A very raclette New Years

Holy macaroni it's been 10 days since I updated my blog! Yikes you must be super pissed. I'm so sorry but things around here have been nuts! Every morning we get up I'm either heading to my new job or we are going to appointments at the bank and getting SIN cards and health cards and the like. I'm hoping after the New Year things will settle a bit and I can get back here every day.

But for now we are on our way out the door to buy all the fixings for a proper Raclette dinner to ring in the New Year.

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Mom and Dad bought Vince his very own raclette set for Christmas and he can't wait to get at it. Do you think we will be able to find Raclette cheese in Toronto? Hmmmm.

Happy New Years Eve my friends! I miss you guys so much and wish we could all be together tonight. But I hope wherever you are it's full of happiness and love and fun for goodness sakes! 

Love and Hugs

Wear- Downtown Toronto

I'm so excited to be in Toronto permanently and really get down to exploring the shops in and around the different neighbourhoods. Here is a small list of a few I can't wait to visit.

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1. Bicyclette Boutique on Queen West. I was introduced online to this fashion mecca by my new friend Renee from EatLiveShop. She's knows her stuff so naturally it's at the top of my list.

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2. I've got a few stylish kids on my list this year and it's nothing but the best for them. So off to Ella+Elliot I go.

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3. And to satisfy my Chanel gawking habit I will surley be stopping at Holts. Hell I may even throw caution to the wind and try on a few pairs!

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4. But to be completely honest Original is more in my price range and they've got so much cute stuff. I seriously can not resist the plethora of shoes if every colour and pattern imaginable, I just want to eat them!

Any other suggestions my friends? Where will you be shopping this season?

Love and Hugs

Taste- A festive brownie

I love strawberries, my brother loves brownies, we just moved in together and it's Christmas! What does this call for?

Santa Hat Brownies of course!

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Aren't they the sweetest things you've ever seen? Aunt Ann's Christmas party is on Friday and this recipe is at the top of my list of things to bring. Now all I have to do is figure out how not to eat them all.

 Is there anything extra special you plan on making this season?

Thanks to Daisy for the awesome idea!

Love and Hugs

Be- Greatful....but why?

Perhaps simply because you can open your eyes?



Or turn on your tap and choose between hot and cold water?


How beautiful a thought is that? I need this so much right now, Christmas always gets me so wonky and I would rather be greatful. It just feels so much better.

Do you agree?

Love and Hugs

Freeforall- The Trews!!!

Guess who I'm going to see tonight? That's right kids be jealous cause I will be rocking out to The Trews tonight with my Aunts!
Listen to this and tell me you don't want to be there. I dare you!

 

Or this one will surely have you swooning with music freddom love baby.



And I can't wait to hear this one live.



Oh man this one makes me miss Nova Scotia music so bad! I love you my dear home, your sound makes me cry.




So that's my Friday night, what about you?


Love and Hugs

Do- Christmas party fever!

Do you guys have it? This year is a little over the top with invites and especially this weekend. Holy moly it's nuts! Last Sunday we were invited to a Christmas open house at Alison Ann and Jack's house and it was just lovely!

Alison is my Mom's coworker's sister. Both her and her sister are fond of octopuses and so am I! She is also an artist so needless to say there were a lot of funny felted and knited Octopi squiggling through their Christmas tree which made me feel right at home!

They are also vegetarians so no worries on the food front for me. They had glazed nuts, blue cheese and sage filo pastries, mini quiches, cheese and crackers and home made meringues and marshmellows!

There were a few special hosts of the kitty kind named Opti and Parka. Opti is normally a very shy fellow and surprised us all but coming out from under the bed for a visit. Everyone agreed it was a Christmas miracle.

The sisters were enjoying East Dell pinot grigio which was fitting because....

They hail from Windsor Ontario! Well not Niagara and not even close but you know!

Thanks so much Allison and her lovely other half, we had such a great time at your gathering and felt so blessed to be invited!

Now tell me girls what great Holiday shindigs are you invited to this season? And if you need a little inspiration for what to wear I've got you covered right here!

Have fun sillies!

Love and Hugs

Wear Wednesday where'd ya go?

 

Sorry you guys I totally flaked on Wednesday this week. Holy crap I've been busy since getting home with new jobs and apartments and family and doggies and well you get it. I promise to be back here next Wednesday bigger and more fashionable than ever. I've got an idea already that I think you're going to love.

Just to tide you over here is an image of total deliscous/fashion/ruffle/feather/love/insaness from ZsaZsa Bellagio!



Love and Hugs

Taste- What we ate: a week in food photos

This is the last installment of 'A week in food photos' for the year and boy was it a yummy one!

Wednesday was bean and barley stew with thyme, tomatoes and sweet potatoes oh my!

This is so funny, I can't get this photo to rotate correctly! It appears in the right angle on the upload but when added to blogger turns the other way. So weird. Anyways Thursday delicious! Roasted chickpeas, onions, herbs, brussel sprouts on radicchio and escarole.

Friday is usually a cheat kind of night and since Vince wanted meat I cooked him a steak and had a seitan one for me. And what steak or faux steak would be complete with out gorganzola and toasted hazelnuts? Exactly!

