little garcon!

moving blogs

2011-11-06T13:00:00.001-05:00

I'm closing this blog and restarting at malted milk. I really don't like blogspot!

Please come visit me at my new home :)

- Claudia

positive strawberry karma

2011-07-14T22:11:00.001-04:00

Hello! Did you have a good weekend? I hope so. I did. I spent almost all of it in the kitchen with the oven on :P My first accomplishment was this strawberry shortcake made with adorable Ontario strawberries. [Sidebar: I read a piece in the Toronto Star last year about how terribly manipulated and environmentally un-friendly those jumbo USA strawberries can be, and I haven't been able to eat one since, despite how desperately, tantalizingly cheap they get around this time. Sometimes I waver as I pick up the pricier Ontario strawberries, thinking "ughhhh but those ones are so cheap and suspiciously perfect looking..." but the genuine flavour of the Ontario ones always reminds me of why they're worth it. Plus, the cashier accidentally charged me less for them this time! I took it as some positive strawberry karma.]

Strawberries aside, though, I'm sure this pound cake would pair well with any fruit, or even just some yogurt or whipped cream. Plus, it's easy to make - so no excuses!

Brown Sugar Pound Cake
Adapted from Not Without Salt, one of my favourite recent finds. I didn't change any ingredients, I just halved it (which still made a respectable amount of cake) and abridged/edited the instructions, as the original was given in stand mixer settings. I just have these "arm" things..? I guess they're kind of outdated now, I should probably trade them in for a pastel pink KitchenAid one of these days.

1 ½ sticks butter, softened
1 ¾ cups all purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
½ cup sugar
¾ cups dark brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup yogurt
1/4 cup whole milk
½ teaspoon lemon zest

Preheat your oven to 350°F. Butter and flour a loaf pan. (I used an 11x8 casserole dish.)
Whisk together dry ingredients.
Cream butter and sugars until light. Add eggs one at a time. Add vanilla and lemon zest.
Add ⅓ of the dry ingredients, then ⅓ of the yogurt and milk. Alternate until everything is incorporated.
Bake until a toothpick comes out clean. I forgot to time mine, but Not Without Salt recommended about an hour. Mine started to brown after 15 minutes so I turned it down to 300°F.
Remove and let cool.

My picture is unimpressive, but Not Without Salt's photos at her original post are beautiful. The cake is delicious just on its own or with simple toppings like fruit or yogurt, but the real gem in this recipe is toasting the cake with some browned butter (beurre noisette). Here are Not Without Salt's instructions on making it:

Place one stick of butter in a medium sauce pan and set on medium heat. Let the butter melt than bubble. The milk solids will foam and bubbles will creep up the sides of the pan letting you know that you are almost done. As the milk solids resolve and settle down twirl the pot to see if you see golden bits on the bottom. If you do, turn off the heat and remove the pot from the stove. If not, continue to cook until you do see those golden bits on the bottom. Browned butter, a beauty that permeates a soft nuttiness into anything it touches. I adore the stuff – can you tell?

I'd never made or used browned butter before this, but I am SO SO SO glad I indulged the glutton within and tried it. The flavour reminds me of a nutty Werther's candy. (Which feels like magic to me since it's just hot butter!!). We were barbequing anyways, so I tried making skewers as in the original recipe; I had worried about the cake sticking or crumbling apart, but they came off with picturesque grill marks and a perfectly buttery, crisp outer layer. Mmmmmmm.

Next post: the baking and browned butter love-in continues...

okonomi at my house

2011-07-08T00:51:00.002-04:00

Remember the okonomiyaki kit my aunt had? I found it in Toronto! I guess they won't be seeing me at Okonomi House for a while... (if ever!)

i) Okonomi kit - with English instructions. I found mine at T&T supermarket.
ii) Kit parts: okonomi flour mix, tenkasu (tempura flakes; these had a really similar smell to Chinese shrimp crackers), English/Chinese/Korean and Japanese instructions, yamaimo (yam) powder. (Not pictured: aonori)
v) My lunch: okonomiyaki (topped with okonomi sauce and Japanese mayo), chickpea salad (chickpeas + cheddar cheese + balsamic vinegar), pineapple + bell pepper chicken
vi) My mum's lunch: pineapple + bell pepper chicken with soba, small okonomiyaki

And today's lunch:

Leftover broccoli fusilli re-cooked with bell peppers, leftover chicken, cherry tomatoes, and pesto.

Happy weekend!

R E P L I E S

that kate thank you! the book has inspired me to try a similar sketchbook style of recipe keeping as well! the cute style is contagious, haha.

the notebook doodles thank you so much! I can't wait to share complete photos of my new room :)

a proper lunch

2011-07-04T21:46:00.004-04:00

Yesterday, I bought this neat lunch container and accompanying cook book at (of all places...) the art store.

I love the glass-like cover and ceramic-like bottom (both are actually plastic). I don't usually like red/black colour combinations, but I thought it was a cute nod to your typical takeout bento box, and I also figured the black wouldn't get stained :P I'm so excited to pack lunches to work! More info about the box and cook book can be found here.

Do you like my new chalkboard desk and purple walls? :)

mushy foods

2011-07-03T20:15:00.006-04:00

Welcome to the land of mushy foods, population: 2. I had my bottom wisdom teeth out last week, and one of my dad's false teeth came loose, so we decided to have a mushy food feast.

"I know there's fish. Let me in. Now."

Pea pesto

- Fresh blanched peas, parmesan cheese, toasted pine nuts, roasted garlic, olive oil, salt, pepper.

- Blend until smooth.

Roasted pumpkin hummus

- Roasted pumpkin with curry spices, roasted garlic, roasted chickpeas, olive oil, salt, pepper.

- Blend until smooth.

Red pepper salad

- Roasted red peppers, corn, diced shallots, crumbled feta.

- Chop all ingredients and toss lightly.

Orange salmon

- Rub salmon with salt and pepper and sear lightly in olive oil.

- Add orange juice and capers. Place a lid to steam.

- Melt a tablespoon of butter in the orange juice. Spoon the sauce over the salmon repeatedly until done.

If anyone has noticed that I unfollowed them recently, please don't be offended! I did a little Google reader organizing and ended up unfollowing everyone through blogspot but refollowing in Google :)

oh come on...

2011-06-16T01:27:00.001-04:00

Happy stuff first: my aunt made me okonomiyaki yesterday! She even drew an okonomiyaki sauce smiley for me; she's such a cute lady! I hope I can find the same okonomiyaki kit in Toronto. My aunt took me to some Japanese stores but we could only find the flour base, and it didn't have as clear instructions as the kit did. (They were illustrated, haha.)

