Photoshoot in San Francisco

Remember the time where I was looking for a white dress, because I wanted to do a photo shoot in beautiful San Francisco? Well, my wish was totally granted! As a farewell gift to Panda and I, the girls bought us a 2-hr photoshoot with Laurie Ann Martin Photography. (Love these sweetie pies!) We could choose one or two iconic places in San Francisco to snap away our goodbyes to this beautiful city.

Immediate thoughts: Where should we go?? What should we wear?? We toyed with the crazy idea of dressing in our trusted hoodies and pushing carts in front of Costco, Marshalls, Safeway and Target. Honestly, these megamarts are a huge part of our US life and something we will sorely miss! On the other hand, there are so many other quaint little places in the city. We wouldn't want to miss those out either. What a dilemma.

After speaking to LA, the photographer, we agreed on Washington Square Park, Little Italy. I have always loved driving past this colourful neighbourhood, lined with restaurants and alfresco cafes. I imagined us doing funny shots at the cafes and alleys.

In the morning of the shoot, however, it was pouring so badly that we had to change locale. We ended up at the Palace of Fine Arts, a popular location for engagement shoots with its dramatic columns and dome.

Thank God, the weather cleared as we were reaching. We had awesome sunlight through the huge rotunda, and the water puddles gave us such lovely reflections. With my off white dress and Panda's suit, we did end up like we were getting married all over again!

Sneak preview from Jo's iPhone. (Thanks for being our assistant for the day!) Actual photos to come in 2-3 weeks. Thanking the girls once again for this thoughtful gift!

An island of treasures

Lynn and AK are in town!

They arrived more than a week ago but there wasn't much action on our part, as I was tied down with some work and Panda had to cover for a colleague who was on vacation last week . 

Over the weekend, fortunately, we managed to do more stuff. One of the highlights was heading over to the Treasure Island Flea Market, held every last weekend of the month. The view of SF city from Treasure Island was so beautiful. Buildings of different shapes and sizes standing at contrasting heights against a blue sky, framed in front by palm trees and a calm bay. We had the Bay Bridge to the left of us and the Golden Gate Bridge visible in a distance. Very refreshing, and totally worth the drive.

The selection of stalls was quite varied but we didn't purchase a lot as I found most of the products pricey. That said, one can always be in awe of the vendors' imagination - colourful terrariums hanging in glass balls, wind chime made from forks and spoons, pendants made from bottle caps, lamps made from wine bottles... All these amazing items housed in a two-storey building. Out in the open air market, where they sold mostly second hand furniture and other knick-knacks, we managed to get quite a few Timbuk2 bags at a bargain - $35 for a haversack! I didn't need one until I saw how cheap it was. Heh.

There was also a terrarium workshop, where ten bucks would get you a DIY terrarium, complete with cute little plastic dinosaurs. I joined the snaking queue but pulled out at the last minute since Panda said I won't be able to bring it back home at the end of the year. Bummer!

The food trucks were awesome, and our taste buds got a real treat. There were Bacon Bacon, Sam's Chowder Mobile, Harvey's Gourmet Mini Donuts, CurryUpNow and more... Some of the queues were really long and at one time, I overheard that you need to wait an hour and 45 minutes for Paul's Rustic Oven wood-fired pizza. Whut?!

I am probably regretting not trying the pizza since it smelled really good. That and not capturing the SF skyline before leaving. What was I thinking? Argh.

Maybe it's worth bringing my parents here when they visit in May. That is, if they come back in time from their short trip to Canada. We'll see.

Photos galore!



Bay Bridge from the carpark

A $3 entrance fee per pax

Pretty butterfly stamps for entry! But they smudged into a black patch right after.

The famous Bacon Bacon food truck

Hello, Sam! I see you again.

Biting into a grilled prawn taco

Yummy breakfast burrito

The morning crowd

Random second hand/vintage items

Inside the first floor of the building which houses crafters

Checking out the bottle caps

Beer bottle openers for the wall 

Love these lamps!

Second floor

Terrarium workshop at $10

Man in action (his hairband is too cute!)



More stalls on the side facing SF city

Donut love!

Heart this machine - 2 mini donuts get popped into the tray below each time.

Give me the chicken!

Imagine the heavenly smell coming from this

Believe it or not, this shot was taken from the girls' toilet.

