Your Pins Are Hurting My Eyes: Part Two.

Pinterest, how I love to find inspiring pins from others.  How I love to upload pins of my own and have them inspire others.  And how I love it when I come across pins that are ridiculous.

You can see all of the awesome shit I pin here.

And now, without further ado is part two of: Your Pins Are Hurting My Eyes. 

This is ALWAYS a bad idea.  Although, I  have to admit that long, long ago when my girlfriends and I went to Vegas quite frequently we did this on one of our trips. Anyway, thank god we were on the "I Love You Man" shit because it was actually pretty hilarious and we still laugh about it to this day.  I'll always remember that I was told that I am bossy and need to be more patient when teaching people how to snowboard.  

I hate everything about this: the fonts, spacing and that comma.  Plus If I called Kyle "darling" he would most certainly laugh at me and tell me to make them myself.

So I want to hate this and I laughed when I found it, but it's sorta growing on me.  I re-pinned to my "Fall into Winter" board just to gauge reactions. I am half-kidding.

Nope.  Not even for a second.  I'd also like to take a wildddddd guess as to where this guy is from...

I am looking at getting another tattoo and I can tell you with 100% certainly it will not be this.  I do have to say that the face is pretty good though. 

The trifecta of bad: bare legs with Uggs, Sparkly Uggs, Uggs.

There are some REALLY BAD maternity photos out there.  This is one of them. I can't stop thinking that the dirt is hair. This is on my do-not-do list for my maternity shoot. And yes, of course I am having one.  I had not one, but two engagement photo shoots. Kyle dreads every moment of these things...

This is too much organization, even for me.  Plus your makeup is not a refrigerator magnet. And let's showcase some better makeup.

Good makeup organization.  Plus I actually use all these brands so I like this version way better.

Upcycling at it's worse.

Wait, no this is upcycling at it's worse.  I can't think of a more comfortable place to sit than a hard ass bath tub with a face staring at me.

Lastly, you need to head over to Bored Panda because they have THE BEST Pinterest fails of all time. Seriously, go here and laugh your ass off.  I've had my fair share of Pinterest fails, like this three-layer birthday cake I tried to make for Kyle:

My version.  The front looked just about 10% better than this.

Pinterest cake-it's so pretty isn't it?

~Mrs. G

This That And The Other: A Recap

Yes, yes and YES!  I completed the Whole30 challenge! I want to say thank you for all of the amazing posts of love and support on FB and my Whole30 IG and thank you for following along on my journey!

My girlfriend Lindsay, who blogs over at Fit & Awesome is interviewing me so I am sure she will ask all the good questions and make it seem way more interesting and informative so I will not talk about it here and instead point you to her site when the article is up.  Bottom line is I feel amazing and I am 100% glad I did it and plan on living a more Paleo lifestyle (well more like 80/20 because girl needs her "Pasta Sundays" and french macaroons). I will also post everything I ate later this week.

Aside from living a clean life for 30 awesome days, I have been nursing Maggie back from her TPLO surgery.  She is 4 weeks post-op and is finally weight bearing and has graduated to 20 minute walks! She is still quarantined to a very small living space in the house, but I started letting her out when I'm home so she won't go stir crazy.  My advise to pet owners:  GET PET INSURANCE.

What else?  Oh we are finally going on vacation!  We haven't been anywhere (aside from trips to Cali and local BC places for long weekends) since Bali and we both are in need of sun, warm water and for Kyle-surf.  We're deciding between Hawaii or Mexico for at least 10 days. Our only window is in September so of course we need to find when and where the surf is best.  I am really leaning towards Hawaii.

Vancouver is really beautiful right now!  I think (THINK) we are seeing the last of the rain for the season, but then again this is "Raincouver" and from what I hear last year was pretty dry and we got lucky so who really knows.  The temp has been around 80-85 the past couple of days so I have been pretty stoked! Festivals are happening every weekend and yes...during my Whole30 Challenge I went to and didn't get to eat any cannolis at the Italian Day Festival.

