Need A Little Fix

The lack of posting lately comes with my amateur blogger experience. I have now maxed out my free photo storage space for this blog. And the reason, (if you google, is quite common with ppl who aren't used to this techy stuff), is that I've been uploading crazy big photo files. Until I can figure out a fix to resize all the photos (hopefully without having to tediously go through each one), there will be no photos.

Chop Chop

Yup. Cut my hair. Lovin' the bangs at the moment.

And Then There Was My Birthday

Picture in order of top to bottom, front left to right: 

1) Always wanted to try out Rodney's Oyster House in Yaletown. Not sure what took me so long. Now, with free parking in Yaletown (hehehe), guess I'll be there more often. So, why not hit up Rodney's Oyster House!

2) When with my friends, times of celebration always includes a little vino. Heck, who am I trying to kid... even at times not of celebration, there is always vino. This time, it's a yummy bottle of riesling from Tantalus. Supportin' the local wines.

3) I personally love drinking our wine from water glasses. Less pretentious and stuffy. And we toast!

4) Good times.

5) All the sauces for our raw oysters. My favorite was the Seawitch sauce.

6) Our raw oysters on a platter. Absolutely delicious. So fresh and SWEET. Only, it was very much like the ones we had that Will brought up from the States... and I'm sure he didn't pay $3.50 a pop.

7) We toast again! 

8) Jen and Wendy didn't care for raw oysters. So Jen toasted with a clam, and Wendy toasted with her spoonful of cooked oyster chowder.

9) Not sure what disgusting story Wendy was sharing this time... everyone seemed engrossed.

10) Our waiter took my camera. So apparently, Rodney is much like the male version of Cactus Club when it comes to servers... All servers are male. Generally tall and buff in physique. And good at chatting up a storm. Wendy seemed to have enjoyed them the most.

11) My beaaaautiful birthday cake from Ganache. The girls spoiled me rotten. Paid for my dinner, bought me a Ganache cake, and a gift cert to the Willowstream Spa. And this is why I sooo didn't want to go out for my birthday!!

Thanks for a super fun night!

Happy Birthday, Bro

Last week, it was my brother's birthday. He has now officially entered the last year of his 20's. Where has the time gone? We're now both so friggin' old. Nonetheless, still never too old for comic books. Being addicted to the TV show, we were both curious where the story orginated from, and how true to the books the show is. So, I got him The Walking Dead comic books. Just so I can read them too.

(And gosh, how I wish I could work from my bed too).

I Have A Smuggler

I'm only kidding. These were not part of any kind of smuggling. It just seems kind of fitting to say especially when a friend comes home from afar, and hands you a plastic bag of brown beans and a container of dried plant.

Wendy came home from what sounded like a splendid trip in Dubai, and brought home some goodies for me from their spice markets. On the right is a bag of vanilla beans. Plump... still very soft... and very fragrant. On the left is one of world's most expensive spices - saffron. I've seen saffron as a powder, but not still in its plant form.

Anyway, I think I'm suppose to figure out projects with these things. Hmm... back in the kitchen I go!

Family Reunion Cruise Highlights #8 - Meet You At The Martini Bar

This Celebrity cruise ship had a gorgeous lounge called the Martini Bar. And yes, this bar served only martinis. Almost every night, the cousins met up at the lounge (sans kids when they were fast asleep... see! you can still travel with friends after having kids. Just gotta make it a cruise), and we'd all get a little buzz happy trying out their endless flavour selections on their menu.

Some were super yummy. Like the cosmo, the lychee, the hawaiian, and a whole lot more... but the others were rather nasty (super strong).

I don't know how many martinis we had all combined. After we were done, we built ourselves a little tower.

Mind ya, none of us are boozers. Most of my cousins on my dad side are the "wake up at 6am for a run or to hit the gym and eat all green and healthy" kind of people. And majority of them have kids, age ranging from ages 2 to 18. But, that doesn't mean ya can't build silly martini towers and booze till ya lose.... even on a family vacation.

Matter

This year, KDer and I hit up the Circle Craft Christmas Fair again. I am a sucker for fairs around this time of the year. The Christmas lights, the music, the happy shoppers (because it's not the mad dash to the mall time yet)... it all puts me in a cheery shopping mood. That is probably their whole tactic. And yes... oh-so-dangerous for my wallet.

KDer and I had planned it out. Meet up after work. Get to the fair. Book it to the Ukranian perogies stand and fill up our stomachs before we do any shopping. Of course, it didn't happen as planned. We got distracted by all the goodies so we never made it to food. Luckily, while walking to the fair, we had picked up our Christmas In a Cups at Buckies, so at least we had a bit of sugar to keep us going.

