apartment 8

january 2012!

2012-01-28T18:55:00.001-08:00

happy super belated new year!

here's a few of my recent home additions/makeover projects!

old wooden crate from this amazing store on west 4th! http://www.stepback.ca/

some great movie prints for Billy's office, courtesy of a great artist named Matt Owen http://brickhut.wordpress.com/

I read his wife's blog, she has a love of turquoise like me: http://mabelshouse.blogspot.com/

I got this le creuset kettle for Christmas from the husband, I LOVE it and its cheery red color.

I scored these super cute salt & pepper shakers at a weird vintage flea

night market in gastown a couple weeks ago.

NEW LAPTOP! Courtesy of my awesome work, who heard my cries of despair with my old one

Project Bedroom!

I decided it was time to finally start a few things in this sadly neglected room of ours.

Some typeography art for above the bed kind of freshened up the place to start...

then, I decided to tackle the bedside tables!

*fun fact: i bought these when I was 16 at Ikea with my mom, they were pine, and like $15 each.

I then proceeded to stain them orange for some reason. My parents just shrugged and probably were relieved that

I'd rather paint furniture in the backyard instead of getting drunk behind London Drugs. That came later. HA

from boring, practical brown to sunshiney yellow!

Getting there! The room was too messy for a full shot, but baby steps people, baby steps.

i'm BACK.

2011-11-15T21:46:00.000-08:00

my boys!

WOW Its been an awfully long time since I updated this bad boy.. APOLOGIES to anyone who has checked it,...if you are still around :)

Thought Id start off with some show and tell! Flea Market Finds Since September and other random photos and projects!

$2.00 Vintage table cloth with my fave colors

Some lovely old colored glass jars above!

an interesting old bottle, i really liked the graphics on it.

an old railroad lantern that was hung in railway cars

project: painted the coffee table with chalkboard paint!

A tiny tin bear! I loved him!

Califor-ni-a

2011-08-23T15:37:00.000-07:00

driving through the desert
lunch at Duarte's Tavern

Super old timey bar in the middle of nowhere

Billy singing a slow rendition of Tupac's "California"

:)

of course I did.

2011-08-10T22:26:00.001-07:00

Yeah. Guess what color?

Today was errand day! I managed to work in the morning, go to a dentist appointment, come home, work for an hour, then walk down the street with my cat in a carrier to her vet appointment, then come home, work some more.

Then I napped. HARD. While watching Storage Wars, which BTW is my favorite guilty pleasure show. Oh.. aside from Teen Mom and Jersey Shore of course. I'm classy like that.

And then it was Thursday! This week is flying by! Only 8 days till California!

Random Awesomeness: Every Saturday until October, there is a farmers market across the STREET FROM MY HOUSE.. ehfdufejhgfuwerjf!!!!
Last week we walked over and I got local berries, peas, organic sourdough bread, homemade cookies, ate tacos and had agave sweetened lemonade. Hippie deliciousness!
Every week the vendors will rotate so I'm excited to check it out again!

Holy CRAP!!!!

2011-07-25T20:57:00.000-07:00

IM IN APARTMENT THERAPY!!!!!!!!!!

I'M KIND OF freaking out. I never thought my apartment would get featured. WTF!
So cool!!!!!!

new front door.

2011-07-25T15:44:00.000-07:00

This morning, on my third to last day of "stay-cation" I woke up, walked into the hallway, rubbed my eyes and decided to paint the font door. No second guessing when I plow into a project. This girl just goes.

Wanna know what remains on my kind of lame "stay-cation" bucket list?

-Get a Library Card, and load up on books.
-Buy Husband some non-ugly shorts - DONE
-Buy a new sports bra for running - DONE
-Go to Richmond Centre because you have been there in years - DONE
-Go have lunch with husband on his break
-Go lay in the park across the street with some library books and get a tan (weather permitting!)

that's it! Our real vacation starts later in August when we fly down to LA, rent a car and visit some friends, and drive up the coast to visit Billy's dad and hit up some sweet food joints a la Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives

Before & After!

2011-07-23T18:30:00.000-07:00

WHO doesn't appreciate a good BEFORE & AFTER project!? I certainly do.

BEFORE:

AFTER!
New bedroom bookcase/shoe/who knows what storage!

And yes...I'm aware that I paint EVERYTHING various shades of turquoise. Maybe Turquoise should stop looking so damn good, so I can move on to another color.

I need more books to stack in it. It matches our bedspread, which was absolutely intentional.

antique flea market part II

2011-07-17T16:23:00.000-07:00

Hit up up the Antique Flea Market again today! More finds that I could NOT resist! I had company today, 2 of my lovely co-workers Kayleigh and Emily.

COVETED vintage fan, I am so glad I found you. I have always wanted you.

Stack of sweet little milk-glass cups for $5.00

awesome set of deer bartending accessories for $3.00

vintage milk-glass juicer for my dearest, who likes to crank out some freshly squeezed juice once in a while!

I may have talked my mom into hitting up the September one with me.

If anyone is interested in attending: Details here!
..or don't...leave the good stuff for me...yeah. I like that better. STAY HOME.

my go everywheres

2011-07-01T10:10:00.000-07:00

laptop and life.

latest finds

2011-06-27T20:26:00.001-07:00

AMAZING red dresser/new TV stand/birthday gift from my mother in law!! LOVE! LOVE!

big mirror for my hallway, *don't be hatin on my mustached front door y'all

little retro clock/timer

rotary phone like the one from my childhood! $30

vintage jadeite and milk glass mugs

I should stop buying things...

rest in peace little friend.

2011-06-20T22:08:00.001-07:00

photo jacked from my brother!

Today we said goodbye to our little minnie. after 17 years of watching my brother and I grow up, move out of the house and still come back for sunday dinners, she will be dearly missed on those days.

She was my very first kitten, she had a scratchy meow, and we adored her. <3

I hope my mom can relax now, knowing she is not in pain and not having to face the stress of worrying about her anymore. While the loss of a sick pet is always painful, I understand and lived through the strange relief that comes with it when it's over.

vancouver

2011-06-17T18:37:00.001-07:00

aftermath of the riot.

vancouver had its own therapy session all over the boarded up storefronts. it was heartbreaking but so healing to read the messages written.

and on another note I might as well add some photos because its been a while!

I inherited some vintage circus posters from my aunt who is downsizing. They have been in the family for years. I love them!

and lastly....why everyone should own a ragdoll kitty...

all love.

Lazy technology

2011-04-11T23:27:00.000-07:00

Testing my laziest possible blogging option yet. I'm writing this from my iPhone, in bed.
Test test test. Sorry if you are reading this!

Blogger was not letting me post but I think I fixed it!

Weee!

Some things!

2011-02-20T10:45:00.000-08:00

Finally framed my vintage street map of Vancouver. Found this at a junk shop way back when.

Got a small start on my hallway photo collection. Gonna try and go all the way up the wall!

S'mores night! We played Trivial Pursuit Boys against Girls.

Dave is missing from this shot, but how cute is this picture? Reading the rules!

and ending it with a happy kitty in a box. This is the face he makes when I talk to him. Happy guy! xo

Live in Canada? I urge you to sign this

2011-01-27T08:21:00.000-08:00

They are trying to cap our internet usage, and that aint cool. Don't make me move to the US, Canada!!

Loading...

happy monday!

2011-01-17T20:51:00.000-08:00

Apparently today is the "Most Depressing Day of The Year".
Bah! Not in my hood.

Billy helped me hang up my Ikea rail system.
I'm planning on calling it "monorail!....monorail!"
*simpsons nerds holla!!*

It's great though, I'm almost trying to seek out things I can hang up. My shelves are slowly emptying!

It's day one of eating better also. Decided to start my resolutions this year a lot later than normal. Why not right? We shall see. I loves me some candy...

the cutest home invader ever.