What's up?

Am having so much activities (read: fun) that I could barely catch my breath. After a whirlwind 2 weeks back home to see our families, with birthday and Christmas celebrations snuck in between, we are finally back in FC!

Well, I wish we could say we are back to our quiet lives but looking at what we have done the past month, I don't think so...

Those old bones still rock!

The Leows made full use of their freedom (little L was in HK) and organised an epic clubbing night last month! I never imagine Panda and I going to a night club with transgender dancers but I must say the 'girls' at AsiaSF impressed me with their antics!

I especially loved our waitress - I shall call her Big Mama - who got Panda so red in the face with her teasing and flirting. When I told her hey that's my husband you are touching, Big Mama stage whispered in a manly voice: "Don't worry, I won't get pregnant!"

The most spontaneous award has to go to April, who led the pack on the 'blow jobs' - place your hands on their chest and get the shot glass out from their thighs or cleavage. I sent my sister a photo on that and she went "Eeeeeeeeee!" But actually, it was quite hilarious.

Big thanks to the Leows for that fun night out, which by the way, ended off at a KTV where everyone was almost ready to collapse from exhaustion. Old age.

Dainty, dainty! Tea and pastries!

The next day, Jo and I ditched our party clothes, left the boys at home, and headed down to Satori Tea Company to meet the ladies. It's such an exquisite place that I wished I had donned something prettier, lady-er. They had a whole wall lined with tea choices and a small cabinet filled with mismatched teapots and cups. I felt the urge to put on my best behaviour in such a quiet, feminine setting. But it was so hard because HY was about to leave US for good and I just couldn't stop talking. And it didn't help that the place was quite small! Luckily there weren't many customers.

The ambience was great but the menu was a tad too pricy for its quantity - at least for my current state of housewife-ness. Or maybe it was because I woke up late and I was looking for something to fill my poor starving stomach. The sandwiches did give me enough energy to move my toes home...

Did someone say shop and ski?

I was desperate for some action during the Thanksgiving weekend, so Panda and I had a grand plan - shop till we drop for the Black Friday sale, then head right up to Squaw Valley.

Based on our experience, parking would be a nightmare as it gets late into the night, so we got to Livermore REALLY early. And we weren't the first... at 4pm, queues were starting to form. Temperature was freezing and it got colder as the sun sets... but it didn't dampen people's shopping mood. Check out my frozen smile Kate Spade and Swarovski's line, even before they open!

We were quite glad that despite our tired bodies and the lack of sleep, we managed to get our butts to Squaw Valley. The drive was pretty pleasant and since it was the beginning of ski season, there weren't much snow on the ground though it was cold.

We rested for the night and woke up early to check out the place. I had mistakenly thought that ski lessons would be available in the afternoon (no one told me otherwise when I checked at the counter... boo!), so we took the aerial tram to High Camp in the morning. I had a blast ice-skating on the upper mountain. It was only when we got down and I wanted to pay for the ski lessons that we found out they were long over and the slopes were closing at 3pm! That left me with just an hour to try the easy slope.... it was quite depressing but I still went for it! :(

We stayed at Red Wolf Lodge, literally a stone's throw from the main village. Compared to where we've stayed at Northstar, the lodge was much simpler and smaller but the kitchenette was enough to prepare small meals. By now I'm quite good at packing ingredients that can be cooked in different ways - pasta, potatoes, carrots, some kind of meat, broccoli/lettuce, onion and garlic. Salt and pepper are normally provided but bring butter and sugar along. Condiments like ketchup, and herbs like dill or parsley, are good too!

What's for Christmas?

We got back to FC before Christmas eve and the gang had a superb dinner on Christmas day, thanks to Mr and Mrs Tan! Jo and Vic had to be the most hospitable couple I've ever seen - they spent so much effort preparing the sumptuous meal for us! I especially loved the devil eggs and chocolate dipped strawberries, and will try to attempt it one day! There was also an after-dinner song and dance session and we each took turns to jiggle our cellulite for disco music. We witnessed some really uproarious smooth moves but we are keeping those photos for personal consumption!

Next up...

It has been such an exciting year, thanks to our friends, and we are going to end it on high! Where will the gang be heading next? Well, I'm not telling yet, but stay tuned... for another episode of FC adventures is about to be unveiled!