The Week in Pictures

Disclaimer: Bad photos ahead. I was too tired or too buzzed while taking most of them. Or in a moving car while tired and buzzed. Don't worry, I wasn't driving. Well, except for the last 2 pictures. But I wasn't tired or buzzed then I swear!



Last Friday we gathered with our neighbors at Fleming's Steakhouse to celebrate some very important birthdays. While we were waiting for our table we amused ourselves by taking pictures while wacthing the antics of a man who claimed to be Mr. Jack Ass at the hostess desk. Poor hostess. Jackass even asked her how far along she was. Um, she wasn't pregnant. :-/
Black napkins for the ladies in LBDs. White napkins for everyone else.

Eddie received a hilarious and appropriate gift.

Pretty ladies and ...... their pretty martinis.

This is SC Fabulous recreating her shunning of our waitress, who seemed to have issues with SC Fabulous.

Lobster tempura appetizer. Worth the $25.

Fleming's has a massive wine list. I always try to choose something I've never had before. On this trip I had Educated Guess cabernet sauvignon. On the left you can see the chocolate dipped peppermint sticks KB Squared made for us.

I had the chef's special for the evening: two 4 oz. filet mignons with seared scallops, seafood risotto and fried goat cheese. In the background you can see the famous Fleming's potatoes: a gratin baked with cream, jalapenos and cheddar cheese. Yum.

Birthday girl B with the creme brulee.

Birthday boy Eddie with the Chocolate Peanut Butter Sandwich: chocolate cookie crust, peanut butter mousse and a touch of raspberry jam. To.die.for.

Group shot ... we closed the place down!

The next night we got dolled up for a holiday party thrown by a local defense firm. Clearly we need to work on our Facebook-style self portraits. There weren't any wild shenanigans at the party despite the free flowing alcohol and mock casino tables. A good time was had by all.

The birthday bash for Eddie continued on Sunday. We woke up bright and early (for a weekend at least) to get a walk-in table for brunch at the Mission Inn. The Sunday brunch here is fantastic. Definitely make reservations in advance if you're inclined to check it out.

The grounds are all decked out for the holidays.

I loved the look of this mantel. I am totally copying this look sometime in the future.

Me with the oppressed snowman. He was bound down with wire around his neck and feet. Poor Frosty.

Busy elves.

We sweated off all those calories at brunch by hitting the steam room at Kelly's Spa, followed by an 80 minute massage in one of the spa villas, followed by more time in the steam room and lots of herbal tea in the relaxation lounge.

Thursday night we drove out to a neighborhood in our city renowned for its holiday light displays. Despite it being somewhat late and a weekenight, there was still a lengthy wait to enter the main street. Jack's face sums it up.

We tried to pass a little time by making Jack drive. He wasn't going for it.

Finally. Lights!

This one reminded me of a gingerbread house.

Even Jack perked up when he saw the lights.

Ice skaters!

Peanutspalooza.

Disney was well represented too.

The newbies explained themselves.

I hate driving in the rain, but I appreciate the drive after storm clears out. I love the juxtaposition of palm trees, snow capped mountains and a bright blue sky.

Guess Who's an Adult Now?

This goofy, playful, cuddly bundle of fur!

Jack turned three years old last week, which means that he is completely out of puppyhood. We think. We hope. He was treated to his traditional birthday dinner of a plain burger and fries a few days earlier, but he got spoiled nonetheless on the actual day of. After work I stopped by a new frou-frou doggie bakery in town. You know high end dog treats are a trend that is here to stay when such a bakery opens up in BFE. Of course I also had to pick up some party favors for Jack's best buddies Mimi and Bailey. The "party" was planned for later that evening at the lawn in front of our building. Below is a sampling of what the dogs got to enjoy and take home.

Jack also got a few gifts from his buddies including new chew toys and white chocolate dipped Milkbone biscuits. He is one spoiled little furball!

A Saturday Afternoon Engagement

The day after the mehndi party, Eddie and I attended S&M's engagement ceremony at Darya in Orange. In accordance with the rituals of the Jacobite Syrian Orthodox Church, this really was a formal ceremony and not just a party. The last engagement ceremony I attended was my brother's. But since that was almost 18 years ago and I was horribly jet lagged at the time, I didn't remember much of what happened. I didn't have one myself, so I was very interested seeing the ceremony.

Now S&M were actually engaged a few months ago. And this was not an arranged marriage scenario at all. But after watching the ceremony, it was clear that the ceremony's roots are within the arranged marriage culture of India. It began with representatives of the groom's family making a proposal to the bride's parents via an officiant. The bride's parents then accepted. After both sets of parents were in agreement, the priest inquired whether those of us present also agreed to the match. After the crowd gave its assent, the priest then announced the "terms of the contract". That sounds a lot worse than what it actually is. ;-) The contract merely contained the names of the families, the bride and groom and the date, location & time of the marriage. Then each parent signed the contract and exchanged copies of it. The ceremony concluded with remarks from the priest and one of my least favorite bible passages ever -- something about a wife submitting to her husband. Who wants to do that?!