2011-01-09T12:10:00.001-08:00

uh oh

*image care of google, but this is exactly the darling little face we are dealing with. He is SO TINY, how could we hurt this?

I'll start from the beginning...
On the morning of January 1st, Billy was sitting at his desk in the computer room, and out of nowhere, this little guy comes wandering up to his steaming plate of french toast that is sitting on the desk, waiting to be eaten. Billy calmly exclaims "THERE IS A MOUSE IN HERE,.. ON MY DESK"

So immediately we close the office door, hustle the cat (Moose, obviously, the other cat probably befriended the damn mouse) in with us and tell him to "GO GET IT!!!". Now, I didn't want the cat to hurt the mouse, just to corner it so we could nab him safely.

It worked perfectly, it was like Moose read our minds: he simply chased the mouse out, cornered him without any injury, we got the little guy into a box, walked across the street to the high school (train tracks, lots of grass to hide in! heaven for a mouse right?!) released him, did the most epic high five ever and went home without a thought of him coming back! ALL WAS GOOD!! YAY! Peta would never throw flour on us! We saved a mouse!

WRONG.
HE CAME BACK.
I DID plug up a few spots where I thought he may have gotten in, and I did not do a good job, as he managed to dig right back through. SIGH.
I have re-plugged every hole and tiny crack with steel wool (pro tip: mice only need 1/4 inch to crawl through! ack!) and Moose is doing his job of checking the entire perimeter of the house, cupboards and closets included, every 20 minutes when i tell him to "GO GET IT!"

Crossing my fingers that I have plugged the mouse out of the house and that Moose will not find him before we do. If anybody has any cruelty free tips, send them my way!

obsessed.

2011-01-05T21:27:00.001-08:00

oh hi!

Is this sign not amazing? I AM OBSESSED with this shop on etsy: Oh Dier. here
I'm totally going to order one of these when the husband scores a new job (Interviews are happening folks! cross your internet fingers)

It's been a month since I last posted anything! LAME. I know. Work was crazy in the weeks leading up the New Years Eve, had to do some mandatory customer service phone duty on the 30th and 31st, and it should have been awful, but it was actually fun! I am so lucky I work in such an awesome place.

we had some friends over before christmas to play microsoft knect. Here is Chelsea busting out some roger rabbit in my living room to some dancing game.

Had a super quiet NYE with some friends, Amanda made a Mexican feast and we dug in and it was lovely. Exactly what I wanted to do. SIT and eat. I had a beer in the office, said happy new year to everybody, raced home and we high tailed it to Amanda and Justin's place.

We have a new puppy at work! Minnie! Here I am awkwardly trying to hold her. She is a yorkie/chihuahua and she is teeny and so silky, I hog her from everybody else.

Been organizing and changing things around in the apartment, the bathroom is coming along nicely! I'm on the lookout for a sweet new mirror, and as soon as we are back to being a 2 income household again, it's NEW-COUCH CITY: Population ME.

I am dreaming of an amazing grey velvet mid century square wonder with tufted buttons and the type of cushions that never sag and get all smashed-looking from the cats. SIGH.
HELLO: all of these....

Said dream couch likely costs thousands. I wish I was handier and could have the "balls" to attempt re-upholstering something. I know you can take a course, but it seems like soooo much work.

Big ideas never stop though! I can deal with that.

it has begun...

2010-12-04T08:42:00.000-08:00

round one: whipped shortbread cookies.
only 3 ingredients in these bad boys...
flour, butter and icing sugar, whipped together, then packed into a pastry bag with a star tip. Easiest cookies ever.

random photos

2010-11-28T10:44:00.001-08:00

love my city

it's true..

pretty colors.

what a ridiculous little face! I <3 him.

festivus for the rest of us.

snow = weekend projects

2010-11-20T20:03:00.000-08:00

woke up to this silent winter scene!

moose was super interested in the crows hanging out on the power lines out front.

-made candied pecans on friday night! yum. recipe here

-painted my boring wood ikea kitchen cart a pretty green, had a great day shopping main street with Chelsea and Amanda.

-Checked out lots of antique and thrift shops, got free coffee at McDonalds (I LOVE their coffee, so very "drinkable")

- tomorrow is mandatory laundry and cleaning day.
I kind of feel like I miiiiiiight be getting sick, I have been going full steam for weeks now,
feeling a bit run down...maybe I will rest tomorrow!

hope everybody is having a nice weekend :)

Bathroom Makeover!

2010-11-19T19:36:00.000-08:00

BEFORE: glossy blue paint on 80 year old crooked plaster walls? Former Tenant FAIL!

AFTER: looks waaaay cleaner and although I loved the old black and white floor, it was in really bad shape and was coming apart pretty badly. Originally I DID want to paint the walls a color, a little more interesting than taupe, but logically, i switch things around a lot, I need a neutral wall.
As busy as I am these days, this took me a long time to get done, (It's still not finished, I need to paint the top of the room!!! 10 foot ceilings: bit of a challenge)

This is the soon-to-be theme of the bathroom: creepy kitty paintings. I'm on the hunt when I get some spare time. this particular one is perfection.

my friend, the jewelry designer!

2010-11-17T09:10:00.000-08:00

My good friend Amy (also known as Amis since grade 9)
got her website up and running now!
(done by yours truly! ahhhh! my first time setting up one of these things!)

ch-ch-check it out.

http://www.ahenwooddesign.com/

Her pieces are nature inspired and lovely, and she is incredibly talented!

I have some of her stuff and it is stunning, she did up a silver necklace for me with a silver pendant cut in the shape of the state of Alaska, people constantly ask me about it!! It's amazing.
xoxo

Becoming Burlesque!

2010-11-14T09:42:00.001-08:00

My boss and I went to support a co-worker and check out her burlesque debut last night!
We had some wine and appetizers at her place, then we called/hailed about a billion cabs to take us out to east van.

It was SO impressive. It was incredibly refreshing to see normal girls shake their things and totally own it (In PASTIES, no less!) and the costumes were stunning! (I want a sparkly bra!!! waaahh!!)

Their performances were fantastic, each of them creative, funny, sexy and really well done and all earned foot stomping, hooting, whistling applause!

I didn't take any pictures unfortunately, as I was not allowed any flash photography, it was dimly lit, and my iphone camera just didn't do it justice.

It was really a great experience though and I am definitely looking forward to going to another show in the near future! We talked about bringing the boys next time :)

happy halloween

2010-10-31T12:10:00.000-07:00

so much fun despite the rain!

photos by: http://boneyardphotogprahy.blogspot.com/

Pre-Halloween!

2010-10-25T20:04:00.000-07:00

So excited! this is easily my favorite time of year!
*Despite the rain and wind...(wommmp wommp)*

Started decorating, carved, DRILLED and painted a few pumpkins

mustache pumpkin!

le sigh...

2010-10-15T21:09:00.000-07:00

http://www.joystiq.com/2010/10/14/disney-cancels-pirates-of-the-caribbean-propoganda-layoffs/

Yes...read the article,...I now live with an un-employed house husband.

Financially we are okay, it could have been a lot worse, but it hit pretty suddenly, within the span of 6 hours he went from happily starting his day at work, developing a game he was was passionate about making better, to handing over his keys and company ID and taking home a booklet called "Coping with Job Loss". Yikes!

It was just one of those things that happens in his industry, no hard feelings, just so sudden!

The fact that 110 plus people lost their jobs at this studio yesterday is mind blowing.
One of my good friends said to me yesterday: "one door closes, another one opens"

we'll keep our chins up.

halloween 2010..

2010-09-25T11:05:00.000-07:00

I ordered a package of 6 realistic looking crows, with wire in them, so I can strap them all over and incorporate one into my hair (which I might splurge and get done professionally, if I can tolerate being this blonde until November first, I'll be okay!)

