We were spoiled this weekend by the good company of visiting friends. Not only did we get to see Vee on Saturday, but my friend Sylvia flew in from New Jersey on Sunday for a business trip, so I got to see her over lunch as well! 🙂
After lunch, we grabbed some froyo at Yoppi next door. I’ve known Sylvia for as long as I can remember — we became fast friends at summer camp one year (we must’ve still been in elementary school!), and were pen pals for years. 🙂 I’m grateful that we still keep in touch and can see each other from time to time, even though we are on opposite sides of the country.
My college friend Veronica is staying with our friend Sue this weekend in San Francisco, so we spent Saturday in the city with them catching up over lunch and relaxing in the park.
Here I am with Sue, Vee, and my 35-week baby bump in front of City View Restaurant in the Financial District.
I just had dim sum a couple weeks ago with Juli in Palo Alto, but I can never get enough! Especially those shrimp dumplings… my favorite!
After stuffing ourselves full, we headed over to Alamo Square for the afternoon to enjoy the beautiful weather by picnicking in the park.
The view of the city from Alamo Square…
We had fun snapping polaroids with Sue’s cool new toy…
An outing with Sue is never complete without some jumping. 🙂
This one’s my favorite! I did a fine job capturing the moment, if I do say so myself! 😉
We stopped by Wonder Dog Rescue in Hayes Valley to see the puppies there. They were so adorable!
Here I am, falling in love:
Here’s to a Saturday well-spent with old friends! Thanks to Vee for snapping this photo of me and the hubby. (It’s actually one of our few photos together during the pregnancy… we haven’t really had a chance to take many.) Come back to visit again soon!
As I mentioned before, West Side Story is my favorite musical (and one of my favorite movies) of all time, and I grew up watching it over and over during my childhood. I watched it so much that the tape on the VHS wore down over the years, and I eventually bought myself the special edition DVD which I still watch once in a while to get my “fix.” The music in West Side Story is timeless and unforgettable, and it’s an ingenious reinvention of Shakespeare’s classic Romeo and Juliet to 1950s New York City, with plenty of social commentary thrown into the mix.
My dream has always been to see it live on stage… and my dream came true on Sunday! Dan surprised me last month with tickets, since West Side Story is in San Francisco at the Orpheum Theater for a month. Since my parents-in-law also have always loved West Side Story (since the movie came out when they were in high school, their generation was even more heavily influenced by the groundbreaking film), we got them tickets too! Dan’s father’s birthday was late October and his mother’s birthday is early November, so it made for a memorable birthday gift for both of them. 🙂
The show was amazing and did not disappoint! I was surprised that the original dialogue and scenes were kept mostly intact. The only things that were changed was that some of the order of the scenes and numbers were switched around, and parts of some of the songs sung by the Sharks and their girls were in Spanish, which I thought was a refreshing update. I don’t know Spanish, but since I was already so familiar with the original songs, I knew exactly what they were singing. I know every line in the original so well that I was finishing the cast members’ sentences in my head. Scary, I know….
If you live in the Bay Area, I really recommend catching a performance before it leaves San Francisco at the end of the month! If you live elsewhere, definitely go when it comes to your nearest city! 🙂
August was a banner month of visiting friends! Besides my family, who came to visit earlier in the month, we had the pleasure of seeing some of my college friends who were in town the past couple weeks. Schedules were busy and meeting times were limited, but it was so nice to see some familiar faces….
A couple of weeks ago, we had dinner with Jamie when she stopped by San Francisco for a weekend after completing her internship at Samsung in South Korea. We unfortunately could only meet her for dinner on a Friday night because we were in Las Vegas the rest of the weekend, but we caught up over some delicious seafood at R&G Lounge in San Francisco. Jamie was only a freshman when I was a senior, but she seems so grown up now! It made me so proud! (And at the same time made me feel old! haha*)
With Jamie at dinner at R&G Lounge.First time seeing Jamie in over three years!
This past weekend, Luice and Stephanie were in town for their cousin’s wedding, and they were able to make some time for a short brunch before they had to rush off to the nuptials. I was so happy to see the Woo sisters again! 😀 We went to San Tung in Inner Sunset, famous for their dry-fried chicken wings!
Brunch at San Tung with Stephanie, Luice, and Sue!
Loved seeing everyone again!
In addition to visitors, I was excited to have two friends from back East move to the area this month as well. Sue, who came to visit last month, landed an awesome job out here at a renowned architecture firm, and our friends April and Ed (now engaged!) made the move earlier this month for April to start her PhD program at UC Berkeley. We’re so happy to have so many new neighbors from back home! 😀
My family was in town a couple weeks ago, and we got to spend some quality time together. It was the first time that all of us Yokoyama’s were together since New Years, so I was ecstatic to see them all again! I took a Friday off to spend a day with them in San Francisco, and then we drove to South Lake Tahoe for the weekend. Here are some photos from the Yokoyama reunion! 😀
My family making their way down the steps of Lombard Street
Me with my mother and siblings.
Ramen lunch at Tanpopo in Japantown.
For dinner, we went to Zabu Zabu in Berkeley, a shabu shabu restaurant.
Dan and I treated the family to a delicious shabu shabu all-you-can-eat dinner.
On Saturday morning, we headed out in the morning to drive to South Lake Tahoe. I’ve been to Tahoe before, but it was in the winter when there was snow, and it was the northern side at Northstar, so this was a whole new experience to visit the southern side and in the summertime!
My parents with the mountains in South Lake Tahoe.
Dan's got the blues
Miwa advertising her canned green tea.
I love my parents!
At night, the siblings came together for game night in our hotel room.
The next morning, at Heavenly Ski Resort.
The Yokoyama ladies
Miwa and I with our parents.
After breakfast, we rode the gondolas up to the lookout point.
Me with my sister and brother on the gondola.
Arriving at the lookout point.
The Yokoyamas at South Lake Tahoe
A gorgeous view of Lake Tahoe!
We ended our weekend in Tahoe with mini golf, a Yokoyama family tradition.
It was really hot in Tahoe, so we cooled down with some shaved ice. (They claimed it was Hawaiian style, but it just didn't compare....)
I had a wonderful time with the family, but as always, I wish I could have made it longer! It’s so hard when you live across the country from your family and loved ones. I can’t wait until the holidays, when we can go visit them back East! 🙂
As I 
