Where Did the Week Go?

Gah! Not sure what happened, but the week flew by in a blink of an eye, and here we are, Friday already. Ok, I do know what happened. These darn book(s), {un}fortunately, kept me so preoccupied, it just ate most of my night time. To this moment, I actually still don't understand why they just engage me so *ambivalent sigh*... More on that later (I think)...

Anyhoot, before I knew it, the weekend's come. Mind you, I have a very short work week this week as I took some vacation days so I guess there's another reason why it feels it flew by just like that. Wednesday was kinda' like my Friday.

Ahhh... rest... sleep... Since I really haven't gotten much sleep for the most part of this week, it was quite nice waking up late yesterday and this morning.

Yesterday, decided to meet a friend for lunch. It worked out that she happened to be working at a nearby office and I happened to be off.

Lunch Special @ Guu (fried chicken with vinegar & tartar sauce)

(Japanese soda... the marble inside makes it fun...
only in Japan, I tell ya)

It was a nice bonus getting the chance to talk to some other people at that office that I haven't talked to in a while.

Oh, and right before I was leaving to meet my friend for lunch, hubs informed me that he managed to get some special screening tickets for the same night.

I liked the movie, I think. Didn't think Andrew Garfield can fill in Toby's shoes (who I incidentally thought could not have pulled it off in the first place but he did, I eventually thought), but I guess he provided a different angle to Peter Parker. I didn't think the movie brought anything entirely different though to the franchise, but at the end, I still enjoyed it.

So that was a nice way to end the day.

Didn't do anything all day other than read some more, mostly, hehe, and now, off to meet some friends for some Friday libation.

Here's to the weekend...

"Happy Retirement!"

Yesterday, we celebrated a colleague's retirement party. 3 of us at work organized it. Based on the guest of honor's reaction throughout the night, I'd say we didn't do so bad.

What I did find more interesting tho' was watching the faces of the people who showed up to celebrate with our colleague. These are people who he's worked with at some point. I know why they're there, having worked with him for almost 4 years. And they're obviously all good reasons.

I guess I find the whole thing heartwarming. That when my turn comes, that I will hopefully see the same expression on people's faces. That's all...

Burpy Smile

Another look at the food that've made me smile, of late. Again. hehe

Filipino Camarones ( fried shrimp)

Watermelon salad (a summer staple)

While out with colleagues--

chili lime chicken

hummus and pita

(having a good time, after all)

The making of a ravioli--

filling (ricotta, spinach,
turkey Italian sausage)

sauce (with turkey Italian sausage)

ravioli (using wonton wrapper)

Result

And one time for dinner--

Lemon ricotta blueberry pancake, with...

... with turkey breakfast sausage...
and some good quality maple syrup

*rub belly*

Mmmm, mmmm, mmmm...

Mailing List

Store mailing list, ah, the new bane of my existence. Ok, that's being overly dramatic.

Seemingly innocuous enough in the beginning, and useful (in my shopping mind), I'm now inundated with it, always announcing to me what good sales I am potentially missing out there, or I could partake in (depending on my mood).... What? Unsubscribe? Never! HAH! (never say never)...

Over the weekend, what with the semi-annual sales happening all around, according to my emails, I thought I'd refill our Bath and Body stash for soaps and what-have-yous. I did have a coupon after all, thanks to an email. And I figured, since I'm out and about, I might as well walk around to see where my remaining monthly budget can take me.

I walked into Holt Renfrew, Canada's answer to Harrods, only without the history, or to Bergdorf/ Saks/ Neiman, just because there is no Bergdorf/ Saks/ Neiman around here. Anyhoot, there I was, ready to live it large with my $27.24. Alas, that amount could not even buy me a heel of a shoe or a sleeve of a dress. What was I thinking anyways?

But I did find something elsewhere.

Gap espadrilles (on sale, $27.99, and the only pair!)

Now how much more summery can you get than that, eh? And within my budget too! Well, give or take a few cents. Cents!!! Pretty good, huh?

