Perfect Domed Muffins!

Almost perfect! A bit over cooked, I think I didn't add enough "liquid" to the batter but my muffins are perfectly domed! With these shots, I couldn't choose the one to post so I posted them all! Enjoy and Yes, they are as yummy as they look :)

Brunch

This morning, I decided I wanted to try and make a nice brunch for Kay and I. I try to make brunch every weekend but I usually only make waffles with sausages or bacon with an egg but this morning, I wanted to try breakfast potatoes. I wasn't sure how they were going to turn out but they actually turned out pretty great! Brunch is yummy, my fave meal of the day!

It's funny how Kay still wants her waffles cut up into pieces cos I've been doing that for her since she was a little girl. She says it's easier for her to dip the waffles into the syrup! Hahaha.... I'm sure it is. The homemade waffle recipe is super easy and every ingredient is organic! Plus since we've cut out milk, we've noticed these waffles taste much fluffier when it's made with soy milk. Super yummy!

RIP Rudy

My mom's lovebird has passed tonight. He lived a very long life, almost 20 years. We are all very saddened by his loss and mom and I will bury him in the backyard tomorrow.

R.I.P. Rudy

Go Green, Live Rich

Just finished reading this book, Go Green, Live Rich (Canadian Edition) by David Bach with Hillary Rosner. I found it very easy to ready and there were many good ideas in going green in your every day life. Must read and own!

Sharp - Limited Edition

The AQUOS Limited Edition XS1 Series, in 65" and 52" screen sizes, sets a new standard for large-screen flat-panel LCD TVs. With Full HD 1080p resolution, dramatically enhanced black level and an elegant new ultra-thin design produce a breathtaking viewing experience that is second to none. The XS1 Series utilizes the next generation of Sharp’s proprietary 10-bit Advanced Super View/Black TFT Panel with Mega Dynamic Contrast Ratio in excess of 1,000,000:1 along with an ultra-high performance RGB-LED backlight for very deep black levels and an unprecedented 150% colour gamut. In addition, these models include the groundbreaking AQUOS Net feature for custom Web-based content through an Ethernet jack, as well as 120Hz Fine Motion Enhanced for the ultimate in fast-motion image processing. All XS1s are HDTVs with a separate AVC system with built-in ATSC / QAM / NTSC tuners and include 5 HDMI™ inputs and 2 HD 1080p component video inputs as well as RS-232C for control. This Series features a stunning silver cabinet, with detachable speakers. The AVC system connects to the monitor with an included HDMI™ cable and the XS1 features a stunning metallic cabinet that is less than 1” in thickness at its thinnest point.

Oooh I LOVE and WANT one!

4 Day Weekend!

Woohoo 4 day weekend! Love those :) But so sad cos it went by so fast! I can't believe it's already over :( weekends seem to rush right by.....

Saturday

Kay and I headed over to Wise Hall for the first day of the Winter's Market! We were happy to see that our apple guy was still around and we picked up another bag of apples! $12 worth of apples cos they are so yummy! Most of the regular vendors were around altho many are now just stocking winter vegetables. I am not sure how to cook all these different types of winter vegetables so I guess I will have to google some recipes! Lucky for us, it wasn't raining too bad as it was earlier in the morning (Kay woke up late). The Winter's Market only happens every 2 weeks so I had to figure out what I could buy and what wouldn't spoil so quickly in the fridge. Kay and I always enjoy heading over to the farmer's market cos there are so many interesting stands and some many wonderful items to discover! After the market, we headed home and Kay started on her homework cos she was heading out on Sunday with friends while I gave Rhoda a call cos she wanted to do a bit of shopping.

Rhoda and I headed over to Baby's World and IKEA in Coquitlam and she bought a few items from each place. Superstore was next and I picked up a few grocery items plus a cute sweater for only $29.99! After all that shopping, we decided to call it a day so we headed back to her place to drop her stuff off, rest a bit and to pick up my car. After chilling a bit, we decided to head over to my place to have dinner. Lucky for us, my mom was home and she made us a yummy asian dinner with soy sauce pork, bean sprout dish and BBQ duck/pork take out. Everything was delish altho I found the take out a bit too salty and was super thirsty after dinner. Rhoda hanged out with us a bit more before calling it a night.

Sunday

On this rainy day, mom and I ran errands cos she didn't get much done yesterday. We headed over to a few places to pick up her groceries and off to LD to pick up some sale items that she needed. Mom ended up buying me my very own pasta maker, I am so EXCITED, can't wait to test this out! Kay and I have been debating if we should make our own pasta since we do not like boxed lasagna and now we can do it ourselves, just have to find some recipes. After our errands, it was getting late and we decided to go out to eat so we didn't have to cook. We decided on Miu Garden cos grandma likes the curry brisket and we have been meaning to pick some up for her. After dinner, I chilled and relaxed.

Monday

Shopping in the States with my BFFs :) with the exception of Kay. She had school today! Aw too bad so sad... we spent the entire day in the States and I did pretty good. Only spent $200 USD and I didn't have to pay duties when we crossed the border cos I only claimed $105! We ended up to the usual places and I was a bit disappointed that I didn't see anything at the Outlet! Nada. We headed over to a new shopping centre called University Village and it's an outdoor shopping centre right by University of Washington (thank you to the mini gps). It's a pretty nice place and of course, it's new to us so it was a bit more exciting. We ended up in a little boutique called Mercer that had Citizens of Humanity (and 7's) on sale for $84 USD in my size!!!! Vancouver has these designer denims but are priced over $200+ a pair so it was a great deal and I could not resist them. Plus I don't own a pair of Citizens so I managed to justify this purchase in my head. I picked up a few items from Sephora (which was my main reason for going to the States) and I ended up with a Shu Uemura 24kt Gold eyelash curler (only available at Sephora), a Too Face lash injection pin point mascara and I picked up a Kat Von D metallic purple liquid eye liner for Kay. I always end up picking up a little something for her and I felt sorta bad that she had school today!

