Quality Friday: Sweet Home, Chicago

There is no doubt in my mind that Chicago is, and always will be, home.

Last weekend, Mark joined me on my business-trip back (as I promised he would!), and we enjoyed packing in every free moment of our six day visit spending time with family and friends. It was exactly the vacation that we needed, and our time spent with loved ones was refreshing and rejuvenating (though never quite long enough).

Even weather in Chicago was absolutely perfect, so similar to the amazing California weather that we enjoy on a daily basis. Last weekend almost made me forget that there are terribly cold winters and stifling hot summers to contend with:)

We were graciously hosted by Mark's dad, allowing the two of them to spend time quality time together while I worked on Monday and Tuesday. Here's a brief recap of our visit:

Friday afternoon, and after settling in and enjoying lunch with Mark's dad, headed out for an evening with my family at Brandon's girlfriend Shruti's parent's home. BJ and Nimmi prepared an amazing feast of Indian cuisine, which we enjoyed immensely, along with their warm hospitality.

Saturday afternoon, we met Mark's family at our traditional meeting spot, Carson's, where we got to spend a few hours enjoying their company. Afterward, we headed out for an evening of fun and games with Mark's poker buddies - a truly fantastic crew.

Sunday, we went to church in the morning, then to Brandon's for a quick lunch, to the Grafton for a few drinks, made a quick stop at Melissa and Steven's to give Mark a tour of their new home (and to meet Cosette) and finally to Orlando's for the rest of the evening.

Sadly, my camera only made its way out on two occasions, both on Sunday, so here are the few photos I have to share:

Daniel, all grown up at 18, and getting ready for his first year in college!

Grill-master, Brandon, whipping up lunch at his place.

Me and my Jonny. I can't tell you how much I love every one of my brothers.

Michael, Audrey, Kjersten, Melissa, Esther, Mark and Steven at The Grafton.

I love these ladies!

Monday night we enjoyed a huge dinner at Randy and Vivian's, and Tuesday, met up with Mark's cousins for dinner, drinks, and some outdoor Olympic viewing in Wicker Park. And on Wednesday we had lunch at our Greektown favorite with Mark's dad before spending our final afternoon and evening at my parent's house.

Just like every trip back, it was over far, far too soon. This Quality Friday, is dedicated to the the moments spent at home and the memories created with our favorite people on earth. WE LOVE YOU, CHICAGO!

Making Great Use of our Guest Room

Its been a full year since we moved out to California - doesn't it feel like its been longer than that?

One of the biggest lessons we've learned is to truly appreciate the things we miss most about home - especially being able to get together with our family and friends on a regular basis. Admittedly, it has been sad to not have the usual traffic of visitors stop by for dinner, to watch a sports game, or just hang out with us from time to time.

When we do get the opportunity to host our families or friends that come to visit, we just love it!

A few weeks ago, Mark's dad came to visit for the third time this year, and stayed to relax with us for a full week. Although we never once made it into San Francisco, we spent a fair amount of time in Napa and Sonoma enjoying - you guessed it - wine, food and more wine!

On one of the afternoons, we decided to venture all the way up Napa Valley to a try our hands at some blackjack at a local casino. Neither Norman nor I had ever been to one before, and we decided it might be fun to see what they're all about. After a few hours of smoke and not a lot of winning, we took off and stopped at Beringer for a late afternoon tasting.

Although not my favorite, I do give the company a lot of credit for successfully commercializing both inexpensive and very accessible wines, such as their white zinfandel, while also having an excellent collection of high-end reserves. They are one of the few wineries that has been successful on both fronts.

Another afternoon and evening were spent enjoying Russian River Valley varietals, including a special food-and-wine private tasting at our all time favorite tasting room. We weren't a bit disappointed, and even got Norman to join the wine club!


I'm telling you, its a good time out here! When are you coming to visit?

Quality Friday: Making Every Minute Count

Last weekend's trip back to Chicago was as Jam Packed as could be. Really, is there any other way to do it, when you only have a few brief days to spend with family and friends?

I'm amazed at the number of people I was able to see and the number of things I was able to do in the short time between Saturday evening and Tuesday afternoon. My spirits were lifted, my belly was full, and my eyelids were heavy by the time I headed back!

Saturday night, after dinner and wine at home with Dad, Jonathan and Casandra, I briefly stopped in at Melissa and Steven's to hug and spend a few moments with Orlando and Esther.

