Sunday Dinner - Double Date?

Tonite, my mom and I headed out for dinner cos I offered the nite before but she already had plans. This was a step towards making amends since we had not spoken in 3 weeks cos we are both stubborn and didn't want to take the first step. I did try to speak to her a couple of weeks ago but she was still seemed annoyed with me so I didn't try again. I think she also tried to take the next step by picking up a pineapple juice for us cos she knows how much we love it. That was kinda funny since both Kay and I couldn't figure out if we had picked up too many or if we had forgotten that we had an one in the fridge already!! My mom had caught a cold a few days before and wasn't feel too well so we decided to go to Congee House on Broadway cos I was to pick up Kay from Pablo's place. Since the restaurant was in the same neighborhood, I figured we could head over there right after dinner. But to our surprise, Kay and Pablo were also at the congee house! We ended up joining their table and even tho I think Kay was a bit embarrassed by us but Pablo insisted that we sit with them! Mom and I ordered a congee and rice noodle dish to share while those two had already ordered their own dinner, I know that Pablo was gonna pay for their dinner but when the bill came, I insisted that I pay the entire meal. After dinner, we drove Pablo back to his place before heading over to Cheesecake etc cos my mom wanted to pick up a cheesecake. Gosh that cheesecake is not cheap but it is sooooo good and so worth it! Total cost of dinner $41, total cost of dessert $33 cost, to have a meal with Kay and Pablo? Priceless :)

Dim sum yum yum!

Today at lunch, I met up with Robyn and Ingrid at Kirin Seafood Restaurant in Richmond Centre. This is one of my fave places to go for dim sum cos they have this glutinous sticky rice dish THAT IS THE BEST THERE. I love that dish! But Kirin does not serve it as a small dish, it's a regular dish that you have to order so I ordered it to go for later and for Kay's lunch. It was nice to catch up with Robyn and Ingrid since I hadn't seen them both in at least 2 years! Since Robyn moved out of the Cambie Area back in 2007, Ingrid left the downtown insurance company (in the same building as I) and moved into a government job in Richmond. We caught up on all sorts of things, I can't believe that Robyn's daughter Jessa is now 18!!! Wow, how time flies! Her little Leo is getting so big too, I can't believe he's almost 4!! Wow!! It was so good to see them and both are doing pretty good. We made a promise to meet up with each other again, very soon not letting 2 years pass. I wish I had taken photos of all my pretty and yummy dim sum but I was so hungry and we were talking so much that I didn't even think about taking photos! Next time! Yum yum Dim Sum!

HSG / Sala Thai

Last nite, I met up with Ben and we headed over to Hamilton Street Grill for their steak special of $20.10!! What a price! We had a choice of soup or salad, we both chose the cream leak and potato soup and a sirloin steak with mash or french fries served with a side of seasonal vegetables. Oh it was so good! We also made room to share our most fave dessert, ginger bread pudding with ginger and pumpkin ice cream! Mmmmm.... so good and so filling! Also, it was so nice to catch up with Ben since I hadn't seen him in ages! We caught up on life and he told me about this gigantic cookie that he is driving back to Whistler for! I told him to pick up one for me cos I can't believe how HUGE this cookie is! Great way to end a long and tiring week, I hope to catch up with Ben more often cos I think the last time I saw him, it was almost 5 months ago!!

Tonite, Jas and I headed over to Sala Thai on Cambie street for dinner cos we hadn't gone for Thai in so long and we had lots to catch up since she's been away on business for two weeks! She's super tired and needs a break so she is thinking about flying to Beijing and London in March for a mini break. I think it's a good idea for her and even tho I wouldn't fly all the way out there to visit Beijing, I think it's good for her to get out of this city. It has been a pretty long and tiring year for her so she def deserves a long overdue holiday. It would be good for her to get out of this city too since this recent business trip doesn't count! I do wish and hope her company will finally sign her on as a full time employee so she can have a more steady and stable future at this place. She's been on a contract for a few years and I think she's ready to sign or move on to something new. But I know she would rather stay with her current employer, crossing my fingers! Can't wait for dinner next weekend, we are going to Blue Water Cafe + Raw Bar to sssshhh celebrate Jas's birthday and to catch up with everyone! It will be so nice to see everyone as we hadn't seen each other in sooooo long! (Sorry no pics of food!)

