Christmas

So overall I would say we had an okay Christmas. But there were some events beyond our control which dampened the mood.

Anyway, here goes. For Christmas we got ourselves a TV...a surround system...and an XBox. Okay, basically Mike and Chris went to the future shop unsupervised and bought the whole store. Here are Unos and I enjoying "The Grinch" on the new TV.
Here I am beside our little tree with all the presents around it. Thanks everyone for everything!














Here is Mike opening a present on Christmas morning.

However our Christmas was interrupted to take a very sick Tala to the emergency veterinary hospital. She was vomiting and um...going to the batrhoom...every hour or so for a few days. She was waking us up 3 times a night and now she wasn't eating...anything...and things where red that shouldn't ever be red.
So here is Tala at the clinic. Three hours and $250 later, Christmas day resumed. I made Christmas dinner with a chicken instead of turkey (we like chicken better), stuffing, potatoes, carrots, gravy, cranberry sauce and Lindt chocolates for dessert.
After dinner I wanted to go for a walk to Stanley Part to see how bad the storm had affected the park. On our way we came across this piece of a building that had fallen off during one of the wind storms.







This next picture is of the seawall and the beach along which we walk to get to Stanley Park.

Here is an example of the carnage that is throughout the park. There are 3 huge trees where the roots had simply been ripped out of the ground from the force of the wind. The root base of these trees is about the size of a child's plastic wading pool.
It is going to take the parks department a long time to clean up the mess and this national landmark won't be the same for generations.



However, the ducks and the geese don't seem to care, they were swimming along in the lagoon feeding on bread crumbs.

Well that was our first Christmas away from NB and hopefully next year everyone will be well. See you in the New Year!

Nice Bathroom

Okay, I haven't written a blog in a while, but I've been busy.

This will be short one. A few weekends ago, Chris, Mike and I went to this nice club for dinner and drinks.

The place was pretty posh and the bathrooms were beautiful. Now maybe I am a hick for doing this but I couldn't get over the toilet. If you look closely there is plastic wrap around the seat and when you press a button the old wrap gets pulled around the seat so you get a fresh clean seat. The button on the floor flushes the toilet so you never have to touch it. I actually took a video I was sooo facinated.
Here is Chris and Mike...and myself and Mike.

This place had the best spinach salad I've had in years and tasty martinis.

We definitely have to go back.

Christmas Parties

Hi everyone,

I am just blogging about last weekend now, because it was a very busy weekend and a busy week followed.

On Friday we had my Office Christmas party and on Saturday we had Mike's. The two parties were very unique, but both very fun. Mine was at "SIP" which is a tapas restaurant and bar. Waitresses, circled the crowd with everything from sushi to crab cakes and there was an open bar as well. Everyone indulged a little too heavily, but we had a great time. Here myself and a project manager break out the bubbly to pour for a Christmas toast. Our CTO is in the background ordering more to make sure every glass if full.
Michael's Christmas party was at a very posh restaurant in Yaletown called "Brixx". The restaurant features a beautiful outdoor terrace which is kept warm with propane heaters. We enjoyed a 4 course meal with elegant appetizers. Everything from duck to salmon. We both chose the beef tenderloin which more than lived up to its name and I had a decadent chocolate moose for dessert. After dinner, the party was moved to a bar next door where we played pool for hours and the festivities continued well into the night. Mike is quite an avid pool player, but just bad enough not to win against his boss ;) All employees received a $50 gift certificate to the Keg. We have a Keg across from us on Granville Island, and will have to make an evening of it. I really like the co-workers at both our offices. They are all very fun and interesting people.

