Tour of My Place

I meant to do this a while ago but my place was always in such a state or it wasn't the way I wanted it. So I finally made this tour video. I know how much my parents wanted to see the place. So here is the video. Sorry about all the head twitching at the beginning, I desperately need a haircut. Let me know what you think about my first place. Oh my god it is so embarrassing to see and hear myself. I really annoy myself. Click here to see it on YouTube. I had wanted to upload it so you could view it on the blog and have it on YouTube like I did with bunny's lion dance video. But the video file was too big to upload to the blog. And apparently the video was too long because last night I left it uploading to Youtube and it was was rejected due to length so I had to edit it this morning and re-upload it (and the file is still to big to upload directly to the blog...).
Oh I watched and I seem like a crazy person and all the turquoise is very obsessive. Hahaha. Oh well I like it.
P.S. the Mucky Brown color I mention that is on the sofa cover looks green but is really a decomposing leaves sort of color. Yuck.
P.P.S. All of my furniture is second hand Ikea stuff found using Craigslist. Basically I went to the Ikea store found what I wanted and took that shopping list to craigslist it cost me a good two thirds less to buy all the furniture and I was also able to get discontinued pieces that I wanted.

My New Favorite Blog

I just discovered a blog that has instantly become a favorite. It is eatyourkimchi.com written but a Canadian couple from Toronto who are living and working in Korea as teachers. Most people know I am a Korea fan. Going to teach English in Korea for a few years is something I want to do... Insert crying parents here.... Like they didn't already cry a river when I decided to come to Vancouver for university. My parents know I want to visit Korea but I don't think they know I want to go teach and live there for a few years... SURPRISE!... Insert parents crying an ocean of tears here. I just wanted to share that with you. I have also been looking for a way to have the blogs I follow listed to the left right (side column was on the left on the old layout) like other blogs have. But for some reason I just haven't been able to figure out how since its not an obvious option for things to put in that side column. I am also looking for a suitable Teal colored blog template (the background and formate). I can't fond that either... Mom complained about the darkness of the background so I switched to a new one about a week ago. I like it but its not teal or turquoise so I guess I will have to see if I can get someone to code (make) a template for me.

Cutest Pepper Mill Ever!

I was looking around the web for gift ideas when I came across this. It also makes a boring object fun. You squeeze its ears to make it grind, refill it by taking its tail off and you can even adjust the coarseness by twisting the bottom. Just a quick post because I had to share this.

Christmas... A Month Away

Im continuing to work on my Christmas presents. Can't believe Christmas is only a month away. Looking forward to going home and seeing my parents. Also end of term is near  and tomorrow is American Thanksgiving which means more stuffing. Love stuffing. I am not enjoying the rainy weather here in Vancouver. It has been wetter here for this time of year then it was last year and it is also more unrelenting. I hope it lets up a bit and I also hope that all this rain means it wont snow this winter like it did last.

Finally a Bonsai I Can't Kill

Yes finally a bonsai I can't kill. As you may or may not know I have tired many times unsuccessfully to grow and create my own bonsai. Sadly every tiny tree in my possession had ended up dead. But This is the solution. This felt bonsai was almost as fun to make as bending and pruning a real bonsai.
I got this idea from a picture I found on the web. It was relatively easy to do. And it was inexpensive since craft felt and embroidery floss is only .50 cents a sheet/color and I used stuffing I already have and a cool Korean spicy tuna can leftover from eating the contents. I drew my own trunk template and cut two trunks from it. As I sewed them together I realized one of the sides was slightly different then the other and this was causing a very bonsai like twisting of the trunk. I was expecting it to come out straight but it leans backward in  avery natural way. I filled the trunk then sewed in on to a different brown and created a sort of pillow to fit into the can so it would stand up properly.

The leaves are very stylized. I modeled them after the way some trees are represented on kimono fabric I had seen and used while taking Japanese doll making class. I used 3 different shades of green and a green floss that was different. I think the leaves came out really well. the two smaller leaves are 5 layers of: light green, blue-green, forest green, blue-green and light green. This way the leaf looks identical on both sides. the large leaf id the same pattern but doubled so on each side you see two layers of each color but there is only one of the largest forest green layer. The stitching is also the same on both sides and that is all thats holding the layers together.

The final product is so cute. I really like it. This project took about 5 hours most of which was spent sewing and cutting the leaves. I am proud of my efforts and think it was weekend time well spent.