I love Sephora!

Last week, I had picked up a few items at Sephora cos I had received a 10% discount and I wanted to use this on some really nice and expensive items. I picked up a powder foundation by Smashbox called Halo Hydrating Perfecting Powder and Brush set, Makeup Forever Lift Concealer and trio eyeshadow (which I ended up returning cos I want to buy the Dior Palette instead!). I just love Sephora! I def will have to order the Christian Dior palette online since it seems that the PC Sephora is always out of the products I want!! I received quite a number of compliments on my face so I know this Halo powder is def working and I usually can't wear powder cos my skin is so sensitive but this one doesn't seem to irritate it as the others. It's a bit expensive but def worth it :) Hopefully, this will last at least 3 months then I can justify spending that kind of money on it!

Date with Tomina!

Tonite, Kay, Tomina and I headed over to Duffin's Donuts on 41st / Knight street for a viet chicken sub, apparently this place has the BEST viet sub in Vancouver. Better than Bale Sandwhich Shop on Kingsway and Fraser! I had never had one or even thought to go there for one as the restaurant itself looks pretty sketchy. Esp THAT neighborhood as it is one of the worst hoods to be in plus the store front signs on the restaurant are kinda confusing with all the different types of cuisine they offer. Not to mention, it's a 24 hour restaurant in that area makes it pretty scary to want to dine at! But the viet sub is very good there, altho it is a bit expensive, charging 4.15 and it's half the size of a Bale's sandwich. Still pretty decent and I would consider going there if I had a mid nite craving for a viet sub! It is so close to our place :) Thanks T for taking us there! But stay away from the donuts........

Weekend of Fun!

Wow, what a weekend I had! But I can't believe it's almost over ...

Friday nite was a birthday dinner with one of Rhoda's really good friends. We had dinner plans at Spaghetti Factory in Richmond, I've never been to SF and IMO the food is alright for a chain restaurant but I don't think I'd go back unless it was another dinner party. After dinner plans were laser light bowling next door but it was so busy and we were put on a waiting list. I've never done the laser light bowling and can see why it's so busy, it looks like a lot of fun but it was getting late and I had a very long week at work so I was ready to crash and quickly.

Saturday, Kay and I headed over to the dentist office for her last tooth extraction and thank gawd that's all done cos I was getting a bit pissed that she had to do it THREE times. Just thinking that every time she goes into the dental office it costs me extra $$. But thankfully, we had no issues removing this last tooth and she didn't even seem like she was in that much pain. After the dentist, we were going to stop at Cupcakes for a cupcake but it was getting late and Pablo was waiting for her at the park. He planned to take her to Richmond and downtown for the afternoon and spoil her so she'd be in a happier mood. At home, I had a bit of a small late lunch before getting ready for the party tonite. Yes another party but not a birthday party! A company kick off party with Rhoda, I was helping her with this party as she tends to throw this party alone or with little help. The party was being held at at Steamworks in Gastown and they were going get their own private area for the party. A couple of years ago, they held it there too but it the upstairs area and it was so much fun. It's nice to get your own private room to hold a party altho at times, other people in the bar/restaurant will walk in and "pretend" to be looking for someone or something. I was a bouncer a few times, having to stop people from walking into the party. It was a fun nite as always and I didn't get wasted at all this year, thankfully I had to drive so I stayed sober :) The nite ended with a freaking parking ticket but the company is covering it and I drove Rhoda's boss and her co-worker/friend home cos her boss was way too drunk to go home on his own and her co-worker/friend's ride left the party early which meant she was gonna taxi it all the way to Richmond, Stevenston area, I wasn't gonna let that happen! I wish I had remember my camera but I didn't so I don't have any photos! But Rhoda / Jes 's cameras should have some, I will post some when I get them :)

