Happy mother’s day to all the beauty cat mothers out there!
I’ll be working on my posture all day in your honour.
We have been all sunshine saturation and balmy breezes out here on the west coast.
Mostly importantly, it is finally, FINALLY slurpee weather:
And BBQ weather!
And patios!
And road trips:
And long walks!
So let your shadows dance!
I hope you all have a great Sunday.
If you can, hug your mommas extra tight.
And for goodness sakes, sit up straight!
Breakfast for dinner is one of my favourite things in the entire world. Especially after a day of racing about like a racing thing.
And today was darn busy.
Beautiful, but busy.
So the only thing I wanted to do when I got home was make French toast, with homemade strawberry coulis, and good lemon yogurt.
Because folks, that combination tastes like a dream.
A dream.
Let’s get started.
Monster strawberry.
Chop it.
Squeeze it.
Boil it.
Blend it.
Break it.
Cut it.
Dip it.
Ack! I forgot to take a snap of the Fry it. phase.
Ah well, you will have to picture those slices sizzling away in the pan.
For a final result of:
As I ate this, I drank a tall glass of chocolate soy milk, which for some reason has grown on me like a bad rash. I used to hate the stuff, and now I cannot get enough of it.
It really is So Good. (Trade mark.)
So there you have it friends.
What’s your favourite thing to eat, when it comes to breakfast as dinner?
Happy Wednesday you winsome and wonderful weirdos! I don’t know what I’d do without you.
So here are five things that make my little heart smile:
Lunch dates with my rad mates.
On Tuesday Ms. A, Ms J. (good grief, do I sound like Tyra Banks?), and I had lunch at one of Vancouver’s newer food carts – Mom’s Grilled Cheese.
These roaming food wagons are getting more and more prevalent – especially around the downtown core where we work – and offer a huge amount of choice in terms of menu options.
It’s not just chili cheese dogs and cans of coke anymore, folks.
You can get Vietnamese subs, shawarma, Asian-fusion, Ukrainian pierogies (who knew that spell check doesn’t know what a pierogi is!?), pulled-pork sandwiches, BBQ – seriously the list, like Rip van Winkle’s beard, grows ever long.
(Man, I can’t believe that the most hip facial hair reference I could think of is a make-believe dude who slept a lot!)
Yeesh.
Anywho, grilled cheese was eaten; grilled cheese was loved.
By all three us.
I ordered Swiss with tomato on multi-grain.
Cor. Absolutely delicious that was. If you ever visit the truck, and you’re wracked by indecision – give that a go.
You won’t be disappointed.
Trying on pretty pretties.
Today at lunch I bopped about the usual circuit (Vancity’s downtown/shopping business district) with the usual suspects (Ms. J + friends) and I tried on this dress:
And then this one:
It’s funny, because in the store I felt like I was veering towards the red (I didn’t buy either) – but now that I’m looking at these photos, I’m particularly drawn to the white.
When it was on me, I thought I looked super “Little House on the Prairie”, but now I’m thinking more along the lines of “Pilgrim chic.”
I’m not sure – I’m turning over the issue to the experts.
(aka YOU!)
Either way, it’s always fun when you have someone with whom you can motor, who also is game to play dress up in the middle of your work day.
It’s a great way unwind, albeit briefly.
Plus it gives you the chance to say things like, “does this look like a giant bedazzled compression sock?”
To which the answer is always, yes.
Yes it does.
Tulips.
Spring means many things here in Lotus Land.
It heralds the arrival of the chickadee dee dees – and other bird friends – who have recently returned from their tropical, winter sojourn. You can hear them in the morning as you draw back the blinds, or the moment you step out your front door as you leave for work.
It also means a boat load of rain – but I don’t want to write about.
I want to write about all the amazing tulips that have sprouted everywhere! Their colours are so rich and vibrant, I can practically feel my heart swelling inside my chest every time I see them.
I also have tricky fingers and want to pick all of them, so I have to walk by quickly, for fear of snatching them all to myself.
(And therefore also the police. I fear them too.)
Nail polish.
I don’t paint my fingernails all too often. So when I do, I always feel as though I’ve accomplished something pretty cool.
In fact, I’m always a little startled that no one presents me with a plaque to mark the occasion.
The other night, as M and I sat in front of the fire (yes! A fire at the beginning of May! I am just as appalled as you are!) I painted my nails a sort of aubergine-maroon colour.
And I like it!
A lot.
(Way more than I do the idea of a fire in May that’s for darned sure.)
Tina Fey.
I just finished reading Bossypants and boy did I ever enjoy it. The lovely Emily of Well Fed, Flat Broke lent me her copy and I pretty much hovered it up over the last two days.
Ms. Fey is hilarious.
There were pages that just kept me laughing non-stop. It was also nice to read about a woman with whom I really identify.
We’re not the same person by any stretch of the imagination, but so much of what she writes about, I found myself nodding along, feeling like I could relate to much of what she was talking about.
(Except of course working at a bleak-as-hell YMCA in Chicago during the early 1990s. Of that I have little knowledge or experience.)
I also have a massive crush on her and Amy Poehler’s friendship. Is that possible? Can you covet a best friendship?
Memo to all my real-life friends: Get cooler. And fast.
(I kid, I kid. If you were any cooler, you’d all be ice cold.*)
*In my mind I sound like Arnold Schwarzenegger when I say that.
Yikes! I must get back on track. SO – if you’re thinking of picking up the book, do it, do it!
You won’t regret it.
Unless of course your name rhymes with Parah Salin. Then, maybe, stay away.