Now if only summer could have come yesterday... And if only July 1st could come tomorrow, you know, for a new shopping month. Kidding! No, actually I'm serious... Kidding!

HAH!

(and I guess all these summer colors just inspired me to get this color for my pedi earlier)

... too bad it didn't show how neon this orange is:p

C'mon, summer, just come, won't ya!

Time in a Wristwatch

Happy Father's Day!

This is a watch that used to belong to my dad. Just an ordinary Kenneth Cole watch, really, that my dad wore for daily use. Its leather strap was so worn out, the inner lining had already separated from the leather.

It stopped ticking a while back. And I left it as is for the longest time. Time stopped. I guess, in a way, time did stop, the time with my dad, that is. A little over 6 years ago.

Then recently, hubs offered to get the batteries replaced for all my watches. I gave him 2 of them, which didn't include my dad's. But I guess he decided to surprise me and grabbed it anyways, so when he got home that day, there it is, on the table, my dad's watch, ticking once more, and with a new strap, given a new life.

Time started moving again, I suppose...

My Mother's Daughter

I am, that's who.

I know, I know, people would say who else would we be but our mother's/father's daughter/son. But then again, sometimes, things happen that a person lives up his/her adult life handling things the complete opposite of his/her parents' way. Whether consciously or not, we, at some point, swear we'd never deal with things the way our parents did... I'm rambling, ain't I?

Growing up, I was pretty close to my mom. I still am, but no longer in the same way when I was a child. Which is expected, I suppose. As I got older, I've always thought that my mom and I have opposite sensibilities. I think I'm more like my dad in terms of attitude and personality.

But every now and then, my mom's personality in me asserts itself in tiny ways that makes me realize, eeek, I am my mom! HAH!

My mom loves tiny tools/gadgets. As I do, apparently. Thingamajigs that I can do without, really, but get it anyway because they're cute, and on the odd chance that I may need them even once, then I'll know I have it. (Mind you, that tiny egg flipper is proving very handful hehe). She has tons of these stuff. And it seems I'm getting there. Yikes!

Living at home, I remember my mom always having a stash. Of what? You name it, she has it. One time, I remembered friends hanging out and I was asking them if they wanted anything. One of them jokingly mentioned some random food. And true to my mom's style, I found it, in the cupboard. Joke was on him, for sure!

Fast forward XX years, and here, occupying part of our dining table, is a basket with various goodies, for the times I just feel like munching.

(Mom, did you fly out here and sneaked into our place, without us knowing?)

I can keep going, scarily enough...

The funny part is I didn't even realize it until a family friend brought it up. What rock have I been hiding underneath, you ask? Uhm, denial rock?

How do I feel about all this? Not sure. Other than acknowledging it, I don't think I feel anything else. It is what it is. I am my mother's daughter after all, no?

Inspired By...

I love to cook. I've always thought I'm good (normal good, not Master Chef good) at it, even when I wasn't. You shoulda' seen the first dish I made for hubs. To this day, he claims it was not that bad, bless his heart.

In time, I realize I cook like my dad used to, kinda' "by ear". I see what's available at home, and get what I might eventually need without any real set plan in my head. I kinda' have an idea and I just take it from there. I do need to get inspired though every now and then. So...

... who watches too much Food Network, you think?

But considering the way I cook, I've never really liked measurements or exact ingredients. I guess I happen to fall into that category of cooks, rather than bakers. So why bother with the cookbooks in the first place? Like I said, for inspiration.

(Side story: I tried to bake these nutella cookies one time based on a recipe I saw online. I did so many changes to the ingredients, based on what I had at the time, the resulting cookies were nowhere near what it's supposed to look like. It tasted yummy, fortunately. And when I told sis and a few people about it, I was made aware of the fact that perhaps I didn't really make the cookies I set out to do... I had to be made aware! Since in my head, I thought I still did hehe)

Needless to say, I've had these cookbooks for a while now, and how many recipes do you think I've tried? NONE. Yup! Although, I've made several dishes based on what I've seen on these books. That should count, no?