Sunday - In the afternoon, I drove Kay to Tinseltown for her second interview at McDonald's. She had her first interview last week and it went well. This interview, she was meeting up with the higher managers and I'm pretty sure she got the job right on the spot last week but due to procedures, she had to have a second interview. I waited for her in Daiso, OMG, I can buy so many items in that place but I didn't. I only picked up a few items for the kitchen and fridge which costs me just a bit over $20. Pretty good considering I could spend well over $40 in the Richmond Daiso! After Tinseltown, we headed over to Superstore to pick up some groceries. We didn't find everything we needed of course but enough to make it thru the week. After Superstore, we headed over to HonHon's place to check his mail and see what / how we could clean up and organize his place so we could live in it. I'm thinking it might be time to move out of the basement suite and pay no rent so I can start saving $$ and live a little bit easier since Kay's braces are gonna cost me $300 a month! We decided to stop by Bubble World to pick up a bbt to go before heading home. Instead of cooking dinner, I treated Kay to Taiwanese beef noodle soup at Kalvin's Restaurant on Victoria Street cos they have the best beef noodle soup! We wanted to eat in but it was super packed (as it is always on a Sunday) and there would be at least a 30 minute wait for a table for two! So we decided to go with take out and the next time we decide to eat there, we'll make reservations! It was so yummy....mmmm.... a great way to end the weekend!

Shopping Addiction....

Oh dear. I have a problem and it's a huge one. I have been SO GOOD at not shopping most of 2009 that I guess all the build up of NOT shopping has full blown into LOTSA shopping!!! I avoided boxing week but ended up purchasing some items after boxing week like a new BlackBerry bluetooth (which I lost *angry face*), a Sony 7" digital frame (beautiful and I love it), a pair of suede flat grey boots from Browns (Reg $140, Sale $60), a couple of tops from Aritizia (not too expensive and had to use up a PC gift card) and a very pretty and perfect Lululemon bag (Reg $58, Sale $44 which I used my paypal "credits" to purchase) and that was pretty much it. But last nite, I headed over to Metrotown with Tomina to help her do some shopping, I didn't find anything throughout the mall but 15 minutes before closing, we decided to head over to Winners. OMG, I found a new shipment of Soi & Kyo jackets and only 1 XS in this style and colour!! I love their jackets cos the fit is slimming and very tailored plus I love how unique their designs are! At the price of $99, how could I resist? Obviously, I did not :( I was so close to getting out of Metrotown without spending ONE CENT. The nite ended with a take out BBT for the road cos shopping for 2 hours straight is a lot of work ;-) Today at lunch, I headed over to Sephora cos I was looking for a concealar but Metro didn't have the one I was looking for but neither did PC! Since I didn't make any large purchases at Sephora, I decided to see if H&M had any pretty dresses (cos I couldn't find any at Metro last nite) and found 2 very tailored and inexpensive dresses for work!!! Two dresses for $100!! OMG. WTF is wrong with me??!!?? I should have walked RIGHT OUT OF PACIFIC CENTRE but did a stop at Aritzia on the way out cos it's on the way out and found a beautiful Mackage leather jacket for only $399 (Reg $550) and it's beautiful! Feels like butter and the colour is perfect for dark denim :) I was looking at one yesterday but it was priced at $575 and is nice but I couldn't justify the purchase. This is a steal at that price cos it's like a warehouse price and I don't have a nice leather jacket so I can def tick that off the list!! OMG, no more shopping!!!

Treats and Tooth Extraction!

This morning, I received some nice treats from Erin cos she had thought of me over the weekend when she was at the Gourmet Warehouse. She picked up a very nice balsamic vinegar (the old, expensive and well flavoured one) called Aceto Balsamic di Modena aged 8 years (mmm!) and a pure almond extract! She also wanted to buy me the glass salad shaker but GW was out of stock. She is so sweet and thoughtful, I think she wanted to pick up a little something for me cos over the last few weeks, I had given her a quite a number of items from my wardrobe cos she has lost so much weight! So proud of her :) And so very dedicated!!

