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Saturday, for all intensive purposes, is over. It’s 8:33 p.m. and I have nothing else planned. If asked for a word to describe the day, I think I’d pick “quaint.” Before she left for Whistler, I met Amy on South Granville around noon and, after a quick peek inside Chapters, we made our way to Caffe Barney for a scrumptious brunch.

I chose the lox and cream cheese on a bagel. It was divinity. For some reason, I’ve been really, really loving salad over the last little while, and even the scraps of greens with dressing on my plate were beyond delicious.

I was bitten with the baking bug, so Amy suggested we whip up some chocolate and cinnamon flavoured zucchini muffins. I am crazy about anything cinnamon! After a quick ingredient and tulip stop at Meinhardt Fine Foods, we made our way to Amy’s apartment only to be greeted by Peanut.

We spent the remainder of the afternoon wrapped up in peppermint tea, reminiscing, girl talk, photo albums, shredded zucchini, chocolate chips, laughter, “Mellow,” YouTube and finally enjoying the fantastic muffins we made together.

Thank you for the wonderful escape today, my friend.

On Friday I told you that I live for weekends, and the last two days are exemplary proof of that. Saturday’s sunrise walk and yoga practice were the perfect way to begin my day, and everything only got better from there (including the Skinny Peaches from Jugo Juice that Jennifer and I grabbed on the way home).

Saturday

After cleaning up and showering, I headed out to meet up with Amy, Peanut, Casey and Benji before heading to Crab Park. I can’t think of a better way in which we could have enjoyed the warm sun rays.

Amy made me pose.

Casey had a blast chasing his favourite rubber bone. He even managed to sucker a lady into throwing the bone for him for a solid half hour.

Original Photo: Amelia Burrows on Flickr

Classic pose, everytime.

Photo: Amelia Burrows on Flickr

One of my favourite reasons for going to Crab Park is meeting interesting people. We came across a backpacker from the east coast and his dog, Cuddles. Apparently she’s a very unfriendly 13-year-old pup, but she seemed to take to Peanut like a fish to water.

Original Photo: Amelia Burrows on Flickr

Since they spend most of their time cooped up in an apartment, I love seeing how thrilled Benji and Casey become when they’ve got endless green turf to run around on while they play and laugh in their special doggy laughs. Also, being that he’s not terribly fond of other dogs, it’s a rare occurrence that Benji actually likes Peanut, so Amy and I are encouraging as many playdates as possible.

Video: Amelia Burrows on Flickr

After the park, Amy and I went to one of my favourite little gems in Gastown, Farfalla, on East Cordova. Each of the tea tables was adorned with a little lilac blossom and the scent was heavenly.

Following a hearty meal from McDonald’s, I spent Saturday evening watching ‘The Kite Runner,’ a beautiful film based on a popular, best-selling book. The story chronicles two young boys and best friends in Afghanistan in the late 1970s, one from privilege and the other being the son of a servant. As the Russians invade, the privileged boy and his father flee to Pakistan and eventually the United States. Twenty-two years later he receives an unnerving call from his childhood friend and subsequently embarks on a journey back to his homeland. All I can do is encourage you to see this film.

Sunday

On Sunday morning I woke early to pillage the shelves at Urban Fare in preparation of a birthday feast. Being that Sequoyah was the birthday boy, I told him he could have whatever he wanted for dinner. His request was simply: “lasagna, extra cheesy…and a chocolate football cake!”

I set out making the cake first.

Any chance I get to bust out my pink measuring cups and cocoa is not one I’ll pass up.

The football cake in all its candle-lit glory.

I found what was supposed to be a fantastic lasagna recipe that uses three different cheeses (in order to fulfill the birthday boy’s request). It got a big thumbs up…

Cooking in layers is a fun experience.

The ricotta cheese wasn’t suppose to contain spinach, but what fun is cooking if you can’t deviate from the recipe a little bit?

Lilah called it “scrumptious!” I’m pretty sure I haven’t heard that word, or a variation thereof, since the last time I watched ‘Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.’

Sequoyah wasn’t the only one celebrating a birthday this weekend. The Bee turned four yesterday!

It was Sequoyah’s lasagna, so he got the honour of cutting it.

After all the birthday festivities, the littlest pup was all tuckered out and fell asleep nicely on my knee.

Today brings another work week and I’m already in the thick of things but have so much more fun to look forward to (like ‘Juno’ on DVD, Army & Navy’s shoe sale and Tequila Kitchen with friends).