Kyle just got back from a 4 day surf trip to Tofino Island and I used the alone time to do some gardening, hang with some of my girlfriends and really just veg out.  Things are pretty mellow for the most part around here.  Hopefully I have more interesting news next post ;)  I am working on another post where I call out more Pinterest crap that I see, so stay tuned for that.  I have been a pinning fool lately and have come across some real gems.  It may also be about pinning fails as I have tried many a thing from crafts, to food and they have turned out exactly the opposite of the pictures!

That's all I got...

~Mrs. G

Checking In On My Whole30 Challenge

Whooaaaaa we're halfway there!

Well, here we are at Day 14 of my Whole30 Challenge!  For those that don't know what that is you can click here and read all about it or I can just tell you that basically I am eating clean for a month.  No processed foods: no added sugars of any kind, no grains, legumes, dairy, white potatoes, carrageenan, nitrates, sulfites, MSG, and last but not least no alcohol or desserts. Think Paleo - but a bit more strict.

That seems like a really long list of stuff that I cannot have so what can  I eat? Healthy fats, veggies, chicken, fish, eggs, fruit, pork and beef. (All eggs, pork, beef & chicken are from local farms too!)

Let me tell you that I feel amazing.  My Husband feels amazing.  He is not going as extreme as I am, but as I am cooking most of his breakfasts and all of our dinners he is definitely feeling the effects of cutting out crappy foods.

My thoughts so far...

• It's a lot of prep.
• Our kitchen looks like a bomb went off every time I am make something.
• It's not cheap eating clean!
• I plan out every dinner for the week on Sundays as well as do as much prep as possible for the week. I sorta use leftovers and go with what I feel like for breakfast and lunch.
• Kyle and I go out on "date night" at least once or twice a week, it's a bit tough eating out since there are so many restrictions so I do miss that, although if I decide not to go into a 60 day we are going here to celebrate.  
• I don't miss sweets (that much).  No really, I have the BIGGEST sweet tooth and it's all but gone.
• I love passing by all the crappy boxed, processed junk food and know that's not going into my body.
• More energy?  Yep that happened.
• The whole coffee thing?  I made my own coconut cream and it's amazing in my coffee.  This took me a week to sort out, but once I made the cream, I was golden. 
• Smaller waist/flatter tummy? CHECK. The first thing that goes when I loose any weight is my waist and stomach.  Sorry, maybe you got blessed with fab legs and height.  I got this so I'm bragging about it. 
• Happy Hubby-Kyle always did most of the cooking.  I'm not sure how or when this happened-it just did.  He is loving all of the amazing meals that I have been chefing up!
• I have made my own: coconut cream/ mayo/umami mayo/ranch dressing/all salad dressings and almond milk.  It tastes way better than store-bought and again no preservatives and ingredients I can't pronounce.
• Asian cauliflower rice anytime, any day. 
• It's 30 days and like they said-it really is easy.
• Lots of the people I follow on IG are moms and my cousin switched her family to a paleo lifestyle while working and competing in races.  Huge props to all you moms and dads living this lifestyle or doing this challenge while taking care of  kids and a family.  It's a ton of work and I know how worth it is, but you are all super moms and dads for finding the time and energy to cook this way.

Have I had a rough day here and there?  Ummm yeah!  It's easy, but making this big of a change takes about two weeks to get used too.  I also recently had to switch to decaf coffee so that is making  for some cranky mornings ;)

I will have the whole list of what I ate at the end of the month along with a more-in depth recap and really what pushed me to do this.  I have to give a huge shout-out and thank you to my girlfriend Lindsay.  She has done this challenge in the past and was my go-to person when I decided to do it.  You should check out her site: Fit & Awesome. Most of my recipes have been also been coming from Nom Nom Paleo.  I downloaded her app and then bought the book.  I'm obsessed!  Also, Stupid Easy Paleo as well as Planks, Love & Guacamole. Not to mention all of the awesome recipes and support I get from the IG community!

Lastly, I purposely have not flooded my Facebook page or Instagram because I don't want to force people to look at food pix throughout the day. Feel free to follow me on my Whole30 IG account that I created just for this journey.  I'm at Whole30inthecity.  Yep... I can call it whatever I want.

Here are just a few pics of the food that I have made.  Cody, my pit bull is in nearly all of my shots, he's #whole30cody.  Yep I can do that too...

We're still having Italian Sunday dinners.  I made these amazing meatballs with almond flour and cooked homemade sauce all day.  Kyle wants me to make this again!