After all our driving and shopping, we decided to head back to Vancouver making one last stop at Bellis Fair. As we were driving back, we ended up in a minor accident on the freeway, a lady rear ended us cos she didn't realized we all had stopped and she didn't have her eyes on the road cos she was looking at her baby in the back seat!! OMG... it was a bit scary actually cos I have never been in an accident outside of Vancouver, plus the freeway was jammed packed with cars as we were in the middle of rush hour. It is pretty scary standing on the side of the freeway with these cars zooming past you! But it's def. a first time I've ever stood on the freeway having a cigarette! I was a bit worried about getting back into traffic cos there never seemed a break in between the cars but Rhoda managed to get us back in. But we missed our exit (to I-5) and had to take a long route around (kinda like Lougheed Hwy) back to I-5. I was hoping to find a Hello Kitty t-shirt at Bellis Fair but did not manage to find anything :( After a brief walk around, we headed towards the border, the wait wasn't too long (thank goodness!) as we were getting a bit hungry (we decided to eat in Vancouver). Rhoda and Jas ended up paying taxes cos we declared $800 USD total. Lucky for me, I only declared $105 USD ($70 USD in make up was stashed in my make up bag) and I didn't have to pay taxes! Once we crossed the border, we went to Richmond to eat dinner, we all wanted something light and easy so it was beef brisket, wonton noodle soup for us! It was a fun but tiring day and we did some great shopping! Plus it was awesome to have my girls bond :) This was def. one of the best shopping trips ever!!!

Tuesday

Today was a bit of a rainy day and I stayed home to rest and bake. Mom had wanted me to help her rake up the leaves but she never called or came down and when I went outside in the afternoon, she had already finished raking most of the yard. I didn't think she was going to do it today as it was very wet and cold but she wanted to get it done before she left for Vegas. I am now thinking I am not so sure I want to live in a house, the yard work is HARD WORK! Since my mom didn't need my help, I decide to catch up on my house errands like cleaning the washroom, doing a couple of loads of laundry, baking my muffins and waffles etc. It was nice not to be running around and out in about. It was a nice just being at home, altho I did end up going for a walk after dinner in the rain, I love walking in the rain esp when it's coming down hard. Love the freshness and crispness in the air.

Vancouver Canucks vs Phoenix Coyotes

Awesome Game! Of course, we won with only 1 goal but the 3rd quarter was pretty darn exciting! More photos on my flickr account!

If The World Could Vote?

Who would YOU vote for?? Cast your vote!

If the World could Vote?

First Game

I just won a pair of hockey tickets to see the Canucks on Thursday, Nov 6th!! Woohoo!!! How exciting!!!

Dinner with Kitty and Shel

Tonight, Kay and I went to visit Kitty and Shel's new house! Gosh, what a beautiful job on the renos and the house is incredible. I love the custom kitchen cabinets and the spa like bathroom. A wonderful extension to the back of the house by using up half of the patio. It was such a lovely time and so nice to see them both, it seems like forever since we've last seen each other. AND I finally got to see the beautiful wedding photos gosh, so gorgeous and beautifully done, the photographer captured the moments perfectly! Thank you Shel for cooking and firing up the BBQ. It was so nice to sit down and catch up and somehow we managed to get invited back over for turkey dinner!! We love having turkey and would never turn down a turkey dinner with good peeps!!

Saturday Shopping

Today, I went to run errands with my mom. I wanted to return an item at Zellers so we headed over to Brentwood Mall first, she walked around and found a cute baby boy set for only $5.00! Mom's friend, Cece from Alaska, daughter and son both had boys this year so she wanted to pick up a little something to give with the lucky red envelope she is sending. After Zellers we decided to grab a coffee a Starbucks cos it was really wet outside and having something warm would not make it seem so bad! After Brentwood, we headed down to Chinatown to a warehouse that sold rice and misc items, they have the best prices on soy sauce, cooking oil etc! Mom picked up multiple (heavy) items and sauces cos we hardly go to Chinatown now. I don't really cook Asian food so I didn't really need anything except I found some yummy strawberry Pocky and dry shredded pork and dry wild salmon for congee or rice or mmmm.. maybe salad??!!?? :) Chinatown is so quiet now, I remember a time when it was so busy that shopping in Chinatown was like shopping in the mall during a Boxing Day Sale! After Chinatown, we headed over to Tinseltown cos I noticed yesterday as Jas and I were going up the elevator to the theatre, there was a store that looked very similar to Daiso in Richmond and I wanted to check it out. It isn't called Daiso but it is def a Daiso. Yaka Yoyo 123 is what it's called and that is a very strange name for a $2 store! Crazy Japanese! It's much smaller than Daiso but carried the same items, all for a toonie or less! We both ended up with a few items before leaving the store and hopefully these items won't end up in the junk box! After Tinseltown, we headed over to Superstore to pick up a few more things and by the time we were finished, we were getting a bit hungry, this is a sign to head home and start thinking about dinner. Auntie Ingrid came over to visit so they decided on a restaurant for dinner. A place called Golden Sparkle Chinese Restaurant (WTF??) and I have never been but they apparently serve a really good seafood fried rice. It wasn't too bad altho, they were a bit cheap with the seafood and the fried noodle dish was way too greasy!! After dinner, mom had a few movies to select from but I opted to say downstairs and enjoy the quietness in the house before Kay came home. Nice and relaxing day of errands.

