congratulations, vlada and michal!

over labor day weekend, we enjoyed the gorgeous outdoor wedding of our dear friends.

the afternoon was perfect for san francisco in late august - sunny (not one bit of fog, nor a single cloud in sight), breezy (as you can see from the pictures below) and altogether lovely.

we are thrilled that we were able to share with them in the love of their wedding day, and look forward to building our friendships in their new marriage.

congratulations, vlada and michal - we hope you two are enjoying your honeymoon!

the san francisco skyline from treasure island - a view equally as stunning at night

a lovely bride...and her classy ride

walking down the "aisle"

first dance as husband and wife

with the new mr. and mrs. bortnik

congratulations to the new mr. and mrs. frisk!

on saturday night we had the pleasure of attending the wedding of our friends, ann-marie and david. from the music at the ceremony, to the delicious food at the reception, the event was absolutely beautiful!

the stunning bride and handsome groom were beaming all evening long - their love for each other perfectly evident. it was especially touching to see the involvement of their families in the ceremony - from their parts in performing the marriage ceremony, to sharing their musical and speaking gifts throughout the evening, the olson and frisk families exuded support and love for this couple.

the lovely bride and groom
brunch club ladies sharing another special moment!

we are so happy for you two! congratulations ann-marie and david - we wish you all the best!

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:)

of weddings and showers

this weekend marked our official entry into wedding season, 2007! last night, we attended mark's cousin, elizabeth's wedding - the first of a few that we'll get to enjoy this year - and this afternoon, i attended ann-marie's lovely bridal shower.

and so in true wedding fashion, i'd like to propose a toast to this season of love and marriage....a toast to all this old, new, borrowed and blue!

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packnett/burzynski wedding

yesterday, mark, leslie and i hopped into the car for my second road trip of the week (see note below) to elizabeth and joe's wedding in madison, wisconsin. the ceremony was intimate and lovely, and the reception overlooked lake mendota, on the university campus where the bride and groom met.

the whole experience was enjoyable - it was a wonderful time of reconnecting with family, of enjoying each other's company, and of reuniting.

the family together

burton and mark could be brothers, don't you think?

kim and audrey

dancing to "at last" by etta james (not dinah washington:)

the lovely bride...

...and groom in their first dance as husband and wife.

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amo's shower

i absolutely loved ann-marie's coffeehouse-themed bridal shower, and had a great time this afternoon. the whole thing was so well coordinated - from the coffee and espresso - to the scones (which i must add, were served with an AMAZING raspberry butter), biscotti and mini-muffins - to the coffee mug shower favors!

congratulations ann-marie and david! i'm looking forward to your wedding, too!

the brunch club celebrating ann-marie!

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here's my note on the other road trip of the week, taken on wednesday to the vera bradley outlet sale. since melissa so accurately described our adventure, i'll just point you here for the photos and full story:)

i will, however, comment that i found myself fully immersed in crazyville, and had my own bout of craziness during which i decided that it was absolutely appropriate for me to purchase a baby bag for myself. crazy because i have no baby, nor is there is one on the way. crazy because i wanted this bag so badly that i actually stopped in front of a couple debating whether or not they wanted to purchase it, politely waited for them to decide, and then grabbed it an nearly ran when they said i could take it. crazy because i'm giddy just thinking about the day when i'll be able to sport this sleek bag on one shoulder, with baby malone in tow (or "in tote" - whichever you prefer:)!

at least the other purchases for myself were items that i can actually put to good use at this point in my life. in fact, here's how i've used each of them this week!

microfiber wristlet: debuted at elizabeth and joe's wedding

miller bag and matching travel pouch: accompanied me to the gym

tote and matching zip id case: carried shopping, and to amo's shower