| American | |
| Ad Hoc (Yountville) | really want to try this one!! thomas keller, need i say more? |
| Bix | was there years ago w/ colleagues for dine about town |
| Buckeye Roadhouse (Mill Valley) | north bay…too far hahaa |
| Cafe La Haye | |
| Canteen | |
| Chow (S.F., Lafayette, Danville) | great casual restaurant; not sure why it's a top 100 though |
| Firefly | |
| House of Prime Rib | love…love their prime rib and of course, the salad |
| One Market | 10 yrs ago… 1st month at gap, boss took us here! |
| Range | great interior…over priced |
| Town Hall | down the street from my work - it's good |
| Wood Tavern (Oakland) | |
| Asian | |
| Betelnut | overpriced asian food |
| Barbecue | |
| Barbers Q (Napa) | |
| Basque | |
| Piperade | |
| California | |
| Coi | really want to try this one |
| Farmhouse Inn & Restaurant (Forestville) | |
| Flora (Oakland) | |
| Jack Falstaff | closed…victim of the recession |
| Manresa (Los Gatos) | |
| Martini House | had a beautiful lunch in their outdoor patio |
| Murray Circle (Sausalito) | |
| Redd (Yountville) | |
| Restaurant at Meadowood (St. Helena) | |
| Terra | love love this rstaurant… so romantic |
| California-French | |
| Bistro Aix | |
| Jardiniere | when I 1st really appreciated french food |
| Masa's | enjoyed it…but way too loud!! |
| California-Italian | |
| Picco/Pizzeria Picco (Larkspur) | |
| California-Japanese | |
| O Chame (Berkeley) | |
| California-Mediterranean | |
| Bar Jules | |
| Bay Wolf (Oakland) | |
| Camino (Oakland) | |
| Chez Panisse (Berkeley) | so delicious and awesome service |
| Coco500 | yummy but again not sure if it's really worthy of top 100 |
| Cortez | closed…victim of the recession |
| Foreign Cinema | really enjoy this restaurant |
| The Moss Room | |
| Nopa | 1st meal after aj was born w/ my girlfriends! |
| Rivoli (Berkeley) | |
| Zuni Cafe | |
| Chinese | |
| Koi Palace | duh, I am chinese |
| Ton Kiang | duh, I am chinese |
| Yank Sing | duh, I am chinese |
| Contemporary American | |
| Ame | love this place! |
| Boulevard | traumatized - found a piece of hair in my crème brulee |
| Cyrus (Healdsburg) | |
| French Laundry (Yountville) | a gal can always dream? |
| Gary Danko | FAVORITE restaurant…we used to go every year for my bday! |
| Madrona Manor (Healdsburg) | |
| Michael Mina | |
| Spruce | overrated |
| French | |
| Bouchon (Yountville) | LOVED IT…came here the day after our wedding |
| Chez Papa Resto | |
| The Dining Room | going there in 5 weeks!! |
| at the Ritz-Carlton | |
| La Folie | |
| French-Seafood | |
| Aqua | it's been years…but really had a nice time |
| Greek | |
| Kokkari Estiatorio | awesome awesome restaurant |
| Indian | umm…sorry, not a fan of indian food |
| Amber India | won't be trying any of these |
| Dosa | |
| Vik's Chaat Corner (Berkeley) | |
| International | |
| Va de Vi (Walnut Creek) | |
| Willi's Wine Bar (Santa Rosa) | |
| Italian (including pizzerias) | |
| A16 | way too loud |
| Acquerello | |
| Bar Bambino | |
| Beretta | |
| Bistro Don Giovanni (Napa) | awesome desserts! came here a lot when s and I were wedding planning |
| Bottega Napa Valley (Yountville) | went there last month w/ s… saw michael chiarello =) |
| Corso Trattoria (Berkeley) | |
| Delfina | heard great things… tough parking area |
| Dopo (Oakland) | |
| Gialina | |
| Incanto | |
| Marzano (Oakland) | |
| Perbacco | 1st meal out w/ friends after I found out I was pregnant… my friend totally busted me bc I didn't order a glass of wine |
| Pesce | |
| Pizzaiolo (Oakland) | |
| Poggio (Sausalito) | |
| Quince | |
| Rosso Pizzeria & Wine Bar (Santa Rosa) | |
| SPQR | |
| Japanese | |
| Kaygetsu (Menlo Park) | |
| Sushi Ran (Sausalito) | |
| Yoshi's San Francisco | high on my list as well… |
| Latin American | |
| Fonda (Albany) | |
| Mexican | |
| Nopalito | |
| Moroccan | |
| Aziza | |
| Seafood | |
| Hog Island Oyster Co. | realized that I actually loved oysters! |
| Nettie's Crab Shack | |
| Nick's Cove (Marshall) | |
| Sea Salt (Berkeley) | |
| Swan Oyster Depot | always so crowded… |
| Spanish | |
| Bocadillos | |
| Zarzuela | |
| Spanish-French | |