Ellie

I love these Ellie handbags, they are so beautifully designed and crafted in Italy. I think I have found my newest addition (and a much needed colour!), only $245 USD.

Pride and Glory

Tonight, Jas and I watched Pride and Glory with Edward Norton and Colin Farrell. Wow, it was a really interesting movie and throughout the movie, I wasn't sure how they were going to end it. I have mixed feelings about this movie due to how the story played out, at some points it was a bit confusing. But I did really enjoy watching Edward Norton and Colin Farrell on screen, I think both are very talented actors and are amazing at what they do. In the end, I am not sure if I agree with the way the movie ended and I am not sure if I would recommend you to watch it in the theatre, maybe wait for it to come out on dvd.

Movie Details:
Four New York City cops are dead, killed in an ambush that has the entire police department on alert and on edge. With a cop killer on the loose and so much riding on the case, Chief of Manhattan Detectives Francis Tierney, Sr. asks his son, Detective Ray Tierney, to lead the investigation. Reluctantly Ray takes over the case knowing the cops who were lost had served under his brother, Francis Tierney, Jr., and alongside his brother-in-law, Jimmy Egan. On the surface, it looked like a routine drug bust gone terribly, tragically wrong. But as Ray delves deeper into the case, he realizes someone had to have tipped off the drug dealers that the cops were coming. Someone on the inside. Worse, the evidence starts to point in an unthinkable direction: to his own brother and brother-in-law. As the questions mount, the case forces the family to choose between their loyalties to one another and their loyalties to the department.

sticky & sweet

Madonna was AWESOME! Sticky & Sweet is the best concert ever in Vancouver! She is an amazing performer and she def did not disappoint! Wish I brought my camera though :( Didn't bring it cos I was afraid it would get confiscated! But it seems that they were allowing cameras into the stadium! Oh well, these photos are from Rhoda, enjoy!

New Baby Boy!

Tonight, we all met up for dinner with Grace to meet her new baby boy, Colin. Rhoda and I always drive wherever we need to, to meet up with Grace, Travis and Lisa cos they have little kids and we don't mind driving the distance to see them. We know how hard it is to get all the little kids out and about. Grace picked a newly opened Malaysian restaurant in New West (which is convenient for both Grace and Trav) called Tamarind Hill Malaysian Restaurant. The restaurant is a bit on the small side but the service and food was great! The ambiance of the place is very Malay as well.

It was so nice to finally meet Baby Colin and he is adorable! It was also good to see Jordan, who's becoming a little man and Tristan, growing up so quickly and he is so full of energy! It was a lovely time as always and it's really nice to have dinner with such wonderful people and kids!

Maui Gold - Pineapples

My co-worker Philip just got back from his two week vacation from Hawaii and before he left, he asked if there was anything he could bring back for me. I only wanted two items, a pineapple knife and a Hawaiian pineapple cos I heard the Hawaiian pineapples are the best and we can't get them here in Vancouver. All our pineapples are imported from Mexico or Costa Rica. It was a great big surprise to what he brought back! A box of pineapples and a pineapple slicer/corer! This is much better than the pineapple knife I asked for as it is a two in one, corer and slices your pineapple. I can't wait to take these home and try them, I think I'll be eating pineapple for breakfast! LOL... wow, the box is super heavy, I can't believe Philip carried this on the plane, back to his condo and then to work!!! His wife thought he was a bit crazy or that he must have really liked me to pick up a box of pineapples. Gosh, the sweet aromas are making it hard to concentrate at work, I think I need to slice one right now!

Chanel in Central Park, NY

Wish I was in New York City to see this exhibit!

Gothamist
Art and commerce are now communing in nature: The Zaha Hadid-designed Chanel Mobile Art is now open in Central Park. Situated in Rumsey Playfield, the 7,500-square foot orb is filled with art inspired by elements of the famous quilted Chanel bag and visitors can also listen to an audio guide, narrated by Jeanne Moreau (the NY Times described the audio as "discussing everything from sex and love to the secrets at the bottom of a woman’s handbag"). Chanel, which has previously displayed the orb in other cities around the world, donated a low seven-figure sum to Central Park, plus will pay a $400,000 use fee to the city.

The exhibit is free and open seven days a week: Monday-Thursday, 8:30 a.m.-6:00 p.m. (last admission is 5:15 p.m.); Friday-Saturday, 8:30 a.m.-9:00 p.m. (last admission is 8:15 p.m.); and Sunday, 8:30 a.m.-8:00 p.m. (last admission is 7:15 p.m.). Tickets are available at the box office, which opens 30 minutes before the opening (and closes at the time of last admission), in Rumsey Playfield. The exhibit will run through November 9.

