happiness is...

someone once asked me what my perfect day would consist of. my answer was "time with friends and family, delicious eats, something active that i enjoy, and lots of laughter." it was a pretty simple, genuine answer i think. there isn't anything more that i need to keep me happy. this week i was graced with all of those things over and over again to a point of almost maximum capacity. most weeks are pretty great but this one was particularly stellar! 

here are just some pieces of the week! 

-----you guys already know that we had a bachelorette party for Muri in Vegas with a bunch of friends but my coworkers weren't able to attend that so we decided to have a second, more relaxing bachelorette party for her in Napa. Ruby, Natasha, Lindsay and i planned a day of good eats, soothing spa treatments and champagne tastings to celebrate the bride before her big day arrives. 

Ruby, Jenna, Natasha, Lindsay, Muri.

we're missing Lorraine who couldn't make it but was definitely there with us in our minds and in spirit. missed you, chick!

delicious brunch and boozy mimosas (tomatoey vodka for Lindsay...) at Mustards 

warm chocolate hazelnut truffle tart with espresso ice cream, caramel sauce and praline.

get this!!! so...damn...good! 

on our way to get rubbed down! ;)

we got our relaxing massages, scrubs and facials at Mais Oui in downtown Napa. this place is a small house that was converted into a "spa." they were able to do all five of us at the same time, which was super convenient. unfortunately (or fortunately?? haha) some of us shared rooms and got to know each other a little more than anticipated. 

next stop was champagne tasting at Mumm! Jenna, a friend of ours, was able to set us up at a table with a great view of the vineyard. as a result of her awesomeness we also got some special treatment as far as extra courtesy and bonus tastings that were very much appreciated and also provided us with a nice buzz for the evening. the people at Mumm are so nice and welcoming, i definitely recommend it as a tasting stop while in the Napa Valley area!...not to mention the delicious bubblies!

nice view, right? if it weren't gloomy out we would've had the doors opened or better yet, been sat outside. but no complaints, i'm pretty sure this was the best seat in the house.

just the beginning

everybody minus Lindsay, who was busy pumping milk in the car for her brand new baby who was patiently waiting at home for mom. maybe that was TMI but what's done is done. also, this will explain the next picture a little better.

probably more TMI...long story short, Lindsay's milk got on my hand and this is my 'what the what' just friggin' happened expression. never in my life did i expect to have something that was just moments before in my friend all of a sudden on me. 

note to self: stay away from things that have recently detached from your friend's nipples. 

dinner and drinks at Morimoto. we splurged and stuffed ourselves with delicious things like bone marrow, sashimi, pork ribs, toro tartare, duck confit fried rice, hamachi tacos and the morimoto sashimi. but i think the winners were definitely the uni carbonara and the marinated dumplings with crispy pig ears. what a rich, delicious meal!

Morimoto sashimi

marinated dumplings with crispy pig ears

uni carbonara

sad that Lorraine couldn't join us, we tried to include her in a photo.

we finished the night off with fresh made-to-order donuts at Boon Fly Cafe and called it a night.

------earlier in the week my friend Meiche announced via group text that she was engaged and getting married on Friday to her boyfriend fiance, Victor. she's in Hawaii so she live streamed their very intimate wedding for friends and family who are elsewhere in the world to, in a sense, partake in their big day. to make it even more eventful, i gathered some friends over for a pizza viewing party. we had a very relaxed and hilarious (because my friends are funny/entertaining) "reception" before the actual viewing. we facetimed a couple of our other friends who are out of town to join us in the wedding festivities. it's sort of fascinating how technology can bring people together for things like this nowadays. quite amazing actually. 

congrats Meiche and Victor and the family you've built together!

we celebrated by cheersing with apple cider and also took the opportunity to celebrate Kris' 30th birthday with cake! happy 30th Special Friend!! love you endlessly!

-----late night shenanigans with my favorite Metro "Italian" Vietnamese! 

him: what are you doing tonight?

me: i'm out with some guy but what's up? i'll leave soon and meet you after! 

this meant drinks, gross food at Lori's and a memorable encounter between his friend and some woman who i vividly remember hearing say "no, i have no desire to speak with you at this moment!" damn, i wonder what he said/did to her in the past to make her so sternly object to any slight communication with him.

