summertime's for pampering ...

Nothing says "summer" like girls' nights spent painting our toesies and making ourselves pretty.

xo

It's Pho good ..

Tonight, I had one of those "could not ask for more" kind of nights. Usually, when a group of friends and I go out to dinner together, it's planned a week or so in advance. We all have pretty busy schedules and lots of evening commitments, so it takes time and effort to orchestrate a girls' night out on the town.

This afternoon, I wrote on a friend's Facebook wall that we should go out for Pho - aka absolutely delicious Vietnamese noodle soup. She sent me a text message telling me she was totally up for and we set a time to meet. A few minutes later, I got a text message from another girlfriend. "Are you guys really going out for Pho? Can I come?" ... Yay! Dinner with two friends. What a pleasant surprise.

As I was heading out to meet them, I got a phone call. "Hey, are people really going out for Pho tonight? 'Cause I've been totally craving it and I wanna come too!" Oh. My. Gosh! A spontaneous, full fledged girls' night! Bring it! :)

We ended up going to our favorite Pho place up on Sasamat street called Gold Train Express.

Gold Train Express

4530 West 10th Ave (corner of Sasamat)

We ate our soup, chatted, laughed, updated one another on life. When dinner was over, we were all having such a great time that none of us were ready to say goodbye ... so we headed over to Suzanne's and curled up on her couch and watched Walk The Line. Cue more laughing, some off-key singing, dancing, cartwheels in the hallway (seriously!) and a whole lotta fun. I love these girls so much. I love my west coast life so much. Oh, and I love Pho! It's just pho good! :)

"And these are the moments I thank God that I'm alive. And these are the moments I'll remember all my life. I found all I've waited for, and I could not ask for more."

How To Throw A Cupcake Party ...

1) Create some cupcake signage ...

2) Decorate and make things look pretty ...

3) Bake lots of yummy flavors including: Root Beer, Latte, Cookies 'n Cream, Red Velvet, Lemon and Peanut Butter ...

4) Invite the sweetest girls you know ...

Today was my cupcake tasting party that has been in the works for well over a month. About a dozen or so of my favorite west coast ladies showed up for some girl talk, giggling and (of course) lots of cupcake tasting! I did most of the baking myself and had told the girls they didn't need to bring anything to the party except themselves. My friends are so sweet + thoughtful that they showed up with things to share anyway including milk (thanks Marcy!), chocolate milk (thanks Rhoda!), lemonade (thanks Anwen!), lemon cupcakes (thanks Laura!) and red velvet whoopie pies (thanks Lynda!). I am so blessed to have such amazing friends. We had so much food to go around that even after all the tasting, we still had enough left over to allow each girl to bring some 3-4 cupcakes AND we'll be bringing a dozen cupcakes to church tomorrow for the kids. Talk about a success!

Everybody had a great time, and we're already talking about our next tasting party ... we're thinking a "pizza tasting party" with different pizza toppings.

Happy Saturday everyone! xoxo

Photos

Happy Wednesday everyone! Can you believe that we're already mid-way through the week? I don't know about all of you, but I find my weeks are just zooming by. With a full-time job, campus work, church commitments and friends/social life, it's hard to find some time just for "me". But, tonight, that's exactly what I'm doing. I've got the Food Network playing and I plan to spend my evening reading food blogs ... and maybe eating a cupcake or two! :)

Speaking of cupcakes, here are some photos from Sheena's surprise birthday party. Thank you, Jessie, for snapping these while the rest of us enjoyed the food:

Dinner was done pot-luck style, and everyone brought such yummy treats! Sabina brought a delicious egg cake dish (traditional Korean), Jessie brought an Asian stir-fry, Sylvia brought a rice dish and I brought garlic bread and dipping sauce. It was an interesting combo of food, but somehow it all worked and tasted fantastic!

Desserts included an array of cupcakes (from Cupcakes by Heather & Lori, of course!) and strawberry tarts (made with love by Jen) and brownies and chocolate chip cookies and fondue ... mmmmm. Yes, the ladies at The Bridge church sure do love our desserts!

xoxo

Gratitude.

