a shower for seven

while actually attending cousin seven's amazing-sounding portuguese wedding was unfortunately not in the cards for us, we were excited to be able to celebrate the upcoming nuptials at her bridal shower.  her bridesmaids booked an old favorite spot - la grande orange in pasadena - and we arrived right on time.

we had a nice little area tucked away in the back room of the restaurant, and the hostesses had done a great job of making the space look really cute.

i know how hard it is to try to spend as much attention with everyone at a party that's being thrown in your honor, so i said a quick hello and grabbed a selfie with the bride.

and i spotted my gram at a nearby table, so i went over and grabbed one with her too.

of course, there were a few games - but they were actually fun and not cheesy.  i liked how they turned the old school safety pin game into "the ring game."  it was a little extra fun to sport those cute little rings instead of making holes in our clothes with pins.

and is it even brunch if you don't mimosa?

there was lots of good stuff on the party menu.

deviled eggs - which are not a thing for me or the old lady, but the bean was all over it.

the lemon ricotta pancakes:

the old lady never met a plate of chilaquiles she didn't like.

same goes for me and short rib hash.

the cake was really cute, and as delicious as it was pretty.

it was a lovely party, no cheesiness or cringey moments, and was a nice way to see everyone.  i knew i was going to suffer from some major FOMO during the wedding weekend, but that's okay.  i figured i could just live vicariously through everyone's social media posts.

getting in those steps in san francisco

the bean was pretty excited to be on the plane to the bay area with her bestie and her little sister.  once they got settled in their seats in front of me and the hub, she took a few selfies with me photobombing from behind.

bye, ontario!

it was a pretty quick flight - just an hour and a half compared to the 7 hours it would have taken to drive up.  the time went by pretty quickly.

hello, oakland!

while her BFF and family stayed behind in oakland to spend a night with her uncle, the three of us gathered up our bags and made our way outside to the BART station.

there's a dedicated train that picks up at the airport and takes you to a hub where you can transfer to another train that takes you to your final destination.  we could have used uber or lyft, but this seemed like a pretty easy and economical way to get ourselves to san francisco.

when we got off the train, we headed right over to the machines to buy our tickets.  we'd need them to exit the station and head over to catch the next train.  thinking we were being super smart, we purchased one of the plastic reloadable cards and put all of our train fares on it.  too bad you can't do that, as it turns out.  we swiped it for the bean first, who went through the turnstile and then got denied when we attempted to swipe it again.  the nice lady in the information booth kindly explained that each person needed to have their own ticket, whether it was one of the plastic cards or a paper ticket that was a one-time use.  the bean gave us this look as she waited for us to take care of everything:

once that snafu was straightened out, we headed down the stairs and found that the train we needed to board had just pulled up. sweet!  even better...we had a whole car all to ourselves.

when we got off at the embarcadero station, we opted to walk instead of calling for an uber.

you can see how thrilled she was about that.  we made our way out towards the water and found ourselves beginning our walk at pier 1...with our hotel just past pier 39.  eek.  we walked most of it before the hub finally took pity on us and called an uber to take us the rest of the way to the hotel.

when we arrived, our room was ready for us and we happily went upstairs to get rid of our bags and stretch out and relax a little.  we had the whole day to ourselves before the girl scout whirlwind of activities began the next day, and after getting some rest we headed out towards fisherman's wharf to look around.  we had dinner plans with cousin seven and her boyfriend that evening, and we had just enough time to stroll through the wharf and get some more steps in.

we stopped in at a chocolate shop that was a total tourist trap, but still managed to hook us into buying a treat to snack on as we walked.

as we approached ghirardelli square, we came upon the cable car turnaround and saw several of them lined up.

we walked up the hill and stopped in at the starbucks for a pick-me-up.  i was freezing my face off despite all the walking.  the wind was blowing pretty hard and it was that cold kind of wind that bites its way through you.  i always, always manage to underestimate the weather up in san francisco.  i'd packed a bunch of full-length leggings, a pair of jeans, one light sweater and several layering pieces plus a hoodie.  still not enough for this so cal girl.  i was so cold.

just before 7:00, we found ourselves in front of the restaurant that we were meeting seven at.  her boyfriend had made the reservation for us, and he was already there waiting for us.

we had a really nice time with them, sharing appetizers and ordering drinks and steaks and enjoying each other's company.  it's always fun to see cousin seven.

along with a bunch of our cousins, we'll see each other again in june for filipino night at dodger stadium.

after dinner was over and everyone had hugged everyone, we grabbed another uber that took us back to the sheraton at fisherman's wharf that was home for the next three days.  it was a great way to start off our weekend getaway, and 15,000 steps later i was pretty excited for bed.

next up, chinatown with the girl scout troop!

