Seema and Suraj decided to come visit us for the weekend in Altadena, CA (which is where we now live). From our house, you get a great view of the mountains nearby, so we decided to take a road trip and do some exploring. It was great to see, and we were talking about planning a camping trip together one day as well.
We were also so full after our weekend together eating at a few different "very cheap, but very good food" discoveries we've made :) A mediterranean dinner from one place - where all 4 of us were fed for $10.00 (rotisserie chicken, pita bread, garlic and chili sauce, and jalepeno hummus). Lunch the next day was at John's and my favorite Asian diner - where we usually are stuffed from a spicy, yummy plate of Singapore noodles for $6.50... I love these little discoveries :)
Here are our pics from our Altadena "exploring":
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Solar Magic
John and I have decided to use our time in California to experience as much as we can, and in doing so, we've met and worked with many interesting people. We've had the opportunity to work a few times with Trina Celise (although she goes by the nickname, Tee), the owner of "Solar Magic" - a business that produces jewelry which changes color in the sunlight. Her father actually invented the Mood Ring (remember that from the 70's-80's?)
Anyway, for those familiar with QVC, the famous home shopping network was interested in Tee's product, and has placed orders with her about 4 different times so far. John and I have worked with her to help complete some of those orders, and we helped run her Quality Control department as Project Managers for her most recent order.
For those interested in seeing and possibly purchasing the product, take a look at her website: www.solar-magic.com (Sometimes, it takes a little while for the pictures on the website to load up, but you get to see the 4 different styles of jewelry and the colors that change). The product can also be found on the QVC website.
Here are pics from our last product order with her:
Anyway, for those familiar with QVC, the famous home shopping network was interested in Tee's product, and has placed orders with her about 4 different times so far. John and I have worked with her to help complete some of those orders, and we helped run her Quality Control department as Project Managers for her most recent order.
For those interested in seeing and possibly purchasing the product, take a look at her website: www.solar-magic.com (Sometimes, it takes a little while for the pictures on the website to load up, but you get to see the 4 different styles of jewelry and the colors that change). The product can also be found on the QVC website.
Here are pics from our last product order with her:
Saturday, February 21, 2009
Trip to Visit the Gandhi's
After returning from our Philly trip, Seema, John, and I drove up to Sunnyvale, CA to visit Jeeta, Chet, Krishav, and the new addition to their family - Jiyana. (Unfortunately, Suraj was out of town for business). Although we wished we could have stayed longer, we definitely enjoyed the time up there, and look forward to making a trip up there again soon. Thank you to the Gandhis for being such great hosts!!
Our pictures:
Our pictures:
Friday, February 20, 2009
Visting Family in Philly
Since John's mom was visting Philadelphia from India, we decided to make a trip back home for 2 weeks to spend time with her. Although this trip was designed mainly to be with family, we did get the chance to hang out with friends one night. We'll be going back again in May, and will get the chance to see everyone then!
Here are some pics:
Here are some pics:
Sunday, February 8, 2009
Our California CRIBS
When we moved to LA in September, we found a couple on Craigslist looking to rent out a room in their house, and John and I decided to take them up on the offer temporarily while we were working at the LA Fair for a month. We ended up building a great relationship with them, and are still living with them now. They are "hella" cool (a Northern Cali expression we've learned from them:), and we've enjoyed making new friends with them.
David is a thermal engineer, and Nicole works with an environmental company. They both moved to the LA area from Northern California and are engaged to be married in September.
Here are some pics of them, and our CRIBS since we've moved to LA:
David is a thermal engineer, and Nicole works with an environmental company. They both moved to the LA area from Northern California and are engaged to be married in September.
