Late Boxing Day Shopping

Today, I went (late) boxing day shopping with Rhoda and Jess. Jess came by to pick me up and we headed downtown, we got lucky and got a parking spot right on the corner of Alberni and Thurlow. Wow, couldn't believe how busy it still was on the 3rd day of Boxing week! I was looking for the dark blue sapphire short sleeved blouse with ruffles in the front at Aritzia and hoping it was marked down, available in my size and yes it was on sale $55 from $75 but only one left and it was much too large. I did find another item that I had my eye on but didn't think it was going to be on sale, a Delphine 3/4 length black dress with cute mini ruffles in the front neckline, on sale for $60. I don't have a little black dress and I guess this could be it :) Rhoda and Jess wanted to go over to MAC Cosmetics and both picked up a few items, both bought an item from their new collection Dame Edna. Very cute and pretty make up! I didn't need any more make up, I have quite a collection at home! We didn't shop for very long, probably only about 1 1/2 hours and it didn't seem liked I picked up that many items but in the end, I spent quite a bit of money. Before calling it an end, our last stop was the Gucci boutique at Hotel Vancouver to see what they had on sale and there wasn't much left. I am looking for a new make up bag for my purse and I am thinking I might get one from Gucci. As we made our way back to the car, we did a quick stop at the Betsey Johnson boutique and that is where I spent the most money. I picked up a really nice black handbag by Bestey Johnson for only $219 and a beautifully tailored denim blazer (I don't own one) for $150!! I don't own any BJ items and I have been looking for a black handbag for quite some time so I thought what a great buy! The handbag was originally priced at $340 and the denim jacket $320. I had a great Boxing Day shopping and I really didn't think I would end up with ANYthing!! After shopping, Rhoda and I headed to Richmond cos Jess had to eat Xmas dinner with B's family and we were gonna wait for her so she could go home with Rhoda. Rhoda and I were not quite hungry yet so we did a bit more shopping at Daiso, Shoppers Drug Mart and then we headed over to a Congee Wonton House and I ordered the same dish I always order (Beef brisket and wontons with rice noodles) while we waited for Jess. We were almost finished when Jess was dropped off and we decided to go to LD so she could pick up a few gifts for a friend and we were in the beauty department for some time cos we love beauty products. After that, it was time to go home since Rhoda had to work on Monday and Jess was leaving for Jamaica on Tuesday! Lucky girl, she's spending the new years in Jamaica!! As always, it's so nice to spend the day with the girls!

Sick of Snow

Today, I had to clear the alley of SNOW and ICE in front of the garage for my mom cos she and grams were headed out to the shopping centre to see if grams could find some snow boots plus my mom's friend from Alaska, Cici will be coming in tonite. It took me 2 hours to clear the path for my mom's parking space and I ended up with two blisters and freezing feet in the process. I know for sure my back and neck will hurt for the next 2 days cos I haven't shoveled this intensely before. The previous snow days, I just shoveled the sidewalks and that had given me a few minor neck pains. I am so sick of the snow, I wish it would go away....

Xmas Week

Wow! What a week! I think I might be officially sick of turkey! Mmm... no, that's not true, I can eat turkey all the time but I am feeling like a stuffed turkey! hahaha... It's been a crazy busy week with the offices closing on Wednesday at noon (Dec. 24), the snow falling nonstop (and shoveling), more xmas shopping and xmas dinners/parties!

Monday and Tuesday, I was trying to finish off all the stuff I needed to do before the end of the year, mostly filing cos I leave it and when I do have time, I need to do it all but I can never get it all done before getting interrupted which means I rather not start! Most people were out of the office and so I got most of the filing done plus some miscellaneous items that needed my attention but had been put a side. Since I was pretty much done all my work stuff, I decided to take Wednesday off instead of coming in for half the day! Last week, I rec'd some lovely presents from my co-workers and my managers, as always my manager's wife put together a beautiful xmas gift that always included Belgium chocolate and the best wine ever! Another manager I work with gave me another bottle of lovely red wine and my good friend (and co worker) gave me a $50 Louis Vuitton GC which is so thoughtful since she knows how much I love my LVs.

