Gotta Stack 'Em All! Pick Up Your Tsumtsum & Pokemon Mashup Tshirt!

Yes, you heard right! My sister and I created adorable Disney Tsumtsum and Pokemon mashup designs and are selling shirts on Threadless! There is the main design and also individual Poketsums to choose from. There are tons of colours and styles to choose from and are available in men, women and children sizes. We would love it if you would support our designs and pick up an shirt or two! Get your shirt here.

VCC The Chef's Table Pop-Up Restaurant is Back! #VCCchefstable

The VCC Chef's Table is back with this pop-up restaurant happening at the VCC Broadway campus. VCC's International Culinary Arts students will be preparing a delicious five-course set menu which changes every two weeks. The meal is only $30 or $45 with local wine pairings.

Tuna cannelloni with side stripe prawns, cucumber, avocado, truffle soy sauce.

Grilled octopus with chorizo, navy bean, olive, bell pepper, salsa romesco.

Foie gras and duck confit with dehydrated beets.

Venison with oxtail jam, pomme dauphine, carrot, cipollini onions.

White chocolate mousse, compressed strawberries, lemon ice cream and coconut crisp.

Each dish was a work of art and so delicious! Reservations can be made at thechefstable@vcc.ca.

Funko Star Wars Smuggler's Bounty Subscription Box - Jabba's Palace [July 2016 Unboxing]

The July 2016 Funko Star Wars Smuggler's Bounty Box is here! I received it quite late because I cancelled my subscription and on the very last day, when I saw the countdown clock, I changed my mind and re-subscribed! The theme this month was Jabba's Palace; Funko advertised this as the largest box they have released for Smuggler's Bounty. I probably should have heeded the warnings from subscribers of the Marvel Collector Corps - bigger isn't necessarily better (I'm looking at you, Guardians of the Galaxy Box).

Anyway, here's a look at what we received this month. Jabba the Hutt is featured on the front of the box.

A patch and a pin are guaranteed in each box. For the patch, we get Boussh, who is actually Leia in disguise when she goes to Jabba's Palace to rescue Han from his carbonite prison.

The pin features a Gamorrean guard - he's the one that gets eaten by the Rancor!

We get another Funko Pop! Home item - a Jabba mug! I'm not a big fan of the Funko mugs due to the odd shapes of them; it makes them really hard to drink from or to store in the cupboard. I definitely don't want to be using a Jabba mug, but my friend said I can use it to hold snacks and use it as a reminder to myself not to eat too much in case I turn into Jabba the Hutt!

Funko introduced a new line in this box - Pop Tops. They are snapback caps and unfortunately I don't look good in them! This one has C3PO on it - Programmed for Etiquette.

Another new line they debuted in this month's box are Funko Plush. Very similar to their Mopeez line, it's just a plush toy with a bean bag bottom so they can sit upright. We get Boba Fett this month, though I think it would have fit last month's box better (Bounty Hunter theme).

We get one Funko Pop - R2-D2 when he has to serve drinks on Jabba's Skiff. It has a similar mold as other R2-D2 pops with an addition of a drink tray on top. I think a lot of fans were expecting Han Solo in carbonite and not a re-make of R2-D2.

I wasn't that big of fan of the items in this box and I wish I didn't re-subscribe! I blame it on a surprise addiction. :P

The Smuggler's Bounty box is available in Canada and the US only and ships out every other month. The cost of the box is $25 usd + $14 shipping to Canada ($7 shipping in the US), with a guaranteed value of $50. The September theme is Death Star.

Check out the Funko Smuggler's Bounty if you want to subscribe to your own box! You have until September 15, 2016 to get your order in for the next one!

1Up Box Subscription Box - Survival [June 2016 Unboxing]

1Up Box released a $5 off coupon in the last week of June, so I decided to go ahead and order! I can never resist a good discount! The theme for June 2016 was Survival and they promised a Funko Pop vinyl figure.

I thought the contents were a bit sparse this time, and probably because they had to spend more money to include a Funko Pop. There were four Pops available from the video game Bioshock Infinite. I don't play the game so I'm unfamiliar with the characters; I was glad I didn't receive something creepy like a zombie from The Walking Dead though! I got Booker DeWitt - unfortunately, my sister who is a fan, already purchased this one!