The priest who conducted the ceremony turned out to be a longtime friend of my family. Although I was raised Catholic, my dad is technically Jacobite. So in addition to going to weekly mass with the rest of us, he would also go to monthly Jacobite services. Since the congregation in the bay area used to be quite small, the priest in the photo below would fly up from OC to conduct services. I hadn't seen him in years, but the priest and his wife instantly recognized me.

After the ceremony portion was over, the groom, M, gave an incredibly moving speech that made mention of his late father. All 200 of us were either in tears or on the verge. I nearly lost it completely when I saw S gently rub M's back as he was fighting through his own tears. Such a showing of love and support in such a small gesture not visible to most ..... it had me completely verklempt.
Every guest had a chance to take photos with the happy couple. S was wearing a beautifully embellished lehenga. She said that it was so heavy she needed two people to hold it up as she got dressed.
Darya is a Persian restaurant. If you've never tried Persian food, you're missing out. The food was good and plentiful. It was a good thing I nabbed this pic of S&M's plates because the buffet servers were a little messy when it came to plating by the time we wound through the line.

I had met several of S' friends the night before at the mehndi party and we sat with them at the ceremony. Apart from our friendship with S we all shared another common bond -- we are all USF alumni. Go Dons! Below is one of the lovely ladies I had the pleasure of meeting. On the left: Marianne in a black and white floral print dress. On the right: Ann Marie in a black and white floral dress. :-)

Magnificent Mehndi

Two Fridays ago I went to S' mehndi party. Our families have been friends forever, close enough that I call her parents uncle and auntie to this day. I can't remember a time that I didn't know S; she was always like a little sister to me in my mind. It's hard to believe that "lil sis" is all grown up now: beautiful, confident and on the verge of becoming a wife.

The party was held at her aunt's house in the OC, which was decorated with traditionally styled flower garlands and Indian textiles.


Mehndi is henna paste applied in decorative patterns, usually on the hands and feet. It is commonly used in South Asia, the Middle East and North Africa as a form of decoration prior to special occasions such as weddings or festivals. When used for wedding related celebrations, the bride (or bride-to-be) will always have the most elaborate designs. Since the henna paste requires several hours to dry and set, S had her mehndi done the day prior. Traditionally the groom's name is hidden within the pattern.Typically, mehndi parties are a ladies' event. In this case, the men stuck around for the duration, but the ladies dominated nonetheless. Before we had our mehndi done, we all retreated to the yard for a number of photos in our colorful outfits.
And here is the point I run out of pictures because my camera battery died. So sad. It was a truly a lovely evening. S had hired two mehndi artists to come to the house and do designs for anyone who wanted them. The artists worked very quickly and gave all of us unique designs. Like most Indian gatherings, there was a huge array of tasty food including samosas, pakoras, appams, lamb kebobs, chicken tikka masala, naan and gulab jamun. Like most good Indian guests, I took some home with me at the end of the night. Ostensibly it was for Eddie, but let's get real. You all know I stored away all that grub for myself. ;-) There was also a beautiful cake decorated with mehndi patterns. But what I loved most about the evening was that it was the first old-school Indian get together that I had been to since moving to SoCal. Growing up, these get togethers were a routine part of my weekends. While the parents did their thing, the kids would hang out, play games or watch tv in the back rooms. Even though all of us kids are now adults and scattered throughout the state, there is still a bond amongst us all. In addition to being the first Indian get together I've been to down here, it was the first one that I went to entirely on my own, without my parents present. It made me feel a bit strange and melancholy. On the one hand it was one of those moments that made me feel like a true grown-up. But on the other hand it made me think of what things might be like in the inevitable future, where I'd have no choice but to go to these types of get togethers on my own.

Since my battery died, I couldn't get a picture of what the henna paste looked like after it was applied. But here is a pic of the finished result the next day, including my little shout-out to Eddie.

Weekend Highs & Lows

Low:
I had to go to Babies r' Us on Friday evening to buy a gift for my neighbors H&S. Babies 'r Us is tied with Home Depot as my least favorite shop to be at. They share the same qualities: too big, usually too crowded and filled with items that I just don't get.

High:
At the co-ed baby shower the next day, there was yummy cake. There was also a game involving chugging beer out of a baby bottle. So inappropriate, yet so much fun to watch.

Low:
Parental issues that reared their ugly head. No health concerns and the problem will be resolved shortly, but it was stressful nonetheless.

High:
Being reminded of how supportive and encouraging Eddie is. He was dead serious when he said so many years ago that would treat my parents like his own.

Low:
Knocking my camera off a table at Cafe Santorini. I think it's a sign from above that I am not meant to be a food blogger a'la WeeMo.

High:
I was at Cafe Santorini to have lunch with SweetSexyDestiny. I hadn't seen SSD in almost a year, which was unbelieveable to us both. We started chatting immediately and so much that the waiter had to come over four times to check whether we had looked at the menu yet. The food was great. I would dare to say that the lamb souvlaki was better than the one I had while actually in Corfu, Greece. And the waiter comped us a dessert even though we didn't order one. Yay for more yummy cake!

*** I had planned to end this on a positive note, but ... ***

Ultimate Low:
I know you all love pictures. And I swear I took pictures pertinent to this post. But Blogger just keeps refusing to upload them. Four times. waaahh!