Sleep Overs

Once upon a time, when we were very young, it was super exciting having or attending a sleep over. Then as you get older you make up lies about sleeping over at someone's house to your parents in order to actually spend the night with your best buds, whom have also lied to their parents in order to spend the night out, doing random things. Then you stop having sleep overs altogether. Well, that might be the case for some, but not all.

My friend Christine has recently moved far far far away. To Surrey. Yes, Surrey. To some that might not be far, but to me.... it is. There is at least two bridges that I have to cross, maybe three depending on which route I take and that's far!!!! I haven't seen her in a while so we made plans to have brunch on Saturday followed up by some shopping (I suck ass at shopping and need her to assist me; but that's a whole other blog entry). So tomorrow I'm heading out to her place FOR A SLEEP OVER!!!! AYYAYYAYAYA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Then we'll head down town.

She's currently housesitting a friends place for the next 18-24 months. What's super awesome is the fact that I have my own suite (literally, a suite including a small make-shift kitchen, bathroom, living room and the world's most comfy bed), there's a hot tub and the greatest massage chair of all time. So how can you say no to that!!!!

So I'm pretty darned excited. I might even bring PJs this time. Just kidding. I'm a PJ freak. Once again, a whole other blog entry.

A Perfect Sunday

Today so far has been a super fantastic Sunday. Grabbed a coffee and took the dog to the beach. There were so many dogs it was fantastic! Honestly, 50+ pooches with their owners. Sadie was in heaven. I love going out there when there is that many dogs running around. They look so happy!!!

After the beach we went to Barney's Cafe for some eggs benny then off to pot shop. I have nothing but pans; 2 saute pans, 2 frying pans, wok with lid, wok without lid, 1 paella pan, 2 omelet pans, small eco pan, etc. However, my two pots finally bit the dust so it's time to find new ones! I need three: 1q, 2q, and a 3q. So Rob and I went pot shopping. There's just too many options it makes it hard to choose!!!!!! So I ended up with a Le Creuset 6.7 Dutch Oven (it came with a free Le Creuset baking dish). I'm still looking for pots, but it might take a bit longer. They seem to all come in sets. I don't need a set. I don't need any more pans!!!!!

Anyway, we're now heading up to the parental figures for a nice Sunday family dinner. They just got back from another trip and I'm excited to see them!!! They went to Cambodia and Thailand so I'm interested in hearing about their experience!!!!

Lupo Restaurant

I closed a big ass million dollar private deal and got a nice pay cheque for doing so. So I did what every individual would do...... take their man on a date. :o) Rob was telling me a long time ago about a restaurant that he really liked, Villa Del Lupo. They went under some reno's and a name change as it's now called Lupo Restaurant. Anyway, we've been wanting to try this restaurant (or any restaurant really) but we've pretty much have been broke and on a tight budget (paying for two places is a little expensive). So I made a reso for 8:00pm last night and it was amazing!!!

Rob had a bass lesson so he was out of the house until 7:45pm which was nice because after my run I could properly get ready for my date without him being around!!!! So he showed up at 7:45 looking very handsome and off we went to find a cab. When we did, he opened the door for me (true gentleman). We arrived at the restaurant and it was soooooo nice. If you haven't been there before, it's a charming little heritage house on Hamilton Street. We were greeted by a lovely young lady that showed us to our table. Even though it was in the middle of the room, we didn't feel like we were on the spot. It was quiet and romantic. After we settled into our chairs Rob took out his phone and said "I'm turning it off. First time for everything." and OMG he did!!!!

We started off by sharing the meatball appetizer. Holy cow delicious. Four big meatballs in a polenta Gorgonzola cheese sauce that was absolutely delicious. For the main course, Rob got Lamb Osso Bucco and I got the Lamb Sirloin grilled to a perfect medium rare. Both our meals were fantastic. We did get a bottle of wine that we actually have at home but haven't tried yet. We bought our bottle when we went to Vegas so it was exciting to have it. And let me tell you....amazing.