Less happy stuff: so disappointed in people's actions in downtown Vancouver right now. (Secondarily disappointed that CTV cut So You Think You Can Dance to broadcast this garbage.) People, just go home! It all makes me feel like this:

R E P L I E S

Aron I knoooowwww; I buy thick cut bacon at my farmers' market, but this stand had so many fancy kinds! Mmmmyamyam. How do you like zumba? It looks like so much fun but I have less than zero rhythm so I've always felt self-conscious about trying it...

bacon: the best way to start a post

2011-06-14T22:09:00.000-04:00

Greetings from beautiful British Columbia! I'm currently in Langley, which is about an hour outside of Vancouver. One of my mum's childhood friends generously offered to let me job shadow at his vet clinic, so I've been out here since the end of May working six days a week. I have about two weeks left before I return to Toronto, and I'm just trying to soak up as much as possible. This is exactly the kick in the pants that I needed going into my last year of university and applications for vet school :)

Last weekend, my "aunt" and "uncle" took me into Vancouver to see Granville Island. I'd actually been before, as I used to come to BC every few years to visit my cousins (who have since moved back to Hong Kong), but when my aunt mentioned "artisan crafts" and "farmer's market", obviously my interest was peaked :P

Just beside the Public Market is a store called Maiwa that specializes in natural fabric dyes and block printing. I picked up a gorgeous hand-carved elephant block print from India, made of reclaimed teak (for which I have absolutely no plans so far; it was just so pretty that I had to buy it!), as well as the craft books Simply Sublime Bags: 30 No-Sew, Low-Sew Projects by Jodi Kahn, Ribbon Embroidery: Simple Stitches for Easy Embellishments by Natalie Bellanger-Clément, and Cut It, Paste It, Sew It: A Mixed-Media Collage Sourcebook edited by Chisa Itou. I am so so so excited to find a modern ribbon embroidery book (filled front to back with Mokuba ribbons, no less!), as the only ones I've seen have been very... how can I describe it... "granny-esque".

Ugh, hiccups again! Must go fix that :)

as always...

2011-01-21T17:59:00.002-05:00

I'm preparing a post on some of my current fascinations, but this didn't seem to fit since I am perpetually enchanted with Japanese interiors, so here they are, separately! These are from an issue of "Hitori Kurashi" ("Enjoying the Single Life") that I recently downloaded from jmagazinescans. If anyone would like the link, just let me know :)

My apartment isn't very good for having guests, due to a lack of chairs and couches, so the idea of a big, comfy rug is really appealing to me!

I love this interior; it feels sort of mori :)

On a similar vein, I had an idea today for how I can fit a larger desk into my bedroom, and I think it'll look great! I think it'll also give me the space I need to keep some potted plants in my room, which I've always wanted to do :D I also have the opportunity to do some rearranging in our living room and kitchen, as my current roommate Alana will be moving out after this semester, and my good friend Vince will be moving in. Exciting times!

I recently had some friends over and we watched 127 Hours. Very captivating for a movie with only one character and probably only two lines of dialogue! The arm scene wasn't as disturbing as I'd thought it would be; that's not to say that it wasn't extremely well done and appropriately graphic, I just expected a lot worse considering people have apparently vomited during it at screenings. Then again, I took mammalian anatomy last semester and spent three hours every Thursday morning cutting open small animals...

And on a totally unrelated and belated note:

just popping in

2010-12-11T00:08:00.000-05:00

Hello, all! Not ready yet for a proper post (still one exam to go :c) but here's a cute video to tide you over :)

Have you caught the holiday spirit yet? I think I have enough to convert a sleigh-full of Grinches, haha. Can't wait to go home and go into full Christmas mode; I have a very crafty holiday planned, and I'm so excited to get started.

my shy reappearance

2010-11-06T21:54:00.003-04:00

Hello! Wow, it's been a long, long time. I don't even have anything to say for myself; I've tried to start an entry a few times now, but anything that came out always seemed inadequate. I want to (and try to) keep my blog and what I say as representative of my true, "real life" personality as possible (because I think online personas, intentional or not, mess up people), but I do have certain standards for my content so I don't come across as a raging lunatic. And, I guess nothing really made the cut. (Mostly for being boring, less so for lunacy.)

My life has been happily uneventful since I moved back to Guelph, which is probably a decent description of my life in Guelph overall. Despite having lived downtown last year as well, I only recently discovered the adorable health food store near my house. My favourite things are the mini bulk section, Monday discount for students, and the bottles of milk. Bottles! So quaint. Buying them, carrying them, and using them give me a funny warm feeling, haha. Plus my milk no longer acquires an unsettling "fridge" smell/taste.

When I think about how I live in Guelph compared to how I live in Toronto, living in Guelph feels like life without all the "noise". Like a very basic, wholesome way of living, without the constant draw of bright lights and "things to do". Going to the farmer's market and the health food store (and running into the neighbourhood cats on the way), going to yoga, spending a peaceful day at the library - that's all it really takes for me, an avowed "city girl", to be happy in Guelph. I wasn't like this last year. I wonder what changed.

R E P L I E S

christine I'm sorry I never answered your email; I meant to but completely forgot. I accidentally deleted my playlist so I'm working on a new one :) As for Canadian dance music, maybe Crystal Castles and Caribou?

pleasantly surprised and a parcel swap!

2010-07-23T00:17:00.000-04:00

I just did my first practice MCAT and I got a 32! I'm pleasantly surprised considering I (shh don't tell anyone) didn't try very hard. I guess I was antsy to just finish it and see what my first diagnostic score would be. Still have to work hard, but at least now I feel like I'm working towards an attainable goal (35+). I think the study books I've been using have more difficult questions than the actual AAMC version, haha.

Lately though, I've noticed myself getting more and more burnt out. My concentration's pretty shot. I thought maybe a little creativity and craftiness could jumpstart me again, and just as I had that thought, I (serendipitously, don't you think?) received an email from my Japanese pen pal whom I haven't heard from in several years.

Sooooo, I would like to propose a parcel swap :) I'll leave it open indefinitely, so anyone who reads this can feel free to email me and start up a swap at any time. I may be the one in need of a pick-me-up now, but if you ever need one you know I'll be ready with my "brown paper packages tied up in string"! My stipulations (for now) are that

I only swap with people who have either previously commented to my blog and/OR to whose blog I have commented. This is more for familiarity's sake; if I didn't read your blog and you didn't read mine, how would we know what to send each other??
I am willing to ship anywhere in the world as long as you're willing to ship to me in Canada.
I'd like to keep the material value under $30.

Anyone interested? My email is in my sidebar if so!