NEW YORK (AFP) — A mobile art exhibition inspired by the iconic quilted leather Chanel bag "2.55" created in 1955 by Coco Chanel opens Friday in Central Park. Fifteen artists have been inspired to contribute to the exhibition set up in a glass fiber mobile gallery resembling a spaceship and designed by Iraqi-born British architect Zaha Hadid. "Stay by my side and follow my instructions," orders French actress Jeanne Moreau in her languid voice over an audio guide recorded for the exhibition. Meandering through the pavilion, visitors discover installations by artists from around the world, even though few share much with the signature handbag with its gold chain. The inspiration for the exhibition is only obvious in one of the pieces -- a giant version of the open bag lying on its side. Other works include Frenchman Daniel Buren's bathing cabin and an installation by Argentine Leandro Erlich showing the reflection of buildings. Coco Chanel, who died in 1971, "worked with artists like (Jean) Cocteau or (Pablo) Picasso, and this pavilion continues this tradition," said a spokesman for Chanel and its artistic director, Karl Lagerfeld. Shaped like a large white snail, the structure ends with a giant Chanel bag and a "wishtree" by Yoko Ono, the widow of former Beatle John Lennon, where a wish can be written and hung on a branch. Central Park marks the third stop of a two-year global tour for Chanel Mobile Art that began on February 27 in Hong Kong. It will head to London and Moscow next year before ending in Paris in 2010.

Portobello Fashion West and Commercial Drive

Today, Rhoda and I went to Portobello Fashion West at the Rocky Mountain Station. It usually takes me a bit over an hour to walk around the entire market but this time around, we finished it in 30 minutes. One of my main reasons for going today is to see if Jenny Ye would be at her booth cos her brand is on the vendors list for this month. Her rep was there running the booth and she said that Jenny was not going to be around today but will be here the following month (I will probably not be going to next month's market). I was a bit disappointed that she wasn't there but disappointment quickly became excitement when I found a couple of great deals! I manage to pick up a couple of really beautiful items on sale!! For $95 (CASH - no taxes!!) I picked up another lovely top (like the one yesterday) and a beautiful grey wool skirt with white pinstripes for work! The skirt was a steal and even though it was one size too big, the price was right and I could not resist! Another reason for hitting the market is to pick up Xmas gift ideas for my manager's wife and my dear co-worker (Val). I did find a few interesting ideas and I will probably go to the December's market to buy them or see what else is available (vendors change monthly), it would be nice to go next month but there is a high chance that I will be in Los Angeles the weekend of PFW (usually held every last Sunday of the month except for December). After finishing off early at PFW, Rhoda and I decided to hit Commercial Drive since we were close by and I had some Entertainment Coupons to use before they expired. We found FREE parking on a side street so we got out and walked over to an Italian coffee cafe to pick up some coffee (coupon #1 used), the Italian bakery Fratelli's to pick up some baked goodies (coupon #2 used) and gelato (1 litre!) at Dolce Amore (coupon #3 used). Walking along Commercial Drive, we decided to stop by Spank Clothing which is close to the end of Commercial drive, thank goodness for comfy heels! We have been to Spank Shoes on Commercial a few times but we have not been in Spank Clothing on the drive. We usually don't walk far enough to hit Spank Clothing. Rhoda wanted to check out some of Cici's fall/winter items but couldn't find her size but she did pick up a very pretty blue sweater dress sweater with a button that fits her perfectly! The layout of the store is different from Granville's and I noticed how spacious this store is. Plus the items stocked in this store varies from the Granville. There is another Spank on West 4th and I don't think I have been in that store, I usually shop on Granville since I work so close by. While browsing through their items, I found a lovely black sweater by Only Limitless from Denmark for only $49. It is a really nice fit and it has some pretty details. I don't have many sweaters so I could justify this purchase :) After our shopping, we headed back to my place to make dinner and just hang out. It was a lovely day to spend with my BFF :)

Body of Lies

Tonight, Rhoda and I caught the late show for Body of Lies with Leo DiCaprio. I love him and I think he is an amazing actor who hasn't done one bad film yet! Really really enjoyed it and you should def. check it out if you haven't!

Synopsis (provided by Rotten Tomatoes)

Based on Washington Post columnist David Ignatius’ 2007 novel about a CIA operative, Roger Ferris (Leonardo DiCaprio), who uncovers a lead on a major terrorist leader suspected to be operating out of Jordan. When Ferris devises a plan to infiltrate his network, he must first win the backing of cunning CIA veteran Ed Hoffman (Russell Crowe) and the collegial, but perhaps suspect, head of Jordanian intelligence. Although ostensibly his allies, Ferris questions how far he can really trust these men without putting his entire operation – and his life – on the line.