Sunday morning began early with brunch at Starbucks/Tre Kroner with Melissa, Ann-Marie and Kjersten, followed by church at Edgebrook.

The Original Brunchettes.

Immediately after church, I picked up Leslie and we cruised downtown to the Greek Islands where we met Norman for a lovely lunch. I wasn't even remotely hungry when we arrived, but who can resist a plate full of taramasalata and an order of pastitsio?

Just a few hours later, I had my third meal of the day at a restaurant - dinner at Garcia's with my parents, brothers, Shruti and Casandra to celebrate Dad's birthday. I've missed so many family events in the past month - Jonathan's college graduation, Mom's birthday and Mother's Day, Brandon's birthday on Wednesday, and Daniel's high school graduation tonight - opportunities that I'd have to spend time with my fantastic family if we didn't live 2000 miles away.

Happy Birthday, Daddy!

After allowing the day's worth of food plus cake to settle, Jonathan and I even went for a run at 11pm on Sunday night!

Monday and Tuesday were filled with meetings at work and a chance to gather hugs from friends at the office, enjoy snippets of their lives and a few minutes of face time. And on Monday night, after a team dinner (yes, another one!) at Carlucci's, Melissa and I headed out to see SATC, followed by cosmos at the new Velez Luce home (where I also spent the night in their chic guest room)!

Chicago, I love you. I miss you when I'm gone, and enjoy every moment when I'm back. The only thing that could have made the weekend better is if Mark had been there, too.

Next time, I'm bringing him back with me. Period.

Doin' the Tourist Thing

Its funny how much you can take a city for granted when you've lived there your whole life.

For example, I've only been to the top of the Sears Tower once, when out-of-town guests were visiting. My first visit to Millennium Park was purely by chance, and a full year after it opened. And I don't think Mark and I ever made it to the Taste of Chicago after we got married. The list of things that Chicago has to offer is endless, yet some of them I never took advantage of in the twenty-eight years I lived there.

Like Chicago, San Francisco has enough to do to keep you busy for days on end. One of the best things about having visitors to show around is that it draws us back into the city and gives us an excuse to be intentional about enjoying its amazing sights. Not surprisingly, every SINGLE time we drive over the bridge and into the heart of SF, we ask ourselves Why, again, didn't we choose to live Right Here?

Thanks to it being President's Day, on the Monday of my parent's visit, Mark was able to join us for our City tour. We drove through Union Square, down winding Lombard Street, and around Telegraph Hill, where we stopped to enjoy a trip to the top of Coit Tower. The weather was ABSOLUTELY perfect, and the views spectacular.

Some of greatest view of San Francisco are from the top of its steepest hills. After winding down Lombard Street, we hiked to the top and enjoyed this view. We could see the unobstructed Coit Tower in the distance, and decided that it was the perfect day to go for a closer look.

Magnificent against the clouded sky.

One of the most interesting things you'll find at the top of the tower (other than the 360 degree view of the city and bay) are coins from all over the world in the window wells.

Alcatraz.

The remainder of our afternoon and early evening was spent in Chinatown, were we ate and did quite a lot of shopping. Mom and Dad were able to buy most of the souvenirs they would bring back with them, and the best part of the afternoon was happening upon a tiny tea shop, were we enjoyed tea tasting and walked away with the most delicious jasmine tea you can imagine.

At the gates to Chinatown.

Dim Sum (and then some) at Kan's. We may or may not have mistakenly ordered chicken feet, which Mark bravely tasted, and then recommended that none of the rest of us do so. Other than that, it was delicious!

Tea tasting at Blest Tea. Phoenix Eye - a white Jasmine - was our all-time favorite.

Celebrating Thirty Years!

"An anniversary is a time to celebrate the joys of today, the memories of yesterday, and the hopes of tomorrow."

This year, my parents chose to make a vacation out of their anniversary weekend (and the following week) - and came to visit Mark and I for the first time in California!

They arrived late last Saturday night [and I must mention here that as we pulled up to the airport to pick them up, Danny Glover was getting into the car in front of us! Mark got a chance to meet him, and said that he was amazingly gracious and kind], and spent a fantastic five-and-a-half days with us, including their Thirtieth Wedding Anniversary, on the Sunday after they arrived. Before Mark headed off to work that afternoon, we were able to take them out to lunch at one of our favorite local restaurants, and enjoyed the early afternoon wandering through the antique shops in downtown Napa.