Here are some pretty pictures in the mean time...

from fakingfashion on LJ

R E P L I E S

Christine yes! the spanakopita is the greek feta and spinach pie. mmm mmm I want to make another one just thinking about it, haha. and lol, yes camp is very fun! I spend a lot of my time making balloon powered cars and clicking around in iMovie :P

Aron haha yeah it's such an attention-grabbing ad campaign but I think it's so smart! and thank you, I'm glad you like the photos!

heavy

2010-07-20T18:49:00.000-04:00

Hello, wonderful people :)

Recently, a friend of mine from middle school, along with his brother, took his own life. We hadn't been close at all in the last few years, having drifted apart after grade nine, but the experience still shocked me and caused me to reevaluate. It made me realize how much I had taken my memories of our good times for granted, and how little I'd appreciated what an impact they'd had on my life. Thinking back on it now, if I hadn't become so close with our trio back then, I probably would have chosen a different high school, stayed in my "gifted" program, and completely missed out on the defining experience I'd had in those formative years that created this person that I am happy to be.

But my point is not that this person was some milestone in my life. Even though we were good friends back then, I never actually knew him very well. I guess what I'm trying to say is that these innocent, seemingly meaningless memories we have of the countless people who have walked in and out of our lives are not so meaningless, and I'm sad that it took a shock of this magnitude to awaken me to that. Maybe I'll just sound like a whack if I go around thanking people for that funny skit we did in class or for editing my papers just before they were due, but I feel compelled to do it now, because you never know who could really use the appreciation, and who may not still be around if you wait to say it later.

Hope you've finally found a place of peace, Jae.

hello, lovers!

2010-07-09T22:22:00.002-04:00

Sorry for the long absence! I don't know why but I was in a blogging funk. Or, rather, I just didn't want to edit photos, and I don't find myself very interesting without a nice photo or two. And now, my job as an arts camp counsellor has started, so I'm totally worn out by the time I get home each day and pretty much just want to sit in my basement and pick the paint and plasticine off of my skin. But, thank you for the very kind comments you all left me while I was lazing around in la-la land!

I should be doing MCAT work, but instead, I'm going to sit here, eat some Smarties (I was never huge on them but I recently noticed that they've added flavours to the candy shells, so I'm hooked in temporary fascination), and edit a whomp-load of photos.

J, our friend Vince, and I went for a much needed Fran's trip a few weeks ago. Sometimes you just want A REALLY BIG WAFFLE (or should I say "plate of whip cream") at 10pm.

One night I had a mysterious Greek craving, so I went all out and made chicken souvlaki, Greek potatoes, and a spanakopita. I used this recipe.

NXNE came and went, and because I was scared a measly $50 wristband would get overshadowed by "VIP" wristbands, I didn't get one. Too bad, because friends have since told me that not many people bought the VIP ones! D'oh. Next year, next year. I did check out one of the free shows with my friend Madeleine (the fantastic creator of this NXNE playlist); we saw k-os as well as Vancouver's Said the Whale.

And here's where I was for the "Toronto earthquake"... right by the water. Didn't feel a thing. Kinda wish I could have; it sounded so exciting and non-threatening, haha.

Coming up: a soup recipe and photos from my weekend in Guelph that took me a week to sleep off :P

Weeaboo thanks you for reading through this obnoxiously belated and lengthy post. He's gonna get back to his cheese block now.

R E P L I E S

Emm Sometimes I hear about them from Toronto blogs, and some places are just familiar sites that I've been meaning to try out :)

Kelly I really liked Asterios Polyp! I don't read many graphic novels, so I may have been entranced by pretty standard things, but I loved the use of only one or two colours per page and then sudden contrasts between colours in certain panels. I'm sure J wouldn't mind my lending it to you if you'd like to meet up sometime! I still have it :) And thanks for the recs! I have actually heard of Black Hole; it's pretty old, isn't it? I remember when I first heard about it, I was kind of scared by the concept :P Maybe I'm in a better place to appreciate it now, haha.

Christine NATTO. NATTO IS UNAPPEALING. well, to me at least! I hear it's an acquired flavour... but yeah, Japanese interiors make me feel so incompetent at organizing and using my space :/

Ducia Ciao Oh really? That's too bad! I guess it depends on where you live; I know Kinokuniya and I think Marukai will ship within the US :) But that gets pretty pricey. Thanks for stopping by!

Cookie Cutter I've wanted a kotatsu for so long! Not even for the heater, I don't think, since both of my houses are heated. I just love the futon, group aspect, and the seiza chairs :) And no prob, I love your content! Thanks for dropping by as well :)

Sui lol I'm pretty sure it's the cheapest pencil you can get; I always get them so I can have a bunch, because I always lose pencils! This is why I can't have nice things... LOL. And YES, come visit me! I have no idea why your brother in law thinks Toronto is the place to be for meat (I mean, we have nice restaurants and some pricey steakhouses but they're not like, ~*legendary*~, I don't think...) but if you come I know plenty of fantastic veg/vegan and even raw places we can visit!

my small space

2010-06-19T21:18:00.003-04:00

Layouts that may be possible for my apartment room:

Things I'd like to incorporate:

Things I'd like to incorporate but probably can't get in Canada:

japanese interior scans from vvshu.com

a little bit longer...

2010-06-18T22:53:00.001-04:00

Overheard at my camp's open house:

Chinese man: (singing with the radio) I got a feeling!
Son: Dad, stop singing!
Chinese man: Why? This is my favourite song! I Got A Feeling!
Son: BECAUSE YOU SING UGLY!

I've been terrible at remembering to take photos lately. Bizarre, because usually I always want to document everything, haha.

Continuing to clear the backlog...

My boyfriend left me this graphic novel to read while he was away. I wish I read more graphic novels, but they're pretty expensive. I think the library has a pretty decent collection of them, but unless I know what I'm looking for they're hard to find. Any graphic novel recommendations? :)

And just some randoms from the backyard.

Hopefully some new content soon, including the promised mega-waffle :P

R E P L I E S

make it easy I will try that next time!

abid haha if you come to toronto!

ate a really big waffle

2010-06-11T01:34:00.004-04:00

Just got back from the bar and should be going to bed, but I realized that I've gone nearly a week without a new post and I'm not going to let that happen!

I actually have a backlog of edited photos to post, so I don't know why I've been so reticent. ~*big mysteryyy*~ Here's a set from a visit to the new (not even licensed yet!) Izakaya Ju last week.

i) next time I have to get "Bang Bang Salad", haha.
ii) tuna
iii) asari sakamushi - steamed clams in sake soup
iv) gindara daikon - black cod with daikon
v) ebi mayo
vi) various yakitori skewers
vii) takowasa ochazuke
viii) and ix) yamasen - japanese yam (ordered by accident; I really cannot handle the mucosal texture! my mum was a champ and finished it to be polite, though.)
x) chef
xi) anmitsu - ice cream with agar cubes, red bean, and fruit (see video!)
xii) so much fanfare just to pay the bill... I love it.

I am neither someone with a great memory nor a Japanese food master; rather, I'm just a plain 'ole cheater who has a copy of the menu on hand, haha.

