Can't. Stop. Painting. Stuff.

When left to my own devices - as I have been often these past two months - it turns out that I just can't keep myself from making stuff, altering stuff, and of course PAINTING stuff. The latest craze is grey.

Another thing about me is that while I like to send things I don't like or need anymore to the thrift store, before I let them out the door, I always scan my brain to see if there is any possible way I can update or alter the an item to make it likeable again. If I wreck it in my attempt to fix it up, then it's not a big deal because it was just being sent to the thrift store anyways.

The latest item to get the treatment was a giant plastic oatmealy coloured plant pot. It was dirty and unsightly, but oh so very practical. It had really good drainage and an overflow holding area, which is extra nice when you don't want water spilling down on to the neighbours balconies below. But it was bringing the whole balcony down in terms of style. Maybe that sounds lame. But it totally was.

I looked at it sitting in the donate pile for a few days before snatching it out and deciding to try out a fun chevron pattern on it in grey spray paint. All I did was tape off the pattern using painters tape while I watched Friday Night Lights (thanks to Kerry), and then spray it.



The result? Well, I think I like it. And I can't wait to plant it and get a shot of it with the other pots. Easy, fun, and when I'm done with the pattern I can either paint it again or donate it.

Cooking and eating. And drinking.

The moment we got our stuff to Vancouver, Joel's inner chef decided to explode. He has always been into making and eating great food, but as soon as we said hello to our new gas cook top, he was off and running. It may have also had a little something to do with the fact that I was happy to unpack boxes while he roasted us organic chickens for dinner. A fair trade, I'd say.

Anyways, we have been checking out our neighbourhood and city for good coffee and food. When Tash was visiting we took her to a place called "Meat and Bread" that has delicious sandwiches. Every order is served on parchment on a wooden cutting board. So cool. And the decor there is as perfect as the sandwiches, which makes me pretty happy. Vintage punching bag? Check!



Our hunt for new and fun Vancouver food led us out to the night market in Richmond, for Joel's first experience with bubble tea and some street meat. And street tofu. It was fun, although we didn't hit on anything that blew our taste buds away it was pretty interesting. The place was packed with food booths and people, and there were thousands of tech gadgets and iphone covers for sale. Overwhelming. But fun.


As for the good coffee, it just so happens we live two blocks from the best coffee we have found in Vancouver, at a place called Kafka's (see us with Tash and Pencil at Kafka's in the photo below). So far most of the other coffee has been a little disappointing (except for Elysian). We thought the coffee here would be amazing, but even at a lot of the places with good reviews it's been THUMBS DOWN. It makes me feel a little smug for Edmonton though, because that city has some darn good coffee. I'm just going to go out and say it...it's better than Vancouver's. Feel free to try to prove me wrong. Maybe I'll get a good latte out of the deal.


Back to the first point I made about our fancy new stove...we have made a whole load of delicious stuff since we got here and it's been fun. I've been snapping photos of some of it so that we can remember a bit of the great stuff and make it again. So here's a few of the things we've been enjoying.

Fresh pesto made with giant bags of basil from the Trout Lake Market


Zebra tomato chutney (in process photo, as it turns out finished chutney does not photograph so well)


Pineapple salsa modeled after some delicious stuff we found in the store here, and made with tomatoes I picked up at the tomato festival that was put on by the farmer's market.



Further to experiment on our stove, I bought Joel the set of Julia Child's "Mastering the Art of French Cooking" for his birthday, and we have cooked a few fun things out of that using our dutch oven, which was a wedding gift that we have been using and loving. I made my first whole roasted chicken in it, and amazing (ahem, this is me, complimenting my own cooking) seared pork roast, and a birthday dinner for Joel with his family (tuna tuna tuna!). Next up is Beef Bourgingnon, of course.

We also went to seattle last weekend and ate our way through that city like you would not believe. Turkish delight, Top Pot donuts, Balsamic Strawberry and Earl Grey ice cream from Molly Moon's, coffee from Cafe Felice, and the most gigantic plate of mexican food that I have ever seen. And we were only there for two days. Ha. Here is a photo of Joel and Tash doing something at the ice cream store. Maybe one of them can tell us what they were doing.




And one final food development...Joel's parents came for a visit and gifted us with a bbq (!!!), so we have been enjoying some great bbq fare since then as well. Like this bbq salmon with dill cream sauce. Oh my goodness.

Me & He

Okay people, it's time for a new blog. Basically, I just migrated my old blog over to my new gmail account, since I was squatting on an old, never used gmail account that I was sort of borrowing so that I could have a blog. I am getting tired of managing dozens of passwords; therefore, I am trying to simplify my electronic life. So, now I've got a shiny gmail address of my own and a blog to go with it. I figured with the recent wedding and the inter-provincial move, it would be a good chance to make a new blog - with perhaps a little emphasis on our life together - to share with the people back home.

So, welcome to the new blog. It's still my blog, just with formal acknowledgement of the starring role that JK (a.k.a. "He") plays in my everyday blog-able activities. And in my heart, obviously.

That's us, in our new place.