Nothing New... But Bunny Is Busy

Haven't done much that is interesting. Just going to classes, crocheting, finding patterns for the gifts I'm making, cooking for myself and sleeping. Bunny on the other hand is busy. He is currently borrowing my US cell phone (I have two a US one and a canadian one) so he can receive calls from agents, directors and other people who want him to act for them after his stunning debut film. Oh Bunny you are going to be famous... Hehehe. For a while I have had the idea of making a photo book like a story book about Bunny visiting different places. For example Bunny at the beach, Bunny in Philadelphia, ect... I got the idea from thinking about how Bunny used to go absolutely everywhere with me and now he lives mostly on my bed. I want to give Bunny more adventures like we used to have. I am going a make this book but it is going to take a while.

Crochet Weekend

It was a crochet filled weekend. That is pretty much all I have done in the last 48 hours. Can't say what I was working on but I did a lot of it. I think my brain has been replaced by yarn. Even when I took my ritual weekly grocery store visit I had yarn and hook in hand while on the bus. I didn't attempt to crochet while walking around the store though, too many people and I'd probably end up walking aimlessly instead of picking up the things I need. In the past few weeks I have found that the bus is a good place to crochet and it is a good use of otherwise wasted transit time. I have never stuck to a crafty activity as long as I have with crochet. That is a good thing because I always sort of felt bad when I wasn't interested in something anymore. So thats pretty much it.... I will probably go back to crocheting now.

What My Parents Went Through To Find Bunny

When I was between the ages of 3 and 5 I lost Bunny. We couldn't find him anywhere and my parents ripped apart the whole house. They even called my grandmother ti see if he was there even though we hadn't been to her house in months. That was how desperate they were to find him because I had become extremely depressed. Now everyone who reads this blog already knows the story has a happy ending because Bunny wouldn't have been doing his lion dance if it hadn't. The ending is after he had been missing for almost 2 weeks I was sitting on the floor in out family room and Dad sat down in his big reclining chair and put the foot rest up and there was Bunny hanging upside down wedged in the mechanisms of the chair. I was so excited that I started shouting incoherently and honestly my parents though that because of my depression over Bunny and the stress it was causing me that I had snapped and gone completely crazy. They finally calmed me down enough so they could understand that I was shouting "I see Bunny's face!". Still thinking I had snapped they skeptically looked and there he was. I had claimed at the beginning that i was sitting in Dad's reclining chair with Bunny before he had gone missing and the conclusion was that Bunny had gotten wedged down in the crack between the seat of the chair and the arm and was undetectable when the cracks in the chair had been checked multiple times. Once again I had Bunny and the horror was over. This was meant to be a short post because I found this short video. I am certain that if they had had to my parents would have gone to these length or much greater ones to get Bunny back for me. Only I wouldn't have reacted like that kid what a brat.

No Crochet... What The #$%*!!!

These benches showed up a few weeks ago in the lounge area where I sit every Wednesday and wait for my 7 to 10pm class. I have been meaning to take a picture and post about them since I saw them but I kept forgetting my camera. I finally got over there with a camera today after reminding myself to bring it and to make a special trip to the lounge. I understand the concept is to say that this bench is nothing special and just a plain old bench but that there is supposed to be irony in it because the words be come the decoration that the bench claims it lacks.

But... no crochet, thats not cool. As a crocheter I take offence to this even though it says it is "just a bench". Well last night, which was  a Wednesday night, I stuck it to that bench and sat on it for a good hour or more crocheting. Take that, crochet hating bench, take that! And I stuck it to it again when I took a picture of the crochet hook I had with me on the bench. To be honest it is a pretty cool looking and modern bench and here is where you can find them. They are super expensive UBC must have gotten a huge discount to be able to buy 7 or 8 "Just a bench." benches and 6 to 8 of the side table size with the flower on the side.

I want to blog about my crochet too but haven't been able to because most of what I am working on are going to be gifts or are secret projects that have a specific time to be revealed. I will post more about my crochet adventures and my fiber addiction (addiction to yarn) later when I am not working on classified projects. I will say this though when you use the time you are on the bus to crochet your projects get finished really quick.

For Further Reference.

