Tuesday 29 November 2011

A Day in the City

Today was spent mostly outside. We couldn't have picked a better day to spend outdoors. It was a cold damp day, and wet at that! Hah!

What was really nice though is having the opportunity to visit local community resources and getting to spend quality time with people at work.

Lunch was spent just talking about nothing in particular and everything in general.

Soup, Salad & Garlic Toast Lunch
(Thai Chicken and Rice Soup & Cowboy Salad)



The food was ok.


A conversation piece, alright. I like...


Catches you off guard, that's for sure.


Indeed!

And since we were in the area, we thought we'd check out the market.

... a nice reminder of a more sunny time...
wonder where it came from?
who-plant (I think)


Now, it's beginning to look a lot like wet Christmas...

Almost Hump Day, yay!

Sunday 27 November 2011

Christmas Shopping

I happen to fall into that category of people who don't start their Christmas shopping until they have to. Granted, not so much a last-minute shopper, but neither am I one to shop year round looking out for Christmas gifts. I usually give myself a month. I guess you could say almost in tune with Black Friday shopping, even before I heard of Black Friday.

Maybe it's just me but I treat Christmas shopping like I do my own shopping, which means I usually have a kinda' sorta' plan when I step into a store. The only thing with a kinda' sorta' plan that I have is that nothing's set in stone. So, I could be thinking I'm looking for a belt, for example, and come out of the store with a dress, which could translate to anywhere between 1/2 an hour to an hour looking for a belt and probably 15 minutes on the dress. HAH!

Now, with Christmas shopping, or just like any shopping meant for other people, there is the added pressure (that I add personally, because I'm sane that way) of putting myself into the other person's shoes to make sure the gift is something s/he would like AND at the same time putting my spin on it. Does that even make sense?

Then, sometimes, I end up putting too much of my spin on it. Case in point...

Sesame Street Knitwits (get it? LOL)

Did I really want this for my nephews? Or do I want this for myself? Hmmmm...

Hubby thinks I put too much thought into it. Maybe I do. I say that's what gifts are all about or at least how all gifts should be, no?

And with the kinda' sorta' plan I have, am I set, or am I set!

Friday 25 November 2011

Black Friday

Such a somber name for such a festive day for shoppers and retailers, using the word "festive" loosely. Reading up on it, I can see how that can mean a good thing, especially for businesses. But still, black?!? Almost a sad color in a way, no?

And now, what I think I'm hearing for the first time, stores are now doing Black Friday sales in Canada. When our Thanksgiving was back in October! Oh for the love of the almighty dollar!

Even I almost fell for it! I really gotta' unsubscribe to all these store emails...



tsk,tsk...

Black Friday aside, I'm just really glad it's Friday.

Even the weather, I think, was glad it's Friday.



I might as well savor this scene as I think all we can look forward for the next few days is rain.

But what the hey, all I know is it's Friday!!!
LOL

Happy weekend!!!

Thursday 24 November 2011

Closet Blogger

Now, there's an oxymoron if I ever heard one...

Yes, that's me. A closet blogger. Only a handful of people I know knows about my blogging. Some of my closest friends don't even know, albeit they're not near. Why? Not sure, really.

"People" like myself are not supposed to be blogging, is that it? What does that even mean? Who are these "people" to begin with? My friends surely will be interested in what I have to say. But these are my private thoughts! Yet I willingly put it out there in the ether world, not really knowing, who I'm reaching and how.

Is there comfort in anonymity? How? When my thoughts are out there for the anyone to read? But are they really? Maybe. Maybe not. Is that it? Still not sure...

I've kept a journal since I was 13. I stopped some 5 years ago. In between, I would start and stop and start again. Reading back, I can tell why I stopped, for the most part. Then I would just start again, for no reason other than I felt like writing again.

I'm certainly new to blogging. I've gotten on the bandwagon just recently. I suppose just like the journals of my past, I started when I was ready and felt like writing again.




Need I say more?

Here's to the weekend!

Sunday 20 November 2011

Back to "Plain"

With all the choices out there, sometimes, you can't help but go back to the old reliable classic.



And just as I'm pondering this need sometimes to revert back to something more simple, in essence, really less complicated "choice", I came across this video through a blog that I found through a high school classmate, on Facebook, ironically enough.

Goodnight iPad





But then again, it's all relative, isn't it? My sis tells me that my barely 2-year old niece thinks everything operates like an iPhone or iPad, that everything is touch-screen, including the TV and the monitor. To her generation, they will grow up thinking this is "simple" and will refer to this method as "classic". No?

I'm just saying...

Saturday 19 November 2011

Versace for H&M, In Person

Every other fashion website/magazine/whatever seems to have done a feature on this already. Having said that, I almost forgot that it was today. Until I was on my way to somewhere else and I happen to see a group passing me by with bags and bags of bright yellow craziness. So I thought I might as well check it out.


As soon as I walked in, it was madness, I tell ya, madness! And this was midday! I can just imagine how it was in the morning when they first opened.

(I heard the store opened at 7:45, 15 min earlier(?), and it's been a zoo since then, apparently.)


