Blogmas Day 31 - 2014 in review

Okay, another year has gone by. I know this is very cliche, but seriously, where the heck does time go?!?
Just this time last year, we were ringing in the New Year in Manhattan. This year, we are doing a much more low-key new years eve since we just got back from San Francisco (a trip that coincided with a terribly weak Canadian dollar)

So much has happened over 2014 so I thought I would mention some highlights:

January: We bought an apartment!

We were really lucky because we only looked at 8 apartments before moving forward with an offer for our current place. We only went apartment hunting twice. The first time it was probably early December 2013. We looked at 4 places - none of these places screamed "pick me, pick me pick me!!!!" so we decided to take a break until after we got back from Florida/New York. We went apartment hunting again in January - we looked at 4 more apartments (3 in the building we currently live in). To be honest, our current apartment was obviously the one we were going to buy since it has three bedrooms (all of the other apartments were only 2 bedroom apartments) and it was such a great deal! However, there was another apartment in the building that had the BIGGEST patio ever that we kind of considered buying as well.. but we decided to be realistic and get the apartment with the third bedroom. That way, Bobby could get his own space and we still had room to grow so that when we do have a kid, we wouldn't be forced to move. Plus, the third bedroom has been really awesome! Marco lived there for a few months, friends who have visited have stayed there.. and Kiwi is currently chilling in it with her heater on full blast...

February: Valentine's Day in Whistler turns into the most expensive stay anywhere for us!

We went to Whistler for some snowboarding fun on February 14th. Bobby got me lessons years back and I was finally going to use them that weekend. Everything was fine and dandy... except that it snowed a LOT overnight on Saturday.. so much so that everyone headed up to Whistler for some fresh powder on Sunday! Seriously.. it was crazy busy! When we finally left, it was snowing pretty hard. We were all driving 10 km an hour on the Sea to Sky highway. It seriously took forever to get half way to Squamish when we came to a dead stop. There was a multi-car accident just ahead which essentially shut down the highway. We finally decided to go back to Whistler for the night... and since it was Reading Break, the only room left was an 800$+/night suite. How great! The room was amazing. It had two fireplaces, a private balcony with a hot tub.. etc.. lovely things I did not care to enjoy at that time since I was so pissed off/stressed out about the day... and we had to get up REALLY early the next morning since I had to work. Luckily, I made it to work only 20 minutes late.. but it was no fun having to go straight to work from Whistler after that disaster!

March: We say goodbye to life in downtown and move to suburbia

After our offer was accepted in January, we decided to move in mid March to give our former landlord two months notice to find new awesome tenants. With the help of friends, we packed everything up and moved 45 minutes away... and it was seriously the easiest move ever. Our apartment is still a work in progress but it's definitely feeling more cozy and like home every day! We definitely enjoy having a lot more space (I mean, come on! Even Kiwi our HEDGEHOG has her own bedroom ;)) and we live in such a nice area (we are close to parks, hiking trails and shops!).

Another March event was the sudden loss of Chaos, our first hedgehog/Kiwi's mama. We still miss Chaos very much. We even created a geocache last summer, but some stupid punks stole it :( We are re-grouping and thinking of a better and more permanent way to honour her memory.

April: I turn 30

I was 100% okay with saying goodbye to my twenties and turning 30... until it was a few days until my birthday. I got depressed and panicky for no reason... It was the "turning 30 jitters". However, Bobby threw me the most awesome birthday party with all of my closest friends present. Bobby even hired a magician to come by and wow the crowd :)

May: Bobby and I celebrated 4 happy years together

Okay, not every single day of those 4 years was happy because obviously we have had our disagreements and fights.. but we love each other and I can honestly say that Bobby makes me a better person. He helps me achieve my dreams and is so supportive of my decisions (except impulse buying, he hates those ;) ) Also.. he just gets me... I know I can be super annoying and am border line cray cray at times, but Bobby loves me for me :) (well, at least I think he does :P)

June: Najin and Lawrence get married

This seriously was the most awesome friends weekend away ever! Not only did we get to see some awesome friends walk down the aisle and promise to spend the rest of their lives together, but it was such an awesome gathering/party of all of our close friends. Not once have we all gone away for a weekend so it was nice to have everyone there :)
We all stayed at Nita Lake Lodge (highly recommend this as a weekend getaway spot - only downside is that it is quite far from Whistler Village) so no worrying about drinking and driving, especially since the wedding had an open bar!

July: Celebrating Bobby's day of birth

It's Bobby's birthday! Someone bring out the beer.. and nutella... Lots and lots of nutella ;)

August: Lots and lots of summer fun!

As previously mentioned, we created a geocache for Chaos (which lasted for a few days before getting stolen). We also really got to enjoy summer in our new 'hood. Lots of visits to Lafarge Lake and Rocky Point.

September: Whistler Craft Beer Weekend

Need I say more?!