In reference to Bunny's lion dance watch this, which is an example of the type of lion dance Bunny is imitating. In North America this form of lion dance is rare to see what we normally see is kids from a karate martial arts class (I have been corrected by and anonymous commenter although karate is still a martial art. Jeez I never claimed I was an expert on this stuff) in a lion costume. The kind of lion dance they do is more for parades and celebrations where as the style in the clip is able to stand on its own as an event. I had never seen this until I got Bunny's costume and decided I wanted to make a video of him lion dancing.

Halloween

Had nothing to do this Halloween and nothing to go to (not that I ever do). But I decided to invite the boyfriend over and dress up anyway. It was a total losers Halloween for the both of us with Pepsi and homemade hummus. So Colin dressed up as Dr. House... Dr. House Cat (Hahaha... Yeah I know I'll shut up now but I do think it is funny). I was a flapper. I found the fringe dress on clearance for $10 at a store called H&M there was a lot of them so I guess I was the only person in the world who would but a teal fringe flapper dress. And Bunny who is smack dab in the middle is a Chinese Lion. I found this lion dance tchotchke in Chinatown that had a solid roundish base and a spring up to the top of the inside of the head so it bobbled. Well I saw this thing and realized it was just right for Bunny's size and snatched it up for a couple of dollars. All I had to do was pull off the spring and base and pad it with paper towels. So to help combat the boredom Colin, Bunny and I made a special video. It's your treat for Halloween. It can also be found on YouTube which will give you a bigger better picture.

New Hard Drive Number 2

So for the second time since mid August (which happens to be when I came back to Vancouver for the current school year) my little white Apple Macbook has needed a new hard drive... The first time was traumatizing because I lost everything that was on  my computer. To top it of I was relying on my laptop to search craigslist for a basement suite while I stayed in a hotel. Although I have to say that that time was more sudden and definite and the signs were obvious like how it randomly stopped doing what it was doing and went blank and when I turned it back on it showed a screen with a sad broken file or something. This time wasn't so painful because I didn't have much on my computer. The signs were not so obvious it was being extremely slow for a couple of days. I have experienced this before but usually some update pops up and I install it and everything is fixed and back to normal. But when it took 3 hours for my laptop to turn on on Wednesday night I knew I had done the right thing by making an appointment at the Apple store "Genius Bar". So I had hoped this latest problem was going to be a simple fix for the Apple guys but it turned in to another new hard drive. I will tell you something... If it wasn't for the Apple Genius' I would have given up on Apple right about now. If I was dealing with any other computer company I would be tearing my hair out. Despite the problems that you can encounter (which is less often then with other computer brands) the Genius Bar people are what help keep "Mac People" loving Apple. The tech people currently ware blue shirts that say "Not all heros wear capes." and that is so true.

COMMENTS!

I finally got some comments! Just wanted to let you know that if you don't have a blogger account please leave your name in the comment.

Boring Weekend.

It has been a boring rainy weekend. Did my normal grocery shopping and cleaned a little. I did attempt to make Hummus which came out ok but a little too liquidy. I also made a large batch of Pho which I will be eating for the next week (that's not a bad thing). And thats about it...

Tickets Home!

I just bought my tickets home for the Christmas Holiday. Thats exciting. I miss my parents and it will be good to see them. I will also be getting my temporary fill of my cat Tigger. Why is it so difficult to buy plane tickets? Why are they so damned expensive? I mean all the "reasonably priced" tickets are for flights that leave at like 5AM... booking tickets seems to get more painful and tedious every year. but at least I get to go home for about 12 days depending if you are the kind of person who counts the day they leave or not.

(No I am not flying Air Canada but I wanted a picture of a plane ticket and I liked this one.)

Boyfriend Cookies!

So today my boyfriend (whom is named Colin but shall be referred to as "Boyfriend" for the sake of limiting confusion) baked me cookies and gave them to me while I was on campus. They are the best Chocolate Chip Cookies I have ever had (no offense Mom). They have a really good flavor and are chewy, which I like, but they aren't that "under cooked" kind of chewy. Boyfriend was kind enough to supply the recipe for these cookies. Boyfriend says he made two small batches and the key to nice chewy cookies from this recipe is to keep the mixing at a minimum and not over mix the batter. I like how that recipe site has the option of changing the number of servings and automatically adjusts the ingredient amounts. I suggest you try this recipe out and don't forget to let me know how you liked them.