| Gitane | |
| Swiss | |
| The Matterhorn | |
| Swiss Restaurant | |
| Vegetarian | |
| Greens | |
| Ubuntu | |
| Vietnamese | |
| Slanted Door | my vote for best asian fusion flavors… |
1.28.2010
michael bauer's top 100 restaurant
every year i always review michael bauer's top 100 restaurant as a guide for restaurants to try. with so many great restaurants, we rarely go to the same restaurant twice...we always like to try a new place! having a toddler is difficult enough to dine out but going out for a couple of hours to enjoy a nice meal is even more difficult. however, we are very lucky that my parents are very close by and love watching aj so if we do need a break, we have great baby sitters. his new list should be coming out in a couple of months but it's still nice to look through the list and see what i've been to (31 and counting)! one of my favorite restaurant not on this list is andalu and after watching top chef masters, i really want to try hubert keller's fleur de lys
1.26.2010
everyone has an opinion...
it's interesting how once you are pregnant / have a child...advice and opinions come out of the woodworks! everyone has a point of view about parenting tips ... from feeding to sleeping to discipline. don't get me wrong...i'm open to listening to what people have to say but that's it. i personally don't do any research so i need to know what other people have read...hahaa. i like to be informed because there are tons of information out there but i don't necessarily like to be told that their way of doing something is the only way.
i've also learned that one can not judge another parent at all. i used to think, "oh i would never do this or that w/ my child" but oh, how i've learned. being a parent...you will learn that everyone and everything is different and you do what's best for your child and the situation. for example, i used to hear about kids who slept w/ their parents, how it became this bad habit and how it so tough to retrain your child. for the 1st 9 months, aj was the perfect sleeper. he fell asleep on his own and slept through the night in his own crib. i thought, yes, i'm not one of "those" parents. then at the 10 month mark, he started developing awful sleep routines and started waking up in the middle of the night. both s and i were too tired to soothe him in his room and we didn't want him to cry it out. so, what did we do? he started sleeping w/ us in our bed. it's come to the point now that when it's time for bed, he takes one of our hands and leads us straight to our bed hahaa. it's so cute!
who knows how much longer we'll let him sleep with us or when we'll try to "retrain" him but you know what? we all get a good night of sleep so i'm not complaining. well, okay, so he kicks quite a bit at night and is a bed hog, but i stay in bed all night. =)
my colleague says the opinions get worse as he gets older because then it's about schools or sports or extracurricular activities...great. that and opinions about difference in years between kids and why i'm not pregnant w/ our second child yet. and how many kids to have...it's just never-ending.
i've also learned that one can not judge another parent at all. i used to think, "oh i would never do this or that w/ my child" but oh, how i've learned. being a parent...you will learn that everyone and everything is different and you do what's best for your child and the situation. for example, i used to hear about kids who slept w/ their parents, how it became this bad habit and how it so tough to retrain your child. for the 1st 9 months, aj was the perfect sleeper. he fell asleep on his own and slept through the night in his own crib. i thought, yes, i'm not one of "those" parents. then at the 10 month mark, he started developing awful sleep routines and started waking up in the middle of the night. both s and i were too tired to soothe him in his room and we didn't want him to cry it out. so, what did we do? he started sleeping w/ us in our bed. it's come to the point now that when it's time for bed, he takes one of our hands and leads us straight to our bed hahaa. it's so cute!