October: Halloween, Bobby's main holiday of the year

Every year, Bobby slaves away making his Halloween costume. Most people buy costumes off the rack at Target, or Value Village.. But not Bobby. His costume has to be 100% custom made... and he also has to go to Home Depot 23 times during the costume making process.. and he also has to buy at least 4 new tools... wait, what are we talking about again? Oh yea, so this year, we joined in on the Halloweeen Convention festivities in downtown. Hands down, Bobby had the best costume there. Everyone wanted to take a picture of him. Everywhere we went, we had to stop for at least 15-20 minutes so that people could take pics... Here are some bonus pics of Kiwi in her costume.

November: Fun times decorating our much larger apartment for Christmas

In our old apartment in downtown, we had ZERO space for a Christmas tree... so much so that Bobby got the Charlie Brown tree (the one branch, one red ornament kind) for us... but even then, we had no space to put THAT tree on. Well, not anymore at this apartment! As soon as it was "okay" to put up a tree (eg: not too early - Bobby needs time to unwind post Halloween fun), we went to Target to pick one out. In the US, I guess most families put their decorations up after Thanksgiving... well our Thanksgiving is in October... and the only holiday we have in November is Remembrance Day... so I have started using the day after Remembrance Day as the day it is okay to start decorating! Must also mention, November is when we start counting down to Christmas... and Bobby starts counting down to when he can open his advent calendar

December: Family vacation in San Francisco

I had so much fun spending Christmas with both my family and Bobby's family. It was also the first time our parents have met... happy to report they got along... now everyone is excited about our wedding... which means the pressure is on my to plan, plan, plan!!

I have so much to look forward to in 2015 (a wedding and honeymoon!!) and I feel so blessed to be where I am in life today. Wishing everyone a very Happy and safe New Year's Eve!! All the best for an even better 2015!!

Merry 2015 from Bobby, Kiwi and me

Blogmas Day 30 - the engagement anniversary

Because people have to celebrate every single anniversary right?!?!

Okay, so a year ago today, Bobby and I got engaged. I can't believe it's been a year!! Just this morning last year, we were waking up in Manhattan, getting ready to go ice skating at Central Park :)
And then Bobby proposed!!

Happy to report that wedding planning is finally moving along. We think we've found our wedding venue. We just need to sign the paperwork and put our deposit in. I can't believe it only took a year to get that ball rolling ;)

Okay so had to pick up my parents (they come home from San Fran today) so festivities to be postponed until this weekend. 

PS: A year later, I would still say yes ;)

PPS: It's minus 4 today in Vancouver. I'm pretty sure it was warmer in Manhattan this day last year... Seriously, no joke. We touched down in the big apple at the perfect time when it was uncharacteristically warm, there was no snow on the ground... the day we flew out (January 2) the, the temperature dropped. Our flight was delayed over an hour since every plane had to get de-iced... and there was a blizzard in the forecast

PPPS: I got Bobby a couple of beers for our anny. It's getting increasingly hard to buy Bobby beers because he's had so many different kinds. Every time I go to the liquor store, I have to pull out Untappd to see if Bobby has tried the beer before and of the beer is getting good reviews.

I never know what to get Bobby anymore.. I know he has not tried these two beers before... the peanut butter one should be interesting at least ;)

PPPPS: Bobby got me flowers and made me a card! Love it!!

PPPPPS: little miss kiwi finally got her Christmas present.... And she loved it!!

Blogmas Day 29 - Kiwi finally gets her Christmas present... or not

Ok so it's my first day back at work after an awesome week off. I left at the same time but decided to drive today because I was anticipating zero traffic.. and I was right! And since there was no traffic, I got to work 30 minutes early. I park in a parkade a block away from work... and it was EMPTY this morning.. like I was one of the two cars there and the other car parks in the only reserved spot in this lot... so I think the owner leaves their car in the lot for long periods of time... The good news is I got the best spot ;)

So work was pretty dead today... had a few things I needed to follow up with post vacation.. but everyone else is on vacay still so it was pretty quiet.

I finally had a chance to get Kiwi's Christmas present (cat treats - turkey flavoured to mix it up since it is the holiday season ;) )  Sadly, I left the treats at work... I promise you will get your present in 2014 Kiwi!!

Aaaand, because of the dropcam, I am very aware the Kiwi was really itchy while we were on vacation. Kiwi gets a bath once a month (any more and her skin might get too dry and she will get even more itchy), and she was due for a bath before we went on vacation. I didn't want to bathe her the day we left because giving her a bath stresses her out and she gets pretty cold after (since she is wet and I can't really use the hair dryer to dry her spikes/fur) so I didn't want her to get all chilly after we left... We were pretty busy yesterday so today became her designated bath time:

Kiwi is always saddest during bath time... if only she knew that baths helped her itch less!!

Anyway... so we are now relaxing post dinner (and Kiwi, post bath) watching Bob's Burgers. I caught an episode in San Fran one night chilling and it's so freakin' funny!!!

Blogmas Day 28 - First full day back home

So yesterday was pretty much a write-off. I passed out at 9:30... so tired from the lack of sleep/traveling.

Today, we needed to go grocery shopping though... and we also needed to buy a Christmas present for Luca... but first thing's first: Lunch!!

