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!

April & Heather's NY Adventures - part one

April came to visit me for a weekend while I lived in NY this summer. It was her first time visiting NYC, so I knew we had to make it super special. Not only did she have a great time, but I did too, and it is one of my best memories of my time living in Manhattan. 

We started things off with a bang by grabbing a late dinner at The Smith in Midtown. The place was buzzing with a smartly dressed business crowd as we saddled up to the bar to grab a pre-meal cocktail. The cocktail menu was expansive, and we each tried some delicious concoctions. For dinner, we feasted - cheesy tomato soup and scallops to start, followed by steak, mussels and frites.

Before we left, we headed down to the bathroom - a unisex hall of subway tile, old barber chairs, and a vintage photobooth. Love the pictures we got out of the photobooth - they are framed and are some of my favourite souvenirs of NY.

On our walk home from The Smith, we noticed the street in front of us was moving...rats! A dozen or so rats were swarming the sidewalk right in front of us. We screamed (obvi), and turned to run back down the way we came, only to be stopped by a crowd of young men willing to scare those disgusting beasts away. Ugh, New York...you can be wonderful, but you can also be a pretty dirty place.

The next morning we took a cab over to Chelsea for a brunch reservation at The Park. As we were a bit early, we decided to take a little stroll along The Highline. The Highline is a converted old railway, that is now a beautiful above-ground city park. Truly a unique place to visit, but I would recommend going earlier in the morning, as it started to get busy at around 11am.

The Park is a converted old taxi-cab parking garage - an expansive space with eclectic decor and an industrial vintage vibe. The meal was yummy, and they even served a freshly baked mini-loaf of banana bread (instead of a usual bread-basket). Such a cute idea.

We spent the rest of the afternoon traipsing around the West Village, the Meatpacking District, and Chelsea. The West Village is full of cobblestone winding streets (below the grid), people on bicycles, tiny independent shops selling eclectic goodies, and sidewalk cafes. If I were to move back to NY, it would definitely be to the West Village.
 

 Of course, our day was just getting started...but that's a story for another time!

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!