A cup of cheer

I used to hate eggnog... Until a friend of mine convinced me to try the eggnog latte from Starbucks and oh my goodness is it ever delicious. If you haven't yet tried this heavenly drink, I most definitely suggest that you do otherwise you are only depriving yourself.

Yum!

Simply mussels

I made dinner tonight and it was a success if I do say so myself. It literally only took me 3 minutes to prepare and 20 minutes of baking time. SUPER EASY! Follow these steps for a quick and delicious dinner:

Step 1: Preheat your oven to 300 degrees.
Step 2: Place mussels in a pan.
Step 3: Finely chop garlic.
Step 4: Mix the garlic with melted butter and add a pinch of garlic salt.
Step 5: Brush garlic and butter mixture over mussels.
Step 6: Place in the oven and bake for 20 minutes.
Step 7: Enjoy!

Num, num, in my tum!

My first giveaway

First off, I'd like to thank all of my @realmofrachel Twitter followers! This giveaway wouldn't have been possible without you. I chose COAST restaurant for my gift card giveaway because I have been here so many times and have never had a bad experience. Located in the heart of downtown Vancouver, Coast brings only the best of the sea straight to your table. So now, here is the moment you all have been waiting for... The winner of the $50 Coast restaurant gift card is @TinaLum604! Makesure you try one of their glorious Caesars! I hope you enjoy.

Seafood for breakfast?

This morning I stopped by The Boathouse in Port Moody. The view of Burrard Inlet on a brisk but sunny morning is absolutely breath taking. So, it wasn't exactly breakfast but brunch. Regardless of what it's called, I had never eaten seafood before the P.M. hours before. I must say, I quite liked it. Lobster-Eggs-Benny FTW!

Eat, drink and be merry!

I've been so blessed to be the type of person that doesn't stress easily or let 'things' phase me often. Some people might not necessarily see it as a good thing but I think it's a great thing! Although, my spontaneous, carefree, careless, type B personality can sometimes get me into trouble [a lot of trouble], for the most part, I'm a positive person. However, I'm still human; I have feelings and I feel pressure! With work piling up, trying to figure out school in the Spring, finding a house and regular day to day crap that every twenty year old has to deal with, I finally cracked. BUT lucky for me, a bad day can be turned right around with a little shopping, a box of Parisian macarons, a big bottle of wine and dinner with good company!

On Friday evening while browsing Holt Renfrew for a new purse, I came across a delicious [literally] pop up shop - Kitchening with Carly. I had been meaning to try Carly's macarons for a while so you can only imagine my delight to see a plethora of these beautiful, pastel-colored desserts right in front of me. I couldn't help but purchase a 12 pack and devour the entire box not even 10 minutes later; my two favorites are Pistachio and Raspberry-Lemon. After nearly spoiling my dinner with the glorious desserts, I headed to Cioppino's Mediterranean Grill & Enoteca with a few friends. I don't think I can rave enough how amazing the food was. We had Proscuitto di Parma, Carpaccio, Calamari, Roasted Rack of Lamb and Duck...Duck... paired with dirty martini's [extra olives, extra juice] and a bottle or two... or three of Errazuriz Max Reserva 2007. Everything was absolutely immaculate. Chef Pino Posteraro even personally made us a round of 'Burt Reynolds' and jauntily stopped by our table; it was truly a wonderful night making me completely forget about the havoc I had been dealing with only a few hours prior.