A Morning at the Park

Having my family visiting from all corners of the globe this summer was one heck of a fun time. Of course, we decided to go to the park for some family photographs.

These are some of the women in my family:




Everyone's headshots:






My favorite photos of the day:



Thien was determined not to pose for the camera but I caught him sneaking a kiss for his little sis when he thought no one was looking:

At the Happiest Place on Earth

It has been quite stressful for both of us. Between working at our jobs and working on our home, we barely have time to watch TV. So last weekend, Reza and I decided to visit Downtown Disney...just to be kids for a couple of days.

California Adventure Park








Our second day was supposed to be spent at Disneyland Park, but after checking into our Hyatt suite on Saturday night, we didn't care to leave. We slept like babies, ordered room-service and watched movies all day Sunday...until it was time to go home.

Anyone want our Disneyland tickets???

A birthday in Santa Barbara

Last Saturday was another special birthday. My childhood friend Chau turned another year older. She's a few months younger and we have been friends since kindergarden.

She was in Santa Barbara celebrating her special day with her beloved hubby Tom, her younger sister and her husband, Maggie and Phillip. Of course, Reza and I drove up to join in on the celebration.

It was a little brisky, but breathing in the cool ocean air was definitely a nice break from the stuffy air in Los Angeles. We had to so much fun biking around the crowded boardwalk, hiking through the acres of the botanica gardens, monkeying around and, of course, eating our faces off.




They were stacking up on each other for an interesting pose...


...and crashed down as Reza unexpectedly jumped on top of the human tree (Thank god no one was seriously hurt in the making of this photo)



I caught Maggie resting on her husband during our "little" hike in the garden:


Chau getting a romantic birthday kiss from her husband:


Reza, being goofy as always, pretended to hold up the humongous rock on the side of the dirt road:


Tom, the Ballerina? Just kidding...


Happy Birthday, Chau!


Thank you for such a fun weekend! Love ya!

I'm on Facebook

"Are you on Facebook?"

I guess I am now. It's finally time for me to join all the cool people on the cleaner version of Myspace.


See you there!

Many Many Thanks!

This starting holiday season actually feels like a holiday season. I am, for once, excited to see the early Christmas lights going up around the neighborhood and to be a part of initial rush at the shopping centers. The recent cool fog also makes it feel even more like Christmas here in LA.

This Thanksgiving, I am incredibly thankful for all the great things that had been brought to me - especially for my absolutely-the-best husband, our new baby Rocky, our new homely home, and the list goes on...And I am eternally thankful to be here on this earth as healthy and happy as I am.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Birthday to Me!

It was low-key, sweet and romantic. It was exactly what I asked for. Unlike last year with a three-day celebration with friends and family, this year I just wanted to be with Reza. The highlight of the quiet day was getting the perfect birthday cake in bed and blowing out those candles with the help of my lil' Rocky. The rest of the day was being with my wonderful husband who made me feel incredibly special and loved. It was truly a perfect birthday. I couldn't have asked for a better one. Thank you, honey, for making my day. :-)


To my awesome family and friends, thank you for all your sweet birthday wishes. :-)

The Cutest Dogs!

Have I told you that we have the world's cutest dogs???

Sometimes, they would do the cutest and funniest things that make me oh-so warm in the heart.

One of those things is riding along with us in the car. They would stick their heads out the windows with the winds gliding against their wet snouts watching cars passing by. It's almost like they're "cruising" down the road.

I love this photo of Rocky hanging on my shoulder falling asleep, while Snowball is enjoying every bit of the ride:

The Best Chicken Koobideh!

We went to the Persian Harvest Festival in Costa Mesa yesterday. After the long drive from the Valley, we were all dying of hunger. As soon as we got there, we ran straight to the food stands and ordered some Kabobs. My chicken koobideh was so yummy that I pretty much inhaled the whole thing. And I can never do that with the usually large Persian food portions. It was so good, I'm drooling now writing about it. And the rest of the night was all about the corn of the cobs, ice cream and live music.

The Untold Story of Witches of Oz

If you loved the WIZARD OF OZ movie, you'll love WICKED the musical play. Reza and I know of the Wizard of Oz and its characters, but both of us have never seen the movie (I know!!!). However, we LOVED the play and the music. It was awesome! We got discounted seats with a large group of friends (some of whom, by the way, fell asleep. I know!!!).

On a different note, I want to tell Reza that I love him for going to plays with me and enjoy them as much as I do. ;-) You rock!

PS: Sorry, no photos from the play night at The Pantages Theater. I know!!!

Behind the Lens

The rewards of being a photographer are endless. But, sometimes, I don't get to be in the group photos with everyone else. :-(

Here's a photo from our friend Farshid's housewarming party over the weekend. Where am I, you might ask? Yes, right behind the lens.

Indie Rock Fest

We tagged along with our friends Ria and Jed to the First Annual LA4real Indie Rock Fest 2007 at the Highlands in Hollywood last night. A percentage of the tickets sold is donated to the Make-A-Wish foundation. It was fun, but I hope we didn't damage our eardrums.

Kim Kline was one of the bands performed:

Evalina

She's smart.
She's beautiful.
She's funny.
And she loves everyone!

We all love her, too, especially on her birthday!

Happy Birthday, Lina!



Singing the birthday song to the birthday girl :-)

Ahhh...Home Sweet Home

We're back from our one-week-Northern-California road trip.

It was beyond awesome! Kudos to my hubby who drove all the 1500 miles while I caught those beauty zzz's and who was thoroughly entertained by my silly dances in the car when I was awake, hehehe.

So, we started out in beautiful Monterey/Pacific Cove:
(We actually started out in Visalia, but it was all hard-sweaty-labor of moving a HUMONGOUS sofa lounge chair into Saman's new apartment ;-]. Thanks [anyways..lol], Saman, for having us and taking us out for Carrow's.)





Then we wandered up to foggy San Francisco:





Then to Reno/Lake Tahoe:




And finally, we met up with the family in Yosemite:


Our hike in Sequioia Grove:



A classic pose from Niosha, my 'lil sis in law (She's the WILD one, can't you tell?):


Our hike to Bridalveil Fall:



Water break for our widdle Rocky



A big thank you to my Edalat family for doing this pose for me :-) and spending your Labor Day weekend with us. Oh, and Rock says thanks to his aunts and uncles for taking him out for walks in the morning. He had lots of fun! ;-)