A Fun Weekend, Indeed

June 6th & 7th
     *a lot of photos ahead

It has been a pretty packed weekend, which I suppose makes up for my uneventful weekdays.

On Saturday, a lot of things happened, but I'll just focus on my friend's debut (reminder: similar to a quinceñera, except for a Filipina 18 year old).

My friend's debut was at a fancy country club. Most of my other friends and I got there by 6 in the evening, which was when cocktail started. However, cocktail really means nothing for us, under-aged children. Honestly, all we could do was take pictures.

Thankfully, the country club was huge. My friends and I decided to wander around for a bit. There wasn't much to tell. My heels kept sinking in the grass... there were a lot of birds, flowers, bugs, trees, golfers...

balcony view

look at the ducks!

There was also a Vietnamese wedding...

Which we weren't invited to, but it was pretty much done, so we went to the ceremony. We walked through it and hung around for a little while.

Finally, it was time for the party to start. The venue and decorations were beautiful. The atmosphere was intimate and fun. The food was delicious. The daughter and father dance was memorable. The debutante* was absolutely stunning.

The thing I loved the most about the party was that the debutante went around and said hello to everyone and actually hung around her friends for a while. During most debuts, there are usually way too many people that the debutante is unable to stay with her friends for a long time because she has a lot of family members to entertain.

*a debutante is the celebrant. The birthday girl. 

It was a pretty good night.

As for today, it was just really one of my usual Sundays with my family. 

First, we go to church. We get there at about 9:30 in the morning because that is when Sunday School starts and I'm an assistant teacher for the two to five year old class. We had a family guest today, and they have two little boys who happened to both be in my class. They were not shy at all. It was cute to see how the younger brother would copy everything the older brother did. It was also a little amusing, though, because the older brother would stand up every five seconds and ask me, "Where the toys? Is it after class yet?" 

My family usually goes out to lunch after church. It doesn't matter where, really. It could be just to In N' Out, or to grab some sushi or KBBQ or authentic Filipino food. Today, we went to Capital Seafood, my first time at a dim sum place.

Dim sum is Chinese (Cantonese, I believe). It is basically where all of the food is ready to serve, and waiters and waitresses come around with small steamers and plates. Once you see whatever is inside the steamers or on the plates, they ask you if you would like to order it. If you say yes, they'll stamp a card on your table to keep track of everything you're ordering, and put the steamers/plates on a revolving center table. If you say no, then they'll leave and another waiter/waitress will come around your table with a whole another type of dish.   

i really liked the lights on the ceiling

egg pudding & fruit tarts

After lunch, my mom, sister and I shopped at Mother's Market. 

It wasn't really an important part of my weekend, except that I have got to warn you all about one yogurt product:

They look really cool and pretty, but they (personally) taste disgusting. My little sister likes them only if she drowns the yogurt with berries and granola. The jars really do look cool, though (the only reason I even bothered finishing it the first time I tasted it).   

Afterwards, I went to my friend's house to celebrate her 22nd birthday. I met her in acting class six years ago, and we don't really see much of each other, so we look forward to every time we have the chance. There isn't much to tell other than her family was extremely kind, she has a nice backyard, and has A LOT pets. 

this is just ONE of her snakes

I also left the party with a graduation/early birthday gift from her. Seriously. 

Who goes to a birthday party and leaves with a gift? 

(Thank you, Tina, if you're reading this).

The Tustin Street Fair, one of the things I wanted to attend this summer, was also today. I drove by, but I really didn't feel like walking around and eating a bunch of fried street food and smelling beer. 

Don't worry, I didn't really miss out on much. I go every summer.

And now, I finally have some time to relax.

My little sister is studying for her finals week, while I am sitting on the couch and watching FRIENDS. 

I was nice, though. I bought her ice cream.

Don't you wish your sister was cool like me? 

Good luck to all of you still taking exams. 

And CONGRATULATIONS to everyone who is graduating this June! 

Your summer is about to start! 

And let me tell you... this summer seems very promising. 

Much sun, 

Annika.