the whinery 2.0

Almost Fall

Elsa — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 03:59:25 +0000

Ten Random Pictures: The Athletes’ Village Park

Elsa — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 04:00:48 +0000

Remember the Winter Olympics of 2010? Of course you do, it was the greatest party ever!
Here are ten pictures from the park at the athletes’ village, or Millennium Water Condos/Apartments – its’ post olympics name.

Wacky Cake

Elsa — Mon, 06 Sep 2010 06:28:53 +0000

Remember a few months ago when I mentioned that I was going to make Wacky Cake? Well, I finally have pictures to show.
This awesome retro cake was borne from an era when ingredients such as milk, eggs and butter were scarce or rationed.

Wacky Cake is unique in that it’s made without eggs, milk and butter, and it’s still delicious.
There are quite a few slight variations of recipes – but the core ingredients remain the same; oil, vinegar and cocoa powder.
I used this recipe, it very easy to make, and put together and clean up is a breeze.

First the flour is sieved.

Then the cocoa powder is added

Here’re the dry ingredients all mixed together to create a lovely hue.

The fun part; you make three holes in the flour and then add the oil, vinegar and vanilla.

Add a cup of water and mix it all around.

Perfect!

The Coffee Shop

Elsa — Sat, 04 Sep 2010 03:45:08 +0000

It’s Friday, do something to celebrate! I read that somewhere today.
Fridays are the best, so full of promise, especially when it’s sunny and beautiful out.
A while back promised myself i’d spend my Friday nights at the café penning my roman à clef
That was a long time ago, these days I just hang out at the café.

Special Days Past

Elsa — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 05:09:07 +0000

I can’t believe it’s been over two months since my birthday.
You know what that means? Soon it’ll be Christmas!
My birthday is exactly halfway to the holidays and somehow I think that makes it even more special.
So two months later, I’m here to tell, and show you in pictures, how I celebrated my birthday with cake and macarons… (Marie Antoinette would be so proud!)
Also I wore a sweatshirt to work…. because it was my birthday and I could, plus it’s a nice sweatshirt.

Year Eight

Elsa — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 04:41:19 +0000

I wasn’t supposed to be here this long; this is the longest I’ve lived in one place.
As much as I love it here I can’t deny the itchy-feet feeling, maybe it’s time to move on…

For the first time in a long while, I woke up wishing I was someplace else.
I miss the newness, the rush and anticipation of starting over.
Eight years is a very long time, it’s probably normal to feel this way, it’s like the seven year itch came a year late.

Outfit Details: Blazer – Joe Fresh, Blouse – Liberty of London for Target, Pants – Uniqlo, Shoes – Clarks

I’m not sure when this change came about; a year ago I was certain I wanted to live here forever.
It’s probably been bubbling up in me for a while, I’ve noticed that I’ve little envious of people who’ve moved away.

I watched Arcade Fire’s new interactive video plugging in old addresses; cool concept, nostalgia…

I want to feel nostalgic about this place too.

Goodbye Summer

Elsa — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 04:30:44 +0000

Summer perhaps unofficially ends today; I woke up to the sound of pelting rain.
I wore my galoshes, wrapped in my warmest scarf and with my sturdiest umbrella braved the downpour. It felt a little like coming home.
I’m a little sad that summer is ending, and a little disappointed in myself for the things I never got around to doing.

I could say there’s always next summer, but that’ll be like setting myself up to fail again.
It’s ok to have regrets; and that’s the lesson I keep learning over and over, more so this summer.
I learnt a few good lessons this summer, some from personal experience and some from other people’s experiences like how it’s generally not a good idea to accept diamonds from strangers.
The most important summer lesson I learnt is not to take summer for granted, because the rain returns soon enough.
It’s just like life, really.

I was browsing through rainy day pictures and decided to post these because I don’t look all that miserable in them – proof that maybe the rain isn’t all that bad after all.

Added these two below for good measure…

Crossing Over

Elsa — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 05:25:04 +0000

We took a short trip down south on Saturday.
We got stuck in a long wait at the border, which was a bit startling because I use the least used border crossing – the Aldergrove/Lynden border.

I haven’t used the Peace Arch crossing in years, so I’d gotten used to short waits (ten minutes at most) at the border.

On Saturday we waited for over an hour, it was nice and sunny, but there was no reprieve from the heat out there on the country road.
On a positive note; I had my camera, iPad and phone as distraction so the wait didn’t feel as long, except I really had to pee.

The ride through the farms is so beautiful and peaceful, and the bluest sky… oh my!

I just recently started crossing the border using my Enhanced Driver’s Licence even though I’ve had it for over a year.
It makes crossing the border a snap and I spend less time being interrogated than when I use a passport.

The plan was to make it back home in time for lunch, but that didn’t pan out.

We rushed through the usual locations but barely managed to be back home by dinner time.

Coming back, I shot a video of the farms on the way, I’ve always been fascinated by them.

The music is Mamadou Et Bineta by Meiwey, a beautiful song from his M20 album.

Tiring Sundays

Elsa — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 05:38:35 +0000

I stayed in bed all day, refusing to consider going outside.
“maame, where are you?” the messages said.
After several… I sent this;

“here’s where I’m at” Is my response.

“OMG! It does exist!” the next message said.

Skirts

Elsa — Sat, 28 Aug 2010 06:41:00 +0000

These final days of summer are filled with absolutely perfect sunny days.
Looks like we’re in for another amazing weekend, I like!

This is a remix.
I was going to have this skirt shortened, the length felt a little off to me, I didn’t like the way it fell around my legs.
Except wearing it high-waisted works too, I get the desired length effect

The great thing about this skirt is that it’s adaptable to all seasons, I guess that’s why I’ve had it for so long.

Outfit Details: Skirt – The Gap, Blouse – Thrifted, Jacket – Aritzia, Shoes – Nine West, Socks – Night Market, Sunnies – Robert Marc