This afternoon, Kay got one of her teeth pulled out and she was suppose to have two done but she was too scared and not ready to do two teeth at once. Dr. Lo was very kind and easy with her saying she could get them done all separately but I said no. She is going in for two more appointments, one of them, she has to pull two out at once! Every time she goes in for an appointment, it costs me more $$!! At least she is getting braces and she should be so lucky! It costs a small fortune to get this done and I now wish I did go with braces but was too scared of our family dentist to do so. But in the long run, it would have been worth it! Now I will have to spend another 6K to get mine done when hers are done. I really need to get them done, my top front teeth are really bothering me now. More so than when I was a teenager! Dang it....

Sunday Shopping

This afternoon, I headed over to the Gourmet Warehouse on Hastings Street cos I had heard so many great deals that this place has. Altho the neighborhood is a bit sketchy, it is a really great place to find many items at a reasonable price! I had arrived 30 minutes before closing so I didn't get a chance to really look around cos I was trying to get thru as much as I could. I ended up staying around the baking area a bit longer and found these adorable cupcake holders for only $2.99 each where I've found them elsewhere for $5 or more! I was hoping to find a glass salad dressing bottle to mix dressings cos I had found one at CookWorks for $8! Erin had mentioned that it would be less expensive at GW but it seems they didn't carry it or have it in stock :(After GW, I headed over to Fujiya on Clark Drive cos this one is a Japanese supermarket, gosh I found so many goodies in there! Mmmmm japanese snacks, japanese tea and I also picked up some pocky for Kay. After Fujiya, I headed over to Superstore to pick up the groceries for the week before calling it a nite. Gosh I've been feeling so tired and stressed out lately that after my shopping errands, I headed home and plopped down on the couch for the rest of the evening. Luckily, it is Kay's nite to cook and she made an awesome tuna cheddar cheese casserole dish for dinner! Mmmm so very scrumptious! Thanks bebe!!

Next Major Purchase, Burberry Trench Coat!

I love love this trench and I would def purchase this trench if I didn't have to pay for Kay's braces this coming week! Maybe I can look into buying this at the Burberry Outlet .....

Perfect Nude Shoes

I think these are the perfect shade of nude pumps and I wish I had $495 USD to purchase these at Saks Fifth Avenue..... click picture above for more details.

**Update** How strange, this shoe is no longer on the Saks Fifth Avenue website, I am wondering if the pre-order has hit it's maximum?

Pussycat Doll Hip Hop Classes

OMG, I am too stiff and too old to dance like a pussycat doll! Tomina and I had signed up for 7 classes every Monday at the Urban Dance Co on Granville Street. The instructor is nice and very talented but I felt like the class was too crowded and the dance moves were being taught to quickly for a real beginner to understand. Some of the ladies have done the class before so they had no problems with the moves while some of us tumbled all over the place. Oh well, it's good exercise and it's fun doing this with Tomina :) We only have 6 more classes to go and I don't think I'll sign up for the next set! Yikes! I don't think my body can bend and wiggle in the places that I am suppose to! Hahaha....

PMS

Sometimes I hate being a woman esp at times like this when I feel like the world should be coming to an end cos I cannot deal with all these up and down emotions going through my body and mind. It feels like the worst weekend ever and I'm sure it is not. I also blamed HonHon for not calling when he said he would which made me angrier as I could not vent or direct my frustrations with him meaning I had a mini meltdown with Kay. Poor girl but she was warned last week that I was going to be a bit crazy with this one. I don't usually PMS this badly but this month, I could feel the moods coming on full speed. I knew it would be bad and my emotions were going to go all over the place. Over the weekend a bunch of crappy things happened to me like I had a disagreement with my mother, the long drive out to Mission (hate sitting in the car for more than 30 mins), the registered breeder (which I thought) turned out to be a puppy mill, losing my bluetooth (new only used twice!), the thought of losing a chance to own the glossy epi handbag that I have been dying for, getting mad and staying mad at HonHon for not calling and the PMS'ing. What a way to start the work week......