Cooking With Dog is my favourite YouTube channel, haha.
For some reason, I suddenly had the urge to listen to the Haiti version of K'naan's "Waving Flag". It makes me tingle with Canadian pride to watch the video and be able to pick out practically all of the artists. Fu fu fu fu fu. The first time my roommate showed me the video, we both cried, and then we were like, "WHY ARE WE CRYING OMG."

Ohhhhh I should really be asleep by now. My stomach hurts. I ate a really big waffle. (Of which, of course, I have pictures.) 'Night!

R E P L I E S

make it easy no probs, glad you enjoyed! I haven't had much luck finding any more of her music; let me know if you do!

addiction

2010-06-04T23:50:00.000-04:00

I recently read an article about a cartoonist/graphic novelist who is in the process of giving up the internet for four months. (Here's the Slate blog he mentions keeping.)

I think it stops you from deeper concentration. You’re just skimming the surface of so many things. One of the reasons I felt I had to get off the Internet is because that compulsive need to be checking my email wasn’t conducive to the type of head space that I needed to achieve in order to work on my graphic novels. I wasn’t ever going to produce another book if I was going to stay on the Internet — or at least a book that I’d be proud of.

I’d rather move slower and have a richer experience than move quicker and have a more surface-y relationship with everything.

This is exactly what I've realized, too. The internet is wonderful, but it's reprogrammed me to expect instant and constant gratification from whatever I'm doing. I get fidgety when I try to concentrate on studying because, while there are some "aha!" and "yay I got that right :)" moments, it's nothing compared to the near-instantaneous "eww I can't believe she wore that!!" or "ooh a new blog entry from xxx" to which I've become accustomed. Sometimes I feel like a child, like I've lost the self-control to do unpleasant things for the sake of a greater good.

I need to cut back.

I can't really remember what else I wanted to say (I also blame the internet for my terrible memory) so here's an adorable playlist a friend made me as an NXNE crash course, and some Icelandic music another friend introduced to me:

never mind

2010-06-03T16:36:00.000-04:00

I nearly peed myself/had a heart attack/screamed this morning when I heard that Arcade Fire had announced a tour date in Toronto. I then booked it downtown, took a nausating amount of cash out from a street-side ATM (thanks, cash-only policy at Rotate This!), and made these beautiful tickets (not really; hate you, Ticketmaster) mine.

Forget what I said before about summer... NOW it's starting to feel like summer.

R E P L I E S

christine aww, thank you, you're too sweet! *hugs* and yup, I totally agree about the frames; I'm aiming for sunglasses. probably not gonna get the same green lenses, though; they're so dark, haha.

make it easy :P thanks!

silliness

2010-06-01T23:25:00.001-04:00

k-k-k-kelly has been pestering (:P) me to do outfit posts since even before this blog, but I never found a good spot to take pictures of myself. I guess this is ok... except that my legs look grey! Oh well... Do you like my shorts? I was craving high-waisted shorts and picked them up a few weeks ago on a vintage trawl with a friend. Maybe I will take a picture later of my A+ (lol) safety pinning job which my dad described as "very Jean Paul Gautier".

My boyfriend came over today to distract me from studying, so we just lazed around not doing much of anything.

I actually don't remember why anymore, but this is what we call his "turtle face".

Constipated blowfish? Not sure, I think I was just making a face. But thoughts on the sunglasses? They're my mum's vintage Ray Bans and I'm thinking of just getting them prescripted instead of continuing the (tiring, frustrating, boring, demoralizing because I have no nose bridge, etc etc) search for my own pair. Be honest; how do they look? I hated them when I first tried them on last summer, but for some reason they've grown on me. I hope I'm not just getting used to them and mistaking that for enjoyment, haha.

TARSIER! My boyfriend says there are a lot of them in the Philippines.

We are meltingggggg.....

Sliding off the couch.

I just got a text from my boyfriend as I was about to hit "publish".

Booooooo. I fell asleep in my cousin's car with my water bottle leaking on my crotch and now it feels like I peed myself.

I've missed him so much! :P

I did promise...

2010-05-31T22:39:00.001-04:00

I totally forgot to post these cupcake photos from last weekend. Good thing I have a "TO BE POSTED" (yes, in caps!) folder on my desktop to remind me. I used the Magnolia Bakery recipe with a self-rising flour substitution and only 3/4 cup sugar. The first dozen were plain vanilla and the second dozen had some dried cranberries thrown in. I actually preferred them plain because I thought the cranberries ruined the overall softness of the cupcake but my mum loves them. The frosting is Chockylit's meyer lemon cream cheese frosting (I used a regular lemon). I halved it and still had twice as much frosting as I needed, but as you can see I frosted pretty sparingly. Sorry about the lemon in the last picture; I ate a cupcake to test the consistency before baking the second dozen but didn't realize it would leave a hole in my pretty picture :P

R E P L I E S

make it easy thank you!! I love avocados too but I can never eat more than half at once, they fill me up so fast.

Em ahahaha ok, just let me grab some supplies and I'll, er, apparate right over :P

deejitaru natto! I'm afraid I never acquired the taste for natto... when I was in japan I ordered an omelette without realizing there was natto inside and ended up with an unpleasant surprise in my mouth, haha. teach me to like natto!

another week in food

2010-05-30T22:27:00.001-04:00

i and ii) cold noodles with cucumber, avocado, vietnamese cha lua (sausage), and peanut sauce (peanut butter, peanut oil, sesame oil, rice vinegar).
iii) veggie dog on ciabatta with avocado/cucumber salad and peanut sauce, and fruit salad.
iv) canadian brie from the farmers' market at the brickworks.
v and vi) pineapple, chicken, and white cheddar panini. (great with some cayenne pepper!)
vii) chicken, cucumber, and pineapple salad with wasabi mayo dressing (seriously, just some wasabi in mayo).
viii) instant noodles with leftover steak.

R E P L I E S

em thank you so much! the blue is my favourite too!

bridget it's now become "don't put this on your blog!" haha

deejitaru nice to meet you too! and thank you! my parents and I were confused about the tiger too; I hope it isn't!

thenextarrow and phuong thank you!

this post is broken

2010-05-26T00:21:00.003-04:00

Remainder of the weekend's photos. My dad's new catchphrase is "are you putting this on your blog?!"

Feeling a little nostalgic for this incredible night after hearing about This Movie Is Broken. (Really hoping my haggard, fanatic face doesn't make an appearance in the footage...) Maybe I will go to the island show after all... Have to count my pennies, since I also just found out that the She & Him show got moved to Sound Academy so there are still tickets available.

