just a girl's NHL Predictions: Round Two

Here's the thing about playoff hockey...

I like it.  I mean, what's not to like? Everyone plays as good as they possibly can - because they know that every game is do or die.  You seriously have to win 4 games out of 7 to clinch it.  This makes everything exciting, makes every move amazing, and every goalie save a momentous occasion.

I really wish that the rest of the year they would play with the same intensity, but I suppose that's what allows me to keep up on every reality show known to man-kind. The trick for NHL teams, I suppose, is just do well enough to get to the point when it actually matters.  When the playoffs started, I told my bf that the mayor of Chicago and the mayor of Vancouver had a deal.  The deal would be that for the last 2 years, the city of Chicago has paid off Vancouver to win  round one against the Canucks. Stay with me.  This year, the year after we host the Olympics - the year after Luongo plays some amazing goal tending and takes on (and conquers) the world AND WINS - has GOT to be the year that the Canucks beat Chicago.  The papers were signed, and to maximize profit (on beer, merchandise and ticket sales) we would go into overtime. Game 7.

Guess what happened....

Exactly that!!! Now we are into round 2, and I have  my ideas as to where this is going. The first game was a snoozefest, but we ultimately won.  Now we are a bit into game two and I'm excited, but not jumping off the walls.  Rinne is awesome - there's no denying that. I'm not sure how much money was exchanged between the Mayors of Nashville and Vancouver, so I'm going to predict that Round 2 the Canucks will win, because there's far more dramatic (and way more money making abilities) if we get ourselves to Round 3 and 4.

This is our year.

Whether the Mayor paid for it to be or not... I'm pretty confident.

What do you think is going to happen here, will we take over Round 2?! I realize no one will read this until after the game, but I thought I'd make my prediction early.

Luuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu.

Did you know the "Y" in Hyundai is silent? I do now!!!

It took 4 months of being car-less, but I finally committed...

Here he is, my new baby. My precious baby boy. Come to Mama!!

My 2011 Hyundai Accent GL in a sexy, sleek midnight grey.

Cute, tiny and mine.

I had looked at many cars, and this was one of my favorites.  I wanted a hatchback for moving, groceries and cake purposes.  I wanted a small car, because I know that parking in Vancouver can be hell on earth.  I knew I wanted a Hyundai because I used to have an Elantra, and it still makes me emotional when I think about not owning it anymore.

This morning I noticed a promotion for 0% down, 0% interest for 84 mos, $83 bi-weekly payments.  This, I later learned, was for the most basic model and in standard.  Hrm. I don't DO standard.  I have a hard enough time with automatic (don't judge me).  After work, bf drove me there and I had butterflies in my tummy.  We were discussing strategy and I was asking him how I should approach it.  We came up with a game plan and an absolute price that we wanted to stick too.

It actually worked.

We wheeled and dealed, back and forth, between the big boss and the sales guy. Luckily, our sales guy left the Montreal vs Boston playoff game streaming online, while we spent 2.5 hours working on a deal.  I would have spent another 6hrs in there, because at one point - it became fun!  I knew I was going to buy the car today, and once they knew that - things really got going.  Finally a time when patience paid off. The last car I bought, I went to the first lot, test drove it - and signed the paper. No haggling at all.  Not this time though...This girl has grown up and she knows what she wants AND knows how to get it.  DONE AND DONE! (with much help from bf )

Papers are signed and I am so happy with the way it all worked out.  Friday is the big day, and it will be all shiny and ready for me to drive into the back of one of your cars one day.  I can't wait.  We'll have coffee after, and maybe chat about how I called it?!

2 more sleeps and he's all mine!! Now for a name.......

Sea Kayaks & Underwater Cameras

This weekend we hopped in kayak's in Ucluelet, BC.

The thought of a whale coming up from under my boat, thus in turn sending me flying into the air, and ultimately landing back down into the open jaws of a plankton-feeding humpback, only crossed my mind a handful of times.

What? It could happen..