... yellow craziness with a touch of pink...

Needless to say, they were practically all picked out. Some got lucky as they were able to grab whatever the staff yells out as being the last piece, whatever it was. The shoes were mostly size 10. And funny enough, the remaining clothes were mostly size 2. Inverted proportion, if I may add. So women with smaller feet and wears bigger-sized clothing have had a field day already, it seems.




But there were lots of those pants. I wonder why? Hmmm...

I almost bought into the frenzy. I almost convinced myself that I can rock one of those pants, or I could have probably fit one of my legs in some of the dresses left. Then what?

I suppose I'm one of those people who, as much as I want to get into these collabs, I'm hesitant to buy into it completely. On the one hand, it's "nice" that these designers are making their work more available to the masses. On the other hand, what are we paying for, really, but the name, no?

So without a purchase on hand, I walked away, and went shopping... somewhere else... which was the original plan to begin with... no, not for me, but for other people, for Christmas... but I did manage to sneak in a piece or 2 for me too... heehee...

Wednesday 16 November 2011

Time

"... but there never seems to be enough time, to do the things you want to do..."




Kinda' scary that lately, I'm finding that I'm falling into this habit of doing 50 different things at work at the same time, which opens up to 50 more thoughts occurring at the same time, which leads to half-eaten lunches, unreturned phone calls, words dropping off mid-sentence, unopened...

Hah!

They say truth can be relative. Time too, I say.

Waiting for the train, when you're running late, 1 minute feels like 15. On a deadline, an hour feels like 15 min. To a child, 5 more sleeps feels like a month. To an aging person, a month feels like 1 week.

Cray cray!

But I suppose, at the end of the day, no matter how it feels, any time on hand is time that we have. Fortunately.

Saturday 12 November 2011

Brunch and Much More

Today is meeting #2 for our food club. It was a place of my choosing. So, we went at this place that I've been meaning to go for the longest time but never got around to doing so.

Sooo glad we did, and I think the others felt the same way.

It was on the later side of brunch, so we gave ourselves permission to have...

Morrocan Mimosa Fresh OJ infused with Sumac, star anise and fig mixed with sparkling
(from their website)
LOL

It was different, for sure.

I ended up ordering this...

Fricasse2 fried eggs, braised short ribs, roasted potatoes, caramelized onions, arugula and smoked applewood cheddar. Grilled Foccacia



The only thing that was a tad unfortunate was that they don't take reservation on weekends. There was a line when we got there. In the rain!!! Fortunately, one of us got there early which meant  he managed to get us in the list as soon as possible. Another fortunately, I think it was worth the wait:)

There was still a line when we left. Cray cray!

After brunch, we ended up at the mall. Because of the rain, the mall was, surprise, surprise, busy. So there we were, just walking, with no intentions, really, of buying anything. *pffft*

In a matter of minutes, I all of a sudden decided I need a new blush. And foundation/powder. Well, it was kinda' true. Yes, I probably could have waited a few more weeks, but I know I would need one in a few weeks, so...

Now, I know I'm pretty smart (well, relatively speaking, haw!), but I swear, when it comes to shopping, all logic goes out the window. Why, god, why?!?!

Holt Renfrew


When we got to the makeup counter, one of the girlfriend pointed out this makeup bag which she and the other girlfriend bought. When you buy the bag, you get all these goodies (hello, She Uemura eyelash curler! Ok, it was a mini, but still!), AND a $10 off at your next purchase.

So there I was, being attended by "our lady", for my blush. Yes, we have our own lady, thanks to the other girlfriend, which shows how often she goes there, and I guess often enough for me too, scary enough, considering I'm really low maintenance with makeup. I digress...

I don't know in what world this would have been logical, but at the end of my mini make-over, after having picked a few items on top of my blush *eeek*, I had this brilliant idea of purchasing the makeup bag above, then use the $10 coupon for the things I wanted needed to buy.

So, at the end of it, the entire purchase actually cost me $18 more. Accchhh!!!

BUT, at least I have a bigger makeup bag and that Shu curler, right?!?! *sigh*

And here's the best part, with all the extra stuff I ended up picking, you want to know what I almost didn't purchase? The blush!!!

Cray cray!!!

Bobbi Brown

O Bobbi, Bobbi, Bobbi!

Friday 11 November 2011

Lest We Forget...

A co-worker in her 60's mentioned yesterday how 9 of her family members, to date, have served for the country, one way or the other, from great grand parents to grand parents to parents to siblings. They all, fortunately, survived their periods of service and went on to live fruitful lives in the civilian world, the best they could, I would imagine.

Right that moment, I saw and felt, possibly for the first time, up close, the pride of having a family served this beautiful country. I saw it in her eyes, and felt it in her voice.

Then she mentioned how she was planning to celebrate today, Remembrance Day.

Yes, let the wind blow, fly high and proud...
thanks to people who made that possible...

For me, people like her and her family are the personification(s) of Remembrance Day.

