Yesterday saw me returning to punching the clock and sitting at a desk. I had spent the prior eight days laying around in Mexico, in the beautiful town of Cabo San Lucas. We stayed near the town, in a beautiful resort which provided eager travelers with unlimited drinks and food. We visited the town a few times, and of course took a water taxi out to see Land's End. We were able to go by the famous arch, which was exposed on a beach, something that happens only once every four years. Lucky us!
The only negative thing I can really think of about the whole trip was the fact that I had my wallet stolen from my room. I'm grateful that it was my travel wallet, and the few items inside can easily be replaced, but I'm a little bummed that I had taken a couple hundred dollars out of a bank machine the night before. I just hope the senor or senorita that stole the wallet desperately needed the money to feed their children, or any other reason that they could use it more than I could have. I guess now I have no excuse for not getting a new drivers license too. The tattered, expired and 9 year old photo of me are now in the hands of some Mexican. Maybe, if their conscience catches up with them, the house I used to live in before I turned 20 will have a wallet show up in the mail one day.
After screaming off my balcony in frustration (which was highly recommended by my sis), we spent most of our time pool side, with a constantly replenished cerveza in our hands. Surprisingly, there were almost always kids in the bar pool, and when they started eating nachos it was pretty much time to move. Trying to dodge soggy nacho chips whilst making ones way to the barstools can pretty much ruin a good buzz. All in all, it was a fantastic trip with wonderful friends, and although I wouldn't return to that resort in particular, I'd be happy to return to Mexico. Maybe a small town, so I can see what real Mexico is like without the tourist hot spots. The one thing that will have me returning is the incredible people. They are all so friendly, and they seem so willing to help out. Especially the guys that always are offering their companionship as a Mexican boyfriend, or offering free Mexican massages (which was nice until I found out what that was...)
Unfortunately, upon returning home I realized that I hadn't taken the time to clean up my apartment. After trying to precariously balance my suitcase on a pile of laundry, I decided that unpacking would have to wait until I cleaned up the rest of my place. As we speak, it's still not done. I managed to catch a cold on the day we returned back to Vancouver, so that's been my excuse. I'll have to see if I can make it through today without keeling over, then I'll work on the cleaning. As for now, I suppose I'll have to get back to this "to-do" pile that's been giving me the stink-eye.
-N
Thursday, April 28, 2011
Monday, April 11, 2011
Wheely cool!
About eight months ago, I was out for breakfast at the local watering hole, Score on Davie, and hanging on the wall was a beautiful bright green bike. It was like a piece of art, and I knew that I wanted it. After inquiring about it, it turned out that it was part of a fundraiser, and they were unsure about what was going to come of it. Fast forward to Thursday of last week, and a friend of mine randomly told me about a fundraiser going on at said watering hole. I decided to pop over, and sure enough, after the auctioning off of several bachelor and bachelorettes, up wheeled the piece de resistance... the green bike. Before the auctioneer even opened his mouth, I knew I had to have it. Worth $1,000, they said. Bidding started at $100. Done! Some guy across the room was trying to move in on my bike, so I upped it. So did he. So did I. This went on for several bids, until I jumped the price by a large sum, rather than the lowly $25 increments. After holding my breath for what seemed like an hour, they announce the winner. I unfortunately don't carry large sums of cash in my wallet at all times, so I had to have a quick run home, scoop some moolah, and run back to claim my beauty. I think I got it for a steal, especially since it was exactly what I was looking for in a summer bike. Here she is, pre-personalization:
After this photo was taken, she underwent a couple of upgrades, including really nice tires, new pedals, and a really REALLY sharp seat. I can't wait for the weather to pick up so I can take her out. I still haven't named her, but I'm sure it'll come along. I hope Spokey doesn't get too jealous.
So, one more week until I'm off to the tropics of Mexico, a very VERY needed vacation!
-N
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
Blank Canvas...shoes?
