This was part business, part pleasure, as my employer sent me to Scottsdale for a healthcare webmaster workshop.  I have to admit that the desert doesn’t excite me too much, but I decided to add a few personal days to my trip and hop on a flight to San Francisco before heading back home. I had never been any further west than Denver (hi Sarah!), so this was pretty exciting. It was also a new experience to sight-see alone, but at least I got to do exactly what I felt like doing without checking in with anyone else.  It felt empowering to face a new city on my own two feet.

I’d also like to mention that I had to remove a lot of specks and smudges from these photos.  I’m sure those of you who have spent more time in San Francisco know to clean your lenses often, but I was just a silly tourist walking around with the foggy dampness and water spray covering my lens. Live and learn, right?  Chilly + Windy + Wet = San Francisco.

I found it difficult to really show how steep the streets were.  I’ve seen the movies and heard about the area, but I still was not really prepared for the madness of San Francisco.  I definitely got a good workout wandering around.

I took a ferry ride to Sausalito on one gorgeous day.  I was wishing I could be on one of those sailboats!

Sausalito is such a cute town. I had lunch at a little cafe with outdoor seating and walked around.

Before leaving on this trip, I made a reservation with Adventures Aloft for a hot air balloon ride over Napa Valley, which is about a 90 minute drive from San Fran.  I think I had to get up around 5am, but it was worth it.

My view of some horses in a field:

Back on the ground:

Okay, okay, here’s a photo of me.  There was a family on board with me from Bethesda, Maryland.  Small world!

My next post will be back in present time!

Here’s to fuzzy blankets, fireplaces burning, crunchy leaves, hot mochas, warm socks, pumpkin patches, hiking in the woods, movie nights, baking cookies, sweaters, and snuggling.

We’ve still got some warm days left, so enjoy those flip-flops while you can!

Amy and Marty had a traditional Hindu Bengali wedding that spanned the whole weekend.  I don’t know if that’s the right way to put it, but I’m learning! Check out “Bengali wedding” on Wikipedia to learn more.  I’m also learning about Indian food, though some of it is a bit too spicy for my palette.

I made my first details collage – it’s neat to see how everything really fits together.  Lots of warm colors and sophisticated graphic design courtesy of the super-talented bride.

They had an Ashirvad the evening before the wedding, which is a ceremony for blessing the bride.  Someone please correct me if I describe anything incorrectly. This was held at a contemporary Indian restaurant called Clay Pit, and included lots of food and mingling.

Here is Amy getting some encouragement from a family member:

Gotta love this face:

Getting ready on her wedding day!

Bridesmaids doing some primping of their own:

Here is Amy having her bindi applied….so sparkly and pretty!

Anxiously awaiting Amy’s entrance at the ceremony:

Amy’s brother escorted her in while she hid her eyes with a betel leaf as tradition dictates.  She was having a hard time walking while hiding her face and wearing heels all while wrapped up in her sari, which led to some laughter.  She had to make it down the aisle and circle around Marty seven times before removing the leaf for their first glance at each other.

Look!  My name in English and Bengali (or Hindi?)!

I always find the cuties!

Speech time….I love the warm light surrounding them.  I still can’t get over how gorgeous Amy looked!

I hung out with some of Amy’s super-cool friends who went to the University of Texas together most of the weekend…some I had already met before.  I’m only 5’7″, really.  Thanks to Regan for taking this pic with my camera!

Check out these little guys with the cell phone cameras!  Madness!

 The cake was really yummmy…better than most I’ve had!

Caught Amy doing this cute little wave from the dance floor:

Congrats Amy & Marty!  Have fun in Spain!

Here are my parents. My facebook friends may have seen some of these pics already. By the way, if you’re not on facebook yet, get on it! 

Caroline is almost nine…I can’t believe it.

One of my favorite parts of the day was visiting FAO Schwarz. I can’t decide if this muppet pic is funny or creepy.

I don’t know what this building is, but it has this crazy curved design.

We had a few hours of free time before the show, so we visited Central Park, ate lunch at a cafe, and checked out the huge Christmas tree at Rockefeller Center. They just put the tree up, so it had scaffolding around it so that they could decorate it.   The outdoor ice skating rink and Rockefeller Center were behind me when I took the photo of Caroline below.  I liked this view better.

