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My weekend, much like every other, was full of activity and over way too soon. True, it’s only Sunday morning, but I’ve done so much since Friday after work that nothing sounds more appealing at this point than staying in bed watching Deadwood all day.

On Friday evening, I swung by to pick up Jenny before hitting Urban Fare for delicious raw eats. After taking 30 seconds to glam up, we made our way to meet up with a few friends as we’d all been invited to the Lotus Sound Lounge to hear the birthday girl, being Phaedra, at the decks. Anyone who knows me knows that I just do not go out. Take-out, wine and movies will always win, hands down. But in all honesty, it was actually great to get out with a few close friends, burn the garlic off my tongue with some vodka and catch up.

She’s amazing, by the way.

Which one of us is the other Boleyn girl? You decide.

Raul was definitely out to have a good time.

Peanut’s still in my charge until sometime this evening, and make no mistake about it: three dogs is a huge handful! Somehow I’ve manage to avoid complete chaos, and I’m so thankful that he, Benji and Casey all get along really well. Saturday’s forecasted rain managed to hold off long enough, so Susan and I made a quick stop at Starbucks before taking the Goof Troop (as I affectionately like to call them) to Trout Lake Park for a walk and a chance to run around and stretch out their little legs.

All three were exhausted after and fell asleep in the car. I tried to snap this picture before they woke, but just seconds before I turned my camera on, Peanut had his eyes closed and his chin rested on the edge of the seat, Benji was sleeping so neatly like a little gentleman and Casey had passed out with his chin resting on Benji’s back. It was perfect.

The only unplanned surprise of the weekend was a tea date with Becky. Being that she was in the neighbourhood for DrupalCamp, we made an impromptu visit to Farfalla for my favourite cookies. In fact, just looking at this photo has me convinced I may need to go grab another one (or two) today. Bad, I know.

I had one more commitment to keep before I could call the rest of the weekend my own. A few years ago, when I’d broken up with a now ex, it didn’t take me long to discover that spending time dancing my little heart out at Celebrities was a cure-all for getting over jackasses. I met some really fantastic guys who adored me and yet didn’t try to take me home at the end of the night - the most desirable balance.

My good friend Andrew was turning 29 (for the first time - really), and wanted to get friends together for the evening. The plan was to start at the Atlantic Trap and Gill on Davie (being that he’s from the east coast) and finish up at Celebrities. The truth is, after the previous night, I couldn’t have felt further from wanting to go out, but I really wanted to see some special friends that I hadn’t spent time with in a long while. I decided to ditch Celebrities but show face at the Trap and Gill, and nursed bottles of San Pellegrino with lime all night instead.

The highlight of my evening was definitely my reunion with my dear friend Stathi, whom I hadn’t seen in forever. We used to get together all the time on Saturday nights when everyone else was going out to Celebrities, and stay in with food and movies instead. It’s a national tragedy that a chiseled Greek man, so beautiful, is so…untouchable. Such is life. Le sigh.

So what have we learned from my weekend re-cap? Just that Deadwood and chocolate-dipped espresso shortbread cookies are the focuses of my Sunday.

Today, I did a whole lot of nothing. I didn’t think I’d have anything to write about, and as I type this, I still really don’t. But you’re here and I’m here and you’re already reading anyways, so let’s go with the flow, shall we?

It’s been raining in Vancouver all day. I stayed in bed until 11:00 a.m. and awoke only to do nothing. That, and listen to new wave music while eating last night’s pizza.

I ventured to Shopper’s Drug Mart, and I swear I could spend a fortune there every single day if I had the means to. I also bought my dinner for tonight. This is what it looked like before I cooked it:

And here’s the after:

The roll magically appeared. If you’re curious, I tosssed the vegetables with organic olive oil and sea salt and roasted them in the oven to maintain their nutrient value. Why the plate full of veggies?

Thursday dinner: Tandoori chicken pizza
Friday lunch: Tandoori chicken pizza
Friday dinner: Hawaiian pizza
Saturday lunch: Hawaiian pizza

Enough said.

