The day our lives changed forever.

Gabriella "Ella"

Born on January 30, 2013 at 5:15 am.

6 pounds, 10 ounces, 19 inches. 

that was a good day.  she is officially 5 days old today.  i have so much to write and share with all of you...from her birth story to her sleep schedule to breast feeding to postpartum surprises.

we are all doing good.  she's a beautiful, healthy, baby girl which is more than i could have ever asked for.  our family of 3 is bunkering down in our home trying to catch our breathes and get to know our tiny blessing from God.  she's a miracle...our little miracle.

i promise to catch you up to speed soon.

To my mom, happy birthday.

happy 64th birthday to the most beautiful, gracious, stylish, smart, strong, funny, and loving woman i know.  knowing what i know now, this woman is one of a kind.  she worked full time, had a home cooked, delicious meal on the table every single night, dressed like no other mom i knew, and would do anything for my dad, my brother, and myself.  she is a woman that i certainly admire and strive to be like.  she's going to make the best grandmother to baby gabriella, and i know i'm going to be a good mom because i was raised by her.  love you forever mom.  happy birthday.  i can't thank you enough for everything you do for me.

if you're wondering what we did to celebrate her birthday...we ate...yummy korean food at mom's tofu house.  you know me, i just had to take some photos ;-)

i was so excited to dig into this bi bim bop that i forgot to take a picture of it.
trust me, it was delicious.

My birthday :: Part 3

cotogna! my much anticipated dinner date with my extraordinary husband finally was here and it was just perfect.  hours leading up to our 7:30 pm reservation, john, being the always prepared/conscientious driver that he is, was plotting a plan to bypass critical mass.  so we left a little earlier just in case we hit (not literally) those bicyclists in the city.  luckily, we completely missed the pack and got to cotogna a little early.  since our table was not quite ready, and there was no point in us sitting at the bar...you know,  since i can't drink (i did, however, have the tiniest sip of john's chianti during dinner to remind my taste buds how good wine is)...we decided to walk the hills of san francisco.

quince is right next to cotogna and this is their kitchen.  isn't it cool how we can see their glorious work space and all the work that needs to be done to run a restaurant?  i had to stand there and watch all the action.  it was sort of like part getting food at in-n-out and being in line at the drive thru where you can see them preparing the french fries by slamming the potatoes into the french fry cutter and part watching the food network/cooking channel on HD.  if you are obsessed with watching cooking shows like i am, then you will be able to appreciate my fascination for this detail of quince. and now onto cotogna!

 

here we have my handsome husband.
he is good lookin' but i'll admit, i was eyeing
that wine glass while i was taking
this picture ;-)

and here i am smiling at the menu.  in case you don't know me,
food gets me VERY excited.  i really enjoy reading menus.  i told you already...
i'm a big dork and a little weird at times.

this is what we ordered:

antipasti: pork belly, frisee and acorn squash

primi: tagliatelle with duck ragu

pizze (and no, i did not spell it wrong): genovese basil, fior di 

latte mozzarella & sweet 100 tomatoes

la griglia: mixed grill of lamb leg & shoulder

and now for some photos of the restaurant.

the grill.

the wood fire pizza oven

the bar.

there you have it dear friends, my birthday dinner with the husband.  oh my goodness, i almost forgot dessert!  sooooooo not like me.

here i am making my birthday wish.  and btw, this was the most
delicious apple crostini i've ever had.
i wanted more...

...so we stopped at mitchell's ice cream to get a tub of mexican
chocolate.  i would've bought grasshopper too,
but they were all out =(

the end.

My birthday kick off :: Part 2

when my brother got home he surprised me with a sweet birthday card and baby gabriella's first gift.

of course he had to get her 49er's gear.
btw, i'm sot so sure about stripes anymore...

then we headed to san mateo with my parents to celebrate my birthday at himawari.  so far ramen dojo takes the cake.  but himawari was good too.  overall, this has got to be one of the best birthday kick offs for me.  i really have to count my blessings!  34 ain't too shabby ;-)

i am stuffed!  the birthday marathon takes a break tomorrow (gotta work), but then friday is cotogna and sat is dinner with my cousins.  life is good.