UBC Apple Festival

So today I ventured to the UBC Apple Festival at the Botanical Gardens. I left the my basement suite at about 1:30PM and it was cold and raining and by the time I got off the bus 30 minutes later at UBC it was sunny and warm and sort of humid. Oh the randomness of Vancouver weather you have to both love and hate it. This is my third straight year of going. It is fun going and reminds me of how my parents and I would go to this one apple festival in  Pennsylvania almost annually when I was a kid. So for a toonie entrance fee I can in some way indulge in childhood memories.

So the first thing I did when I arrived was buy a caramel apple to take home and enjoy later this weekend. It cost $4 for one small-ish caramel apple... HIGHWAY ROBBERY! But I only have it once a year so I shelled out for it. I also purchased a small cup of hot apple cider for $1.50 which I think is a bit steep for the size but it was really good. I had a look around and the festival never gets any bigger its been that same size and same stalls every year. Its nice that there is no drastic change to the quality of the festival but when it doesn't grow you wonder whether the festival is truly successful. Over all it was a fun trip.

As per usual to the past two years all the apple tasting sessions for the day were full. Next year I will go super early and finally get to do the apple tasting I swear! On my way out of the festival I saw a sign hanging from a tree with the name of my favorite apple; Pink Lady! So Yummy and delicious!

By the time I got home at 4:30PM it was raining again...

Laundry

My laundry desperately needs to be done. But it is rainy today so I don't feel like doing. Although, I realized it is going to be rainy most days and if I don't do it on rainy days it will never get done. That is some good reasoning skills right there!

Bunny Cupcakes

I was looking around at blogs today and came across a blog/website of a woman who bakes and saw these. Cupcakes decorated as bunnies. I love bunnies and I am hoping I can come up with an excuse to make these.

Thanksgiving Day

So today I cooked my first Thanksgiving dinner. It went pretty well. I started prep earlier in the day by doing things like cooking the onions for the stuffing and the green bean casserole as well as the sausage for the stuffing. The picture to the left shows the onions for the stuffing in the bowl, the onions for the green bean casserole next to the sausage.

I also made the dessert early in the day. I made what my family calls "Whipped Cream Log" its basically whipped cream and Nabisco/Mr. Christie's (depending whether you are in the US or Canada) chocolate wafers. It is simple and sort of bad for you but I love it!

My final menu was baked turkey breast, Green bean casserole, stuffing, mashed potatoes, HOMEMADE gravy (I didn't end up having to use my "back up plan" canned gravy... yuck), canned jellied cranberry sauce (for my guest), bread and butter pickles, pickled onion, black olives, dinner rolls and whipped cream log. That was a list of everything that was served on the table and probably far too much detail then anyone would ever want. Also the plates on the table are a brand new set I bought at Ikea yesterday. I need a complete set of dishes not just two bowls and two plates like I've had for the last 2 years.

I told you I'd post food porn of my Thanksgiving.

Fridge Is Gone!

So after being contacted by several people who, I responded to but never heard from again, the fridge is gone. Sold it to a nice young woman and I am glad it is out of here. Other then that all that has been going on is me gearing up to cook a Thanksgiving dinner for the first time.

Marjoram

All I did today was get marjoram (the spice) for the stuffing I will make on Monday. I went to a grocery store where some spices are in bulk bins so you can buy the amount you want. It cost me 8 cents and it filed the 2oz container I am storing it in. Not bad.

My Fridge Won't Be Sold

The guy came and looked at my little fridge and said it was in great condition and was exactly what he wanted then gave me a ridiculously low offer... What a waste of time and he got kind of mad at me. Oh well screw him.

A Boring Day

Nothing much has happened today or will happen today. The only thing is that I am finally selling my small fridge that I used in my dorm. I had it listed on craigslist for nearly a month. So by this evening it won't be sitting useless in my living room/dining room/kitchen anymore. So at least I am happy about that.

Turkey Breast... CHECK

Looks like I will be having a traditional Thanksgiving dinner after all. I secured some turkey breast and even bought some sausage at a local butcher for the stuffing. So the Thanks giving menu will be: Turkey breast, mashed potatoes, moms stuffing, peas, corn and gravy. I will have a *gulp* package of gravy mix if I can't manage to scrounge up so real stuff from the juices from the chicken breast. I'll post about my lonely Thanksgiving on Monday and attach some food porn (a.k.a. Pretty pictures of food).

