She Is Gone

She is gone. I sold her today. It is bittersweet. The golden dress with black lace applique and white tulle skirt. 
On one had, the dress fit me so I could have worn it one day. It is also a great piece for photoshoots and proof for me to show people.. someday? But all of that sounds lame because I only ever looked at it in photographs.. and I don't like to wear strapless dresses, so even though I could have worn it, I wouldn't have. Anyhow, where would I have?? And than I don't ever get paid for any of the photoshoots.. so there isn't much of a reason for it again. 
It was a good trade though.. they bought it for $800. This adorable girl bought it for prom.. she wanted it ever since she saw the fashion show. She was so gracious and appreciative that I would sell it to her. The smile on her face made it feel great to give it to her. It was bittersweet but I felt like I was floating after they walked away and I have the cheque in my hand. The hardwork as now literally, paid off.

G3 Restaurant Review

Dave and I had been waiting for this new vegetarian restaurant to open up across the street from where we grocery shop. (On Cambie between 18th and 19th) We live in a fantastic area that has a lot of vegetarian restaurants and grocery stores.. so we were excited to welcome a new one! Anyhow, one afternoon when we were grabbing groceries we noticed it was open so we popped across the street to take a look at the menu. Upon reading the menu I became very confused, there was a lot of seafood dishes, tofu in oyster sauce, prime rib, baby pig, chicken ext. ext. So tonight we decided to try the restaurant and I asked the server why there was so much meat or if it was all imitation, well, it was all imitation but they didn't mention that anywhere. She said that they should advertise that somewhere in the menu and I agreed! 
Anyhow, they give you the dinner menu and menu for this juice bar that they had.. so we both ordered a juice and they were INCREDIBLE! Dave is not much of a juice drinker but he wanted another! He got this great spinach, apple and lemon juice and I got a grapefruit, strawberry and lemon juice. (His was wayyy better though). For dinner we shared a buckwheat soba noodle and vegetable dish and bean curd rolls. Dave and I are huge fans of the Black Bean Curd at the Bo Kong Vegetarian restaurant on Main and 15th, so we were nervous that this bean curd wouldn't be as good but we both agreed it was much, much better! A lot softer, smaller bite size pieces and a more mild sauce. The buckwheat and veggie dish was great as well! The buckwheat noodles are sooo flavorful! Upon leaving we were gushing to the owner about how great our experience and the food was.. we will definatly be going back!

The Upper East Side

Around Main Street if you mention the "Upper East Side" people will begin to hum 'mmmmm', their mouths water and they excitedly rave about how that is their favorite dish at the vegetarian/vegan restaurant Foundation.
I love to get crafty in the kitchen. Dave and I both eat a vegan diet, but Dave also can't eat wheat, yeast, gluten, dairy and sugar, so cooking takes some imagination for us. On my days off I love to make yam and brocoli spelt pierogies, tofu and spinach spanokapitas, yeast-free spelt pizza dough, carrot muffins, vegan double chocolate chip cookies, ext ext. My sister, Brittney, recently really got into cooking as well. About a month ago we shared the Upper East Side at Foundation, on Sundays we seem to get together, go to the grocery store and find inspiration to cook something. She is really great because she always accomodates to my vegan diet. This Sunday we decided to try and make the Upper East Side ourselves and it turned out AMAZING! So here is my (sort of) recipe of our version of the Upper East Side:

Cook up some rice or quinoa with 1/2 coconut milk and 1/2 water (white, brown, basmati, jasmine, whatever you like)
Steam up some asparagus (this was our creative addition)Steam up some sliced tofu (any firmness)
Slice up some mango (we could only find canned but it worked out great because we used the mango juice in the sauce!)
In a pot boil the rest of the coconut milk and the mango juices together to make the sauce. We put the black beans in there as well (no real reason why.. just seemed like the thing to do!)

Once the rice is cooked, put a bed down on the bottom of your plate, lay down your steamed asparagus, sprinkle on your mango slices and than put your coconut milk/mango juice sauce with the black beans ontop! 

This dish is so amazing that I went out at 8:00 this morning to get the ingredients to make it tonight for Dave. Also, I suggest to everyone to invest in a rice cooker. Dave and I are rice fiends and use this thing pretty much daily (Dave even uses is in the morning to make his lunch). But they all have vegetable steamers to place on top so it makes cooking so easy, and making rice is as simple as pushing a button! I will post pictures of the dish tonight (that is if I can handle to not start eatting it before I take a picture)

Enjoy!!

The Wedding

With the wedding being such a huge part of my life right now, it will naturally become a topic of discussion on my blog. My fiance, Dave, and I have been together since we were 15 years old. When I was 14 years old I knew I was going to marry him, so I chased him for 4 months until he finally gave in (more or less). Now 5 years later, here we are planning our wedding. It will be a winter wedding, January 1st, 2010, in our hometown, Penticton. We have (what I consider) the most beautiful venue, the S.S. Sicamous. It is Canada's largest sternwheeler ship from 1914 that was used to transport goods and people up and down Okanagan Lake. It stopped running in 1936 and has been docked upon Okanagan Beach as a mueseum ever since. We are having a simple, but lovely afternoon tea-party upon the ship and everything down to my dress will be keeping with the vintage feel. 
The photo is a funny little picture of Dave and I photoshopped into the ship. Yes, the groom with be in grey, and yes, the bride will be in that 1930's blue dress.

It's Been a While

So, it has been quite a while since my first posting. Almost 4 months infact. 
My journey towards opening an Etsy shop had been on hold since Christmas Time as my fiance and I got engaged. *insert huge smile here* Now that we have got a solid plan for the wedding, I can focus again on what I love to do, creating. 
I am incredibly fortunate to have this great job (or rather opportunity in my eyes) to be managing a local boutique here in Vancouver called, 'Barefoot Contessa'. Here I can make and sell what I please in the store, and this isn't something I have been taking advantage of - until now. As I write this entry, I am taking a break from making little felted hair accessories as my first product for the store. So far I have flowers with vintage button centers and two-toned sparrows. Coming up is crochet hair doilies with vintage beads and buttons. (will post photos later)
Upon rekindling my blogging efforts, I at first thought I would delete this blog and create a new one after my poor attempts (I also couldn't even find my blog). But I realized that this is a prime example of the creative process, how it will come and go in waves. We just must be sure to act on our creative inspirations when a wave does hit. 

The First Post

So, blogging isn't something I ever thought I would get into. But within my extensive research on 'how to open a successful Etsy shop', creating a blog continued and continued to show up. So, here I am, writing my first post. 
I just graduated with two diplomas: fashion merchandising and fashion design. I designed and sewed all throughout highschool and 'knew' for sure that fashion was the path I was supposed to take. When I moved away and went to college for it and began working in a big retail chain, my perspective changed (a lot). I couldn't possibly see myself being a part of the industry knowing the damage it does to this here, planet Earth.
I figured I would be graduated for about 6 months to a year until I felt the urge to begin creating again.. instead it was 3 days after graduation and I felt that urge. But, if I am so for 'saving the environment' how could I do this without contributing to the global crisis? My answer: recycled clothing and materials. I currently have a huge heap of thift clothing and linens in my living room, waiting to be taken apart and re-created into something new. We have so many resources at our fingertips, yet we continue to make more. We just need to lock and load our imaginations as to how you can transform that hideous floral dress with 4" thick shoulderpads and matching belt. For me, the floral print will be cut out and appliqued onto leftover black and white striped fabric from my graduation collection and from there I will make it into a handbag. The handbag will of course be lined with the leftovers of the floral dress.