birthday month continued: cake or bust!

So it's pouring rain, it's chilly and I think I may have spotted hail. May, you are very unkind. I did have an interesting birthday in that I worked it over at Got Craft? and I made out like a bandit. Best spring show ever! So, not a bad birthday windfall there. Thank you to all those people who came out and said hi!


In other news, I'm totally purse hunting. And I'm picky. One, it needs to be a cross-body bag, anything other than that and I'd feel weird and probably lose it in a jiffy. Two, it's got to hold enough stuff and have pockets. My first pick as a good all-round bag is this one from Boden. It's perfect for Vancouver (ie. rainy days), has lots of great pockets and a cute pattern. I'm also looking for something more "grown up" and would like a nice leather bag. I did find a nice bag by Relic (the cheaper division of Fossil) which was ideal except the only colours available in town were gold, white and brown - and it's not leather. The brown is okay, but boring. Red or mustard would be nice! I loved a few of the leather Fossil bags online, but when I went to a department store downtown and tried them out, the cross-body straps just weren't long enough for this tall, long-torso'd gal.


And because I'm already talking about things I want, why not mention a few things that I already have and love! My iphone 4 is amazing. I used to feel cooped up waiting for an email from a client and now I can get things down outside the office and get my emails on the go - a productivity win! It's amazing and I've barely scratched the surface of all the things it can do. Tied to my iphone are these headphones by urbanears. I got them at Walrus in town and they are incredible. They stay in my ears when running and the sound is great. Plus the colour is fab - I got yellow which is a darker mustard than the photo shows so I feel old-school in a Sony Walkman kind of way.

Despite the rain and all the work I've been doing, I'm looking forward to this Saturday to hang out with my friends for a belated birthday celebration. I wish it could involve a picnic or a bike ride, but the weather just isn't co-operating. Instead it will be a lovely dinner out with the loveliest people around. Not bad, I think. Oh, and you better believe that there will be cake.

what i love: dr. bronner's soap

I don't do a lot of shopping when I'm on vacation. I do like to poke about in vintage shops & thrift stores, but I like to keep the shopping to a minimum. While I was in San Francisco, I did want to pick up some sandals but I didn't have much luck with the ones I wanted, so after trying on a pair that didn't fit well, I ditched the idea.

What I did buy however was soap. Lots of it. While in Santa Cruz, I stumbled upon their local organic market and found my fave Dr. Bronner's on sale. I bought 8 bars. What can I say....I love their soap. It's magic after all! Peppermint is my favorite. It gives good tingle.

shoe lust & blah blah blah

I've got total sneaker lust for these cute French elastique Bensimons. They're available in town in a laced up version but I haven't been able to find this style which is kind of driving me nuts. Seriously, how cute is this shoe?

Summer shoes have let me down. I really wanted a pair of Saltwater sandals but when I tried on a pair in San Francisco they were a bit too tight in the width and the size up were just too large. I looked at Tom's but they just look like elf shoes to me. So I'm going to try on a pair of Bensimons and see how they fit. If I like them, then the search will be on for the elastique version.

In other news, I went on holiday had a ton of fun and then came back to a screeching amount of work. The past two weeks have been killer but I did manage to bike for tacos and margaritas on Monday night and then walk over to Pecha Kucha on Wednesday night which was pretty amazing. Dinner at Nuba with friends following was also a nice break.

And today is our 5th wedding anniversary. It's hard to believe that we've been married so long or for such a short time - I feel like we were meant to be, so I'm happy to have Cornelius by my side. Tonight we might check out La Brasserie and tomorrow we're taking the day off and heading into the woods for some hiking.

shopping mode

I'm totally in shopping mode, well, actually browsing mode. Here are some picks that have been tempting me!

Navy Blue and White Striped Cowl from redbirdstyle.


Doily Clock


Orange Catherine Holm Enamel Pot

birthday weekend wrap up

To say I had a pleasant birthday weekend would be an understatement. It was truly a great, great weekend. So much fun, laughter, friends and good times were had that I will mark the highlights in point format (I know, exciting!):

• Brunch made by the husband. Lovely.
  
• Sexy wooden fenders for my bike (my husband's gift to me). They're handmade in Bend, OR and they are simply beautiful.
  
• Potluck dinner with amazing chocolate cake. Lots of colours, variety and all in all, quite healthy too. And lots of leftovers to snack on.
• Teen movies! Over the Edge + Suburbia = awesome.
• Root beer floats!
• Yummy huge breakfast at Deacon's Corner.
  
• A walk and layabout in the sunny & warm Strathcona community gardens that included smelling lilacs and eyeing the new garden plots for July.
  
• Buying some tasty & tart fresh lemonade from a little girl's lemonade stand.

