You know it. You tell the story. You tell the whole damn world this is Bear territory!!

Great weekend out in DC. Much needed break from a very harried work week. Hubby wasn’t able to come because of scheduling. But got to see J and A get married! (yay, mini-me!) and spend some good QUALITY time with A and C. Some bits and bites.

Humidity. Heat. Driving all over the place. CP to Baltimore to VA to CP to la la land. Getting lost. Cursing the GPS lady. Getting called by an usher to help with wedding related duties. You’re eating that like a drumstick! Dancing to the songs of our generation, not theirs. Old friends reconnecting. Babies getting big. I don’t wanna miss a thing. Stamp student union at 1:30am. Silly movies. Time with old friends that know you better than you know yourself. Reminiscing. "State of the art" technology at the wildlife refuge. Why don’t you wear shorts? 35 pounds of crab?! Ankle socks are hot. Laughing at the people we used to be so many years ago. I hate boys; they’re stupid. Rita’s gelati. Good wine. The lush contest. Prattling on and on and on. Staying up until 4am multiple nights in a row. Seeing A's new world. Seeing C's world. Slightly wishing it were my world too.

And then the longest journey back to California EVER. Cancelled flights, delays, delays, delays, delays, gate changes across the airport to a different terminal, no plane, no crew, crew but no plane, plane but no crew, mechanical problems. 16 hours later, I landed in SFO instead of Oakland or San Jose.

But, I’m home and so very satisfied and refreshed. Now onward to another CRAZY overtime working week!
Thank you, dear, wonderful, old friends.

One Lucky Bride

Back in March, while we were wedding planning, I won a free bridal shoot with top wedding photographer, Gene Higa. Well, on Tuesday, Karen and I trekked to the city for the shoot. It was so much fun to get into my gown again and try on fun new looks. Maria Chang of Professional Makeup Artistry did my hair and makeup. She also helped set up the shoots, gave me tips on how to pull of the different looks, and did changed my hair standing in an alleyway or on a street corner.

It was so much fun! Felt momentarily like a celebrity and a model. But man! Modeling is hard work! What an amazing once in a lifetime opportunity. It's great to have these amazing shots to complement the rest of our beautiful wedding photos!

Well, here's a few shots from the shoot.












You can find the full story and a few more images on Gene's Blog.

Hungry

50 Favorite Foods

1. Favorite Main Entree: Seared Scallops
2. Favorite Salad: Leafy baby greens, garbanzo beans, goat cheese, beets, creamy balsamic dressing
3. Favorite Soup: Tomato Bisque
4. Favorite Appetizer: Tuna tartare from Alexander’s
5. Favorite Dessert: Chocolate Cake and a nice foamy decaf cappucino
6. Favorite Fruit: Cantaloupe
7. Favorite Vegetable: Broccoli
8. Favorite Sashimi: Hamachi from Sushi Tomi in Mountain View
9. Favorite Sushi Roll: Spicy Tuna handroll
10. Favorite Soda: Coke Zero Cherry
11. Favorite Non-Alcoholic Beverage: Water
12. Favorite Alcoholic Shot: Henney, Kamikaze, B-52…uhh..clearly, not picky
13. Favorite Alcoholic Drink: Sake Bomb
14. Favorite Cake: Double chocolate kahlua cake from Jen’s Cakes in Los Gatos. Best cake EVER.
15. Favorite Pie: Lemon Cream Cheese from Marie Callendar’s
16. Favorite Ice Cream: Dark Chocolate by Godiva with a scoop of coconut sorbet
17. Favorite Milkshake: Ollaliberry from Fat Apple
18. Favorite Cut Of Beef: Tri-tip. Anything nice and fatty.
19. Favorite Cuisine: Korean
20. Favorite Part Of Chicken: Thigh
21. Favorite Fried Food: any type of potato (fries, chips, etc.)
22. Favorite Cookie: Chocolate chip with nuts
23. Favorite Indian Curry: Chicken Korma from Mt Washington Pizza (yes, a place that sells pizza and Indian food!) in Baltimore
24. Favorite Gum: Winterfresh
25. Favorite Candy: Sour patch kids
26. Favorite Crepe: Banana and nutella
27. Favorite Sandwich: Turkey and swiss on sliced sourdough with sprouts, mayo, lettuce, tomatoes
28. Favorite Pizza: Pizza Patio, Fremont (yay!)
29. Favorite Mexican Dish: Carnitas tostada
30. Favorite Vietnamese Dish: Cold vermicelli with grilled pork and fish sauce
31. Favorite Korean Dish: Bean Dae Duk, Kal Bee, and a spicy seafood bi bim bop (umm..that was a whole meal! Told you Korean was my favorite)
32. Favorite Chinese Dish: Pork Chop over rice from A&J
33. Favorite Filipino Dish: Bibinka (Coconut Rice Cake)
34. Favorite Southern Food: Crawfish
35. Favorite Instant Noodles Brand: The one with clear packaging and a rooster
36. Favorite Juice: OJ
37. Favorite Snack Food: Kettle Chips, any flavor
38. Favorite Fish: Petrale Sole
39. Favorite Cereal: Plain ol’ cheerios
40. Favorite Pho: Umm..brisket, flank steak, beef balls
41. Favorite Breakfast Food: French Toast
42. Favorite French Food: seared foie gras with a poached fruit of some sort and little toast
43. Favorite McDonald's Food: Chicken nuggets with bbq sauce
44. Favorite Pasta Dish: Gnocchi with pancetta and tomato cream sauce (Zza’s, Oakland)
45. Favorite Bread: Fresh, crunchy sourdough. Crisp and flaky on the outside, doughy on the inside
46. Favorite Tea: Barley Tea
47. Favorite 7-11 Slurpee Flavor: Coke and Cherry
48. Favorite Hershey's Kiss: Mint
49. Favorite Flavor of M&Ms: Plain
50. Favorite Candy Bar: As a kid, Bar None (chocolate wafers with some sort of filling). Now, Almond Joy

Now I'm starving.

Sick of them yet?

Well, we've finally distilled our 1200 photos down to a few (~90) favorites. I know you wonder, "a few?!" Here are just a few for your viewing pleasure.

All photos are copyright Michelle Walker.


























If you have photos that you took, please send me the links! We'd love to compile all of them!

Here are the other 90 some professional photos.

Eventually, I'll start writing about something else besides the wedding.....but I guess I'm still in newlywed bliss. And I still need to do more thank you cards....