I love that I was able to spend all day with them, taking them to some of my favorite spots in the North Bay. We took advantage of the perfect Sunday afternoon weather to enjoy the serenity and amazing beauty of Muir Woods.

Mom and Dad, as we stopped to take in the view before entering the woods. I love that you can see the moon behind them in the daylight!

With their baby girl.

Inside one of the redwoods!

We stayed until the park closed, and then headed to the Marin Headlands for what I find to be the best view of the Golden Gate bridge and the San Francisco skyline. After a full day [and we were all surprised when we realized that they had only been in town for less than 24 hours!], Mom and Dad even let me tag along on their anniversary dinner where we all enjoyed fine Indian dining and yet another fantastic view of the city we now call our own.

Mom and Dad - Happy 30th Anniversary! Thank you for letting me spend it with you, and for choosing to spend the week here with Mark and I! I hope it was a memorable way to usher in the next 30 years!

With love,
Your little girl,
Audrey

sweet home, chicago

last week brought me back home for a few days, and boy were they busy ones! i packed in as much "seeing people" as i possibly could, and here's a bit of a recap of the little taste of home that this quick trip brought!

• wednesday afternoon, my plane landed and i got to see snow on the ground!
• quickly headed to my parents, let myself in, tiptoed into the living room (not that it was a surprise, but still), and was greeted with squeals and hugs from my mom and dad. dad's first comment was "i'm having trouble getting to your blog...can you help me with that" :)
• daniel was home, too, and jonathan got home shortly afterwards, having just finished his last final (congrats, jonny!) - we all headed out to dinner, and enjoyed a scrumptious meal.
• brandon joined us for dessert, and after some light shopping in downtown evanston, mom and i headed over to see his NEW CONDO!!! it really is gorgeous. proud of you, brandon!

• thrusday, i headed in to work for the day, and then had a delicious dinner out with my work team.
• i left and got to my old high school just in time for my brother, daniel's, concert choir performance. they sounded amazing - great job, daniel!
• mark's dad, norman was there, too. and i got to see my choral conductor, mrs. brown, from my own concert choir days! as in, the teacher from the class where mark and i met almost thirteen years ago. i haven't seen her in over 10 years!
• afterwards, the family enjoyed a relaxing night at home - brandon's girlfriend, shruti, was also at the concert and hung out later with us.

• friday brought another busy day at work, which i got to break up with a wonderful lunch with my dear friend, lindsay. i really do miss her.
• after work, i stopped by my friend precious' home, for a quick visit with her, and to meet her beautiful twins! jakob and jaimie are beautiful, and i'm so happy for this wonderful family.
• after picking up some wine, i met melissa for dinner at a local favorite (seriously, they make good everything), and even ran into our friends mandy and don, who were having dinner there, too!
• we got to spend the rest of the evening enjoying melissa's beautifully decorated pine scented home and some catch-up bff time. and i finally got to see her spain photos:)

• and saturday morning, i woke up for an early flight home. snow was falling, beautifully covering the ground, and it felt like christmas to me. ahhh.

i can't wait to head back next week. it'll be fun for mark and i to be there together this time, and we're looking forward to a wonderfully busy week. save some snow for him, okay?

and a lovely thanksgiving weekend, it was.

thanksgiving has always been my favorite holiday.

it captures the essence of family, to me. time spent together, the aromas and flavors of wonderful comforting foods, and all without the commercialism and pressures of gift-giving that christmas can sometimes become. it really is the perfect time to give thanks.

growing up, i enjoyed this one time each year that my mom's family would gather together. i remember the food was always delicious, lovingly prepared, and more than filling. but it was the company that made the day special - i loved the time with my cousins, aunts and uncles - playing games, catching up on the events of our lives, and cherishing each other.

when mark and i started dating, i remember him coming over for thanksgiving dessert to meet the family, and at then end of the night, my aunt pattie told me that he was "a keeper"! and after we were married, i'll never forget the year i spent 48 hours taking the greyhound home from a trip to visit my nanay who had just suffered a stroke, arriving on thanksgiving morning just in time for a huge celebration at mark's parent's home. it was the last time i saw my grandma before she died. and it was also the last thanksgiving that mark's mom was here with us.

just last year, we finally decided that we were going to stop "splitting" the day between both families. we spent thanksgiving day with mark's family (enjoying a meal at maggiano's), and invited mine over for homemade Greek food on saturday, and planned to reverse the time in years to come. looking back, who would have guessed that this year we'd be 2000 miles away?