After dinner we sipped some grappa and shared the Grand Marnier Creme Brulee. Tasty tasty tasty. It was positively an amazing date night. It was perfect and I couldn't think of a better way of celebrating my big pay cheque then having the best date with my man. We topped the evening off by snuggling in bed, playing Call of Duty: Black Ops and killing people around the world.

Too Many Directions

I'm being pulled in too many directions. I basically want to find a corner of a room and hide with a warm blanket, a good book and a glass of wine. It's 4:08pm and I've already responded to 67 emails that I've received today. I'm also trying to save a two deals, book three more and take care of my investors who of course need things right now. I didn't get to bed until 2am as I was waiting for a commitment package to come back then I had to get up at 7am to make sure it got to the notary before anyone else's!

I understand that sometimes this is just my job, but I wish other people would understand that they're not the only ones in my life needing me to do something for them! As I'm sitting here, my BlackBerry is going off with probably email 72 & 73 waiting for my reply. Well, I say screw you. I'm putting on my shoes and going for a run. A much needed 30 minute break of uninterrupted time where no one is asking anything from me. Bliss.

Work work work

This won't be a very long entry because I don't really have time to do one. I just needed a moment to tell you about my friend who is a massage therapist. He's awesome. He comes to your house for an hour and a half. He can be nice or he can be hard and tough. I've been having him come to my place because of some scar tissue on my leg. It's been acting up and preventing me from running. A non-running Aryn = a bitchy Aryn. Anyway, today is my last session, I've only had three and I can run again.

So if you're in need of a really good massage therapist who will come to your home (which is awesome because you then get to go straight to the tub after), I recommend him. Contact me for his details. Oh, and if you have Shaw, channel 416 is the Spa music channel. Adds a nice touch. :)

Mmmmmm Coffee!!!

I finally got Rob back into drinking coffee. He figured that he couldn't have coffee because of what it did to his bowels.... turns out that was a wheat thing, not a coffee thing. So he's back to drinking the java and I have to say this is our new hobby instead of collecting wine. Don't get me wrong, we still grab the occasional bottle of vino to try and compare notes, but that was getting expensive not to mention a little unhealthy. So we switched to cups of coffee. Cheaper yet still fun and tasty.

First we started off with whole beans to grind at home and make in a French Press. We tried all sorts of different beans this past six months and we have some favorites (not in any particular order)

1) Doi Chaang Coffee (Beans from Thailand)
2) Kicking Horse (Grizzly Claw, yum yum)
2) Salt Spring Co

I have a french press (bodem) and Rob got a Bialetti for xmas. So we made several cups of coffee using the different beans and the different methods. I can't really tell that much of a difference between the Bialetti and the bodem.....I know his is for espresso style, but I make strong coffee in my bodem.

We also like coffee shops, JJ Bean & Milano's. We won't really do Starbucks; their coffee is crap and it's expensive. Anyway, now that we're on a tight budget we've decided to go out into the world to see what other coffee shops there are. A lot of the cafes use the same beans, but it's how they brew the coffee that makes it delicious and a good deal or not. So here's two:

1) John Henry Bikes in North Van. Yes, a bike store but they have a small coffee shop inside and it's right next to the dog park that Sadie likes to go too. So we bought two regular brewed coffee and it only cost us $2.60. WOW! So far, so good. It was Ethical Bean and usually Ethical Bean is a pretty good bean, but whoever made the coffee that day didn't use enough so it was a little too watered down for my liking. Rob puts cream in his coffee so he tasted mostly water/cream.

2) Heritage General Stores Ltd. in North Van. We both got a large dark drip and it was tasty. For the two large darks + tip it was $5.00. A large is quite huge, I might get a medium next time. Anyway, it turns out to be Milano. hahaha

3) McDonalds. Yes, McDonalds. If you're in a pinch and need a cup of coffee that's good and cheap, I'd suggest McDonalds. I wouldn't want to drink it everyday, but it's good coffee for under $2 a cup.

So that's what we have so far. Stay tuned for further coffee shop explorations.