Vandusen, Christmas Market & Happy New Year!

First of all, welcome to the year 2013 everyone! Happy new year, although it is a little late. I wish everyone good health, and happiness in the upcoming year. I am playing a little bit of catch up today, to recap the Christmas/winter festivities during my break. Vancouver weather was a bit unforgiving the day my family and I visited the Festival of Lights at Vandusen Garden (it wouldn`t stop raining) and when Jerkface and I visited the Vancouver Christmas Market at the Queen Elizabeth Plaza downtown (it was really cold and it hailed). I tried to take photographs all the same, the majority of which sadly ended up quite blurry. But I did attend both events at night, so I apologize for the (lacking) quality of the pictures! Here we go :)

Vandusen Garden was transformed into a beautiful display of lights, and the enormous effort to set it all up is a good explanation for the ~$15 admission fee. (There is family admission for two adults and their children under 19 available for $32.50, and children get to sit on Santa`s lap and take photos along with admission fee.) There is BBQ food available for purchase, as well as the beloved hot cocoa of the season to accompany the lively Christmas carols (most of which are modern remakes of the classics) blasting on concealed speakers. I couldn`t take many photos whilst holding an umbrella trying to keep the camera dry and snapping photos one-handedly at the same time: I highly recommend picking a non-rainy day to attend next year because it will make your visit more enjoyable and allow for better photography, even if those nights are rare to expect in Vancouver.

These flowers are the tops of water bottles cut jaggedly in half with a light placed at the opening, these were genius!

There was a light show on the water that I was unable to capture with one photograph :(

The rain ruined this adorable section of the exhibit: the ground was incredibly muddy! But in here you`ll find many gingerbreadmen :)
   

Jerkface and I purchased tickets from The Red Pocket on a whim a few nights later for the Vancouver Christmas Market downtown (My bestie J introduced The Red Pocket to me, and it`s a great place to find deals in Vancouver: anything from all-you-can-eat hot pot or high tea to a wine tasting or a car wash, there`s probably a deal for it here.). I had had a brief conversation about German Christmas markets with my friend J who lives in Germany, and had only just said I really wanted to see what they were like, before I discovered Vancouver actually has one of its own. I doubt it resembles the real thing at all, but I wanted to see it anyway. We purchased a deal that included entrance for two and two carousel rides for a total of $8. (Entrance fees were $5 per person, and a carousel ride was $3 per person, so it was almost like a buy one get one promo. All entries included a re-entry pass valid until Christmas eve with or without this deal.) I was pleasantly surprised to find that the vendors actually spoke German to each other, that it was not a bunch of tables and tents pushed together, and save the hurricane potato stand that seemed a little out of place (recycled from the Richmond night market), it all looked amazing. The carousel was one where the horses themselves moved up and down, which I had never experienced before (usually the ground moves) and it surprisingly made a difference in a good way. It began to hail when we neared the front of the line up for the carousel, but it stopped hailing when the ride ended which was lovely timing. There was also an amazing display of ornaments and other Christmas decorations in a shop at the far end of the market, but unfortunately they did not allow cameras inside so I cannot even show you the masterpieces that I could not afford to purchase. They were remarkable.

The signage was a legitimate and sturdy thing, which was a good sign (Get it? A good SIGN? Sorry hehe)

The decorations were great, there was a choir singing Christmas carols: it was all very festive.

Despite the atrocious prices (no surprise really), I was devastated that they were sold out!

A close up of the vendors.. I suppose you could call these cabins? Whatever they`re called, they look great!

This winter, I wanted to be more involved in the festivities and events going on in the city. Last year I went to Bright Lights in Stanley Park which I found amazing, save the miniature train ride that was really meant for children. It inspired the curiosity about what other events were being held during the holidays. This year I chose the Festival of Lights and the Christmas Market, and next year I will be on the hunt for more things to do! Perhaps something indoors next year, so it`s less cold for a change :)

As a UBC student I am back to school tomorrow morning, which is preposterous... But I am excited for the 3rd Annual Hot Chocolate Festival coming up at the end of the month.. YUM! Happy new year again to those who read to the end of this very long post!

This Christmas... Ornaments For My Tree!