As was mentioned in a prior post, I have a bad case of lack of creativity. This terrible problem has been going on for about three months now, and quite frankly, it's getting really tiresome. So, yesterday after a long day of working (read: watching seagulls outside and wondering what they are thinking) I decided to do some shopping on the way home. The rain was holding off, I had some extra cash in my pocket, and I actually felt like shopping for the first time in months (must be the weather). After splurging on a pair of much sought-after shades, some new jeans, and a couple shirts, I stopped in at a shoe store for some new kicks. A pair of plain white canvas shoes shouted out at me, and I had an epiphany. Canvas shoes are basically a blank canvas, so why not paint on these? It'll be fun, and give me a unique pair of shoes that no one else on this planet has!! I basically ran home, with this idea in my head, scared that if I took too long it would fade away and again I'd be unsure what to draw. So, three hours later, I present you:
So fun! Now, we just need a little sun so I can try out these and my new shades.
Aside from this, there's really not much to report. Mexico is approaching in 13 more sleeps, and as much as I want to pack now, I think it's best to hold off for at least another week. Staring at a packed suitcase will get me too excited every morning.
In the meantime, I'm off to go ransack the local shoe store to see if I can pick up any more of these blank canvases for my feet. The options are limitless, and there are a ton of other designs I want to try out! Oh, and the sun has decided to make an appearance as we speak. I'd better get out there quick.
xo,
N
So fun! Now, we just need a little sun so I can try out these and my new shades.
Aside from this, there's really not much to report. Mexico is approaching in 13 more sleeps, and as much as I want to pack now, I think it's best to hold off for at least another week. Staring at a packed suitcase will get me too excited every morning.
In the meantime, I'm off to go ransack the local shoe store to see if I can pick up any more of these blank canvases for my feet. The options are limitless, and there are a ton of other designs I want to try out! Oh, and the sun has decided to make an appearance as we speak. I'd better get out there quick.
xo,
N
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Seawall, Spaghetti-No's and Salsa
After another long day at work on Monday, the last thing I really felt like doing was going down to the dingy dark gym, turning on the fake lights, and running on a machine for an hour. So, although the skies looked ominous, I hopped on ol' Spokey (I've decided to name my bike...) and headed for the seawall. Aside from the occasional runner, it was smooth biking the whole way around. The skies were on my side too, because although with every turn the clouds looked darker and I knew rain was imminent, it held off until I got home. Just barely. As I hopped off, the first drop fell. Perfect!
After being out in the cold, I was looking for something that would really be a nice, cozy warm dinner, especially now that the clouds were letting loose. So, after some recipe googling, I settled on PPK's Spaghetti-No's. Ok, they were supposed to have lentil "meatballs", but to be honest, considering it was 7:30pm, and I hadn't eaten since lunch, I wasn't much up for preparing meatballs, rolling them, baking them, ect. So, pasta and sauce it was, and when it was done, it was delicious. It actually TOTALLY reminded me of Zoodles (aka spaghetti-o's). I don't think I can make it again though, because I pretty much ate the whole pot. It was as addicting as the Zoodles were when I was a kid. Two thumbs up for taste, for sure.
For yesterday's dinner I decided to stray away from the usual pasta or rice. A big shoutout to @rollergirl17 for linking to Fat Free Vegan for this recipe. Mmm, Mexican food! I had papaya sitting in my fridge, begging to be used within the next day, and I also had most of the other ingredients already on hand, so this one seemed like it would be a breeze. Emphasis on the "seemed like" part. On my stroll home, I realized I didn't have any soft corn tacos. So, I stopped into a grocery store, but to my surprise, there wasn't a corn taco to be seen. I tried another store. Again, not a corn taco to be had. But, alas! What's this? White corn flour? Well, why not try making them myself? Brilliant, I thought. Oh, and why not get one of these super looking pineapples? They would go great in the salsa! So, once again, I managed to make MORE work for myself. The salsa and the marinade came together in a snap. The pineapple wasn't too bad. The corn tortilla batter was the tough part.
