Fashion Show at The Fairmont

On Friday night I drove to the Fairmont (170 South Market Street) in downtown San Jose and watched my sister in the annual Presentation High School Fashion Show. The theme this year was One Common Thread (I think). I really enjoyed watching the show and I thought all of the designers were great picks. My sister lucked out and got the two most amazing outfits in the entire show. The one above is from a designer who is actually a pres alumni. None of the clothes are for sale yet because the designer, Megan Sasaki, is still doing the patterns and what not. Her entire segment was fierce though! Loved the patterns.

Before the show there was an alumni cocktail hour. It was really nice to have the opportunity to catch up with some '05 graduates. It's strange that we have all been through so much these past four and a half years, our paths have grown further and further apart, and yet we effortlessly fell into laid back girl chit chat. One common thread is right...

The finale of the show is a daughter/sponsor walk. My mom escorted Nicole down the aisle and I'm not going to lie, I teared up. The fashion show's finale is sort of a symbolic rite of passage into the graduation phase of senior year. It marks the beginning of the end for Nicole. The beginning of easter break, AP tests, finals, the last dance recital, senior dinner, awards day, and then, before you know it: your last A day and B day. The last time you [are required to] wear your Pres skirt. (After all, there's always Halloween and other occasional reasons to pull out the good ol' plaid :)

After the show it was my turn to congratulate my sister on a terrific job in the show. She looked beautiful on stage. It wasn't just the hair, clothes, makeup, etc though. She has more. She has brains and confidence and I couldn't be more proud of her....

"Best Restaurants of 2010"

Best Restaurants of 2010. - Monterey County Weekly

MCW, one of my favorite local papers, just finished their "Best Of" review of everything in Monterey County. I know that I'll come back to this post when I'm looking for a restaurant that won't disappoint. Below is a quick rundown of the best in each category:

New Restaurant of '09: Mundaka
Restaurant in Monterey County: Marinus  **oh snap! That's where my roommate works! Yay for him!

Restaurant more than 10 years old: Rio Grill

Restaurant in Big Sur: Nepenthe

Restaurant in Carmel: Cantinetta Luca

Restaurant in Carmel Valley: Cafe Rustica

Restaurant in Marina: Kula Ranch Island Steakhouse

Restaurant in Monterey: Montrio

Restaurant in North County: Phil's Fish Market & Eatery

Restaurant in Pacific Grove: Passionfish

Restaurant in Pebble Beach: Roy's **might have eaten here before with my mom, I'll try it again though!

Restaurant in Salinas: Gino's

Restaurant in Sand City: Sweet Elena's Bakery

Restaurant in Seaside: Fishwife **what no Baan Thai?

Place for a Business Lunch: Tarpy's Roadhouse **been there, can't remember a thing about it...

Best Breakfast: First Awakenings (Pacific Grove)

Cheap Eats: Chipotle (Monterey) **what about Tommy's in Marina?!!

Chinese: Tommy's Wok (Carmel)

French: Fifi's Cafe & Bistro (Pacific Grove)

Italian: Little Napoli (Carmel)

Japanese/Sushi: Crystal Fish (Monterey)

Korean: Orient Express (Seaside)

Mediterranean: Petra (Monterey)

Mexican: Peppers Mexicali Cafe (Pacific Grove) **tried going here but they weren't open, now I'm sad for missing out!

Middle Eastern: Amir's Kabob House (Monterey)

Thai Food: Thai Bistro II (Pacific Grove)

Appetizers/Small Plates: Esteban (Monterey)

Outdoor Dining: The Forge in the Forest (Carmel)

Vegetarian Menu: Tillie Gort's (Pacific Grove)

Steakhouse: John Pisto's Whaling Station (Monterey)

Family Restaurant: Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. (Monterey) **my other roommate works here! Both of their companies got on the list!!

Seafood: Monterey Fish House (Monterey) **definitely going here! top of my list! apparently you need to call wayyyy in advance though

Best Clam Chowder: Old Fisherman's Grotto (Monterey)

Best Splure: Ventana (Big Sur)

Best Wine List: Sardine Factory (Monterey)

Best Romantic Spot: Pacific's Edge at Highlands Inn (Carmel)

Sheesh, those took a long time to link! But this is my official MUST-EAT LIST. 

I solemnly swear to eat at every place and tell you all about it!

Quick thought...