who knows how much longer we'll let him sleep with us or when we'll try to "retrain" him but you know what? we all get a good night of sleep so i'm not complaining. well, okay, so he kicks quite a bit at night and is a bed hog, but i stay in bed all night. =)
my colleague says the opinions get worse as he gets older because then it's about schools or sports or extracurricular activities...great. that and opinions about difference in years between kids and why i'm not pregnant w/ our second child yet. and how many kids to have...it's just never-ending.
1.22.2010
first haircut (kind of)...
aj's hair was getting quite long and out of control. the long hair was not a good look for him; poor kid looked like a total fob. aj's stylist aka daddy gave him his 1st buzzcut! we didn't take a before and after when s cut his hair but you can tell w/ these pictures.
before =(
after =)
before =(
after =)my very own chair...
aj really enjoyed sitting in my nephew's chair so we decided to get one for him. just as a test, we took him to pottery barn kids to see if he would still like it. once he got in the store, he went straight for the chair and sat right down with a big smile! how could we say no then?? of course, s being a huge star wars fan had to get the r2d2 chair. here are some pics of him enjoying his new piece of furniture...
enjoying his bday present from the l family
enjoying his bday present from the l familyadventures w/ daddy...
s had 2 weeks off during the holidays. he was very brave to do daddy daycare and aj had a great time at the zoo and children's museum w/ his pops.
1st trip to san jose children's museum
surprisingly, he was brave and touched the goat at the sf zoo
1st trip to san jose children's museum
surprisingly, he was brave and touched the goat at the sf zoo
1.03.2010
happy new year!
i can't believe another year has passed and we are now in a new decade! the holidays have been great w/ aj; his development has just been amazing these last couple of weeks. everyone in my family is already saying he is going to be a very stubborn child and boy does he have some attitude! as my mom so kindly reminds me, i was not the most angelic child growing up so she thinks this is payback.
in the last week or two, i've definitely noticed that he is very decisive about what he wants. he is very good about nodding his head no and is an expert pointer. i am still having some problems w/ what he is pointing to and what it really means. for example, if he points to the refrigerator or microwave, it actually means he wants some milk.
we've definitely noticed some growth spurt really from what he is able to reach now. he can reach all the door knobs and is "exploring" turning and opening doors. he actually opened my sister's front door the other day. he can reach things off our kitchen counters and dining table so we have to be careful about not putting anything close to the edge. he can nicely slide his body off our bed and land on his feet w/out falling on his butt. hahaa.
he loves going out now. he gets very excited when we get his jacket and is very willing to put it on. the cutest thing he does is get his shoes and bring it over to us. he'll then stick his foot out to put his shoe on.
the sweetest thing we've noticed is that he loves his baby nephew. whenever he sees j, he always smiles and makes his mischievous expressions. he probably loves him because he knows he can bully him since he's bigger.
we've been really bad about taking pictures but my sister has all the holiday pictures. i'll post some once i get them from her.
in the last week or two, i've definitely noticed that he is very decisive about what he wants. he is very good about nodding his head no and is an expert pointer. i am still having some problems w/ what he is pointing to and what it really means. for example, if he points to the refrigerator or microwave, it actually means he wants some milk.
we've definitely noticed some growth spurt really from what he is able to reach now. he can reach all the door knobs and is "exploring" turning and opening doors. he actually opened my sister's front door the other day. he can reach things off our kitchen counters and dining table so we have to be careful about not putting anything close to the edge. he can nicely slide his body off our bed and land on his feet w/out falling on his butt. hahaa.
he loves going out now. he gets very excited when we get his jacket and is very willing to put it on. the cutest thing he does is get his shoes and bring it over to us. he'll then stick his foot out to put his shoe on.
the sweetest thing we've noticed is that he loves his baby nephew. whenever he sees j, he always smiles and makes his mischievous expressions. he probably loves him because he knows he can bully him since he's bigger.
we've been really bad about taking pictures but my sister has all the holiday pictures. i'll post some once i get them from her.