We hit up Montana's Cookhouse at Coquitlam Centre. I've been once before (many, many years ago) and I forgot how awesome their food is! They make awesome barbecue food (ribs, pulled pork, etc). Needless to say, we were impressed with lunch and ready to power on with shopping!

After lunch, we hit up Target. I got some nail polish remover for 50% off (woo hooo!!) and a wreath storage box for 75% off (WOO HOOOO!!). We tried to find Luca a present at Target.. and then London Drugs... but we couldn't find anything good.. and we also didn't know what to get him. So we texted his dad and got some present ideas.. Before leaving the mall though, we stopped by Urban Barn to check out their sale. They have such nice things but nothing we are currently in the market for.

I seriously wanted to buy this fruit "bowl"... to put Kiwi in and roll her around the house ;) It was 30$ though... a little too pricey for what I was going to use it for! Sorry Kiwi, maybe next time

This sign was also funny... I don't have a woman cave though ;)

After the mall, we went to another toy store to get Luca's present. It's actually a really cool train set which I cannot wait to play with ;). Then we went grocery shopping for the first time in weeks! We finally have food at home that's not just toast!!

I can't believe my vacation is officially over... going back to work tomorrow. The only thing that's helping me get through this is knowing that I get Thursday off this week.

Blogmas Day 27 - Home with Kiwi-Keys

So last night, we went to bed around 11pm (after dinner/drinks/packing)... and I woke up at 2:30am. I could't (and didn't want to!!)  fall asleep again because I was scared I wouldn't wake up in time. Our flight was for 7:25 am so we had to get to the airport around 5am. Anyway, my alarm was set for 3:30am, but I just rested and watched Youtube videos until it was time to get up.

After Air Canada annoyed the hell out of me at the baggage drop off/check in area, we finally boarded the plane... Bobby's seat was lacking in leg space so I took a pic:

We arrived to pouring rain, 4 degree weather (YAY! so glad to be home /sarcasm)... we picked up our car at the Pacific Gateway Hotel and drove home. I was SO EXCITED to see Kiwi... As per usual, she was not thrilled to see me and I think she's a little bit sad/pissed that I am back ;)

Soooo glad that Bobby got the drop cam. Not only did I spy on Kiwi a lot while away, but everyone in our vacation party was also entertained by her cuteness. Also, seeing her eating/running everyday made me worry less... but I still missed her a lot :)

And needless to say, we are exhausted. We are going to be sleeping a lot and taking it really easy this weekend

Blogmas Day 26 - Last day in San Fran

Didn't get a chance to blog yesterday because we were so busy! Plus, I was getting tired of blogging on my phone... So, a recap of yesterday:

The day started early with shopping. In Canada, the day after Christmas is boxing day! Boxing day is pretty much boxing week nowadays, but people still line up at stores on the 26th. To be honest, the sales aren't that great anymore, and you can shop online to beat the rush/not have to wait in line... and I haven't actually gone boxing day shopping in YEARS. The US doesn't have boxing day, but they do have "after Christmas sales" which I wanted to take part in ;) So... I woke Bobby up early and we hit the shops. Now in Canada, if the stores open at 8pm, then the mall doors open earlier (maybe 7am ish?) so that people can line up at the stores... well this is not the case in the US. At least not in San Fran. We got up early to hit the mall at 8am. I was 20 minutes early and the mall still wasn't open. So we waited outside with a few other hardcore crazy shoppers. In the end, I got a shirt from Victoria's Secret and a potential wedding dress from Anthropologie (still debating about this purchase)... and the sales were only okay... and I was so tired from the trip in general that I didn't want to shop for hours.

My brother and his girlfriend finally arrived yesterday and we made plans to meet up at noon for lunch. So after shopping (it took a total of an hour and a half tops), we went back to the hotel to chill/get ready... we rounded up the troops (both sets of parents, both brothers that came on the trip and my brother's girlfriend) and hit the Wharf... again!

My mom wanted to have chowder for lunch (um.. who doesn't want chowder when in San Fran??!) so we went back to Chowder Hut. After that, we split up to explore for an hour. Bobby and I kind of followed my brother around for a bit while he ate food from all of the stands at the Wharf:

After a while, watching him eat got boring so Bobby and I ventured off on our own. We got some candy and walked around before meeting up again. Then my mom had the brilliant idea to walk to the Crookedest Street (aka, Lombard St). It was only a 15 minute walk, but we were so full from lunch and San Fran is just so damn hilly!! Somehow, we survived the trek. At this point, my mom, bro and his gf went back to the hotel. The rest of us walked to a nearby Starbucks for a much needed caffeine break. We chilled and rested our feet for a bit... before walking back to the Wharf for more shopping. We also had dinner reservations at the Wharf and at this point, there was no point in going back to the hotel... but we had 2.5 hours to kill so we walked around Pier 39. I have not been to Pier 39 in YEARS. The last time I was there, the trip got ruined because my mom's friend's purse got stolen... so we spent 3-4 hours trying to find it/reporting the mofo that stole it, etc... Anyway, Pier 39 is so crazy busy but they have nice shops :)

We had one last family dinner at NEPTUNE'S Waterfront Grill and Bar. Such a nice view at this restaurant because it is at the tip of Pier 39... unfortunately, the sun sets so early in the winter so we did not get to enjoy this view!

