Summer’s Here?…Finally?

A blustery and downright chilly Tuesday evening turned into a sunny warm Wednesday morning. I met up with Amanda and, Starbucks in tow, we walked downtown to do some shopping. We had so much fun talking about my upcoming move to New York City, and making plans for her to visit me. When our feet began to ache like crazy due to the newness of sandals, we ducked onto the patio of Fire on the East Side for some lunch. With a Caesar and a caipirinha, we started planning the menu of my BBQ I decided to host on Thursday.

After parting ways with Amanda, I met up with Chris. He whisked me down Bloor Street to Coach and Cole Haan, where he graciously invited me to choose whatever wallet I wanted, as a going away “remember me in NYC” type of gift. Such a sweet man, I have. I chose a black butter leather Cole Haan wallet – classic and functional, and I’ll have it forever. I felt so giddy being able to pick whatever I wanted from the store – I’m pretty sure that is every girl’s dream, right?

Last night I hosted an impromptu rooftop BBQ. Amanda, Chris and I set up shop out at the tables at 5:00 to secure our spots, and we forced Chris to start barbecuing stuff to hold our spot on the grills. Everyone brought something yummy – Karen and Ben brought chips and hamburgers/buns, Amanda made grilled veggies and tofu, Serpy brought home-made guacamole with chips and sliced tomatoes and spinach for the burgers, I made a quinoa salad and had sausages with buns, and Chris made mini roasted potatoes with sour cream and green onions. We feasted. To top it all off, Yvonne brought dark chocolate Haagen Daz for everyone! With full tummies and cold hands, we moved the party back down to the warmth of my suite. Chris and Ben ducked out to the LCBO to grab some more wine (since we heard that the workers are striking on the long weekend). The rest of the evening was spent playing Cranium! I love my friends, and am so lucky to have such a tight-knit group of people here in the city!

This beautiful weekend needed to be blogged about.

So, this post is long over-due, but I feel compelled to blog about this amazing weekend I shared with my bestie April! She came to visit me a couple of months ago (was it that long already?!), and it was great. We started things off with a bang – taking an Uber cab to La Carnita for some tacos. Everyone at work was raving about La Carnita, so I had wanted to try it for quite some time – this was the perfect occasion. As we waited 45 min for our table, we snuck across the street to Shoeless Joes for some wine/Caesars and tried oysters for the first time. We, surprisingly, enjoyed them!

When we finally got in, we ordered more cocktails (caiprinhas and margaritas?) and tacos. I absolutely loved the decor of La Carnita, with “Welcome Gringos” written clearly in penny tiles at the doormat. It was super-loud, but a really fun place to go. The tacos were delish, but the best part was the dessert – home-made chocolate/peanutbutter popsicles. Ohmygodsogood. We couldn’t get enough of those.

The next morning, April curled my stubborn hair into beautiful bouncing waves, and we set off for a day of shopping. We popped into Holt’s Cafe for some nourishment, before checking out Mendocino (where I got my favourite ultra-soft shirts), and the rest of the stores on Bloor.

In the evening, Chris came around and met April for the first time – my boyfriend and my bestie! Two of my fave people and I headed to the Toronto Underground Market (TUM), for some delicious street food. Again, we took an Uber cab. Because we are ballers, and like to track our drivers and know their names. Ha. At TUM, we ate copious amounts of food – everything from Hawaiian chicken, pulled pork sliders, caprese salad skewers, and jerk chicken, to candy apples, meringue, and sugary nuts. It was super cold, but such a fun atmosphere and everyone was so so happy. We had a great time!

The next morning we tracked down a place to get mani-pedis, K Nails & Spa. On our nails we got the paraffin wax treatment, which made our hands baby soft. Then we popped over to Moroco Chocolat to grab some macarons and April treated me to a cappuccino. We sat in the warmth of the Yorkville sun and savoured our macarons while taking too many pictures of these beauties. Macarons are like the precious jewels of the pastry world. So delicate and pretty.