I read the instructions on the bag, which boldly stated that "it is so simple and quick! Just mix, roll into a ball, and place in your tortilla press for 50 seconds!!" Wait.... Tortilla press? I don't even know what that is...How the heck will I manage to make pretty little round tortillas? Well, I pulled a MacGyver in the kitchen by placing a ball of dough between two sheets of parchment paper, and flattening with a big cutting board, then rolling out with a rolling pin to make them nice and even. The result of all this was a corn-dust and corn paste encrusted kitchen, and about 14 little round tortillas. A lot of work. A lot of cleaning. Definitely worth it. They were tasty little guys! I fried up the tofu in my new cast iron pan (which I can't believe I've lived without for three years), and assembled a couple of tortillas. I'm glad that I put the pineapple in there, it really added a lot to the salsa. The papaya and the pineapple really gave this dish a Hawaiian feel, something that I can never really seem to get enough of.
So, I brought some for lunch to the office, and offered some up to my guy, and he loved them. Said they were really good, but a lot of work to assemble at the office, and he had a hard time "taco-ing" it. Very funny. And hey, you thought it was hard to put together? Try chopping up a bunch of papaya and pineapple, squeezing limes and getting it in your eye, preparing and mincing a hot chili without letting any of it touch your skin, rolling out 16 perfect little dough-balls, and flattening them without a tortilla press...then tell me how hard they are to assemble.
But they are worth it. Totally.
After being out in the cold, I was looking for something that would really be a nice, cozy warm dinner, especially now that the clouds were letting loose. So, after some recipe googling, I settled on PPK's Spaghetti-No's. Ok, they were supposed to have lentil "meatballs", but to be honest, considering it was 7:30pm, and I hadn't eaten since lunch, I wasn't much up for preparing meatballs, rolling them, baking them, ect. So, pasta and sauce it was, and when it was done, it was delicious. It actually TOTALLY reminded me of Zoodles (aka spaghetti-o's). I don't think I can make it again though, because I pretty much ate the whole pot. It was as addicting as the Zoodles were when I was a kid. Two thumbs up for taste, for sure.
For yesterday's dinner I decided to stray away from the usual pasta or rice. A big shoutout to @rollergirl17 for linking to Fat Free Vegan for this recipe. Mmm, Mexican food! I had papaya sitting in my fridge, begging to be used within the next day, and I also had most of the other ingredients already on hand, so this one seemed like it would be a breeze. Emphasis on the "seemed like" part. On my stroll home, I realized I didn't have any soft corn tacos. So, I stopped into a grocery store, but to my surprise, there wasn't a corn taco to be seen. I tried another store. Again, not a corn taco to be had. But, alas! What's this? White corn flour? Well, why not try making them myself? Brilliant, I thought. Oh, and why not get one of these super looking pineapples? They would go great in the salsa! So, once again, I managed to make MORE work for myself. The salsa and the marinade came together in a snap. The pineapple wasn't too bad. The corn tortilla batter was the tough part.
I read the instructions on the bag, which boldly stated that "it is so simple and quick! Just mix, roll into a ball, and place in your tortilla press for 50 seconds!!" Wait.... Tortilla press? I don't even know what that is...How the heck will I manage to make pretty little round tortillas? Well, I pulled a MacGyver in the kitchen by placing a ball of dough between two sheets of parchment paper, and flattening with a big cutting board, then rolling out with a rolling pin to make them nice and even. The result of all this was a corn-dust and corn paste encrusted kitchen, and about 14 little round tortillas. A lot of work. A lot of cleaning. Definitely worth it. They were tasty little guys! I fried up the tofu in my new cast iron pan (which I can't believe I've lived without for three years), and assembled a couple of tortillas. I'm glad that I put the pineapple in there, it really added a lot to the salsa. The papaya and the pineapple really gave this dish a Hawaiian feel, something that I can never really seem to get enough of.
So, I brought some for lunch to the office, and offered some up to my guy, and he loved them. Said they were really good, but a lot of work to assemble at the office, and he had a hard time "taco-ing" it. Very funny. And hey, you thought it was hard to put together? Try chopping up a bunch of papaya and pineapple, squeezing limes and getting it in your eye, preparing and mincing a hot chili without letting any of it touch your skin, rolling out 16 perfect little dough-balls, and flattening them without a tortilla press...then tell me how hard they are to assemble.
