birthday dinner (part 2 of my birthday)

part 2 of my birthday:

birthday dinner cooking

birthday wine, birthday bread, birthday flowers

birthday dinner (fish, yummy roasted veggies, bread)

birthday cupcakes

birthday fun?

birthday jamie oliver :) (my first ever jamie oliver book. SO excited)

birthday camera bag (from here )

birthday aftermath

part 2 of my birthday day was just as lovely as part 1. i am very blessed. now i have a whole year to give back all the love i've received this year. maybe jamie oliver can help me. :)

raw canvas

"eat. drink. make art."

that is exactly what raw canvas is.

raw canvas is a tapas lounge, wine bar, and art studio in the beautiful yaletown in vancouver. though i haven't yet enjoyed the tapas or the art studio, i've enjoyed the wine there while watching my friends steel audrey perform. its a cozy venue for a music performance.

raw canvas has a pretty narrow space, but it is beautiful, with gorgeous (probably antique) furniture, patterned wallpaper, wooden tables, and art everywhere. its got a wine bar at the side, a couple long wooden tables, and a few smaller tables in the middle, and a large, open room at the back filled with canvases. if you want to paint while enjoying a glass of wine & making new friends (or coming with old ones), you just buy a canvas, and it comes with the paint, brushes, and smocks you need. you don't even have to clean-up. all their paints are made locally on granville island, where they refill paint with a zero waste system. what a great idea.

you can see more of my raw canvas photos here.
i also took some photos last month for steel audrey's upcoming movember show: vive la moustache! check out the photos we came up with!

details:
raw canvas
1046 hamilton street
604.687.1729
mon-fri: 4pm til late
sat-sun: 1pm til late

even dirty dishes can look good after a couple glasses of wine...

i had a lovely evening. we had people over for dinner. today was the fall equinox. apparently something to celebrate? (my sister thinks so) luckily, i'll celebrate almost anything if there is good food and wine involved. even when everyone leaves and you are faced with this:



it manages to look beautiful because you have that warm, fuzzy feeling inside - you know, from the tasty food and wine. even dishes can't put me out when i've had a good evening.

soup explosions & other fun things in my new home

this is what my kitchen looked like the second full day after moving in:

yeah, 'awesome' was the first word i thought of too, after other choice words, of course. apparently pureeing a hot soup isn't always a fabulous idea. the salvageable bit of the soup (see the green bowl bottom left?) wasn't half bad, though. my sister gave me a 'soup' recipe book for my birthday last year and i am attempting to actually use them, and be intentional with my grocery shopping. why was i being so ambitious when i had barely just moved into my home? ... i'm not sure. i'm never sure.

enough of my negativity. wait, no, not yet. our smoke detector? yeah, it goes off almost every bloody time we make food that involves some heating. like frying eggs. or making toast. oh yes, and the alarm goes off upstairs in our landlords' apartment too. 'awesome' fits this situation also.

okay, now i can be positive and post pictures that are oozing with positivity and warm fuzzies.


these were taken our first night here. below is our commemorative meal, but most importantly: wine. a really yummy Riesling Gewurztraminer, to be specific (and only $10!)