Anyways, we kayak'd the day away and I brought along my Fuji Candice-Proof camera that my mom had given me on my birthday.  It was the first time I would test this baby out, and I had high expectations.  I also expected my hand to get eaten off by a whale, but that part didn't happen - luckily.  I started off with some shaky shots of the sea floor, and then figured out the technique. Stop the boat, and hold down the button for a few seconds before clicking.  This took everything in my mind, body and soul to keep my hand in that ocean water, but for the love of the picture - I DID IT.

This was under my kayak - AHH!! I was sold.  It was on.  Time to take as many underwater pictures as possible.  I was at the back of the group most of the time, and that was solely due to the fact that I had to stop to take underwater pictures.

The shots of the kelp were blowing my mind.  The other thing that caught my eye, was the fact that even though I saw everyone else put their cameras into their kayaks, NO ONE took theirs out to take a picture! I guess the bonus of having a waterproof camera is just that -- the ability to use it in, near and covered in water!!  Genius. Pure genius.  I decided to forget about the fear of a sea lion biting my arm off, and go for the money shot.

Annnnnnd DONE.

I set this shot up, and almost fell out of the kayak doing so.  i was half expecting to see the face of a hideous sea monster when I looked back through the film, and was pleasantly surprised when that didn't happen.  It made me want to go snorkelling in a place where nothing was larger then me in the water.

The other nice thing about the Fuji Candice-Proof camera, is that it takes good pictures outside of the water as well.  Take, for instance, the scene we witnessed while eating bacon wrapped scallops and halibut in downtown Ucluelet.  I should probably explain that in Ucluelet, there are eagles like there are seagulls here.  Plenty and everywhere and scavenging for food.  The big difference is - THEY ARE BIG.  And the food they scavenge is also big.  So we were watching a tree across the street when a big eagle landed with a salmon in it's talons.  A few other eagles came by to see what's up, and then this happened:

GIANT EAGLE ATTACK!! AHHH!!!
The fish fell to the ground as this full grown eagle swoops in for the grab!! It was an intense scene, and an excellent way to showcase this camera's abilities.

This waterproof, dustproof, freezeproof, shockproof, candice-proof camera is only missing one feature.  Let me know when someone comes up with a "lostproof" and I'll be first in line.  Till then' - Fuji wins.

Bake for the Quake: The Photo Blog & Labor of Love

April 20th, 2011 - "Baked in Vancouver" participated in an event to raise money for Doctor's Without Border's in Japan.  We came, we baked, we snacked - all in the name of charity.  As much as I would love to write a story about the daunting task that this turned out to be, I decided to share the highlights of the event via photo blog.  The preparation, the execution (of the table, not myself) and the end result. Here is a look at how it all came together to be one of the most amazing events I've had the honour to be a part of.  

Without further adieu, I give you: Bake for the Quake.

cherry blossom decor - strawberry rhubarb pie. aka work of art.

made by bf. that's right ladies, he likes pies. (I had to go there....sorry)

pies baked and ready.  The hardest part was not eating them all.

the love pie. LOVE IT.

Night #2 of baking, and I had to gather a small army...

Kira and her cutest nail polish & writing ever, wrote out 10 million of these.
Give or take..

decorating the goods

pretty sure this chuckle was brought to you by how sexual it is to decribe
working with fondant. "Make balls!" 

Vanessa (@v_marshall) the glueing MANIAC!
Stupid London Drugs and their cheap glue.

The Bake for the Quake Team piled into the kitchen for a group shot!
(@tessmccann, @v_marshall, @niftynotcool, @kixy_stabbs, me, @carlz8, blue ball of fondant)

Carly (@carlz8) knew who the players were, so that worked out very well.
"What do you mean there's no 84?...62?...11?"

THE BIG DAY HAS ARRIVED

The people started coming right away, and pointing out our cupcakes -
THIS WAS A GOOD SIGN!!

My table buddy, Melissa (@mhchipmunk) and her delicious looking marshmellow and rum ball treats!
Thank you for letting us use your table cloth!!

Cherry Blossom Cookies!! So amazing! Not sure who they were made by, but
of it's you - LET ME KNOW and I will credit you for them!

These were my personal fav.  Such an amazing idea!! Tiramisumo Cookies,
courtesy of Elain Evans (@Elain_Evans) She saved me one and I still have it.
It's too cute to eat!!