Canadian Thanksgiving= Long Weekend

As an American in Canada I still haven't gotten used to having Thanksgiving before Halloween. Although the one good thing about this is that I get two Thanksgivings and two opportunities to eat stuffing. Oh how I love my Mom's stuffing recipe. Normally I like long weekends but this time Im not excited at all. All I foresee for this long weekend is doing the laundry, cleaning my bathroom, studying and boredom. If I can find a turkey breast at the grocery store I'll bother to make myself a Thanksgiving dinner for one and I may even bother to do it again in November.

Another Long Wednesday

Wednesdays are my longest day of the week. I get up at 9 or 10am and then have class. I have a break form 4 to 7pm then a class till 10pm but I usually don't get home till 11pm. In short Wednesdays suck. When I have that ridiculous break between 4 and 7pm I go and sit in the same place which is a lounge in the building where my night class is. and every week there is alway some couple that is making out on one of the couches being all lovie-dovie. Its a different couple every week... I guess there must be something about this lounge. I looking at the most recent couple right now. I find witnessing this both sickening and depressing. I wish they would stop but at they same time I wish I had that sort of relationship too. Sometimes life is just works hard to make you feel bad about yourself. What makes Wednesdays worse is that all I have to look forward to for dinner is instant noodles because who wants to cook at 11pm?

What's for Dinner?

I am hoping this is going to end up a Foodie/Crafter/About My Life blog. So for the first food centered post. Tonight I made Tuna Noodle Casserole. Yes I know there are lots of bad memories connected to it but if you have a good recipe it can be great. The recipe I use can be found at this link. It makes a good product although I add sliced black olives... strange yes but it adds a certain something to it. Also I don't do the breadcrumb topping because I find that it is really dry after being baked but thats just personal preference. I'd like to know what you think about Tuna Noodle Casserole.

Dirty Dishes Have Been Washed!

I couldn't stop thinking about the dishes after I wrote my last post so I managed to wash them all before I had to go to school. Yay me! And yay for guilting myself!

Dirty Dishes

Why is it that even when most of your dishes are in the sink dirty you don't have any motivation to wash them? And you end up washing things as you need then so they end up back in the sink after your done with it. This is the first time I have lived completely on my own. I had lived in a dorm and other types of campus housing aragements before one of which where we had a kitchen. So I have washed dishes before and this is not new. It is sort of overwhelming that I am the only person who can and will take care of the place I live. I "own" more rooms then I ever have because I have a kitchen/living room a bathroom and a bedroom. All I have ever had all to myself at home or away was a bedroom and not suddenly I am in control of a space that is about 3 times the size of my room back home and easily 5 or 6 times the size of the dorm rooms I had when I lived on campus. I live living here on my own. I like that I don't have to share the kitchen with 5 other girls and there for don't get nearly no space in the cabinets or am trying to cook while some one else is. I like that the furniture here is mine. As a student most all of my furniture is Ikea but I didn't buy it there. I bought all my Ikea furniture for half the original price or less used and in great condition from various people off of craigslist. Although I did go to Ikea to make my furniture wish list. I feel pretty good about that because I got all the furniture I wanted without compromising at a great price and almost all of it is in fabulous condition. I also like that if I ever have to move everything except my "Klippan" couch will come apart and be flat to move or store. I like my little basement suite... it's mine but it gets lonely.

Wow it really shows....

I was just rereading my first post and realized just how much my ADHD showed. I mean that post was all over the place and I randomly switched topics several times... Oh well, I am what I am.

First Blog Post

I've never had a blog before and am a little unsure what exactly I will do with this blog. I assume I will talk about my crochet projects and what I cook as well as tell other random tidbits about my life. For example if someone pisses me off on the bus or something good happens. First off there are a few things you should know about me. I live in Vancouver British Columbia as a student at the University of British Columbia (UBC) But I am an American from the state of Maryland. So I AM an international student but a lot of Canadian students call American international students "diet international" because the US isn't far and it not really that different. I think that is funny. Also I really like to cook and I think about food a lot. I especially love Asian food. This past March I taught myself how to crochet my watching YouYube Videos. I originally learned because I thought Amigurumi were so cute and I wanted to be able to make them. But I soon realized there are only so many stuffed animals you can make so I have  moved on to more useful things. I also taught myself tunisian crochet and have been working of the same "lap robe" since June. I will make a separate post on the project later. Another thing about me is that my favorite colors are Teal and Turquoise. Most of the things I own are some shade of those two colors. I have a theory on why I like these colors so much but that will also be its own post later on. I think thats enough for now.