This weekend, we also checked out Wanted and it was such a lovely shop. Cornelius and I bought 2 tiny little plants, one succulent and one cactus for our office. They're so tiny and cute! I also just received some amazing purple tights from We Love Colors in the mail. As much as I'd like to believe that tight season is over with, the weather looks pretty grey and rainy for most of this week, so these will definitely give my legs another shot of brightness.

splurge

I've got a new card in my shop! If you've seen the illustration before, it's one I created for a vegan cookie recipe on my food blog. I always liked the illustration and figured that it was about time to turn it into a cute card...and plus, it's 100% vegan! Hee hee.

In other news, I finally cashed in a gift certificate at a local kitchen shop that I had received for my birthday back in May. Gift certificates and me don't get along. I stall, I hem and I haw. But Saturday offered a bonus knife sharpening, so I brought in my old trusted Henckels and walked away not just with a sharp blade, but a Benriner, which is a fancy Japanese mandoline. I also bought a few other things, but the mandoline was by far the most exciting and least practical purchase. And while I always remain practical, gift certificates allow for a bit of splurging I think.

achoo, i'm sick.

I woke up this morning with a nasty cold. Stuffed head and a sore throat. But I still have a lot of work to do and a bit of errands to run. So in order to make myself feel a bit better, I decided to wear a cute new shirt. I've always been in love with peter pan collars, so I was super excited to find this shirt at H&M a couple of weeks ago. It's super cute and it almost makes up for the fact that I should be in bed resting.

hand signs on etsy: rock on & good luck

This past week, when a client's files didn't arrive when they should have, I decided to take that unexpected downtime and create a new line of cards! I photographed my hands making various hand signs (some nice, some not so nice) and then took them into Illustrator and made these cards. So far there are 2 in my shop and more to come this week. The fronts have the original illustration and the back has the name of each card. The insides are blank for your own personal message.

Purchase the Good Luck card or the Rock On card from my etsy shop. Like I said, I've got more hand signs to come...if you've got any ideas for any other hand signs, let me know!

polka dot crazy

Lately, I've been pretty obsessed by polka-dots. I saw these sheets and wept because they were freakin' expensive. Most of my sheets come from the thrift shop because I love vintage patterns, but these are so lovely and nice on the eyes. Too bad they are more than I would ever spend on sheets.

Then, I just happened to click on an email from Boden and after perusing the sale section, I made my polka-dot dreams a reality. I bought 2 things....a very lovely rain coat and a silk top. So cute! Unfortunately Boden doesn't ship to Canada from their US site (they do through their UK site but it's crazy frickin' expensive!), so I had a little helping hand in a little postal magic. Thanks Maven!

bellingham bound

Next weekend I'll be taking a little road trip with some friends into Bellingham, with the required stops at Casa Que Pasa, The Old Town Cafe, the antique mall, Value Village and of course, Target. And Trader Joe's. So what I'm looking here is for a little help! What are some must have Trader Joe's items? I've also had some let-down Trader Joe's items in the past, so I want some TJ sure things. Also how is the Boots No. 7 line at Target? Awesome or not worth it? Any other interesting Target items? I hate wandering around aimlessly and it's good to have a plan before I set into the scary lights of Target. Gimme gimme!

shopping finds

Hard-core shopping season is gearing down on us and I've decided to share some of my favorites!

Vintage chickens from Sidedish

Vintage tray from Day-Lab.com

Vintage bowling pin from HappyDashery

Deer Man by Melabo

Jointed paper doll from Wool and Water

stocking crazy

Yesterday I purchased almost $50 in socks and tights from a Portland OR company called Sock Dreams. I've been wanting to buy their stock for a while, but now that the American dollar is sinking to just pennies a glass, I made my move. I'm so excited to get my package...just in time for all the cooler weather we've been having.

a vancouver to-do list

I was just asked by a reader to provide a visitor's guide to Vancouver on my blog and I think it's a perfectly lovely idea! Thanks Gregory. People are always asking me what things there are to do and what they should see when they visit Vancouver, so why not have somewhere to direct them to!

Vancouver is a pretty wonderful city and even though I've lived here for 12 years now, I still find new and wonderful things popping up all the time. I also tend to restrict myself to a more East Van bent, so I'm leaving off a whole ton of places that I've never been too. Vancouverites (or maybe it's just me) tend to either be from east van or west of main. I'm definitely east, so that's where my priorities lie. If anyone has any other Vancouver suggestions that I've neglected to mention, please add your list to the comments section!

Where to Stay
Penny's Place: When I was getting married, I housed my mom, brother and his girlfriend at this apartment hotel on Commercial Drive. It's nothing fancy but it's cheap and clean and it's like having a little home base in the city since you have a kitchen to cook up all that great cheap produce that you just bought at all the Italian markets nearby.