-----hopped on my bike for the first time in a verrrrrry long time (over a year) and it felt just as awesome as i remember it. i can't wait to get back on my Dolce regularly and frequent rides in Marin. there's something about the wind sifting through your hair, the accomplishment of a climb, the rush of a descend and being able to visibly see the distance you've covered that makes cycling one of my favorite past, present and future activities. i mean, i could do without the gnats flying in my face but otherwise it's an awesome way to spend time. 

my Specialized Dolce sport

-----you guys, i think i've found my new favorite comedian next to Louis CK!! a friend, Jon, invited me to Cobb's with an extra ticket to see Chris D'Elia this past thursday and i shit you not, i did not stop laughing for the duration of his full set. if you know me well you know that it takes some serious wit to make me truly laugh. there wasn't one thing he said that didn't have me stretching my mouth from ear to ear and convulsing like a person during seizure in a never ending bout of laughter. okay that might be a slight exaggeration but not by much. i saw him at the Oddball Tour last year and thought he was pretty damn great but the set he did at Cobb's was by far one of the best comedy shows i've ever been to. aahhh to laugh is to live!

watch his bit on church here! SO funny! but wait...if you're sensitive on that subject then maybe don't watch it. or do, but don't blame me! i gave you fair enough warning. 

such a fulfilling week! =)

why i love sf

1. due to the lack of weather variances, i can pretty much wear the same thing every day for 365 days straight if i felt like nobody would notice the slow deterioration and tattering of my clothing. maybe that's stretching it, but the temperature literally stays within a twenty-ish degree spectrum beginning at 55 degrees F. while visible seasons are beautiful, provided the choice, i'd take year round cool crisp SF air any day.

2. in one day you could lay on the beach (be it cold. oh and you might be pelted by a thousand grains of sand if it's windy), go for a hike among the beautiful Redwoods at Muir Woods, explore city life and little pockets of drastically differing districts, and (if you're extra game) you could drive up to Tahoe for some snow and boarding. what i'm saying is that it's central to a lot of varying terrains.

3. my tummy stays happy with all of the good food and ever changing restaurants. next to New York City, i would say that SF has a pretty competitive restaurant culture. there isn't an ethnic cuisine you can't find in SF or in close proximity and there are an endless number of really great restaurants. from mom & pop sandwich shops to $200 pre fixe meals, you'll never run out of delicious spots to get your grub on. for reference you could scroll up and down this blog or check out my Yelp page.

4. most of SF is chill and accepting of whatever sort of person you care to be. except for Marina folk. they are whack. just kidding (no i'm not)! in line for a free movie viewing there was a guy who looked like he was going to overdose on drugs next to a bunch of Silicon Valley programmers who were browsing the internets. then there were your average asians and some goth-ish people. all of these people coexisting and not minding each other's ways. okay, maybe the guy who looked like he might pass out or OD was a little disturbing, but otherwise it's a pretty be-whoever-you-want-to-be type environment.

5. i heart the random. buffalo in GG Park, the winding portion of Lombard, the famous Painted Ladies (none of which are the Full House house, btw), the creepy Bush Man, Off The Grid's awesome food truck pods with music and deliciousness, Easter day's debauchery Bring Your Own Big Wheel, and Robot Dance Party. the list goes on but i'll leave some for your own discovery.

6. summer days at Dolores Park. the city view from the top of the park. the gays sunbathing in the 'beach' portion. the children laughing in the new playground. stalking other people's dogs because i wish i had one of my own. the too cool for school hipster region where people sit and lunch on cheese and wine bought at Bi-Rite. the tightropers and hula hoopers. the weed truffles guy and the tamale lady (she's O.G. she came before food carts and pop-ups). aaahh Dolores Park, my favorite of all places!

7. the Ferry Building farmers market on thursdays and saturdays because i can't get enough of Roli Roti's porchetta sandwich. but also just the community of people all there for the same reason. and the purveyors who are all knowing and passionate about their goods. and how about the Ferry Building in general? roaming the stores and grabbing lunch there on any given day is one of my favorite things to do.