Ok I think I'm done venting, I would feel so much better and so dying to head over to the Louis Vuitton boutique to purchase a NEW WALLET cos I think I need a new traveling wallet :) But really I don't NEED a new wallet and I really can't spend $1K on a new wallet when Kay's orthodontist appointment is coming up which means I'll have to fork over $1200 at once. *sigh* Oh well, I guess it's NOT the end of the world.....

Road Trip & Hot Pot

OHMYGAWD..... Mission is SO FAR.... coming from the city and going to Mission is like a mini road trip! Gosh, I am such a city girl!! It's only about an hour away but really it is so far! This afternoon, Kay, Rhoda and I headed out to Mission to take a look at some Pomeranian pups that I saw online last week. One of these pups caught my eye cos it looked similar to Ari and I was in love with him. After speaking to the breeder and getting my credentials in order (yes I had to give her references and fill out a two page questionnaire, one serious breeder!), I realized I was in love with the wrong pup. She had not yet posted new photos of "Jasper" and in fact, I was in love with a female pup named Esme. Oh gosh, now I am not sure what to be expecting since I was in love with the beautiful pup I thought was Jasper and when we finally arrived, a few hours later (long story short, we needed to give her some time to prepare the pups for showing), he was def not WHAT I was expecting :( Esme was the adorable pup online and in the end I didn't end up buying any of them cos of many reasons, one being Esme's price $1500 (with NO PAPERWORK), er I don't think so! Going out there wasn't a big loss since now I know exactly what I want and do not want. Ari came from a particular breeder that breeds "teddy bear" Pomeranians and yes they do cost a bit more but their faces are much cuter cos they really do remind you of a teddy bear :) I've decided that when I'm in Taipei this fall, I will look and see if I can find a cute "teddy bear" Pomeranian pup (very popular in Asia and Ari was Taiwanese) :) Now I will continue to wait and hopefully, one day I will be able to bring home another Pomeranian or I could always adopt a small dog from a shelter, there are so many unwanted dogs out there :( After the long drive back, we basically spent the afternoon in Maple Ridge / Mission, we returned to my house so Kay could quickly get ready for a b'day dinner cos I had said I would drive her to her BFF's place so they could go together. But Rhoda and I had a hot pot dinner at her friend's house so we quickly rushed back into Burnaby and to my surprise, met up with an old friend back in high school days!! It was nice to see her again and everyone at the dinner was super nice. It was very relaxed and an entertaining nite! Now must catch up on some sleep......

Louis Vuitton, Aritzia, Browns

Today at lunch, Jas and I headed over to Louis Vuitton cos I rec'd a call over the weekend that my handbag had arrived and they would hold it for me until I looked at it. I could not purchase the bag so I had to release the item back to the store stock :*( The handbag is MORE BEAUTIFUL in person and I was really sad that I had to hand it back to the SA. At first, the SA mentioned this would be a regular stocked item and I didn't think that sounded right cos LV only had 3 styles in this leather. But she reassured me that the next time HonHon was in town, I could most def order it. Before leaving the store, Jas wanted to walk around and thank goodness we did cos the SA checked with the manager and found out that THIS WAS LIMITED. It is part of the Spring collection and there is no guarantee that this bag will be available for order or in stock in a few months! UGH!!! It is so beautiful and if I didn't have to put Kay's braces (the hardware and installation) fee of $1200, I would have def charged it to my credit card!!! Sadly, I had to leave it behind and hope and pray that HonHon will either find it in Taipei or it will still be available for order the next time he is in Vancouver. I am sure that handbag will not last long at the boutique, it will probably sell within a matter of a week :( It's suppose to be MINE!!! Oh well, to cheer myself up and cos Jas wanted to go, we headed over to see if Aritzia had any good sales on the denim, we decided to hit the Aritzia on Robson street. We manage to find a great deal on William Rast denim, sale price $99 from $300 but unfortunately, they did not have my size and size 26 were 1 1/2 sizes too big! But the sales girl suggested I buy them cos they are such a great price plus they fit me really nicely and if I take them to a tailor, he could easily alter them to my size. At this price, that is a great idea! So I purchased them cos I have been wanting a pair of WR jeans for 3 years plus these ones looked awesome on me!! After Aritzia, we headed over to B2 shoes cos I found a pair of flat suede boots for $70 (half price) online but the online ordering system wasn't working (for a few days) so I wanted to see if B2 could bring them so I could take a look at them and to try them on. The SA found the boots I was looking for in their catalog and ordered them in for me since they never did carry these ones in the store. I should be expecting them next week, how exciting! I don't know why but I'm really getting into flat boots! I think cos it's winter and I am now starting to enjoy wearing boots!