Ahhh, now this is summer. (I even got my first sunburn yesterday. Survived twenty years without so much as a single red patch and suddenly I get a sunburn?! Unfair.)

brunch blog: starving artist

2010-05-23T15:01:00.001-04:00

This weekend's brunch post is brought to you by bad photography and Photoshop abuse. Don't know what was up with me this morning. Brunch though, was great. It was one of those, "ok, yeah I pushed it and now I feel as though I may throw up, but fuck it, it was worth it and I'd do it again!" experiences. I was craving waffles, so we drove a good half hour to try Starving Artist Bar by Bloor and Lansdowne. My mum had mini waffles with eggs (first photo; "The Hitchhiker") and I had eggs benny on crispy potato waffles (second photo; "Breakfast Waffle"), while my dad had eggs benny on mini waffles (not shown; picture unsalvageable). All three of us had caramelized bacon and agreed that it was the best damn bacon we'd had in a while. As much as I do want to get through as many brunch places as I can this summer, I'm tempted to just camp out here, haha. Great bacon, fluffy waffles - you can even get "waffled bacon" which is (are you ready for this) BACON INSIDE WAFFLES.

Check out the menu and maybe you'll see why this may just be my new favourite brunch spot in Toronto.

Cupcake post still to come :)

salad season

2010-05-22T23:47:00.003-04:00

It's finally starting to feel like summer here in Toronto. My house has been taken over by fresh berries, cases of papayas, and the lingering smell of potting soil as my parents finish settling in the new tenants of our backyard garden. With summer comes my bizarre ability to eat salad every day without getting bored of it. Delightful Christine of Tie Me A Bow requested that I post some recipes, so here's an easy (maybe too easy to count as a recipe...) salad.

(Sorry these pictures are bigger than usual; I edited at 800px this time because I'm thinking of submitting to How's your weekend? and that's their minimum. But we'll see if I really do; I'm afraid of rejection, ahaha.)

I used arugula, so I made a sweet dressing to offset its bitterness. Here, I have honey, brown sugar, olive oil, salt, pepper, and some lemon juice. Stick it in the microwave for about 20sec. to melt and dissolve the honey and sugar. (I actually ended up finding the dressing too sweet so you may want to cut down/out the sugar. I only added it because, yesterday, my dad said my arugula salad was too bitter. I now think that he's just a sissy.)

Grape tomatoes (cut in half because I hate trying to fork the damn things when they're whole), cucumber, and blackberries.

Toss arugula in dressing to coat, then add toppings. (Cut the blackberries as you add them or they'll lose their juices just sitting on the cutting board.) Despite honest attempts to be otherwise, I'm a pretty messy cook if no one's looking - as you may be able to tell from the fact that I just plunked my salad into the package of arugula.

Serve! I had mine with a veggie dog on a ciabatta hot dog bun. (Saw them in the supermarket and pounced, lol. looove ciabatta buns.) I added some pear slices on top of the salad as well.

Hope that wasn't too bland... I'll try to do something more exciting next time, Christine! I have some cupcake photos to post later; hopefully that'll make up for this :)

Oh, and I have an outtake shot, haha. This is what I call "Too Lazy To Change My Prime Lens" or "Not Tall Enough To Focus Prime Lens Over Countertop".

And, on an endnote: some summer-y music! Loving Born Ruffians' new album Say It (can't wait to see them on the 28th!), The Black Keys' Brothers (maybe seeing them August 3rd?), Broken Social Scene's Forgiveness Rock Record (probably not going to their Toronto show since it's kinda pricey and I already saw the most epic BSS/Metric/Stars/Apostle of Hustle super reunion show OF LIFE last year front row, for free), and Janelle Monáe's The ArchAndroid. What's getting you guys in the summer groove?

R E P L I E S

christine none?! you must have some! not even a cute cafe with kitschy decor and knick-knacks strewn about artfully? :P

marie oh it really is! and the charcuterie aspect makes you feel so fancy, haha. "why yes, I had a delightful marrow beignet this morning; went so wonderfully with a fresh espresso." and that would be some day :)

jessica yes, it is! dundas west area. thank you for stopping by, too! your blog is wonderful; makes me want to wear more jewelry, haha.

make it easy thanks, aron!

brunch blog: the hoof cafe

2010-05-18T21:10:00.002-04:00

After laying low last weekend due to some unpleasant weather, my parents and I finally made it to The Hoof Cafe this weekend. We started with beignets of vanilla, sour cherry, and marrow centres and later shared the suckling pig eggs benny and the brioche French toast (sans fois gras). I'm so impressed with this place! I had expected the suckling pig eggs benny to be too rich for 11am but it was perfect. And the French toast! Ok, it was a little sweet for my tastes, but I wouldn't have given up the adorable sugared apple topping to change that; it was so pretty I giggled a little when I realized that's what they were. I was also delighted with the accompanying sauces, which were (don't quote me on this... I was a little giddy at the time): apple sauce; a churned, sweet maple syrup; and a sour, liquid maple syrup.

Can't wait to go back to this place, but maybe later in the day. While I loved the tender suckling pig accompanied by its airy cracklings, I think that's as close to charcuterie my stomach can take first thing in the morning... cold pizza for breakfast is a classic, but tongue grilled cheese? Give me a few hours first :P

R E P L I E S

sarah No, I didn't, but that's exactly the kind of site/resource I was looking for; thank you so much!!

kelly RILAKKUMA IS MY FAVOURITEEEE. I always want a plushie of him but they're so expensive... I only have so many in my room because my boyfriend bought me FIVE for christmas this year! (as demonstrated here... :P) strapya is so good, they have cheap shipping!

LET'S GO TO TOKYO TOGETHERRR. I love my mum and she put up with me wanting to go to tons of weirdo places, but it would still be so amazingly different to go with people my age, especially people who share my interests and tastes! (but who also know about things I don't, like what is this 'tokyo rockabilly club' you speak of, that sounds so cool!!) I'M THINKING 2012 AFTER I GRADUATE BUT I ALSO WANTED TO VOLUNTEER AT THIS SLOTH SANCTUARY IN COSTA RICA LOL.

I'm hoping to go eeeeeverywhere but my mum wants to focus on paris, london, and barcelona, and then my boyfriend wants a bunch of us to go to barcelona as well. so I'm trying to overlap the two into one superawesomeholycrap trip! I'd really like to go to sweden too, though that's a little out of the way.

I'M SORRY I HAVE NO OUTFIT POSTS BUT I DON'T HAVE A TRIPOD OR PHOTOGRAPHER ETC ETC D: I... will think of something. I will try to think of something...

christine the ghibli museum is incredible! the building itself, even just from the outside, is like something straight out of miyazaki's mind, and the interior... crazy! I think it would be incredible to go as a kid because they have little pathways that only kids can fit into, and a kid-size cat bus play area!

my heart belongs to japan

2010-05-16T01:09:00.005-04:00

(video by Leo of the mesmerizing Poupée méchanique ♥)

For a few reasons, I may be going to Europe next summer, and while I am (of course) excited, I can't help but pine for a trip to Japan instead. I've been once before, and it only scratched the surface of my long-standing fascination with Japanese culture. Having seen the sights (for the most part - I'm not a touristy person so while I did do Asakusa and Meiji Jingu, I didn't go to the Tokyo Tower or anything like that), I want so badly to go back and couchsurf, meet locals, go to shows, explore vintage and alternative fashion shops (is that an appropriate term? I mean like Grimoire or reinette et mirabelle), eat at places only locals know about, go to toy stores (and drop my entire savings on Rilakkuma goods), do purikura, play pachinko, have a drunken karaoke night, buy things I'll never need or use from Daiso for the sole reason that they are only ¥100, etc etc.