11.15.2009
nephew #2
october 25, 2009
2:13pm
6 lbs 2 oz
18.5 inches
2:13pm
6 lbs 2 oz
18.5 inches
woohoo...my 2nd nephew has arrived! he was 3 weeks early and was actually a decent size for being this early. he was born 5 days after aj's birthday! we will now have joint birthday parties! heehee.
while visiting my sister in the hospital, we realized that her nurse was my nurse from a year ago! she was happy to see aj as she rarely ever sees the babies again once they leave the hospital.
this poor 3rd boy - so neglected. half the time, we forget that there is a newborn in the house! the other day, i went into his nursery to get a diaper for aj and i turned on the lights without even realizing he was sleeping in his crib. oops.
while visiting my sister in the hospital, we realized that her nurse was my nurse from a year ago! she was happy to see aj as she rarely ever sees the babies again once they leave the hospital.
this poor 3rd boy - so neglected. half the time, we forget that there is a newborn in the house! the other day, i went into his nursery to get a diaper for aj and i turned on the lights without even realizing he was sleeping in his crib. oops.
my little peanut turns 1!
i know, peanut isn't quite appropriate considering he's quite a chunky monkey now! i'm a little late in posting his 1st birthday but it's been insanely busy at work and i've barely had a moment to come up for air.
here are his stats:
height: 31 inches (75%)
weight: 25 lbs (75%)
head circumference: 18.5 inches (50-75%)
still very consistent in his growth. poor guy had 3 shots since we decided to give him the regular flu, H1N1 and hep a shot. he'll have to go back in a couple of months to get his other immunization shots that he didn't get since we gave him both flu shots.
where do i even begin about his recent developments?
personality biggest observation...boy, is he stubborn and fearless. he also throws some major attitude and tantrums. both my sister and my mother have noticed how he has no fear in putting his hands everywhere and climbs up on everything. he is definitely standing up to his nephew now and throws quite a tantrum when my nephew is in his "space". when he doesn't get what he wants, man, is he fierce. my mom says this is what i get for being such a stubborn child myself. other than his stubborn nature, he's still more like his dad. still very laidback and plays well by himself. he does occasionally get clingy, but for the most part adjusts easily w/ different people and surroundings.
nutrition we are very lucky that he eats everything. and lots of it too! he still loves his milk but loves fruits and cheerios and really, any snack we give him. the only issue is he hates wearing his bib. he tries to pull it off every time we put it on.
mobility close to his birthday, he had teased us with taking a couple of steps every now and then. however, last week, he took ten steps and now he is a walking machine. we went to the stanford mall and that was his first time walking around in public. it was great to let him walk in such an open space and not feel like you are in someone's way. he still crawls when we wants to go somewhere fast but he definitely tries to walk everywhere first.
sleep so we regressed a couple of weeks ago. he started waking up in the middle of the night and we just took him to our bed. so, now every night, he falls asleep in his crib but will wake up in the middle of the night. we'll go pick him up and he'll sleep between us until it's time to get up! we need to sleep train him again but we actually really enjoy his smiling face when we wake up.
here are his stats:
height: 31 inches (75%)
weight: 25 lbs (75%)
head circumference: 18.5 inches (50-75%)
still very consistent in his growth. poor guy had 3 shots since we decided to give him the regular flu, H1N1 and hep a shot. he'll have to go back in a couple of months to get his other immunization shots that he didn't get since we gave him both flu shots.
where do i even begin about his recent developments?
personality biggest observation...boy, is he stubborn and fearless. he also throws some major attitude and tantrums. both my sister and my mother have noticed how he has no fear in putting his hands everywhere and climbs up on everything. he is definitely standing up to his nephew now and throws quite a tantrum when my nephew is in his "space". when he doesn't get what he wants, man, is he fierce. my mom says this is what i get for being such a stubborn child myself. other than his stubborn nature, he's still more like his dad. still very laidback and plays well by himself. he does occasionally get clingy, but for the most part adjusts easily w/ different people and surroundings.