Where to Eat
Vancouver is blessed with lots of really great and inexpensive food. It's a food lovers paradise and there are always new restaurants popping up. Here are some of my favorites.


In Chinatown, I'd definitely recommend Phnom Penh for really great Cambodian/Vietnamese food. The fried rice with Chinese sausage and egg is amazing, as is their lemon garlic chicken wings and squid and green papaya salad. For great roast duck, head to Kam Gok Yuen and Hon's has really great potstickers but I'm not too crazy about the rest of their food...but it is cheap! If you are vegetarian, Chinatown is not the place to be. Hon's does have downtown location with a vegan kitchen, however!

If you like pizza, Incendio's in gastown is really yummy and you can usually find a 2 for 1 coupon in the Georgia Straight (the free entertainment paper). Lombardo's on the Drive is also really good for thin crust pizza. On Sunday nights, the Yaletown Brew Pub has a cheap pizza and beer special and I love Sunday nights there with friends and hefeweizen.

On Commercial Drive, there are plenty of great eating options! Uprising Breads Bakery is great for breakfast baked goods or snacks. Belgium Fries is great for fries (of course!) and they make a mean vegetarian poutine. Rinconcito has really great pupusas and if you want to split a meaty Memphis Feast platter with 5 of your closest friends, you eat cheaply at Memphis Blues BBQ. As for my favorite Chinese food, it's not found in Chinatown...it's on Commercial at the wonderful Szechuan Chongquing (plus they deliver!). There are tons more restaurants on The Drive and most of 'em are good!

Main Street has plenty of eating options, starting with my favorite vegetarian restaurant, The Foundation. The service isn't the best, but it's worth the wait. Slickety Jim's Chat n' Chew is the place for breakfast and Crave makes a worthy weekend brunch. I love Liberty Bakery for pitchers of fresh lemonade and sweet snacks. For really super cheap eats head to The Legendary Noodle (greasy & good) and the nearby Hawker's Delight.

More good eats around town include:
Nuba (great creative falafel plate!), Rangoli (Indian fusion...a more affordable Vij's) Rodney's Oyster Bar for drinks (caesars!) and oysters (but only go during their 3-6pm happy hour where oysters are a buck a shuck!), Sha Lin Noodle House (cheap & plentiful noodles!), The Clubhouse for sushi and okonomiyaki, Brioche for a gastown lunch/brunch, The Mouse & Bean for a great tostada lunch, Tacos Mexico Rico for wonderful jamaica & horchata beverages and tacos. And even though there is way better gelato around town, you just can't beat the 508 flavours of La Casa Gelato!

Shopping
Main street is a great place to shop. From 8th Ave to about 28th makes for a great afternoon of poking about in indie shops, antique stores and with stop offs for lemonade and coffee and good restaurants every few blocks. Standout stores include The Regional Assembly of Text, Smoking Lily, Lucky Comics, Eugene Choo, The Front & Co., The Barefoot Contessa, My Orange Bag, Red Cat Records and lots more that I can't remember the names of!

Commercial Drive is fine for checking out all the great markets and picking up a picnic lunch. J, N & Z Deli is a great place for picking out a smoky, dry Ukranian sausage and La Grotta Del Fromaggio is great for cheese (of course), olives and deli sandwiches. Santa Barbara is a grocery shopping institution with long deli counter line ups and a great selection of fruit & veggies. There's also a few cute stores and many coffee shops to keep you occupied for an afternoon.

Kitsilano has Zulu Records, a really great record shop. I'm sure Kits has other things too, I just haven't been there in a while!

Yaletown is spendy and packed with boutiques in an old warehouse district. Lots of fancy restaurants and fancy stores. It's a place for nice eye candy.

Of course, there is Robson Street, which is shopping central for Vancouver with all the big name shops. But if you continue walking down Robson Street, you will come to Denman Street which has some great Japanese noodle houses and lots of restaurants. Plus, the beach is oh so close! Grab a gelato or a cupcake and plant yourself on a log and watch the tides.

Things to Do


Go to the beach! So many options in Vancouver. Head over to Kits Beach, Jericho, English Bay or get nude at Wreck Beach. Plenty of choices for a picnic too.

Check out Van Dusen Gardens. This is a great place to relax and smell the flowers. Pick up a lunch at one of the few Jewish delis nearby and take a picnic in with you. Check out all the lovely little sheltered areas and get lost in all the beauty.

Granville Island Market. Touristy yes, but still a great place to gawk, sample and buy all kinds of fresh fruit and veggies. The donut shop at the market has the best cinnamon donuts ever and there are tons of artisan shops all around the "island".