Vintage dress suit: still in the works. I know I'll need to do some digging to get it just right.

The Husband is being "the Jesus" from The Big Lebowski... he knows I like a challenge. Good luck to me, trying to find a purple number like this:

I cannot wait to decorate our place, the fireplace has so much awesome halloween decor potential.

inspiration:

2010-09-06T11:44:00.000-07:00

http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/

this is the site that keeps me inspired to stay creative, organized and make my home feel like home.

saturday project!

2010-08-28T15:18:00.001-07:00

This was one of my July Value Village finds, the finish on it was a peeling mess, and I have been going back and forth over what I wanted to do with it...

I chose a vintage-style green paint ( it's not turquoise, I swear!) and went to town on it today!

OK, so it looks like turquoise on camera...I'm aware of and comfortable with the fact that I am attracted to these colors and shades! But I love this dresser now! I can't wait for it to dry and stick it back in the hallway with a cute bowl on it.

Total Cost for this project:
Dresser: $29.00
Paint & brushes: $26.00
Time: 3 hours

thrift store project!

2010-08-27T08:28:00.000-07:00

I have been hitting up my local thrift store once a week for the past while, and I have found some interesting things! Two mirrors got a makeover last night:

I decided on "kelly green". I need to give the turquoise a break I guess.

Cute! I'm going to hang the other one with it, I need to collect more though, the hallway wall is big enough for a group of interesting mirrors.

It looks like it's going to be a good project weekend, maybe I'll paint some furniture!
have a great wknd!!

flippy cup kind of weekend

2010-08-15T23:11:00.001-07:00

I'm too old to get university drunk like this anymore.

Pizza at 2 am was a great idea though.
happy birthday to Lars!

owww

2010-08-10T20:54:00.001-07:00

I slammed my finger in our old weighted potato drawer and let me tell you...my finger is throbbing! I have not experienced such blinding pain in a while! Oi vey... the husband came running in, he thought I had chopped off a limb!

My finger looks like a "We're #1" giant foam hand now. Too bad it's my middle finger...

Today was the first time I worked from home for a full day, it was great and I got a lot done and the day flew by. The TV distracted me so it was shut off after an hour and the rest of the day was quiet and full of emails, orders and quotes. I made breakfast and lunch and had tea all day, talked with co-workers on msn and skype and got updates, answered questions and collaborated! technology is unreal sometimes when you stop and think about it.

new wall!

2010-08-07T20:30:00.001-07:00

I ordered these vinyl trees off of Etsy, the seller is "NouWall".
I love them! Im pretty happy with how they turned out. Easy art!

I might scrap the birds, move them to another room one day, not sure if I like them with the trees, but for now it works!

home alone.

2010-07-30T22:43:00.000-07:00

Husband is gone fishing! Literally, with his dad, so I am left to my own devices...hopefully I won't starve to death, seeing as he is the one who cooks :)

Thought I'd update with some pics I have taken in the past little while:

Coffee Table WIN!

2010-07-29T20:14:00.000-07:00

I found one! It was ugly at Value Village, with a $19 price tag, but for some reason it was calling out to me! haha

It doesn't fit any of my coffee-table-criteria, but sometimes you just gotta be open minded when it comes to thrift store furniture.

Anyways, a layer of primer, a few layers of turquoise and a hefty (and extremely smelly) layer of clear lacquer, and voila! I love it.

I also snapped up this guy:

I wasn't looking for anything like this, but it was just...sitting there...and I kept walking past it..and there was just something about it....in my head I was just like "yep...I'll be taking this one too".

I put it in my hall, and it's great, the drawers are huge and we can dump all of the ugly hall table crap inside of them (keys, receipts, mail...you know). The wood is pretty beat up, and maybe one day I will paint it something fun, but for now I'm cool with the wood.

Next furniture goal?
Settling on a new couch with the husband...he wants a sectional, I don't. I want something retro-mad-men inspired, maybe with tufting and buttons!,.. he wants more modern-classic.

In the end, I know I will win, and I say that in the nicest way possible, he is wonderful and always lets me win when it comes to putting together the house. I could have never married a man who doesn't trust my artistic vision! <3

coffee table hell!

2010-07-13T18:05:00.000-07:00

I'm on the lookout for a new coffee table. We have graduated into adults (lol!) and I have deemed it necessary that we now purchase a coffee table that reflects our dignified, adult tastes and activities (again..LOL).

The thing is, coffee tables are expensive! I'm definitely a D.I.Y kinda girl, but I need a solid base to work with, and this is where my problem lies. As much as I would love to find some shabby, beat up old coffee table, scratched up, but holding so much promise, on craigslist or at a junk shop, and go to town on it, sanding it, painting it, etc....I just can't find that damn table!!

Even the crappy ones are priced too high, and I don't like wasting my time bartering in most situations.

I did however, look at some nice ones at the antiques warehouse....they had a shipment of vintage Chinese pieces, and lo and behold this lovely one stood out to me

Perfect size! intriguing yet neutral color, drawers, shelf, this one has it all.

Problem?

Still over my budget. Even at 50% off (which is awesome!), I couldn't take this guy home, devastating! If I don't find something soon though (this damn ikea piece of trash and it's peeling veneer and surface bubbles from the lack of coasters, is just asking to be thrown out in the back alley..), I might reconsider.

I'm really digging the idea of a turquoise table. I love this. I think I'll keep looking for a makeover project...

craigslist purchase # 10....

2010-07-07T17:47:00.000-07:00

a cute Marc Jacobs bag!

yes I have been creeping craigslist for a while, looking for designer bags! Success!
I got this darling thing, in IMMACULATE brand new condition. The owner had only used it once for 3 hours. I got it for an amazing price, with all the receipts and tags.

Thank you craigslist, once again!

my brother started a blog! a photog blog!

2010-07-04T18:59:00.000-07:00

http://boneyardphotogprahy.blogspot.com/

what's the deal with primer?

2010-06-17T07:37:00.000-07:00

face primer.

sure I have seen it in magazines, mentioned in how-to's, watched it being applied on makeover shows, yet, never tried it myself.
Well.

I happened to acquire a sample of one such primer whilst at a spree at Sephora the other day.

Too Faced's "Primed and Poreless"

I am in love. It is not heavy AT ALL, its much different than foundation or concealer, you can't see it on your face, it felt like velvet and it did actually make my pores seem to disappear, giving me flawless looking skin. I didn't apply it all over my face, only in a few key areas, I love love love this product. You only need a little bit at a time, so I am definitely going to purchase the full size.

I'm not sure how I all of a sudden delved into the world of makeup review, but meh, I'll just go with it.

+ 1 year.

2010-06-11T07:36:00.001-07:00

Today is my birthday!

I don't really get into my own birthday, I have never had a party for myself or really done anything, friends have, parents did when I was little (I even had a magician at my 5th birthday party, oh yeah), I love going for other people's birthdays and celebrating, but for my own, I think I like being low key. Might do dinner or something tomorrow night when everybody is around and I can invite people today without it feeling last minute.

I bought myself a little birthday present after work yesterday, I went to H+M and to Sephora after that. Since I am going to high tea on Sunday at the Fairmont with my ladies (so excited!), I got myself a cute lady-like skirt, a really fun headband, which I'm going to rock today to work, because it's pizza and beer day of course, I love it with messy hair. It's similar to the one below. But cuter, trust me. Then, at Sephora, I got the prettiest pink lipgloss ever. It's the perfect, pale, but not freaky-barbie-paris hilton-old lady pink. It's a GOOD pink. It's by Tarina Tarintino, and I couldnt find a pic of the exact shade, but it's called Pom Pom. It is lovely! And although I love me some MAC products, this one is far less sticky than Mac's lipglass.