After dinner, we went back to the hotel. Us "kids" went for one last drink at Clock Bar (The bar in our hotel). My bro and his gf were tired because they got up early for their flight yesterday morning, and Bobby and I had to get up early today (27th) for our flight home... so it was one drink before saying our goodbyes.

All in all, this vacation was awesome! Each day we got to do something fun. I've been to San Fran probably 4-5 times since I was a kid, but I have never been to Alcatraz.. nor have I been on a Bay Area boat cruise... so it was fun to get to do those this time around. This trip was the first time both our parents met as well, and they got along really well so that was nice :) The next time they will all be together again will be our wedding this summer... so it's nice to get the "stress" of meeting for the first time out of the way :):)

I love San Fran. I have not been in about 10 years, but even then, it has ALWAYS been my favorite city in California. The weather was awesome, (minus the one rainy day we got) averaging 15 degrees in the sun.

Random note:
The locals of San Fran are troopers for having to deal with crazy tourists. Seriously. Every cable car that went by caused SO MUCH TRAFFIC because tourists would jump out in the middle of the street to take pics. Every cable car was also packed with screaming tourists, excited about the ride! It must suck to just want to get to work on time, but can't, because traffic in downtown is INSANE!!

Blogmas Day 25 - Buca di Beppo

So today the familias met. We had dinner at Buca di Beppo. I've been to this restaurant before in Anaheim and it was pretty much our only option for dinner today (Christmas day). The restaurant is pretty good... But damn it was busy!! There really wasn't much else opened all day (aside from Starbucks and Aldo shoes and Walgreens)... So much of the day was spent resting :) 

Both sets of parents were snapping pics left and right. Luckily, Buca di Beppo also had a photographer on hand to snap pics for purchase ;)

After dinner, we attempted to ice skate, but it was sold out. So we headed back to the hotel, ate left over pizza and drank some wine from our wine tasting (we got to keep two bottles). Only in the US do they let you drink your own wine a feat your own food anywhere in the hotel ;)

Wine in starbucks cups from the Westin. Keepin it classy ;)

Tomorrow, my brother arrives and it's also the after Christmas sales at the stores. Waking Bobby up extra early for some shopping for sure :)

Hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas!!

Blogmas Day 24 - Christmas Eve at Alcatraz

Merry Christmas Eve :)

When we first planned this trip, I wasn't sure what we could do on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day because I wasn't sure what we could do/what would be open... So I booked Alcatraz tickets since they were open today (but not tomorrow)

Alcatraz was awesome!!

We stopped by Ghiradelli square for ice cream and presents for our friends. The ice cream was so good (but I was so full from late lunch)

The weather was not so nice today. It was raining and cold. It's going to be sunny tomorrow again though. 

My family arrives tomorrow :) more then!!

Blogmas Day 23 - the Bay Area boat ride

Okay so day two in San Fran involved a boat ride through the Bay Area. We initially planned on visiting the Golden Gate Bridge, but we decided to do that on Christmas Day instead. Also we were thinking of do the "duck" boat ride but it involved too much land tour (which we do in a daily basis anyway on the muni) so we bought tickets to a private boat tour instead. 

We're on a boat!!

The tour was 15$ a person and it was about an hour long tour of the Golden Gate Bridge and Alcatraz. 

I definitely recommend this tour since it's cheap and you get awesome pics of the bridge. It also helped that we were the first ones on the boat so we sat in the bow. 

After the boat tour, we went for lunch at Chowder Hut. The food was amazing!!! Best clam chowder ever

We spent the entire morning and early afternoon at the Wharf again. I had to take a pic of the crab. Mm I love crab :)

Blogmas Day 22 - The cable car dilemma

We had a great first day in San Fran. Bobbys parents arrived late last night, and despite trying to stay awake to welcome them, we (or at least I) passed out. Our flight was delayed yesterday as well and it was a little crazy to get to the hotel from the airport... But we made it. The funniest part was having to push back dinner resos at Abbot Cellar by 30 minutes so i could run to Victoria's Secret and use a 30% off coupon which expired yesterday. So we dashed to the Westgate Mall and bought what I needed and took the BART to the restaurant. Well we made it for 730, the original time I made the reservation for (not 8, the new reso time). Aaaand this morning, I found out that our hotel (Westin St Francis) has a Victoria's Secret downstairs. Yay :)

So we met up with Bobbys parents bright and early today. We had breakfast and checked out the giant tree and ice skating rink across the street from our hotel. Then we did some shopping.. Then stopped for some coffee before getting in line for the cable car. The line for the cable car is insane. We waited an hour and twenty minutes. The real kick to the teeth was when it was our turn - we were next in line with first pick of seats... When emergency struck. At least two fire trucks pulled up down the street and a million firemen came out in response to something. They placed a ladder against a building and a few firemen climbed up   This whole situation blocked the cable car rails. The car that just left was forced to come back. We waited at least   30 minutes get everything to get cleared. 