Here are some pics of them, and our CRIBS since we've moved to LA:
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Malibu Sunset
John decided to surprise me with a trip to Malibu - to watch the sunset. He packed food and we sat at benches overlooking the ocean and watched the sunset as we ate. It was a great way to spend our day off :)
Our pictures:
Our pictures:
Sunday, January 25, 2009
Sherine's Birthday
My 32nd birthday was January 25th. We celebrated with Seema and Suraj Patel (our friends from Philly who recently moved to Orange County - which is only about 50 miles away from us). On Saturday night, we all went to a club located in Venice, CA called the Air Conditioned Supper Club (www.airconditionedbar.com) - which sounds like a dumb name for a club, but they actually play GREAT music - a lot of old school hip hop. DJ Quickie Mart (ironic name ;) did a GREAT job that night.
The next evening, Seema, Suraj, John, and I went to a comedy club in Hermosa Beach, CA (www.comedyandmagicclub.com) with our friends Tee and Lawrence to watch Jay Leno perform. They also had one of the head writers from the Tonight Show perform a routine before Leno went on - and that was hilarious. It was definitely a good birthday memory!
Here are some pictures:
The next evening, Seema, Suraj, John, and I went to a comedy club in Hermosa Beach, CA (www.comedyandmagicclub.com) with our friends Tee and Lawrence to watch Jay Leno perform. They also had one of the head writers from the Tonight Show perform a routine before Leno went on - and that was hilarious. It was definitely a good birthday memory!
Here are some pictures:
Monday, January 12, 2009
Los Angeles Areas
Attached are some pictures of a few areas in Los Angeles - specifically, Santee Alley and Olvera Street.
Santee Alley, also known as the Fashion District, is a bargain hunters dream. We really expected something different when we heard it was the "Fashion District" (cause it turned out to be pretty ghetto :). It spans an area of 90 blocks - made up of various vendors and small shops - selling items such as jewelry for 99 cents, luggage for $3.00, and I bought a skirt for $1.00!!!
Here's some info if you are interested in reading further: http://www.fashiondistrict.org
Olvera Street is the oldest street in Los Angeles. It is known as a Mexican marketplace - open everyday, but especially crowded on the weekends, when you will find perfomers entertaining, such as singers and breakdancers. Place full of culture..
For more info, take a look at:
http://www.olvera-street.com/
Here are our pics:
Santee Alley, also known as the Fashion District, is a bargain hunters dream. We really expected something different when we heard it was the "Fashion District" (cause it turned out to be pretty ghetto :). It spans an area of 90 blocks - made up of various vendors and small shops - selling items such as jewelry for 99 cents, luggage for $3.00, and I bought a skirt for $1.00!!!
Here's some info if you are interested in reading further: http://www.fashiondistrict.org
Olvera Street is the oldest street in Los Angeles. It is known as a Mexican marketplace - open everyday, but especially crowded on the weekends, when you will find perfomers entertaining, such as singers and breakdancers. Place full of culture..
For more info, take a look at:
http://www.olvera-street.com/
Here are our pics:
Thursday, December 25, 2008
Christmas
Since we spent Thanksgiving in Las Vegas with the Skariyas, they decided to come to Los Angeles to visit us for Christmas. It definitely made for a good holiday memory -full of eating, drinking, games, and laughter...
Thursday, November 27, 2008
Thanksgiving
For Thanksgiving, John and I drove to Las Vegas to enjoy the holiday with Anisha, Vinod, and the kids - Hannah and Jonathan. We had a great time of eating, drinking, eating, driving around Vegas, eating, playing cards, and more eating :) Thank you to the Skariyas for being such great hosts - we look forward to visiting again soon!
Friday, October 31, 2008
Halloween
Chet got back home from Thailand right before Halloween, and they invited us to go with them to their friend's Halloween party. We put together some last minute costumes ... although I did notice that most of the guys at the party had capes on :)
Jeeta was a She-Devil, Chet was the "Phantom," and John and I were the "Count and Countess".... The best was Krishav - as a "biker dude" - in Harley Davidson black vest, fake tattoos on the sleeves, black jeans, and hair that was spiked up with gel... definitely a cute biker :)
Here are some pics from Halloween:
Jeeta was a She-Devil, Chet was the "Phantom," and John and I were the "Count and Countess".... The best was Krishav - as a "biker dude" - in Harley Davidson black vest, fake tattoos on the sleeves, black jeans, and hair that was spiked up with gel... definitely a cute biker :)
Here are some pics from Halloween:
Saturday, October 25, 2008
We saw Oprah!