That kinda makes it sound like I didn't do anything of worth when I was in Japan, doesn't it? Well, that's not true. I went to Yoyogi Park and saw the cosplayers and lolitas, I ate authentic (fresh) ramen, I went to a Detective Conan-themed ice cream museum and had ocean- and chicken-flavoured ice cream while watching dancing kitty mascots, I went to the Ghibli museum, I went to an onsen, I shopped, I saw a salaryman passed out on the curb outside a pachinko parlor at 8am, I survived the subway system, I drank the most delicious milk of my life, I fought off stressed office workers in the basement food department of Odakyu for discount food after 7pm, I savoured the most buttery cookie I've ever eaten.

So, my dearest five or so blog readers - what do you suggest for me in Europe? I plan on getting a Eurorail pass and making the most of my time overseas, so feel free to suggest anything, anywhere. Links to related blogs would be great too! Basically, I feel as though I've found the unique niches in Japanese culture that draw me to visiting Japan, but I'm drawing a blank as to what I hope to see in Europe, since I really know almost nothing about Europe. (To my credit, I blame part of that on the fact that I was in the "gifted class" for several years and we didn't learn European history and culture like everyone else's curriculum; we had a unit on circuses instead :D) Cafés? Interesting lodging? Bars? Shops? Hit me :)

R E P L I E S

christine aw, thank you! I was just told tonight that I have a "glasses face", lol. no, I am chinese, actually! my parents are from hong kong, though I was born in canada.

make it easy no prob ^^;

sui whoa, small world indeed! thanks for dropping by!

toy camera infatuation

2010-05-12T18:42:00.002-04:00

Played around with AnalogColor today. I want to buy the full version but I wonder if it would make me dependent on the post-processing and less focused on taking good pictures. I love this style of photography and it's so tempting to think that I could just drag, drop, and tinker on even the most mediocre picture and come out with something pretty!

Excuse my messy room... Oh, and the reason my hair is all pinned back like that is kind of lame and embarrassing, so don't ask, haha. I don't usually look like a headmistress, lol.

R E P L I E S

christine: thank you, you make me feel like less of a weirdo, haha. during the summer I get pretty lazy and usually just eat plain things without much cooking, like... hmm, like for lunch I would probably just have some plain pasta with parm and then a ripe tomato and some fresh mozzarella with a bit of olive oil. something about summer just makes me eat simply and wholesomely, despite having all this spare time to cook. but I will try! and I would love to see food pictures from you!! do ittttttt >:]

THE DIVINITUS: I had no idea pocket pies existed! I thought mcdonald's portable pies were just another product of fast food ingenuity. but after getting over those first hurdles, I definitely appreciate pocket pies now, since I like a good crust to filling ratio... haha. thanks for visiting :)

emma: thank you! I'm pretty crap with html and all that internet-ery, so I really appreciate your comment, haha. thank you for following, it's nice to meet you!

just in general: how did you guys find my blog? I'm a little perplexed since I haven't particularly gone out of my way to promote it. in any case, glad to have you drop by ♥

I should be the hamburgler

2010-05-10T00:49:00.002-04:00

Most of my close friends can tell you that I have this weird thing about hamburger buns, especially McDonald's hamburger buns. They're just so perfect - the perfect shade of brown, the perfect smooth surface, the perfect fluffiness... Yes, I have see Supersize Me, and yes, I do remember that perfect McDonald's bun that, against natural law, resisted spoilage for over a month, but what can I say, it's just this thing I have...

bland

2010-05-10T00:42:00.001-04:00

A listlessness has drifted over me. Two parts missing my boyfriend, one part frustration with my incompetence at keeping in touch with friends, and probably one part just plain boredom.

Last week I bought this pocket pie mold. I'm not all that happy with it; it's got some irritating design flaws that took me a few ugly-as-sin pies to work around, but what can I say, being able to whip out portable, apple-shaped pies is a skill I value greatly.
No brunch report this week; the weather was gross so we opted to stay in and abuse my panini press.

shoe lust

2010-05-06T19:04:00.005-04:00

I've been lusting over the Vivienne Westwood for Melissa "Wing" shoes for a while now, but today, by a total fluke, I found them stocked in Balisi on Queen Street. I knew I wasn't going to buy them; they only had them in dark grey, and my Westwood-worshipping heart was set on pink marble. But it couldn't hurt to try, right?
IT CAN. IT CAN HURT. TRYING ON WHEN YOU DON'T HAVE THE MONEY TO BUY THINGS CAN DEFINITELY HURT.
They were the wrong colour and the wrong size but they were still perfection in my eyes... so sad.
I emailed the store to see if they can get a smaller size for me to try, since they do have 35 and 36 on the online store. And maybe, while I'm digging, I can see if they can get me pink marble from their supplier, a har har.
I've also emailed Melissa inquiring about other stockists in Toronto.
Mine is a heart possessed.
ETA They said it's an updating error and that they don't actually have any smaller sizes. I scoured the internet as well and they're sold out everywhere :( Heartbreak, thy name is "Wing". (haha so melodramatic.) I guess I should console myself with the fact that the faux rocking horse shoes my roommate and I eBay-ed on a whim should be coming in soon, but urgh. Nothing like the real thing, right?

make you dizzy

2010-05-05T00:02:00.000-04:00

More Weeaboo since he seems to be a popular feature :P I guess to roundout the pet posts I should take some pictures of my fish, but to be honest, for a guy named Nicholas Ghesquière, he's kinda boring.

R E P L I E S
christine: he is SO soft, but he's also very squirmy and flexible, so it's actually very hard to pet him! he's nice to hold, though, haha.
jamie: quarantine laws? that's no fun! not even hamsters?
kimberley: yes, he's got the cutest, most innocent eyes!

let the brunching begin : the gladstone hotel

2010-05-01T22:46:00.003-04:00

My parents became "up-and-coming neighbourhood"-tracking, weekend brunching hipsters sometime in January, when I was still at school in Guelph. They've hit a few city favourites so far, including Lady Marmalade, Bonjour Brioche, and Jamie Kennedy's Gilead Café. NOW posted a list of essential brunch spots this past week and it's our family goal to get through all of them. This week: the Gladstone Hotel.

ii) my dad, hip as ever in an argyle sweater vest. A+
iv) iced queen west berry lagoon
v) and vi) perfect eggs benny
vii) huevos rancheros
Unfortunately, didn't get a good picture of my mum's frittata (dandelion greens, red peppers, and shitakes) but it was top notch.
We're thinking the Hoof Café next weekend. Suckling pig eggs benny, exciting!