long distance birthday love to cousin seven

along with the 25th anniversary of the gigantic northridge earthquake, today also happens to be my cousin seven's birthday.  we've shared tons of shenanigans through the years, although the craziness has slowed down considerably in recent years.  it doesn't help that she lives up in san francisco now, and even when she comes home to visit it's hard to coordinate schedules for much more than a quick chat.  but that's okay.  she knows i'm always here for her, and hopefully she can come down to hang out this summer with us.

and of course you know what comes next.  oh yes...a pictorial walk down memory lane.  ahhhh yeah.

happy birthday, dear cousin seven!  we love you!

operation "get seven on blog as much as possible" starts now

my dear cousin seven graduated from UCSB last weekend. due to logistical bullshit, we weren't able to attend her ceremony - but most folks found themselves in the same boat. in anticipation of this, she and her folks put an insert in her announcements inviting one and all to a celebration in her honor at their home. that party was this weekend.

of course, between the ceremony and party, a pipe burst in the house, flooding the entire first story. amidst the clean-up and craziness that ensued, they scrambled and relocated the shindig to my aunt's home - typically known as party central, being laid out perfectly for entertaining large groups and the usual location for family GTGs.

seven loves my cookies. i know it's torture for her to read my blog and see the pictures of all the baked goodies i'm always making. and so i decided to make her a quickie batch of chocolate chip cookies, and as i pulled them out to let them cool, i realized i was sorely lacking in cute containers for food gift-giving. damn. so i turned to my meager supply of ziploc containers and threw in some half-assed decorations. at least it was girly and pink. i knew it wouldn't matter, as seven would push right past the presentation to get to the goods anyway.

now y'all know i make cards for a living (sort of). this is what i do, and i love doing it. but what i don't love is the fact that all my supplies are all spread out between about four places in the thimble we call home, the garage, and storage. it sucks. i am also the ultimate procrastinator. these facts led to the bean and me stopping at a hallmark store on our way to the graduation party - hey, at least if i have to buy a ready-made card, i care enough to send the very best.

and of course, being at the height of graduation time, we walked in to find nearly empty card racks. eff, man. i was faced with several styles of greetings for high school, a few for middle and elementary school, even one for preschool. WTF? however, there were quite a few cards to choose from en español. after turning to the bean for her thoughts on the matter, i bit the bullet and just picked one. i figured it would be funny, anyway. and it was.

i handed it and our little cookie care package to seven as we arrived at the party and made her open the card right away. she, as expected, squealed at the sight of the baked goods and then giggled with me as she read the card. yay!

remember my cousin and his girlfriend, who had their baby just short of a week before the bean was born? they live in this house too, and the bean wasted no time and made herself right at home amongst the plethora of toys set up in the corner of the dining room. she thought it was cool that there was a tent that she could play in, like her little house at home.

smiley was napping in her room when we arrived, but it wasn't long before she woke up and came out to play with the bean.

"mmmm, have you had these apple pies from mcdonald's? they're delicious."

"i haven't! let me see, maybe i can get it open."

"what the - awww, snap. i'm not hungry anymore."

and not long afterwards, the gathering turned super awkward and uncomfortable for me. as i sat on one of the elmo chairs, playing with the kids and [unsuccessfully] trying to get a good shot of them together, the front door opened and a bunch of folks walked in. as my eyes adjusted to the sunlight that streamed through the open door, my heart sank as i realized it was the side of my family who'd turned against me during last year's drama. the folks who tried to take my painful revelations and manipulate them to make me look like an unhinged liar with a bad memory. the very reason i'd avoided family gatherings just like this.

as i sat stiffly on the too-small chair, unable and/or unwilling to move, from behind me came a cheerful "hello!"

i recognized that voice. this great-uncle (purely his title. not the way i feel about the man himself) had chosen to send out several e-mails to multiple family members last year, questioning my story, picking apart every tiny detail, attempting to twist things around to make me sound completely deranged. since my back was to him and it'd been so long since we'd been under the same roof, he totally didn't recognize me and thought he was simply greeting fellow partygoers.

i turned slowly, a tense, tight obligatory smile on my face. "hi," i said.

and when he realized it was me, his face fell, his mouth closed over further felicitations, and he slunk away and out into the next room with the rest of his family.

relieved, i turned back to the girls, who were playing nicely together with the oodles of toys that were available to them.

"moooom, i simply can't figure out what to play with next."

"well, stop for a second and take a picture with me."

while i enjoyed chatting and catching up with seven and her brother, i honestly just wanted to get out of there. i hung in long enough to catch my mom and stepdad as they arrived, hopped in a group picture with her, seven, and a couple of my aunts, and then we bounced.

we had a legitimate reason to leave, though - dinner with the ILs at nearby north woods inn to celebrate the hub's uncle's 50th birthday. and since we were dining with a bunch of old folks (i say that lovingly!), dinner was at 5:15.

haha! ain't nothin' like catching the early bird special.