So while in California, John and I have discovered the world of Event Marketing/Promotional Jobs. We are hired as staff to work at various events through Event Marketing companies. After trying it, we decided to stick with it while we are here because it's a great way to make money, have a flexible schedule, and get to experience so many different events.
So far, we've had the opportunity to work with the Discovery Channel's Animal Planet Expo, a GAP promotion, Zone Perfect Nutritional Bar sampling at the Palo Alto Arts Festival, Colgate's free dental screenings at the back-to-school health & family festival, and a guerilla marketing sampling for Venom Energy drink (that was a lot of fun -we worked with a fun group of people).
The most recent one we worked for was for an event by "O Magazine" (Oprah Winfrey's Magazine). It was a day designed for women and took place at the Moscone Center in San Francisco. There were seminars by individuals affiliated with Oprah, such as Stacy London (you may recognize her name from "What Not to Wear"), financial expert Suze Orman, fitness expert Jim Karas, etc. There were 4000 women who attended (John was maybe 1 out of 15 men who were there, including staff.. he he :)
We were there to help with registration, and then stuck around the whole day to help out with other small things needed. In the middle of the day, it was announced that Oprah was going to make a surprise appearance. Now I admit I am not a huge fan of hers or anything - I've watched the show, but I don't follow it... but after seeing her and hearing her speak, I have a lot more respect for her. She spoke from the heart, and what she was saying made sense and would probably relate to most people we know - about taking care of yourself, listening within when not sure what to do, and believing in a higher power that is in charge. It was also pretty cool to see a celebrity up close :)
Below are a few pics:
So far, we've had the opportunity to work with the Discovery Channel's Animal Planet Expo, a GAP promotion, Zone Perfect Nutritional Bar sampling at the Palo Alto Arts Festival, Colgate's free dental screenings at the back-to-school health & family festival, and a guerilla marketing sampling for Venom Energy drink (that was a lot of fun -we worked with a fun group of people).
The most recent one we worked for was for an event by "O Magazine" (Oprah Winfrey's Magazine). It was a day designed for women and took place at the Moscone Center in San Francisco. There were seminars by individuals affiliated with Oprah, such as Stacy London (you may recognize her name from "What Not to Wear"), financial expert Suze Orman, fitness expert Jim Karas, etc. There were 4000 women who attended (John was maybe 1 out of 15 men who were there, including staff.. he he :)
We were there to help with registration, and then stuck around the whole day to help out with other small things needed. In the middle of the day, it was announced that Oprah was going to make a surprise appearance. Now I admit I am not a huge fan of hers or anything - I've watched the show, but I don't follow it... but after seeing her and hearing her speak, I have a lot more respect for her. She spoke from the heart, and what she was saying made sense and would probably relate to most people we know - about taking care of yourself, listening within when not sure what to do, and believing in a higher power that is in charge. It was also pretty cool to see a celebrity up close :)
Below are a few pics:
Saturday, October 18, 2008
Back to North Cali
So our friends Seema and Suraj will be moving to Fresno, CA in December, and decided to come out for a few days to check out the place, meet their managers, get an apartment, etc. So John and I decided to drive up to Fresno (about a 3 1/2 hour drive from LA), and met up with them on Saturday (10/18). We went out for dinner, crashed at their hotel, and then drove up to Sunnyvale (near San Fran) to meet up with Jeeta (a little under a 3 hour drive from Fresno). It was really nice to see familiar faces, and we are looking forward to hanging out together more when they move here.
Since Jeeta is very pregnant and her husband Chet was out of the country on business, we decided to stay for those 2 weeks to help her out. It was great to see Krishav now and just how much he has changed in the past 2 months alone. He has learned how to talk so much more, although helicopter still comes out "eli-buckle."