I was inspired by my incredibly gorgeous, fashionable, super-mom of 2- (and fellow gemini!) friend Kristen's lip gloss I saw in a photo on facebook, and I actually texted her whilst in Sephora to ask the name, alas, they didnt carry the brand, but I saw this one and thought it was a close second, and decided to get it anyways! This is so not the color, but you get the idea.

Have a great weekend! xo

shoes, ...my one true love.......sorry husband.

2010-06-01T20:49:00.000-07:00

Shoes of the moment! Let's start with the ones I do have, shall we?

I bought these cute blue ones to wear to our friends Dan & Sarah's wedding in Portland! Love!

I asked permission from my dear friend Valerie before I bought these ones...she bought them first! Now we have to consult each other before events to make sure we don't become shoe twins.

These will be my next victims!! I adore these, and I love the grey/bone color. Im going back for these ones next! SO CUTE with cropped pants or cuffed jeans. Ugh! Dying of cuteness.

annnnnd... the totally financially un-attainable ones!! These Diane Von Fustenberg wedges make me want to cry. So lovely! And I can imagine how nice the leather feels, I'm a "man-made materials" kind of girl, but once in a while, leather shoes...ohh....yes please.

products i adore.

2010-05-25T09:06:00.000-07:00

current essentials in my life:

I have been using benetint for close to 4 years now, i love love love the rosy cheeks

aquolina pink sugar is my current scent, it's girly and smells delicious

Dr Bronner's Peppermint Castille Soap is something that will always be in my bathroom, it's organic, safe, no parabens, no chemicals, makes your skin tingle, and the crazy label is worth a read!

Revlon VIXEN is a perfect vampy dark almost-black red, the color shown
here seems a little off, but trust me, it's the perfect dark shade.

Blonde must-have! Aveda Blue Malva conditioner. Don't leave it on too long though, or risk the chance of actually turning your hair silver!! It works.

I have fine hair, and fine hair doesn't usually do 2 days without a wash, this stuffenables me to actually be a 2-day-hair girl, it gives my hair great texture and makes it feel a little cleaner, not to mention, it's good at disguising my roots sometimes.

crazy cat lady.

2010-05-24T21:57:00.000-07:00

my brother bought this deck of cards at a dollar store because he thought it looked like B.

this one perfectly describes my cats.

bye!

painted!...again!

2010-05-23T15:13:00.001-07:00

GREY (or Gray?)!

Grey is a hard color to choose, I stared at swatches for three weeks, debating the following :
"too cool? too purple? too blue? too brown?..too light? too dark?..." and so on.

End product: I love this shade! It meets all of my perfect grey criteria, the room feels brighter, cleaner, I can finally hang up my colorful artwork, my red chairs pop against it, I love it with black and with white and the possibilities are just endless! I like how neutral it is, in that I could technically swap out any kind of furniture, any color and it would still look great and complimentary. It's funny because I can clearly remember being maybe 9 or 10 years old,and hugely into legos at the time, asking my mom if I could paint my room "lego block grey", I remember her saying no, as they had JUST painted it pink as per my prior request! I changed my mind a lot! Classic gemini I guess.

Anyways, I finally got my lego grey walls mom!

things I love right now

2010-05-19T09:08:00.001-07:00

cute lady-like shoes

green + cute purse = want

lovely summer wedges that I can actually walk and work in

grey walls

white milk glass..I will be scouring thrift shops this summer.

peonies

pretty mirrors

home. home. home.

2010-05-12T09:49:00.000-07:00

Last Night in Apartment 208!

2010-04-30T20:53:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow is the big day!!!

Tonight includes the following: Washing and packing dishes, dismantling furniture, drinking a beer, eating butternut squash pasta (last meal in apartment 208!)

We got our keys, and are ready to head out in the morning. This is a sneak preview of our new place:

Stay tuned for life in Apartment 8!!!!!

College Fashion?

2010-04-28T08:58:00.001-07:00

http://www.collegefashion.net/

OK, OK, I know,...I'm not in college, buuuut I love this website!!

The writer gives great visuals (and I neeeeeedddd visuals!) on how to put an outfit together for various events and dress codes. I love clothes, but when standing next to my friends I always second guess my decisions, everybody seems to be so much more fashiony that I am. I stumbled upon this site by accident, I was looking for ideas of what to wear to a party and here we are.

I also love that she pulls from widely available shops and stores such as Urban Outfitters, Forever 21 and online store like Go Jane. It's affordable, easy to find and a great option for those looking to look cute and not break the bank.

moving!!

2010-04-13T08:16:00.000-07:00

We are MOVING!!

We found a lovely 1200 square foot 2 bedroom apartment in a character building! It is gorgeous and pet friendly, I am allowed to paint the walls, it has original wood floors, a claw foot bath tub, a fireplace and a window seat! EXCITED!

The only downside is that the kitchen is pretty tiny, however I had to overlook that because the apartment itself was too amazing, all of a sudden a small kitchen didn't matter to either of us.

It's in Vancouver, so a way closer commute to work for both of us!

I cannot wait to start decorating and have a housewarming so all my friends can see it, I know they really rallied for us to get this place, I got so many super positive "You're going to get it!!!" "good luck!" texts from all of you!!

You are all getting a hug and cupcakes. XO............and ...um...do you have any boxes?

Lookout YALETOWN....

2010-04-02T07:02:00.000-07:00

...I'm coming to purchase your crazy expensive lattes, trip on your cobblestone sidewalks in heels, and pet your fancy yuppie dogs....

why? Because I got a NEW JOB!!!!! Yeeeeeeahhhhhhhhhyyyy

I forgot!!..

2010-03-11T17:33:00.000-08:00

My husband got a JOB!!!!!!!!!!!!!

He is doing development support at Propaganda Games,
(which is owned by Disney Interactive Studios)! Yay

the olympics HAS changed this place

2010-03-11T07:59:00.001-08:00

photo care of google images :)

I was walking home from work, when I hear a man (decked out in construction gear, likely on his way home as well) yell at me:

"Excuse me!! Yeah, I'm not being creepy, but I just had to tell you that I love your red coat and you are just rocking it well with the hair and stuff"

Me: staring at him, totally slack jawed "Oh!!! Haha! Thank You!!!"

then I did a little awkward Bill Cosby dance thing, and he did the SAME THING. It was so utterly ridiculous and amazing, and we laughed and went on our separate ways.

A stranger made my day, and then he did a jig with me.

dan and sarah got hitched and i fell in love with portland.

2010-03-03T07:38:00.000-08:00

Blogger's Questionnaire!

2010-02-22T07:11:00.000-08:00

I didn't know these existed! Here's some random things about me!

