Cuteness

Do ya love these socks I picked up at a Chinese market a while back? There are a couple of LV knock offs, a pair of Coach knock offs, a pair of Paul Frank (knock offs, of course) and my favourite, the pair I'm wearing. I adored Doraemon when I was a kid. I watched to show religiously - I even remember the Japanese lyrics to this day!

Speaking of cuteness, my Pez collection is growing. Sanrio Pez!

And if this just isn't enough cute stuff, you can always visit Cute Overload. Enjoy.

I Heart Ugly Betty

After a marathon viewing session, I've finally caught up and watched all three episodes of Ugly Betty. I love the quirkiness of this show. Vanessa Williams is perfect as the villain. And America is adorable.

I was so looking forward to a makeover episode and it happened last night. Unforuntaely, it wasn't the makeover I was hoping for. It was the predictable bad makeover that only Betty Suarez could end up having. Someday...

I know the show is very old school formula - bad guy tries to sabotage the good guy, good guy thinks it's over, then the hero saves the day. But it's so intentionally cheesy that you can't help but love it.

Apparently America was on Ellen on October 11th. If I had tickets to the Ellen Show for October 10th, would I have been at that taping? Drat! Tiger Woods was there too. And so was this guy.

All I Can Think About is Food!

Inspired by all of the delicious looking meals on this blog, I decided to make a VERY simple Japanese supper. I was so hungry when I got home that I wanted something really fast and easy so I made: instant miso soup, rice, cucumber and tomato salad, sauteed button and oyster mushrooms in soy soy sauce and a fried egg. When I went shopping yesterday, I saw some chanterelle mushrooms, but for $20 a pound, they didn't look so good. They seemed old and shrivelly so I passed on them. It's too bad because this is usually the peak of mushroom season here. I guess we haven't been having enough rain (but I should be careful what I wish for because it's supposed to be a lousy weekend).

After supper, I had a taste of this "ice cream" that I first heard mentioned on this blog. Although it tasted ok (like chai), I have to say, I'm not a big fan of the rice dream texture. Now that I'm somewhat of an ice cream connaisseur (with my own ice cream maker and all), this stuff just doesn't have that same je ne sais quoi that true ice cream has. I won't be rushing back to the market to get more.

I have another meeting tomorrow. So what does that mean? Another cake of course! But after so much bad luck with cakes, I decided that I would just buy a mix. Last night we went to Whole Foods and I picked up this Dr. Oetker Organics Brownie Mix. Tomorrow will be the taste test - but should I tell them that I made it from scratch???

Finally, while I'm on the topic of food, have you ever tried these pretzel buns? Apparently Swiss Bakery has been in Vancouver for over ten years!! How could I have never known about this place. These pretzel buns and so beyond!!!

Childhood Dream Come True?

Okay, okay - go ahead and stick a big fat "L" on my forehead for I am a Loser. But ever since I was a kid dragging my parents to Ikea (because they 'had no use for cheap Swedish furniture'), I wanted this mini greenhouse. Of course, I had no use for it then so I never bought it. Then when I got a place of my own, I looked for it and they didn't carry it anymore. Well, when I spotted one on the weekend, I grabbed it. But I'm not sure I have a use for it now! Now that I actually have it, I don't think it looks that great. I'm really not liking how the bottom tray doesn't sit flat. Maybe I'll buy some herbs and see how they last in this thing.

Wacky Wheels

I went shopping downtown with my mom on Saturday. We checked out Book-Off - they had a decent selection of Japanese craft books and a huge array of Japanese cookbooks. We then stopped at Sophia Books (where I picked up some Blythe postcards to decorate my office with) and Dressew (great place for Halloween costumes). On the way to lunch, I saw this...

People stopped in their tracks to gawk at this thing. It was crazy - it even had a water fountain inside! Here's the deal.

Thanks Dad!

It's great to have a dad who's really handy around the house. Earlier this week, he came to my place and installed this nifty holder for my shower head. Now I don't have to kill myself trying to reach up for the darn thing.

I am certain that my next bathroom installation will be a Washlet. A washlet is basically a Japanese invention - an electronic bidet if you will. I can totally appreciate how some of you balk at the idea of a bidet, but I promise you, what they say is true: once you go bidet, you never go back!

And just in time for the cooler temps, my fireplace has been fixed! The flames look pretty pathetic in the picture, but take my word for it, it works and I love it!

Evolution of a Cake

Unbelievable -- this is the second time this week that I purchased/made a cake for no reason. On Saturday, I bought a huge slab tuxedo cake from Save-on-Foods as part of a post-group-skydive celebratory feast. Well, the weather sucked so the skydive never happened, therefore, I got stuck with the cake!

Then last night, I made this cake in preparation for a post-mortem meeting I was supposed to be hosting at work tomorrow. I project managed a big event last week and made the cake as a 'thank you' to my team. Unfortunately, a couple of key players had to cancel so I had to postpone the meeting. So once again, I'm stuck with a cake. Oh well, this one's really good...

With fall comes an abundance of apples and for me, a craving for spices (last weekend, I went to one of those big box shopping centres and the aromas that wafted out of Linens 'n Things and Michaels just got to me). This cake is perfect for this time of year and it's a great way to use up all those apples!

Terrific Toes

Yippeeee!!! Someone cancelled their appointment at Bloom Essentials so I got in! I love these tiny blossoms.

A so-called friend told me I should get a mini extreme makeover during my week off between jobs...the wheels are in motion...

Parting Gift

One of my ultra-talented friends put together this super cool gift basket that has everything I'll need when I start my new job next week. She even made the card and cute gift tag. I'm so lucky :)

Back on Track

Pan seared red snapper and brown rice. Not bad.