Damn Fine Chicken with Asian Cauliflower Rice.

Prosciutto-Wrapped Mini Frittata Muffins

And here are some pictures of our day at the races just because...

My support system, my rock and my love.

I'm smiling, but I really want a glass of champagne ;)

This horse decided he was going to run this race by himself.  Thank God he didn't get hurt and bless his heart he ran this to win!

~Mrs. G

Whole30 Challenge Accepted.

Well I'm doing it - The Whole30 Challenge.

I'm not sure what came over me and why I all of a sudden felt the need to cut out everything I hold near and dear to my heart, but I am giving it a try and will stick out these 30 days if it kills me.

Which apparently it won't but I found this blog and she gives 30 Reason To Do A Whole30.  Check it out and you tell me if that doesn't make you want to try it, or think about trying it ;)

I'm Italian as most of you all know and Kyle and I have pasta every Sunday, it's a family tradition and one that I will always uphold.  It's going to be hard not having our pasta for the month (I LOATH spaghetti squash) and it's going to be tough cutting out the wine, whiskey, cheese and creamer in my coffee and, and, and...

I know I am going to miss all of the above, but I love a good challenge.  Day two has officially gotten under way and I must say that I am really excited about this.  I shopped yesterday and got all of the good stuff and got rid of all of the bad.  It's crazy how much crap is in processed food and the thought of making everything myself and knowing the ingredients makes me happy.  Sure it takes longer to prep and reading labels is tiresome but I really think this is going to help me make better decisions for myself and my Hubby in the future.  And it's only 30 days.  I truly believe everything in moderation, but learning about what we put in our body is so important.

Anyhow, I will keep a daily or weekly journal here if you want to come back and check on how I'm doing and how I'm feeling.  I'll share my struggles and triumphs as well as recipes I have found and tips that have helped me out. Or I may just write how freaking hungry I am but that my skin is glowing and I would love a latte with a side of red wine.

See you on the other side....

~Mrs. G

Indulge In My Immaturity-Get A Big Tip.

As I mentioned a post or two ago, Kyle and I are on a quest to try out all of the local spots in our neighborhood that have been recommended by friends or received great reviews on Yelp and Urban Spoon.

Saturday we ventured out to a spot in East Van that I have been wanting to try for a while, Kyle had a bit of a hangover so anything greasy sounded good to him.

Now I can go on and on about how great the food was, how the truffle-lemon hash browns were insanely good or how Kyle was ordering "Man mosas" which is a hefeweizen-style beer and fresh squeezed OJ. But that is not the only reason I will come back to this place.  It was our server, "Lara".

Halfway through breakfast Kyle noticed people eating little pastry's with powdered sugar and asked me what they were. "Oh those are beignets, we should order some." By time we were done we were so full, but I had to have one and of course have Kyle try them.  I asked "Lara" who had been making all of my decisions for me this morning if she could get us just two instead of a whole order. Kyle reminded me that I first called them  BIN-YETS, then as I ordered them, called them BIN-YAYS. Our server said she liked to call them big nuts. I laughed so hard I nearly choked on my water, and by water I mean mimosa.

I tried to get a picture of Kyle dipping these lovely little powdered sugar covered treats in the caramel sauce because it just looked funny to me.  Not sure why, it just made me giggle to see my manly husband eating these dainty little things.

When the bill came I about fell out of my chair when instead of seeing "beignets" on the bill I saw "bignuts". She was already getting a big tip, but she just doubled it.

Too many people take things too seriously and it's nice to be able to laugh at ridiculous things and not be so damn PC all the time.  So to "Lara", thank you for making us laugh-especially on a weekend when a good laugh was needed.

~Mrs G.

From our bill it looks like we really like bacon.

Napa Here I Come.

Not much is going on here in good 'ol BC, unless of course you count the fact that I am finally able to wear flip-flops again!  The weather has been so beautiful.  Naturally it will rain this weekend but I don't care because I'll be in Napa!

Yes, it's that time of year when me and the girls go on our annual Wine-O Weekend in beautiful Napa Valley.

