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Archive of ‘cupcakes’ category

bakery, birthday, cupcakes | 0 comment

Pre-Birthday Dinner

laughter around the makeshift dining table

 We’re going home so soon, which makes me sad. We had a wonderful early birthday party with all the family here tonight. We had pasta dinner with Gramma, Phil and Nancy, who drove down from the lake district. Very tasty meal…but of course it was…how could it not be with all the best foods; tomato sauce and rice pasta (and Daiya cheeze!). Heaven. Both sets of aunts and uncles, my big cuz Evan, Gramma, and of course Mum and I.

love at first bite!

We had fun picking the cupcakes for tonight’s birthday celebration. I will really miss KindFood, and their delicious vegan/gf B.L.A.T sandwiches, not to mention the goodies. There is something so exhilarating about being able to order a sandwich just the way it was written up on the menu, without substitutions or missing ingredients!
I am feeling quite low on energy these days, but somehow I found the strength to eat a cupcake. I know. We are talking about huge expenditures of energy, and a deficit of calories, but I did my best :p. We all survived. Somehow teeheehee.

amy, arm bands, birthday, cupcakes, sick | 1 Comment

Travellers by Train

mint and vanilla
Cuz eating a vegan/gf cupcake with a smile 😛

It just so happened that Amy was able to come down from Ottawa and visit for 2 days this weekend, as she never has classes on Monday. Yay! She took the train down and arrived yesterday evening. We visited a little bit and relaxed at the condo, and then Amy went to stay at Gramma’s house, just down the block! Amy and I had girl time today when we went to pick up early-birthday cupcakes at Kind Food. Yay for girl time :). It is very exciting to be sharing a birthday (almost on the right date!) with my family, because we usually live so far away that this isn’t possible. I have spend a few birthdays with Amy, but obviously I’d love to see her everyday, and on my birthday :). She’s like my big sis, and I love that! 

I feel much more like my “normal” sick self, now that we have been here a few days and the affect of the elevation of flying have worn off. I feel a bit sluggish, like I’m dragging myself along the bottom of a river with each step.

hot pink & lime green
monet’s garden

Something I am enjoying a lot of lately that doesn’t involve a lot of energy on my part is knitting. I have knit several PICC line armbands since I have been here, and they are already up on my Etsy Shop. At this rate I am going to run out of yarn before we get home! Whatever will I do? 😛


My big cuz also helped me out with a rad impromptu photo-shoot for my latest PICC line armbands!

wonder-woman! showing off the Tahitian sunset armband

arm bands, cupcakes, PICC line, yarn | 0 comment

First Sale!!

Last night I got my first order for a PICC line cover through my Etsy shop from a lovely gal in the Mid-West. Needless to say I was over-the-moon jumping-up-and-down excited! I had only finished the armband that day, and hadn’t even had a chance to put it up on Etsy, so that was very quick turn around. I can’t wait to hear her feedback about the armband. Although I wear them myself, and am very self-critical about the product, it will be wonderful to get another opinion from a fellow PICC line user! The armband is already in the hands of Canada Post and on its’ way to a new home. I suppose this officially makes me an entrepreneur! Wow.

lace stitch panels in “Spun”

I know non-knitters could argue that most knitting stores sell the same products, by the same companies and most often in the same popular colorways, but that never feels like the case. There is always something new and exciting, and it would be impossible to remember all the different kinds of yarns available in specific colorways. Spun Fibre Arts is a Burlington store specializing in natural and organic yarns and fleeces for fibre artists! It was heaven. There was a lot of stroking as we strolled/rolled around the store. It just so happened that they had several colors of this cotton/elastic yarn I love to make the IV armbands from in new and exciting colors, and on sale. I can’t find it in any of the 3 knitting shops in Victoria, so I picked up three very beautiful colors; mixed hot pinks, mixed stormy blues, and a teal/purple/lavender/stormy blue striped mix. Hopefully these will soon be transformed from ordinary balls of yarn into something rather unique! I was excited to find a few more stereotypically male colors (blues), because until now I have had mostly  stereotypically girlie colors, and some gender neutral ones. I would love a blue armband myself, however, so I am careful to not always assume that blue/pink are for boys and girls, respectively. That is so last century!

prettttttttyyyyyyy

An equally exciting stop was at KindFood vegan/GF bakery & cafe, where we picked up 4 delectable cupcakes: Mint, Coconut, Chocolate, and Vanilla.

los cupcakes

Oh my goodness. We are saving them for after dinner, which is killing me. Fancies of icing and sprinkles are dancing round in my head. I was a tad bit excited about the whole experience. I’ve decided that at some time in my life, I am going to open a GF Vegan bakery & cafe, although I will need to firm up these plans with an idea of ‘when & where’.

outside the famous KindFood

Nothing could be better than the combination of cupcakes and yarn. Paradise.

