So we have a potluck at the office today, and I chose to bring dessert. I didn’t have much time last night, what with the awesome 100th episode of LOST on, so I decided on my trusty secret recipe of chocolate-covered strawberries.

For those of you who went to university with me, I’m sure you will remember my many batches of famous chocolate-covered strawberries A lot of people in school asked me for this recipe, so I might as well re-post it here in case anyone from uni reads this.

Allie’s Chocolate Covered Strawberries

Step 1: Start with the freshest, juiciest organic strawberries you can find. Local is better but I know that’s not always possible. It’s even better when you pick your own from your garden…

Step 2: Start with a pot of water and bring it to a gentle boil, you will then want to cover it with another pan or a heat-safe bowl. This is a water bath. In this case I used a bowl on top. Use high-quality organic chocolate. My secret is to use chocolate hazelnut. I like the texture and chunkiness that the hazelnuts add to the strawberries and it goes well with the chocolate. Lastly, I crack a TINY bit of sea salt into the chocolate to bring out the taste of the chocolate. It sounds strange, but it works wonders.

Step 3: Coat the strawberries with the chocolate. Make sure your strawberries are VERY dry when you do this, otherwise you will mess up the chocolate consistency. I like to air dry them if I have time, but a blowdryer or fan on cool works if you’re in a rush. Once coated, place them tip up in a tray.

Step 4: Melt some white chocolate with the same sort of water bath. Again, high quality white chocolate. I add a tiny bit of vanilla to this for flavour and colour.

Step 5: Drizzle the white chocolate over the strawberries.

Step 6: Let cool for 15 minutes or so, and then place into the fridge. Don’t cover.

Step 7: EAT! And enjoy

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In other news, I am SOOO excited for the Canucks game tonight against the Blackhawks. It’s been way too long. I’ve still been wearing my jersey every day, even when snowboarding. Puck drop is early at 6:00 pm, so don’t miss it.

Lastly, I’ll be visiting a secret new Twilight set today. Can’t wait!

It’s been a while since I’ve made a post solely dedicated to my photography so here we go. P.S. Snowboarding with Shay post coming soon, photos from Tofino last summer, photos from the romantic Victoria getaway, photos from sprimg in Vancouver, and I also want to do a “scenes” from Twilight featuring some of my photography but it’s going to take a while to collect those together.

I’m actually feeling really terrible today so I need to get back to bed. Thank goodness I prepared this post last night all ready for the morning.

Anyway.

The photographs here are a mix of my old and new shots. I wanted a theme, so I went with “things with wings”. When the sun starts coming out more frequently and we start transitioning into spring and then summer… I really look forward to seeing all the butterflies, birds, and other critters coming out of the woodworks.

These photos taken with a mix of the Nikon D50, D80, D90 and way back when my Olympus C3030Z.

Yellow Butterfly by a Yellow Flower

Hummingbird, Still

Kissing Butterflies

Kookaburra Bird

Butterfly on a Pink Flower

Wasp

Butterfly with Camouflaged “Eye”

Bee Covered in Pollen

Thanks for looking! Hope you liked them.

I am very happy to report that one of my best friend’s and her friend FINALLY got to meet Twilight’s Rob Pattinson last night. Rob is definitely Amy‘s favourite actor from the movies, and while I was a little jealous that she got to saw him last night while I was up at the Telus World Ski and Snowboard Fest, I am glad that she used a tip I got and happened to be at the same pub as him! (I just have to gloat a little ) So happy for you Amy!

Here’s her story (thanks Amy for letting me post this!):

“It was a friend’s birthday last night so we went out for dinner. On the way home we decided to stop into a pub for one last drink. The place wasn’t very full because it was 11pm on a Sunday.  We were seated in a booth and ordered. The birthday girl suddenly says “is that Rob RIGHT beside us??” and I glance to my right and see Ashley and immediately look back to her and say “Shhhhhh….”.  I couldn’t bring myself to look again so I wasn’t even sure if he was there.  Both her and I start silently freaking out.  I quickly looked over again and saw Rachelle Lefevre (so tiny in real life!! and her red hair is gorgeous) and Ashley Greene on one side of the table facing me and Rob and some girl sitting across from them.  They were at the table right beside us!

We were in total shock and couldn’t believe it at all. No one seemed to notice them and were able to just have a casual conversation, some food and few drinks.  Rob didn’t even have his toque on or anything, just sitting there in a t-shirt.

I had to go to the bathroom so I was watching to see when they weren’t full, but before they were empty, Rob got up to go stand in line.  I told my friend to go to the bathroom so she could talk to him.  She did and had a conversation with him that went somewhat like this:

Friend: It’s my birthday, I just had to come talk to you!
<Rob shakes her hand>
Friend: How do you like Vancouver?
Rob: Yeah it’s pretty nice!
Friend: It’s a lovely city. I just moved here myself.
Rob: Oh? Where from?
Friend: Saskatchewan… ever heard of it?
Rob: Yeah I’ve heard of it… I think I was just there a couple days ago. (We think he thought Squamish)

But was soon interrupted by a couple other girls that went up to ask for a photo.  I was going to go over there but saw Ashley look over at the bathrooms and saw the small crowd gathering around Rob (about 5 girls). But my friend came back to the table and yelled at me “Amy! Get the **** over here right now!!”  She had forgotten her camera at the restaurant.  So I went over, just as he went into the bathroom and Ashley came over and said “are you guys all waiting to pee or are you waiting for Rob?” I thought Ashley was going to pull him away but she didn’t and just left.  I told him it was my friend’s birthday and asked for a photo and apologized for interrupting his night out.  I said “I’m sorry” like 5 times but he just laughed. haha. Then we each got a photo with him and he said “very nice to meet you!” and said Happy Birthday to my friend. He seemed happy to take photos with the few girls that were there and then everyone left them alone at their table. It was also nice to see that no one interupted them at their table and waited until he was chatting in the bathroom line.

