Family Bday Party

The day after our wine-tasting, my family threw me a little 27th birthday party. I was so appreciative of all the hard work my Mom put into making delicious gluten-free food: salmon cakes, lasagna, salads, and chocolate drops! Chris even made a rustic potato salad that was a huge hit. Kendra came over with a little Giant Tiger bag full to the brim of little "presents" she made or collected for me - lots of drawings, a pen and paper, a home-made hair-clip, and some coins taped to a piece of paper. Probably the sweetest gift ever.

Speaking of gifts, I was super spoiled this year by all my family and friends. Chris collected things throughout our time in Newfoundland that I had mentioned I liked, and surprised me by buying them secretively! I also have amazing friends who deliver and mail gifts for my birthday - love you guys! 

We had a fun afternoon on the back deck in the gorgeous weather. I am so grateful to have these people in my life!

Mom and Chris

Little Maxximus

Grandma, me and Auntie Debbie

Laughing at the musical card for Nancy

Funny face Maxx ;)

September Round-up

September seemed to have came and went in a flurry. Although I felt a bit stressed out this month getting back into the rhythm of school and work after having a month off of holidays, we definitely made some great memories in between. 

Some of my favourites include playing Cards Against Humanity with Karen, Ben, Amanda, and Chris… BBQing home-made burgers on my rooftop and eating them snuggled up in hoodies overlooking my pretty city…attending a book signing with Chris’ culinary idol, Chef Michael Smith…taking Kendra and Maxx to Centreville with my parents…apple picking with Chris’ niece and nephews…digging into a decadent brunch at the Farmhouse Tavern…and discovering my love for Aroma Espresso Bar and their delicious cappuccinos.

Here’s hoping that October brings some more great memories and *fingers crossed* some sweater weather so that I can finally dig out my favourite fisherman’s sweaters and leather boots!

Courtney and Camellia take Toronto

Courtney and Camellia came to Toronto for the weekend to celebrate Court's new job and my 27th! We kicked things off with wine and prezzies at my place. I gave Court Sheryl Sandberg's book, "Lean In", which is arguably one of the most influential books I've ever read. I think it's a must-read for any career-oriented woman! Court gave me a beautiful silver bracelet and nail polish, and Cam gave me some loose-leaf David's tea! Love these girls. After getting dolled up we walked over to Museum Tavern on Bloor. We celebrated with carefully-chosen cocktails served in tiki cups, steak frites, duck pierogies, and white fish tostadas. Yummm. You can never go wrong with Museum Tavern. After dinner we walked over to Yorkville for dessert and coffee at Ciao Wine Bar and some cocktails at a nearby patio. Since it was the opening weekend of the Toronto International Film Festival (tiff), Yorkville was packed with people. We saw Mark McEwan (the chef commonly on the Food Network, who owns Bymark and North 44 in Toronto), but no other celeb sightings.

The next morning we headed over to Wish for brunch. While Wish is my favourite restaurant in Toronto, it seriously disappointed me this time - first my pork hash was barely edible, and then the replacement dish (a standard breakfast) was served on a very dirty plate. Needless to say our waitress was very apologetic and gave me the brunch for free, but I was so disappointed with my fave place! C'mon Wish, smarten up. 

Court and Cam shared the Nutella french toast as a side dish! Looked so yum.

We spent the rest of the afternoon walking around, shopping, and people-watching. We saw Lala Anthony at Holt Renfrew, and then walked over to Yorkville for some champagne, molten chocolate, and macarons at Moroco Chocolat. The perfect girls weekend!

Birthday Wine Tasting

My birthday was back in August, but I thought I'd share some photos of my birthday weekend in Niagara. I absolutely love the Niagara region, but it especially captures my heart in August. August is when the peaches are ripe, and little peach stands dot the back country roads. The vines are brimming with all the different grape varietals, and everything is lush and green.

For my birthday, my parents, Chris and I went on a little afternoon, early-evening visit to some wineries. Instead of going to Niagara-on-the-Lake, where we always seem to end up, we decided to drive in the opposite direction and visit Jordan/Beamsville/Vineland/Pelham. We visited Henry of Pelham, Calamus, and Flat Rock Cellars (earlier in the day Chris and I visited Featherstone in Vineland too!). My favourite was Flat Rock Cellars, where we enjoyed our tasting and finished off the evening on the veranda over-looking the vines, with a beautiful cheese-plate to share.