Showtime at Radio City:

Any guesses on what this is?

The first pic below is Becky with a beehive. We actually didn’t meet until we were both in college at the Savannah College of Art & Design. My dad said, “hey, you know you have a cousin at that school?” before I left for Savannah and gave me her name.  Becky and I were even in the same dorm, so it was great to have someone to connect with right away. I was a mid-year transfer student and she already knew the ropes. We’re both back in Baltimore now (she and her husband are architects here) and reconnected via Facebook. 

I admit that I photoshopped the heck out of this, but I still like it:

I’m cheating. This next photo is from last year when I took my niece and nephew.  I feel like I’ve posted this somewhere before, but can’t think of where. I didn’t have my blog yet. Hmmmmm…mystery.

Today I got to hang out with baby Jack and his family for a yummy crab cake lunch and a photo session. If you haven’t read my past blog entries or haven’t heard me mention him a hundred times, read about him here. Technically, I invited myself over because I couldn’t wait to see him again, but it was James and Vicki’s idea to do lunch as well. They are so sweet and make me feel so welcome…check out an awesome comment Vicki left on my blog here. Jack is about 8 months old now and doing fantastic! Here are a few pics…

Open mouth, insert foot:

Haha…he looks like he’s explaining something:

He’s still a bit off-balance trying to sit up, but as you can tell, he doesn’t seem to mind:

This cracks me up…he seems to be texting someone on his “cell” and is oblivious to his nakedness and the fact that I’m photographing him:

Stinkin’ cute!

Here is the hilarious Jaime Windon who kept us entertained at dinner:

Corey McNabb at our post-rockstar dinner:

Michael Juiliano used my cam to grab these next two shots of me. I’m pictured here with Suzanne Behsudi, who fascinated all of us talking about how she grew up in Africa (no, not South Africa….Nigeria I think) and moved to the U.S. at the awkward age of fourteen. Awesome meeting her!

I don’t know what I’m saying, but I really mean it:

Amber lit by her phone…I like this one:

Corey and his martini with Sarah Hodzic and Joana Gribko in the background at some random irish pub:

I mentioned in a previous post that I was throwing a singles mixer and that went really well. I don’t know that any matches were made, but I think everyone had fun. I was feeling quite stressed beforehand that it would be lame….being a hostess just isn’t my thing.

I had to get a shot of this funky sculpture hanging in the middle of the gallery space where our party was held. My friend lives in one of two apartments in the same building, so she offers it up as a gathering space regularly. I’ve been there three times now and each time someone bumps into this sculpture and a piece falls off. You definitely can’t tell that anything is amiss.

Linda is very photogenic…she just recently got contacts and is working it!

Christina and Christa gettin’ close for a pic:

No, this isn’t still the singles party. This is the next day in that busy weekend. I went to see the Charm City Roller Girls battle a team from Ohio at the Baltimore Armory. My first exposure to roller derby…very entertaining!

Here are a couple shots from a recent ice skating outing in Mt Washington…I’m not quite as skillful as the roller girls are on their skates and my legs were killing me. Here’s a shot of Charlee cruising on by:

I never have pictures of me, so April used my camera to grab this one of me and Cathy. That wall is holding me up.

Jes and Jen:

Shannon and Kevin are a totally cute couple.  I took many pics of them as they are so snuggly:

It’s almost midnight and Jen is quadruple-fisting the champagne:

Linda gettin’ down….I think this might have been when “Thriller” was playing:

These two are mother and daughter if you can believe it:

Bongos anyone?

Sarah:

I had to sneak this shot of Kate Triano as we weren’t supposed to shoot on this level of the museum. I’m such a rebel, I know.

Shawn being not-so-sneaky photographing Kathy Freundel and Joana Gribko.

Kathy Freundel’s daughter, Kristiana. I think Kristiana took more photos that day than any of us! She’s a pro in the making!

Shawn Reeder and Jess. Shawn is based near Yosemite, but came home to good ‘ol Maryland for the holidays.

Paparazzi!