It`s rather late into the holiday season and I`m still without a Christmas tree. I haven`t been able to go pick up a tree because of final exams, and if I had, this would have been my first year with a full sized Christmas tree. Meanwhile I still have the mini one from jerkface that I will be keeping in my room to cheer me up :) If I do get a tree though, these are the ornaments that I would like to buy to decorate my new tree:

1. Feather Snowman Ornament - Pier 1 Imports $5.95 Isn`t he the cutest little fella? My mom walked in and pointed at him saying "he`s just two pom poms stuck together with a little hat and scarf attached to it." Very very cute :')
2. Polar Bear Baby Stocking - Chapters Indigo $7.50 (original price $15) This little stocking reminds me of Snowball and is perfect for my tree. The stocking is initially meant for home decor rather than an ornament.
3. Personalized Woody Wagon Bear Family Ornament - Walmart ~$15.00 I have always loved the idea of a personalized ornament (truthfully I love personalized anything) and this one is perfect to reminisce family road trips in my family. Walmart offers other family sizes and other designs for personalized ornaments. You can change the names printed on the ornament, as well as add a sibling or two to it :)
4. Natural Hedgehog Ornament - Pier 1 Imports $5.95 He is just adorable. End of story.
5. Glitter Tree Ornament - Pier 1 Imports $3.95 I love the gradient of the green glitter on this tree, and I love glitter. It`s a tree on a tree! Get it? (Bad humour, sorry)
6. Vinylmation Jingle Smells 2 Series Goofy - Disney Store $12.95 I love Goofy ;)

Finding ornaments online is actually quite difficult to do, but these are the ones that I discovered and I like them all very much. Some for personal and sentimental reasons, and some just because they`re adorable and pretty.. Hopefully I will snag a tree before Christmas arrives!

This Christmas... My Not-So-Secret Wishlist

Here are a few materialistic things on my wishlist that are all under $50! This year I am on the look out for forms of storage and home decor, along with some beauty things. (For any of my friends, any of those categories will do if you`re here looking for ideas) I couldn`t think of more than seven, or rather the hour is late for me to think of more than seven things, so here are seven things that I want for Christmas. And maybe if you know someone remotely like me, these might make good gifts! However my greatest wish for Christmas is that everyone I know will stay in good health. Please note that all prices are in CAD.

1. Candles; Or some other kind of air freshener that I do not need to spray. I like to keep the door to my bedroom closed to keep the room warm during the winter, so I`d like to try lighting a few scented candles to keep it smelling fresh. Bath and Body Works is doing a lovely 2 for $5 on their mini candles, and while I was in the store I fell in love with the smell of their Winter candle.
2. Storage Boxes; Any of the ones like this, or other clear boxes that are sturdy, so I can begin my room re-organization project for this winter. I found these ones on the Container Store website (we don`t have the Container Store in Vancouver or Canada I believe, which is a shame) but I know they aren`t hard to find.
3. The Buddha Board; This one is just for fun and doesn`t have any practical use to it at all, but it`s a stone board that you write on with a calligraphy brush dipped in water. I saw this in a little boutique in Kitslano with C and B, but while I was Christmas shopping with N, I ran into this little board again in Chapters. Currently on their online website, it is on sale for $26.25 off the original $35!
4. Ceramic Mugs; I adore mugs that are unique and have simple and elegant designs on them, like this discontinued and out of stock Starbucks Three Regions mug. If anyone can their hands on this, I will love you forever. But I tend to dislike mugs that have tacky sayings on them, or mugs with designs that look like they`ve been compiled in the Windows Paint program. The best part is that a nice mug can come as cheap as $1.
5. Tarte Maracula Creaseless Concealer; Before UBC I did not feel like I needed concealer on my face, and truthfully am still not sure I do. But if I were ever to try a concealer, I`d like to try this Tarte concealer in the colour Light. They are easily available at Sephora for $31. Always include a gift receipt if you are getting makeup as a gift so that the recipient can exchange for the right skin tone!
6. Storage Cart; Anything like this. I also found this one on the Container Store website, but I am sure they`re easily found elsewhere. I like how I can organize different types of crafts in the little drawers. Any form of storage for me this winter really, friends :)
7. Wrap Ring; I love unique/custom wire jewelry on Etsy. I`ve had my eye on this ring for a very long time, and it comes in gold, silver, black and a copper-brown for roughly $7 before shipping. Any custom jewelry will make a girl like me very happy, especially knowing I will be one of few to have it.

