This afternoon my mom, my godmother and her mom, and myself all went to see Stuart McLean’s Vinyl Cafe Christmas Concert at The Centre for Performing Arts in Vancouver. I have been reading Stuart’s Vinyl Cafe books since I was about 12 years old. My parents gave me Home from the Vinyl Cafe for Christmas one year and I was hooked! I also download the podcasts because I can never seem to catch the Vinyl Cafe live. Last year I wanted to go to the Vinyl Cafe Christmas Concert but it didn’t pan out in the end, so as soon as I got a notification that they were coming to town again, I called my mom.

For those who haven’t grown up with this iconic Canadian storyteller in your life, Stuart McLean hosts the Vinyl Cafe show on CBC Radio. The Vinyl Cafe stories center mainly around Dave and Morley and their two kids, Sam and Stephanie. It’s not your typical family (mainly because of Dave…), but the stories are so hilarious and heart-warming that you can’t help but love them.

It was so great to see Stuart McLean in real life! We were in the back row of the Dress Circle (middle balcony) but there is no bad seat at the Centre for Performing Arts. Stuart had three shows in Vancouver and they were all sold out! No surprise as he is a dynamic host, talented speaker, and brought along fantastic musical talent. Joining Stuart and his regular musical tour accompaniment was Jill Barber and Matt Anderson. Jill has a swanky, almost-nasally 50′s-style voice and Matt has a loud, strong, jazzy-blues voice. They were complimentary yet drastically different (in a good way). The music wasn’t strictly Christmassy either which was really nice.

After the show I lined up to meet Stuart and have him sign my copy of the most recent book, Extreme Vinyl Cafe. I am only slightly embarrassed to admit I ran to the bookstore during intermission to buy a copy. I honestly thought they’d be selling it at the merchandise table, but they were only selling backlist titles. But no matter, I got the book and got it signed too. Stuart chatted with everyone in the line-up (I was third, but I assume he was just as chatty with everyone) and wanted to know what our favourite part of the concert was.

Stuart gave away prizes to the youngest and oldest members of the audience, with help from an 11-year-old assistant. The youngest was 4 weeks old, with runner-ups being 11 weeks and 5 months. The oldest member was 92 years old. The entire concert was great and I would love to see him live again. Listening to him speak on recordings and radio is great (his voice is amazing), but his interaction with the audience is fantastic and added that much more to the experience.

I bought a crock pot. It’s something I’ve wanted to do for a while but wasn’t sure if I could find enough vegetarian recipes for it. Turns out there are lots of options. Last week when I got it ($20 new off CraigsList), I immediately unboxed it and started making Hot Mulled Apple Cider. Nom nom nom.

Last night I prepared vegetarian chili (with meat substitute) to cook today. (I like to put chili on noodles and top it with cheese.) Speaking of food… I hope my American friends are having a nice Thanksgiving!

Now, if anyone has any fabulous crock pot recipes to share… I would love the suggestions!!

I don’t recall where I initially heard about the “KISS” method (Keep It Simple Stupid) but it seems to fit well. With the holiday rush coming up, I really just need to cut back on my commitments and do things for me. I know this may sound selfish, but I feel stretched thin right now. It’s sort of like New Years Resolutions a few months early.

• Cut back on non-vital online commitments (organizing groups, activities, etc.).
• Unjoin all those groups that make me feel guilty for not going to the events (Meetup, Facebook, etc.).
• Only take part in meetups and events that I want to.
• Do more activities to better myself — I want to learn new things without feeling like I have to pursue an entire career.
• Stop setting goals and challenges that I feel required to meet (and guilty when I don’t).

Whenever this ottoman is cleared off, Henry immediately jumps on it and claims it as his new perch.

Being in a basement suite, I wish he liked things a bit higher because he hasn’t looked out a window in months! He used to love sitting on my computer chair looking out the second-floor window, but now he doesn’t even jump up on the window sill (where accessible).If I lift him up on the window sill he only stays there a matter of minutes.

Today (home sick, stomach flu?) I watched Julie & Julia starring Meryl Streep and Amy Adams. I had wanted to read the book first (as always) because the story is based on two books, Julie & Julia by Julie Powell and My Life in France by Julia Child and united through a third book: Mastering the Art of French Cooking. But in the end, I decided that I can’t always read the book otherwise my To Read Pile would be too big and I’d never watch movies.

The premise of the movie is based around the first book, Julie & Julia, but brings in a larger aspect of My Life in France compared to the book (from what I can tell). The movie goes back and forth (rather seamlessly) between Julie Powell and her husband living in a post-911 New York and Julia Child before she co-authors Mastering the Art of French Cooking.

Half of the story is about Julie, a struggling writer who “never finishes anything”. One night she says to her husband that cooking is her way to get away from all that sadness at work and he suggests she write a blog about cooking. This results in the Julie/Julia Project: 524 recipes from Mastering the Art of French Cooking in 365 days.

The other half of the story focuses on Julia Child when her husband is reassigned to Paris. There, trying to find herself, she decides to take cooking lessons and we follow her trials and tribulations as she studies at Le Cordon Bleu. Julia ends up meeting two ladies who are co-authoring a cookbook for Americans in Paris and invite Julia to co-author with them.

The stories mirror each other very well and Nora Ephron (director and screenplay writer) did a very good job of representing both women. I was drawn to both women — Julie because she reminded me of all the things I enjoy and hate about blogging, and Julia because she was inspiring about trying new things and pushing the boundaries. There were some things I didn’t care for — Julie reminded me too much of Miranda from Sex and the City, just in mannerisms and look, and Julia’s accent didn’t fit with her American background but I’m sure Meryl Streep did exceptional research.

All in all, it was an enjoyable movie and I’m glad I didn’t wait to read the book first. However, I really just wanted to be able to taste the movie: I wish that it came with pre-cooked meals for you to join in with!

Bon Appétit!