Another touristy option....the Vancouver Aquarium...but fun for everyone! What can I say, I love looking at big fish. And the hand-holding otters are the cutest.

Take a hike! So many mountains, so little time! Vancouver has so much natural beauty you may as well go out an enjoy it.

the daiso bus

Last night, my friend Mel booked a mini-van from the car co-op and six girls headed out to Richmond to Daiso. To those not familar with Daiso, it's a Japanese store where everything is $2. There are 2 levels of housewares, cosmetics, gardening supplies, and some wacky products like the peach-scented nipple cream I bought a couple of years ago as a joke. I'm always very cautious when shopping there because I don't want to get carried away nor do I want to bring even more junk back home. This shopping trip I did very well and purchased 3 very lovely notebooks, a wooden box for Cornelius (not pictured) and a very cute owl vase. Grand total: $10. Not bad.

more shopping finds

I just found another site that doesn't deliver to Canada, but I think I want these items so much that I'll have them delivered to my friend in Portland, OR and then she can ship them to Vancouver for me. I'm sure she won't mind!

Isn't that polka-dot shirt dress divine? I actually have no idea how a shirt dress would look on me (especially since I'm pretty chesty) and I like to balance out my chest with an a-line skirt, but I love the dots and the peter pan collar. And I can just imagine that it would be the perfect dress to wander around Europe for a month when we go in September.

And of course, I can't forget that kicky little skirt! I wear skirts all the time and I love the stitching details and the dark denimn colour. Another perfect skirt for wandering and poking about in.

eye candy

I don't exactly know how I ended up browsing an online shop that I can't ever shop at since they don't offer shipping to Canada (Zappos, I'm talking to you too!), but I still managed to waste time gawking at these pretty tops. I love the retro feel (especially of the cutie sleeveless number on the left) and the strong prints. Black mixed bright colours creates some very lovely eye candy.

i love love

...but I hate drawing hands. I had a friend who was so good at drawing hands that he immediately got a job drawing hands at Disney once he was done his animation program at school. Drawing hands is hard but I've attempted a little drawing ... a naive one ... for valentine's day or for everyday. Love! I love it. On sale at my etsy shop.

pink is the word

Work has been crazy-nuts lately and we've got a guest staying with us, so that doesn't leave much time for blogging. However, I can do a short little post on something trivial that makes me quite happy. Pink makeup! My mom always buys Clinique moisturizer and she always passes along the free bonus gift to me. Usually there is a couple nice things in the mix but the rest of the stuff usually ends up in the trash. The last time she sent me the lovely pink Clinique bonus case was a totally different story. I loved almost everything inside! The 2 lipsticks work with my colouring (thank god!) and I love the eyeshadow and the blush/bronzer duo. But the best thing is the lip colour surge gloss in camisole. It's just the right amount of pinkness and the word camisole just seems so lovely and sweet and of course, my lips are all shiny and soft. Nice!

tipsy

I am a fan of salt. I choose salty over sweet any day. I've got Salt: A World History on hold at the library, I drink caesars when I go out and in the past I've created my own vodka based "salty dogs". Now I've found the holy grail of sodium-rich olives...may I introduce you to Sable & Rosenfeld's Vermouth "Spiked" Pimento Tipsy Olives. Oh my! These babies are a natural addition to any martini but if you're like me, these olives will have you snacking to no end. I have to limit my olive intake to two olives per day (they are loaded with fat and sodium, after all), but I enjoy those 2 olives immensely! Now if only I could find those citrus gin soaked olives in a store close by...

hello, 2007!

Well, now that the holidays are over, I can look back and reflect on all the good things of the season. Victoria was wonderful and Cornelius and I loved poking about the Royal BC Museum (I loved all the dioramas!) and wandering about the streets and all the little shops that seemed to defy the march of time. I loved that!

Christmas was good to me. I got the hilarious Amy Sedaris book I Like You: Hospitality Under the Influence. It's a total must have! Oh, how I love that Sedaris clan! Another great book was Nigella's Feast cookbook. Yum! Now, I definitely need a kitchen scale since most of the baking measurements in that book are in grams. Yes, another thing to add to my list of must have kitchen appliances! But I did cross off my list something I found under the tree: my very own microplane grater! Finally! I've already used it to grate some dark chocolate over top of Cornelius birthday pie and to add some lemon zest to a pasta dish. I love it.

And other good things...
I just booked a table for 2 at Chambar for Dine Out Vancouver. It's my first time taking part in this event, so I'm pretty excited. Just take a peek at this yummy menu and all for $25. Yummers. I've been wanting to go to Chambar for quite awhile now, and having a 3 course meal and a good price is just the needed push I need. Plus, it's a close 20 minute walk away from home, which is always a nice thing.