Happy Year of the Dragon!!

Happy Chinese New Year!!

This is the year of the dragon and I'm super excited by all that will be revealed in this auspicious year! To celebrate the Lunar New Year, I had the chance to spend some quality time with family for some good eats.

Lobster with ginger and green onion is one of my favourite dishes and is always part of these celebratory meals.

My Mom is an extraordinary cook. Everything she makes is super yummy and I can't be thankful enough that I'm so lucky to be able to enjoy all the dishes she has prepared for us over the years. Every holiday, no matter how busy she is, Mom always makes time to whip up special treats that she makes for us and generously shares with family and friends.

As an attempt to follow in her tradition, I decided to make some flower cookies to share for Chinese New Year. It was gruelling work standing over the hot oil to individually craft each cookie, but the results were well worth it. These cookies are delicious and also really pretty. I especially enjoyed dressing them up with the red ribbons for an extra special touch. Red is such a fiery, vibrant and bold colour.

Best wishes everyone for a happy, magical and fantastic year!

So Called 'Reformed' Boxing Day Shopper

For someone who believes in the merits of retail therapy, I thought it would be apropos to launch my very first blog post on the topic of Boxing Day sales.

I guess I should have known that the lure of the after Christmas sales would get to me one way or the other. After all, how could I resist when my inbox kept populating with sale promotions from my favourite online haunts?

At first I thought, how could a little online perusing hurt? I would just take a sneak peek at some of the sales. For someone who use to hit the mall at the crack of dawn on Boxing Day to take advantage of the sales and get the best selections, I was already being extra good by staying home!

Looking through a couple of sites and not seeing anything particularly exciting, I was feeling confident that I was truly reformed from my old ways. But then BR upped the ante with an extra 50 per cent off of sale items...

In the end, I bought three pairs of trousers, two in the 'Martin' and one in the 'Jackson' style. After all, I do 'need' work trousers and they were available in petite sizes too! ;o)




Martin fit black flannel trouser



Martin fit chalk-stripe lightweight wool trouser



Jackson fit navy lightweight wool trouser




















In total I spent approximately $150 on all three items, including taxes (no cost for shipping). I think they'll be great staples for work, especially in the winter months when wearing a skirt won't be as practical. I'll let you know how they go :)

But really...I am going to try and be good now and give my credit card a much needed rest...