Yesterday (October the 10th, 2010) was "supposed" to be my wedding day. When my ex-boyfriend and I were together three years ago, I decided that 10/10/10 would be the perfect wedding date and I set my heart on it. Even though we were never engaged and never sent out "save the dates" and never made any concrete plans, 10/10/10 was definitely something I expected to happen. Sometimes when I was having a rough day, he'd send me an email or a text message and all it would say was "Think 10/10/10." ... It was our thing.

I didn't remember any of this until yesterday morning when I got a text message from Jessica. The text message said: "How are you holding up today, not getting married?"

When I first saw it, I laughed. I thought she was making sure that I hadn't eloped or anything like that. And then it hit me. 10/10/10. The wedding that never happened. Wow. I'm not sure what surprised me more .... the fact that I didn't remember or the fact that this day (which had seemed so far away when I had chosen it) was now here, in full force. I was at Starbucks when I got her text and I just sat there drinking my latte, thinking about all the twists and turns my life has taken in the past few years in awe of how much I've changed and grown.

One thing didn't surprise me, though - the fact that Jessica remembered.

Today is Thanksgiving and today I am thankful for friends like Jessica who remember and care about even the tiniest pieces of my life. I am thankful to be surrounded by so many wonderful people who love and cherish me. And, believe it or not, I am thankful that I spent 10/10/10 with a group of university students rather than in a gorgeous wedding dress at a beach wedding in Maine. There is no doubt in my mind that I am exactly where I am supposed to. No regrets.

xox

together.

Tennessee Williams was onto something when he wrote: "If so many are lonely as seem to be lonely, then it's inexcusably selfish to be lonely alone."

Tonight, I headed up to UBC campus to spend some quality girl time with Xinxin - an international student from China who was feeling particularly homesick and lonely on her favorite holiday (Mid-Autumn Festival). I brought my box of moon cakes and we sat in her dorm, munching away and chatting about life. She kept saying "Oh Steph, I was so homesick. Thank you for coming to visit me." ... It melted my heart every time and reminded me that it truly is the little things in life that make a big difference.

Hope your Wednesday evening was as uplifting as mine was.

xox

guessss who's in town?

Sorry I've been a M.I.A. these past few days, but I've had a little visitor from home ....

The lovely Miss Jessykins is in town for 10 days! We've been busy sipping frappucinos, strolling along the beach, eating yummy food and taking in the sights. She leaves on Tuesday (boo!) and I'll be back to my usual blogging then. In the meantime, I hope you all have a wonderful long weekend! xox

Overheard ...

My best friends and I should have a reality show. Seriously. The following are snippets of REAL conversations, I swear ... this really is what life is like for us on a daily basis.


Talking about war veterens and how they deserve more respect ...

Jennifer: My grandfather fought in the second world war with the allied forces.

Me: Oh wow, did they win?

[She pauses and looks at me to make sure I'm being serious.]

Jennifer: Um, yeah Steph ... they did. Pretty sure if they'd lost we'd have a problem with nazis right about now.

As a side note, I should mention that I'm a history minor. *blush*

*****

A conversation at Starbucks about our "type" of guy ...

Me: I just don't find super skinny guys attractive.

Jessica: Why not?

Me (totally serious): I dunno ... I guess ... well, my boyfriend has to look like he can beat your boyfriend up!

*****

While watching a chick flick from the early 90's and eating Timbits' donoughts ....

Catherine: I love this movie so much!

Me: They just don't make them like they used to.

Catherine: What, timbits?!

****

Walking downtown, I'm playing around with Jessica's cell phone and she's getting annoyed with me ...

Jessica: OK, give it back.

Me: Ooouuhh ... somebody's calling you, it's vibrating!

Jessica: Aw man, give it back .. I don't vibrate all that often!

This is why I love my best friends. They seriously never fail to make me laugh.
-xox-