Sunday, November 9, 2014

Slowing down ~ Weekend Style

Today we awoke to a beautiful cool crisp autumn day.
Mr. HB is outside repairing a defective door sill which has allowed rain to seep in onto our kitchen floor.

It's a day to cocoon and keep warm...so I am making soup.
Easy Peasy Salmon Chowder to be exact.


Salmon Chowder

Saute several strips of cubed bacon until crisp.
Add in diced onions, celery and carrots and cook until soft.
Add about 2 cups of water and a large peeled diced potato.
2 cups of leftover salmon ~ you can substitute 2 cans of sockeye salmon
Simmer until potato is soft and add in a bottle of V8 juice.
(You can use a tin of tomato paste instead if you prefer.)
Season with pepper and about a tablespoon of dill weed.
 Simmer on low for about 45 minutes and serve.



I use low sodium V8...
OOPS! 
(the maid needs to clean that ring off the silver tray)


"The Maid" has been busy elsewhere in The Humble Bungalow...


I've been de-cluttering and reorganizing the bench seats in the dining room...
these seats have a habit to be a catch all and it was time for me to get on with the job.

I took everything out, vacuumed inside and then went to Target, "the Red Store" as Isla likes to call it, and purchased some bins.


Not very glamorous but they do the trick.

Life is ticking along here, nothing out of the ordinary...

I'm feeling content as I watch Mr. HB work his magic
 wearing a cozy wool sweater while the door is off it's hinges.


Mr. HB  will have worked up an appetite for lunch.


I've got a mug of hot tea and a copy of my favourite magazine...
I'm planning on a quiet afternoon.


How about you?
What's new in your neck of the woods?


There are new fall plants in the planter boxes that line the sidewalks.

 Love this frothy frilly plant


I hope you find some beautiful moments in your day.

Thursday, November 6, 2014

The Ugly Truth ~ The metamorphosis of the back deck of The Humble Bungalow

Third in the series "The Ugly Truth"
Our Back Deck...


Our fixer upper in 1982...


Not much curb appeal I know but we knew that it had wood siding underneath those shingles and the dining room was in it's original condition with dark fir waiscotting and beamed ceiling...
plus it had the granite faced fireplace that I wanted and several fruit trees in the yard.

The reason that we purchased this fixer upper was it's wonderful location;
2 blocks to the water
 good schools nearby
walking distance to Mr. HB's office
 and close to the Cook Street Village shops.

The bungalow had been rented out for about 10 years and as you can plainly see had been sadly neglected.
We were young energetic and thought sweat equity was a great way of getting into the real estate market!

We had a golden retriever and two small children so we had to act fast to get the yard cleaned up after we moved in.
 A dump truck was hired so we could remove all the junk...
Mr. HB worked with the truck driver all day and they made two trips to the dump!







The deck was rebuilt again in 2013-2014 and I love the look.
I think that Mr. HB has really outdone himself with this design.

We still have a few projects on the back burner...
the house needs painting and we have to redo our master bedroom and closet.

All in good time...

Tuesday, November 4, 2014

Obsessed with the IPhone (camera)

The IPhone camera makes it easy to spontaneously capture and chronicle events.
I take pictures randomly to post on the blog and Instagram and look at scenes with an eye for a possible photo op...
When I look around I see so many things worthy of recording, so many things of beauty.

I am aware that when I am behind the camera lens that I might not be totally "present" in any given situation.
So I am careful not to let this habit prevent me from fully engaging in the "moment."

Having said that...
I have many images on my camera roll.


An early morning visitor.


If you look closely you can see two grey haired gals in this photo and we are both wearing glasses!


taken from the overhead walkway at the entrance to Holt Renfrew


Mosaic tiled pool at The Vancouver Art Gallery...such a lovely shade of cobalt blue.

We did a lot of walking on our recent visit to Vancouver.
One of the most picturesque walks was False Creek to The Olympic Village and around the Science Centre and over The Granville Street Bridge and back to False Creek.


Public art on a grassy space along the walkway along False Creek
you can see the reflection of the ocean and skyline if you look closely.