Mom and Daughter Day

Today, Kay and I spent the day together, going to the last Trout Lake Farmer's Market and running some errands for HonHon. We headed off to the last market for the season at Trout Lake and since we got there so late (we both woke up late!!) arriving after 12.00pm, there wasn't much of anything left so we didn't get many veggies. We did stock up on apples though cos the apples there are the BESTEST! These ones from Apple Lane Orchards from Denman Island does not go brown after you slice them and every bite is delish and super sweet! After wandering around what was left of the market, we headed over to Safeway to drop off some recycling and to pick up some soy milk (Kay and I are cutting out dairy altho we are not cutting out good quality cheese) cos too much of cow's milk (esp non organic) is not good for you plus cow's milk is harder for your digestion system. I managed to convince Kay to use Silk Soy Milk instead of cow's milk cos it really almost taste like milk so I've heard and I still prefer the regular soy milk, I know Kay had a bit of an issue with the idea of using soy milk with her cereal. After Safeway, we headed down Broadway to pick up HonHon's contact lenses that I pre-ordered a couple days before. Gosh, what a nightmare! The traffic on Broadway is horrendous and right after we crossed Main street, on our way down to Willow Street, it took us nearly 30 minutes!! Once we finally arrived, we drove around the block for parking and once we found one, we dropped some coins to give us about 20 minutes. We picked up the contact lenses and since we had a bit of time on the meter, we decided to check out Steeps which is a tea house on Broadway. I didn't pick up any loose tea as I had already bought tons of the tea the last time I went tea shopping on Main Street. Since we were in the Cambie area, we decided to do some shopping in the Cambie Village right by our old apartment. We didn't get any organic onions at the farmer's market so we stopped into Capers to pick up some and there were these local organic raspberries that we couldn't resist! We also stopped into Shop Cocoon cos that used to be one of my fave boutiques to find local designers with a unique style, I ended up picking up a pretty green shirt by Cici (again, my fave local designer!) for only $35!! After Cambie Village, we decided to hit Oakridge Centre before calling it a day. There wasn't much in the mall that we haven't seen before but I could not resist and had to stop into Michael Kors. Darn it, I shouldn't have cos now I found the perfect black handbag!! Micheal Kors, large Skorpios shopper in black leather with silver hardware, $1295 but only 1 in the store and I don't think HonHon will buy it for me cos it's a lot for a handbag. I have been eyeing the white one for 2 years but decided against the white cos it's so hard to care for! Oh well, a girl can dream..... After Oakridge, Kay and I headed home so she could finish her homework and I walked over to Famous Foods to pick up some organic unbleached white flour, organic ground beef for pasta and organic (locally made) pasta sauce! Yes, we are trying to do as much organic as possible, now if I could only figure out how to buy organic meat directly from the farmer, I think that would really help keep our costs down!

Mexican Fiesta!

Tonight, Jas and I had dinner plans with Charly and Ivan (his roommate) for an authentic Mexican dinner. We arrived a little bit late since the traffic was terrible and it was quite a long drive for us (living in Vancouver and all....), Charly and Ivan live in a condo by New Westminster Quay. It is quite a nice condo with very nice views but way too out of the city! Since it took us almost an hour to get there (we were starving!) due to the rush hour traffic but the dinner was def worth the long wait. Once we arrived, the dinner was still in the process of being cooked and it seemed like they had a ton of food. Charly invited another friend for dinner, Martin (quite a character) and he brought over a nice bottle of red which we all enjoyed while waiting for the chef (Ivan) to finish cooking the delicious meal. We enjoyed the company and we had some very interesting and funny conversations. The appetizer was interesting, homemade wontons in a tomato soup! The enchiladas and tostidos (?) were magnificent! Ivan also made this incredible avocado sauce with a bit of a tang (spicy and sour) which complimented the dishes quite well. No sour cream or salsa involved and not too crazy with cheese either. The dishes were either baked or pan fried (no deep frying involved), it was pretty greaseless and I can't wait for the next Mexican dinner! Apparently there is a restaurant (Dona Cata) on Victoria street that serves authentic Mexican cuisine and is a family owned / runned restaurant so I will def have to check it out! Super yummy!! Thanks Charly and Ivan, it was the best Mexican cuisine I have ever had!!

We did take some photos tonight but I had forgotten my camera so we used Ivan's camera and he captured the moments while I photographed the food :) Hopefully, I will get them sometime this week so I can post them here or on my flickr account.

Fright Nights

Tonight, I went to Fright Nights at Playland for the first time! Gosh, it was not a good night to go cos we found out that all the kids in Vancouver had a Pro D Day on Friday which meant there were tons of kids tonight. It was so busy and the line ups were so long, Jas and I only managed to hit 2 haunted houses before calling it a night. We had spent most of our nights in line ups and some people arrived late to meet us so we didn't get to start until 7pm but by that time, the crowds were massive! I am not sure if I will do it again next year but if I do, I am def making Kay come with us! It really wasn't all that scary!!!

HR - SW

(Click onto photo to enlarge)

Melange Pump

Oh dear oh my! I finally found and bought (instantly) my Stuart Weiztmann pumps with the (faux?!?!) snakeskin and alligator leather in black! Beautiful shoes and worth every cent (including the interest that I will have to pay to have them!)

There is a story behind these shoes, I saw them online back in early summer when searching through SW's fall collection and then I found these beauties at Holt Renfrew in early August. I didn't try them on at that time cos it was still summer, I figured these will be around since it's the fall collection and I would try them on the next time I was in HR. I went back the following week and the shoes were gone! None on display (as if they never even existed) and the SA wasn't sure if HR would be getting in another shipment in this style. I went back every couple weeks since then and it seemed hopeless and I would have to figure out another way to get these. I was so desperate and love with them, I had considered driving to Seattle or ordering them online and sneaking them across the border (BFF's little sis has a PO box in Blaine, WA). But on Monday, as we were going through the shoe department, I quickly looked over at the SW's shoe wall and there they were!!! Right in front of my eyes!! I quickly grabbed the shoe and asked a SA to find me size. They fit me perfectly as if they were meant for my feet. I had to have them (only one set left in my size) so I charged them. Yes every cent of interest I pay will be worth it.

$405 (not including 12% taxes) - PRICELESS for happiness!

West Coast Feast at Aqua Riva

(Click on the menu to enlarge)

Tonight, I had dinner with Jas, Vince and Meryl at Aqua Riva located downtown. This entire month, AR is featuring a West Coast Feast, a 3 course meal for $35. This is a really great price and as always, the food NEVER disappoints. We had a great time, sharing a bottle of white wine with our meals and enjoying and catching up on each other's lives. Both Meryl and Vince are super busy and we hardly ever see them! After our dinner, we decided to pick up some gelato (Jas and I) for Meryl cos she had a craving for it and head over to Vince and Meryl's place to chill and relax. We caught SNL and the skits with Palin and Tina Fey are hilarious but every since Tina Fey left the show, it hasn't been as funny plus Amy Poehler will be leaving SNL in October due to her pregnancy. Both ladies are super hilarious and very talented. Oh well, there has to be something else to watch on Saturday nights!

