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US withdrawal symptoms include, but are not limited to, disorientation, lethargy, tearing, blocked nose and diarrhea. Ok, maybe not the diarrhea. To call mine a chemical dependence isn't pushing it, because I'm sure my dopamine levels were higher on 5th Av. than on Orchard Rd.

Only today after an afternoon yoga session, a movie, a mini date with the bf and a jog around the neighborhood, did I begin to feel a little more like myself. Could it be time to let go and move on?

I'll take the first step towards closure by posting photos.

Chapter 1: LA

The highlight of this trip was of course, the Moore's wedding reception. Livie was as beautiful a bride as we expected. The 3 couples had breakfast at Green Street and spent the afternoon at Old Town Pasadena before hitting the Langham Hotel where the bride and groom prepped for the event. Wendy and I played bridesmaids, covering up the tattoo on Livie's shoulder with makeup. It was a stark reminder of our college girlie moments


Big man holding a teeny blue bag, our present for the bride


Wendy and I stealing from the flower arrangements. We don't recommend this unless you're best friends with the bride. It helps too if she's far from the bridezilla sort, which Livie was


The fires in Pasadena were apparent throughout our stay and didn't once cease. We saw them early in the morning through the night. And in the still of the night, the air smelled like firewood. It was pretty scary


Like most Asians, we couldn't do without supper. This one was right after the reception. The night before, we had the greasiest burgers in the world right after a huge Mexican dinner


Dinner/supper during our last night with Livie. This place holds so many memories for Liv and I. It's the one Taiwanese restaurant we never fail to visit each time I visit LA. And each time, we forget how to order "sweet butter toast" in Chinese. Sweet butter toast will never be the same without you Liv


My last meal in LA at the Corner Bakery. I love how something simple like Caesar salad and carbonara could be so consistently good. It's like going to Boudin and getting the same ol' jalapeno cheese bagel and never being disappointed. This is far from what I can say for places like P.S. Cafe that charges an arm and a leg for sub par dishes


Walking back to the Moore's (yes I walked some distance in LA), I spotted these squirrels happily munching nuts and acorns from the tree


Chapter 2: San Francisco


First day in SF I met with my gfs and a delightful new addition, Little Arwen Rayne. Mommy and baby are just beautiful to look at. I love how Rachel has the most natural nurturing tendencies, caring for Arwen's needs at every drop of a tear or kick of her little socked feet. I wonder if I'll be as natural a mom


Melissa carrying little Arwen


I got to feed little Arwen lunch and carry her on my lap through dessert! So fun :)


Look how darling she is


Dinner at Bar Tartine, my now favorite restaurant in the Mission, with Terry, Borina and Curtis


Best gnocchi ever next to Zuni Cafe's signature. Compared to the latter, which is made of ricotta and simply poached with butter, this one's made of semolina, sauteed then served with the tastiest tomato sauce and thyme. The bf ordered burger and fries, and they were served with homemade ketchup. These are the details I really miss about SF restaurants


The weather was amazing that night, so much so that there was no need for air conditioning in the restaurant. I stepped out halfway to take a photo of the night sky trying to capture the stillness in the air


Borina was a darling and spent the next day taking me everywhere from Costco to Hayes. We got yelled at by a mad Japanese woman for, innocently mind you, trying to take a picture of her store. When she barked "No pictures!!" I swiftly put away my camera, not without first apologizing. Seconds later, we realized the woman was following us closely as we walked through her store repeatedly muttering, "Thank you. Goodbye." ??! We walked out feeling totally unwelcomed, only to hear an apology from her clerk who said "I'm sorry, but we spend a lot of time on the decor in this store, so we hope you understand." Before I could explain how he didn't have to apologize for that but rather the store owner's utter rudeness, she came waving at him yelling "No need to explain yourself!" Hilarious. The bf always loved the decor of this store, so it's really sad how she had to tarnish my memory of it.

Seems we're not the only ones who were horrified by the experience. Read Maria L.'s and others' reviews on Yelp!


Miette, at Hayes, was a lot less Nazi-like. Their decor remains sweet as meringues and we love them for their macarons to their sweet little cupcakes. Well done Miette!


Dinner at Range with Shinta, Erick, Yoshi and Momoko, our other couple friends. It may surprise you to know that these young friends are married! Thanks for coming out you guys. It's really nice to see you again


We had a little "Chad" and "Steve" adventure this time around though not like the previous one where Curtis and Chris were mistaken for the founders of YouTube at a Friendster event. This was driving around town in an aqua zip car, eating In-N-Out before crashing in bed :) We heart Chad


Fog came in on the last day of our trip, which made it perfect for the next chapter: New York