3 YEARS STRONG...

Three years ago today we got married and today we shall celebrate that joyous event by working! We shall work extra hard and make an extra effort to do a good job as that is the best way to celebrate our love for earch other... BOOYA!

It's amazing that three years have already gone by, it doesn't feel that way... but sometimes it does, like when Michelle asks me to do something and I don't do it, so she asks me again and I say "yup" but I still don't do it... so then she gets mad at me and I get mad at her for getting mad at me when I didn't do anything wrong. Right? I love those days!

I kid, I kid, I'll take those days and every other day of the last three years and I know the next three are going to be even better. Happy Anniversary baby!

To see some Corsiworld goodness check out our pics HERE

THE BEST MEAL IN A LONG, LONG TIME...

Whenever someone asks me "what is the best meal I've ever had" I tell the tale of my beef tenderloin & Caymus Cabernet at Quattro in Whistler with my uncle Antonio. My second favorite has to be the "experience" I had at Nine Steakhouse at the Palms in Las Vegas, I will never forget the first time I bit into that steak during my Stag weekend, it was awesome. So you see, the best meal was because of the food and wine pairing, the second meal was because of the experience. Well, I know have a third favorite meal and it's because of the food and the wine and the experience!

This weekend saw 13 Corsi relatives from Italy and 10 of the Vancouver-based Corsis head to Whistler for a weekend of fun, food and family-bonding. Some stayed in a hotel, others with my Uncle at his place while the rest of us made camp at a great 6-bedroom cabin in the woods. We had a BBQ on the lake, some folks went ATVing while others took the tram to the peak of the mountain, we ate at different restaurants, went dancing till the wee hours and usually ended up for cigars and cocktails at one place or another, it was a great weekend to be sure but let's get back to "the meal".

First off, all the meals were great, big ones included a suckling-pig feast at CARAMBA (how very Roman of us), the biggest bowl of traditional Paella at KYPRIAKI and some award-winning French appies at BAREFOOT BISTRO. But one meal in particular stood out from the rest and once again it was from Chef Jeremie Trottier at QUATTRO IN WHISTLER. Now I know what you are thinking "hey hey bald man, this is one of the family restaurants, ofcourse you are going to say its awesome". Not true jerk face, I calls them like I sees them and I have had disappointing meals at my family's restaurants, luckily, this wasn't one of them.

The meal, or feast, or food orgy, whatever you want to call it was 8 courses long and each course was paired with a fantastic wine. What's even better is that Chef Jeremie didn't just give us a meal of Quattro Favorites, he created a menu of his favorite dishes, some inspired by his Italian experiences, others from his personal adventures, it was truly a meal to remember.

A weekend with non-stop relatives can be tough, I mean we've all heard the stories or seen the movie version starring Chevy Chase but this was a great experience and it was awesome to see three generations of the family having a blast together. A few of them are here for another few days but you can see a pictorial history of their visit HERE!!!

AWESOMETOWN

We've dubbed our little 10-unit Townhouse complex "Awesometown" because well, it's awesome! How did that name come to be? Well, during our yearly owner's meeting, Michelle asked the group what the name of our complex actually was since it is a bit of a mystery and before anyone could say anything, I blurted out "Awesometown". People laughed but sure enough the name stuck and more and more folks are using the moniker to describe our living situation.

But a name alone does not make a town awesome, a town must be awesome to truly deserve the name Awesometown. Take yesterday for instance, a few of us were hanging out in the courtyard letting the dogs run rampant when Tom suggested we have a big BBQ, everyone who was there said "sure" and just like that a feast of epic neighbourly proportions was underway. Within a few hours we were eating, drinking and laughing while filling our bellies to no bounds.

Let me get into the extremely tasty foody specifics: we provided 2 types of baked Chicken Wings (18 Roasted Garlic & Herbs and 18 Brown Sugar, Red Salt & Chili), a large Summer Grape Tomato Salad, Grilled Sausages and Michelle's highly-coveted homemade Chocolate/Espresso Cookies. Tom & Angela created smoked/pulled Beef Brisket Sammiches, Corn & Blue Cheese Salad and mustardy rustic Potato Salad. Teri provided the Roasted Garlic Wild Rice and Portobello Mushroom Burgers. Mike & Carla gave us the Ginger Soy BBQ Salmon, the Arugula Summer Salad, fresh Bruschetta, Olives & Cheese. How's that for awesome???

4 units pitched in for the food, 2 other units made cameo appearances and a good time was had by all. Sangria, Wine, Beer and Scotch were shared and again we got to know our neighbours who are all cool people and this quick impromptu BBQ turned into a memorable night. It's funny, when we lived in Deep Cove, over the course of a year we met our neighbours once or twice and never "broke bread" with them, I bet you I wouldn't recognize them on the street if I saw them. But here it's different, a lot of us hang out, go out on the town or have everyone over for a meal or a drink, it's great.

I love AWESOMETOWN.

PNE: YEAH YOU KNOW ME

It's PNE time again and here's our day in a nutshell...

* If all they are doing is taking tickets, why does it take so long to get in?
* Why are the four different kinds of Shammy Stalls in the market place?
* 3 Darts for $10... really?
* Why is the pig race a 6-second Pig sprint?
* Have you tried that kick ass salsa yet?
* One Superdogs show between 11am and 5pm? Is that really enough Superdogs?
* Why isn't this year's Dream Home that dreamy?
* Don't you think "those little donuts" should be around all year?
* Has the PNE come and gone already?

Time flies... check out our August 2008 pics HERE!!!

JASON & SAISHA'S WEDDING

If it's August, it must be time for another wedding and what a wedding it was. On Friday morning, Michelle and I drove up to Kelowna to celebrate the union of our good friends JASON & SAISHA who decided to tie the knot after five years together.

Most of the guests stayed at the EL DORADO while the festivities took place at the SUMMERHILL PYRAMID WINERY. The weather was great, the ceremony was fantastic and both Jason and Saisha looked out of this world.

There was non-stop food, booze, games (yes games!), dancing, cigars and laughter and between Michelle and I, we took over 1000 photos of the event (after looking through them, 700 made the cut) which we will gladly pass along to the happy couple. It was a great day, a great weekend and a wonderful wedding which we were both pleased to be a part of. Congrats to you both, we love ya!

Check out a few pics from the event HERE!!!

UPDATE TIME

We celebrated a couple birthdays this week, our friend LESLEY and our Neice SOFIA. Both celebrations were a great, great time!!! I also added some more restaurant reviews to VANCOUVER EATS... check them out! THE REEF, THE SHORE CLUB and THE BANANA LEAF!

BYE BYE MINI

Well after a five year lease and a host of problems with the car (read about my radiator HERE), I have finally turned in the MINI COOPER. Although I complained incessantly about the car, it was still fun and Michelle especially loved to drive it. Now we are a true one car family... Michelle sold her truck, I got rid of the Mini and now we drive the HONDA FIT, it's a big change but a good one, I've even started walking to/from work (35 minutes) which is great during the summer but may have to change come winter.

Thanks for the memories little Velvet Red Mini Cooper, despite our problems with each other, I will fondly look back at the good times and smile since I don't have to pay for you anymore.