 

The cable car is pretty cool. If you want all the details just ask Bobby. All I will mention is that it's so old school it uses the train turn thingy!! 

The ride was so awesome. We took it to the wharf. There we had lunch (a very late lunch at this point because it was 3pm) and then we walked around. 

We then went wine tasting at Wattle Creek Winery at Ghiradelli Square. Their wine is amazing. Seriously impressed!! 

Then we hopped on the muni and went home. So tired from today's festivities. :)

Blogmas Day 21 - "828"

Today we depart for San Francisco!! 

We are currently waiting at the Plaza Premium Lounge in YVR (thanks for getting me in Bobby!).. so I get to use their computer! Woo hoo. It's so much easier to blog from a computer than my phone ;)

Anyway, so 828 has been the magic number for the trip so far! It was the numbers in the booking reference for our flights, and it was also the room number we stayed at last night.... I know this is a huge coincidence and I am not superstitious in any way, but thought it was cool enough to mention!

Blogmas Day 20 - old Chaos

Officially on vacation! We take Old Chaos with us wherever we go :)

Going to keep this blog short and sweet. More tomorrow

Blogmas Day 19 - individually wrapped snacks

So we had a work Christmas get together/potluck this afternoon... and it was mandatory to bring "individually wrapped snacks". I guess it was to deter people from bringing in homemade goodies to prevent people from getting food poisoning. I don't really see an issue with this because, honestly, when people leave food out in the kitchen, it gets eaten RIGHT AWAY. We are not ones to refuse treats, even when we don't know where it came from!! ;)

So I had this dilemma of what to buy... someone already called mandarin oranges (damn! That's a really good individually wrapped snack to bring!). So I thought I would bring some chocolate. I was going to bring a giant thing of Ferrero Rocher, but decided against it. I ended up remembering these individually wrapped goodies:

I first got introduced to these little bags of yumminess last year at my old job. The cookies look gross but they are soooo good. 

Blogmas Day 18 - TRHoV (The Real Hedgehog of Vancouver)

Okay, I am the first person to admit that I am obsessed with hedgehogs Kiwi (the hedgehog). She's just so cute and she's a little bit crazy... and every time we go away, I miss her. There, I said it, I miss Kiwi when I'm away. Also, I worry about her (is she too cold? is she eating?!?!? is she breathing?!?!?!??!). You can only imagine my paranoia when I have kids... but let's not open up that can of worms years early...

So, to remedy that situation, Bobby got me a dropcam for Christmas. Now I can spy on Kiwi any minute of the day. I even get alerts to my phone when "activity is detected". Unfortunately, live streaming uses a lot of data so I don't live stream unless I am on WiFi.... I need to find a way for others to be able to watch her live feed and watch her cuteness.

I'm actually pretty shocked at how active Kiwi is. Hedgehogs are pretty much "nocturnal" animals, but Kiwi is awake all hours of the day. After reviewing some footage from yesterday, she wakes up at random times to eat/drink/sniff around/scratch her butt and run on her wheel. She's most active late at night (11pm) or early morning (1am), but she's also up around 5am/7am/11am/5pm, etc. My original assumption/estimate of her sleeping 22.5 hours a day was wrong!!

If it is not obvious enough, I am excited to be able to keep an eye on Kiwi when we go on vacation always ;)

So far, these are my two favourite clips:

Today she went out to get a drink (as you can see)... but it was really cute, because she ended up falling asleep by the water bottle for an hour 

Yawning! So cute!!

So right now, we have two weeks free of being able to "save" and "rewind" clips. We also get free notifications when she's active... At first, I told Bobby we will not need this service when the free trial ends... but I'm already trying to justify the 100$/year it costs to keep this!!

Blogmas Day 17 - the microwave

So for the past… 4 years or so, I have lived without a microwave. It’s not that I have anything against them (I’m not super paranoid about microwaves = radiation/cancer, etc).. I just never had one. When you live in downtown and:

-         - You aren’t rich (eg: playing for the NHL.. or married to someone playing for the NHL)

-          - Your kitchen does not have a built in microwave

That probably means that you don’t own a microwave because you don’t have space for one in your teeny tiny aparment.

My last apartment was 500 square feet total (and that’s being generous). Plus, it was kind of oddly laid out. The walk in closet was huuuuge, but lacked actual clothes storage (eg: racks and shelves).. so it was kind of a waste of space. I mean walk in closets are nice and all, but if it came to having a large closet or having a larger living room area, I would have picked a larger living room area. And so, by the same logic, when it came to using counter space for a microwave, or using it for something else (other small appliances/counter space for cooking perhaps?), I chose to give up the microwave. The stove is perfectly fine for reheating food – yes it takes longer, but it also means that your food heated more evenly and it tasted better.