My birthday kick off :: Part 1

ok, ok. so it's not quite my birthday yet.  but john and i just received the best news we could ever have hoped for.  are you ready?

by the way, john is just being silly by making that face.  he really wanted a girl.  GABRIELLA ANTONIO ADONA it is, and we couldn't feel anymore blessed.  next up, himawari for dinner!


PS

dear baby,
last night i had a dream about you and i dreamt i was having a baby girl, but we had named you emily.  it was so ironic because it was the very first time i had ever dreamed about you and up until that moment i thought i was having a boy.  after that dream, i was certain i was having a girl.  so when the doctor told us the news, i just smiled, because i already knew ;-)

Why are maternity clothes ugly?

even the bras are a site that can make your eyes sore.  check it:

image via

image via

see? i told ya?

remember when i wrote about my birthday plans?  since then, i've been on the hunt for a maternity dress, or at least a dress that will flatter and accommodate my growing self.  i'm not opposed to buying a non-maternity dress, but i hate how the front of those dresses become shorter in the front because of the big belly. as for maxi dresses...although i think they are cute, i'm just not into them.  thinking ahead and reasoning to myself the need to buy a maternity dress is that i also have 2 weddings to attend this year.  so, i figured i could spend the money on buying something that i could get a few wears out of.  cue in asos.  low and behold, they have a cute maternity line that is affordable.  plus, free shipping both ways...bingo!  i think i have my store ;-)

here are some dresses i've been eyeing:

$60.36...not bad, but not great.

$77.61
this one would be definitely a splurge.
but i really like it.

$68.98

$36.22
now we're talkin'.

$51.74
i really like this one too.

as always, i'll let you know which one i end up getting and how it fits.  while we are on the subject of maternity dresses...what are your thoughts on above the knee dresses for pregnant ladies...chic and sexy or tasteless and down-right-inappropriate?  do tell.

Super excited for my birthday.

this year i'll be turning 34.  is that considered mid-30s???? oh my, how time flies...<sigh>

although i'm not too keen on getting older, this birthday is going to be a doozer. you see, i'll be 19 weeks by sept 28 which means...dun-durarun...we can find out the sex of the baby!!! in my mind, the perfect birthday day would be as follows: a nice jog around lake merced when i wake up, ultrasound appointment late morning, finding out that we are having healthy baby boy or girl, then lunch with john so we can laugh and giggle with pure joy and excitement about the amazing news, head back home to rest and to get ready for a night out in san francisco.

to top it off, john made dinner reservations to cotogna. for those of you who aren't in the know, the chef and owner of cotogna is michael tusk, who is also is the chef and owner of the ever popular quince, who just happened to recently win the james beard award for the best chef in the pacific.  if everything goes according to plan, i'll be one happy and lucky girl come the end of september.

here are some pics of cotogna

is that a fire roasted pizza oven? i say yes please!

leg of lamb on a spit with grilled vegetables underneath to catch the drippings?  heck ya!

bomboloni with ricotta, blueberries, and limoncello sauce.
fancy!

i'm planning to go all out that night. pizza, pasta, grilled vegetables with lamb, and dessert. no carb/calorie watching for me.  of course i'll let you know how it all goes down.

next up, finding a cute dress to accommodate my ever growing belly.

On how we celebrated my sweetie's birthday.

by eating of course! we slept in yesterday, had some good morning conversations, and decided to stuff ourselves silly at John's (he said i could use his name now) favorite brunch joint, Brenda's French Soul Food. it was divine! the wait was rather long so we wandered around the neighborhood to hooker's sweet treats and got us some salted caramels and a hot chocolate to tide our appetites over.  it was a good, low key, relaxing afternoon. for dinner, we were supposed to eat at the broken record but was still so stuffed from our brunch meal that while the thought of pork waffle fries with cheese sauce, sweet potatertots, and pulled pork sandwiches usually makes us swoon, we felt kinda green just thinking of it. so we opted for a quiet night at home watching true blood. i wouldn't have it any other way. happy 34th birthday sweetie!