Weekends: Family Ties

This weekend was fun...and a little exhausting! My parents came to town for a visit with Aunt Lucie from Chicago. Rob and I joined them on Friday for dinner at a Chinese restaurant near their hotel in the Marina.  Then back home to prepare a brunch for nine people the next morning. Set the table with festive Halloween trimmings and the luncheon set of silver:

That night, I baked two quiches with the last of our amazing leftover Christmas ham: one with ham, shallot, thyme and parmesean - the other with rainbow chard, ham and feta cheese.

Plus, a loaf of pumpkin bread in my pumpkin pan and a simple citrus salad topped with toasted coconut:

In the morning, we set out smoked salmon with dill cream cheese and crackers. Jean and Trent brought supplies for coffee and mimosas. A happy scene, complete with dog and baby:

This little guy cut his first two teeth the night before and was an adorable little monster - grabbing everything he possible to chew on.

After brunch, Trent and Rob dashed off for a bike ride, Dad rested with a book and the ladies drove to Nordstrom for some shopping. Helped Mom and Jean pick up a few items at H&M and found a super-discounted DVF dress for myself at Bloomingdale's. Big spaghetti dinner together that night. Jean made the sauce with turkey and mushrooms. I made garlic bread and salad to go with it.

Jean, Trent, baby and dog spent the night with us after everyone headed back to their hotel. Leisurely Sunday morning with coffee, cereal and the newspaper (which the baby happily chewed on). We drove over to the hotel at 10:30. Rob, Trent and Dad headed to Alameda to look at boats. Jean, Aunt Lucie, Mom, the baby and I headed to Japantown to shop at the adorable boutiques and have ramen for lunch.  We drove over to look at the Golden Gate Bridge, then stopped at the Palace of Fine Arts on the way home:

Everett liked it when we stopped for an ice cream break at the park. He can sit up now - much easier to pose:

Early, quick dinner at a pizza restaurant - then over to North Beach to see Beach Blanket Babylon. This over-the-top musical review has been running non-stop since 1974.

Fun performance! We said goodbye to my parents and aunt after the show - Lucie was catching the train back on Monday morning and my parents driving back with a few harbor stops along the way.