Viva Italia!

Not really a huge soccer (football) fan... Not watching the world cup either... But since Canada is not in it, I'll cheer for Italy! It'll make the future inlaws proud ;)

Kiwi and Prickles

Kiwi had a rough weekend. For whatever reason, she was really agitated, excited... And paranoid. She wouldn't let us hold her without freaking out. It was really weird. The weirdness lasted over a day which was staying to worry me. Bobby accidentally bought her a different kind of shavings and I think she really hate it so she was acting out. The shavings were really small and she would accidentally eat some pieces or breathe some in, which is why I think she was pissed off. So we bought her the normal shavings and she's finally back to normal. Here she is with Prickles, her new friend :)

Bobby Bieber

Had a lazy day today. We viewed the Stanley Park Teahouse as a potential wedding venue... Not to impressed with it. It's gorgeous.. But I think it would be most convenient to have the reception in a hotel so that people can retire throughout the night without having to drive home.

Anyway, my face had been breaking out like crazy. I feel like I'm 15 again. Ugh. So I went for a facial today. Pimples be gone!!! On the plus side, I finally got to drive our new car that we got on Thursday. It definitely drives smoother than the old car :)

Got home and finally watched last Sundays game of thrones. Took this picture mid show!

Hehe... this is not a trap!

Home made muffins

I got home to this lovely surprise today:

Bobby cleaned his room up! I wish I had a "before" pic to show... but basically, this room was a mess. Whenever our friends' son Luca (age 19 months) comes over, he's banned from this room because its too unsafe for him... And every night, I worry that Kiwi will wander over to Bobby's room and get buried underneath all of the wood planks and tools... Thankfully, she was never curious enough to go into that room... or at least, she was able to tetris her way out of it ;)

... So because Bobby has been an awesome fiance this week cleaning the house up... I've decided to be an awesome fiancee and make some banana bread muffins!

All set up with supplies... and Pretty Little Liars!

The batter all mixed up!

Into the pan!

Finished product!

Happily Ever After

Early yesterday morning, Bobby and I drove up to Whistler for our friends' wedding. I have been super excited about this even ever since they got engaged! And let me tell you, I was not disappointed with the planned festivities!

The wedding ceremony was at noon at the Squamish Lil'Wat Cultural Centre (located in upper village). I'm not a cryer by any means, but seeing Najin walk down that aisle with her father definitely made my eyes water a bit! Her gown was gorgeous. It was just a few months ago that we went wedding dress shopping and she found her dress! It's this gorgeous lace and beaded mermaid gown. Absolutely stunning in general, but even more stunning on Najin!

After the ceremony, a few of us met up for lunch. It was a gorgeous sunny day so we did not want to waste the time indoors! We had lunch in lower village, then we headed to Creekside where the reception was taking place. The reception was at Nita Lake Lodge so we all booked rooms there. The hotel is amazing! It's got a private lake where you can canoe and paddle board. The rooms (all of them I swear!) have stunning high high high ceilings! Our friends and I had rooms on every floor (first, second, third and fourth) and we all had two story tall ceilings. It was a gigantic hotel!

So we checked into the hotel around 2-3. We all relaxed for a bit, but against better judgement (especially for me because I had started to get sick on Friday afternoon - sore throat, inflamed sinuses), a few of us went for cocktails instead of napping. At least the drinks we good ;)

The reception started at 6pm. While seated, we were introduced to the lovely new Mr. and Mrs. The food was soooo delicious! I mean seriously, I sampled everything and there was not one thing I left on my plate (which is typical because I am quite the picky eater). The food was so great in fact that a friend overate, got sick, and ended up missing most of the evening whilst he lay in fetal position in his room. As the night progessred, I started feeling more and more sick (my chest hurt, the coughing started and my sinuses were throbbing - ugh!!!). So after the party winded down, a few headed up to Dmitry's room for the after party. I missed out because I was exhausted and feeling really shitty.

We woke up around 9, showered, packed up, checked out, and met up some friends for breakfast. Then after, a few of us headed back to the village in hunt for wings. After we were full, we headed back home. The car ride home was so painful for my sinuses. I got home and promptly napped for two hours while Bobby ran to the pharmacy to get me some medicine. Now I'm awake doing some laundry, tidying up a bit.. before heading back to bed.

Congratulations to Najin and Lawrence. We are so happy for you both!

Beautiful speech where the bride and groom took turns thanking their family, their guests and everyone involved in coordinating this wonderful evening.

Dance floor selfie! Even Luca tore up the dance floor!

Love

Bad, Kiwi!!

Kiwi has a hedgie door on her cage... so Kiwi runs around the apartment at night. I don't know what kind of shenanigans she gets up to... but she ALWAYS makes a mess. She tracks shavings everywhere she goes. The most shavings is always just outside of her cage... but the shavings get as far as the shelf (the one that Bobby built), and underneath the coffee table, under the dining table... and the front door area. I sometimes leave random treats for her to find and she pretty much gets all of them! Its kind of cute.. I like to think she is running around the apartment looking for her mama (Chaos) but I really don't think she is. And even though its cute she does this.. its also kind of annoying because everyday someone has to clean up after her. I suppose we could just lock the door... but then we would be taking away some of her freedom. She is a free hedgehog after all ;)

Oh yea, if you look close enough on our floors, you can even see Kiwi's teeny tiny paw prints.