1. Your hair? Born to BE a blonde ;)
2. Your favorite food? Can I say Breakfast in general? Eggs, toast, I love it.
3. Your favorite drink? At a bar? Caesars with lots of celery!
4. Your dream/goal? To own a home one day, pay off all of the student loans, have kids, go on vacations.
5. Your hobby? I paint, simple things, but things on canvases that can be hung up.
6. Your fear? Screwing up someone's hair, even though I have 8 years under my belt, this thought always worries me.
7. Where were you last night? At my mom and dad's for dinner, watching olympic hockey and doing a lifetime's amount of laundry
8. Something you say all the time? as embarrassing as it is, the term "ohhh snap" has somehow graduated from a joke, to something I say often.
9. Something that you’re not? Mean. I joke around and tease, but honestly, I am proud of the way I treat people, I will never be one of those mean girls, but that doesn't mean you can walk all over me, hellllls no.
10. Wishlist item? oooh....currently, I would love a new couch and living room set, our couch is grey, but it had faded from the sun, same with the chairs. Damn you, sunny apartment!!
11. Last thing you did? Fill up the coffee maker, and throw 2 pieces of toast in the toaster. Breakfast! woo.
12. What are you wearing? I should lie, but meh...I'm wearing black yoga pants and the most hideous Tenacious D, t shirt courtesy of my husband. (It's 7:30 am, people)
13. Your pets? 2 cats Bangerang (the sweetheart) and Moose (the loveable douchebag)
14. Friends? Creative, funny, smart, all over the place and from everywhere :)
15. Missing someone? Both of my grandmothers, I often see things and think they would enjoy it, I wish they met Billy, and I wish my grandma could see her city (Vancouver) now. Also I miss our cat Rufio, he died of heart failure way too young :(
16. Something you’re not wearing? a hat? haha.
17. Your favorite store? Don't think I have anything in particular, I'm not one of those girls who knows about the trendiest hidden shops, I just go wherever. I love shopping though :)
18. Your favorite color? reds, greens, royal blues, browns, pinks...ahhhhhh
19. The last time you cried? Last week? I think because I was watching the Littlest Hobo, that theme song gets me every time. I'm actually, totally serious.
20. When's the last time you laughed? Last night, really hard with my mom and dad, looking at pics of our old house in Vancouver, my dad made a crack about how many fifties he wasted throwing into fixing that place up. We all cracked up.
21. One place that I go to over and over? Gastown, I love the brick and everything about it.
22. Where do you eat? Anywhere with people I like, and it's a bonus if they have good caesars and a decent menu.

olympics are here!

2010-02-14T11:20:00.000-08:00

So maybe I don't watch winter sports at all, but living here in Vancouver, it's hard to ignore all the celebrating and excitement in the city! Had to go check it out...

Happy New Year!

2010-01-02T11:03:00.000-08:00

I'll be sure to have some new baking adventures in 2010

Happy Holidays!

2009-12-24T14:47:00.000-08:00

Hope everyone has a safe and happy one, whatever you celebrate!!

fancypants.

2009-12-21T08:07:00.000-08:00

So it's my brother's longtime girlfriend Danielle's birthday party tonight, and I decided I had to make something. She is a total fashion queen and the best shopper you have ever seen (seriously, she makes an art out of it..I can't keep up when I tag along). I felt that Chanel cupcakes would be appropriate.

I did chocolate cupcakes FILLED (oh yes) with chocolate cheesecake, and topped with vanilla buttercream, and a little fondant logo! They are pretty decadent and I think I will advise people to possibly share!

dallas cowboys themed cake!

2009-12-18T07:11:00.000-08:00

Football cake! I was asked by my friend Kristen to construct a Dallas Cowboys themed cake for her son Noah's 2nd birthday! There haven't been a lot of birthdays lately so I was totally up for it!

I was inspired by a pic I found online, most of the cakes were too themed, I wanted to keep it simple, yet still friendly towards small children.

And I actually got it done, ahead of schedule! I rolled out the fondant pretty thin, so it sort of wrinkled up in a few places (I'm still an amateur!), but other than that minor detail, the rest went really smoothly, and I really enjoyed making this cake!

mini cake for the little kids

Birthday Boy picking up his cake with Mom!

Baker's Market! Saturday December 12th!

2009-11-23T21:48:00.000-08:00

I'm in the Baker's Market again! December 12th! Can't wait! Ordered some cute cupcake holders, done up some more labels, got my plan in action! Now all I need to do is bake and decorate. Pleased. Come visit me!!! There are going to be a TON of vendors! I am really looking forward to it!

In other news, I cannot believe it is the END of NOVEMBER? EW! Why did Fall go by SO FAST?

cheesecakery!

2009-11-08T11:09:00.000-08:00

Yesterday Amanda and I got ambitious and decided to crank out 3 types of cheesecake! We started at 4 pm and I didn't leave until midnight! Three types of cheesecake was enough to drive us into insanity. I had never attempted to bake these before, they seemed tricky annnnd I figured they required a much higher baking skill than I currently possess. I don't know why I thought this, they were actually not as hard as I thought, although the different pans, types of crust, ingredients to add to different flavors, proved to be a little hectic.

We did a pumpkin cheesecake, Bailey's Irish Cream cheesecake, and a 2 layer chocolate one.

Also, we found the most brilliant little pan for individual cheesecakes at Cobblestone Cottage in Ladner, it made 12 individual personal sized cheesecakes and had little pop-out bottoms to get them out! So cute, but such a BITCH to clean!!

The Bailey's Irish Cream cheesecake didn't turn out as we hoped, it is still good, but there is only a hint of flavor, which is funny considering I poured half a bottle of Bailey's and a shot of Whiskey in for good measure.

Still, it was really awesome to learn how to make cheesecake and I'm sure I'll be putting my darling Kitchenaid to the test in the future, now that I feel capable!
My family will be taste testing them all tonight for dessert, as it was my Mom's birthday yesterday and tonight we are doing dinner!!

I'm going to try and get to the Baker's Martket next weekend for a visit and a few purchases if I can, I miss my Sunday cake school crew so I am hoping a few of them will be there!

i <3 halloween

2009-11-01T22:09:00.000-08:00

vidjea game makers!

2009-10-23T22:56:00.000-07:00

So this is fully non-related to food/baking posting, but it's a big thing in my life! Billy graduated yesterday from the game design program at vancouver film school! He managed to graduate with honors at the top of his class, and NEVER missed a single day of classes, despite having a close to 2 hour commute every day! That's how he rolls, he is serious and actually can't give any less than 200%, it's almost ridiculous. But I'm not gonna complain, because it's a quality that I WISH I had!!
I have to say that it was sincerely a pleasure to get to know the guys(and girl! hi Courtney!) in this class, and I think they will remain in our lives, even the ones that have to leave, thanks to facebook and stuff like that! So yay for technology.
Anyways, Im super proud of them all, and how great of a photo is this? We went out to celebrate last night and I am feeling a little rough today..ehhh. Two Double ceasars + 2 jaeger shots + 2 pints of beer = I hug EVERYBODY (eh, I'm a really happy drunk girl,and people generally are ok with the hugging) and a severe hangover.

Moving on, Sunday is my last day of cake school! boo!! (I love calling it cake school for some reason, I will miss that!) I'm bummed, because it has been really great learning all of the (sometimes frustrating) techniques, and sitting and chatting with the girls and guy in class. BUT I am going to like having my Sundays back again.

Tomorrow we (us and a bunch of guys from vfs) are going to Bellingham to consume some delicious Mexican fare and take a peek around the always epic, Bellingham walmart. Very reminiscent of this

Should be lovely.

who wants a 1986 grandma cake?

2009-10-15T22:36:00.000-07:00

SO last class we learned BASKETWEAVE icing techniques. Uh....ok. Not my favorite.

My cake looks pretty rough. The icing was stale and totally overused by the time I got it done.
thanks to amanda for the pic of this hideous creation!

Next class I have to bring a huge batch of royal icing, so I am anticipating fun things, hopefully not daisies though. Damn you daisies!!!! *shakes fist*

Billy graduates NEXT WEEK. I feel like this year has flown by,...it's so bizarre. I am attending his graduation ceremony/reception thing at VFS on Thursday, Im sure there will be some entertaining things to happen.

well hello there,

2009-10-12T08:51:00.001-07:00

well...what do we have here?..

Meet my new best friend... I just got him out of the box and he helped me make these:

and I love him so. His delightful pumpkin coloring, his shiny metal bowl, his EASY to clean-ness.
I hope to keep him around for many years! <3

first EVER bakers market!

2009-10-03T21:56:00.000-07:00

So my venture into 'cupcakery' went pretty well! The baker's market was really cute and it was cool to talk to the other vendors and meet them (AND try their stuff!! mm).

I made just over 80 cupcakes, took me about 8 hours start to finish, hand decorating each one nearly killed me. BUT I did it. The only problem? I should have made WAY MORE.