However, I sure do miss the old pot luck GNB XMas parties at Dooleys. I mean where was the under $10 gift swap?? I feel cheated... ;)
Again we have been getting some odd weather in Van City (global warming??). I had planned to go to Bright Nights in Stanley Park this weekend (A Christmas light show all through the park done by the Vancouver firefighters to benefit the burn unit) to get into the Christmas spirit, but due to a storm with very high winds, the exhibit is a bit of a mess and is closed until further notice. I have been enjoying the Christmas lights here all the same. One thing that is quite different are the Cranes that are dressed up for the holidays. Because of the booming construction market here, the sky is dotted with Cranes. For the holidays the construction companies cover their cranes with Christmas lights and it is pretty cool to see their colorful outlines marking the horizon.
Also, because I live by the water, boat owners decorate the masts of their sale boats/yaughts to look like Christmas trees and many owners really do an awesome job.

While Mike and I eat supper, we watch the decked out boats float by oooing and ahhhing. I took some pictures but they don't show up well at night.





Just outside our building in the park they have decorated the huge pillars with lights and set up a large Christmas tree. They have the lighting rigged so that the huge candles flicker.

Here we have an all Xmas radio station which I am listening to. "Christmas Time in the City" is playing right now which is somewhat of a coincidence...

We didn't bother to get cable yet, but Mike has been a real sweetheart and has downloaded National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation, the Grinch (old cartoon version of course) , the Rudolph claymation cartoom movie and A Christmas Story for me. A little wine, chocolate, and hor d'oeuvres and my NB web cam and I'll be all set for XMas ;)

Chris and Rain have generously donated their artificial tree to us as they can get a real one this year (live trees aren't permitted in buildings because of the mess)

Here is my Christmas tree. I think I should take a picture during the day as the evening picture makes it look a little spindly.

I've decorated it with my gorgeous Aiken's Pewter ornaments (that was a great idea Dad, you've really started a good tradition there by giving us all a unique yet connected base for decorating our Christmas trees. I appreciate that now even if I may have once thought it corny).

I have been so busy that I have a hard time believing that Christmas is only 9 days away. I hadn't even gotten around to sending my presents yet thinking I had plenty of time. I apologize if anything gets there late, but I am a novice at this long distance Christmas gift giving.

Love you all, until next week,

My Birthday

Hi Everyone,

My birthday was yesterday and it was my first birthday, I believe, out of the Maritimes.

So the celebrations were a little bit different, and somewhat long distance, but I still had a great day.

On another note, as you know we've been getting some odd weather in Vancouver.

Although things are back to normal now, we first experienced high winds which caused the water supply to be contaminated with silt. As a precaution, a boil order was ordered which lasted almost two weeks. Soon after this, we had a snow storm as you can see from the picture above.

This may not look like much of a storm to Maritimers, but Vancouver is not well equipped to deal with snow and as such, the roads were a mess and many Vancouverites lost power which was not restored for days in some areas. This was the case for our friends Chris and Rain who were without power for almost 3 days and slept over a couple of nights at our place. We were happy to have them after staying with them for so long when we arrived.

On a brighter note I'll tell you about my birthday. Mom and Dad sent me a great package with presents from them, Heather and Nanny and Grampie. Thank you all very much.

I love the beautiful earrings that Heather made me and the book is a great read. I've worn the jogging suit Mom and Dad got me several times already and I certainly put the check Nanny and Grampie gave me to good use!

First thing when I woke up, Mike gave me his birthday present which was this awesome pink nano ipod. I am getting the hang of using it and am listening to some vintage U2 as I type.
Then I took the ferry over to Granville Island (it was a beautiful day) and picked up my trendy rubber boots. They are sooo comfortable and are great for the slush and rain.

I used to think that my favorite color was blue but, that seems to have changed somewhere along the way to pink and red...I'm beginning to look like a Valentine's day card.

After picking up my boots, I decided to have a day of pampering for my old bones ;) so while Mike took the dogs to Pacific Spirit park with Chris and Rain I went to a tanning session, got a pedicure and a manicure and then went to the gym before dinner.

Here are a couple of shots of the nail place I went to. It is called the "Pure Nail Bar" and it is just a few minutes from my building. The couches and comfy chairs are for customers getting pedicures.

