out on the town

concerts and dinners and parties, oh my! a couple o' Christmas concerts at Holy Cross, a few dinners here and there, and a trip to the Nutracker in good ol' San Francisco.

here's our city attire. my little black dress!! and joe looks SO handsome!

we tried to get into absynthe, which my sister joni had recommended (and it looks awesome!), but it was seriously packed and we couldn't get a reservation in time for the nutcracker show. so we went to jardiniere, which is almost next door the opera house. and we even found free parking. :)

did you know that the san franscisco ballet company was the first to perfrom the nutcracker in america? i think it was 1944.

orchestra pit

the opera house. my mom used to come here as a girl. it was our first time seeing the nutcracker, and it was worth every penny! and since we didn't shell out very many pennies, it made it even better. :)

we were sittin' in the cheap seats. the sharp incline of the deck plus the height of my heels provided for me a split second of panic. but, once i sat down, i was happy. :)

the food at jardiniere. this was a little dessert, compliments of the chef. i have no idea what they were, but the outside was stiff like a baked meringue, and the inside was soft and chocolatey. they were so tiny, i cheated and had one. :)

my dinner - butternut squash soup. i loved how beautiful it looked.

another "compliments of the chef". this was totally for joe, cause it was some sort of fish thing and i just don't go there. he said it was yummy but i really can't guess how.

the view from our table of the "upper room". the tables were all set on the perimeter of the building, which was round. and over the railings, you could look down and see the first floor with the bar and the "private" dining rooms all covered in curtains.

here's us enjoying carmel, a different night

i'm starting to notice how similarly we dress at all these functions. :)

now here's one of the concerts at holy cross church in santa cruz. it was Christian Grube's choir (this guy was conducted the Boys Choir of Berlin! we can't figure out how in the world he ended up in santa cruz!), entirely accapella except for a few sacbutts and horns on a few songs.

and here's another concert at holy cross, of Handel's Messiah. the neffs soloed in this concert. i have video too, if i ever find the need to blackmail them. :)

just some guy

perhaps not a very flattering shot, but pretty fun angle with joe's shoe in there.

the neff fam with their cousin anna

and then there's this guy joe. ;) love you, honies!