Boston Grodzins

When we were in Boston we ended up seeing relatives from the Grodzins side of the family as well. A happy time was had by all! We went swimming with Dean, Nora and Lily at the Charles Hotel and had a wonderful time. The girls looked like sisters with their ringlets and sparkling blue eyes! Chloe was absolutely fascinated by her beautiful, charming, sweet and silly older cousin. We also got to see Misha and Kelly and stay up late Wednesday night. That was a special treat for sure!

Mark's Goodies

here's a link to mark's flickr.

San Fran with Pan

Click here to see more shots from San Francisco!

St. Joes

Well we're back from Michigan. Panda and I had a lovely time with Cookie, Grandpa, and Sasha and we absolutely adored the Konker's laid back, retro-style and completely comfy cozy beach house. It has so much personality! I drove up on Wednesday with Jill and Simon, who decided to stay for the night after we realized there were about sixteen spare beds. It was so fun to have a road trip and a slumber party! But Panda and I missed Mark so much the whole time we were gone. We wish he had been able to come with!

See more highlights-- the beach, the house and the company-- in Picasa.


PS. The porch (decidedly the favorite room in the house) shady and breezy, ended up being the place to congregate over the hot hot hot weekend. We all loved napping on the swinging bed!

Photo Shoot on Maiden Lane

I forgot to mention...
Last weekend, back when we were still in warm, sunny San Francisco, we had a family photo shoot on Maiden Lane. The subjects were Nona and her men. As part of her daily Mocca experience Nona is serenaded by a fabulous jazz trio. They are excellent musicians who have become quite close with my grandmother over the years. They are shown here, flanking their most loyal fan, along with her sons, Jim, Josh and Michael. As you can see the photo shoot was quite the spectacle, and soon a crowd gathered to see what all the fuss was about. It was a lot of fun! The camera the photographer uses is really old...I don't know the details about it though.

Manual-Schmanual

I was going over my photos from San Francisco with Mark last night after we got home from the airport, and we were surprised how blurry most of them turned out. I don't have the greatest vision to start with so I couldn't tell until I imported them that anything was that fuzzy. Anyway, Mark checked out the camera and located the problem: it was set to be manually focused. Of course, I didn't know that, and wouldn't have known what to do about anyway, so I was pointing and shooting as if it was doing all the work for me. Long story short, here are some blurry photos of the Grodzins family in San Francisco for your enjoyment!

Friends and Family

Sasha's friend from Parker, Julia, is temporarily living and working in San Francisco. We had the pleasure of spending Saturday and Sunday together, shopping, snacking, stretching and catching up.

Heading Home

In case you were wondering when/if I was ever coming home, the answer is we are on our way now! It is a bittersweet homecoming for us. On one hand I am beyond excited to be home with Mark again. I've missed him so much! On the other we have really been enjoying the record breaking warm weather here on the west coast and are not looking forward to the negative degrees which are supposed to greet us at O'Hare. Yikes! To pass the time we have crossword puzzles and Dr. Spock.

See you soon, Chicago!

Mocca

Nona goes to Mocca everyday for coffee and lunch. When we are in San Francisco it's a highlight each day to sit outside with the pigeons and enjoy a latte and a tuna nicoise. It's located on the chicest alley in San Fran: Maiden Lane. It shares the block with such venerable retail establishments as Chanel, Gucci, Prada, Marc Jacobs, Max Mara, Yves Saint Laurent and Hermes. Pretty swanky, eh?

Sunrise Over the Bay

Good morning San Francisco! We are early risers here on the Pacific coast. Dad and I watched the sky turn bright while checking in with the office. Thanks to Colette, Barbara and Marley for holding down the fort!

Smokey Apartment

They say ex-smokers are more sensitive? Just Kidding...

Here's Nona and Josh sharing the couch at the apartment. Everyone is smiling this trip.

Hat Brothers

Keeping toasty warm in San Fran...

It's warm in the sun and cold in the shade. If you're heading uphill, it's hot hot hot! Here are the famous Hat Brothers in front of the wedding chapel.

San Francisco Treat

I'm in San Francisco with Sasha, Mom, Dad and Uncle Josh visiting Nona and Uncle Mike's family. It's sunny and beautiful here! This is the view from the Mandarin Oriental, aka the place where Mark and I said "I do." Still gorgeous.