On Wednesday, I decided I needed to pick up a few items from Costco and even though it was snowing heavily, I decided to venture out anyways. Boy what a mistake that was! The weather had caused some major delays in our transit system esp. the skytrain and I ended up walking home from Costco! I had waited at Stadium station for half an hour and decided I was never gonna get on a train so I started walking. Most of the route wasn't too bad until I got to Terminal Avenue and the snow was knee deep, in some parts I had to walk on the busy road cos I did not want to walk in knee deep snow. It took me about 35 minutes to walk from Stadium to Commercial drive and I decided to take a break at Blenz and Shoppers, I was thinking about training it home from Commercial but I had overheard people saying the skytrain had completely stopped and there were crowds of people at all the bus stops. I thought about taking the Victoria bus up to 28th but it seems there was a huge line up at the bus stop as well! I ended up walking home from Commercial to home and it wouldn't have taken me so long (another 30 minutes) except that I was pretty tired and Commercial / Victoria is a bit of hill on the way up and my coat was getting really heavy cos it was really wet from the snow. On a positive note, all this walking must have burned off all the calories and fat that I gained from all the holiday parties and chocolates!!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!

On Thursday (Xmas Day), I met up with Rhoda, Jess, and G for dim sum at Fortune House at Metro and even though we had quite a bit of snow fall, we knew it wouldn't snow much more during the day and we didn't want to be at home the entire day. I hadn't been to FH in a long time and the last time I was there, I remembered it not being very good but it seems they are under new management and the restaurant had a make over. Food and decor was pretty good, I think I will suggest my mom look into this place for my gram's 90th birthday dinner. Since it was Xmas Day, most businesses were closed except Asian places! After dim sum, we decided to head over to Aberdeen Centre in Richmond cos we knew that place would be opened and gosh, was it ever busy when we got there!! We walked through the mall and I ended up picking a really cute Baby Phat top for only $27.50 reg $55.00!! I also picked up a "dan tat" egg custard tart key chain for Kay from a store called "Looks So Real" and it really does look like an egg custard tart that you can eat!! After walking around AC, Rhoda and Jess invited Kay and I over for Xmas dinner since our Xmas dinner wasn't until Boxing Day (mom and grams had other plans, church and dim sum). Jess went to pick up Kay while Rhoda and I dropped G off at home (his van was parked unintentionally in Metro's parking lot). G invited us both to his place after dinner for drinks and celebration. We had a lovely dinner at Rhoda's and the food was delicious! It is always nice to spend time with family and Kay and I both feel Rhoda, Jess and Auntie are family :) After dinner, we dropped Kay off at home and headed over to G's place to celebrate, drink and mingle with his friends. It was a really great way to end a fabulous day!

Boxing Day/Xmas Dinner - We had snow all day but that didn't stop us from having our Xmas dinner! But at one point, I didn't think my brother or Rhoda or my Aunt would make it to the dinner but we found out that the main roads were cleared and salted. My brother was going to park in the back alley and we had done some shoveling in trying to make a parking spot but it did no good and after 40 minutes of shoveling and getting his car out of the snow (he got stucked in the snow, three times!!), he decided to try to find parking on the main street. Rhoda was nice enough to pick up our Aunt on her way to our place and she found parking on Kingsway. Rhoda had no problem walking to our place but it seems that not everyone had shoveled their sidewalks and our aunt did not wear snow boots which caused her to KAPOOT into the snow (hehehe, no not funny!). It was nice to have everyone at our dinner and the food was awesome! My organic turkey was super tasty and of course, my mom did a great job roasting the turkey and making all the fixings. We had both done quite a bit of preparation during the day but ti was worth it. The meal was delicious! After dinner and dessert (mom had chocolate ice cream cake in the freezer), we opened our gifts and it was a great way to end the evening. By 10pm, most of us were worn out (well mom and I) and it was better that Rhoda and my brother get on the roads while it was still somewhat cleared as the snow did not stop falling! It was a great way to spent Xmas and I think next year, maybe Rhoda and I should consider doing one Xmas dinner with both of our families! Hehehe, we'll start a new tradition!

On another note.....

Finished "A Thousand Splendid Suns" by Khaled Hosseini - An emotional and beautiful story of two very different women living on the same street and how their lives eventually intertwine with each other. Stories of survival, love and what it takes to be a woman living under their circumstances. A very well written story and as always Khaled does not disappoint. A MUST READ.

