Sunday, December 30, 2012

snapshots from 2012

Dressed up as a kitty cat for Halloween. A sassy one too, if you can't tell from my face. 
Helping my friend move the cats between houses as the professional movers take care of the heavy stuff.  Poor Bobo stayed in his carrier the whole day, even after the movers left. He didn't even come out for sashimi. Finally came out in the middle of the night to jump in and out of the leftover, empty cardboard boxes, Maru-style.
Kinski was completely fearless; the minute her carrier door was open, she was exploring the house and looking for new hiding places. 
Owls everywhere!
Oops.
A stuffed rattle for my friend's daughter's first birthday. 
Wrestling with this pork shoulder to make pulled pork. 
This lady was carrying her pet goose around in a make-shift buggy and letting people take pictures for a dollar. 
Snarf Snarf sleeping under my friend's Christmas tree. The next morning, half of the ornaments were on the floor.  
My first Christmas tree!
And since it was my first Christmas in my new place, I also got a Grinch tree from Divine Vines in Yaletown. 
My friend woke up Sputnik from his nap to take this picture. He was not amused. 
This is what my sister got me for Christmas! I want the Batman figurine now...
Bobo looking dashing. 

Tuesday, December 25, 2012

merry christmas and happy holidays!

I hope everyone out there in the e-world has a wonderful Christmas and Santa was good to you this year. Looking forward to the New Year already. I have a few resolutions brewing in my noggin, but they don't mean anything until I've written them down or told someone so I'll keep them to myself for now. Before I head back to my Christmas movie marathon, I'll leave you with this little gem:

Saturday, December 22, 2012

Friday, December 14, 2012

run, run, as fast as you can...

But, can you spot the little gingerbread men? The Hyatt Regency Hotel in downtown Vancouver was having their annual gingerbread house contest and I couldn't help but oogle at the submissions because some of these pieces are AMAZING! The amount of time and effort it took to brainstorm ideas, bake and decorate these creations is just mind-boggling to me.

Candyland in gingerbread form. The candy cane trees are genius and so is the train. 
The Gingerbread Bakery was my absolute favourite submission in the whole contest. I mean, it's all in the DETAILS; the kitchen table covered in pastries, bakeware and trays on mini gingerbread men, the pastries cooling on the shelves in the background, the brickwork around the fireplace... and this is all made out of GINGERBREAD.  
I think this is like a treehouse growing out of the chimney or something, but whatever it is, it's just so cool!
The snow people going for a sleigh ride! And little Timmy has fallen and can't get up!
That is one fully stocked pantry in the background. Also, it looks like the gingerbread men are getting some help with the baking from the potato heads.
The Gingerbread Bakery even has a mailbox!
Santa's workshop! Obviously the elves are inside, hard at work: wrapping presents, packing up Santa's sled and keeping tabs on the reindeers, 'cuz you know, they'll just be playing reindeer games all day long if left unsupervised. 
Someone did a model of a section in Gastown! And there were actual lights inside too!
It's the house from the Disney/Pixar movie, UP!
A traditional version of the gingerbread house. Classy!

Saturday, October 20, 2012

topshop relaunched

Topshop/Topman relaunched their brand, which was originally a tiny capsule collection floating between the shoe section and the clothes on one level of the Hudson Bay department store, to taking over a whole entire floor. Of course, me and my sister had to go and check out the new Topshop/Topman and it totally exceeded my expectations. I spent most of the time walking around and basically getting lost in the store.

Boutique by Topshop - WooOoOoOooo! Shopping in Vancouver just got better. 
Walls of shoes... Pure bliss!
I ended up buying two things: a lovely black gold studded suede crossbody bag and a lipstick. I was trying to restrain myself from going crazy and buying everything, but I'll probably be back for more soon enough. Ah, my poor wallet...

Tuesday, October 2, 2012

weekend road trip

Finally got to meet the infamous Raja, my friend's strange little dog, when I went to visit her in Abbotsford for the weekend.

I took a half-day off work, packed my bag and headed downtown to Waterfront Station to catch the West Coast Express on time. I love train rides and spent most of my time looking out the window, watching the scenery change as the train lumbered along. Surprisingly, it was only an hour-long train ride to reach the final destination at Mission, where my friend picked me up from the station.

We went out for dinner that night and ended up driving around downtown Abbotsford since our first choice for dinner, a Greek restaurant, had closed down a couple of weeks ago. So, we ended up at this place on the side of the road, and unfortunately, I can't remember the name of the restaurant now...
My friend's dinner: Jack Daniels BBQ ribs with vegetables. The ribs looked really tender and tasty. She also had a side of roasted potatoes as well. 
My shrimp alfredo fettucine that was delicious but it was super filling. 
This picture was taken in the parking lot. The restaurant was surrounded by this massive forest and I'm pretty sure we saw an eagle earlier. 
The next day, we decided to head down to the Seattle Premium Outlets to do a little shopping. We were waiting in line at the border crossing when I spied this creature standing by the side of the road:

Looking a little anorexic there, horsey.
Got through the border crossing and made a stop at Bellis Fair before we headed over to the outlet stores and we saw this sign on the way:

"Hotel Transvyl... Bourne Legacyvania"
I'm interested to know what the plot is for "Bourne Legacyvania" 
The view heading down to the States. 
In line for Auntie Anne's soft pretzels and this lady was wearing what appeared to be a halter top, over a black dress, over a pair of jeans. I don't get it...  
Making fudge... that is a sweet job to have... 
The view heading home. 
Plenty of farms and acres of crops and land as we drove back home. 
This pretty kitty is a snob. 
My haul from our day shopping down in the States. I'm looking forward to the Halloween Oreos.
Overall, I was disappointed with our shopping trip to the Seattle Premium Outlets. There wasn't a lot of great sales, and I only ended up buying a leopard belt at J. Crew. When we were leaving, we found out that the following week was Columbia Day down in the States, so maybe there would be better sales that weekend. But, we did eat lots of soft pretzels... so yummy and buttery soft :D~

The sun setting as we head out for dinner.
Ralph taking a cat nap... in a weird sleeping position. 
Raja with his new hair cut.
Raja found a sunny spot for his nose. 
The biggest sunflower that I've ever seen. This thing is HUGE. You could wear the sunflower as a hat!

On my way home. 

Thursday, September 20, 2012

randomness

Random photos from my iPhone while I'm out and about:

Sparkle ankle boots! So pretty!
See by Chloe grey leather lace-up booties that is on my wish list. 
Dinner! Just so we're clear: I didn't make this, my mum dropped off some food for me.
David Beckham immortalized in his boxers. 
The bunnies that come visit and hang out in the front lawn of my building. So adorable :)
Pan-fried dumplings in broth... also from my mum.