Last year it took me two flights and 8 hours to get there, but it was worth it.  I also flew in later than everyone else but when you are me, you meet someone on the plane, befriend them and have them offer to drive you 45 minutes out of their way so you don't have to rent a car or pay a hefty cab fee.

I can count on three things happening when we go to Napa:
Drink lots of amazing wine.
Laugh until my stomach hurts.
Eat at the best restaurants like Hurley's, Bottega & Farmstead.

We definitely splurge on these weekends and since most of my girlfriends have little ones now they without a doubt deserve a weekend of R & R and are lucky to have amazing Husbands back home to take care of the kiddos so weekends like this are still possible. Speaking of amazing Hubby's, mine surprised me with the tickets to fly out and meet the girls so a big thank you goes out to him.

It's #TBT today so here are a few pictures from our past trips to Napa.

I'll I see here is that sashimi on a himalayan salt block.

The St. Helena Dirty Martini w/ Deep Fried Blue-Cheese Olives (the best!)

There is so much goodness on this board.

The Very Best.

~Mrs. G

Scenes From Our Hood: The Drive Edition

We've officially been in our new place in our new neighborhood for two weeks!  It's quite a big difference from "Bougie Kits" as I like to call my old 'hood.  It's like moving from Manhattan Beach to Venice Beach. I've lived in both areas so I can totally claim this comparison. I loved Manhattan Beach, but I really loved Venice so moving to Commercial Drive seemed like a natural fit.

We've been exploring restaurants, meeting and hanging out with our new neighbors and unpacking the last of the boxes.

First things first-the new neighbors.  I love them.  "Tammy" lives next door and she has already become my BFF.  She has lived in her home for 10 years and has some great stories about our block and it's residents-both past and present. I have already spent a few nights sitting outside with Tammy, me with my wine, her with her bourbon having great conversations and laughing for what seems like hours.

Everyone is so friendly here and stop to say hello as they pass by.  The dogs love sitting in the sun on the back deck or running around like manics in the yard, but sitting on the front porch is their favorite. They have already made quite a few friends who come up to visit them.  This includes the lady who delivers the mail, who now makes a point to bring them a treat at the end of her shift.

The restaurants.  There are so many great places to eat in Vancouver and we've definitely been spoiled eating at places like West, CinCin, Medina, VJ's, HY's and Fable to name a few.  I don't think Kyle knew when we met that his dining experiences were going to be elevated!  When we moved here, I made a list of all the places I wanted us to try and they have not disappointed.  Well, maybe HY's was a bit out of our demographic, but that was the only one that wasn't a total hit.

Here are some of the notable places that we went to over the past week:

Via Tevere: To die for Neapolitan style pizza. Worth everyone one of the 60 minutes it took us to get a table.

Kishimoto Japanese Kitchen + Sushi Bar: I've had some amazing sushi, Sugarfish and Nobu Matsuhisa come to mind.  This ranks right up there with these places. (without the Nobu prices!) Each item we ordered was better than the last. The quality is outstanding and the presentation is beautiful.

The Red Wagon: Fluffy buttermilk pancakes layered with pulled pork, topped with Jack Daniels spiked maple syrup?  AhhhhhMazing.

Siddhartha's Indian Kitchen: I'll admit I'm a VJ's snob now, but this place was really good.  And it's walking distance to our house and there isn't a two hour wait like VJ's.

Take Thai Home: I think I've mastered the Thai Coconut Soup thanks to a recipe I found on Pinterest, but this place does it even better and their yellow curry chicken is soooooo good!  I have already eaten twice here!

We've also been checking out whiskey bars, tasting bourbon (thanks Allie) and drinking damn good coffee from our local coffee shops.  It's been a very fun couple of weeks and we are no doubt enjoying getting to know our new neighborhood!

Up next is a tour of the local Italian deli's and bakeries.  I'll let you know how that goes and while I am at it, I should also really get on that Bar Method membership.  I'm going to need it....

Me and the Hubbs out on the town.

Via Tevere's wood-fire burning oven.

Kishimoto's amazing sushi and presentation.

The Red Wagon's pulled pork pancakes with Jack Daniel's maple syrup, topped with pork belly.  

Take Thai Home's yellow curry chicken.

My favorite: Bulleit Bourbon with Fentiman's Ginger Beer.

~Mrs/ G