Watched "Burns After Reading" - A humorous story that poked fun at the US government. A def. must watch!

Hello Kitty Diamond Ring

This is for the rich Hello Kitty fans, it’s a 18-karat yellow gold Hello Kitty Diamond Ring. This diamond ring will cost you a whopping $4,250.

• 18-karat yellow gold.

• Pavé diamond Hello Kitty®.

• Bow, pink pavé sapphires. Nose, yellow citrine. Eyes, onyx.

• 1.0 total carat weight.

• 1/2″H x 3/4″W.

Dinner at Kitty & Shel's

Tonite, we headed over to Kitty & Shel's house for a turkey dinner! There was a minor problem with his pipes (frozen!) and he thought he might have to postpone it but thankfully, the water came back on! The turkey and fixings were so delicious and I am so thankful to have a holiday dinner with them. They are good people with huge hearts and we treasure their friendship, we hardly ever see each other and never had Xmas dinner together so it's the first time since we've known each other. Hopefully, not the last! Charly came by to pick us up cos my car was still stuck in my parking spot and he drives a SUV with 4 wheel drive. I wouldn't drive anyways with the roads still icy and sloshy plus we had heard it was going to snow tonight! Charly brought some appy's, Jas brought dessert (mmmm...cheesecake!), Kay and I brought veggies with dip. Dinner did start a bit later than planned but there were lots to munch on. We caught up with each other's lives and watched a replay of Trevor Linden's retirement at GM Place, they officially retired #16 in his honour. It was a bit sad to see his retirement but it is awesome that they recognized his career with the Vancouver Canucks. Once, the turkey was ready, we sat down and helped ourselves and watched the hockey game on the PVR. After dinner, we rested a bit and had a slice of Urban Fare's vanilla bean cheesecake, mmmm... that was super yummy! Around 10ish, we decided we better head out cos the snow was coming down hard and Charly had to drive us all home. Plus he had to pick up and drop off his g/f as well. It was an awesome night with great people and delicious food! Enjoy the photos!

Casadei

After work, Jas and I met up for dinner and some shopping. I wasn't expecting to find anything at all but thought I would check out Holt Renfrew and Brown's designer shoe sales. At first, I found a really cute pair of Stuart Weitzman ballet flats (similar to what I already own) at HR but it was half a size too big and I wasn't willing to pay that price for them, maybe if they were less than $100 I would have considered them. I moved on to Browns and found really nothing in my size and didn't expect too since I was there a couple days before. But a pair of black Casadei caught my eye but when I tried on the display shoe in my supposed size, it was much too small so I tried a size up and couldn't believe it fit (with a bit of room, probably 1/2 size would have been a perfect fit!). I picked up the black and the red pair and could not believe the price!! $700 shoes marked down to $399.98 and down to $99.98?? I couldn't believe it, I actually had to stop a SA to make sure they were marked down to that price and she confirmed it. She brought out the other shoes so I could try them on and even though it was slightly loose on me (half a size or less), I decided I could go out and buy some insoles cos at THIS PRICE, how could I not buy them??!!?? Plus these are beautiful shoes made in Italy and so very comfortable even though the heel is so high. But when the cashier rang it up, it came up to $400+!! Apparently, they were $199.98 not $99.98 but I said, the SA confirmed the price of $99.98 and that is why I am buying both pairs. The SA came to the cashier and when the cashier pointed out the "1", the SA said no give it to her at the $99.98 price cos the price was deceiving and she didn't even realize it was $199.98!! She said she would sign off on it and I was so happy to hear cos I hadn't been able to buy anything in so long and finally, I managed to get out of my shopping rut! What a great deal and so happy to have them!!

Snow Storm

Tonite was a great night to do some Xmas shopping downtown :) It has been snowing all morning and afternoon, by the time I was finished work, the snow had stopped. I still had a few Xmas gifts to pick up for my co-workers and manager's wife so I decided tonite would be a good nite to go shopping. Boy was I not at all wrong :) It was nice and quiet out there! My first stop was MAC on Robson and usually this place is super busy and you can never get a make-up artist to help you but tonite, I was the only customer there and there were 8 MAs available! I picked up a holiday collection item for Kay as a stocking stuffer cos she won't get many gifts to open this year and I'm giving her lucky money instead of a gift. I also went over to Winners and got a great deal on a pair of Moschino leather gloves (lost one glove at the Xmas party) and Home Sense for my manager's wife's gift. By 6ish, I was tired and ready to call it a nite!