Yes, I SOLD OUT awkwardly early into the day, but hey, learning curve right?

It was my first time so, meh. I was really surprised they went so fast, and really happy about it, I was totally all "Debbie Downer" thinking that I would have to lug like, 60 cupcakes home with me, because who would want to buy cupcakes from some random girl with cute cake boxes? Turns out, people like my cupcakes, like my cute cake boxes and really liked my logo! Yay!

My table partner/cake school acquaintance/new facebook friend Maureen did really well too, she also sold out! I did a trade and swapped one of mine for one of her red velvet cupcakes with cream cheese frosting..OMG.

I received visits from Dean, Katherine and Lars, whom all made a purchase too! Thanks guys, i heart u.

www.weddingthings.com was the host of the bakers market, it's owned by Connie.
Connie hooks you UP. For real. AMAZING stuff. Im obsessed with stationary and cards, I almost passed out at the amazing little cards and favors. Kinda made me want to get married again.
(To the same guy of course..ha)

some more pics!

Baking like whoa.

2009-09-28T22:15:00.000-07:00

getting ready for this!

Cake School!

2009-09-16T21:49:00.000-07:00

This is one of my cakes! I enrolled in cake decorating classes on a whim one day in the summer, and I had my first class last week. It was great, The class is full of people in their 20's and 30's, so no grandmas wanting to make those ugly doll cakes I have nightmares about, you know the kind

Anyways, We have only just started. but we ended the class last week with learning how to construct a rose. HARD.... RIDICULOUSLY HARD. I failed at this, but I know it will take a long time to master it. A girl in my class is holding a bakers market next month, Im considering maybe renting a table, but I'd like to split it with somebody! So Im looking!

Also...HUGE NEWS......I just ordered a kitchen aid mixer!!!! (GIRLISH SHRIEK!!!!!)
I wanted a red one ideally, but I found a display model on amazon.com and it is orange! So cute! I heart!!! It was a STEAL. They cost about $499 plus taxes and shipping on the kitchen aid site, and I got this one for $223.00 and that includes shipping to Point Roberts. I guess I better tell Billy's mom that it will be showing up sometime next week at her door! SO EXCITING. I have wanted one of these FOR-EVERRRR, and have been pricing them out since August, so needless to say I am doing a happy dance when I think about it's loveliness gracing my kitchen.

I will try and update more as I go through the course, it's early on, so not much to tell.
I have to bring in an 8" iced cake and 8 cupcakes to class on Sunday, as well as 3 containers of different consistency buttercream icings AND my class tool kit. Did I mention that I take a bus, skytrain and have to walk 3 blocks to my class? Yeah. Going to be a challenge for sure.

In other news, not much has been going on, Billy is almost done school, which is crazy to me. I like the friends he has made at school and I hope they continue to stay in contact if they all end up leaving Vancouver, I think he is part of a really good class.

We have gotten hooked on Mad Men as of lately, such a good show. We spent a few sundays watching back to back eposides and catching up. I also learned that my mom watches the show religiously, had no idea. I love the clothes and the furniture. We are going to be characters from it for Halloween, Im going to be Joan and Billy is going to be Roger Sterling

Im looking around for a red wig. Not dying my hair :P

I loooooove halloween and I love fall in general! So excited! Hope we find a fun event this year.

PacMan Cookies!

2009-08-11T19:49:00.000-07:00

An oldy, but a project that I am still so proud of! I hand-formed my own seashell cookie cutter into a pacman ghost for these ones!

I'm feeling a baking project coming on, and Lars's birthday party just happens to be around the corner....I'm playing with fondant now! Should be interesting! *hope I don't crash and burn with this one!!! now that I have announced it via le internets!!*

WOW...uh...I'm a bit late. AWKWARRRRD...

2009-07-21T08:33:00.000-07:00

So I lied to you all when I said "COMING SOON". Bet you didn't think SOON was equivalent to OVER A MONTH. Sorry. I have no good excuse, only the fact that it is still summer, and I have either been:

a.) Out, doin stuff
or
b.) playing too much bejewelled.

ANYWAYS.

"Irish Carbomb" aka Bailey's and Guiness CUPCAKES!!
These were so fun, we went to a beer themed birthday party (the host brews his own and it was just overall fantastic, his hefewiezen (sp.?) was something you'd stab somebody for, it was THAT GOOD.

I basically adapted this recipe here but omitted the whiskey and changed it up a little by actually adding a can of guinness to the cupcake batter itself instead of the traditional wet ingredients.

The frosting I followed to a tee. I didnt use the chocolate ganache filling because I thought they would be sweet enough on their own. Yes.

Ahh. All done. If I had more time I would have searched for my decorating bag and star tip to frost them all pretty-like, but I was un-organized (gasp!) and therefore had to resort to using a knife and doing it up old school.

I didnt write the recipe out because I linked to it if you so desire to make these :)

coming soon...

2009-06-02T08:16:00.000-07:00

irish car bomb (chocolate/guinness and bailey's) cupcakes.

it's been way too hot to even think about turning my stove/oven on! But there is a birthday on Saturday and I have been WAITING for an excuse to make these. Hope they work out :)

what i have been doing (hint: it's not cooking)

2009-05-19T07:31:00.001-07:00

...painting telephone poles!

These photos make me think I have hung them too high, but in real life they are pretty low. Im going to have to do some checking here.
Yeah, we have been doing a LOT of bbq-ing, thus my blog has been quiet, I figure nobody needs to see the 18th bloated veggie dog I have eaten this month. It's not impressive looking.

Amanda and I went to the vancouver flea market and looked around. One man proceeded to show us every single item he was selling, and said nothing other than this one phrase: "And look at this......and look at this......and look at this".Im not sure if it was the only english he knew, but we made an extremely awkward exit. Then it was off to Ikea, and then to Micheal's...we were feeling ambitious. All of this took place before noon. I didn't find anything at the flea market this time, Amanda bought some prints from a dark graphic novel to frame and hang, and then we found 5$ black frames at Micheals. It was a steal. I bought canvases and came home and starting cranking out these babies. Dean had suggested that I do some big ones, and connect the wires. Good plan my friend, I'm going to do more someday.

lemon bars

2009-04-18T09:50:00.000-07:00

i am a baker by heart, cooking is just a front. I thrive when I'm making sugar-y stuff...even when I am staying away from eating it, like now.
Lemon bars are a surprising thing for me, seeing as I spent a good 25 years hating lemon-based desserts. I initially wanted to make these for Billy, he likes that kind of stuff, and they looked easy.

Then I tried one, and I was sold. Lemons are now off the hit list, leaving only pancakes, mushrooms and bananas as things I truly loathe! Do I sound neurotic? meh. These smelled so good that I swore I could hear my neighbors lingering in the hall by my door because anything that makes the hallway smell better than it's usual aroma of "hamburger helper" is like heaven.

