24 December 11

Baking all day, gift exchange with Tony, pork wellington and pumpkin pie at Yvonne's, awkward midnight mass in Maple Ridge followed by eggnog and How the Grinch Stole Christmas!

23 December 11

We had a few people over to exchange gifts and watch two different versions of A Christmas Carol: a musical version from the 70s, and the Muppets one.

22 December 11

Jeff and I had dinner at the Roundel and then tried to go to Van Dusen Gardens, but we got there at eight and the lineup was all the way out in the parking lot, so we didn't really feel like waiting out in the cold for half an hour just to pay $13 to go in and walk around in the cold for half an hour and then go home.

21 December 11

Jewellery supplies. I'm excited to turn these feathers into earrings, even if I can't wear them.

20 December 11

sedum morganianum.

19 December 11

High school journals. I can hardly bear to look at them, let alone read them, but I also can't bear the idea of getting rid of them.

18 December 11

vegan Nanaimo bars.

17 December 11

16 December 11

Jeff Downer had his going-away party (he will be in Boston for the next year or so). He was incredibly drunk and the party was thankfully much less insane than the dual birthday from a few weeks ago. This was Kaylie's goodbye message to him.

15 December 11

pinup.

14 December 11

My entry for our festive red & green cookoff: campari tomato halves with pesto, mozzarella Daiya, and mushrooms & onions fried in port. Check out the cookoff blog to see the rest of the entries and the winners!

13 December 11

12 December 11

I had to leave work after like an hour because my back was in so much pain I could barely think. Jeff picked me up and we went to the clinic where my doctor assured me it was muscular, and gave me a prescription for T3s and instructions to take it easy at work for the next week or so. We went over to the Indigo in North Van to look for a particular book I couldn't find at Chapters on the weekend, and afterwards had breakfast at Moodyville's. I filled my prescription and we came home, where Jeff got ready for work and I sat gingerly in a chair, in a daze watching episodes of Boardwalk Empire.

11 December 11

While we were having breakfast, there were a bunch of birds using our garage roof gutter to take a bath. I was afraid I'd scare them away if I went out back, so I took these through the kitchen window which produced some interesting results.

10 December 11

I lounged around for most of the day and then I went crazy preparing food for the party. It wasn't as populous as last year's birthday party, I think due to a lot of people's work Christmas parties being on the same day, but it was still a good time and I didn't get to bed until after three.

09 December 11

Jeff took me for a birthday dinner at Sip on Granville (because The Refinery was booked up). Afterwards we took pictures of pretty lights until my hands froze.

08 December 11

Playing dress-up.

07 December 11

Put up our Christmas lights & pathetically small tree.

06 December 11

05 December 11

It was my birthday. I became older. I was also still sick and had to go to work. I didn't mind just sitting at home and relaxing alone in the evening after an eventful weekend.

04 December 11

Ate breakfast at a nearby diner. Bought unreasonably inexpensive wine. Sat in the car forever. Laughed about how Riley thought he saying "bag of chips" in the song "Bandages". Ate pizza. Got home, drank tea, unpacked.

03 December 11

Slept late. Ate gigantic bagel sandwiches for breakfast at a cafe. Shopped until we got tired of shopping. Alice got her hair dyed at a nice salon on Morrison. We put on heels with our jeans and headed to an Italian restaurant called Mucca and ate a lot of cheese and pasta, and admired the handsome Italian chefs in the open kitchen. They sent us a free panna cotta for dessert (though Mom and I suspect it was because of Alice). The best part was when two ladies came in and sat at the table beside us, looked at the menu, and one of them said to the other, "I thought this was an Italian restaurant. I don't recognize any of this stuff," and then they left! Bitch, if you want lasagna, go to the goddamn Olive Garden.

02 December 11

Drove to Portland. Went to Powell's. Ate and drank at a Japanese tapas bar at the top of a hotel.

01 December 11

Jeff and I drove to my parents' place so that I could get up early to drive with Mom and Alice to Portland the following day. We went out for sushi, drank too much sake. I helped my mom drunkenly pack her bag. We all, upon arrival, realised we forgot something: me, a spare bra; Alice, toothbrush; Mom, a belt.

30 November 11

29 November 11

28 November 11

27 November 11

Vegan peanut butter marble brownies.

26 November 11

Boy, was I glad to see the end of Movember.

25 November 11

Jeff and I went to two house parties that could not have been more different: the first, a group of people laughing and chatting over wine, cheese, & homemade desserts; the second, a loud, dark house filled to bursting with people, many of whom I'd never seen before in my life. We had a great time at both.

24 November 11

To-do list.

23 November 11

22 November 11

Cookoff day! The theme was cooking with tea, and I won with my potato leek chamomile soup. Above is Amanda's beautiful oolong smoked tofu with candied orange rind and dandelion greens, which placed second. Visit the blog to view the myriad of other delicious tea-infused foods.

21 November 11

20 November 11

Jeff and I stopped at New Brighton Park on our way to the grocery store. It was freezing cold, but beautiful.

19 November 11

18 November 11

A tribute to the Amélie scene/quote about cracking the top of a crème brûlée with a teaspoon.
Jeff was at work and I didn't feel like doing much so I just watched a bunch of episodes of Boardwalk Empire.

17 November 11

16 November 11

15 November 11

One of the trays in the rock & mineral collection I inherited from my Grandpa D.O. when he died a few years ago. I feel kind of weird about the fact that the asbestos sample isn't in a baggie or anything, just hanging out.

14 November 11

I put old t-shirts into frames when I don't wear them anymore, but can't bear to get rid of them.

13 November 11

12 November 11

Jeff and I went to Kerrisdale Cameras and got a new lens. Not the exact same, because after reading a bunch of reviews, it turns out our 18-105 lens is not really worth as much as it costs and has a couple of problems that I noticed, but Jeff thought I was crazy when I brought them up. Anyway, we ended up getting the significantly less expensive 18-55 and are intending to get a nice 50mm prime in the near future. I do miss the zoom of the old lens, but it's worth it for the crispness I'm getting at close distances with this new one.
In the evening Jesse hosted a rum tasting party, and unlike the vodka tasting party, all the rums were DRASTICALLY different, and with the exception of the Newfoundland Screech, all were delicious.

11 November 11

11.11.11.

10 November 11

I got up early so I could take photos in the daylight, but the lens on the camera seemed clunky, almost jammed, and nothing was in focus even though it all looked fine in the viewfinder. Took the lens off to check it out and a piece of the aperture fell out. Super sad.

09 November 11

Curried tomato & chickpea soup with vegan sour cream and cilantro. On the side, wasa with vegan cream cheese, cucumber, and sprouts.

08 November 11

07 November 11

It was super rainy, and after taking this photo, Jeff and I cozied up in bed with mugs of tea and watched Cast Away.

06 November 11

It was a perfect fall day. I walked around the neighbourhood enjoying the sunlight and fallen leaves, the crispness of the air. I decided I'd like a bottle of the Whistler Brewing chestnut ale, so I went to Oscar's and everything was 10% off because their fridge wasn't cooling! Best day. Drank the delicious beer while watching the game with Steph.

05 November 11

Jeff had the morning off for the first time in at least three weeks, so we went to the Roundel for breakfast, and then took some photos in the lovely morning light at the park. Afterwards we went to H&M, where I found a decent coat for $40 and Jeff got a replacement sweater similar to the one I shrunk, a vest, a cap, and a tie. After dinner with Jesse, Krystyna, and the Dixons, I had a quiet evening alone reading Harry Potter and drinking tea.