My little humble half table, with price lists and goodies, all ready to go!!

I have since learned, that this little guy, is Kesler. YUM. Kesler is yummy.
Get it? Get it? I know you get it..... 

SO MANY PEOPLE!! AMAZING!!

Kira (@kixy__stabbs), Derek (@hurrrdurrr) and myself - selling our little hearts out.
"if you buy these cupcakes, the Canucks will win tomorrow" - genius.

These wonderful people waited in line, some in the rain, to come and buy the goodies!
So incredible! Thank YOU ALL!!

No big deal, Bif Naked bought a Canucks cupcake from me, and signed her name
on our "Thank You" list!!! AMAZING! She is so nice!! 

We passed the $420 mark and just kept going...almost hitting $500!!
SO incredible. Made me want to cry.

I want to thank Joy (@Gourmeted) and Melody (@GourmetFury) for hosting this event, and for all of the helpers on my team - there's honestly no way I could have done it without you.  It all turned out even better then I could have imagined, and I owe it all to you guys.  OH - and BIG props to bf.  He not only is an amazing pie maker, but he also was my photographer, driver and mental support throughout the journey.

So I have one question - When's the next one?!?

Thanks, Vancouver, for making this evening such a great and memorable one!!

My boyfriend dates me because I win hockey tickets..

I hate to say I called it - but I SO called it this time.  I was on a mission to win tickets to a playoff game.  I told bf as much at the beginning of the week.

me: "Hey - guess what? I'm going to win tickets this week"
bf: "you do that...."

BAM! One contest later, and I was up two tickets to Friday nights game, and a free fancy dinner to boot!  The contest was run by the amazing people at Market by Jean-George, a Vancouver restaurant located in the gorgeous Shagri-La Hotel.  All you had to do was follow a few simple rules, and post a message on their Facebook page showing your love of food and the Canucks.  What better then Canucks cupcakes to take the cake?! (pun completely intended)  When I recieved the message that I won, all I could type was "NO WAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"  I immediately told my boss (who gave me the finger) called bf (who asked if I'd been in a car accident since that's the only time I don't use BBM) and called my mom and dad (who you can always, thankfully, rely on for that excited response!).

Bf and I enjoyed one of the fanciest meals I have ever had.  You know the kind where you look down at your plate and wonder why you have 17 forks? That kind of fancy. The service was amazing, and we got to take some pictures with @MARKETjg_Van (aka Adam), who was super nice.  He asked me if I could possibly tweet during the game.  Bless him.  Seeing as my phone is perma-attached to my hand, this was not going to be a problem!

Everything was am-a-zing!!  We enjoyed every minute (and bite) and will definitely be back in the future! I heard the hostess on the phone saying, "Does the celebrity have any special requests?" -- Great food, pretty flowers AND celebs? SOLD!  We said thank you again and then ran our butts to the GM Place!

Needless to say - we had good seats. And we got towels. I don't need to go into detail about that, mostly because I want you guys to still like me by the end of this post.  The one lesson I learned when attending a playoff hockey game is not to go beer for beer with your bf, who regularly drinks beer.  Period one and two were action packed!! I waved my little towel, and I posted pictures on Facebook - hell, we even got on the JumbroTron with "The Dudes"!!!

The Dudes (as per bf)

This is where the night goes a little fuzzy - and the next thing you know, this happens:

This is me.  Reaching for my phone.  To save it from a puddle of beer.  From under the guy in front of me. All with a smile on my face, and a #14 on my shirt. Never fails, phone sagas will continue to haunt me for life.  Even though they keys were sticky, it's still good! it's still good!

We won...right?

Just kidding!! Things were intense, but they pulled it off and we won Game 2!  How incredible was this guy in front of us, who painstakingly crafted this amazing replica of the Cup?!  I couldn't have asked for a better photo prop.  He's also wearing a Burrows jersey! Destiny!

This was another night for the books, and if this last pictures tells you anything, it's that I had the time of my life (sorry Mom, too funny not to post).

