Wednesday, October 17, 2007

North Cackalacky style!

Tara, Audrey, Cara and I had a mah jongg-filled weekend visiting Wai Gong and Ai Li in Raleigh, with a few breaks thrown in for thrift shopping and chowing down on deep-fried peanut butter and jelly sandwiches at the state fair! Here's a smattering of pictures from the fair, more to come but not until Cara and I get back from our travels in early November. So long!




Thursday, October 11, 2007

Vancouver

Some pics from Vancouver!!

As you can see it's a very "new" city -- tons (or should I say "tonnes") of new luxury high-rise developments with floor to ceiling glass windows...


The mountains are literally right there. Obscured by clouds in this pic, but in the winter they are snow-capped, and you can go skiing just a 15 min drive away.


The city also used to be known for its neon lights -- it used to be 2nd in neon-per-capita just after Shanghai!! (Sez the Lonely Planet -- where I get all my good travel info from.)


The fall leaves were stunning both on and off the trees.


The hiking was ridiculously gorgeous, and so nearby! And lily-pads always make me so happy!!


The natives were friendly...


...and so was the wildlife!


Stunning views of the city and snow-capped Mt. Baker at our destination!


An incredible city! But there are some things this place is just missing...


I *heart* y'all!

Wednesday, October 10, 2007

Claudius' wedding!!!

Claudius and Eleanor, the two people most likely to live extremely happily ever after, got married in Baltimore on September 22nd!




Below are Audrey's pics from the big wedding weekend in Baltimore. Here are Claude and Eleanor (and assorted groomsmen further down) getting their formal pictures taken.

If you look closely, you'll see the wedding party on the left, having their picture taken. On the far right is a man passed out. At 10 am. And this is the nice part of town. Just one reason why Baltimore can lay claim to the moniker "Charm City."


Bridesmaids all gussied up . Why is Julia making that face? Is she concerned about her chances for catching that bouquet?



Brunch the next day was held at Eleanor's grandmother's beautiful house in fancy shmancy Roland Park.



And here are some faraway friends from college, some of whom I haven't seen in , what , five years? Impossible!




Okay, so Rick and Megan aren't so very faraway (unless Jersey City counts). They get my vote for most likely to be next married.


After brunch, Megan and Rick and I headed over to Waverly and hit Normal's Books and Records, my *favorite* used bookstore in Baltimore. I think I only mentioned it about 25 times in the course of three days. Seriously, though, hard to find art books, a great fiction section, used records, zines and chap books. It's a book nerd's heaven.


I got a picture of the Pee Wee they keep behind the counter. May I draw your attention to PW's little sign? He likes it there because they treat him like an adult.


This last picture is of a tea house that Megan and I visited the last time we were in Baltimore together and I include it because it really is so quintessentially Baltimore. There's a side of the city that is so deeply weird and eccentric, but with a deep (Southern-flavored) conservative streak. To look at it, you'd this house was home to an artsy, ex-hippie, bohemian collective. Instead it's a tea house that serves five course teas in a Victorian-themed parlor. They have rooms with hats and various accoutrements so you can play dress up. They serve a three course lunch with entrees like chicken-fried steak and other Southern home-cooking specialties.



I miss Baltimore sometimes.

Audrey turns 32!

For her 32nd birthday, Audrey demonstrated that she has the most tolerant neighbors anybody could hope for, when the civilized "I'm well into my 30's now" vibe gave way to a raucous all-night dance party featuring non-stop rumpshaking, off-key singalongs, and impromptu breakdancing...
Mina didn't get the memo to "wear a little black dress, or else":
To be fair, apparently James didn't either:
"Or else":
I don't actually have any proof of the super late-night shenanigans because I was too busy dancing to document, but instead here are some shots of the dual birthday cakes Audrey baked. The vegan cupcakes she also baked didn't make it into the shot probably because they all ended up in my belly before any pictures could be snapped.


Friday, October 5, 2007

Flickr photosets

I've been posting my backlog of photos onto my flickr account and thought you might be interested in the following.

My flickr sets

MJ @ Mina's

Anil's Wedding