Chuck Anderson Art ♥ http://www.nopattern.com/nopattern/

I love my job, the town(s) I live in (near), my coworkers, my old and new roommates, my bedroom, my closet, the neighbor's giant dog, the views from floor 7, the memories of last weekend and the thoughts for next, po5, star shapes, jan hagel and dozeroni, friends of the best kind, the coffee pot with m&m's inside, raisin bran cereal with vanilla soy milk, hot tamales, eggo waffles, March holidays, March birthdays, sunny days, overcast days, seaweed and sand around my building, seeing snakes at work, being happy, whistling (or at least trying)....

Wishing you all a wonderful weekend!

Here comes, a visible horizon.

Right where it starts and ends.

Oh, and then we start the end.

Here comes, a visible illusion.

Oh, where it starts and ends.

You're like a sunset.

- Love Like A Sunset, Phoenix

Weekend of 13 - 15 February

Right now I'm watching Keeping Up with the Kardashians on E! and Kim is celebrating her birthday in Vegas. I'll be there in three weekends! Yay! In fact, all of my upcoming weekends seem to be action packed. This weekend I went home to San Jose and spent time with my family and my fella.

After work on Friday I went to the mall with Nicole. I was looking for a cheap Vegas-appropriate dress from Forever 21 and had no luck. I did, however find a cute work-appropriate sweater thingy. Nicole bought a shirt to wear with her spankies for her solo. For dinner we went to California Pizza Kitchen and ordered the Asparagus & Arugula salad ($5) from their Small Cravings menu and the Kid's Original BBQ Chicken Pizza ($5.50). The A&A salad had arugula, asparagus chunks, and sun-dried tomatoes tossed in their homemade lemon-herb vinaigrette, topped with almonds and Parmesan shavings.

We drove home and then I made a quick trip to my dad & Lauretta's to drop off some of those strawberry cupcakes. After that Kyle met up with me and we pretty much just looked at People magazine and went to sleep (EXCITEMENT!)

Saturday I woke up and went with my mom and David to Nicole's Dance Competition at Monte Vista High School. She did great in her solo and her team dominated! I never realized how long sitting through an entire competition is! Good thing my aunt Cori and cousin Morgan were there! I had fun tossing around LOST theories with Morgan. She suggested Doc Jensen's blog on EW... I will check that out later.

After the competition I went back to my mom's and I made some more cupcakes with Nicole's help. This time I baked German Chocolate cupcakes (pictures to come). They were a Valentine's Day treat for Kyle. For dinner I went to my dad's for taco night! Yum! (extra yum points for the Cookies & Cream ice cream). When I got back to my mom's, Nicole and I watched three episodes of Make It or Break It. Great show! Guilty pleasure :)

Sunday I woke up and made breakfast with Nicole. We used the leftover pancake batter my mom had left. Banana walnut pancakes? I think? I don't know, they were yummy! Why do I use that word so much? Ick. Must use a synonym next time. Okay so.... I went to the gym and then came home and showered blah blah blah. Stressed out that it was already the afternoon, and I really needed/wanted to get up to Mountain View.

My Valentine's Day was wonderful. I won't get into the details, but we went to see Crazy Heart and made a delicious dinner afterwards. Sole, stuffed mushrooms, and baked sweet potato chips (with a bottle of wine). I was sad to leave this morning, but had to get into work. I'm saving up holiday time for another Vegas weekend! I hope you all had a fabulous weekend!

Ideas of the Romantic Sort...

Valentine’s Day Weekend in Monterey County

I won't be in town this weekend, but here are some more ideas if you are!

- wine tasting

- a class to learn about animal mating habits (NEAT!)

- get a portrait drawn

- romantic brunch/lunch/dinner

- check out the AT&T Pro-Am

Please follow the link above for more info. They have even more links to lots of good places to visit. And FYI - you don't have to use Valentine's Day as an excuse to do these things! :)

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Green Valentine's Day

A Green Valentine's Day? Yes, please! Here are two great earth friendly Valentine's Day plans to keep in mind, courtesy of Earth911.com.

- Go with your honey to a local farmers' market and treat him/her to a sunflower or dahlia (absolutely gorgeous) or whatever else is in season. If your lover has a favorite veggie or fruit, purchase a few, go back home, and create a yummy lunch/dinner that highlights that food. You will be helping out local growers, and let's be honest, there are TONS of local farmers in Monterey County! You'll also be eating organic foods, and that's a plus!

- Throwing a Valentine's Day dinner party? Don't just focus on the food! Think about location, decoration, leftovers, cleanup. The U.S. Census Bureau says that 180 million Valentine's Day cards are exchanged every year. Of course, if you get more than one valentine, keep the paper and reuse it! Also, use an evite!