So that wraps up all the things that I want this Christmas. You`ll note that they`re all relatively random things, and this is because I do not happen to have a long wishlist this year and had to scrape my mind for ideas. I consider this an accomplishment though, to be able to separate myself from my materialistic wants, but that`s it! I tried to include things that spoke about me: my love for organization, my love for unique items, and my love for beauty and makeup.

With all that said, happy Christmas shopping everybody! I`m off to finish studying for my last final of 2012 and pick up a few last gifts this week for my friends and family as well !

Pearl of China by Anchee Min

Anchee Min's Pearl of China takes place before and during Mao's takeover of China. (A side note: I really enjoy historical fiction, and this period of Chinese history--Mao's takeover, the eight years of war with Japan, followed by the four years of civil war in China, in particular strikes my interest. I am on a hunt for more Chinese historical fiction novels, so do not be surprised to see more in the near future.) We learn the story of Pearl S. Buck (a famous writer in the 1930s, who grew up in China) through her friendship with a fictional character and our protagonist, Willow. I was first captured by the writing in the first paragraph of the novel:

Before I was Willow, I was Weed. My grandmother, NaiNai, insisted that naming me Weed was better. She believed that the gods would have a hard time making my life go lower if I was already at the bottom. Papa disagreed. "Men want to marry flowers, not weeds." They argued and finally settled for Willow, which was considered "gentle enough to weep and tough enough to be made into farming tools." I always wondered what my mother would have thought if she had lived. (Min 3)

The naming of this child foreshadows the struggles she will face as a young girl raised in poverty. The rest of this novel shows that she really will live up to the name Willow. Min managed to paint a lovely picture of the legacy of Pearl Buck in China by telling the story through Willow's perspective. The test of friendship and themes of religion plays a key role in her story, as well as themes of love and inevitable loss during times of poverty and war. A touching story, that I would recommend to anyone who has a love for Chinese culture and/or Chinese history.

Stanley Park by Timothy Taylor

Inspired by Stanley Park, located in my own city, Vancouver and the Babes in the Wood case, a tragic murder of two young children whose bodies were discovered in the park in 1953. This one was part of assigned reading for my English class (ENGL 227 with Duffy for UBC students).

I liked Timothy Taylor's Stanley Park, but it is definitely not a fast paced and suspenseful action or adventure filled novel. I prefer faster paced stories myself but it was a page-turner for, which is rare for assigned reading. (George Orwell's 1984 in English 12 many years ago was the last book I could not put down once I started, as part of assigned reading) Although to be fair, I was likely at that level of interest because it is a local setting. The story resides in a place that I rarely have time to go to, and rarely take the time to think about: Stanley Park and parts of the downtown area.

Our protagonist is a chef who through his cooking, is "trying to remind people of something. Of what the soil under their feet has to offer. Of a time when they would have known only the food that their own soil could offer.'" (Taylor 23) Jeremy's initial belief in the story was that "food is a language," (Taylor 60), but we see a large change in character as food becomes "a performance about memory, a tribute to the way things once were" (Taylor 353) by the end of the novel. Jeremy's character development was entwined with the repair of his relationship with his father and his understanding of place. I liked the spiderweb of characters in the novel, the Professor, Jules and Caruzo possibly being my favourites of them all. I enjoyed Jeremy's strained father and son relationship with the Professor, Jeremy's short comings with money and debt leading to his 'friendship' with Dante, and his sous chef and chef relationship that maybe went beyond friendship with Jules. I loved the closure at the end, and the novel inspired a desire to take a long walk through Stanley Park to imagine Jeremy, the Professor, Caruzo or Siwash in the woods somewhere.

I am disappointed of course, to find that the Monkey's Paw Bistro was not a real restaurant because I'd liked to have visit. Perhaps the Food Caboose is a restaurant that actually exists.