He and Rachelle went outside for a smoke and we were tempted to go outside but I was satisfied with my encounter and didn’t want to ruin the night for them.  It’s great that they have places to go where they aren’t really bugged.

We finished our drinks and left with huge smiles on our faces.  My friend declared it the Best Birthday Ever!”

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I am so excited for Amy and glad she was lucky enough to meet Rob!

In other news, I had a great day snowboarding yesterday and I should have photos and a video soon!

My work has been absolutely hectic lately for the past two weeks, and it’s only going to get crazier up until the middle of May. On top of that, with social outings with friends, Canucks games, Twilight stalking, surf trips and finishing up my snowboard season… my life has pretty much been on hold.

There’s a few things I’ve been meaning to do lately, so here’s my list — in my photos — of some things I need to get done over the next month or so.

Start heading to the driving range again to get all geared up for the golf season. I started “golfing” a couple years ago, and finally last year started to go more frequently, and I’m hooked.

Start going to the gym more to get all geared up for the summer. I predict we’re going to have a raging hot summer this year and I’m planning on being on the beach a lot more! Especially in Tofino.

Get out my sunglasses and spend more time in the sun.

Get going on my gardening for the year. Now that I’ve got a patio again, I’ll be able to retrieve my planters from my parent’s place and all my flowers, trees, herbs, and vegetables going again. Can’t wait.

Go on more photo walks. Vancouver is so beautiful in the spring and early summer, and walking around and taking photos is ALWAYS a good idea. Must get back into it.

Get all our camping gear prepped and ready for the multiple surf trips coming up, starting in May.

Get geared up for my trip to Montreal in May. I’m attending a conference there for work, but I may have a couple extra hours to walk around. I’m looking forward to taking some photos, as well as making sure I get the most out of the conference.

Finally catch up on my grocery shopping and head to Granville Island frequently again. I’m also looking forward to the new Whole Foods opening up near me on Cambie and Broadway so that’s going to be another regular place. I can’t wait to start cooking and baking again. All this lack of time has really impacted my free time to spend in the kitchen.

Getting my freckles back in the summer and maybe working on a tan (I desperately need it).

Spend one last day on the mountain, with my new Burton Malolo. Heading up to Whistler this Sunday for the end of the TELUS World Ski and Snowboard Festival… for some boarding, as well as meeting up with my favourite snowboard blogger, Shayboarder! We’ll be making a mini movie and I’m looking forward to meeting my hero!

Okay, and maybe a little Twilight stalking if I have some time

And that’s it for now… anyone have plans for the next month they are dead set on doing?

Huge game tonight, Canucks vs. Blues for Game #4. The Canucks have a chance to take it all, and for the Blues it is do or die. Will St. Louis be able to elevate their game tonight and play desperate?

So far my playoff streak of wearing a jersey every day of the playoffs continues. I’m not stinky yet, but the playoffs ain’t over yet either… *cough* I haven’t had a chance to go to a playoff game yet this year and with trying to save up for all the surf trips I have planned this summer, I don’t think I’ll get a chance to. That said, if they make it to the Stanley Cup finals (and I think they have a pretty decent chance), I’ll be there

For most bandwagon fans, the Canucks continue to surprise them with their speed and toughness. For us die-hard fans, it’s just the good team we’ve seen playing most of the year taking it to the next level. They got better and better as the season progressed and now they are finally showing what they can do when they play with a little heart… something that has been sorely missed on a Canucks team for a long time, especially since Trevor Linden retired in my opinion

Mats Sundin is supposed to be a game-time decision tonight. I’d like to have him back, but definitely don’t want him rushed through his injury to play. Kariya has said he’s not going to play tonight, but if they make it to Game 5, I’m almost certain he will. Special teams is going to be the story again for tonight. Canucks will need to continue their excellent penalty killing and continue scoring when they get power play chances.

Tonight is going to be a tough game. The Canucks aren’t known for their killer instinct and have only swept a playoff series once before. We’ve seen a lot of the young guys on our team step up, like Burrows, Kesler, Bernier, and Raymond… and even the Sedins! Now I’d like to see some of the veterans really pull out all the stops and play hard tonight. The Canucks are going to need to play every game like it is their last and not get complacent if they want to keep up their momentum into the second series. But let’s not count our chickens before they hatch. It isn’t over till it’s over.

As I mentioned, my friend who is a Blues fan is a little unsettled by the series so far but I have to give it to him — he hasn’t jumped ship and continues to support his team. I have something to admit that no self-respecting Canucks fan would ever admit. I secretly want St. Louis to get the next game… not just so my friend can have a smile on his face, but also so the Canucks can come back home… and win the series in Vancouver for the fans. But don’t tell anyone I told you that!

In other news, what’s with Library Square kicking out a guy for wearing his Canucks jersey? What a shame. I’m boycotting them from now on. Come on — get with the program! It’s playoff time and this is a hockey town. Here’s the link for those who haven’t read the story yet on CBC: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/british-columbia/story/2009/04/20/bc-canucks-jersey-ban-library-square-pub.html

Shame on them.