Then it was time for this busy lady to catch her Porter flight back out of Toronto and onto colder climates. There really is nothing better than spending a weekend with your bestie, doing all the girliest things you can think of, and taking way too many Instagram shots of the whole thing  

Best Toronto Brunch Spot–Smith

This is a flashback to a brunch I had last month with Karen, Ben, Chris, and Serpy (her name’s not actually Serpy, but that is her nickname forever unfortunately). Anyway, we tried Smith (which I talked about in my post about Court’s birthday). It’s decorated like a little cabin up north, but a very chic one – black and white, rustic wood, pops of red. I love the menus, which are printed on newspapers, and the mis-matched antique cutlery and plates. Everyone loved their food, so I’d definitely recommend it. Chris had the corned beef hash, Ben tried the huevos rancheros, Karen opted for the cookies & cream Belgian waffle with chantilly cream, and Serpy and I had the Smith breakfasts. We also filled up on mimosas and Caesars. One of the best things about Smith is not having to wait in line either (which is quite the thing in Toronto for brunching). Seriously, if I have to wait longer than 10-15 minutes for a table, I will go elsewhere. It’s not like there aren’t any other options in this amazing city!

The Trifecta.

Today was a great day for three reasons: 1) a new hairstyle/haircut; 2) pedis in Yorkville; and 3) a trip to Taqueria for some crispy shrimp tacos.

I’m really savouring these next few days of complete and utter freedom – not working, not studying, just doing my thing and enjoying the freeeezing cold frigid May weather (not.). I decided to go Swedish blond at Haartek, and my poor stylist had her work cut out for her (literally), trying to fix the impromptu chop I did to my hair Saturday night. She ended up going a lot shorter than I had wanted, but I like it – it’s different, and Chris thinks I look like Veronica Mars haha. I drank way too many gratis cappuccinos, and had a good laugh when the 75-year-old Italian woman who was whipping them up for me said “don’t worry, you won’t get shaky! I only shake when I DANCEEEEE!!!!” and started shaking it. Loved her. With my new “NYC” hair, I headed home for some tea and home-made guacamole. My apartment went down to 15 degrees today (well below the legal minimums for temperature in Toronto), so I’ve been trying to spend minimal time here and be out as much as possible.

Before meeting Serpy for pedicures at K Nails & Spa in Yorkville, I picked up a button-down from Banana Republic and browsed the Winners on Bloor. I opted for the hot pink OPI, while Serpy chose a more coral-red for her upcoming trip to the Dominican. Lucky girl! As our toes were drying, I was thinking of inviting Serpy for tacos, when she said “wanna go for tacos at that place by your house?” Um…yes psychic-child, I do. Weird. I chose my go-to favourite – crispy shimp, while Serpy picked the barbacoa beef taco. Yum! It’s days like this that I think I could totally get used to being a housewife sans kids, living the life of luxury…

Macarons, Birthday Wishes, and Brunching

 

It was Courtney, my best friend’s, birthday weekend in Toronto this past weekend. For the last three years, she has come up to visit with her friends, and we always have the best time. This year will be hard to beat though – it was so great seeing her and Camellia. We started the weekend off with some pink champagne and presents – a Henry Bendel bangle from Camellia and a scarf/candle from me. I always find it so difficult to buy for a friend who you’ve known for 26 years – I’m running out of present ideas! All glammed up we walked over to Wish, one of my favourite restaurants. It’s all decorated in beachy whites and blues – my perfect style. We had THE BEST meal. I opted for the arugula salad with beet crisps and the rhubarb glazed pork chop. Court tried the duck dumplings and scallop/lobster risotto. Camellia had the mussels/frites and gnocci. We decided to go for the trifecta and finish off our meals with the banana creme brulee, which came with a thick layer of sweet sugar. So so good. For drinks we alternated between coco gimlets, Pimm’s cups, and lychee martinis. One of the top five meals I’ve ever had, hands down.

Kelly sent us some pomegranate champagne drinks to celebrate, and as a sorry for not being able to make the party – such a sweet girl!

With stuffed bellies, and after our four-hour meal marathon, we headed home. On Saturday we woke up early, grabbed some mochas from Crema, and headed up to Rosedale in search of macarons. Camellia is obsessed with them, so I knew I had to take her to Nadege. Our walk up Yonge was accompanied by watching some sort of marathon taking place in the city. At Nadege, we oohed and ahhed over the beautiful pastries, but ended up each getting a box of 12 perfectly pretty macarons for Mother’s Day. With flavours like mojito, cotton candy, and macha green tea, we had to try them all. #pigchildren

Then it was off to Smith for brunch – huevos rancheros for me, a classic Smith for Court, and banana french toast for Camellia. Delish! Smith is owned by the same people that created Wish, and after talking to the manager and complimenting her on the amaaaazing meal we had the night before, she gave us a sweet little parting gift at Smith – a redeemable coupon to use at Smith any time we want – so thoughtful! It was such an amazing weekend to get to spend time with two great friends who I rarely get to see, and just do girlie stuff – shop and eat, eat, eat…