Coolest Gift yet!

By far, the coolest gift for Xmas :) My dear work friends, E and Jana, picked up this shoe tape dispenser for me. How thoughtful and so very me!!!

Xmas Dinner at Hotel Vancouver, Fairmount

Tonite, we had our company's Xmas party at the Fairmount Hotel and I had heard great reviews about the food from our party last year (missed it due to a parent/teacher meeting). Was not disappointed in the food, it was so delicious! The party started at 4.30pm (right after work), it is a nice way to end the night and nice to mingle with people that I don't work with but am friends with. When the Xmas party is here, it means we are almost at our Xmas break :) Yes, we get a Xmas break cos our offices are closed from noon on December 24 until January 5, 2009!

Dinner and Dessert with the Birthday Girl

Today is Rhoda's official birthday and we (Jess and I) took her out for dinner and dessert. Jess made reservations at Las Margaritas for 7pm, it was crazy to out in this super freezing weather but to resist not to go! Finding parking on West 4th can be difficult but it was def worth the cold! The meals are so yummy and for years, I have been meaning to check this restaurant out. Mexican food mainly consists of lots of veggies, meats, carbs and cheese. Yes, I think HonHon and Kay would really enjoy having dinner here. We love Mexican and truly, we really enjoy eating different types of cuisines and I still have to try the little local Mexican restaurant closer to home. A couple of friends mentioned one on Victoria street and it's only about 5 minutes (driving) from my house. One of the friends is a Mexican from Mexico so I would def not doubt his taste buds! After dinner, we decided to meet up with Rhoda's friend, Kent (her god brother) at True Confections for dessert cos a birthday girl needs her birthday cake! But before we met with him, Jess had to drop off some food for her BF and their place downtown. Cos we had two cars, Jess and Jess's friend, we decided Rhoda and friend could head over to TC to get a table and meet Kent while I go with Jess to drop off the food and check out her new condo. OMG, how beautiful is her new place!! It's at the Sheraton Residence and her suite has floor to ceilings windows and what a view it is!! She's got an amazing view of downtown, Vancouver and the mountains!! So nice!!! What a beautiful place to live. Once we arrived to TC, we ordered our drinks and dessert and I always choose the same one, a slice of the Devil's Food Cake. It is their famous old fashioned devil's food cake with dark chocolate layers, chocolate filling and marshmallow icing - YES - MARSHMALLOW ICING....mmmmm....yummy! It was an awesome nite with great peeps and good food!

Happy Birthday Rhoda!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Tonight 20 of us gathered to celebrate Rhoda's birthday at Pondok Indonesian Restaurant. Pondok moved from their small little location off Commercial Drive to Broadway in a plaza on the 2nd floor, wow, what a difference! Altho, I really preferred the smaller location (as it did not have a dance floor or a karaoke bar), I'm happy to see they are doing well, well enough to expand the restaurant and move to a really nice place. The last place seemed a bit of a hole in the wall and if you didn't know where it was, you'd never know! Rhoda had two large tables booked and when she finally arrived (birthday girl is allowed to be late for her party), she tried to put the two tables together. It wasn't going to work and it would be very difficult for everyone to eat being squished at one table. Our dinner reservations were at 7.30pm and at first, the restaurant was half empty but around 8.30pm, every single table in the restaurant was taken and there were many people in line waiting to be seated! The food was pretty good but I think it was better at the Commercial location. The service wasn't so great due to the large size of the restaurant and the min staff on hand but we couldn't be more happier to get out of the restaurant once the amateur singers and dancers were up on the stage and dance floor! Jas and I were going to go clubbing with her afterwards but it started to snow during dinner and I knew my car / tires wouldn't make it home if it kept coming down like that all night. It was nice to see a lot of old faces whom I haven't seen in a while and I'm really happy to see Rhoda had a great time! She deserves it!

Long Lost Friend

My long lost friend, I found him! Check out my very talented friend, Howie Woo :) and his toons!