But they are worth it. Totally.
Monday, March 28, 2011
There's going to be a few changes around here...
OK, so I've decided to go a different direction here. I tried, I honestly did, to actually follow the whole vegan thing 100%, but it was proving too difficult for yours truly. I lack the necessary willpower for such a feat, I'll admit that. Currently about 50% of my meals ARE vegan, but that doesn't seem to be enough to warrant a blog about vegan-ism. It's about time that my writings branch out to include a little more of my life, rather than focusing mainly on what I'm stuffing into my face.
So, without further ado, let's begin!
I've been stuck with "artist's block" for the past month or so, and it's getting to be a pain. I can sit in front of a blank canvas for an hour, and end up putting it back up against the wall, void of even a single pencil stroke. I'm really unsure what to do in this case. I just hope that once my crazy month is done at work, I'll be able to relax and let the imagination flow back out through the paint. Saturday night I attended an event put on by Monika Blichar at My Chef, just off of Main and Kingsway. The place had a great vibe to it, which was further enhanced by the live paintings of Monica and Sarazen Brooks. It's always fascinating to see a painting start to emerge out of what was once nothing. They were each working on one of two canvases that would eventually be put side by side as one piece, and it was great to see how the different styles and interpretations of the subject. They had great wine, and great samples of their menu for $2 each. To top of the great event, I won a gift certificate to L'Atelier Hair Boutique, with which I'm not sure exactly what I'll do yet. I'm one of those never-change-my-hairstyle kind of people, so maybe I'll use this as a chance to change things up for summer.
Saturday during the day I went out an supported the local Vancouver Rowing Club Ruby team, who played Richmond at King George park. There is something about being out in the sunshine, watching a bunch of guys running around with a ball that just makes me feel like summer is just around the corner. After many MANY questions to my oh-so-patient other half, I am starting to understand the game. After 90 minutes of sitting at the edge of my seat, the Rowers pulled in another victory. One guy broke his nose, and I was close enough to hear the crunch as the team medic pushed it back into place. I also witnessed two gashed foreheads, a couple of sprained ankles, and numerous other wounds being taped up or iced. Boys are weird.
Sunday I headed to the underground garage and woke up my beautiful bike from a 5 month hibernation. She was a little dusty and low on air, but still brought a huge smile to my face. I forgot how much I missed the feeling of riding! An hour later, after some air and some tuning up, she was reading to go. After a game of basketball (which I gave full effort to, but still managed to lose), we took our bikes out for a ride, and it was amazing. Summer is just around the corner people!
Oh, and my personal favourite: magnolia trees are just starting to bloom - enjoy them!!
-MissNiss
So, without further ado, let's begin!
I've been stuck with "artist's block" for the past month or so, and it's getting to be a pain. I can sit in front of a blank canvas for an hour, and end up putting it back up against the wall, void of even a single pencil stroke. I'm really unsure what to do in this case. I just hope that once my crazy month is done at work, I'll be able to relax and let the imagination flow back out through the paint. Saturday night I attended an event put on by Monika Blichar at My Chef, just off of Main and Kingsway. The place had a great vibe to it, which was further enhanced by the live paintings of Monica and Sarazen Brooks. It's always fascinating to see a painting start to emerge out of what was once nothing. They were each working on one of two canvases that would eventually be put side by side as one piece, and it was great to see how the different styles and interpretations of the subject. They had great wine, and great samples of their menu for $2 each. To top of the great event, I won a gift certificate to L'Atelier Hair Boutique, with which I'm not sure exactly what I'll do yet. I'm one of those never-change-my-hairstyle kind of people, so maybe I'll use this as a chance to change things up for summer.