A little back story about this door. Bobby originally made a door in Chaos' first cage (it was much smaller, pre-babies). I had to teach Chaos how to use the door... and once she learned how to use the door, she pretty much ran away from home every night. Some nights, she would even find other places to sleep in (under towels/mats/inside a bag I left on the ground/a pile of dirty laundry waiting to be washed). Kiwi (and her sisters) learned how to use the door just by watching their mama. When they were babies, they would run out of their cage and explore their apartment. I was always nervous that we would lose a baby.. but it was never an issue because our apartment was so tiny!

Anyway, so I'm pretty tired. As anticipated, the coffee kicked in and I couldn't fall asleep last night. The last time I checked the time, it was 1:45am and all I could think was "dammit, I need to be up in a few hours" :(
Surprisingly, I was not that tired in the morning. I managed to wake up on time, and be on time for work (even though the train was running a little bit behind). I did start to get nauseous towards the end of the day though... and I was pretty exhausted on the way home. Just going to take it easy at home. Going to clean up a bit, eat some left over yummy enchiladas... and hit the hay at a reasonable hour!

Domo arigato!

So Bobby and I got our very first wedding present. Yes, wedding present. My aunt (one of my parents' best friends) and her family got us a super awesome present! Today, I finally had time to make a thank you card to mail them.

My desk is pretty small... but our dining table is huuuge so I have tons of space for arts and crafts on there. PS, our dining table is so big with extra seating that all my Quatchis hang around there all the time now!

I went out for dinner with a friend after work today. We hit up Las Margaritas in Kits for some awesome enchiladas... After dinner, we went to Starbucks for some java... which I know I will regret very soon because its almost 10pm and I couldn't be less tired... I guess I may as well catch up on some Real Housewives of Orange County!

Menchies

So some coworkers asked me if I wanted to go to Menchies today - is a build your own yogurt bar. It's sooo adorable and the yogurt is awesome. I got vanilla yogurt with rolo, graham cracker bits and peanuts. Mmmm

At my old job, a coworker was always telling me how I should try Menchie's out. I'd been hesitant because I thought it would be like Scoops in Kits. Now I've only been to Scoops once, but man was their yogurt SOUR. It was not an enjoyable experience at all. Happy to blog that Menchies has sweet yogurt... and lets face it, sweet ice cream like desserts are more enjoyable to eat than sour ones!

Chaos!

Found this super awesome frame at Winner's and its perfect to commemorate Chaos (who passed away two months ago today). We still miss you lots Kay-Kay!!

No buy June

I've decided to cut myself off from shopping for the entire month of June. I will only allow myself to buy necessities (train/transit tickets, food, bath stuff, gifts - father's day and my bro's bday). I will not allow myself to buy clothes, make up, nail polish etc. I bought a lot of new clothes in May... Plus we are going to Portland in July... And I know im going to spend a ton of money in Portland... Therefore, no buy June came into existence.

It's a good thing I got the email for the limited edition Calvin Klein world cup of soccer undies while it's still May!! My Italian stallion gets a pair of Italia skivvies :)

Shelf Update!

So Bobby worked really hard (seriously, the shelf building required a lot of elbow grease) yesterday... and... voila!! Fine Italian hand crafted shelves!!

Sorry the pic is dark/kinda blurry. My phone is dying so it won't let me use the flash.

Anyway, the shelves are a good combo or books/DVDs/decor... printer. I don't know where else to put the printer. It's wireless so technically it can go anyway... I'll see if I can find a better space for it, but for now, super happy that we finally have shelving in the living room. Next step: Getting side tables for the couch!! Baby steps to better organization ;)

Home Depot

Woke up early today to hit up Home Depot. Bobby is starting on a few other projects (the shelf in the living area and more stuff for his work space). More updates to come :)

Don't let Bobby's face fool you - Home Depot is his happy place!

Another successfully expensive trip at Home Depot... PS: those are my awesome Ivank Trump shoe find at Winners :)

Fun times at UBC Alumni Weekend

Today was UBC alumni weekend. I try to go if I am in town because they do make a pretty good effort to make the day filled with events suited for all ages. This year, I signed us up for Craft Beer tasting (courtesy of North Coast Brewing Company) and.... Mythbusters!!!

So the day started kind of early. We left at ten to hit up Oakridge Mall really quick along the way. PS, Crate and Barrel is awesome. I now know where I am registering for my wedding ;)

We got to UBC around noon and our first event was at 1:15. Plenty of time to kill. First thing was first, we had to get our name tags:

After hitting up the bookstore to see if we could get cool bookstore things (we couldn't find anything), we hit up the Biodiversity Museum.

This is a skeleton of a blue whale. Super cool and super huuuuge. The mouth alone was 8 metres!!! (Or it might've been 5 meters....)

After more aimless wandering, it was finally time for the beer tasting. They were pretty damn generous with their beer servings and there were snacks as well. All in all, good times!

