I had such a great day with my sister from another mister (TINA) on Saturday! We checked out the Royal Bison craft event, which was a new experience for me. Tina told me about it a few weeks ago, & it seemed like something I would be into - she was so right! Here are a few photos from the event:

I tried traditional weaving for the 1st time in my life. It was fun! It reminded me of playing the piano bcos of the pedals. Although I appreciate the artistry & how beautiful the outcome is, it’s not something that I would do long-term/invest in. I don’t know what the parts of the machine are called but the repetitive nature of the making-process is too much for me =/ 

Soaps. Each bar is named after a neighbourhood in Edmonton. When Tina asked how it came to be, the rep said they did this survey where ppl in each community were given a task: provide 1 word that you think best describes your neighbourhood. From there, they took the ideas & formulated a scent that best relates to these descriptors. Cool idea~ But I can’t really “smell” the connection.

Jewelry. I’d like to point your attention to the black tassel earrings. It’s so cute! Basically a certain length of thread that’s been looped once (& tied together). So simple & lively. Yes, lively, not lovely. The lightness of the material would be very pretty when there’s a breeze.

Toddler socks.

What would you use the back object on the left for? (It is separate from the dish underneath; it was placed on top by a fellow customer/visitor). The 1s thing I thought of was Asian calligraphy brush holder. Tina thought chopstick holder. The same visitor said ring holder. .. The 2 piece item on the right is a spoon + spoon rest. 

Cat pins. I got myself the meow-no Lisa pin. Too awesome! 

Various greeting cards & postcards. I actually really like looking at cards/postcards at these sorts of craft shows/events (& markets too), whether it’s in Edmonton or when I’m away from travel. I don’t have any particular styles that I like; I like whatever catches my eye. .. factors like appealing colours, attractive designs, humour, & overall artistic execution .. *shrugs* whatever! 

Incense & tea light holders.

Ceramics. This colour scheme suits Tina & her home so well. .. but she said she’ll wait till next yr to make the big purchase!

Leather products. Tina loves this booth! I’m not entirely sure if it’s just bcos I’m not into leather or the products/product designs they have. .. it showcases maturity, in my opinion lol

Unisex fragrances from the most smoky (left) to the most floral (right). The left-est one was soooo woody with a light note of fireplace smell. .. #2 & 3… they were more mature scents, & in my opinion, more masculine. #2 to 6 were actually quite pleasant. The right-est one was my fav. It smelled very light & lofty, with youthful vibes.

Then we had pre-dinner @ our 3rd home.. .

Nongbu Korean Cuisine!

I haven’t been here ever since they cut their lunch hr service =(

We shared the o-deng tang, aka fish cake soup (comes with bowl of rice), & honey butter ddeokbokki. The 3 sides include: beans, pickled radish (my fav!) & kimchi. O-deng tang is starting to appear on menus these days; I’m super happy about that. This one could use a bit more flavour, but overall, a heartwarming dish. The honey butter ddeokbokki was good too. It’s slightly crispy & the rice cakes were well-covered with a light coat of honey butter :D 

Our “real” dinner @ Double Greeting~

We’ve been coming here since forever but 1st time going together. We love this place so, so much!

Tina ordered something that’s not on the menu: satay chicken flat noodles. On their menu, there’s only the beef option lol & I got a congee that contains bbq pork (cha siu), squid, & pork rinds. 

Double Greetings has this “write your own order down” system, where as long as it’s communicable, it’s fine. Some ppl write the number & the item name. Some ppl write the dish name only, & others like myself, write numbers. I usually come here with my family & we’ve slowly turned “lazy”, where we just write the number down. If you’re not familiar with this place, & you simply write the number, it’s better to keep track/remember what you did order haha I don’t have the whole menu memorized but I know the numbers of the usual things/things that I/we like. 

Question for y’all: which do you think is the more frequent visitor: someone who knows what’s not on the menu (hence no number), OR someone who knows what’s on the menu & can order by number? :P 

Hint: like the satay chicken flat noodles Tina ordered, it’s basically a protein substitution for an existing dish. If you look closely, some other things are like this situation as well. 

The congee~ So satisfying! The texture of the congee was very nice. I don’t know how to describe it in English bcos I don’t think there’s an English equivalent of the word I would use in Chinese. .. The literal translation is “cotton-y”, which. .. I think “soft” is the closest I have in English. However, it’s soft yet holds a balanced amount of firmness (of the rice). 

This dish took forever. .. well, no. It took like almost 20mins. That’s considered a long wait time here. There were so many ppl! Ppl waiting for table, ppl ordering for take-out, ppl coming in for their take-out order. But nonetheless, worth the wait! I’ve had the beef version of this & really liked it. The chicken version was excellent too. There’s really no “bad” food here. 

Selca~ We dressed up for the occasion.

- - - Our day didn’t end there - - -

I watched my 1st play at the Citadel Theatre! Prior to ~2 weeks ago, my knowledge of the Citadel Theatre was like. .. limited to the max haha I basically only knew where it is & what types of events it hosts besides being a venue for plays/shows. I had imagined ticket prices to be pricey; afterall, anything of that nature/scale is usually pretty expensive. But it really depends- on factors like the seating area, day of the week, the show itself, just to name a few. So tickets weren’t actually that bad! 

^Main floor. 

In the Shoctor Theatre.

We watched the play called Miss. Bennett’s Christmas at Pemberly. 

Ok, let’s chat a bit haha I have never been a Jane Austen fan. I have a hard time “getting into” her novels, but bcos of school, I was required to read her Pride & Prejudice in high school for English 30. Anyway, I didn’t like that story much. Miss Bennett’s Christmas at Pemberly focussed on the main girl’s sister, so it wasn’t like a play version of P&P (phew!). Turned out I enjoyed the play a lot! I have very, VERY little play experience; in fact, the only 2 I’ve been to were in NYC a decade ago! 

Yeah. .. It was so funny!! Music, quick dialogue, lighting. .. everything was so good & awesome! The 135mins (+ 15mins intermission) went by so quickly.

The main floor of the Citadel had Christmas lighting & decorations so we went to check that out after the play. 

Loved these lights!

Last selca.

Thank you, Tina, for such a fun day!