And now, here's another cookbook bought recently during a Costco trip. Another cookbook that will not be used, so to speak. HAH!

Gonna' Dress Me Up

With the kind of Friday I had, I think it was no surprise (to me) that I ended up at the mall. First, the misstep in the afternoon, figuratively and literally. Then by the time I'm going home, a series of little last-minute decisions that resulted in teeny delays (in my head) just got me steaming by the minute.

I figured I had to cool off a bit. And for me, there's no better way than just meander thru' the mall. The result?

RW&Co chambray dress (on sale, $50.37)

Clearly, I'm an emotional shopper. 'Always been my problem, I think (who am I kidding?). One small good thing, since I've put myself on a budget, is that I've become more discerning about my purchase (like how it should always be, to begin with, hel-lo!).

TOTAL (so far): $72.76


Interestingly enough, I came across this article through one of my regular reads. I admit, I'm a big contributor to the problem they're referring to. And after reading the article, my newly self-imposed budget just sounds trite and insufficient.... But hey, baby steps, at least, no, for starter...

Coming home that day, this is what was waiting for me, thanks to hubs --

And that just completely cooled me off...

Guess there'll always be a reason, one way or the other, why I love Fridays...

Leftover

Like I've mentioned before, I happen to be one of those people who don't mind eating leftover. Heck, sometimes I like it better, depending on the dish. And even better, I find, is when you can create a totally different dish out of the leftover.

I know, I know, not a novel concept. I'm just saying...

  

Saturday's dinner:

A slightly healthier version of porchetta, and roasted
baby potatoes.

... which turned to...

Frittata, for Sunday's brunch. Tada!














HAH!

Gotta' love it when a plan comes together like that, no? hehe

And So, Another (shopping) Month Begins

Although not quite a success, I'm still happy about the fact that I was only $2.88 over budget for the month of May, especially considering the fact that the budget was used up halfway through the month. A step in the right direction, at least, no?

And because another month has begun, I thought I'd walk around town on Sunday and just kinda' "look around". Plus, the weather was on the tad nicer side as well, so I thought, why not... Ok, maybe it wasn't as unintended as I made it sound. I figured it's a new month, I have some stuff in mind, so first opportunity I get... hehe


Thanks to my e-reads,  the first summer wardrobe update --

AE sandals (on sale!, $22.39)

 Well, if I really wanted to, I would have looked for this --

Sam Edelman Trina Double-Strap Sandal

... as read here and here...

But as much as I like this sandals,  and as flat as this already is, I needed something flatter, believe it or not, to suit my lifestyle. Secondly, seeing the kind of weather we've been having lately, I really don't even know if we'll get a proper summer. I almost feel like it's wishful thinking, as it is, just buying what I bought. Isn't that sad? Good part, however, was I didn't realize it was on sale until I was paying for it. Score! And of all the similar sandals I've seen, this one's got a bit of padding. I can just hear my feet thanking me.

Another good thing? Today's purchase would have been twice as much if only an H&M skirt fitted me properly. Darn that long-line-up-always-at-the-fitting-room! But hey, that's what return policies are for, right? AND, it just means more $ in the budget, still. YAY!

Nom, Nom, Nom

Some of the home-cooked and outside food that has sustained me/us in the last couple of weeks... ie. food that's made my day, for sure, one way or the other...

Bon Appetit!

Fritto Misto (fried seafood, or calamari, in this case),
with garlic aioli (not shown)

My pathetic version of the Vietnamese spring roll:p,
with peanut dipping sauce

Stuffed pork chop and roast potatoes...

...with side of broccoli slaw

Baked Fried Chicken

Toroniku Shio Ramen (Ramen Santouka)
... simmered pork jowl and salt seasoned ramen

Steelhead trout

Grape tomatoes, sweet onion and bocconcini salad

... care to take a guess where we got it, judging from the size of the bag?

Quinoa salad

See, doesn't take much to please me, eh? hehe