Itsumo Brings Japanese Lifestyle to Vancouver

Japanse crafted goods bring so much joy to my life, so after discovering Itsumo, a Japanese Lifestyle store in Vancouver, I needed to visit immediately. The shop curates a collection of pieces crafted by master artisans in Japan. Itsumo focuses on natural intentional pieces that are made to last. 

Itsumo is tucked off of Main Street along East 6th, so it can be easy to miss. But if you have ever been to the Mount Pleasant location of Cartem's then Itsumo is just a few paces away. The shop focuses on Japanese specialty items as well as carries an impressive selection of incense which is traditionally used in temples and at home. You can also find coconut ash at Itsumo which is the traditional medium used to hold burning incense sticks.

Birdie a Non-Violent Personal Safety Device

Being a petite female living in a big city, there are times that I feel unsafe. I am an avid transit user, both early morning and late nights and there have been instances where I have felt uncomfortable. I have finally picked up a personal protective device, the Birdie and I am excited to share it with you!

In Canada, there are laws prohibiting possession or use of pepper sprays or mace for personal protection. Truth be told, I do not want to have something like mace on my keychain because imagine accidentally spraying it into your own or friend's eyes. I do not want to be the idiot in the ER with inflamed painful mucus membranes and eyes because I sprayed myself with pepper spray. 

Happy Easter from my Baby Chicks

Happy Easter Everyone! It is hard to believe that I became the proud mother of three beautiful chicks two month ago! Some questions that keeps coming up are "Do you still have them" " How big are they now" "Are you going to eat them"

Lets make one thing clear - I am NOT going to eat my chickens! They were more so of a pet. Would you eat your dog? Probably not! 

After hatching, the chicks were with me for a week after which they all returned to the farm to rejoin their broods. I also returned all the hatching equipment back to the company.

I do not know how big they are now, but on the day I returned the chicks to the farm, they had already grown 30% more. All three of them had gained strength in their flight feathers and were able to jump off of things. The black one actually flew up onto my knee when I was sitting on the floor! Another day or two, they would have been able to fly and jump out of the bin I was keeping them in! So it was definitely time for them to return to the farm because I was not about to have three chicks free-ranging in my bedroom and crapping every where.

49th Parallel Coffee Roasters Lonsdale is OPEN

49th Parallel Coffee Roasters has officially opened their 5th location across the Burrard Inlet in North Vancouver! The Lonsdale location is a short walk from the Lonsdale Quay and the Seabus dock making it an accessible cafe to meet up with friends. Warm sunshine fills the space courtesy of the floor-to-ceiling windows which are also great for people watching - or puppy watching if you are me!

I have been a longtime fan of 49th Parallel Coffee Roasters' sub-brand, Lucky's Doughnuts. Since the opening of their very first Main Street location in 2012, I have been obsessed with their soft pillowy yeast-risen doughnuts. No other doughnut has come close to the deliciousness of Lucky's. 

Hatch Day! Say Hello to my baby chicks!

I woke to peeping on Friday March 11 morning which was a massive surprise since Hatch Day was actually the next day. In total, I got three cute little chicks from six eggs. 1 egg was a dud, 1 egg I had dropped and 1 egg failed in its hatch. 

Two chicks had hatched overnight. The larger black coloured one and a teeny tiny little yellow chick. Both were still covered in fluid from the egg, so their feathers were matted down. For the first few hours, they would peep for a little bit and fall asleep as I am sure the hatching was exhausting. Near the end of the day, both were lively and full of energy. I had stepped out of the house in the evening and when I returned, the duo had turned into a trio with the addition of another tiny yellow chick. 

As much as I wanted to remove the chicks from the incubator, I was told to leave the chicks for 24 hours. The warmth and humidity help their feathers dry off and become fluffy but also give them time to gain some more strength in their little legs. 

The Batman: Dark, Gritty and Intriguing

The Batman has hit theaters and all everyon can talk about is Robert Pattinson as the titular character. Alongside Pattinson is the sensational Zoe Kravitz as Catwomen. The duo are quite the sexy matchup on screen and share a couple of electrified suggestive moments, but only share a single kiss throughout the entire 2 hour 56 minute run time. Oh yes, it is a LONG movie. We need to bring back Intermissions because I needed a mid movie stretch and bathroom break. 

There has been nothing but praises for The Batman, but for me, it is still no match for Christopher Nolan's Dark Night Trilogy. But, it is still better than the disaster that was Ben Affleck's horrendous DC universe Batman. The Batman is the darkest, grittiest live action movie to date. Practically every scene was dark night-time with heavy rainfall. All the tones were black, grey or neutrals making everything feel scary and creepy. To keep with the moody tone of the movie, Robert Pattinson's Bruce Wayne was made out to be emo. I could not take him seriously with his messy long bangs and smeared black eye makeup. Gave me major Spiderman 3 Tobey Maguire emo without the weird ridiculous pelvic air thrusts. 

Final Egg Candling Disaster before Incubator Lockdown

It is Day 18 aka Lockdown day! This is the last time I get to candle the eggs to check for development before putting the incubator into lockdown, which means I will not be allowed to open the incubator until the eggs hatch. Opening the incubator during lockdown IS detrimental to the eggs as it would cause a drop in temperature and humidity. Also in preperation for lockdown you have to add additional water to sustain the higher humidity over the course of the next four days. 

Since we are close to hatch day, the chicks have grown significantly therefore occupying a larger part of the egg. It also means candling is trickier as the developing chick body blocks the light from passing through making the egg just look dark. The smaller eggs were still the easier of the two sizes to candle. I could identify blood vessels, but it was nearly impossible to see anything in the large eggs.