Saturday during the day I went out an supported the local Vancouver Rowing Club Ruby team, who played Richmond at King George park. There is something about being out in the sunshine, watching a bunch of guys running around with a ball that just makes me feel like summer is just around the corner. After many MANY questions to my oh-so-patient other half, I am starting to understand the game. After 90 minutes of sitting at the edge of my seat, the Rowers pulled in another victory. One guy broke his nose, and I was close enough to hear the crunch as the team medic pushed it back into place. I also witnessed two gashed foreheads, a couple of sprained ankles, and numerous other wounds being taped up or iced. Boys are weird.
Sunday I headed to the underground garage and woke up my beautiful bike from a 5 month hibernation. She was a little dusty and low on air, but still brought a huge smile to my face. I forgot how much I missed the feeling of riding! An hour later, after some air and some tuning up, she was reading to go. After a game of basketball (which I gave full effort to, but still managed to lose), we took our bikes out for a ride, and it was amazing. Summer is just around the corner people!
Oh, and my personal favourite: magnolia trees are just starting to bloom - enjoy them!!
-MissNiss
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Ugh...sausages.
75 - the number of days that I was a vegetarian before this (original plan was 30)
8 - the number of days I was vegan
2 - the number of sausages I ate at my Uncle's BBQ party
0 - the amount of times I plan on doing that again.
It was a sunny day, perfect for having a BBQ. In the past two and a half months, the only time that meat ever really made an appearance in my food fantasies was when I was thinking about these amazing grilled sausages that my Uncle makes when we go over to his house. And because of that, I knew this day would come. I was faced with those oh-so-tasty parcels of meat, and I caved. I ate half. Then another half. Then another whole one. I sort of felt like I had just flushed the last seventy-five days down the toilet...and I suppose in a way I did. Those tasty treats didn't treat my tummy too well. Four tums later I was feeling a bit better, but the brunt of it hit me the next morning. I don't think I'd ever put myself through that again. I suppose that was a good experience in a way, because now even the one thing that I would really really miss with not eating meat is no longer that appealing to me.
Following that was two days of drinking at crappy eating (it was my birthday weekend, after all). Now, as I sit here with a heaping plate of veggies, I'm starting to feel better again. I've completed my first day at my own "last 10 lbs bootcamp", and I can tell you right now that I'll be sore tomorrow. I leave for my sunny vacation in one month, which should help keep me motivated. Looks like the weather is picking up around these parts, too. Looking forward to the month ahead.
-N
8 - the number of days I was vegan
2 - the number of sausages I ate at my Uncle's BBQ party
0 - the amount of times I plan on doing that again.
It was a sunny day, perfect for having a BBQ. In the past two and a half months, the only time that meat ever really made an appearance in my food fantasies was when I was thinking about these amazing grilled sausages that my Uncle makes when we go over to his house. And because of that, I knew this day would come. I was faced with those oh-so-tasty parcels of meat, and I caved. I ate half. Then another half. Then another whole one. I sort of felt like I had just flushed the last seventy-five days down the toilet...and I suppose in a way I did. Those tasty treats didn't treat my tummy too well. Four tums later I was feeling a bit better, but the brunt of it hit me the next morning. I don't think I'd ever put myself through that again. I suppose that was a good experience in a way, because now even the one thing that I would really really miss with not eating meat is no longer that appealing to me.
Following that was two days of drinking at crappy eating (it was my birthday weekend, after all). Now, as I sit here with a heaping plate of veggies, I'm starting to feel better again. I've completed my first day at my own "last 10 lbs bootcamp", and I can tell you right now that I'll be sore tomorrow. I leave for my sunny vacation in one month, which should help keep me motivated. Looks like the weather is picking up around these parts, too. Looking forward to the month ahead.
-N
Friday, March 11, 2011
My two week hiatus
I'll admit keeping this blog thing up to date requires slightly more discipline than I had first expected. Therefore, the past two weeks, in which I was busy with several things, will be summed up below.
