elauinc: June 2009

Monday, June 22, 2009

Bless you Almaden

(We wait for our take-out pizza before going to the house.)

My mom insisted on blessing the house before we started moving in. It mostly consists of burning incense in apple halves at each of the main four corners of the house. And then burning paper offerings. And more incense in a pear halve with a plate of whole fruit, a plate of candy and a plate of peanuts.

I'm not really sure what it all means...but Sergio's 2 min long video of me and mom placing the incense gives a good layout of the house.

Jenny's Wedding: The Salon

The salon was fun. We were actually ahead of schedule for most of the morning if you can believe that!

My mom got makeup professionally applied for the first time:

Meanwhile, Jenny gets her hair did.

These are the last of the wedding pics for now. I didn't take any during the ceremony. I figured with all the cameras everyone had and the professional photographer, it was more than covered. Actually, Fabi already sent a link to her photos!

http://www.kodakgallery.com/ShareLanding.action?c=ndst7vw.8fsx6l2k&x=0&y=p4amo8&localeid=en_US

Jenny's Wedding: The Rehearsal Dinner

The Rehearsal Dinner took place at The Golden Dragon in Chinatown. It was very yummy. There was lobster.

Jenny and James gave the wedding party and parents thoughtful gifts at dinner. All the bridesmaids (including myself) received a very lovely set of pearl necklace with matching bracelet to wear during the wedding.

I fell down on the street right before the dinner. It was kind of funny. Sergio and I were walking to the restaurant when I commented, oh, look at how wet the sidewalk is. I wonder why it's all wet? Then, my right foot promptly slipped and down I went. I now bear the knee and angle scraps as evidence. Thank goodness the maid of honor gown was long!

Jenny's Wedding: The Orchids & The Card Box

The Orchids

Jenny cleverly saved money on tabletop flower arrangements by purchasing potted and from the local farmer's market. She got some tulle and loosely banded it to the bottom of each.

Here they are on their way to the reception site the day before the wedding. They look like dozens of pretty soldiers all in a row, ready to step up and decorate!

The Card Box

I was totally in charge of the card box. I first thought I would find a birdcage or some other clever item. In the end though, I ran out of time. I purchased a couple storage boxes and envisioned a cake-like design. I wrapped it up in coordinated paper and carefully attached the felt lace and paper flowers. Sergio helped me cut the holes. I think it turned out quite beautifully and I'm pretty proud of it!

Jenny's Wedding: The Pom-Poms

Before I post any more house photos -- wanted to show what Sergio and I have been crazily prepping for in the midst of the house buying: Jenny's wedding.

We stayed up late making pom-poms:

It was two nights before the wedding and we got pretty punchy. Jenny was laughing so hard at one point, it made me laugh until there were tears streaming down my face. We ended up getting Slurpees at 7-11 at the end of the night.

We were not nearly done so the next morning, the day before the wedding, Jenny enlisted the help of Angie who brought along her little helpers:

Poor kids! They gave up a perfectly good Friday afternoon after being let out of school to make wedding decorations.

With the aid of their rapid little fingers though, we got them all done and transported to the wedding site right before the rehearsal.

Sergio and Uncle Wing.

Friday, June 19, 2009

TGHH: Home sweet home

(Sergio peeks through our new front door. Kidding. It leads to the basement.)

We have a house! We can't believe it! After such a long journey, we finally found and successfully purchased, our first home.

Alamden is a sweet, traditional style home built in 1922 located in Highland Park. The best part is -- it's fully renovated and move in ready!!!

Front door:

Garage and back of house:

Living room and kitchen, sunroom through french doors:

Breakfast nook

Guest bath:

Master bed and bath!

Our first home. We are so happy. Can't wait to see you at the housewarming....

Sunday, June 14, 2009

Enchilada Lady

On 6.13.2009 we met the Enchilada Lady.

This moniker was granted by her daughter, Angie Perez, who invited us to her home to taste her mother's culinary specialty.

Jenny & Angie (wearing her MA hood)

Angie's voicemail invitation was extraordinarily adorable:

Hi Elsie this is Angie. I just wanted to let you know that mom is gonna to make enchiladas on Saturday at 5PM to celebrate my graduation. It's just to eat enchiladas, it's not a party at all. But...um..since I'm very happy, I wanted to invite you and your hubby, ah..Sergio to come over and eat enchiladas and then that's it. You know, nothing big..just come and join me. My mom makes the best enchiladas. Hope you can come. Bye bye.

This was the first time Angie invited us to her home and we were humbled and so appreciative to be included. And her mom's enchiladas? They. Were. The BEST. Enchiladas. EVER. E-V-E-R.

mama in action

I have never tasted enchiladas like these--probably because they were homemade and with such love.

Beef Tongue & Cheek anyone? It's a specialty and how could we refuse such gracious hostesses?

The flavor was not bad. Tasty. But I have to say, the texture is a bit...odd.

And oh, the best thing ever happened while we were chatting outside. A van drove slowly up the street, horn honking. What's that about? "He sells bread," said Angie.

Oh really? hmm... curiousity piqued, we went to check it out when he came back around. The van doors were slid open already and we got an eyefull of glorious goodies:

Not just bread...he had Mexican SWEET bread!! Of course, I ran to grab my wallet and promptly picked out some delicious pan dulce. I swear, if this van could trail Kogi...it could make some serious bank!

It was a great evening. If only I remembered to take out my camera earlier in the day when I got to meet cutie pie Miles. Hopefully Jennie will send me a couple pics she grabbed so I can post.