PS Have I mentioned that I love this lens? I love this lens. Looooove.

weeaboo glen coco chi ponyo coffey-wong

2010-05-01T21:59:00.004-04:00

...is the name of the hamster I share with my roommate. I have him for the summer since she's in Rome for a bit. Unexpectedly, my mum loves him. She takes him out (I just heard the cage door snap open downstairs as I type this) every night and feeds him treats. Afterwards, he'll go back in his cage and dig around in one corner to hide whatever he's hoarded in his cheeks. He's a cutie.

R E P L I E S
Britty » thank you! she doesn't like me that much though, since I emulate her sounds. It's probably really annoying.

cat

2010-04-29T23:51:00.008-04:00

I've always thought of myself as a very independent person. Sometimes I think I'm independent to the extent that I don't necessarily value the company of others until it's too late. Being with J has definitely helped me to bridge this gap and to see the necessity of having a close network of friends (shall I say "nucleus"? - inside joke), but now that J's visiting the Philippines for a month with limited external communication, I'm trying to reconnect with the "me" that was able to keep her banal thoughts to herself. It's not that I think it's good to keep everything bottled up inside, but I've grown so accustomed to texting J every stupid little detail that runs across my mind ("I just dropped a cup into the bathroom sink and the sink broke" or "I just saw a girl wearing horrendous Coach shoes. whyyyyy") that if I can't find some way to shove it back into my brain, I'm just going to become a public nuisance. My Twittering has already increased by 358%. I made that up. But you get the point.

By the way, this is my cat. Her name is Mao, which is Cantonese for "cat".

R E P L I E S
(I hate how Blogspot doesn't do nested, email-notification comments, so I'm going to stop replying to comments where they are posted and instead reply to them in subsequent posts. So, even if you comment in an older post, I'll reply to it, and any comments to newer posts, in the next post I make after I receive your comment. No more checking for replies necessary, though I guess you do have to read my blog. My condolences.)

christine / tie me a bow » thank you! I really liked your blog and started following you as well :)

craigslist trawling

2010-04-29T17:23:00.003-04:00

I bought a vintage 50mm f1.8 film lens off Craigslist a couple days ago. Not having IS is taking some getting used to (do I have shaky hands??) but I love the dreaminess a little unexpected out-of-focusness can give. Besides, for only $35 I can't really complain.

J and I went to the Ontario Science Centre to see the Harry Potter exhibition. For some reason, I had expected it to be more interactive but it was more like a museum exhibit of props and costumes from the movies. It was still neat, though; I definitely flipped out a little over the different wands, especially Voldy's badass bone-like one and Harry's (kinda stupid-looking one) that lit up on the tip if you swished it and said "lumos!" ...ok you didn't have to say "lumos" ~~but I did~~.

Too bad there was no photography in the exhibit. I did get some shots (with my new lens :D) of the rest of the Science Centre, but, to be honest, the Science Centre is pretty lame these days compared to when I was a kid.

The rest are at my flickr.

pic-a-nic basket

2010-04-29T16:54:00.001-04:00

J and I were walking around downtown Guelph last week when I spied this adorable semi-circular picnic basket on the sidewalk table of an antique store. It even came with the retro cutlery set, and the size is perfect for a fully-stocked picnic. I can't wait for picnic-appropriate weather :]

goodbye, guelph

2010-04-28T23:40:00.002-04:00

i) railroad tracks behind my apartment.
ii) random hot-pink, sunglasses-ed statue of a prophet (???) that I only realized in March was at the side of my apartment building. it has apparently been there for a while, according to my roommate who sees it when she takes out the garbage.

call it love

2010-04-28T23:16:00.006-04:00

Vogue Nippon June 2010 - "Call it Love" - Caroline Trentini, Raquel Zimmermann, Nicholas Hoult
Photographer: Ellen von Unwerth

I didn't post the whole editorial, just most of the Nick Hoult shots. I miss him on Skins! I think I'll watch A Single Man tomorrow...
I can't resist the tantalizing combination of Tom Ford + Nick Hoult + Colin Firth.

-- Scans from Faking Fashion on LiveJournal

kelly kelly vermicelli

2010-04-24T23:29:00.005-04:00

Catching up on some old photos. Kelly (WONDERFULTHINGS & MAXIMUMDELICIOUSNESS) gave me this goodie bag when we went out for lunch over Reading Week.
i) best ziploc bag I've ever received
ii) pin! haven't found a special enough place for this yet. don't want to lose it :<
iii) lovingly handcut stickers ♥
iv) to vi) details from the zine!
You can find more of Kelly's incredible art at brightredlemons on tumblr and squirtlesquirtle on flickr. Like this (!!!!!):

PS to Kelly and anyone else who likes Born Ruffians: Born Ruffians are playing the Horseshoe Tavern on May 28th as a CD release party/tour kick-off. Tickets are only $15 and still available at Rotate and Soundscapes! Wanna goooooo?
PPS to Kelly and anyone else who likes triads movies: TRIAD MOVIE MARATHON THIS SUMMER FOR SURE.

SUMMER WARS

2010-04-21T12:39:00.001-04:00

Last week, my roommate and I watched Summer Wars. I'd never heard of it but it had been posted to the site where I download Japanese dramas (guilty pleasure...) and the synopsis compared its director to Hayao Miyazaki. INSTANT MUST WATCH.

It was fantastic! The art is so interesting; it switches between superflat and Miyazaki-style, which makes for a great contrast. Plus, it's supercute. Alana and I were both like, "bawwww we wish OZ was real so we could have cute avatars!!!!" afterwards. We're so nerdy, haha.

Posters from you can make it easy and this Japanese site :)

cheap thrills

2010-04-20T00:16:00.004-04:00

(Every time I think "cheap thrills" I also think of Thrills, the terrible soap-flavoured gum. I tried it on a whim once, thinking it'd be novel and hilarious yet endearingly palatable, but unfortunately not - it totally tasted like I'd rinsed my mouth with cheap soap. Eugh.)

I was clearing out my desk today when I found the cheapy fisheye lens I once bought for my cell phone. Of course, I thought to stick the crappy thing onto my $600 camera :D

i) on the lens
ii) tennyson and wild thing
iii) my beloved tintin poster from an exhibit at musée de la civilisation
iv) the tiny desk at which I've spent the last two weeks of my life
v) speedskater domo-kun
vi) bird circle rug
vii) selfportrait

funny stuff! can't wait to try again in better light (these were taken in the evening, in my room, iso 400 and 2sec or so). hoping to play with distances and enhance the fisheye effect.

beginning

2010-04-19T23:53:00.003-04:00

Rewatched 500 Days of Summer today. Not only do I just love it, but it seemed like a good way to start my summer. About this time last year, when I was seeing this in theatres, was a really weird, new time for me. I was a real Summer Finn - and not post-marriage Summer, but Sid-and-Nancy, karaoke-bar-scene Summer. (Did that sentence even make sense? I guess you have to have seen the movie to get it.)