8. the view from twin peaks! breathtaking day or night. but let's be real... more so at night.

etc, etc, ETC!! i bleed love for SF!

my favorite snapshots

so. for years now i've been taking photos just for kicks. i'm no good at using a dslr camera properly (as in finding the correct combination of settings and whatnot) but i think i have a decent eye for what makes a good picture. so while most of these aren't the sharpest pictures and none of these are really photoshopped, i think you'll get the gist of the types of photos i take, or at least get the gist of what i was going for. i truly wish i could have brought out the colors more in these photos. alas, i don't even have photoshop or know how to use it. these would be muuuuch better sharper and deeper in color. 

also, i'm sort of sad to say that Instagram has taken over as my main camera option and nowadays everybody thinks they're a photographer with it. filters make it easy to make pictures look better than they do as the original. but if you're still off center or have no idea what frames a picture then they often still are not very good pictures. anyhow so many of my photos are taken with Instagram because it's convenient, and as i said previously, i too, don't know how to use a dslr properly. maybe i'll do a post on my favorite Instagram pics soon. 

of the photos i've taken with a dslr or a point and shoot, these are some of my favorite. enjoy! or don't, but i do!

this was taken probably about eight years ago. recognize the familiar yellow from the bow and arrow structure down by the Embaracadero?

about 8 years ago. this was one of the first photos i took where i thought "hmm, that's pretty clever, Regina. nice job"

this was taken probably five years ago at Treasure Island. 

this was about four years ago in China, at a small village

same small village in China. i think what i like about this picture is the textures. 

same village in China

this is my grandma. i love love it when she smiles and her laughter is my favorite sound. also taken in China about four years ago.

this was taken at a temple in Thailand. this was one of my favorite photos for a long time.

Thailand, four years ago. selling rambutan on a beach.

four years ago near Hong Kong. a MASSIVE buddha.

clearly New York, taken maybe three years ago.

structures of the Eiffel Tower from the bottom looking up. while i got a few good pictures of the tower, i somehow liked this better. there are a ton of pictures of the tower and it's beautiful just on it's own, so here's another look at it. 

Eiffel at night

reflections of the Lourve at night. 

twas the most still night.

no moment in my life has ever been as breathtaking as being at the Lourve in the nighttime when almost nobody else was around and you could see all of it's beauty. 

walking up the tiny stairwell of the Duomo in Florence, Italy. you see glimpses of the outside through cut out sections of the walls. 

still inside the Duomo right around sunset

the "reclining buddha" in Thailand about two years ago. i truly hate feet and would typically never highlight them in my blog but i thought that contrast of the worn, detailed, dark foot soles of this statue compared to it's otherwise complete smooth, goldenness was sort of awesome.

at a temple in Thailand. sort of creepy, no? but i like the textures 

notice the size of this thing compared to the people at the end. 

ruins in Thailand

a woman selling some fishcake type deal wrapped in leaves. if you ever see her, do NOT purchase! so gross, i tried to feed it to a cat and the cat wasn't havin' it. 

there's something about this picture i really like. the big buddha staring at all the little ones? who knows. 

the moon, from a plane, on my way to Costa Rica about 3 1/2 years ago.

cray-zay!! this fool then kissed this humongous croc on the nose.

at an imitation Swedish hotel in Monte Verde, Costa Rica. 

the cloud forest in Costa Rica

Boston

in Cabo. i thought i might see wild whales one day in my life, but i didn't expect to ever see them doing this. i'm SO glad i got this shot because it's sort of an amazing thing to see, i think.

at Stefan's triathlon

from my backyard when i lived in Pacifica. holy cow this was a crazy sunset!

at Disneyland a few years back. Eva and i went for an impromptu visit for her birthday. we drove down in the middle of the night, camped in my car for a couple hours, woke up, had a blast at Disneyland and drove home. 

mignardises at Cyrus, one of the best meals of my life. 

part of an incredibly amateur engagement photo session with Trina and Justin

so cheesy!!

rhino at a sort of safari thing in Sonoma County. sometimes it's not necessary to get something in complete. i like that i don't have even half this rhino in the shot.