These are really easy, even though they are a two-step process, I usually try and stay away from things like that..but this one is so simple, you should definitely make them....

lemon bars

Crust:
1 and 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour
1/4 cup of icing sugar
1/4 teaspoon of salt
1/2 cup of butter, cut into small pieces and chilled in the fridge

Making the crust:
Preheat your oven to 350 F, line a square pan with tinfoil (I used an 8x8 glass baking dish)
and leave some foil hanging over the edges so you can remove the bars easily. In a medium bowl, sift together flour, salt and sugar and mix them up well. Scatted the pieces of cutter over the dry mixture and use either a pastry cutter or something like that to work the butter in (I don't have a pastry cutter so I used a gigantic fork) until it resembles coarse crumbs. Press the crumbly mixture into the foil lined pan, make sure it's evenly pressed in, don't make the corners higher etc. Bake the crust for about 15-20 minutes or until you see it turning golden brown..don't worry about cracks, they are no big deal with these. Your kitchen should smell like shortbread-y goodness by now...lock your doors.

lemon part:
4 large eggs
1 and 1/4 cups of regular sugar ("granulated" if you are fancy pants)
2 tablespoons of lemon zest (grated from 2 whole lemons)
1/2 cup of lemon juice (again, from the 2 whole lemons)
1/4 cup of all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon of salt
icing sugar for dusting on top

making the lemon part:
wash and re-use your medium sized bowl from making the crust, less clean up = happy.
In that bowl, rub the lemon zest into the sugar with either your fingers or a big wooden spoon, I used the spoon because I'm weird about hands + mixing things. The sugar will turn a lovely shade of pale yellow. Beat in the eggs, then the lemon juice, sift the flour and salt over the surface and mix them in. Pour the topping over the baked crust (it's ok if the crust is still hot from the oven) and continue baking for 25 or so minutes, or until you see the top is set and not sloshing around. Pull it out and cool. Dust with the icing sugar before slicing!

chili-lime chicken

2009-04-15T22:03:00.000-07:00

This chicken is unreal. I love the flavor of sweet chili mixed with lime...next time I make this, I am going to use a whole chicken (minus the terror this time) and even try barbecuing with this combination. I think that this chicken will become a staple for me, it was easy as hell, and super super good. I'm sure I will discover many chicken recipes as I go, that is because I don't eat red meat or pork, and I'm only a turkey fan when it's done for occasions like Thanksgiving, Christmas, etc. Things like "Turkey Tacos" etc..never do it for me because ground turkey is always disappointing and dry. Anyways, back to the chili-lime chicken...

chili-lime chicken

I used 2 large chicken breasts (next time: whole thing! for sure)
1 lime
1 tablespoon of butter (recipe called for room temperature)
1/2 tsp of both salt and pepper
1/4 tsp of hot chili flakes (If you are like me and couldn't find these, use some chili seasoning and a dash of sweet chili sauce, found in the Asian foods section of a grocery store)

Pre-heat your oven to 375 degrees F.
Grate the peel from your lime into a bowl (use the whole lime) this made my apartment smell like a frat house doing tequila shots!
Stir in the butter, and add your chili 'situation'. Whisk that into a rub/sauce.
Place the chicken in a baking dish (I used a glass pie dish)
Pour the sauce/rub all over to coat the chicken, cut your lime into thick slices and toss them on top of the chicken, and put that guy in the oven, I covered mine in foil for the first 20 minutes, then removed the foil for the last 10-15 minutes, I just kept basting it and checking it with my meat thermometer until it was done. I served it on a BED of orzo. Haha..."bed"...I'm fancy.

This summer I vow to be obsessed with all things lime.

Buffalo Chicken Pizza

2009-04-11T20:09:00.000-07:00

On friday I went downtown and shopped around with Dean and Harry. We went for lunch and they split a buffalo chicken pizza, and I haven't been able to get the image of that thing out of my head. Looked so good, I should have ordered the same thing, but I decided to make it instead!

I am sort of combining two recipes found online together, and modifying it a bit and making it my own...it's going to be okay though so calm down..I feel like I might know what the hell I'm doing by now. (HA). I am using pre-made dough though (Jamie Oliver makes it look so easy to make dough, yet I am still hesitant.) Im a pansy. Whatever.

Buffalo Chicken Pizza (aka HOT hottness in pizza form)

2 large chicken breasts (cut into pieces deemed appropriate for pizza eating)
Frank's Red Hot original sauce (or something equally potent)
2 tbsp melted butter
a bunch of grated cheese (I'm using mozzarella and cheddar)
ranch dressing or blue cheese dressing
diced celery (I am currently lacking this ingredient...and might call the husband to pick some up on his way home)

While cleaning my horrendously small kitchen, I let the chicken marinate in the fridge, in frank's red hot sauce for about 30 minutes. Prep time!
Grate the cheese (loudly singing along to ipod hip-hop based playlist is optional)
If you had celery, you would be chopping it up into bite sized pieces at this time.
Prepare the dough if applicable (ie: read directions on can. Nothing gets by you!)

I had a can of pretty basic pizza sauce, which I added a few tablespoons of frank's to, just to spice it up a bit and match the pizza. You could do a pizza sauce with just frank's and your dressing of choice, but I didn't feel like going that route. My weak Canadian taste buds might expolde from the heat. I coated the baked pizza dough in the sauce and layered it with the cooked chicken and cheese mixture. Slide that sucka in the oven at 400 degrees and I just watch it until it bubbles.
When it is done, drizzle some of the frank's and the ranch/or blue cheese on top. So good...would have been way better with celery, but ah well.

Deliciousness.

Let's talk about Pancakes

2009-03-23T20:53:00.001-07:00

AND WHY I HATE THEM...Pancakes are such garbage. They LOOK good, but it's all a TRICK ..... You eat one, and it's like "Yeah OK, that was alright, a big, dry cake-y thing saturated in syrup.....ahhh...I guess I'll go for another"...and then it just spirals out of control, and before you know it, you are lying in a pool of syrup, and Aunt Jemima is jamming the syringe to your arm like a junkie in an alley, sweat, beading off of her kerchief...!!!

Ok so I went a little off the wall there,(Im almost seriously considering writing a novel about Aunt Jemima and Uncle Ben being shifty big-city types) but seriously, Pancakes always seem like a good idea, but what the hell do they do in your stomach? Triple in size? I could eat 2 of those things and almost immediately, I feel like absolute crap, it's like a pancake hangover. Everybody I know says the same thing! Pancakes are trickery!! Nobody feels good after pancakes. It's a proven scientific fact. (If I was a scientist and proved stuff). If Im out for breakfast and I overhear some idiot ordering a giant stack of pancakes, I almost want to scream out "YOU IDIOT....WHAT ABOUT WAFFLES..OR FRENCH TOAST??? UGH...YOU A WASTE OF SKIN!". Yes, I am passionate about my pancake hating, and may infact, suffer from PANCAKE INDUCED RAGE. (CAPS LOCK MAKES IT ANGRIER!!!!@#$%) .

Ahh...Ok that was my insane rant of the year. Not bad. Im pretty laid back, except when it comes to pancakes.

Crepes however, are delightful.

I am alive, I swear.

2009-03-20T07:28:00.000-07:00

wow, havent updated in foreverrrrr.

I HAVE made a few successful meals, one is on the fence, and that would be the tortilla soup I threw together last night. SOMETHING is missing, but I can't put my finger on it. Maybe it just needed some shredded chicken...or cheese? Do people make soup with cheese?? Anyways, the reason I made soup, was because I discovered that the lovely giant stainless steel rice cooker we got as a wedding gift, also doubles as a slow cooker/crock pot! I love me some 2-in 1's. I didnt take any pics of the soup, as my camera battery was dead (pro tip: don't accidentally leave your camera on for 3 days..oops).
Here's a pic of tortilla soup that I stole care of google image search.
OK well I guess that answers my question about the cheese situation. Crap. Also mine is not RED like that. What in gods name did I do wrong?? ah well. I only have a metric ton of soup to polish off. Great.
Bah. Next time I going to post the fabulous salmon I made. Also Easter is coming up and I will definitely be making cookies. Ahh...safe, safe cookies.

chicken...success!

2009-02-17T21:36:00.001-08:00

I ROASTED A CHICKEN.

At first it was scary...like this guy...

And then, after a bit of hesitation, I finally was able to suck it up and get this bad boy going.
I don't really have a recipe, but I used the internet and various calls to my mom as my reference and came up with the following:

wash chicken, look inside it to check for stuff
rub it with butter (creeeepy)
season it with lots of salt, pepper and chicken rub
toss it in a pan (or dish) and cover it loosely with tinfoil and roast it at 350 degrees and 20 minutes per pound. (mine was just over 4lbs and took about just under 2 hours)

No basting, (good because I don't have a turkey baster)
I did tie the legs together with dental floss though because do you think I could find a piece of sting anywhere? no. So I like to think I am the Macgyver of chicken making.