Xmas Lunch

Today, we had our division's Xmas lunch at Joe Fortes. I have never been to this restaurant before and was quite excited about having lunch there and I probably should not have hyped it up so much. As it turns out, the food and the service was a bit disappointing. I am not sure if it was cos they could not handle a group of 90 or if this is the way it always is. I was esp disappointed with the choices I made from the set menu cos my steak was not blood rare instead it was cooked (blah!!) and the cheesecake I chose for dessert was not as yummy as I am used to. Oh well, I still appreciated the lunch (Thanks to our VP!) and getting a 2 hour lunch break with all the people I work with.

Report Card

I am not impressed with Kay. Not at all. Tomorrow is Parent Teacher Night and I asked if I needed to go, is there anything I should discuss with her teacher. Last night, she finally came home with the notice for setting up appointment times with 4 teachers. I didn't think much of it until bed time (while I was already in bed!) and asked what am I suppose to talk to the teacher about? Your grades? Hey wait a second, I got a message from the school last week about report cards! Where is her report card? Well she has been holding it this entire time and she didn't give it to me cos I didn't ask for it!! WTF?? You are kidding me right? She is so sneaky! If I never asked for it, I would have never have gotten it. Not impressed at all.

Early Xmas Holiday Cheers

Tonight, we celebrated an early Xmas potluck dinner with Vince, Meryl and R. At first, the host/ess(s) wanted us there at 5pm but there was no way we (Jas, Kay and I) could make it so early cos we all had a ton of things to do before dinner. R had to leave early cos she had other plans for that night. But that is way too early for dinner and not enough time to run errands.

In the afternoon, Kay and I had gone to the Winter's market to pick up our veggies and fruits for the next 2 weeks. It was a rainy and wet afternoon and you would think it would have been quieter but no such luck. It was packed and lots of people made it out! Our very first stop as always was the apple guy and we got some very disappointing news, this was the last market for him cos he is done for the season. :( Kay grabbed as many apples as she could cos these apples are the bestest! We can still find apples at the other farms but def no comparison to these apples. After the market, we had to get a hot drink, Kay went with an apple cider and I had an Americano and then we headed home. Kay had afternoon plans with her friend to finish up a project they were working on and I had a few more errands to run with my mom. Jas was also busy running around and she could not make it to my place until 5.30pm. I made an organic and local salad from the veggies I picked up in the afternoon and Jas brought dessert, mmm dessert.

Lately, I have been feeling very depressed and not really wanting to socialize, I'm sure it's cos I had my purse stolen and that is the cause of my icky mood. But after a while, I could not help but be part of the holiday cheer after dinner. Food and dessert always brings people together. Vince and Meryl cooked a lovely vegetable prawn dish and a chicken casserole dish served with white rice. I brought an organic salad (the carrots were super sweet and so fresh!) and of course, Jas brought dessert, cheesecake and chocolate cupcakes and R brought an appy, brie with garlic and dried cranberries served with crackers. I didn't eat much cos I haven't been hungry since that black friday (the day my purse got stolen and ironically it was a Black Friday) and since I don't eat white rice, I had a good sized plate of my salad and a bit of V &M's chicken dish. It was nice to see everyone before the holidays and so very nice of Vince and Meryl to host the dinner party cos we know how busy they are with their upcoming trip. How lucky they are to be going to Asia for a month and celebrating Xmas and New Years out there! I could use a holiday, well this May, I might be heading to NY NY! We'll see.... No presents were exchanged as per my request but V&M were very thoughtful in giving Kay a little something for Xmas (Metrotown GC, how can you go wrong with that??)

Night Off

Tonight was Kay's turn to cook, actually it was last night but she went to a friend's afterschool to work on their homework. She had decided to make buffalo burgers, mashed potatoes and grilled corn. Mmmmm...so yummy!

Depressed

I am so depressed.... so depressed in fact that I don't even enjoy shopping nor can I bring myself to buy anything (seriously, SOMETHING). I know there is def. something seriously wrong with me when I can't go shopping. I love shopping and I love shoes and make up yet I went into a couple of stores to look and came out with nothing. Even when I had a reason to go shopping, I could not do it. No desire to buy anything. I guess I am in mourning and I am sure eventually I will get over this but I wish I didn't have to go thru this. It really sucks. It's been a crappy 2008.