2nd half of 2010

i cannot believe it's been 6 months already.  indeed the 2nd half of 2010 has served me well.  my cousins finally visited us this summer.  LA>Vegas>SF was a lot of fun.  i'm so happy that they celebrated my sister's 30th with her.  as always they are in our thoughts and we can't wait to see them again.  i'm sure i will be in london in 2011 for a chau wedding.

4th quarter really stuck out as our dine about town adventure in SF.
-sotto mare for my surprised bday dinner organized by my sweetie, seafood was yummy but not to die for, the scallop entree impressed me
-wayfare tavern for sweetie's bday dinner for two.  this is the former rubicon's space.  the overall experience was good but not great.  fried chicken was tender, learned about brining chicken with buttermilk.  bday boy liked his beef short rib.  $10 valet is ridiculous but hey it's SF.
-michael mina courtesy of crosslink!  the maine lobster pot pie was delicious!  the winner for appetizer was the hamachi crudo.  come here if you feel like throwing away a couple of benjamins.
-chapeau! for TY's holiday dinner.  this is officially one of our favorite restaurants in SF.  i normally don't like french food (not sure if i do yet) but this french bistro really blew me away.  we generally ordered items that you could probably find at any high end californian restaurant and skipped the escargot (was it even on the menu?).  the best filet mignon and pork loin we've both had.  the profiterole dessert was divine.

i wouldn't do 2010 justice if i didn't mention hawaii.  i finally visited hawaii, big island to be exact.  we did some uber fun activities like snorkeling and tried ziplining for the very first time.  the rainforests were sooo beautiful.  we saw the milky way, it does exist!  i am going to be 100% honest and say that i did not love hawaii.  it is too quiet and remote for me.  i understand that people go there to relax and do nothing but for me  i feel like i can do that at home, why travel so far?

we got a lot of visitors in town the past week.  the highlight was T's sister getting engaged during her stay with us.  i'm so happy that we were a part of the engagement planning.  congrats Pris & Rich!  before i go, also congrats to Hugh & Jamie for giving birth to baby Carter at 6pm today.  I can't wait to meet him in a couple of days!

Happy New Year Everyone!