2021-21 || on the rise

Things seem to be looking up! My COVID-19 restrictions are loosening up (I say "my" because other people have different comfort levels with the constantly evolving rules and regulations), because we now have our first vaccine and the case numbers have taken a deep dive, so we had a few friends over for lunch.  P brought over some fried chicken from Chirpyhut Fried Chicken , which just opened up a location in Burnaby, relatively closer than the other locations around the Lower Mainland. You can see a sliver of the Salted Egg Yolk whole chicken in the top corner, and a full box of the black meteorite fried chicken wings:   

The salted egg yolk is not actually infused into the chicken. The flavor comes from a separate container of salted egg yolk dipping sauce, which was brutally underwhelming. Not much flavor in the chicken itself. 

The meteorite chicken looks impressive, but it didn't taste very special, just like regular fried chicken. It didn't taste bad, and it did create a wow moment when we opened up the lid, because it looked like we would be eating lumps of coal. I would probably repurchase this for a future dinner party or potluck, but it's not a staple everyday fried chicken option for me. There are plenty of juicier, crispier, and tastier fried chicken shops around town.  

I had originally hoped PVVJ would come over after the completion of our kitchen reno, but it was right in the middle, when we didn't have a backsplash or working sink. They completely missed the original chartreuse tile backsplash, which was falling apart at the edges:   

They had this view for the afternoon: 

And then they missed the (almost) final product, which came together about 2 weeks after: 

FINALLY! 

From start to finish, it took about 2 months. The backsplash was first removed in mid March, and we had to wait for our contractors to take a special class before they could start working with the original type of stone we had picked out for the backsplash and countertop (Dekton...). We ended up changing our minds, because the print on that man made stone wouldn't look as nice, and by April, we had picked out the quartz style that we currently have installed. Then, we found out that the sink we originally wanted to order from Costco actually has awful reviews, and it was eventually removed from the Costco website before we got around to ordering it. This was the beginning of the hunt for a white sink and faucet set. 

The first sink we picked out was a Blanco white granite material. Because the plumbing for our sink has special slow drainage in order for it to fit into its current configuration, the dimensions of the sink are very specific, and it took a while before we found one that could arrive quickly. Sadly, it cracked in transit, and we were devastated with the delay. We ended up going to Home Depot, picked up a regular sturdy, reliable stainless steel sink, for half the price. 

Then, the old faucet started leaking! We had planned on using the old faucet until the new white one arrived, but now, we would have to replace the whole thing. The previous faucet was made with copper, and it must've been at least a decade old, so it rusted through.  Hopefully, our Brita filter has helped us keep these any old minerals and chemicals out of our body... 

We're going to change out the cabinet handles, maybe swap out the wine bottle holder screwed into the back set of cabinets, and then, I'll be satisfied.  This space no longer looks like this though - we've already cluttered up the countertops with our rice cooker, hot water boiler, and our trusty Brita filter. 

Follow along for more updates of our almost 100 year old house!