I had never had a pedicure or a manicure before in my 26 years, so it was quite an experience and I loved it. I think I will do it more often for special occasions. It was very relaxing. There were aromatic candles lit, you can buy beverages and even bring your own.
Here is the actual bar where finger nails are done. That TV plays Sex and the City perpetually and I never watched that show, but it is hilarious. I can see what all the hype was about and I want to get the HBO copies of the series.

I did witness some women who obviously get this treatment regularly. From their conversations they don't seem to work and are married to very rich men. Their days are spent shopping, eating well, getting fit, vacationing and primping. Hmmm, sounds good to me, but it must get kind of boring... or maybe not.
So here are my toe nails drying. They soak your feet and hands, trim nails, file them, push back cuticles, trim the skin around your nails, loofah your heels and toe pads and finally massage your feet and hands. Then they are ready to apply a nail strengthener, 2 coats of polish that you pick from a rainbow of colors, a top coat and then a setting spray.

It was sooo relaxing and luxurious, it made me feel like a million bucks. I also got to pick a free bottle of polish.
After my pedi/mani (as they call it), I went to the gym and just got in a 30 minutes of cardio before Mike called to say that he, Chris, Rain and our doggies were leaving to come by our place for drinks before we went out for dinner.

Chris and Rain got me these awesome booty slippers at MEC which I totally needed and love. I've been wearing them all day. They are super comfy, warm and an awesome color ;)
They also got me a bottle of wine and this Entertainment Coupon booklet for Vancouver. This book is awesome. It is full of really useful coupons to restaurants, events, retailers, services, etc. We already saved $5 on groceries at safeway. This thing is sooo going to help us in our quest to do and see as much as we possibly can here. Thanks guys! It was way too much, but I love it all!
So after drinks, it was back on the ferry to Granville Island and to the Sandbar. The Sandbar is a trendy and fairly upscale seafood bar.

Here you see the menu and the fresh catch list. All the punched out dots are their fresh fish items. I have to say, one thing that you don't get here is fresh lobster. I'll definitely be one of those people you see bringing the lobster cartons on the plane as carry on every time I visit the Maritimes for sure.
We got a couple of delicious appetizers to start off and I got the seafood penne. It was delish. This drink was so pretty I just had to take a picture and it's pink! Go figure.

We shared a decadent chocolate truffle slice of cake for dessert and finished off with special coffee.

Yum! Yum!
So here I am 26 years old with my cutie livin' it up on the West Coast!

Until next post everyone, have a great week!

Scotch Fest

Hi Everyone. Last weekend, Mike and I attended Hopscotch with some of the guys from my work.

This is Vancouver's annual Scotch, Whisky and Beer Festival.

First we went to a restaurant and then off to Hopscotch.

Basically you buy a ticket which comes with some tokens and then you go around sampling the different Scotches and beers.

Different vendors pass out treats to go along with their drink such as ribs, nuts and chocolates.

We had a great time, but the batteries ran out on my camera, so I only ended up with one picture.


Here is Mike and a couple of my coworkers sampling the scotches and even taking notes.

I'm not big on Scotch. It's a little harsh for me, but I did like Glenlivet and Jack Daniels Black Label.

I don't know if I would try this again next year, although I think Mike will, but I hear there is a similar festival for wine which I would be interested in.



Also that weekend we pretty much finished up getting our furniture.

I think the living room is looking much nicer.

Circle Craft Christmas Craft Market

This weekend Rain and I went to the Circle Craft Christmas Craft Market. It is a huge craft show showcasing artisans from Vancouver and the surrounding areas.

There were jewelers, painters, photographers, potters, seamstresses, leather workers, carpenters, chocolatiers, etc.

It was a great place to buy Christmas presents and a great blog post, however when I went to take my first picture, I realized that my battery was back at home in the charger. However, all is not lost, I have taken some pictures of our purchases and will explain a bit of what I saw.







There were many booths, where some of the artisans were demonstrating their craft. There was a glass blower and here is a top that was made right in front of us.

It started out as a hunk of wood and he placed it on a machine that was spinning quickly and applied several tools to it.