John gets "John Uncle" but I get "Shenie Aunty." We're still working on the name Sherine :) We have also taught him to call himself "SuperKrishav" :)
We will be staying with Jeeta until Halloween, and then after that, off to LA for about a 1 1/2 weeks for a job, and then to Vegas for Thanksgiving with Anisha & Vinod. We always seem to be going from one place to the next, never staying and settling in one place, and people have joked we are kind of like "advanced gypsies" :) We are truly enjoying it though - obtaining so many new friends, stories, and experiences along the way...
Since Jeeta is very pregnant and her husband Chet was out of the country on business, we decided to stay for those 2 weeks to help her out. It was great to see Krishav now and just how much he has changed in the past 2 months alone. He has learned how to talk so much more, although helicopter still comes out "eli-buckle."
John gets "John Uncle" but I get "Shenie Aunty." We're still working on the name Sherine :) We have also taught him to call himself "SuperKrishav" :)
We will be staying with Jeeta until Halloween, and then after that, off to LA for about a 1 1/2 weeks for a job, and then to Vegas for Thanksgiving with Anisha & Vinod. We always seem to be going from one place to the next, never staying and settling in one place, and people have joked we are kind of like "advanced gypsies" :) We are truly enjoying it though - obtaining so many new friends, stories, and experiences along the way...
Sunday, September 28, 2008
LA Fair
John and I decided to accept a month long job working for the Los Angeles County week Fair. It is an annual fair that runs 5 days a week for 4 weeks, and is full of carnival rides, vendor booths, food, food, and more food... There are tons of people that show up, and different celebrity performances and attractions every year.
If you want to check it out to get a better idea, the website is: www.lacountyfair.com
John and I were hired to run the "Tie-Boss" booth - which is a tie-down that is quicker and easier to lock than a regular tie-down. Here's the website: www.tieboss.com.
Through working at the fair, we met a lot of different people, had some interesting conversations, saw some cool gadgets, and made some good friends along the way. It definitely adds to our list of new experiences on our journey...
Here are pics:
If you want to check it out to get a better idea, the website is: www.lacountyfair.com
John and I were hired to run the "Tie-Boss" booth - which is a tie-down that is quicker and easier to lock than a regular tie-down. Here's the website: www.tieboss.com.
Through working at the fair, we met a lot of different people, had some interesting conversations, saw some cool gadgets, and made some good friends along the way. It definitely adds to our list of new experiences on our journey...
Here are pics:
Thursday, August 14, 2008
Philly
Although we were looking foward to visiting Philly, we had a slight snag in our trip. The plane had mechanical issues that grounded us for about 5 hours in the Vegas airport (I know - an exciting place - but the airport's really not that exciting :) Finally arrived in Philly around 3:30 am.... A very lucky sister of mine was given the honor of picking us up at that time.. Thanks Christine!! :)
We had a great time at Vaishali's wedding. The NY venue was one of a kind, and the appetizer stations were awesome - we especially enjoyed the Sushi... yummy! The bride looked absolutely gorgeous, and we wish her all the best!!
The next night we had a payoff dinner with John's friends for a bet the guys had lost during a bowling match from the last time we got together. The girls had to give them credit - they made an amazing dinner of cream of mushroom soup, cucumber sandwiches, lasagna, stuffed peppers, and an assortment of cakes. It surprisingly was a really delicious meal :) Good job guys!!
While we were in Philly, we got to visit Abbey and Soby in the hospital, who had just experienced the birth of their first baby, Pailyn Philip. We thank Pailyn for waiting until we arrived to be born. Congrats to the new parents!!
We were grateful for our time spent with family and friends. We were sad it was only for a week, and that we didn't have time to visit all the family and friends that we would have liked to. We are looking forward to our next trip back to visit again :)
Below are some pics of Baby Pailyn and Vaishali's wedding... wait, not the wedding of baby Pailyn and Vaishali, but.... well, you get the point ;)
We had a great time at Vaishali's wedding. The NY venue was one of a kind, and the appetizer stations were awesome - we especially enjoyed the Sushi... yummy! The bride looked absolutely gorgeous, and we wish her all the best!!