bakery, cupcakes, ultrasound, vegan | 0 comment

A Sound Massage

In regards to my health, things have picked up slightly since my MRV. The ultrasound I had yesterday wasn’t too bad. But damn, these tests are specific, which equals very long in the real world. An hour ultrasound of my neck? Didn’t realize there was that much stuff to gander at in the small big of cylindrical flesh between my squishy gray matter and heart!? An ultrasound isn’t too painful, except for the devices’ contact on my skin, and the pressure. The device emits a buzzing, which I can hear in my ear, like the drone of a bee, but lower in pitch, a sound that jabs needles of sound into my bones. The gel is disgusting, and was all the way up to my temples and in my hair. At least its water-based, and comes off in the shower. It wasn’t an attractive look though, let me tell you lol. Not a very effective hair gel, at least that’s one good thing. The nice technician didn’t see anything really obvious on the ultrasound, but it isn’t as accurate as the MRV, which will give us the definitive answer soon. Hopefully sooner versus later, because at the same time I would be getting the procedure to unblock my veins, I would get a new PICCline. OH yes, no port again, let me tell you. All that’s left to bear witness to that discomfort is a 2 inch incision scar, which is fading into a pink ridge, with the liberal application of pure vitamin E.

I did get the pure pleasure of visiting a vegan, organic bakery, which only opened up a few weeks ago. “Edible Flours” was a delightful experience, and the cupcake divine. Its so nice to be able to pick up something from a bakery, something I wouldn’t bake at home, and to not have to worry about the ingredients or ask the poor barista 20 questions about the composition of the confection. Pure bliss.

I am glad all the medical-related things are over. Now I can relax, without the added stress of knowing I have more tests later on. Tomorrow, if its a nice day, we’ll go to the Dr. Sun Yet-Sen Gardens, a pristine Japanese garden paradise. I went there on school trip when I was in grade 6, and the memories of the tranquility of the lush greens, rocky pagodas, ponds and raked stone gardens remain with me. Hmm…I think a yummy green vegan gum drop would go nicely with this memory…

cupcakes, friends, mrs. crossley, shakespeare | 0 comment

Visiting x 3

Again, I got to visit the lovely Mrs. Crossley’s classroom and help out her kids. I had so much fun. Much ado about nothing is one of my favorite Shakepeare plays, and it was interesting reading a grade 8 students perspective on the play, and its motives. The guiding question (an International Baccalaureate Program (IB) staple, which is a question without an answer, essentially, just there to ‘guide’ your thinking) was “What is the difference between ‘being’ and ‘seeming’?.” As most of the complex characters of Much Ado put on both figurative and literal mask throughout the play, it is a good question to get kids thinking about motives, insecurities, and consequences of the characters (and by extension, their own) actions. I almost miss guiding questions. They challenged me to think beyond what was already written on the paper, and to form my own opinions about a work. I guess I can accept this as helpful now, but when you are in IB at school, you can definitely not appreciate the benefits of the program. I never considered myself a good proofreader, but I suppose after writing and editing my own essays for so long, it is much easier to approach another students’ essay.

It was a very ‘Shakespearean’ day all-round today. Two of my good friends, both named Laura (S. & G., respectively), and I hung out today. We baked cupcakes at Laura S’s house, which was so much fun. Vanilla vegan cupcakes with hand-beaten icing (didn’t work out so well), but the cupcakes were a nice golden-brown-caramel deliciousness. It was nice to just chillax and laugh with the girls, but I was pretty tired  after such a long, yet enjoyable, morning.

In the evening (ok, looking at my day on paper, it is easier to see why I am so tired), my good friend Stray came over, and we knit together and gabbed. She is a very awesome person, and enjoys a wide variety of arts and crafts, particularly fibre/fabric related ones, like me. I’ve known her since grade 5, perhaps even earlier, because I came to GNS for a few ‘trial days’ in grade 4. She is a very easy going person, full of the most amusing stories and strong opinions. My sides kind of hurt from laughing all day, actually. Hopefully tomorrow will be more restful…looking for a break!

cupcakes, mexican food, party | 0 comment

Surprise

The ‘surprise’ party is always the best kind, and its so much fun for the planners. It was one of my best friends’- Lisa- birthday. I invited her out for a Mexican lunch, and then got a group of our friends together. She was very surprised; a job well done.

There aren’t many Mexican restaurants in Victoria, maybe only a handful. None of them are super fantastic, and many serve ‘western’ food too, which I always think it weird. Maybe I just got spoiled growing up in California, where a brilliant burrito is like a Starbucks; always across the street.

I hadn’t seen a few of my friends for a really long time. What with school and music and work, its been a crazy last few months, but now that exams are over for most of my friends, we can relax again.

In other news, I finished knitting another cupcake today. I gave Lisa one for her birthday, and was inspired to bake/make more…more…lots more :). They are so adorable, and I was thinking of selling them on Etsy. They’d be a cute Birthday gift for someone, somewhere, and people are willing to pay a fortune for anything handmade. There are so many different kinds of toppings and icing combination. Just experimenting with sequins now :).

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