For the color, he simply held a marker to it and then used a tool to cut out the areas around it to make the rings.


Take a close look at these chocolates that Rain bought for her grandmother. You may not be able to see, but each one is a work of art. Some have little stars, holly, writing, coffee beans, etc. stamped on them. They almost look too good to eat.

All of the vendors selling food stuffs like nuts, chocolate, jelly, sauces were giving out samples as well. We got quite the little delicious snack just passing through.



Here is another example of some of the yummy things they were selling. This is a dark chocolate, butter crunch and it is out of this world!

I may be sending a package of this yummy confection to some lucky family ;)














Here is a teriyaki sauce that I bought. It is good in stir-fry, as a marinade and as a salad dressing.

I used some last night and it was fantastic!














My walls are quite bare at the moment and this was a great place to find some art. Much of it was far out of my price range, but some were quite reasonable.

Here are a couple of pieces that I bought. Can you guess what they are? This couple collects seaweed then goes through this very elaborate and time consuming process to dye it and dry it and then pastes it to canvas. I thought they were very pretty and will hang them in my bathrooms, where they will be at home :)


Here is another piece that I came home with. I plan on hanging it in my kitchen. They are tiny little hot chili peppers which have been dried and mounted.

Aren't they cute? She also had asparagus, radish, artichoke, red peppers, oranges, etc.














Here is a little Christmas ornament. These are all hand blown and every one is a complete original. Very pretty when the light shines through.










Here is a leather, "magic wallet" which I bought for Mike. He was very happy to get it as the plastic one he was carrying around was falling apart.

If you place a bill or piece of paper in the wallet and then open it from the other side, the elastics fold around the paper, holding it securely.






When Rain and I were done at the craft fair, (after 4 hours of shopping) Chris picked us up and we all went out for dinner at Yaletown Brewing Company. Michael says the beer is good!










Until next weekend everyone!

Cheers,

Andrea & Michael

Granville Market

Hi everyone! This weekend I am blogging about the Granville Market. I went in search of umbrellas and rain boots and some nice bread, wine and deli. I took the little ferry to the other side which took me about 3 minutes of walking and a minute in the ferry.

Here is one of the fresh produce centres. If you can't find it here, it doesn't exist!

There is one main market and then dozens of little shops around it.


Here is a very colorful candy store.

If I had one of these handy growing up, I think I would have a lot more fillings!










Here is one of my new favorite shops, the dessert bakery.

So many beautiful decadent choices!










Another candy store, they specialize in homemade suckers.












And sooo many gorgeous flowers. When I get a vase ;) , I will come back often to get my flowers.

Such a fun way to brighten up your day and make you smile!













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I can also get all sorts of fresh meat, seafood, cheese, bread and deli here. Yum, yum, yum!












Here is the little food court area. One change here is the amount of Asian inspired restaurants.

I am getting good at using my chopsticks. Some places don't provide cutlery. You'd have to ask and you look very uncool doing so ;)








Another thing that is kind of different around here is the way they pile fruit to the skies.

You see it everywhere and they do it so quickly with such agility.









Look at the stripes on this fresh pasta. I wonder how they do that?

So much of this stuff looks too good to eat!










There are also tons of places that sell pottery, jewelery, clothing, etc. A great place to buy gifts.












Clothing













Art













Beads, hmmm, I think someone I know likes to work with beads...












And finally, umbrellas. So many colors and styles to choose from. I went for practical and got Mike and I each a black umbrella that is a good brand.

They are compact, open and close at the touch of a button and are supposed to be quite durable and wind resistant.....then I broke down and bought one of the pretty ones as well. I couldn't help myself!





Love it! A true Vancouverite with my hot pink umbrella!












I found the rubber boot place, but it was closed :(

Oh well, looks like I have to come back...what a chore ;)

Aren't they super cute? The pink ones will match my umbrella!

Well that was a snapshot of Granville Market. What a fun place! I will be coming back there often. They are open every day until 7PM!

Until next week everyone!