nutrition we are very lucky that he eats everything. and lots of it too! he still loves his milk but loves fruits and cheerios and really, any snack we give him. the only issue is he hates wearing his bib. he tries to pull it off every time we put it on.
mobility close to his birthday, he had teased us with taking a couple of steps every now and then. however, last week, he took ten steps and now he is a walking machine. we went to the stanford mall and that was his first time walking around in public. it was great to let him walk in such an open space and not feel like you are in someone's way. he still crawls when we wants to go somewhere fast but he definitely tries to walk everywhere first.
sleep so we regressed a couple of weeks ago. he started waking up in the middle of the night and we just took him to our bed. so, now every night, he falls asleep in his crib but will wake up in the middle of the night. we'll go pick him up and he'll sleep between us until it's time to get up! we need to sleep train him again but we actually really enjoy his smiling face when we wake up.
10.08.2009
long overdue update...
while i'm stuck at home sick, i might as well update the blog since i've been such a slacker. =)
i can't believe my little man is turning 1 yr old in a couple of weeks. the time has flown by so fast. since the last post, he's grown so much!
teeth: after his 1st 2 bottom teeth came in when he was 6 months old, there was no progress until he was 10 months old. at 10 months, his front 4 teeth came in all at the same time! poor kiddo. just this week, another bottom tooth cut through. so now he has 7 teeth!
standing: i can proudly say that a started standing on his own a week ago or so. at first, he was distracted by playing w/ something w/ both hands and didn't realize he was standing on his lone. however, last week, he was aware of what he was doing and was clapping and so proud of himself!!
walking: my mom claims that he made his 1st step this past week. he made one step twice! i have yet to see this milestone so until i've witnessed it...it's not true haahaa.
a is an expert at clapping. he's so proud of himself when he's clapping! he's also gotten really good at waving hi and goodbye and giving kisses!
i've been sick this week and a has been staying w/ my parents so i don't infect him. so maybe he's made even more progress! =)
i can't believe my little man is turning 1 yr old in a couple of weeks. the time has flown by so fast. since the last post, he's grown so much!
teeth: after his 1st 2 bottom teeth came in when he was 6 months old, there was no progress until he was 10 months old. at 10 months, his front 4 teeth came in all at the same time! poor kiddo. just this week, another bottom tooth cut through. so now he has 7 teeth!
standing: i can proudly say that a started standing on his own a week ago or so. at first, he was distracted by playing w/ something w/ both hands and didn't realize he was standing on his lone. however, last week, he was aware of what he was doing and was clapping and so proud of himself!!
walking: my mom claims that he made his 1st step this past week. he made one step twice! i have yet to see this milestone so until i've witnessed it...it's not true haahaa.
a is an expert at clapping. he's so proud of himself when he's clapping! he's also gotten really good at waving hi and goodbye and giving kisses!
i've been sick this week and a has been staying w/ my parents so i don't infect him. so maybe he's made even more progress! =)
deflated...
i had a pretty unlucky car experience this past week. when i went to get my car out of the work garage, i noticed i had a flat tire. luckily the car attendant and building maintenance changed my tire in like 5 minutes! this is the 2nd flat tire for me. luckily both times, it was a slow leak and it wasn't while i was driving on the road. that same day, the engine malfunction light came on in my car. this is the 2nd time the light has gone off. s took it to our mechanic and got it fixed on monday. i'm still driving w/ the full spare but have to get it replaced this weekend!
my poor car...last month, i got into a fender bender when someone rear ended me. it caused a couple of scratches on the back bumper. bo currently has 108k miles and has to hold up for a couple more years!! s won't let me get a new car until his truck is completely paid off. i don't know why it matters since we pay out of our separate accounts anyway. something about being fiscally responsible?!?!
my poor car...last month, i got into a fender bender when someone rear ended me. it caused a couple of scratches on the back bumper. bo currently has 108k miles and has to hold up for a couple more years!! s won't let me get a new car until his truck is completely paid off. i don't know why it matters since we pay out of our separate accounts anyway. something about being fiscally responsible?!?!
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