Tuesday, June 9, 2009

March Madness!


Photo booth shot courtesy of J&J's wedding


Weddings come and go in waves. This year is chock full of nuptials: Chris's Oberlin pal, Cat, got hitched to Joe in early March, and his boss and buddy from the graveyard shift days, James, said "I do" to Julia a couple of weeks later.


Cat's nieces: flower girls, or rock stars in training?


Macaroons from Paulette: J&J's wedding favors


We weren't able to make Yuri's Scripps buddy Youshik's big day with Nicole a couple of weeks later, which totally bummed us out. But here's a couple of snaps from the March Matrimonial Madness we were able to take part in (which also included Aki's first wedding):

Cat & Joe's Wedding Bash in Vegas



Tristan, Chris & Andy


Weddings are always a good excuse to see friends. Cat and Joe's March wedding in Vegas was a chance for Chris to catch up with some of the best. It was especially great to return the favor, since Tristan, Chuck, Jess, Janet, John, Cat, and Joe all came to our wedding less than two years ago.


Chuck


Here's Chuck, The Last Bohemian (orchestral musician, violin salesman, wine connoisseur, country music star...), and my temporary roommate, waggling his tongue before disappearing on me with our one and only key card. Will his antics never end? Luckily, Jess and Andy were willing to grab a ten dollar burger with me until he turned up.


Cat & Maid-of-Honor Jess


Speaking of Jess, Yuri and I are wondering when she's going to turn up in So Cal again, so we can pick hang out at her parents' beautiful home (they've got some mighty tasty plums, too).

I also got a chance to catch up with one of my old roomies, T-dog. We tried to out-dry each other with our duelling dry senses of humor, but as usual, it ended in a draw (and of course all that dryness made us want to have a drink. Or three.) Unfortunately, our other roomie, Greg, was busy playing a gig in D.C. with some guy named Barack. I guess his career is going pretty well.



Cat & Joe got married a tee shot off the green at the Red Rock Country Club in Summerland. Besides seeing an old friend marry the love of her life, some of the highlights include the inflatable guitar-wielding flower girls, and the prime rib, which is probably the best wedding food Chris has ever had.

We're totally thrilled for Cat & Joe, and hope their kids are as cute and rambunctious as Cat's nieces. Congrats, guys!


James & Julia's Big Day in Pasadena

March 21, 2009


Back when we were shopping for wedding venues, we narrowed our list down to three places: The New Otani, the Athenaeum at Cal Tech, and The Westin in Pasadena. All three looked like dream locations to us, so when James & Julia actually had their reception at The Westin this past March, we were thrilled.

James & Julia's wedding was full of personal touches. First, there was the photo booth, as well as the color assortment of party favors and name cards:



There were countless other little touches, like the table names, which were named for authors, since Julia & James are both book lovers. We were, appropriately, seated at Murakami. :)

Our friends Amy and Meredith came back from Nashville for a short stint to see James and Julia get hitched. The six of us hadn't been together since we wished them congratulations or bon voyage (or Happy Trails? Is that what folks say in Nashville?) at Blue Velvet. They were pretty happy that they finally got to meet Aki.


Meredith and Amy cuddle up with Aki


During the cocktail hour, Amy and Chris realized that something reminded us of working those surreal Santa Monica nights in an office tower with James: it was the music! How cool is a wedding that features a playlist with Belle & Sebastian, Camera Obscura, Radiohead, and Nouvelle Vague?

Coffesnorter, James's former roommate and Chris's old source of under the radar tunes, was also there. His blog has lived (and died? when are you going to post again, buddy?) in different incarnations during both our Livejournal and Blogger days. "I feel like I'm trapped inside of James's iPod," he said, although I knew he approved of the tunes as much as I did. Their first dance, after all, was to Band of Horses. Indie, indeed!

We miss you guys! But we're so happy for you, too! Words can't express how thrilled we were to leave the Westin with a little treat from Paulette:


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Sunday, June 7, 2009

Little Tree Hugger



Aki's Daddy is known to friends and family alike as a certified, tree-hugging, bare-footed Oberlin hippie.

Here's Aki getting his first chance to flounder around in the grass. Like father, like son!

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Wednesday, May 20, 2009

Where is Aki?






There he is!

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Wednesday, May 13, 2009

Aki & Daddy's Week Off


Grinnin' at the Huntington


A few weeks ago, while Aki's Ojii-san and Obaa-san hiked, hang-glided, tubed, and tramped their way across Kauai, Chris took the week off, stayed at home, and got to spend some good, quality Daddy time with Aki.

They took a stroll to break in Aki's new shades...



...then stopped off at home to freshen up in front of the mirror. Who's that good lookin' guy?!



Later on, the Santiago boys headed out one of the family's favorite destinations, the Huntington Gardens, for more strolling and napping. They didn't forget to stop and smell the roses.



While taking a break from the stroller and getting a gander at the pond in the middle of the new Chinese Garden, Aki saw a couple of, well, ganders! Dropping into the water on their way back north after a winter getaway south of the border. With a dramatic squawk and a graceful, confident brush stroke into the water, they made the declaration that spring had officially begun.

Things were definitely looking up!



Aki and Daddy still had time to explore the Huntington's charming children's garden...



...and check out a couple of paintings (the first real ones Aki had ever seen), including a Mary Cassatt of, what else? a Mommy washing a wee witto baby!



Speaking of Mommy, Aki could barely contain his excitement when his Mommy finally got home.



A week off with Daddy was great, but things are always at their best when all three of us are together!

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Tuesday, May 12, 2009

Faux-Hawk




Now that my hair is growing out, Mommy and Daddy have started experimenting with new hairstyles for me. It's not quite like Uncle Tommy's or Daddy's friend Chuck's, but give me a few years and it'll be the best. Faux-hawk. Ever.

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