend was divided into fun and chores.

Saturday we took an adventure and tried a new restaurant that had gotten some good reviews.  It’s a pizza place called Eatalian located in a warehouse in an industrial district.  When we looked past the bright warehouse feel, we somehow felt we were in Italy.

It might have been the strange “lounge area” that we met when we walked in.

Coffee table made of giantic cans of tomatoes?

It is a food processing facility (soon to be making cheese), bakery, pizzeria and gelatoria

Love the flower shaped bread.

The pizza was so thin, it was like a cracker

I haven't seen an espresso machine like this since I was in Italy

Rather than choose one or two flavors, I went with four flavors of gelato.

The chore part of my weekend consisted of going through boxes of stuff in our garage.  It’s been a few months since I’ve had the courage to go in there without closing my eyes and heading straight for the refrigerator to pull something out.  I don’t think my parents were really pack rats.  I just think that as years pass, you accumulate stuff and forget why you have it and you keep it.  So Al and I spent a couple of hours looking through things.  I’ll tell you I did find some gems of my own history.  Including my fan club kit for Howard Jones.  Only people who remember the 80s – might remember him (No one is to blame).  For now it still stays in the “keep” pile as I pick my husband off the floor from laughter.

We closed out the weekend with a dinner with our friend Mona.  We will always have a special relationship with Mona since she’s responsible for introducing the two of us.  We tried a place called Lemonade.  20 different salads, mac ‘n cheese, soups, lots of baked goods.  WOW.  Yummy.  And as we were sitting in the restaurant we caught a glimpse of this handsome dog. It was a great end to the weekend.

What a face!

I can’t believe I’ve been posting about my weekends for three months now.  I have Michelle at Six in the City blog to thank for that.  She’s on a hiatus from her “bits of my weekend” blogging as she’s suffered a terrible family tragedy.  Although I haven’t met her and she doesn’t know me except by my posts, I feel I do know her in some way.  So she and her family are in my prayers.


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