You know what I love about rainy days? The aforementioned “doing nothing.” I’m wearing my Roots thermals (which, Jack, were made in Canada, thank you very much…unlike my Roots leg warmers which were made in China so we both win), made some hot apple cider and wrote out some more Christmas cards.

This is my Christmas card writing station:

Soon after I retired to my cozy couch for a little “keeping warm” without the heater on…

You’d be amazed at how much heat those little tealight candles can radiate.

I really want to bake cookies right now but there is no butter to be found in my apartment. Does anyone want to bring me butter?

You know what I’m excited about? This:

My hair is addicted to Tonic. The bottle on the right, which is now empty, was purchased two months ago. Bumble and Bumble had decided to change the formula for their Tonic and made it smell much less like tea tree oil. Problem for me because I adore tea tree oil. The bottle on the left I purchased on Thursday night and guess what? The old formula’s back! Yes!

I’m going to bed pretty soon because my alarm clock will be going off around 4:30. I’m leaving again at 6:00 a.m. to go to the States with Susan. I’m going to join 2005 and get some Uggs. As much as I adore my mukluks, they’ve really worn through and it’s time for some new warm winter boots. Plus they’re ridiculously cheaper at Nordstrom.

Stay tuned for tomorrow night. I will probably post a picture of myself in my new Uggs, some (maybe) new panties and…a scarf? Who knows?

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Since I’m already in the middle of an arguably narcissistic post, I’d like to point out that my birthday is exactly two weeks from tomorrow. I’ve never been much of one for birthdays, but I’ve decided that I want mine this year to be really special. I have already bought a pretty party dress that shows off my legs that, let’s be honest, really don’t quit. I want to feel like a princess and I might even wear a tiara. I don’t want to go out and party. I want to eat a ridiculously good dinner with a whole bunch of fantastic friends. I want to drink some deliciously divine wine. I want to laugh the entire time. I want to eat a huge piece of sinful birthday cake.

You know why? I deserve it.

Dreamy Pink Balloons graciously provided by Pink Sherbert Photography on Flickr

At the end of July, Tony and I debated over beers. “Nestle Tollhouse Morsels make the best chocolate chip cookies, hands down!” I said.

Photo courtesy of Duane Storey (um, I think!)

“No way…a chocolate chip is a chocolate chip. I bet you couldn’t even tell the difference between different ones,” was his reply.

And so the challenge began.

Not long after Tony returned to L.A., a package arrived for me in the mail. In that packaged I found four Ziploc bags, each containing chocolate chips and marked A, B, C, and D, respectively. My challenge was to bake cookies with the four different kinds of chips and decide whether I could tell the difference.

Let me preface this by saying that, after purchasing said chocolate chips, Tony admitted that “Well, they do actually look different. Maybe you will be able to tell them apart.”

Tonight I dragged Becky over to my apartment and executed the challenge. Here’s what happened.

Check out my Flickr for more photos.

Becky and I rated the four different chocolate chips in three different categories. We each ate a chocolate chip on its own, within the dough and then finally within the baked product. Each chip was given a score out of 10 by each of us in each of the three categories, and in the end, the scores out of ten were added up and chocolate chip “B” emerged as the winner by only a couple points.

Chocolate chip “D” was the loser, but with its odd flavour, Becky and I were convinced that Tony may have doused it in an illegal substance. Okay, maybe not, but “D” was weird. Chocolate chip “A” won a special award for Biggest Overall Improvement. It did worst out of all four chips in the stand-alone area, but within dough and within the baked cookie, it made leaps and bounds. In fact, within a cookie it tasted much like the cookies used to taste at Subway back when Subway cookies were actually good.

Tony, you need to post a comment and share with all of us which of A, B, C, and D really were. That is, of course, if you remembered to write down what you sent me.

And last but not least, in the spirit of all things “cookie,” here’s a flashback to the 80s with the girls of Troop Beverly Hills singing “Cookie Time.”

Video courtesy of YouTube