…
So there you have it, you wacko beauty cats! Five things that bring me the lolz and smiles.
I hope they could bring you some too.
So after all that writing about tofu, I realized I had a great desire to wok and roll. Indeed folks, the time was nigh to whip up a classic tofu stir-fry for Mr. M and I.
It’s been such a crazy start to the week – in fact, I cannot believe that today is only Tuesday – and I wanted something healthy, and tasty, and that I could put together with my eyes closed.
And since I wasn’t too keen on the idea of eating banana bread for dinner (only because I ate half of a lemon meringue pie for my supper last night), stir-fry it was.
À la tofu.
This morning, while riding skytrain, I did two things – two things that can be perfectly summed up by just one word:
Mortification.
Holy doodle, it’s a boon and a half that I don’t embarrass easily.
First, I was SO into my crossword that I actually drooled onto my paper.
Or maybe it got on my purse – I’m not sure.
And although it wasn’t a ton of drool, and I desperately tried to keep it in, once I realized that I was leaking from my mouth – alas.
To no avail.
I’m pretty sure the girl sitting to my right was busting a gut for all of Canada, because the seat was vibrating pretty steadily for the next ten minutes.
(The fact that I too was laughing my face off could also have something to do with this.)
I couldn’t look up for the life of me, for fear that I would make eye contact with someone else who had espied my errant behavior because this would have undoubtedly propelled me into the most epic case of the “laughs” ever recorded in the history of the world, from which, I’m sure, I would never have recovered.
Then, about five minutes later (although in my completely cracked mind it seemed like these events happened simultaneously) my umbrella got loose from where it was resting between my knees.
I watched it fall in almost slow motion – although again in real life it was moving at quite a clip.
(This along with its steep angle of trajectory alarmed me.)
It kept tumbling forward, before making contact with the the legs (or you know, bum cheeks) of the man standing in front of me, only to come to rest, wedged in his crotchular area.
This, in the parlance of our times was very, very awkward.
Like, the most ever.
EVER.
The look he gave me may have taken years off of my life.
Good thing all that laughing just piles them back on.
So there you have it. My Tuesday started out on a high point, hilarity-wise, and will end on an equally stellar note, health and taste-wise.
And knowing M and I – there will be a ton more laughs too.
Let’s get down to business:
Chop it!
Wok it!
Sauce it!
Add spinach:
But seriously, add more:
For a brilliant, final result of:
So there you have it folks – tofu stir-fry for the skytrain rider’s soul.
How were your Tuesdays? Anything crazy happen around your parts?
I would really, really love to hear about it.
Hey kids,
I’m going to apologize right off the bat for a post that is going to be a ridiculous mishmash of thoughts, ideas, pictures, and song.
It’s like a “we need to eat these leftovers before they go bad” casserole, over here.
I’m throwing anything and everything into this dish. So just let me know if you need some ketchup, or BBQ sauce, or what have you.
I’ll be on it.
It is Monday after all.
And, do you know how I know dear readers, that today was in fact a Monday?
I’ll tell you.
You see, this was my breakfast:
And this was my lunch:
Not exactly the healthiest of choices, heavens no, but certainly one of the tastiest. I know I’ve written about these apple fritters before, and I just need to reiterate one more time just how fricken stellar they truly are.
And because they are the size of a small cat, they pretty much count as two meals in one.
I know, I know – NOT HEALTHY!
But oh, so delicious.
Because I’m running around at work like a running around working thing, today at lunch I made an effort to pry myself away from my desk and go for a walk.
When I’m not laughing myself into six pack abs trying on the absolute barmiest outfit combinations I can find, I like to torture myself by modelling all the beautiful pieces of clothing I will never be able to afford.
Sometimes I stroll through Holt Renfrew at a snail’s pace, staring into the Prada showroom, devouring all the couture gowns that hang off of the mannequins, or are draped over banquettes and loveseats (or the arms of a wealthy patron.)
I tell you, it’s a pretty interesting sensation to ride the escalator behind someone whose bloody SUNGLASSES are worth more than your entire ensemble.
It’s also a little scary.
Today I tried on this skirt from Club Monaco.
I must say that I kind of really loved it.
AND, it was sixty percent off – though by no means cheap (even still after the discount), it had pleats and sparkles, which are pretty much my favourite things ever when it comes to clothing accoutrements, so I think I will have to go back tomorrow and purchase it.
As long as I don’t find something even more sparkly and pleated in the interim.
(I’m a bit like a hummingbird in that way. My attention span can be quickly taken over by -Ooerrr…SHINEY THINGS!)
Speaking of moving from one thing to the next without absolutely zero transition, please, PLEASE, listen to this song by Sarah Slean, about which I currently cannot get enough of:
I have been a dancing woman since getting home today, listening to it on repeat.
(I don’t even know how many times I’ve listened to it while writing this post. I’ve completely lost count.)
If I was currently using my ipod at the gym, this would be the only thing on my running playlist.
It actually makes me so happy I feel like crying.
And I know that’s pretty cheesy and all, and sometimes I feel like I oscillate wildly from one emotion to the next, and I do regularly find myself so overcome by events that transpire all over the world (pretty much to the point of paralysis), but I am also aware of how much beauty I have in my life, and how fortunate I am in so many ways.
Despite of course, having two-toned hair from my (continually craptastic) dye job.
Seriously guys, what is wrong with me? How am I so, SO bad at this?
Yikes.
In the meantime, however, let’s just keep dancing.
And eating apple fritters.
And sparkling. Like stars.
Until the day we supernova; fade away.
Rant and Roll 