Bobby and multiple beers... just another day in Bobby's life!

At 4pm, it was time for MYTHBUSTERS!!! These guys were so funny! They obviously couldn't bust myths because we were in a confined space... but they were really awesome!

We left UBC after Mythbusters.. and we headed for Ikea. I'm trying to get ideas for my walk in closet (which Bobby is supposed to build), and I also needed to pick up hangers and tea towels. We ended up eating there because I was starving at this point. Plus, I only wanted to stop at Ikea for froyo...

Home now playing with little miss kiwi-keys :)

Sunday Fun Day!

We had some friends over today.. and Bobby got Luca to paint one of our canvases. Boy, was Luca ever inspired! He had amazing focus, and with the help of his dad, he covered the entire canvas (and a lot of himself as well).

We went to downtown yesterday, and on the way home, stopped at the Home Depot on First Ave to pick up the material Bobby needed to mount the canvases on the wall. He then attached magnets on the backs of some of the canvases (he didn't have enough magnets for all of the canvases) and voila!! The beginnings of our art wall!

Top, L -> R: A collaboration or art between Bobby and me (this piece involved spackle!), Luca's 

Middle, L -> R: Mine, Sebastian's, Chelsea's

Bottom: Bobby's (a portrait of Kiwi)

Successful shopping day(s)

So I've had a few good shopping days... Both Gap and Express have been having awesome deals. I love buying work clothes at Express because their clothes are work professional.. and their prices don't break the bank account. I've bought a couple of their "Portofino" tops, a cardigan, a skirt and a tank top, all at 40% off. In total, I spent about 130$ for the five pieces. Not bad if I do say so myself ;)

I also got the floral dress at the Gap for a wedding we are attending next month. Its a church wedding so I got a coral cardigan to go with it. The dress I got for 55$ and the cardigan for 30$. The big steal at the Gap were the orange pants I got for 15$!!! Crazy!!!

I also got a new agenda (From Chapters). FYI, I hate technology. I like writing things down on paper... and having paper things to refer to/look back on... I dunno..

Oh and I bought all 5 Game of Thrones books for 30$ at Chapters online. It was 50% off and I've been wanting to read the books. We watch the shows but obviously, the books go into more detail. Can't wait to read them :)

The end of a year... errrr... 9 months

The time has come to say good bye to this awesome view I have been enjoying for the last 9 months. Today is my last day of work.. and I start my new job on Tuesday (side note: yay for 4 day weekends!). Job wise, I am moving on up... View wise.. Nothing can compare to this sweet view of False Creek/Burrard Inlet. 

It feels like just yesterday, I started working here

YES!!!

Sophie Kinsella has finally written another Shopaholic book. I have ALL of the books she has written as Sophie Kinsella (her real name is Madeleine Wickham, and she writes books under her real name as well)... I love the Shopaholic series the best. I think my favorites were "Shopaholic and Sister" and "Shopaholic and Baby", even though they were all really good. As for her other non "shopaholic" books, I LOVED "Undomestic Goddess" and "Twenties Girl". Her last book "Wedding Night" was terrible and it made me miss Becky Brandon (nee Bloomwood ;)) and her crazy shenanigans... Well it looks like "Shopaholic to the Stars" will be out this October... Ah! I cannot wait that long :(

At least I have a few months to decide whether I want to purchase a traditional book... or an e-book... Hmmm...

I am old

So I've got Songza on my phone, and I usually put headphones on at work to zone out and get some work done. I've been listening to the latest pop playlists.. but I found myself skipping a lot of songs I am not familiar with or just can't stand in general. Yesterday, I found the 90s playlists!! Woooo!! I get to listen to the songs such as those below:

Now don't get me wrong, I like current songs too. I can listen to Lorde Team on repeat (#seriouslynojoke). But I like when I not only know at least 50% of the songs on a playlist.. but I know the words to the songs so I can sing along (in my head of course ;))

Four years of happiness!

May 1, 2014 marked four years of happiness for Bobby and me! Bobby picked me up from the train station on Thursday and when I got home, I was surprised to find flowers :)

A dozen romantic red roses from my love... Orchids from friends for my birthday

We celebrated our anniversary at The Keg. Now that we live in Coquitlam, "fancy" restaurants are kind of slim pickins around here. But to be honest, even if we did still live in Yaletown, I would've wanted to go to the Keg anyway. Decent prices for awesome steak!

I don't always dine at the Keg, but when I do, I  make sure to get a Kiwi-tini (Sorry Kiwi...)

I had mentioned to the hostess that sat us that we were there for our anniversary.... They surprised us with the most delicious cake ever! I was soooo full from my steak but the cake was so awesome I had to eat some.

The staff at the Keg Coquitlam were so friendly! I would recommend this restaurant to everyone, by the way :)

Tomorrow, we are having my family over to celebrate Mother's Day. Bobby is getting his wisdom teeth pulled this Friday so he will not be able to eat solid food next weekend... so the festivities had to be moved up by one week. We went grocery shopping for the food we wanted to make... and hit up the liquor store because I am making sangria...

I had to buy Bobby a bottle of his favourite scotch (my anniversary present for him)