Finished my last exam today. I'm free! Funny to think that I'm halfway done my undergrad. I called my mum afterwards and she asked me, half-jokingly, if it had changed me. I told her I felt a little richer in knowledge but poorer in funds.

(If anyone is going to tumblr this screenshot collage, please link back to/credit this blog. I never realized what a pain in the ass it is to screencap things :<)

bye bye

2010-04-18T15:55:00.007-04:00

I can't wait to go back home for the summer, but I will miss the amazing lighting in my apartment - especially in my kitchen.

i) yesterday's tuna salad. really like this picture.
ii) random picture; accidentally hit my lens on the jar when taking it. oh well, really like this one too.
iii) kind of a crappy one, but I had to show my undying love for kewpie mayo (it's in the tuna too, underneath the cucumbers.)
iv) heated up a frozen unagi filet my dad bought for me. 870 CALORIES FOR 1/3??? that can't be right, can it?

in other news, these photos reminded me that I forgot my flickr username/yahoo email address... I know the url and I can still upload because I have flickr uploadr connected, but that's it!

I wasn't feeling well the other day, and for some reason when I don't feel well or when I'm stressed I want asian foods. so, I called my dad and he walked me through how to make plain congee. (it was so cute, he even called me to remind me to check that it hadn't boiled over, and he was sad when I didn't picture message him the results. I tried! my phone didn't want to for some reason.) I went to the chinese grocery the next day and bought some pickled who-knows-what that we usually eat with congee, as well as some gai lan (?) and... wait for it... SPAM. I dunno, I had a craving... don't judge me... :<

back to studying...

ACK

2010-04-18T11:44:00.005-04:00

Accidentally deleted my last post. Bleh!
Found this in my drafts, though.

Went dropsnap crazy recently and became addicted to the Victorian/vintage/antique/layered style of the girls that work at Grimoire, Sister, and reinette et mirabelle.

dreams

2010-01-14T10:19:00.005-05:00

Last night, I had a dream that I worked in a clothing store (/tattoo parlour?) with a few other teens/early-twenty-somethings, in a Jersey Shore/The Real World kinda set-up with the manager-owned living arrangement. Except, instead of that angry-looking dude from Jersey Shore, the boss was House, pre-rehab (cranky and apt to smack us with his cane). Somewhere in the dream, it melded into one of my semi-recurrent driving dreams, wherein I'm forced to drive (I don't drive in real life) but I do a piss poor job of it and crash the car/damage property/wipe out undeserving pedestrians. I think I tried to hide from House, but he found me in the store bathroom and congratulated me on a job well done. And then, as with all of my dreams, it just ended.

in the kitchen

2010-01-11T20:18:00.007-05:00

I got a panini press for Christmas :) My mum picks the best "random" presents. It's always nice to get something frivolous that you wouldn't have bought for yourself, but she always manages for them to be functional as well.

Somehow, this craft/project blog has become a photo blog.

Ah well.

ETA: The press is by Breville and can be purchased from Williams-Sonoma.

not-yet-spring cleaning

2010-01-11T20:10:00.001-05:00

new year, new possessions. gotta make space.

the return

2010-01-11T20:08:00.002-05:00

to my Guelph apartment. bye bye, Toronto.

Currently cat-sitting as my parents attend a wedding in Hong Kong.

Cat seems less than amused.

christmas catch-up

2010-01-07T12:07:00.011-05:00

i) Second annual IKEA Tree Trek/Pine Pilgrimage/Holiday Haul (in which my friends help me cart a tree from IKEA back to my house on the subway and bus) brought home this plump fellow.

ii) Someone bought us a Korean barbeque plate for Christmas! It fits over a propane camping stove. My dad and I couldn't figure out ingredients for a Korean-style marinade, so it was kind of wonky-tasting ("put more kimchi! it'll taste more korean!!" - dad) but I was at the Chinese supermarket today and found a Korean meat marinade so I can't wait to try again!

iii) A+ gift giving from my boyfriend. Tennyson, Ginsberg, Milton, Shakespeare, and Ghostface (named after his favourite poets). Motivation/reminder to always focus so that, one day, I can fulfill my dreams of being a vet at the zoo :)

iv) Baked and packaged (using recycled wrapping paper from earlier presents) some cranberry shortbread and gave them to friends, along with a matching cranberry-scented toiletry from The Body Shop.

v) Another present from my boyfriend. Guh. Such a beautiful cover.

adventures in pretzel making

2010-01-04T00:56:00.012-05:00

I made pretzels yesterday.

(er, that's my mum, not me.)

They weren't that great, though. Abated my burning craving but didn't fully satisfy. I think I overmixed it and didn't let it rise for long enough. Gonna try again soon with a tad less flour.

ETA: They still sucked.

kotatsu here I come

2009-12-11T13:56:00.003-05:00

It struck me like the fist of an angry god this morning that I need a kotatsu in my life. I'm always cold, I don't have a good workspace, and I have no space in my room for a desk. As much as I lust for this foldable beauty, I really can't justify the $200 EMS (or $100 SAL) shipping for something that will, in all likelihood, reduce me to the laziest and most socially unacceptable/isolated/forgotten person around. ("Go out? B-b-but I'd have to l-leave my n-n-nice, warm k-kotatsu... Maybe next time...")

I'll just have to make my own.

prints by echino, pictures from etsy stores
table from ikea

wild for where the wild things are

2009-08-09T00:05:00.002-04:00

Watching the new Where the Wild Things Are trailer left me (as with the first one) weepy, puppy-dog excited (i.e. to the point of running in circles, yapping, and peeing), craving Arcade Fire (easily and dutifully remedied), and desperate for any sort of Wild Things paraphernalia. After a brief and unsatisfying Etsy trawl, I've decided to make my own. I'm crafty, right?

Progress complaints and/or success stories to come.

001

2009-07-29T22:35:00.002-04:00

hello hello hello hello hello hello hello hello hello hello hello hello hello hello hello hello hello hello hello hello hello hello hello hello hello hello hello hello hello hello hello hello hello hello hello hello hello hello hello hello hello hello hello hello hello hello hello hello hello hello hello hello hello hello hello hello hello hello hello hello hello hello hello hello hello hello hello hello hello hello hello hello hello hello hello hello hello hello hello hello hello hello hello hello hello hello hello hello hello hello hello hello hello hello hello hello! I'm claudia. let's be friends!