The remaining contents were all filler items: a Jurassic Park sticker, a 1Up Box exclusive Daryl Dixon vest key cover, a Vault Boy keychain and the June 2016 Survival button.

The t-shirt was a black Gildan shirt with a mashup between Jurassic Park and The Walking Dead.

The July theme is Squad and will contain a Funko Pop again! There definitely will be items from Suicide Squad. Sign up for the 1Up Box here.

Funko Star Wars Smuggler's Bounty Subscription Box - Bounty Hunter [May 2016 Unboxing]

I forgot to cancel my subscription to Funko's Smuggler's Bounty so here is the May 2016 box! The theme was Bounty Hunter and once I received the box, I knew I wouldn't be disappointed! The box comes with Boba Fett on the front.

Once you open up the box, you see the patch and pin. There is a Bounty Hunters Boba Fett iron-on patch. I love this! We also receive a Bossk pin. 

Unfortunately we don't get a cute Funko Pop shirt this month again. Instead I got a navy blue tshirt that features a bunch of bounty hunters. It's pretty neat!

We got two Funko Pops again! One is a new mold of Boba Fett blasting off with his jetpack.

Here is a closer look. The details are pretty amazing.

The other is bounty hunter IG-88. I actually really like the look of this!

He holds two blasters.

I thought this box was a little sparse on items; usually there is one more filler item such as a lanyard or pen.

The Smuggler's Bounty box is available in Canada and the US only and ships out every other month. The cost of the box is $25 usd + $14 shipping to Canada ($7 shipping in the US), with a guaranteed value of $50. The July theme is Jabba's Palace.

Check out the Funko Smuggler's Bounty if you want to subscribe to your own box! You have until July 15, 2016 to get your order in for the next one!

The Lobby at the Pinnacle Hotel at the Pier

J and I headed down to North Vancouver over the weekend; we are rarely in the area, and with so many new restaurants to try, we decided to have dinner at The Lobby Restaurant and Lounge at the Pinnacle Hotel at the Pier. We were sticking to a a seafood theme for the day.

Signature crab cakes with frisée, orange segments, bell peppers, and edamame salad with mango citrus vinaigrette. These were absolutely delicious and made with lots of crab!

Ahi tuna tataki with togarashi spice, cucumber, edamame, beet curls, carrot, arugula, spinach and cilantro with ginger orange soy reduction. The dressing on the salad was so good.

Prawn and scallops on a bed of fresh herb risotto, daily vegetables and citrus butter sauce. Though there were only 2 scallops on the dish, they were huge and so sweet. The risotto was very rich, the citrus butter was great and parsnips were included as the seasonal vegetable; it was the first time I tried parsnips and I think I'm hooked.

Of course we had to order some surf and turf - filet and Atlantic lobster with sautéed fingerling potatoes, daily vegetables and citrus butter and Cabernet demi-glace.

The food was absolutely delicious. Everything was cooked to perfection and I will definitely be back if I'm in the area again. I plan on visiting the sister restaurant, Pier 7, next week!

3rd Annual Halibut Festival at The Fresh St. Market

The 3rd annual Halibut Festival happened yesterday at The Fresh St. Market in West Vancouver. Over 10,000 pounds of halibut was brought in from the boat and sold in stores. Outside, a BBQ station was set up with staff flipping halibut burgers. For only $5, you got a delicious halibut burger and a drink, with proceeds going to the JGL Foundation for cerebral palsy.

Follow Fresh St. Market to find out when their next event is!

VCC The Chef's Table Pop-Up Restaurant #VCCchefstable

The Vancouver Community College is back with their popular pop-up restaurant, The Chef's Table. Located at the downtown campus (250 West Pender St), The Chef's Table consists of a five course meal for only $30, or $45 with local wine pairings. The restaurant is open Tuesday to Friday evenings until June 30th, 2016.

The small space allows you to watch the students meticulously prepare your meals. The presentation is gorgeous and each dish is a work of art!

White sturgeon crudo with ashed cured scallop, egg yolk, trout roe and tarragon.

Black cod with sunflower seed, pearl onion and porcini foam. This was one of my favourite dishes of the night.

Chicken liver foie gras parfait - bone marrow, veal tongue, and root raisin. The bone marrow was inside the fried ball, which came out as a burst of liquid when you bite into it.

Lamb loin with onion and fingerling potato.