when mark's dad and sister decided that they were going to travel to visit us for the weekend, we were thrilled! not only would we have family with us for thanksgiving, but we were also looking forward to having guests for the long weekend, and this being leslie's first trip to visit us in san francisco, we wanted it to be extra special. and it was.

thanksgiving weekend, 2007

thanksgiving day was spent cooking the perfect [both in size and in quality!] meal of turkey, gravy, carol's (mark's mom) famous dressing, homemade cranberry sauce, rolls and spinach gratin. once we were all positively stuffed, we settled in for naps or for a viewing of the princess bride.

friday we took off for some light shopping, lunch of the best burgers california has to offer, and then an afternoon of napa valley wine tasting! we came home and enjoyed an evening of grilled seafood and bacon-wrapped fillets, cheese and more wine:)

saturday, we rounded out the weekend with two trips into san francisco! we drove in over the golden gate bridge, marvelled at the palace of fine arts, had lunch at pier 39, curved down lombard street, stopped for a wade in the ocean, and toured the presidio before heading home to get gussied up for a night of jazz and fine dining.

thanks for joining us for a memorable thanksgiving, norman and leslie! we love you!

madonna estate's reserve tasting room - where mark's favorite was the dolcetto, norman's the cabernet sauvignon, leslie's the muscat canelli, and my favorite the gewürztraminer

enjoying château service at domaine carneros, where we sampled flights of sparkling wine (the Le Rêve was pheNOMenal), pinot noir (mark was dying to leave with the famous gate), smoked salmon and an amazing cheese tray

leslie was determined to touch the ocean...but didn't expect it to be as COLD as it was when it lapped over her feet!

the four of us, thoroughly enjoying the ambiance, cuisine and jazz trio at BIX. i must recommend the following menu items - truffle cheese and sweet onion "croques", tuna tartare, smoked trout salad, grilled hill ranch pork chops, and the american kobe "bavette" steak. the only dissappointment, in my opinion, were the specialty drinks. why make a cosmo with rum, or a gimlet with vodka, when the originals are wonderful the way they are?

quality friday: family time

over this past week, i have had some wonderful opportunities to spend time with my family on my dad's side. it began last weekend with my cousin sharlina's wedding and continued though a wonderful memorial day gathering. then on thursday, i had a chance to take a break from my ridiculously crazy work week in los angeles, to visit my titas and titos (aunts and uncles) that live there, and on friday night, i had dinner with my cousin leilani before taking a red-eye home to chicago.

i've always enjoyed spending time with my parents, brothers, and the entire cruz family in the past, and this week proved to be no different. it was just a little more special to me, probably because as our move to san francisco draws closer, i'm finding myself a little (okay, a lot) more sentimental, and am feel myself clinging to the moments i spend with those i love all that much harder.

last saturday, when we gathered for sharlina and todd's wedding, i found that i couldn't stop telling my brothers how much i love them and how much i'm going to miss them - and couldn't help but beam inside when my sentiments were reciprocated. i felt closer to them have at any other point in my life, and just yesterday, mark referred to them as "my brothers", which made me just that much happier that we've built a strong and solid relationship with each of them over the past years. both mark and i agreed that this wedding was one of the best we've ever been to with my family. the whole entire family had such fun laughing and talking and dancing, and i don't think a single one of us was ready to leave before it was over! one of my favorite moments from that night was to see my mom and dad on the dance floor together, something i'm not sure i've ever seen in the past!

my family - mark, me, dad, mom, brandon, daniel and jonathan tita julie, my dad, tito nestor, tita dory and tita aurora -

five of the ten siblings at the wedding

handsome brothers

gorgeous bride and groom

as great as the wedding was, my true quality friday moment of the week was spending time with my tita bebe - my dad's sister aurora - on thursday night. as we chatted over dinner, and as i listened to story after story about her life, i realized that as much times as we have spent together in the past, i have never really had the opportunity to get to know her. generally, when the family gathers, the aunts and uncles generally spend time together, and the cousins do the same, so this opportunity to connect across generations was one that i cherish deeply. i learned so many things about this woman that i've known all my life - about how she and her husband, my tito boy, met many years ago when she was in college in the phillipines, and after spending over 40 years of her life as a single woman, just recently got married just two years ago - and was touched by her generosity, kindness, and love for to me that evening.

i am blessed to have such a wonderful family, and this week reminded me, once again, that family time is to be cherished, never taken for granted.

p.s. - happy 26th birthday today to my brother, brandon:)