My family has been fortunate enough, so far, to have been spared from any pain or angst I could imagine people like her, at one point or another,  have gone or will go through, which if I really think about, gives me more reason why I need to remember, on a day like today, and not the other way around...

And so this morning, as strange it may sound, I felt it's almost fitting to hanker for this drink.




What can be more Canadian, I ask?:p

With an extra-large triple-triple in one hand, and a timbit in another, I say, in my tiny way, a little thanks to all the soldiers and their families out there...

Happy Remembrance Day!

Monday 7 November 2011

Crappy, no, Beautiful Monday

Considering how beautiful this past weekend was, albeit nippy, today was a complete 180. It was cold. It was wet. It was gray. It was dreary. Blech!

And I know it wasn't just me. Some people at work were feeling the same way too. They said so.

To top that, with the time adjustment, it was a tad dark already by the time I left work. At 4:30!!! More blech!

Had to leave work early, no scrap that, on time, to go to the hospital. Hospital, triple blech!

I think I've gone to the hospital more times than I care for, out of which, once or twice for me. I don't love it, who does! But I don't hate it either, like most some people do.

The way I see it, it is what it is. The hospital has its purpose after all...

And when I was leaving the hospital, way past visiting hours, through the usual route that I'm familiar with, I found all the doors were locked. There was on older gentleman trying to do the same as I do. And as I tried to retrace my steps, hoping to find an alternative exit, what thought crossed my mind, you asked? That I better find the same gentleman if I turned and looked back. Best part, I wondered for a second what I would have done if there was no one in the hallway. HAH!

Watched too many horror supernatural movies? Who me? Nah...

Obviously, I found a way out. Courtesy of a nice security personnel. Me, the older gentleman, and another lady who's already with him, trying to do just one thing, leave the building... Too bad Elvis wasn't there, he coulda' shown us the way too, perhaps.

LOL

Sunday 6 November 2011

Spring Forward, Fall Back

There's something to be said about manually turning your clock back, thanks to Daylight Savings Time, that it almost makes you feel you're buying yourself time physically. But with all these smart technology we have, there's almost no need to do so, as all the gadgets we have laying around the house do it automatically.

Had to use the alarm this morning as I was meeting a friend for an early walk. Shortly after I got up, hubby got up too and reminded me about the time adjustment. For a brief moment, I seriously thought I had an added hour that I forgot about, but realized soon (too soon) after that my alarm clock has adjusted itself and that, indeed, I am looking at the right time. I kinda' felt jipped. As if there was that hour that I thought was a bonus and I didn't get it, even though in reality, I/we did gain that hour... *sigh*

Anyhoot, last Friday, 'went out with some friends to celebrate a friend's birthday belatedly. We ended up at one of the celebrant's fave dining place.

Burrata with prosciutto

Walnut pesto, gorgonzola & pear crostini

Chicken liver with balsamic onion crostini

Quince jelly and provolone crostini

And for the main part of the meal,

Campanelle with pancetta, leeks and chanterelle
(with mounds of grated cheese... pecorino, I think)

I normally don't have pasta in a restaurant as I have it often enough at home and I know how much it cost to make them, so for me to try this house-made pasta says a lot about the place. The food was yummy, and the restaurant lives up to its "neighborhood restaurant" feel. The night itself was not without drama, but hey, I suppose that's all part of making memories. In the end, everyone's had a good time and another memorable night made with friends.

Come Saturday, I just felt really exhausted and seriously thought, again, that I was coming down with something. Shortly after our coffee in the morning, I went back to bed to get some more rest. By the afternoon, fortunately, I was feeling much better.  When dinner time came, I wanted something home-y and comfy.

Mac n cheese with ground beef

I call it my homemade version of the Hamburger Helper. It was creamy, cheesy, and best of all, comforting.

By this morning, thankfully, I was feeling much better. The walk that me and my friend planned didn't quite happen. She was feeling a tad lazy. I was too quick to agree, hehe. So, we decided to just go for dim sum then walk around downtown after. Guess we did kinda' got to do our walk.:p

So, all in all, I say the weekend turned out alright... Looking forward to the next one already... HAH!

Thursday 3 November 2011

Weather-related

Yes, I know, fall is here.It's in the air. It's all around.




Today though, it felt like winter. *sigh* ...

Been working longer hours than usual lately. And I'm pooped. The added responsibility and the desire to do really well don't help. Hah!

Then, there's the weather. It's that time of the year when the city goes through crazy weather, in a span of one day, I tell ya.

Got a text from the hubby in the afternoon. It was hailing, he said!



On my work's side of town, it just started raining, barely, and my work is probably 5 kilometers, at the most, from where he was. Cray cray, right?!?

By the end of the day, when my brain is going a million thoughts a minute, somebody came in to my office, and pointed outside the window.



Moments like this, needless to say, makes you stop dead on your tracks. How can it not?

When time flies by just like that, in a blink of an eye, and I sometimes, just sometimes, wish I have 10 more hours in a day, I realize moments like this rarely come by. Oh it does come, I know. But when that moment is as pretty as this as well, it just feels that all is right with the world, despite it all.

After all, as they say, at the end of the rainbow...
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