Chocolate mousse rocks - vanilla cream, chocolate soil and chocolate ice cream. Definitely the best tasting rocks I've ever had!

The menu changes every two week but make sure to book well in advance - there is only a 22-person seating per evening and many patrons are returning to try out the new menu. Reservations can be made at thechefstable@vcc.ca.

Free Comic Book Day - May 7, 2016

The first Saturday of May is Free Comic Book Day, and that day is fast approaching! Participating comic book shops will have a variety of specially printed comic books for FCBD. There will are over 50 titles, though the shops will not have all of them to make sure to check out different comic stores! Many shops will also be having sales and other fun events like costume contests and raffles. The free comics will only be while supplies last, so make sure to go early!

BrickCan 2016 - A Weekend Full of LEGO!

The long awaited LEGO convention, BrickCan, happened at the River Rock Casino Resort this weekend. This four-day long event drew thousands of LEGO fans to Vancouver to participate in keynote talks, games and display models in an a public LEGO exhibition. As BrickCan was geared towards AFOLs (adult fan of LEGO), tickets were completely sold out!

Visitors were greeted by a LEGO replica of the Digital Orca sculpture by Douglas Coupland, one of my favourite art pieces in Downtown Vancouver. The orca was also used in the 2016 BrickCan logo. 

A two-hour time slot was allotted to ticket holders to view the LEGO displays and visit vendor tables. There were some incredible pieces that were so awe-inspiring; the creativity and attention to detail on the builds were just amazing and made me want to start building my own models!

The first build I looked at was based on Mouse Guard, an adorable comic illustrated by David Petersen. The builder created an entire medieval village with various scenes from the comics, including the one-eyed owl, an enemy of the mice.

There were several cities that spanned an entire table, complete with motorized trains. It was fun to spot the little details the creator added in, such as a boat in a garage that I heard others commenting on.

These type of builds are one of my favourites - rocks, water and foliage. How they make something with such straight lines like a LEGO brick curve into a natural scene is beyond me; I can really appreciate all the effort that must be put into these models!

Another favourite was the amusement park scene, Brickland. Similar to Disneyland (remember Star Tours?), this diorama had so many fun things going on - a ferris wheel, roller coaster, pirate ship ride, ice cream trucks and lemonade stands. There were plenty of minifigures scattered everywhere to recreate the hustle and bustle of a theme park and it was really fun to pick some of them out with faces that fit so well with the scene. 

The theatre floor had the majority of displays and was packed with people.

There were a lot of amazing pop culture builds that included characters from Predator, Halo, Star Trek, Assassin's Creed, Battlestar Galactica, Doctor Who, Marvel superheros and much more!

Neverland never looked so good!

I really enjoyed "Parrot Island". Sometimes you can't beat the classic pirate LEGO sets from the 90's!

This was another great scene with running trains. The build was amazing to look at.

There was even a Smurf village!

There were also several mosaics, which was built from tiny LEGO plates. Can you imagine how long this orca would have taken to make?

This unbelievable diorama based on the game Fallout Shelter was back lit, which created a very eye-catching effect. Each little "room" had a different theme - very cool!

LEGO and technology meet! A clever builder incorporated LEGO scenes into his computer and his music player! This is the side of the CD player.

Visitors were encouraged to vote for their favourite LEGO build. The winning model was "The Wall", created by David Guedes, Keith Reed and Daveed Gagnon. This massive build was several feet tall, and very fitting since tonight was the return of a new season of Game of Thrones!

Let's not forget the vendors! There were LEGO sets, bricks, minifigures to purchase, along with books, art, jewelry and t-shirts. The popular minifigures and sets were flying off the shelves, and it was very fun to dig through the bins to see what you could find! It was also the perfect place to hunt for a long retired set that is now hard to find as the vendors had giant collections for sale. One of the vendors provided engraved LEGO bricks and was so popular, the wait time was 1.5 hours!

Once your two-hour time slot was up, children 12 and under could pick up an exclusive custom-designed BrickCan LEGO kit to take home, which featured the orca whale in the BrickCan logo. I wish I could have gotten one! There was also a Creation Station where anyone could go and be creative with the tubs of LEGO bricks there. Kids young and old (adults too!) were having tons of fun!

I had an amazing time at BrickCan and am looking forward to attending again next year! Make sure to sign up for notifications so you don't miss out on your ticket for BrickCan 2017!