miscellaneous vancouver.

[last photo by ryan]
just a few pictures i took in and around vancouver over the holiday break. we had incredible weather the whole break! a few shots of the vancouver bus terminal where we picked up casey. ian brother, miss pam mah and i bought darth vader rings to commemorate our time together in vancouver. a friendly regal cat in michelle's new neighbourhood near commercial drive. the light dusting of frost one chilly morning as we walked back from breakfast at the amazing restaurant michelle took us to - havana - and ryan and i enjoying a coffee in the sun on davie street.

"guu is guuuuuu'd"

[photos by me]

another one of our favourite restaurants that we visited in vancouver, was guu (the original). guu is called an "izakaya" or a type of japanese pub that serves japanese appetizers or tapas-like food. (please correct me if i've misinterpreted!)

oh guu, the first time i ate there was just after ryan proposed in 2008 and every time i'm in vancouver we make an effort to eat there! this time around we went to guu with miss mah, ian, and casey! we ordered some of our staple favs and new dishes to try: picture 1, ryan's fav - the "salmon salad" - smoked salmon, tomato, cucumber and onion dressed with mustard mayonnaise; picture 2, pam's new fav item - eggplant with garlic chips; pictures 3 - "misomayo" grilled black cod with miso and mayonnaise; picture 4 - ryan and i's new fav - "kakuni" stewed pork belly, daikon, poached egg and a steamed bun; and picture 5 - sweet shrimp sashimi.  the other dishes we ordered were eaten up so fast, i didn't get a chance to photograph them :) 

the busy atmosphere and the loud energy of guu is a bit intimidating at first, but with the sweet and friendly staff and the amazing food, guu is definitely in the running for my favourite restaurant!

currently listening. oh land.

[video source: vimeo, Oh Land Music]

new years eve and the granville island hotel penthouse.

as a very special christmas present to ryan and i, ryan's parents (rob and jeri) and extended family (the sidhus - suki, surinder, romeena, neetika and rajan) got the gang a new year's eve stay in the penthouse at the granville island hotel! it was stunning! with gorgeous views of false creek and downtown vancouver from the huge patio overlooking the nearby marina, a roaring fireplace, a dining room and huge living room, we were spoiled rotten!

salt tasting room.

[photo1: ryan nelson, photos 2-6: me]

we went to the salt tasting room in vancouver over the holiday break with ryan, miss pam mah, my brother ian and my sister-in-law michelle. i chose a sherry flight (picture 5) of an extra dry "fino" (the lightest variety of sherry - in taste and colouration), an "amontillado" sherry (aged "fino" sherry) and an "oloroso" sherry (very dark in colour and very sweet with a caramel flavour). my favourite pairing was the "amontillado" sherry paired with a montgomery cheddar and hazelnuts. yum. it was really neat how the sherry enhanced the flavour of the cheese and hazelnuts and vice versa! very fun! we capped off the tasting with the desserts of the night - a surprisingly amazing apricot blue cheese cheesecake with hazelnut crumble (ordered by ian and sampled by all - thanks ian!) and a chocolate terrine with a pear compote (ooooh my). very very good night at salt!

christmas wrap-up.

the patterns for the darth vader (and boba fett/clone) snowflakes can be found here. (my brother's friend nicole tipped us off to them!) ryan cut the one pictured here... my darths looked like cocker spaniels...

the fabulous erin P. sent us these amazing williams-sonoma star wars pancake molds for christmas! thanks erin!!! the tastiness was strong with these pancakes...

after a week up at my parents place for christmas in roberts creek, we headed over to the in-laws to recreate a nelson christmas morning (complete with snow!). jeri made the most amazing breakfast spread of freshly baked brioche, pickled herring, turkey sausages, boiled eggs and sparkling apple cider! ryan made us some tasty lattés too! deeeelicious!

my extra special christmas present.

i'm a very very lucky lady! my new husband ryan (with the help of his good friend marte) bought me a pair of beaaaautiful Lanvin for H&M heels! i wore them for New Year's Eve with my favourite blue dress! thank you ryan and marte!!