Vanity

Looking good, Q!

Ho Ho Ho!

Q was in the festive spirit on Christmas Day!

Here's his stocking (custom made by Sophia of QuatchiFan2010) hanging with some of the others by the fireplace.

Santa was oh so good to our favourite sasquatch! He got clothes and mini M&Ms! What a lucky guy!

Happy Holidays, everyone!

Quatchmas

Sorry for the lack of blogging, Quatch Watch fans. Q and I have been busy preparing for the holidays! More to come soon. Stay tuned!

Holiday Baking

With the holidays only two weeks away, it's time to get our bake on! Q and I tried this recipe last week. They were so good, we decided to bake them again for an upcoming holiday party!

White Chocolate Orange Cookies

1 cup butter, softened

1/2 cup white sugar

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1 egg

1 tablespoon orange zest

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 cups white chocolate chips

1 cup chopped walnuts

 

Preheat oven to 350F. Cream the butter and sugars together until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg and orange zest. Stir the flour, baking soda, and salt together; mix into the creamed mixture. Stir in the white chocolate chips and chopped walnuts.

Drop tablespoonfuls of dough onto ungreased baking sheets. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes. Allow to cool on the baking sheet for 2 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cook completely. Makes at least 3 dozen cookies.

Source: allrecipes.com

Well, there you have it folks. Q and I tried at least one new recipe every month in 2010. Perhaps we should do the same for 2011?

Ah Caramba!

Check out how ridiculously big this apple is! It's almost as tall as Q's torso. The coin on top of it is a loonie (one Canadian dollar). G saw it at the grocery store and had try it!

Snowflakes

I like old school homemade decorations for my office door. Last year, my snowflakes were a big hit among my co-workers' children. I thought I would bring them back for good times. Q is holding on to his favourite snowflake. Mine is in the bottom right hand corner of the photo (the one with all the hearts). Let it snow!

HBD to Q

Q turned 3 on Sunday! Happy birthday, buddy!

Apple Breakfast Bread

Apple Breakfast Bread

1/2 butter

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

2 cups all purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

2 apples - peeled, cored, and chopped

Preheat oven to 350F. Lightly grease an 8x4 inch loaf pan. In a bowl, mix the butter and sugar until smooth and creamy. Beat in the eggs.

In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and cloves. Mix into the butter mixture until moistened. Fold in the apples. Transfer to the prepared loaf pan.

Bake 1 hour until a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean. Cool in the pan for 15 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

Source: allrecipes.com

Special Delivery!

The mailman dropped off this big yellow envelope at our house today. It's from our friends at QuatchiFan2010!

 

Q received a stylish t-shirt with a skateboarder on it. It fits him perfectly!

 

Q and I also received matching stockings to hang by the fireplace. And inside them were boxes of Korean Pocky. Amazing! We've never tried it before so it's a big treat for us.

Thanks so much for the gifts, Sophia and the Quatchi fam! We are so lucky to have friends like you!

'Tis the Season

The Swarovski Tree is shining bright at the Eaton Centre. Only one more month until Christmas!

Fairmont Tea

Yesterday, Q joined my mum and I for holiday tea at the Library Bar in the Fairmont Royal York.

The finger sandwiches were quite unique. My favourite was the one with lobster and mango salad with carpaccio, celery cress, and saffron brady aioli (front row, on the right).

The pasteries and sweets were all made in-house. They look small but they were very filling! I took a few home to share with my dad and brother.

 

The Royal York was bustling with activity. Q was impressed with the grandeur of the lobby.

I'm glad we tried the Library Bar. We've always wanted to go, but never made a reservation in time for the holiday tea. Yeah for good times with my mum and Q!

Movember

Movember is a moustache growing charity event held during November each year that raises funds and awareness for men's health. I had a post of Q sporting some excellent moustaches back in January. Here are six more to try on for size! Which one is your favourite?

 

Moustache #1

Moustache #2

Moustache #3

Moustache #4

Moustache #5

Moustache #6

To learn more about Movember, click here.

Raising the Village

On Saturday, I helped out at an awesome event hosted by Raising the Village, an innovative non-profit that supports education initaitves in rural and hard-to-reach places in Uganda. Here's Q learning more about RTV the next day.

 

The event was heaps of fun! It was nice to enjoy some tasty treats, listen to live music, and meet some of the donors. I brought home a loot bag full of free swag, including this cute RTV button, Q's new favourite accessory! To learn more about RTV, click here.

All the leaves are brown...

Warm autumn wishes to everyone!

Love, Sam and Q

C'est Halloween!

Q was very helpful in preparing for Halloween! He helped us hang up decorations outside...

...making sure there was enough candy...

...and sorting through extra goodies we give to young kids, such as spider rings and stickers.

Q didn't want to carve his pumpkin, so he decided to put earmuffs on it instead!

Happy Halloween! Mwha ha ha!

Q the Protector

Oh dear. I think we might have a tough time carving this sucker tomorrow. I bought this sasquatch-sized pumpkin for Q last weekend. He has been guarding it ever since! Stay tuned!

Tight Squeeze

This photo is kinda random, but I think it's funny! Oh Q, you crack me up!

Fill in the Blank II

Working hard or hardly _________ !

Autumn Reflection

"Winter is an etching, spring a watercolor, summer an oil painting, and autumn a mosaic of them all." - Stanley Horowitz

New York, New York!

Here are a few more photos from our time in NYC. Q in front of the Lincoln Center on the Upper West Side.

Q crossing the street at Columbus Circle.

Q looking at his wish he hung on Yoko Ono's Wish Tree at MoMA.

Q checking out Double Elvis by Andy Warhol.

Getting a close up view of Starry, Starry Night by Vicent van Gogh.

Sending lots of Love from the City So Nice, They Named it Twice!

A Walk in the Park

Q and I escaped to NYC for the Thanksgiving long weekend. The weather was gorgeous so we tried to spend as much time outside as possible. On Monday we went for a leisurely stroll in Central Park, our favourite place in the city! Here's Q checking out the lake.

Q in front of Bethesda Fountain. There were many musicians out, and some couples taking wedding photos.

Q pointing to the Mall! He was eager to laze under the giant elm trees. I love reading the personal inscriptions on the park benches. One day, I think I want to adopt a bench.

To our Quatch Watch fans...

...in Canada, Happy Thanksgiving!

...in the United States, Happy Columbus Day!

...and in Taiwan, Happy Double Ten National Day!