Christmas 2008

We spent Christmas morning with my family - breakfast was amazing! Here's a picture of my sister with her new fiancé!



Christmas is certainly the time to focus on the younger members of the family - here's Aiden with Grandpa and Ardie after playing with his new Polar Express Train!



Then we went to Ardie's parent's house for lunch - we were certainly od'ing on the food! Here's me with Shadi and Nikou:



And all of us at the table:



Happy Holidays, Everyone!

Christmas Eve 2008

We spent Christmas Eve at Bita and Ramin's house, and had such a good time - and what great food! We made sure to take a ton of pictures...here's my fav of Ramin, Bita and Saam!



And my favorite of Ardie and me...



Shadi and Saam:



And all of us before eating a fabulous dinner!

Truckee for the Day

Ardie and I decided to go to Truckee for the day...and it was so much fun. We don't get much time just the two of us (sounds crazy, but it's true!), so it was great having that time with each other.

Our first trip was to Scrap for some treats for Indy:



And then it was all about us - hello, wine tasting...

What a handsome hubby...

Me in my new NF jacket and rainboots!

And this was what it was like for us on the way back to Folsom - can you say "snow"?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rj9ukA7YOy0

Patrick & Bobbin's Wedding

Our friends Patrick & Bobbin got married today - what an awesome ceremony... They got married outside their restaurant - Mulvaney's B&L, and the weather was just perfect.



The decorations were amazing inside - and so was the food (of course!)...



Us with Bobbin - what a gorgeous bride!



Congratulations to such a wonderful couple!

Halloween Party

We got invited to a fun adult party the next night - and Ardie and I went as Anthony and Cleopatra:

Dee and Josh as the messed-up Britany Spears and K-Fed:

Sisters hamming it up for the camera!

And girls just having fun...

Halloween 2008

So this Halloween we had a really full house! The cats already know the drill - sit in the window, and great all the TOT's... Here's Bogle wearing the Scaredy Cat Ribbons that I got them from the craft store:

And Indy was happy to answer the door with us, and hand out the candy - she even liked her pumpkin t-shirt!

We set out a bunch of food with a fun little menu:

Ardie and sweet Indy...gotta hold her in your arms while we still can!!!

And me with Noghle - it was a fun little night, and hopefully next year we have more trick-or-treaters!

Playing in the Backyard

Indy is adjusting to life at our house so well...it's only been a week! Ardie and I have both had dogs, so we know how lucky we are to have Indy and her great little personality...



So we took her out in the backyard for a little one-on-one w/Dad while I took pictures...



Mom, these are what real abs look like. (And BTW, you need a pedicure.)



Snoozing with one of her favorite toys...Mr. Moose!

Meeting Giada

So anyone who's known me for even a short length of time knows that my female crush is Giada De Laurentiis from Food Network fame. And when I found out that she was doing a book signing for her 4th cookbook - Giada's Kitchen - at the Sur La Table in San Jose, I couldn't pass up the opportunity.



I drove to S.F. and met Shadi, Fargol, Arianna and Trent - and we drove to Santana Row from there. I'd never been to this outdoor mall, and I have to say that it is certainly a place I would love to visit more frequently!

We waited in line for literally hours, but it was certainly worth the wait. Giada was so warm and personable - and it really made up for everything! (Er - at least for me!)



We were completely famished afterwards, so we had lunch at the Village Bistro (their Grilled Ham, Tomato & Gruyere sandwich is fantastic!), and then walked around a bit before going home...



Hey - get your paws off of Mommy's book!

Introducing Indy

So I can't really tell you how it happened - it just did. We found the perfect dog for our family. It started out innocently enough - idle chat about how we both wanted a dog, and then progressed to weekday/weekend visits at the local shelter (where we got both cats). And we realized that we really wanted a puppy - the cats were going to totally freak if it wasn't at least close to their size, and we really wanted them to all grow up together. So I answered an ad from the local paper, and guess who we found:



A little [but not for long] Golden Retriever that we named Indiana - Indy for short - since that's where Ardie and I first met. The first night was quite the adventure - both the cats were trying to figure out who was monopolizing our room!



Day One: Quite the exhausted pup!

Fall 2008

Can you believe it? The signs of Fall have already begun - leading with the tree in our front yard shedding its leaves:



While Ardie was busy planting new trees in our backyard, I decorated the front:



And now thanks to my industrius husband, we now have several new fruit trees, including my personal favorite - a fig tree!



I can't wait to make some great recipes with them next year!

Walk for Autism

Sunday morning we met up with Dee, Josh and Aiden for the first-annual Walk for Autism in Sacramento.



(I'm sure that Aiden would have preferred to ride this all the way there!)



A successful finish!

Calling All 80's Fans...

Ardie got us tickets to see Heart and Journey, playing at Shoreline this past weekend. We met up with friends and bbq'd in Walnut Creek, and then drove to Palo Alto to pick up Shadi and Babak.



Here are some pictures from all of the fun:



"Don't Stop Believing"...

Farnaz's Book Signing

Farnaz is Ardie's cousin's girlfriend, and she is so amazing. She wrote a book called Waiting for an Ordinary Day.



The book is based on her experiences as a Wall Street Journal journalist, and it's already got rave reviews. (Just check out this review from the New York Times' notorious Michiko Kakutani of Sex in the City fame.)

Here are some pictures of us in San Francisco for her West Coast book signing tour! Here's Ardie and Nikou w/Farnaz:



And portions of the Zahedani's!

Adventures in Chi-Town - Day Four

The weather had gone from bad to worse at this point, so Ardie and I tried to do as many things indoors as possible! The Tribune Tower was a must-see on our list of Chicago landmarks.



The building's design was the result of an international competition for "the most beautiful office building in the world," held in 1922 by the Chicago Tribune newspaper.



This winning entry, complete with a crowning tower of flying buttresses, is derived a French cathedral and gives the building its striking silhouette.



The base of the building is studded with over 120 stones from famed sites and structures in all 50 states and dozens of foreign countries. They range from the Parthenon, Taj Mahal - and even these stones from the White House and the Alamo:



In the courtyard you'll see this great statue of American revolutionary Nathan Hale:

In 2006 the McCormick Tribune Freedom Museum opened, occupying two stories of the building. It's filled with all kinds of trivia - and even opportunities to hop on your soapbox!

Can you say "President Ardavan Zahedani"?

We had a fantastic lunch at the Nordstrom Café, and bought some amazing chocolates from Vosges Haute Chocolate - wow... Their Naga Chocolate Bar features sweet Indian curry, coconut and deep milk chocolate, and it is without a doubt my new favorite!

Then with coffee in hand, we set out again into the weather...

To finish off our Chicago experience, Ardie took us to see Jersey Boys - one of the best new musicals on Broadway, and the winner of 4 Tonys in 2006!

The musical is based on the lives of one of the most successful 1960's rock 'n roll groups, Frankie Vallie and the Four Seasons.

Here is one blurry picture of the stage, and another of the interior of the Bank of America Theatre - simply another amazing building here in the city:

Then it was back to the loft to pack - but not without me snapping up one last pictures of Chicago...

Just another reason why we will always love the skyline and the city of...