Joey's, Sherlock Holmes, SIP

Tonite, I headed out with Jas for a long overdue get together cos we haven't seen each other in WEEKS! We decided to meet up at JOEY'S cos I had a gift card from the last time I ate there (my ahi tuna was overcooked and ruined my lunch!) so I wanted to see if they could redeem themselves this time around. I ordered the ahi tuna salad and asked them to give me a thicker slice not the "fillet" or "steak" cut and I wanted it RARE. It turned out really good this time around! We caught up on life and WOW so much has happened! I hope 2010 brings her lotsa happiness and prosperity cos she really could use it! It's been a tough year and the last couple years hasn't been too good to her :( After our meal, we decided to share the apple pie dessert, oh dear that is so yummy! Once we were done, we headed over to the theatre (30 minutes before the movie was to start) and couldn't believe how BUSY it was!! We didn't even get to sit up in the middle, we ended up in the bottom rows but it wasn't too bad cos we were in the 2nd row but still it was pretty close to the screen!!! Sherlock Holmes turned out to be a really exciting movie and I really enjoyed it! We both did! Also can't wait to see SH 2 cos we think there will be one with the way the movie ended it. I love Robert Downey Jr and he def has a smoking hot body in this movie. Plus I really like how they made Sherlock Holmes a bit of a bad boy :) Very well done! After the movie ended, it was still early around 9:20PM so we decided to have a drink and some appy's at SIP lounge, they have the best beer battered fries...mmm... oh dear, I def need to go on a diet starting MONDAY!! Too many dine outs and too much junk in my trunk! Ha! We sat there for an hour and a bit before calling it a nite, it was a bit loud in the loud, they had a DJ spinning but it wasn't that good. R, Jas's friend, ended up calling to see what she was up to and even tho they were gonna head out for some more, I was getting tired and needed to go home cos I would have to pick up Kay soon. It was a great nite catching up with Jas and now I have gotta start planning her birthday! Wow, how this year has already gone by so fast!!

Happy New Year!

Good Bye 2009 and Hello 2010!!

Not only did we say good bye to 2009, we also had to say good bye to HonHon :( His flight back to Taipei was at 12:15am which meant he would be doing the countdown on the airplane. We decided to not drop him off this time, instead parking the car and checking in with him. He gets to cut the line cos he has a VIP card which means even though he flies business class, he gets to check in at the First Class counter! Cool, there was NO ONE at the first class counter. Gosh the perks of being a VIP but I guess he travels more than enough to deserve this perks! After checking him, we tried to locate a coffee shop but everything was closed cos it was New Year's Eve! Only thing opened was Burger King so I quickly headed over to the ladies room before we walked him to the secure customs area. When I came out, I could hear the bawling of Kay in her father's arms and it broke my heart but I did not bawl like her cos I have to be the strong one. Next time, we are just dropping him off and leaving quickly. Oh gosh, I can't believe how quickly this trip has passed but with so many dinners and rushing around, it just goes by fast. Hopefully, we'll see him sooner than later and if it works out with BCIT, I'm sure we'll see him a lot more! Wishing everyone a very Happy and Prosperous New Year! Bring on 2010!!