First off, let me tell you that I have not been entirely faithful to the vegan thing. I'm not proud to say it, but it's true. I have been vegetarian though. The past week of mine was spent in Toronto on a work trip, and that's what really threw me off track. I tend to have few problems when I'm at home, but when you are eating out for three meals a day, it's hard. Especially when the first two are at the work event, where the only food within a 10 minute walk was a food court consisting of a kobe beef burger stand, a hot dog stand, a pulled pork stand, and a corned beef sandwich stand. There was a pizza stand off in the corner, and at the time, that was my best bet. So, for four days my lunch was a slice of cheese pizza, and a fruit smoothie in the morning.
On my last night in Toronto, I happened upon a restaurant called Fressen. Walking in, I was very impressed. It is a fine-dining vegan restaurant. The service was a bit slow, but the food was amazing. It felt nice to have the choice to pick anything on the menu! If anyone out there knows of a fine dining vegan restaurant in Vancouver, please let me know. The experience was great!
I returned back to Vancouver yesterday afternoon, and immediately went to the store and loaded up on groceries for the week. Lugging back approximately my own weight in fruits and veggies, I thought about what I wanted for dinner. I ended up making a fantastic tomato sauce pasta from the Vegan Yum Yum cookbook. I think it was called 9-minute tomato basil cream pasta. It really did only take about 15 minutes (my rice pasta had to cook longer), and turned out looking exactly like the picture. It was delicious! I added a splash of balsamic to the sauce, which gave it a little kick. I will note that tomatoes aren't exactly in season right now, and I imagine this would be even more incredible to make in the summer time when they are at their peak. This is one of those recipes you can give to even non-vegan friends and they would LOVE it.
My art has being going well also. It's part of a show at a boutique in downtown Vancouver. I'm excited about the opening next week, but nervous as well. I've been feeling like my creativity is at a low, so it's been hard for me to commit any time to painting. I plan on filling this weekend with cooking, baking, art and maybe getting my seedlings going for the spring season. I have a fantastic small patio garden, and with the knowledge I obtained from last years planting, I think this year will do even better.
-Niss
First off, let me tell you that I have not been entirely faithful to the vegan thing. I'm not proud to say it, but it's true. I have been vegetarian though. The past week of mine was spent in Toronto on a work trip, and that's what really threw me off track. I tend to have few problems when I'm at home, but when you are eating out for three meals a day, it's hard. Especially when the first two are at the work event, where the only food within a 10 minute walk was a food court consisting of a kobe beef burger stand, a hot dog stand, a pulled pork stand, and a corned beef sandwich stand. There was a pizza stand off in the corner, and at the time, that was my best bet. So, for four days my lunch was a slice of cheese pizza, and a fruit smoothie in the morning.
On my last night in Toronto, I happened upon a restaurant called Fressen. Walking in, I was very impressed. It is a fine-dining vegan restaurant. The service was a bit slow, but the food was amazing. It felt nice to have the choice to pick anything on the menu! If anyone out there knows of a fine dining vegan restaurant in Vancouver, please let me know. The experience was great!
I returned back to Vancouver yesterday afternoon, and immediately went to the store and loaded up on groceries for the week. Lugging back approximately my own weight in fruits and veggies, I thought about what I wanted for dinner. I ended up making a fantastic tomato sauce pasta from the Vegan Yum Yum cookbook. I think it was called 9-minute tomato basil cream pasta. It really did only take about 15 minutes (my rice pasta had to cook longer), and turned out looking exactly like the picture. It was delicious! I added a splash of balsamic to the sauce, which gave it a little kick. I will note that tomatoes aren't exactly in season right now, and I imagine this would be even more incredible to make in the summer time when they are at their peak. This is one of those recipes you can give to even non-vegan friends and they would LOVE it.
My art has being going well also. It's part of a show at a boutique in downtown Vancouver. I'm excited about the opening next week, but nervous as well. I've been feeling like my creativity is at a low, so it's been hard for me to commit any time to painting. I plan on filling this weekend with cooking, baking, art and maybe getting my seedlings going for the spring season. I have a fantastic small patio garden, and with the knowledge I obtained from last years planting, I think this year will do even better.
-Niss
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