I’ve been wearing corrective lenses for almost a decade now.

Generally I wear contacts, and revert to glasses during the weekend.

This year my prescription changed, ever so slightly – my eyesight has actually improved!

My ophthalmologist said I could keep on wearing my old contacts till they run out.

I was at the mall a couple of months back with my mom, she was filling her eyeglass prescription.

There was a ‘buy one get one free†promotion on glasses.

My mom got stylish contemporary half frames,

and convinced me to get these. She said it suited my face and got a bunch of other people to agree with her.

I thought they were cute in a chic old fashioned sort of way.

Here’s mom and I with our respective glasses.

Thankfully they’re transitions.

These giant plastic frames have grown on me, and I’ve gotten a compliment or two.

The guy at the coffee shop calls them hipster-chic – I don’t have the heart to tell him that my mom tricked me into getting them.

Last year I had a brilliant idea that turned out not so brilliant after all.

In the summer of 2008 I decided I was going to crochet gifts for everyone on my Christmas gift list.

As a little girl I loved crocheting, I once made a bubble tote that I carried with me everywhere for months.

I’d make little cutesy crafts that everyone thought was amazing (or maybe they were just indulging my childish whim).

My connection with crocheting is like the Neil Young song Helpless

This was supposed to be a scarf for Rita, I threatened her years ago that I was going to hand-make her Christmas present.

It was going to be a nice surprise, in a sort of “oh wow, she did get me something she made herself, and surprise… it’s not half bad†way, except I just kept going, crocheting and crocheting…

Christmas came and went and I’ve been at it for a year and the half now.

I don’t know what it is, or what it’s going to be. Maybe an oval blanket or a throw.

I don’t want to be still at it come next year, seeing as I’ve moved on to other distractions.

But I’ll probably always come back to crocheting, because it’s comforting.

And so continues my love affair with marmite.

These oven baked cashews with marmite (which are amazing, by the way) had me thinking about how easy it’ll be to try my own marmite nuts recipes.

Fortunately, I brought two huge pots of marmite from vacation which I’ve been using mostly in sandwiches and hot beverages

It’s been my main source of vitamin B12 given that I’m vegetarian and also don’t eat eggs or dairy.

As luck would have it (again), I had some raw almonds left over from my last batch of granola, so I decided to try oven baked almonds glazed with marmite.

For about two cups of raw almonds, I added a pinch of salt, a tablespoon of olive oil and two tablespoons of marmite.

I used the oil to help coat and bind the marmite to the almonds. In hindsight, I probably should have used flour for a less sticky outcome.

I put all ingredients in a bowl and tossed them around a bit until the almonds were well coated with the marmite mixture.

(more…)

I miss the excitement of US Thanksgiving.

I miss the rush of preparation and the travel leading up to the day, the food, festivities, gathering and cheerful gratitude of the day, and the retail madness that follows the next day.

The Canadian version somehow doesn’t quite manage to evoke all that, but I’m grateful for a holiday in October.

For our Thanksgiving last month we got some Mink chocolate bars.

Mink is a chocolate café here in Vancouver; their chocolates are handcrafted here using the finest Belgian chocolate.

The bars come in beautiful arty packages with fun catchy names.

I tried two; The Girls’ Favourite and Mermaid’s Choice.

The Mermaid’s Choice is a dark chocolate with ganache filling of burnt caramel and fleur de sel with a hint of rosemary.

The taste is amazing! The sweetness of the caramel and the salt makes for a very flavourful combination.

The dark chocolate shell is smooth and creamy and has a nice crunch.

The Girls’ Favourite is a 30% cacao milk chocolate with French hazelnut and almond praline.

It’s smooth and nutty with just the right amount sweetness to it. It’s rich and decadent.

Since today was a normal working day for us, I went by Mink Café on my way from work and got the Dream and …By Any Other Name bars.

We had them for dessert after our lovely dinner while pondering the things we’re thankful for again.

It’s been raining nonstop for several days now, or maybe weeks.

I don’t mind the rain that much anymore; I just wish I could be outside without getting soaked.

Oh well, I’m sure the rain will let up after April, try as it may, it can’t rain forever.

Here are ten random pictures (of people), I love today.

The ketchup guy sitting inside a sculpture at Robson & Jervis.

Snap happy P.

Remember summer? Yeah, those were good times.

I’d like to walk in her shoes.

Red!

Hey, that’s me!

Masked.

Hanging out at the Louvre.

The Reader.

And again.