The next night we had a payoff dinner with John's friends for a bet the guys had lost during a bowling match from the last time we got together. The girls had to give them credit - they made an amazing dinner of cream of mushroom soup, cucumber sandwiches, lasagna, stuffed peppers, and an assortment of cakes. It surprisingly was a really delicious meal :) Good job guys!!
While we were in Philly, we got to visit Abbey and Soby in the hospital, who had just experienced the birth of their first baby, Pailyn Philip. We thank Pailyn for waiting until we arrived to be born. Congrats to the new parents!!
We were grateful for our time spent with family and friends. We were sad it was only for a week, and that we didn't have time to visit all the family and friends that we would have liked to. We are looking forward to our next trip back to visit again :)
Below are some pics of Baby Pailyn and Vaishali's wedding... wait, not the wedding of baby Pailyn and Vaishali, but.... well, you get the point ;)
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
Staying with the Gandhi Family
Our entire trip is based around new experiences. During our 6 week stay in Sunnyvale, CA at "Hotel Gandhi," we've had the opportunity to try different types of Gujurati vegetarian food, made some new friends, took a weekend trip to Napa Valley for a wedding, discovered "Event Marketing" - a whole new opportunity for us to work all across the west coast and probably nationwide, bought our first convertible (Mazda Miata), and the list goes on....
We've enjoyed our stay with our new family, and will miss them as we leave to visit Philly for a week and then on to Los Angeles, CA. A sincere thank you to Jeeta, Chet, and Krishav for being excellent hosts, as well as great company. We are looking forward to coming back to visit soon!!!!
We've enjoyed our stay with our new family, and will miss them as we leave to visit Philly for a week and then on to Los Angeles, CA. A sincere thank you to Jeeta, Chet, and Krishav for being excellent hosts, as well as great company. We are looking forward to coming back to visit soon!!!!
Friday, June 27, 2008
John's Birthday
Today is John's birthday - his last year in the twenties!!! Finally....
To celebrate, we took a trip from Jeeta's place to San Francisco, which is about 45 minutes away. We explored Fisherman's Wharf - but the weather turned out to be a lot colder and windier than expected. Apparently, summer months in San Fran are colder, and some of their best weather is in October - called the "Indian Summer."
At Fisherman's Wharf, we had the famous "Clam Chowder in a Sourdough Bread Bowl."
Mmmmm... yummy. Perfect for the colder weather too... We also visited a candy shop, and saw 1 or 2 performers who were braving the strong winds.
We spent the rest of the day touring the city, driving thru the ridiculously steep streets of San Francisco - it's like riding a roller coaster. We drove along Lombard Street - known as the "crookedest street in the world." We enjoyed the rest of the evening with a dinner at a Sengali restaurant "Bissap Baobab."(www.bissapbaobab.com) Highly recommend it if you visit San Fran and like spicy, ethnic food... yummy for a good price :)
Below are pictures:
To celebrate, we took a trip from Jeeta's place to San Francisco, which is about 45 minutes away. We explored Fisherman's Wharf - but the weather turned out to be a lot colder and windier than expected. Apparently, summer months in San Fran are colder, and some of their best weather is in October - called the "Indian Summer."
At Fisherman's Wharf, we had the famous "Clam Chowder in a Sourdough Bread Bowl."
Mmmmm... yummy. Perfect for the colder weather too... We also visited a candy shop, and saw 1 or 2 performers who were braving the strong winds.
We spent the rest of the day touring the city, driving thru the ridiculously steep streets of San Francisco - it's like riding a roller coaster. We drove along Lombard Street - known as the "crookedest street in the world." We enjoyed the rest of the evening with a dinner at a Sengali restaurant "Bissap Baobab."(www.bissapbaobab.com) Highly recommend it if you visit San Fran and like spicy, ethnic food... yummy for a good price :)
Below are pictures:
Thursday, June 19, 2008
Our stay with Jeeta, Chet, & Krishav
We arrived in Sunnyvale, CA (about 50 miles south of San Francisco) on June 19th with Jeeta (my friend since high school), Chet (her husband), and their almost 2 year old son, Krishav. After a long, adventurous trip across the country, it was nice to see some familiar faces. We'll be staying with our new "family" for about 6 weeks.