Big Thanks to Market by Jean-George for loving and supporting the cupcakes, and thank you for allowing me to be a part of the playoff season.  We had the time of our lives, and I owe it all to you..... :)

Twitter + Vancouver + Contest = Free STEAK!! *now closed*

CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED - WINNER WILL BE POSTED ON TWITTER WITHIN 24 HRS!!!

THANK YOU ALL FOR ENTERING!!


The WINNER is comment #25, @SSDated!!! So excited for you!!! Enjoy the steak!!!

In the spirit of the playoffs - I felt it was time to thank my local Vancouver Twitter followers and reward them with a little gift.  What a better way to enjoy the playoff season, then enjoying a $100 Gift Certificate to Players Chophouse on Beatty St!!

All I ask, is that you leave a comment about your favorite place in Vancouver to watch the playoff games, AND answer this one simple question: WHO WOULD YOU RATHER?! Take your pick!



The comment contest will run until April 20th, 2011 - The rules are one entry per person, and you must live in the Vancouver area and be able to actually enjoy the gift certificate! I will drawing a winning number at random and will post the winning comment on Twitter on April 21st, 2011, so make sure you leave me your twitter handle!

On a sidenote:
Thank you for everyone who puts up with me on Twitter.  I appreciate your banter, the fact that you don't try and have me committed, and that you allow me to flood your screens with utter nonsense, day after day. This contest is for you. xo!

Please feel free to RT, if you're into that sort of thing :)

The Ignorant Canadian Girls Guide to Election 2011

I didn't watch the debate.

I only know the names of the parties because they are on signs all over the damn place, and I can't stop looking at them.  I'm not sure if I'm angry because they make the city look dirty (which bothers my OCD).  Or maybe it's the fact that they use the worst colours.  Either way - I couldn't tell you which individual was running in what area, but I can tell you this:
blue = conservative
orange = ndp
green = green
red = liberal
quebec? who knows. They do their own thing, from what I gather...

So here we have a rainbow of characters.  They are known to me as colours, hairstyles and campaign commercials.  There is nothing that irks me more then seeing a politician holding a small child, with that weird (and sort of creepy) look on their face. Or watching someone sing a song, or help an old person cross the street.  I want to do a poll on how may times throughout the non-election year they do those things.  I'm going to guess none.  I have no facts to support that, as I do not follow anything they do until I have no choice, because it's posted everywhere.

The television has taught me certain things about the candidates:

Steven Harper needs a haircut, yet he talks calmly and likes to try and sing.  OH! and he also will try to take over the world if given the chance.  Then there's Iggy - I call him that because I can't spell his real name.  He's an Amercian (from what I gather on tv) who now wants to be Prime Minister.  His eyebrows are crazy - and that can only mean nothing but good things.  Layton looks like he should be on solid bed rest.  I don't know much about him except that he is in third place and seems to have troubles getting out of that spot.  The guy from Quebec seems to want something completely different then anyone in the entire country - except, of course, the people living in Quebec. And he hates multiculturalism.  Greeeeattttttt.  Elizabeth May - look at that! I know her full name! This is because they constantly talk about how she is not allowed to participate in anything.  I can see why she'd be angry. She's sort of like when you get picked last in dodgeball.

So there you have it. VOTE AWAY.  I don't pretend to know much about this subject, and feel like my vote would just be ignorant and out of place.  I have voted once in the past, and I based my criteria on television and signage, with a side thought about how happy I had been in the years leading up to that particular election.

This time? I got nothing.

All of our problems are solved because we have Banana Bread!

Normally, I am too impatient to wait until the bananas turn brown. For the past week, I have been walking past the browning naners on the counter, "patiently" waiting for them to become the ideal ingredient for what I had in mind.

Cinnamon Walnut Coconut Banana bread. Otherwise known as "amazing".

This wasn't just any ol' banana bread, I wanted to go for the gold.  I had a slight moment of disappointment when bf said that making banana bread without chocolate chips was not right, but I decided to push ahead with my plan.  As usual, I googled a simple and basic recipe from The Fresh Loaf, and added my own touches.  Photo credit goes to bf, as always, who so brilliantly captured this delicious journey.

It took about 55 minutes at the suggested temperature, and it made the condo smell like cinnamon buns - but there is nothing wrong with that.

Enjoy!