Chris Returns to NY

I am one lucky girl.

I have a man who did not think twice about booking flights to visit me in NY, every other weekend, during my time there. He would fly down on Friday after working for 10 hours, via the following methods of transportation: 1) Driving to the Go Station, 2) Taking the Go Train to Union Station, 3) Taking the shuttle bus to Porter's ferry, 4) Taking a ferry across to Toronto Island, 5) Flying to Newark airport, 6) Taking a light-rail train from Newark to Penn Station, 7) Taking a cab from Penn Station to Murray Hill. He'd get in to NY late on Friday, spend a glorious Saturday with me, then do that whole rigamarole again on Sunday. Amazing, right? I think so. Which was why I felt even more bad than I normally would when I got called into work one Saturday night while he was visiting me, and had to continue working until Sunday evening.

Poor Chris :( He took it all in stride though, offering to bring me dinner, and exploring Wall Street, the Statue of Liberty, and other parts of Manhattan solo.

We did manage to have one incredible date together though - we spent Saturday wandering the streets of NY, checking out Gramercy, Soho, Little Italy, Chinatown, and Nolita. We dined at a cute Italian restaurant decorated in white and blue, and found a boho street market where there was real sod in the middle of the street to make a fake little park (there were even blankets and hula hoops to use!).

It was one of those great days where you wander, not having a destination in mind, and end up stumbling upon street markets where you buy woven baskets from Senegal and blackberry lemonade..ya know those days? Those are good days.

Chris tried out a meat-ball stand, where all they sell are single meat-balls...and finally got to visit Gray's Papaya to try out a famous $1 hot dog (which he said were incredibly delicious). Thankfully they lived up to the hype!

In NY, visiting a psychic is very common. I was shocked to see psychic reading places all over. Thinking it would be a fun thing to do, we stopped at one near Chinatown that advertised $10 readings. Inside a small room draped in hot pink velvet, and adorned with large crystals on every free surface, we let two hairy women tell our fortunes as they swatted away their restless children who kept coming up to us. Sketch. Biggest rip-off of life. The whole thing lasted maybe 45 seconds, and we had to pay $25..each. Yuck! We were so mad at ourselves for falling prey to their little scam. Never again, psychics, never again.

Unfortunately, that's where our weekend was cut short - but Chris took it like a champ, and showed me how much of a devoted, understanding, and truly amazing man he is.*

*so sorry this post is mushy :)

April & Heather's NY Adventures - part 2

Since April had spent a lot of moolah and had taken the time to visit me in NYC, I wanted to do something really special for her. I booked us a sun-set sailboat excursion that departed from Chelsea Piers, and would take us on a tour past the Statue of Liberty and give us stunningly gorgeous views of lower Manhattan.

Dressed in our nautical gear, we headed onto the beautiful replica of a 1890s schnooner. We made friends with the skippers, who were aspiring Broadway stars, as they hoisted the thick canvas sails and welcomed us all aboard. They offered us all wine or beer, and drinks in hand, the boat departed Chelsea Pier.

The skyline of Manhattan is pretty cool, especially with the newly erected Freedom Tower (which we had visited earlier in the day).

Unfortunately for me, within five minutes I felt the motion sickness coming on. I go on boats so infrequently that I always seem to forget how bad motion sickness is, and how horribly I feel it. Let this post be a reminder of how bad I feel on boats.

In the spirit of keeping things positive on this little blog though, let's look at pictures of April having a grand ole time...

And let's not forget the beee-autiful Lady Liberty herself....

 The ride lasted about two hours, and even though I was about to throw up if my eyes left the horizon, it was still pretty. Plus April made friends with a drunken 75 year old man who loved telling her about his life in Florida, watching NASA rocket ships take off. Ha. Good times on the boat.

We asked a guy who was a "photographer" to take our picture in front of Lady Liberty. This is what we got. Thanks buddy.

Putting on a brave face!

Ellis Island

We finished the night off at Lucky's Diner, across the street from my condo. I had bacon and eggs, while April feasted on cheesecake and mozzerella sticks...at the same time! You go girl.