Shopping in the Mist

( My sweater dress is black with grey print)( I didn't see the jacket or I might have picked that up too!)

At lunch time in the mist, I headed over to Granville Street to look for a sweater from a Montreal designer Ruelle at Spank Clothing. I had an idea of which sweaters to try on but once I arrived, the blue ones I wanted to try on where not available and the cranberry ones that I did try on were not as nice as I thought they were! I ended up trying on a sweater dress and skirt by Cici which is designed by my fave local (Vancouver) designer, Jenny Yen of JY Star Apparel. For quite some time now, I have been looking for a fitted skirt for work but all the mass produced labels (i.e. R&W, Jacob, Dynamite etc.) do not make skirts to fit a girl without hips. I am Asian and I have no hips therefore all the skirts I try on have these mini flaps on the side. These flaps are not very attarctive and does not make the skirt tailored. But this skirt (Cici's) is BEAUTIFUL and fits me like a glove as if it was made for me!!! Sweater Dress $119 and Skirt $89 - the tailoring of these two pieces are beautiful and will outlast any skirt made by R&W or Jacob. Very very happy with my purchases :)

Happy Thanksgiving!

Wow, I can't believe it's already Thanksgiving! But unluckily (or luckily, depends on how you look at it!) for us, we did not have a turkey dinner instead we had lobster as the main dish! Kay and I went to visit my father for dinner cos he is leaving for HK on Wednesday. We will not see him for 6 months which means no Xmas, no NYs and no Lunar New Year to celebrate! Since we are not "traditional" we did not go out for turkey :( but instead we had lobster at a Chinese Seafood Restaurant!! Just as yummy!!!

This afternoon, before seeing my dad, Kay and I headed over to Rhoda's place to visit. She just arrived back from HK and we missed her tons! She has been gone for 3 weeks and we were quite excited to see her and the dogs!!!! She brought back lots of goodies for lil Bosco and she didn't go crazy shopping over there which didn't really surprised me cos the fashion style in HK is a bit different from Vancouver. She only brought back a few pairs of shoes, black boots and misc items that you can't find here in Vancouver (beauty products and cute knick knacks!). Of course in her collection of goodies were souvenirs from HK and HK Disneyland - she and her sis are huge Disney fans. As we caught up with each other and helped her un pack her items, Kay and I realized how tired she was and we had to keep her awake. She planned on not sleeping until tonight so she could try to get back to a regular sleeping schedule. We made sure Jess came home before we left her so someone could keep an eye on her and smack her if she fell asleep. Once Jess arrived, we left to see my father and spend some time with him.

On another note.....

We def have something to be very thankful for, my dad's Volvo is built like a tank! On our way to dinner, some crazy lady turned left on the green and my brother clipped her as he was braking to stop but of course no way we could avoid the accident. Stupid woman! She blamed my brother and told him that she had a blinking green turn signal! WTF??!!?? There is NO LEFT TURN signal at that intersection!!! But thankfully, no one was hurt, we traded info and went on our way (to dinner cos we were getting hungry and it was cold standing on the corner!!). The stupid driver is at fault as she ran the green and the roads were wet and slippery so I don't even understand what was going in her mind. Did she think we were not going through the GREEN light??!!?? Anways, everyone is safe and we made it to dinner. Of course, I was super pissed cos I find being in an accident is very inconvenient! That is why I am always very careful in Richmond cos people in Richmond do not know how to drive!! On our way home from the restaurant, we saw another idiot turn left on a green while another car was going straight through the interesection!!!! RICHMOND....... stupid drivers.

Anyways, enough ranting..... the day was rainy and wet but not super cold although winter is really around the corner as the weather this past week has been freezing!! One day last week, I swear there was frost on the ground and it was so cold, my fingers almost fell off!! I think it is time to take out the winter jacket, scarf, gloves and hat!!

Shopping in the Sun!

Wow, what beautiful weather we had today! Sunshine and even a touch of spring with the warm temperatures! Perfect day for a drive out to PoCo to buy natural ingredients for my plans on making my own beauty products for my face routine. There aren't many places around here in Vancouver that carry natural products (or have a huge selection) like herbs, essential oils / carrier oils or clay (for masks) etc. I needed to drive way out to PoCo to a place called Cranberrylane (which I just found out were sold to new owners in early 2000) to pick up some items to make a Green Tea Toner and a Green Tea Mask. The sales lady was very helpful and I ended up with some ingredients and more! Plus lots of tips on how and what to use with my Epson Salts. I have def noticed the difference on my skin since switching over to a more natural and/or organic beauty regime!! Plus my eczema is finally clearing up all thanks to the Rocky Mountain Soap Co Body Butter!!! After picking up the items, we headed over to Costco to do a bit of bulk shopping and ran a few more errands at LD, Walmart and Superstore. Finishing off the day with a nice organic salad and organic corn on the cob from yesterday's farmer's market! What a beautiful day it was to be outside!

Farmer's Market!