When we moved into our current place, the previous owner left their microwave behind. It was really old – the microwave was white at some point, but it had yellowed. Also, I’m pretty sure that the microwave was really well loved because the oven was in pristine condition. I’m sure they used their stove to cook, etc, but you never get an oven in pristine condition unless it is brand new (trust me, I tried to clean my oven recently, and it is just not possible to get it back to its “brand new” condition). So needless to say, the microwave was donated and again, we were left without one.

For some reason, not having a microwave really bothered my mom. She would ask me questions like “but how do you heat your food”? Um.. in the oven? This answer was not acceptable. Apparently the oven cannot be used to warm food! I don’t know. So not having a microwave really bothered her and what do you know, she got herself and my dad a new microwave and now she “had a spare one that she doesn’t know what to do with.. did I want it?” Uh… sure I guess. I had recently been looking into getting microwaves because I have been looking into self-waxing options at home.. and lets face it , you need a microwave to use hot wax at home… So I agreed to be the bigger person and take her spare microwave out of her hands. Now, will I be using the microwave for food? Maybe… ;) We shall see :)

Et voila!! Thank you for the microwave, mom

Blogmas Day 16 - highfivin' the 'hog

With just 4 days to go until we are on vacation, we finally had a chance to set Kiwi up in the spare bedroom (Aka, Marco's Vancouver bedroom/the third bedroom). The heater is on constantly... and Kiwi is loving it. So much so that she no longer escapes the cage and then accidentally locks herself out, nor does she sleep under her wheel like a troll... 

So, in light of her A+ behaviour, I gave her a high five (and some yummy cat treats)!

Bravo, Kiwi!

Blogmas Day 15 - the Warrior painting, etc

So we got the artwork at my work updated... and this is the warrior lady that now stares at me and makes sure I get my work done.

Picture blurry because I have a "window" at my cubicle that is the only barrier between me and Warrior Lady!

In other news, one of my coworkers brought in chocolates for us to share... I got second crack at it and picked up a very yummy hedgie chocolate

Sorry Kiskis!!

In other, other news, 10 days til Christmas, halfway through the month already and almost a new year!!

Blogmas Day 14 - Favourite Lip Glosses/Balms

Okay.. in spirit of all things reviewed, here is a review of the three lip things I always carry on me. Side note: I have super sensitive lips.. certain lip products cause my lips to swell (and we are talking pricey lip glosses like Lancome's Juicy Tubes from years ago, and also Sephora brand lip glosses)... so happy to report that the following products are good for sensitive lips.

Fresh - Sugar Lip Treatment in Passion

This is my favorite lip balm/gloss/stick... Yes it is all of that in one tube. It's a tinted lip balm (so it's got the super hydrating benefits), but it applies like a lip stick so its not sticky, and its got a hint of shine. I've bought a few of these already (all in the same colour because I am boring like that). The other day, I went to Sephora to pick one up for my brother's gf's Christmas present and I found that they now have a "bold" colour selection too. Passion falls in the "tinted" colour category (which is why you only get a "hint of colour"... and so obviously.. bold means "bolder" colour). I ended up getting her coral because it's such a pretty colour!

MAC - Mineralize Lip Glass in Modern Romance

This is my second favourite lip gloss. I just got it recently and it's been a minor obsession. It's super shiny, and also a has hint of colour (I don't like full colour lip stuff because I am no expert in make up application and I don't want to have to be anywhere near a mirror every time I need to re-apply). This lip gloss is definitely shinier than the Sugar one (duh, it's a lip glass), so it's also stickier. Bobby is not as big of a fan of this lip gloss as I am.

Clinique - Superbalm Lip Treatment

I definitely recommend this lip balm if you have chapped lips. I had really bad chapped lips a month or so ago (whenever it was when the temp dropped to minus 7) and nothing worked (not even the Sugar lip treatment mentioned above). I bought this, applied it and my lips felt relieve instantly (no joke). I applied it again before sleeping and my lips were fully recovered overnight. It's super sticky though, and shiny. The product does not get absorbed by your lips so be careful to only apply a bit (and that little bit goes a long way!) I wish Clinique didn't discontinue their tinted superbalm... but oh well

Blogmas Day 13 - 12/13/14

Ok, so yesterday was my family Christmas dinner (since we are all going to be in San Fran starting next week!!)... so I spent most of the morning running around getting presents/wrapping presents so I missed yesterday's blog.

But anyway, 12/13/14 was spent like this:

Bobby got a couple of Christmas balls

Wrapped presents.. ps: I love wrapping presents!!

Bobby's Christmas look

Lovely none home made food ;)

All in all, had fun with the fam (minus my brother who had another dinner, went to the hockey game.

Blogmas Day 12 - Christmas shopping etc

Had a lot of fun at Bobby's work Christmas party last night. We stayed at a hotel so we wouldn't have to drive home... but unfortunately, we still had to get up early for work.. ugh! 

I was so tired at work today, but I got to leave early for a dentist appointment! And, by some miracle, I only had to wait 10 minutes to see my dentist (usually, the wait is much, much longer!!). My appointment was at 4pm and I was out by 4:45. Oh happy day!!