Gigantic Jelly Beans perhaps?


Bird sculptures at The Olympic Village


This young child was having a wonderful time sliding down the bird's' tail feathers.


The utilitarian manhole covers were intricately detailed...
they are really quite beautiful.

All this walking gave us an appetite.
We lined up early for the first seating of dinner at the iconic Vij's.
Vikram Vij's Indian Fusion restaurant is located in the South Granville neighbourhood.
It is very popular and is always packed with eager diners.
The food is amazing!


It was a lovely evening and you can see the line up along the sidewalk.
Rangoli is next to Vij's and serves up the same delicious Indian fusion cuisine and they offer take away if you don't want to stand in line.


I did not take any pictures of the food as it was too dark.


The flowers in the ladies washroom were artfully arranged.

The next morning we met our friends for a tasty brunch at Abigail's Party in Kits.


We arrived early and put our name on the list for a table.
This spot is popular and there was a line up...


I opted for the Californian...
Dungeness crab cakes topped with avocado with poached eggs on top.
They were yummy...
we had a great holiday in Vancouver and although there was a lot of walking there was even more eating!


I hopped on the scale this morning and this is how I felt!
It's time to start counting my points again!

I went on a 10K walk this morning and ate a salad for dinner.

 Another instalment in The Ugly Truth series is in the works...

Hope your week is off to a great start...
Be Well and Be Kind.

Sunday, November 2, 2014

Shopping in Vancouver...

Mr. HB had a conference in Vancouver last week and asked me if I would like to tag along...
I said 'Yes!"
He said "Will you be able to amuse yourself while I am at the Conference Centre?"
Smiling broadly...I say "Absolutely!"


We boarded the BC Ferry and enjoyed a relaxing scenic cruise under sunny skies.


I met up with my friend Cheryl Fortier, the talented artist who lives part time in False Creek on a boat with her husband John and part time in Auvilar France.


We met up for coffee at Cafe Artigiano (tea for the Hostess) and caught up on the news from France.
Thankfully Cheryl is over the worst of the jet lag.


We shopped along Robson before enjoying a delicious and healthy lunch at the Vancouver Art Gallery.


I spied a Lamborghini in my favourite colour.


an environmentally friendly Tesla which I would love to own...


West Elm on South Granville had some great merchandise...
this cheery red Smeg fridge and toaster are gorgeous.


A trip to South Granville would not be complete without a browse in Eileen Fisher or Anthropologie...
I loved the clothes in EF especially the soft black leather jacket which retails for $1200.00
(approximately the cost of a return flight to Paris!)


How cute are these?


Boboli had some high end clobber...
(Faux Fuchsia would love their sequins and sparkly frocks)

The weather was rainy but it did not dampen our spirits.
Mr. HB and I met up for dinners and walks with our friends over the course of the weekend.
 I did get into some mischief...


She reminds me a little of Dame Edna...
this image is the "speak no evil" in one of the three elevators in the hotel.


A wee bit embarrassing...
"conspicuous consumption."


Mr. HB and my sister both needed their scents...
I am always happy to oblige.


I needed a new case for my new IPhone.
  Holt Renfrew had a Kate Spade case with my name on it.


I couldn't decide between these two candles so Mr. HB said buy them both...


Jamie Cat Callan mentioned that I might want to pack an expandable bag for the return trip from Paris next spring.
Being a rookie at international travel I am happy to get expert advice so I found this travel bag La Pliage by Longchamp that is light but strong and expands to a large sturdy tote.
It comes in many shades but Mr. HB and I agreed that I should opt for black...as it is my go to colour for bags!


I love this bag from the Vancouver Art Gallery
it fits into a small pouch...
an eco friendly light weight shopping tote. 


Sephora on Robson opened and they were giving away umbrellas with a $25 purchase...
we needed one and I love Fresh Sugar lippy and our lovely DIL introduced me to Caudalie Divine Oil and I have never looked back!

That's it for now...my book is calling my name...


I'll be back....
Hope you've had a fun weekend.