This afternoon, Kay and I (finally!) headed over to Trout Lake to shop at the Farmer's Market, we have been meaning to go for the entire summer but we can't seem to get up early enough on a Saturday, market is open from 9am to 2pm. Gosh, I can't believe what we have been missing! There were so many local farmers and most of the seasonal veggies were organic! I wasn't sure if I would have enough money on me to pick up the fruit and veggies since I had forgotten to go to the bank machine to take out money but to my surprise, $25 was enough to cover more than a week's worth of veggies and fruit plus more! Now, I def regret not going any sooner (when it first opened back in May) cos I am sure there would have been tons more produce and fruit, all the lovely and sweet berries we must have missed! AND we love berries any kind of berry! Well there is always next Spring :) There are two more Saturdays before the market is closed for the season but there is a Winter's Market at Wise Hall in Vancouver.

There is also a UBC Farm Market which also has a lot of fruits and veggies but they are opened from 9am to 1pm and I have no idea how I would get there cos I always get lost when driving through UBC. I would love to check out their market as I have done some researching on it and they carry a pretty good selection of seasonal veggies! Also I am excited about the UBC Apple Festival cos:

Every year, between 11,500 and 13,500 kilograms (25,000 and 30,000 lbs) of apples are sold to a hungry public. Over 60 varieties of heritage, new and "tried and true" varieties are available, grown both conventionally and organically. These include the heritage apple 'Grimes Golden' and 'Ambrosia', recently discovered in Cawston, British Columbia.

Now with that quote, how can you NOT be excited??!!?? :)

We have been trying to buy local and organic fruits from BC whenever we can as we are trying to eat more local and organic. I just finished reading the 100 mile diet by Alisa Smith and JB MacKinnon and it was a very interesting read although, I cannot give up coffee or sugar, I am very impressed by their way of life for an entire year. The book was well written, witty, entertaining and didn't make you feel guilty (about your own lifestyle) or pushy. This is a really good read and I highly recommend it.

Tupperware Virgin

I have never been to a Tupperware house party and was invited by a friend whom I reconnected with on FaceBook. I did feel a little out of place since most of the ladies in the group were either her cousins or friends from her mommy group. But it was a nice group and everyone is so nice! Plus it was interesting party with lots of goodies. I didn't really order much although, a lot of the mommies order tons of stuff! Before I left, there was a draw and I won two pieces of Tupperware!! It was a fun and entertaining night, now I can say "I've been to a Tupperware party!"

At first, I was a bit skeptical buying such expensive plastic containers but I do like how the containers sealed so well and how sturdy they were plus the lifetime warranty is pretty nice! Who offers that anymore?? Lifetime warranty!

These are the items I ordered:

Holiday Snack Cups 4pcs $14.50 - the regular ones are $2 more but I like the green cups :) Good for my mini snacks or bits!

Kay has been bugging me about getting her some sandwich containers so I ordered these ones for her. I was a bit worried that after opening and closing them over time, the back would fall apart but the SA assured me, Tupperware will replace them with the same or current model if it happens. 2 pcs $16.50.

I should be seeing these products in a few weeks, I am so excited, I know I'm a bit of a dork :)

Smashbox Travel Brushes

Oooh la la... love these mini travel brushes from Smashbox! Love the pink colour and it's limited edition, I think I will have to check out the local Shoppers Drug Mart to see if they will be carrying these!

Granville Shopping District

Today, Jas and I headed over to Granville street to have lunch at Red Door Pan Asian Grill and to do a little bit of window shopping on Granville street. We really wanted to eat at CHOW but it's not open for lunch on weekends and it is really too bad cos I'm not so sure I want to pay the dinner prices! Red Door is asian fusion and the food was good not spectacular but pretty good. I had another reason to head over to Granville street, I didn't realize that there was a Rocky Mountain Soap Company in Vancouver!! I wanted to pick up a few more items and I had planned to order these items online but checked the store locations, to my suprise there is a store in Vancouver! After lunch, we headed over to RMSC to pick up my items and we decided to walk up and down Granville (to Broadway) to do a bit of window shopping. We realized that most of these stores cater to the older women and really nothing for us. The weather wasn't too nice so we decided to head back once we reached Broadway. It was a lovely lunch and shopping trip!

Burberry Rainboots!

If you live in Vancouver, you know how much RAIN we get in this city! I have been eyeing these rainboots for YEARS and originally I wanted the pink rainboots but when I tried them on (years ago), I couldn't decide if I should get them or not. Once I made the decision, they were sold out :( So I have been waiting for these to come back but after 3 years, I don't think they are bringing back the pink boots.

School Photo

I can't believe how grown up she looks! I playfully teased her about her hair and smile but she read right through me and told me there was nothing wrong with her hair or smile, it was the fact that I am not able to accept the fact that she is growing up!

Holiday Hightlights

View from the front entrance of the resort

Sand Castle Competition

Minter Gardens (this is done with all flowers so pretty!)

Me in front of the view!

HonHon touching the "actual" hot springs!

What a wonderful holiday I had! It was so nice to have SEVEN working days off which meant I got two (long) weekends in there! It would have been nicer if HonHon could have stayed longer but he booked his flights too late and could not get onto a later flight. His trip was cut short to 7 days this time and he promised he'd make up for it on his next trip back to Vancouver so we'll see. But it was def nice to see him after so many long months of not being with him as part of our family.