Bobby and I are still in recovery mode so we are taking it easy tonight - hit up the mall after dinner to get a few more presents... only need to pick up (and wrap!) a few more before our family Christmas soiree tomorrow

Loving my hedgehog Christmas wrapping paper ;)

Blogmas Day 11 - downtown living again

Staying in downtown for the night today... Here is my awesome view:

Blogmas Day 10 - Parking ticket problems

Okay so despite the fact that I overpaid in parking passes, I came home to a lovely ticket on my windshield last night.

Good to know that Impark has invested in some little plastic baggies for their parking tickets - really helps your ticket not get ruined in the torrential Vancouver rain.. Also, they make so much money off people by over charging for parking so I'm sure they have a few pennies to spare for such luxuries.

But all passive aggressive comments aside, I had a lovely conversation with a guy called Steven (Stephen?) not once but twice and he canceled the ticket for me. The issue was that I was told by the people at the train station that I did not have to put the ticket on my dashboard, turns out that I did (even though I paid for a weekly parking pass and I parked in the exact same spot the entire week)... sooo I am very happy to have this ticket canceled because I missed the Impark toy drive (although come to think about it, I'm sure I would've had to spend more than 22$ on a toy anyway....)

Blogmas Day 9 - Longchamp Le Pliage review

Okay, so I finally have a minute to review the Longchamp Le Pliage in black, size small. Please note, I bought this bag in Holt Renfrew (I don't know of any other stores in Vancouver that sell these bags), not Nordstrom, but Holt Renfrew has a pretty terrible website... The Nordstrom website is better so I used that link... Also, please note, that in Canada, this bag retails 140$ pre tax. Anyway.. so the bag measurements are: 9 3/4" W x 9 3/4" H x 5 1/2 D... FYI, I just took a ruler to confirm these measurements. The 9 3/4" width is based on the bottom of the bag. The top of the bag measures about 12 1/2".

I love this bag. It's the perfect size. It's deceptively large for a "small" because it actually carries so much! I am glad I didn't purchase the large size :)

The bag only has one large compartment and one tiny pocket on the side. I thought this would be an issue at first because I HATE digging through my bag trying to find crap. This hasn't been an issue though since the bag is fairly shallow. To be honest, before buying this bag, and shortly after, I looked into buying a purse organizer. Lots of people on Youtube recommended buying one to complement the Longchamp totes, but I don't think they are necessary.. especially not for the "small" tote.

On any given day, I can fit (and perfectly organize) the following items in this purse:

In the large compartment

- Essentials like wallet, coin purse, keys, works keys, hand lotion.

- My super giant agenda. I bought a large agenda to help me plan my wedding. I love this agenda, but it really is too large. It's 8.5" x 11"... Next time, I will definitely be purchasing one size down.. but just so you know, this small bag can hold a giant agenda and can still be perfectly zipped up.

- A small cosmetic bag which holds a compact mirror, tylenol, girl stuff

- My beloved baggu bags! I am constantly carrying two or three of these because I never know when I will randomly purchase things ;). I have a neon orange fox one which I love and I am so sad because I just realized that it's slowly starting to tear in one small area, and a boring grey one I keep around because Bobby refuses to carry the fox bag.

In the small pocket:

- My assortment of lipgloss/balms 

So on top of all that stuff, I can also shove a small folding umbrella, my scarf when I get too hot to wear it, random snacks for when I get hungry.. etc.

Oddly enough, I find that the bag looks better when it's more full (but not too full), but the material is a thick canvas so it holds is shape even when the bag is pretty empty. And speaking of the material, I can confirm that it is in fact water resistant (not waterproof, although I did not test this out ;) ). Ever since taking the train to work, I've been too lazy to use an umbrella at times (especially since my winter jacket is also water resistant) so I have had to walk around my work, or from my work to the train station, etc in the rain... Happy to report that not once has water leaked through the bag :)

Blogmas Day 8 - Jenn-isms

Ugh... so, I realized that I just made the most idiotic mistake ever.

After getting stuck in ridiculous traffic during my morning drive to work in November, I decided to de-stress and take the train to work instead. The train is the fastest way to get from suburbia to downtown Vancouver (30 minutes from Coquitlam to Waterfront)... I used to take the train a lot when I lived in Coquitlam, pre-living in downtown.. and it had some issues. Sometimes the train would be VERY late due to engine problems, which in turn meant that you would be very late for work as well. So I hesitated in relying on the train. In the summer, traffic was pretty non-existent, but I guess as the weather gets colder/wetter, more people are opting to drive to work. Anyway, so I decided to do a trial "take the train to work" run for December and January, and if it's pretty reliable, then I would ditch driving to work altogether (unless I had to be at work early, or if I planned on doing something after work)... /useless rant that no one wants to hear about anyway.

