I finally got my ballot in the mail today. I got to vote for President and NO on 8! Hopefully I’ll be able to get it back to San Jose by 8pm on Nov 4.

Funny thing is that they give you an “I voted” sticker. I’ll proudly wear mine around Vancouver next Tuesday.

This weekend I “soft launched” Ch.ai. It’s a tea blog. Basically I drink so much tea, find so many little tid bits related to tea, that I could fill a whole blog talking about it. And I don’t put it all here otherwise it would become rather clear just how crazy I am when it comes to tea. I don’t claim to be an expert on it. I’ll leave that to the professionals that go to Asia, India, Sri Lanka and Africa to source the tea, but I hope to entertain other tea lovers with my finds.

There are about a dozen posts over on my tea blog - stuff that I’ve been bookmarking for a while now.I’m slowly getting through it all.

So remember: Tea solves all.

Flickr Photo Download: Ra Tea

Watching McCain’s speech tonight and in the middle of the speech I hear “We believe everyone has something to contribute.” Hmmm…has Meg been giving him some tips on what to say? Meg Whitman that is. That’s eBay’s #2 core value. I should know. I wore it on my badge for nearly 4 years.  And as the speech progressed it sounded like he was building his own Republican core values list. But they didn’t seem so trusting and ideal as the eBay ones.  

Right now in Vancouver it’s incredibly hard to buy gifts for friend’s kids if you saw something you want to get at Pottery Barn Kids. There’s no Canadian website, no catalogue, and no store. So you’d have to call a store in Toronto, already know what you want and hope that they can ship it out to you. Because you can’t order from the U.S. And if I’m buying for friends in the U.S. I get dinged on the exchanged rate.

So I emailed them to ask what was up given that Restoration Hardware seems to have gotten it correct when they launched their kids line. Well it turns out they’re opening a Vancouver store in 2009.  

Thank you for your e-mail and for your feedback. I can tell you that there are plans to open a Pottery Barn Kids in the Vancouver-area in 2009. I apologize for the inconvenience that is caused by not having the catalog or Website available in Canada. I do hope you’ll be on the look out for us next year.

Yay! No more having to pay exchange rates for friends in the U.S., and I’ll be snag a fancy diaper bag to use as a laptop bag.

Yay! Sephora will be opening a store in Vancouver, but not until July 10, 2009. I had emailed them to ask because I heard some rumblings about it. And it seems like the big-brand retailers have finally realized that Vancouver is a pretty large brand-obsessed, shopping-addicted population.  So here was their response:

Good News! There is a Sephora store opening at Pacific Centre in Vancouver, BC on 7/10/2009!

It is not an exclusive event, so no hassle at the door, no lines to stand in. To get the most accurate and up-to-date information on this store opening, make sure that you are signed up for our Sephora.com email blasts.

Besides getting the latest beauty news and trends, the most up-to-date detailed information for the store opening (including date, time, and any special promotions or happenings) will be sent to you about 4 days prior.

I would say that until then I’ll have to settle with hopping the border and going shopping down in Washington. But that’s just way too much of a hassle. I’m not one that does regular U.S. shopping expeditions. If you go for a day trip, you’re supposed to declare what you bought and pay import tax on it. Hopefully, they’ll get their pricing right and charge the same for the Sephora products as you in the U.S. One good thing now is that if you order over $120 worth of products online they’ll ship it to you in Canada for free. At least they ship here, unlike some other companies.

Since it’s been feeling like summer here in Vancouver (finally), Brendon and I have been drinking some good old-fashioned sweet tea. There’s only one company on the West Coast that I know that serves it, and it’s the restaurants at the Flying J truck stops on I-5. Since we’re nowhere near one and Vancouver thinks that sweet tea means Nestea or Snapple, I’ve been making my own. It’s one of the few things that makes me want to move to the South - super humid, buggy summers keep me away.

If you want to try making it yourself, you can try my recipe. Everyone has their own and the best way to make it is always a debate.

1. Get yourself a 4 cup Pyrex glass measuring cup.
2. Boil 5 cups of water in a tea kettle.
3. While the water is boiling, put 1 1/4 cup of sugar and a pinch of baking soda into a Pyrex measuring cup. (Baking soda helps to make the tea brew darker and less bitter.)
4. Set aside 7 round Tetley tea bags. (Others swear by Lipton, but I like the round Tetley ones.)
5. Pour the boiling water in a circular motion into the sugar and baking soda.
6. Stir the sugar until the water becomes clear and syrupy looking.
7. Add the 7 tea bags.
8. Gently stir 5 times.
9. Let it sit for 30 minutes.
10. Fill a sealable plastic 2.5 quart (2.4 litre) pitcher with ice. (This will make a super sweet tea. If you don’t want something that tastes like you’re getting cavities, try a gallon pitcher.)
11. Take the tea bags out of the Pyrex cup. DO NOT SQUEEZE THEM. Toss them in the sink and squeeze later if you don’t want all the water in the garbage or compost.  Squeezing causes the tea to be bitter.
12. Pour the tea/sugar syrup into the pitcher with ice.
13. Top it off with cold water.
14. Seal the pitcher and shake.
15. Serve right away over ice if you’re impatient or let it sit in the fridge for a half hour or more. The longer it sits the better it tastes. Always serve with ice. It is called iced tea after all.

Green tea version - Before WWII green tea was the most popular tea in the U.S., and supposedly the first sweet tea recipe used green tea. If you want to try a green tea version, try replacing the Tetley bags with jasmine tea bags. And replace the sugar with 1 cup of honey and 1/4 of sugar.

On the usage of mint - It’s up to you. Sometimes I add it at the same time as the tea bags, and remove it before pouring it into the pitcher. It can add an interesting little flavor. Don’t leave them in the pitcher - it gets gross after a while. 

Filtered or unfiltered water - It’s up to you. I’ve found that filtered water can make a clearer tea, but you miss out on any natural minerals or floride that’s good for you. Vancouver has really good water, so for me it doesn’t necessarily make much of a difference with the taste.

If you think you have a better recipe, you can add it below - or perhaps we’ll just have to face off at the Sweet Tea Challenge.