There really couldn’t be a more exciting time for my family right now!  As I mentioned earlier, my niece was born last week and Marvin and I flew to California to surprise the unsuspecting parents (my brother and SIL).  Of course YOU KNOW I couldn’t have gone this trip without my trusty camera. 

Welcome to the world, my beautiful niece Joy!

Here she is at 1 day old!  I’ve never held a baby this small before.  And don’t you love the little bow on the hat that the nurse made for her?  Too cute!

She is such a doll!

Here she is being introduced to the family at home.  Her big brother is already so sweet to her!

Of course, the trip to LA wouldn’t be complete without some quality nephew time as well!

Here we are with Evan at the park, feeding the geese and ducks!

Then we found a pretty tree and my dad took this photo of us (kind of like a maternity photo if you ask me)!

Then the Evan bear joined us, so cute!

One of Evan’s favorite park activities is going down the slides and he sure is good at it!

Afterwards, we took a stroll to Manhattan Beach where we played in the waves.  Evan’s favorite phrase from this trip (translated from Chinese to English) is “Auntie, Uncle, and Evan went to the ocean and got ALL WET!”  He couldn’t stop saying it all night!

Three generations of hats haha!

Here is a look at our growing family (including my baby bump)!

I’ll be back later with some more pictures from the weekend, but seriously, can I just say I miss them all already?  Family time is the best time, don’t you agree?

How was your Labor Day weekend?

P.S. Have you entered the Yellow Plum Blossoms GIVEAWAY?

Hey friends!  I’m back again linking up to a {little} dash of ash’s camera phone link up party!  Another weekend has passed and we’re definitely closer to being all unpacked.  This past Saturday we unpacked ALL of our kitchen boxes and finished up the clothes, making progress folks, making progress.    I can’t wait to share pictures of the house with you later this week!  But for now, I thought I’d share a few photos taken with Retro Camera on my Android phone.  And btw, Easy Tether is the best app ever.  You can get internet on your computer through your phone from anywhere where your phone has service.  We still have 2 more weeks until we get internet/cable service at our house and Easy Tether has been a LIFE SAVER!  I mean… imagine not having internet at home for 3 weeks… it would be pretty brutal.

On the left are some chocolate chip cookies that a neighbor brought over to our house t welcome us into the cul de sac.  So sweet!  And on the right, is a deep dish pizza we got from a local joint called The Dish, so big and so good!

A few weeks ago my FIL introduced me to eating avocados on bagels, and boy was it good.  It might be my new favorite (garden vegetable topping was the previous winner).  And on the right, is some almond jello with fruit cocktail I made… because I was craving it. 

On Sunday, a couple friends and I hit up a Sunday brunch at a place called The Well.  Let’s just said I fed baby REALLY well.

And lastly, Marvin wanted to share his camera phone photos from this week too.  He was in Denver for a business trip this past week and look what the house keeper made for him on his bed?  This reminded us when they did this every night on our cruise… oh how nice it would be to be cruising again…

So yea, it’s not any surprise that this past week was full of food, is it?  Baby needs to grow, right? 

 This past weekend, I took a little mini-vacay to Michigan!  The main reason was for my friend Kate’s bachelorette party, but I ended up doing so much more than just going to the party.  I stayed with my Twinny (one of my best college friends), Steph, in downtown Detroit, and her fiance and two loving cats.  When my twinny and I get together, we are like super planners, so the weekend was packed full of food and fun!  Thanks Steph for all your hospitality, I had SO much fun!!

The first night I was there, we headed to a pastry in Greektown for some key lime pie and ice cream.  What a great way to start the weekend! 

The next day we headed to a super cute crepe place for some savoury goodness.

And hit up Olga’s (miss this place) for lunch #2.  Brought back so many memories!

Although I lived in Ann Arbor most my life, I hardly ventured into Detroit so it was fun riding the People Mover and getting a tour of the city with some of my girls!

Next morning we went to a Yard Sale and these cuties were selling lemonade, of course I bought two glasses!

Then we went to a Pakistani festival where I got my coconut juice (pregnancy craving)! YUM!

And after that we visited 71 Pop, an event MCed by Sean that displayed new Detroit artists.

And there was a ton of free candy, cupcakes, drinks, and more!

Loving this shop setup!

We ended the night visiting a few Ann Arbor landmarks, Zingerman’s Deli and the first ever Border’s.

And then surprising Kate for her bachelorette dinner, bubble tea, and karaoke party!  Congrats to Kate and Hieu on your upcoming wedding!

When’s the last time you visited your hometown?  Or do you still live there?

Remember a few weeks ago when I blogged about a Purple and Green Bridal Shower?  Well the wedding happened a few weeks ago and everything went perfectly!  The weather was hot and sunny, I got to see a ton of my college buddies, and I was right there standing by my friend Christine’s side as she married the love of her life!

The wedding was held at the beautiful Cranbrook House and Gardens.

Look at the huge bridal party – they were a lot of fun!

The father if the bride escorting the beautiful bride down the aisle!

A beautiful ceremony later, they kissed and were married!

Love the bridesmaid’s dresses and flowers!

And I was a HUGE fan of my makeup and waterfall braid hairstyle as well! 

Me and baby daddy!

Her dress was SO stunning and I loved that the groom wore grey!

Signing the guest book.

Really amazing dessert spread, yum!!

Father-daughter and mother-son dances.

The infamous PCrew family + significant others. 

Probably one of the best parts of this wedding was the surprise flashmob that many of the guests participated in.  We spent the few days leading up to the wedding preparing for this big debut!  The bride and groom were thoroughly shocked! 

And while I still have your attention, I just wanted to announce the WINNER of the Shabby Apple giveaway!  If your name is Cindy and you’re the owner of the blog Tea-House Moon, CONGRATS!!!  Please email me at sandyalamode(at)gmail(dot)com with your dress or skirt selection and your mailing address!

Fabulous weather.  Dry heat.  Beautiful mountainous views.  Cactus galore.  Arizona is one beautiful state!  I had the pleasure of working in Prescott Valley the other week and then took a mini-trip to Sedona.  Marvin and I have always talked about taking a weekend trip to Sedona but it just hadn’t panned out.  So since I was staying only an hour away, a few coworkers and I took a road trip to Sedona.  It was probably the quickest trip ever though, we pretty much drove there, had a drink and drove back.  Here are some pictures I took of the trip!

A beautiful lake in Prescott Valley.

Bacon cupcakes at the Prescott Brewing Company.  Best idea ever.

Driving through mountains on our way to Sedona.  Don’t worry, I wasn’t driving and taking pictures simultaneously.  I was in the passenger seat.

Breathtaking.

Reminded me of our trip to Red Rock Canyon!

Little mini cactus things!

Loving this shot with the moon in view.

Sedona, we made it!!

I love taking pictures of flowers, they make great subjects!

Our only stop in Sedona, a little coffee shop.

And on the way home, I finally got some more pictures of cacti galore!  That was my goal for the week.