So anyway, last Monday, after my lovely 4 day weekend/vacation... I got the to train station early and bought a weekly train ticket and what I thought was a daily parking ticket. I wasn't sure if I wanted to drive to the station everyday, or just take the 80 seat limousine (aka, the bus) to the station... everyday, I would wake up, decide to drive, so I would buy a daily parking ticket.. until Thursday, when I decided to just go all out and by the weekly one. Well, it turns out that I actually bought a weekly parking ticket on MONDAY, so I paid for parking TWICE Tuesday-Friday... and I didn't realize until this morning when I emptied my wallet of the numerous daily parking tickets.. only then did I realize that the first ticket was a weekly ticket :(

First weekly parking ticket purchased...

Then two dailies...

Second weekly parking pass bought!!

So... 8 day parking which should've cost 24$ ended up costing 36$!! Oh well.. Blame it on coming back from a 4 day weekend I guess :(

Blogmas Day 7 - My favourite nail polishes

Following yesterday's post where I admitted I am not that big into make up... well let's just say, nail polish is my thing ;)

I love nail polish! It's definitely easier to apply (than make up) and it also lasts longer (you don't have to wash it off every night)!!

So.. here are my top three nail polish colours (in no particular order):

OPI - Lincoln Park After Dark

This is my favourite dark nail polish and it is very "goth" like. It's a very, very dark purple (almost black) and I love how dramatic it is. People always comment on this nail polish when I wear it. I would wear this colour every day, but in the summer, it just feels more in season to wear the neon and coral colours. But let me tell you, the minute it is "in season" to wear this colour, I put it on ;)

Essie - Watermelon

This is the best pink nail polish out there. I can't really describe how perfect the colour is. It's a dark-ish pink, it's almost red-like and it's very pretty. My lack of descriptive words is not doing this nail polish any justice - you just have to trust me on this!

OPI - Chick Flick Cherry

Hands down, this is the best red nail polish out there. It's a deep/dark red and it's very... sexy? Is that a word you would use to describe nail polish? I've gone through many many bottles of this nail polish over the last 10 or so years... and the bonus is that it also has the best name ever!!

L-R: Lincoln Park After Dark, Watermelon, Chick Flick Cherry

Side note: Nail Polish Canada is an awesome website to buy nail polish from. They are always a couple of dollars cheaper than drug stores and they have cheap and fast shipping options. Shipping used to be free, but now it's only free for a minimum 25$ order, which is still a good deal if you are buying a few nail polish bottles at once... The shipping is also quick. I have not placed an order in a while, but from what I remember, when I would place an order or Tuesday, it would be processed by Wednesday AM and I would have it by Thursday. It was that quick... but it could be due to location since my packages would come from Burnaby (I don't know if that is the local distributor, or if its Canada wide) and so it would not take very long for the package to be delivered to Vancouver.. But anyway, I highly recommend this website if you don't mind waiting a few days for your nail polish :) Oooh and also they give you a free lollipop as well! One that matches the colour of the nail polish you just bought!! (Not sure if they still do this though.. my last order was earlier in 2014)

Please note: all above opinions are my own

In other Sunday news:
Had breakfast at Caffe Divano today... I am now finding that their chai latte is too sweet (it's nowhere near as bad as Starbucks)... and I mailed our Christmas cards! Woo hoo!

Blogmas Day 6 - MAC Matchmaster Foundation Review

I have been using this foundation pretty much every day since I bought it three weeks ago... and I LOVE IT!!

I'm not a make up expert... in fact, I'm pretty terrible with make up application. My morning routine is: moisturizer, foundation (or tinted moisturizer), mascara, eye brow powder and lip gloss. When I'm going out, I might throw in some eye shadow too.. but I like to keep it simple... mainly because I am too lazy to have to wash all of that stuff off my face at the end of the day.

Anyway, last year, I bought the MAC Studio Sculpt foundation. My main beef with this foundation is that it goes on very dewy... and that's not really a look for me. My skin is not very oily, but since I put moisturizer on daily, my face just looked really shiny with this foundation. And since it had this "effect", I found that this foundation is not very "buildable" since the more you use, the shinier you just become... I ended up making the foundation work by using the smallest dot possible to help even out my skin tone.. but even then, if I ended up getting sweaty from running around, major shine control... and I am not one to carry those oil blotting sheets on me so it was kind of an issue.

So this year, the MAC make up artist suggested that I try the Matchmaster Foundation. Both foundations are pretty similar, in that they are both spf 15. They are also fairly similar in price (the matchmaster foundation is a few dollars more for less product).

What I like the most about the Matchmaster foundation is that it goes on matte (no more shininess!). I found that this foundation works really well with my moisturizer. And it also goes on very light so you can use it for minimal coverage, or you can use more for a more full coverage and you won't look like you are caking the make up on. The whole Matchmaster "science" is that it perfectly matches your skin tone. Not sure how (or if!!) it does this, but I'm definitely happy with this purchase :)

Unfortunately, I have a crappy iPhone 5c camera so I can't take picture to show everyone how awesome the coverage is or compare it to the coverage you get with the Studio Sculpt foundation...

Please note: All of the comments above are my own opinion.

In other Saturday news:
-Went to PiYo today (after missing the last few classes due to being sick and lazy)
-Going to write some Christmas cards today so I can mail them...
-Made pulled pork for dinner today! Can't wait to eat it!