They say every little girl needs a strong man to look up to. A man who, through his actions, shows her what a man of strength and integrity looks like.

That man was my Opa and today would have been his 81st birthday (if memory serves me correct).

He was my best friend, my clown face, my educator, my listening ear, my confidante, my music-listening buddy, my nature walker, my carrot-picker and so much more than I can even articulate.

Him and my Oma had a relationship that is certainly enviable. He fell in love with her in Europe, she was reluctant to marry him - especially since he was a younger man. My Opa came to Canada, moved to the Northwest Territories and toiled away in the mines up north until he had enough money to send for her. Eventually, she agreed to come to Canada and marry him and the rest is a beautiful history.

Though today is his birthday, the little parts of him that I see in myself remind me to celebrate who he was every single day.

I miss him.

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I just want to take a quick moment to congratulate my dear friend Rebecca (who celebrates something special tomorrow) on this morning’s launch of her newly re-designed blog. The gorgeous new graphics are the perfect compliment to a blog that’s just as colourful in its own right. Head on over there to check it out.

Congratulations, Beck-Beck. My “girls” can’t wait to promo you.

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For those of you that don’t know, I’m a very traditional girl in a lot of ways. In fact, you could even say I’m somewhat sexist, but the truth is, I just consider myself “grassroots.” While I firmly believe that women should be able to do whatever they want, I also believe that a woman definitely has a role in the home.

Ever since I was a little girl, I have been quite sure that I want to stay home with my kids once I have them, God willing. What I hadn’t ever figured out was how I could do that and still contribute financially to the bread bowl. However, after scoping out the kitchenware shop in Courtenay, I am proud and excited to say that I had an epiphany and have finally figured it out!

…

Photo courtesy of PinkCakeBox on Flickr

Not only can I contribute by designing and decorating wonderfully adorable cakes, cupcakes and cookies at home, I can make use of my domestic skill set at the same time. I kinda just want to start doing this now!

Earlier today (well, technically yesterday), Becky wrote on my FB wall and stated that she bets I’ve been wearing an apron 24/7 since arriving at my mom’s, simply because I can (she obviously knows me well). Oddly enough, she’s right. In the last 48 hours since I’ve been in Courtenay, I have baked, or assisted in baking, no less than ginger spice cookies, ladyfingers, rum balls, my fabulously famous 3-day buns, cranberry lime shortbread and a valiant attempt at ripping off Starbucks’ Cranberry Bliss Bars.

Much of that was made with a shake and bake at my dear friend Bethany’s this afternoon. Her daughter made a brief appearance after her nap, long enough to roll out some shortbread dough, before she was whisked away to Mt. Washington for an afternoon of snow tubing. I used Bethany’s camera to snap some shots of the afternoon in progress…

Sure it looked like Starbucks’ Cranberry Bliss Bars, but tasted nothing like them. Whoever formulated that rip-off recipe was way off.

Once we had finally finished our flurry of activity in the kitchen, our tired and powdered sugar-covered bodies flopped onto Bethany’s over-sized couch. What I’ve come to appreciate of my new friendship with Bethany is the talks that we have. She is one of the most open-minded and straight-shooting women that I know. I can’t tell you how refreshing that truly is to my soul. Did I mention that she is also very sweet? She made me a Christmas present.

And yes, she designed the cover too. She’s a talent, that girl.

Before I left, Bethany gave me another gift. She gave me a compliment, unlike any other I’ve ever received. Usually I get the compliments of the following sort:

“Keira, your hair is gorgeous.”

or…

“Keira, I wish I smelled as pretty as you do.”

or…

“Keira, how come you’re so good at everything you do?”

or…

“Keira…oh, Keira…mmm…yeah…”

No, Bethany’s comment was nothing of the garden variety. “You know what I like about you so much?” she began. “You’re an enigma. I can’t figure you out.”

Here I am, a girl who has long wondered if she’s too boring or too plain or uninteresting. And then someone calls me an enigma. It’s a compliment of the biggest sort that only really serves to better illustrate the kind of girl that Bethany. To me, she seems as though she’s one who sees straight to the heart of things and can easily cut through the shit to see what’s really there. There ought to be more people like that in all our lives.

Tonight I broke my cardinal rule of baking: I ripped open a Betty Crocker box. Baking from scratch is something I’ve always taken pride in. However, this evening I’m in a bit of a rush and some expedient “cupcakes in a box” were the solution.