Below is a pic of our new little friend, Krishav:
Below is a pic of our new little friend, Krishav:
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Tuesday & Wednesday - Las Vegas, Nevada
Our final stop on our roadtrip before arriving in California was in Las Vegas, Nevada. On the ride there, we passed the Hoover Dam, and stopped there for a few minutes to take some pictures. The water was a bright teal color, which was cool to see. However, if you look at our pics, you'll see a white line. The top of that white section shows where the old water line was, as opposed to what it is today. The level of Lake Mead has been dropping for years, and there is a 50 percent chance that Lake Mead, which was created by the Hoover Dam and the Colorado River, will go dry by 2021 because of escalating human demand and climate change. This will cause a domino effect of the loss of water and electricity for many surrounding cities.
We reached Las Vegas on Tuesday evening, and met up for dinner with our friend, Vinod, who works as a director in the Venetian casino. He treated us to really good Thai food and drinks at a restaurant called The Mainland. (Thanks, Vinod!) Afterwards, the three of us spent some time walking around exploring Las Vegas.
The next day, we continued walking around exploring Las Vegas. We love Vegas - always something to do and see. We ended up going to the Ellis Island Casino & Brewery for an $8.00 bbq meal that was huge... and very good. Best ribs on our trip so far.
In the evening, we walked around till 1:00 am (we walked about 3 miles) taking in the different casinos all lit up, and the show outside the Treasure Island casino. It was supposed to be sirens who were singing and performing a short skit on the ship, which let out flames and fireworks by the end of the show.
Afterwards, we played pool in the hotel lounge until about 3:00 am before turning in for the night.
Next: 8 1/2 hr drive to San Francisco, California
Here are pics from Nevada:
We reached Las Vegas on Tuesday evening, and met up for dinner with our friend, Vinod, who works as a director in the Venetian casino. He treated us to really good Thai food and drinks at a restaurant called The Mainland. (Thanks, Vinod!) Afterwards, the three of us spent some time walking around exploring Las Vegas.
The next day, we continued walking around exploring Las Vegas. We love Vegas - always something to do and see. We ended up going to the Ellis Island Casino & Brewery for an $8.00 bbq meal that was huge... and very good. Best ribs on our trip so far.
In the evening, we walked around till 1:00 am (we walked about 3 miles) taking in the different casinos all lit up, and the show outside the Treasure Island casino. It was supposed to be sirens who were singing and performing a short skit on the ship, which let out flames and fireworks by the end of the show.
Afterwards, we played pool in the hotel lounge until about 3:00 am before turning in for the night.
Next: 8 1/2 hr drive to San Francisco, California
Here are pics from Nevada:
Monday, June 16, 2008
Monday - Sedona, AZ
Sedona, Arizona is known for its breaktaking scenic views. It is surrounded by red rock formations, like a view shown in the old western movies. To get there, we took roads winding around the mountains. Sedona itself is a cute little town, but kinda pricey. Great place for outdoor activities - like camping, hiking, etc... It was our most scenic stop on our roadtrip.
Although not part of our original plan, we decided to stay the night and explore. We drove and saw all the various red rock formations, and ended our drive at the Sedona Airport Restaurant- where we had some great buffalo burger meals for $8.00. Where the Sedona Aiport sits is a great place to watch the sunset over the city of Sedona.
Next: 4 1/2 hour drive to Las Vegas, Nevada
Here are pics from Arizona:
Although not part of our original plan, we decided to stay the night and explore. We drove and saw all the various red rock formations, and ended our drive at the Sedona Airport Restaurant- where we had some great buffalo burger meals for $8.00. Where the Sedona Aiport sits is a great place to watch the sunset over the city of Sedona.
Next: 4 1/2 hour drive to Las Vegas, Nevada
Here are pics from Arizona:
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