Two and half hours later, we both came out with bags of goodies and growling stomachs.

Will not share all the goodies that I got since some are Christmas presents, but here's one thing I bought myself. An "All Heal Salve" from Matter. Suppose to soothe irritated skin, good for cuts and scrapes, help cracked heels, and even softens doggie paws. As written, "great for gardeners, campers, rugby players, and other outdoor warriors." I am none of the above, but the dry and cold weather giving me chappy skin makes me feel like some of the above. Been trying it out for the past few days, and it's no miracle cream. But, it soothes and it smells really nice. Plus, I'm always a sucker for tin packaging.

Banana Muffins With Crumble Top

My dad has been buying bananas quicker than we can eat them, so it gives me a good chance to bake some more banana goodies. This time, it's a banana muffin with a crumble top. First, mix the dry ingredients together.

Then the wet.

Mash the bananas.

Mix it all together.

Fill the tins 3/4 full, and add the topping of brown sugar, cinnamon, butter and flour.

Lookin' good before it goes in the oven.

And wha-la!

These muffins have a great banana flavour, and a perfect crunchy crumble topping. Mmm mmm mmm!

Goodies From London

KDer brought back these biscuits from Fotnum & Mason in London, (along with two tins of Vaseline... I like how they come in tins so I requested for those), and I finally broke them open today.

I love their teas but have never tried their biscuits. These are from the English Thin Selection.

I decided to open the Clotted Cream version (before the Lemon and Butter version).

And this is what they look like. Flakey, crispy, and super buttery. Melt-in-your-mouth delicious. Perfect with a cup of English Breakfast tea.

Hello From Super Baby

"Hi! Auntie Amie will be back to post some more! ".

Lunch time!

Whole Foods Recipe App

So after I got off the phone from a long conversation with Wendy, I realize that I still had to make my lunch for the next day. One of the best apps I found recently is the Whole Foods Recipe App. It provides free and healthy recipes, and of course, all ingredients are available at Whole Foods. I love it. Makes finding and cooking healthy recipes that much easier.

I don't always shop at Whole Foods, and certainly don't usually go for recipes that have a million ingredients,  especially if half of which I don't usually stock. So, this leads to a bit of substituting with my imagination. 

I made this "tangy curry tuna sandwich" recipe with a bit of my own twist. All changes made were based on what I had in my fridge. Instead of plain low fat yogurt, I used vanilla yogurt. Instead of dill, I used parsley. Instead of raisins, I used cranberries. Instead of bread, I used pita bread to make a wrap. I scrapped the lemon zest entirely (because I don't have any). Instead of measuring my ingredients, I eye-balled it.

Once everything was mixed, it smelled like Whole Foods. I know that sounds strange. And after a taste-test, it certainly tastes like something they would sell at Whole Foods. I said this out loud to my brother, and he gave me a weird look back. But when he taste-tested it, he had to laugh. What I said wasn't far off from the truth. It does taste like Whole Foods. Yeah... whatever that means.

My lunch box for tomorrow which I will pack with some fruit. I would certainly recommend the free Whole Foods Recipe App if you're wanting some ideas for what to make. Check out this Tangy Curry Tuna Sandwich (which I turned into a wrap). It's yummy and healthy!

First Christmas Cup Of The Year

 

Okay, that's a lie. This is really my second Christmas cup of the year, but it is the first one with the girls. Ahh... I love it. An afternoon Christmas in a cup with good company is really one of my most favoritest things.

As much as Christmas is my favorite time of the year, I'm not quite ready for it yet. The Christmas trees in shop windows and stores is a little misfitting with this fifteen degrees weather we're having. But, I still welcome it!

I can't wait. I can't wait till the season of sharing and giving. I can't wait to bake Christmas cookies. I can't wait to go to our annual Christmas concert. I can't wait to look for Christmas lights in the neighbourhood. I can't wait to see what Ellen has in store for her 12 Days of Giveaways!

Ah, it's a little early... but I am definitely one (odd one) who is excited to soak in all two months of Christmas cheers. Yay to Buckie's red cups!

Fall Accessories

Bought myself a new cross-body bag. Don't want to bring it out in the rain for its first use, so with this non-stop rain we've been having, I haven't used it yet. My shopping itch has come back.

Sarah @ Five Months

"Whatcha lookin' at? Is there something on my chin?".