Anyways, long story short...chicken was awesome and super moist (hate that word)

I also made mashed potatoes and I even made gravy with the juices from the chicken.

Notice the lack of any vegetables. This was truly a Lars meal (Lars only eats brown stuff)

thanks to my mom (maker of amazing chicken) for helping me via the telephone!

chicken. scares. me

2009-02-16T18:39:00.000-08:00

So I am roasting a chicken currently...(post to come later)

Now, I have not handled many a whole chicken, my mom tried her best to teach me how to cook, but I never was really that interested in it, and then I left home.

.........Roasting chickens feel like naked dead baby-type things. There. I said it. I'm sorry.

I am traumatized. BUT...I managed to get it into a pan with my eyes squeezed shut and little shrieking, and I only dropped it once..(in the sink, people...it's FINE). When I actually started to season it and stuff, the whole "freaking out about the naked baby-ness" thing faded and I am now looking forward to eating him. Plus it's starting to smell really good in here, my husband is going to be surprised :)

So we will see how this all turns out...

valentines day cookies

2009-02-10T19:09:00.000-08:00

I really am not great at updating this. I am not a good blogger. Ah well..
I have actually made a few dinners, but I was too busy or too lazy to document it.

However, who dosent love cookies?

I use this old sugar cookie recipe from the 50's. It's classic and surprisingly easy.

Sugar Cookies

1 1/2 cups of flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 cup butter (I used salted, because un-salted gives me the creeps)
1/2 cup of sugar
1 egg yolk; slightly beaten
3 tablespoons of milk
1/2 teaspoon of vanilla

Mix dry ingredients together. In a bigger bowl, cream butter and add sugar gradually. Add egg yolk to butter and sugar and mix well. Add the dry ingredients alternately with milk, and add vanilla. Get the dough into a ball and throw it in the fridge to chill (I did for about an hour).

Roll out on a floured surface and cut out your shapes! Bake on an ungreased cookie sheet @ 375 degrees F for 8-10 minutes. I watch them carefully though, since every oven is different. Mine happens to burn stuff, so I get them out at closer to 8 mins.

*you get about 25 or so cookies.

There you have it. The icing is just egg whites with icing sugar and cream of tartar. It hardens up nicely. Im gonna sell some of these in little boxes at my parents ice cream and candy shop. If they don't sell, guess all my friends will be getting cookies this weekend :)

Sunday Morning Waffles!

2009-01-18T21:06:00.000-08:00

Yeah so waffles aren't exactly cooking, but it's something alright!?

Actually, I did make chicken enchiladas from scratch on Tuesday night, but forgot to take pics, and then the enchiladas were gone before I even had a chance to look at them.

Anyways, I got a waffle maker from my brother for Christmas and I have used it a ton. I know waffle makers get a bad rap, they take up space and how often do people seriously make waffles?
Well I actually make them every couple weeks, they are so much more awesome then pancakes (I LOATHE pancakes..they are always SUCH a cruel disappointment..more on that another time)
Waffles freeze well, then, it's like homemade eggos, just toast them and go! Love that.

Basic Waffles

2 cups of flour
1 tbsp. sugar
3 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
3 eggs (separated)
1 1/2 cups of milk
5 tbsp. melted butter

Mix dry ingredients in a large bowl, mix egg yolks, milk, melted butter and sugar in another bowl. Add milk/egg yolk mixture to the dry mix.
In another bowl, beat egg whites until they hold shape. Fold egg whites into the batter and mix. EASY right?

I make them a little lighter than usual, only due
to the fact that they will be toasted later and get
darker.YUM. I cut squares of parchment paper
and layer it between the waffles before throwing
them in large ziploc bags and tossing them in the
freezer. I like these so much, that I don't even
care that my kitchen looks like a truck hit it when
I'm done. A truck filled with waffle batter...

italian stuffed artichokes

2009-01-12T21:00:00.000-08:00

oh my. Ok. Im totally cheating here. I KNOW how to make these things. So I'm not really learning anything per say, I just wanted to start off on a good note and not screw something up for my very first posting. These things have become a staple in our list of "things for dinner". Billy says he could eat these every night and never ever get sick of them. I don't know about
that...buuut...they are so so good, and SUPER easy once you get the swing of it. Artichokes may look daunting and cactus-y, but they are a gentle beast indeed. These ones are the baby variety, we usually go for the big suckers, but the wee ones were on sale, so what the hell right? That means I can eat 2 of them. And pretend I'm a giant at the same time. Multi-tasker.

Anyways..I'll get to it now...

Italian Stuffed Artichokes

Stuffing:
1 Container/Can (whatever) of Seasoned or Italian Bread Crumbs
1/2 cup of Romano Cheese, finely grated
1/2 cup of fresh parmesan cheese, finely grated

1/2 cup of chopped green onions

1/2 cup of chopped fresh parsley
1 clove of garlic, minced
1 tablespoon of salt
1/2 tablespoon of black pepper
1/2 tablespoon of cayenne pepper

2 large artichokes (or 4 wee little ones!)
extra virgin olive oil
1 large lemon

(the bread crumb mixture lasts like, 2 weeks in the fridge, so you can make more artichokes tomorrow!! and thursday! and sunday!...)

Stuffing (bread crumb mixture)

Throw it all in a large bowl and toss! HOW EASY is that I ask you??! (I usually funnel it back into the bread crumb container it came in, they have good lids and I am usually lacking tupperware anyways)

Cut the tops of the artichokes off, I hack away at it until I see some purple inside. Then, grab some scissors and snip the little spiked ends off of the leaves (if any) that are remaining. Spread the leaves out as much as you can without busting up the whole thing. They need to be open enough to fill with stuffing.

At this point, you will want to start boiling the water. The trick to these, is that you are steaming them, therefore they need to be above the water. We have one of those pasta pots that have a built-in strainer, it works great, we can fill the bottom of the pot with about 2 inches of water, and the strainer will sit just above that containing the artichokes. If you don't have one of these, you will have to improvise, we used to use two small mugs inside of a pot, and sit each artichoke on top of the mug to keep them above the water. There are tons of ways to do it. Just make sure you can still have the lid on the pot, tightly.

Cover the artichokes with the stuffing, I mean really jam it in there, open each leaf and pile it in.
When they are all stuffed, I line them up in a dish and pour a tiny bit of olive oil, just a drizzle. Top each arichoke with a slice of lemon.

Turn the boiling pot to medium heat , and set a timer, or remember to check on the water level after the artichokes have been in for about 15 or 20 minutes. When the water gets low, refill it so it's always at just below where the artichokes sit.

They take about an hour, so sit down and watch some TV or go creep people on facebook.

Final product:

Remove the lemons, and melt a little butter in the microwave, add a little bit of lemon to the butter and it's a meal with a job, which I love, I don't eat crab or lobster, but I was always intrigued by the work it involves, all of the cracking, and dipping it butter, you really have to WORK for it. Same thing goes with these, you pull the leaves off, dip them in the melted lemon butter and scrape the leaves clean!

Good times. Thanks to my husband and mother in law for showing me the goodness that is stuffed artichokes.

I have no idea what I will make next time. I guess I will have to start planning it out. I'd like to try something Mexican I think, but we shall see.

zzzz

first post ever!! dun dun dunnnn...

2009-01-12T18:01:00.001-08:00

I'm using this blog to document my journey into learning how to cook! I can make basic things, but after more than 4 years of having my (now full-time student) husband do all of the cooking, it's time to fend for myself...scary. I will post my successful and not so successful attempts, complete with photos, as I am trying to use my camera more often now.