There wasn't much that HonHon needed to do this time but he was excepted to pick up a few items for his family. His dinner requests were (as always) items that Kay and I occasionally dine on: Lasagna, BBQ pork (which we didn't have time to make), pasta and baked goodies. There were a few nights were we went out for dinner with my dad and my mom cos he sees dad every time he's in town if my dad is in town. Mom celebrated her birthday on the Friday (Sept 26) which I forgot about even though I should have clued in when she was home from work! But I had a good excuse (actually no excuse is a good excuse!!) as HonHon and I had just gotten back from our mini "holiday" from the Harrison Hot Springs! We had decided on renting a car from Avis instead of driving my VW bug cos HonHon was afraid my car wouldn't make it there or back! We reserved the rental for 2 days and rushed back to Surrey to drop off the car. By the time we arrived home, I was completely unaware of the day as my mind and body were quite relaxed and rested. Since we hadn't seen Kay in a couple of days (and a little bit of guilt that we left her for two days!!), we spent some time downstairs before heading upstairs to see mom and grams. After speaking to my mom and grams, my mom asked us what are plans were for dinner and then I realized OH NO! Mom's BIRTHDAY!!! Of course, we wished her a happy birthday and I even had cake for her! Well, not cake cake but local handmade cheesecake from a farm house in Agassiz! Actually, I had planned on splitting the cheesecake with my mom but I wasn't really gonna share the WHOLE CHEESECAKE....

Highlights at Harrison Hot Springs

• The Spa at the resort is amazing! If you have never been and you've stayed at the resort, you must go again and book an appointment at the spa! But book the appointment when you are booking your hotel reservation as the appointments fill up quick. We didn't book our appointments until we arrived and since they were full with a couple of openings, we didn't get to book a couples package. HonHon did want me to try something and he wanted me to pick any treatment I wanted so I chose a facial. It is the best facial I have ever had (and I've done quite a few in my time) and it really did make a difference to my face and I felt so refreshed and exfoliated! Absolutely heaven, this is def the BEST PLACE on earth! I can't wait to do it again!! If you are wondering which treatment I did, it is called the "Purifying Skin Care Treatment"

• Minter Gardens - with our vacation package, we received free passes and lunch at the gardens. It is a beautiful garden and although the weather hadn't been so great (rain rain and more rain), the temperatures were quite mild. The garden was huge and there were a lot of different kinds of flowers in the garden, I know my mom and grams would love it here, esp my grams since they had a section of the garden dedicated to roses which is my grams fave flower! The rose garden smelled lovely and spent quite some time in there. I also got to see a lot of different types of flowers and considered using them in my wedding bouquet (one day when I decide to get married!) so it's kinda neat to capture the flowers I would love to have part in my future wedding :) Also, it would be a lovely place to have a garden wedding and your wedding bouquet and flowers would come right from the garden. Also, I am sure it would be nice for the guests stay at the resort or drive back to Vancouver (not too far away) but I am sure all the ladies would love to stay a night or two at the resort!!!


• Local farms in Agassiz - wow, did we get a lot of good stuff while we were out there! Esp. local items like hazelnuts, blueberries (the bestest!), blackberries, freshly picked corn (at a corn shack right off the freeway!), and cheese, ohmygosh, all the yummy cheese we brought back to share! Kay and HonHon are HUGE CHEESE FANATICS. They LOVE (I mean seriously LOVE cheese) and we got some local fresh handmade cheese at The Farm House Natural Cheese. Ok I am not a cheese addict like those two but seriously, my mouth was watering after I tried the cheeses that we bought! It is the BEST cheese I have ever had! We bought, cheddar cheese curds (for bruschetta and home made poutine), fromage frais (roasted red pepper and garlic) which you use as a spread on crackers or bread, creme fraiche for the berries (which is rich but not too heavy like it can be sometimes!) and their Voluptuous Vanilla cheesecake which is light and not super rich (a local suggested that we pick one up cos it is the best cheesecake you'll ever have and I agree!). The flavour of this cheesecake is indescribable so you will have to try it out yourself! The bottom layer had a very light and thin graham base with local hazelnuts and it was perfect! I would def consider using their cheesecakes as my wedding cake! I will have to see if I can outsource this here in Vancouver.


• Trying to find "local but not too touristy" gifts for co-workers and ended picking up some really nice natural bath products from Rocky Mountain Soap Company. I love the smells and the ingredients of these items and I ended up picking up an Eczema unscented body butter for myself cos of the customer comments on the display next to this product. I have really really bad eczema and I will try anything once so hopefully this is as good as it says and will help get rid of my terrible eczema pathes all over my legs!!!

We had a wonderful time in the Hot Springs and we loved being up there so much that we have decided this will have to be an annual trip to the Springs every Sept. Next time, we are going to book a couples spa treatment so we can enjoy the spa together.

It was lovely to have HonHon spend some time with us and even though it was a short visit, 7 days only not including the evening he landed cos it was later in the evening, he promised he'd be back really soon maybe even at Christmas time! Wow, we haven't had a Xmas together in years!! But the airline tickets are quite expensive during the high season but on the other hand, I will have almost 2 weeks off this year!! We might even go away to the island or Seattle the next time he's in town, only for a couple of days! We are going to miss him tons!!!

Enjoy the photos on my flickr page (even tho we didn't take that many! mostly photos from Minter Gardens!).

Walk The Line

I finally watched this movie and it's pretty interesting, I am glad that I didn't go to the theatre to watch it nor did I have to pay to rent the DVD. Johnny Cash had a very interesting life. Not a must see but a good movie if you have nothing else to watch.

Suki Pure

At lunch time, I decided to go for a walk to Capers to check out their natural and organic beauty products. I knew that Capers/Whole Foods would carry Suki Pure cos I saw it on their distribution list on their websites. I can't wait to test this product out, I am sure it will do wonders for my face and complexion!