A couple weeks after we were married, we went on an impromptu mini honeymoon in Napa! I had booked a photo session in Yountville, so Alex seized the opportunity to turn it into a little staycation while we were up there. What a special privilege to be able to hang out in wine country over…
At the end of November, Alex and I spent two wonderful weeks driving down south, staying in Monterey, Los Alamos, and then Alhambra for a week. First, a little stop in Santa Cruz. There was a cute little street market in downtown Monterey, near our historic hotel where we checked in for two nights. The…
What a whirlwind it’s been since the end of last year. I’m circling back now to recap the last two months of 2022. We start it off with a 100-day celebration for Baby Valente! In November, we had such a beautiful engagement session, and we pulled together all the details for our December ceremony too. …
Let’s take a peek back at October of last year. Better late than never? We started off with a visit to Reeve in Healdsburg. Really enjoyed seeing all the special types of garlic at the Healdsburg Farmers Market. We got two to try, and they did taste different! Little Saint, before it switched over in…
2022 was certainly filled with significant milestones. In May, Alex and I got engaged on a hammock overlooking the Mendocino Coast. In December, we got married in a redwood grove, surrounded by our closest family. And in between, we enjoyed so many lovely moments with our friends and family: my fifteen-year business anniversary, two midwest…
Yes or Yes! This was such a sweet surprise proposal. Darren knew that Yue would suspect that a proposal was coming, because they had already gone ring shopping together. Plus, she knew they had a reservation for The French Laundry where they had dined once before. But he still had some surprises up his sleeve….
September! I’m a bit behind on the personal posts, since I haven’t finished sharing the rest of our grand Midwest baseball tour, but I’ll just sneak in this Bay Area post from September and catch up on the rest later! First, back in the Bay and at the baseball stadium, but not for baseball! It’s…
August! Begins with a virtual Office of Accountability meeting. With babies! Book club, currently discussing Four Thousand Weeks (highly recommend). Flying back from my Midwest tour, still knitting puffs. A bike ride to the Ferry Building Farmers Market Summer bbq party at Steph’s Rainbow French manicure, a month later. Still looking great. Plus, a free…
July recap! We were only in the Bay Area for half of the month, between our trips to San Diego, Milwaukee, Chicago, and my summer camp, TAF. But here is a glimpse at that time in the Bay! First, a very kind gift from my friend Courtney– Taiwanese teas and biscuits from Té Company in…
Alex has a goal to attend an MLB game in all 30 stadiums, so we’ve been making steady progress this year. San Diego was surprisingly still on the list, even though it’s right here in California. So it was time to pay a visit to the Padres while our Giants were on the road there!…
Tahoe is stunning in all seasons– famous for its alpine vistas and world-class skiing in the winter and its clear blue lake and water sports in the summer. We were lucky enough to make visits in both seasons this year. At the end of June, Alex and I drove over to attend a friend’s wedding…
It was so much fun to meet up with James and Jonathan (JJ and JC) for their engagement session all around the Stanford campus, where JC always used to visit JJ during his Ph.D studies. We even ended the session at the very unglamorous loading dock where JC would often wait to pick up JJ…