I just love puting shit on a base of lettuce. I love veggies, there I said it! Whew! Add some roasted beets, sweet potatoes, pumpkin, sundried tomatoes and I'm in heaven. Don't forget about the hunk of cheese though. ;)

Sunday was comfort food all the way. Vince usually cooks on Sundays and always makes a risotto. And I am not complaning, especially when it turns out like this! Pumpkin and parmesan risotto to die for!

Monday is back to basics with soup. This time it was roasted onion and brown rice. Looks yummy right?

Now that I'm back in Toronto the daily dinner photo thing has fallen to the wayside a bit. I hope when Vince gets here and we are a little more settled in we can get back at this project cause it's fun!

So tell me what did you eat last week? Are you eating whatever's in the fridge? Are you getting to the market and buying in season stuff? Did you try any new recipes lately?


Love and Hugs

Be- Good

Today was bad and I am willfully pushing for good. Actually I have honestly felt more bad feelings in the past few weeks than good and it's so strange. Life is awesome, I've got a job, I moved back to Canada, I live with my brother and sister in law. Things are great so I just need to see these things more clearly than the bad ones.

Do you guys ever feel like this? What do you do to lift the funk and remind yourself of how good you've got it?


Love and Hugs

Freeforall- Holiday Hangover

Whoa I'm hungover. My cousin and parents came over for dinner last night and we had a great time! Maybe too great of a time acutally because this morning I woke up shaky, tired and nauseous. It got me thinking about all the open houses and Christmas drinks coming up and how to handle it all.

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Joanna from A Cup of Jo reccomends eating a piece of burt toast and a big glass of water before you to go to bed to soak up the toxins. She also says massaging the reflexology point on your foot related to the liver helps too. Have you ever tried that before?

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Alicia from The Kind Life has a hangover tea she swears solves all your over-partying problems. It's got kukicha, an umeboshi plum and soya sauce in it. 

And then there's Gwyneth who advises a cold shower then sauna and bucket loads of green tea. I don't know about that I mean do I really have to build a sauna room to cope with my drinking? Geesh!

So please share my dear friends, what do you do to wake up feeling chipper and fresh after a long night of Holiday revelry?

Love and Hugs

Do- Community Theater

Are you guys big theater buffs or music or ballet or anykind of preforming arts? Well I am and to be honest I forget about it. Thanks goodness my Aunt Lyn is a theater actor and performs in about one play a year where I get to go and feel a part of the magic once again.

There is just something about live theatre that gets me everytime. I much MUCH prefer it to going to the cinema. And come on, check out the beautiful Victoria Hall above! Wouldn't you want to see a play there?

The production we went to see was called Revenge of the Three Little Pigs by Doug Wright. It was a charming story of fariy tale land and all the funny happenings and events that go awry when three little pigs take over the Kingdom. Fun right?!

My Aunt Lyn is the lady in the middle above. She expertly played the part of the evil Stepmother and it was as if the part was written just for her. She was truly hilarious, charismatic and stole the show to be honest. (No bias here I promise! ;))

What I love about Community Theater is all the work the actors and behind the scenes folks do to ensure it comes alive. They spend every single night at the Playhouse painting and practicing to make one 2 hour period of our life fun and unforgettable.

If you get the chance and are in the South Western Ontario region please check out the Petrolia Community Theater. They are putting on productions all the time and it's always a hoot! Support the arts my friends! Especially the small country ones!

What fun stuff are you going to see this Christmas season? A few years ago we went to see Handle's Messiah by the Toronto Symphony Orchestra and there is Tafelmusik going on up at the United Church on Bloor st. that is supposed to be amazing. Or what about The Nutcracker at the Rebbeca Cohn in Halifax? And what's going on in Paris? Or Boston?


Love and Hugs

Wear- Two Trends

Dear my stylish friends, muses and inspirations can you please help me with a small fashion emergency? Yesterday I did a little shopping and bought this pink silk oversized silk shirt at Joe Fresh. I really love it's floaty nature and rich colour.

I'm hoping to wear it with this great baubily necklace but that's where the ideas end. What the hell do I wear on the bottom of this outfit?

Same goes for this slouchy sweater and crystal necklace.

What do you suggest? Jeans? What fit and wash? I do have a black pencil skirt and a pair of cigarette pants? And what goes on my feet? Ahhhhhhh! Please help! I don't want these two lovelies to sit in my closet forever!

Love and Hugs

Taste- A Michelin starred restaurant

Have you ever been? I'm usually drawn to the cosy 10 table home style bistro to be honest. But when our 5 year anniversary rolled around in late September we decided to look for something a little more special and came up with the 1 star restaurant in Barbizon called Les Pléiades. 

We made the reservation 2 weeks in advance which is a little unheard of in France but we wanted to be sure. (Also asking the chef to throw together a completly vegetarian menu for me)

The restaurant is located in a gorgeous art hotel of the same name in Barbizon which is about a ten minute drive from our place in Fontainebleau.

Everything was spectacular. The service, the menus, the table setting and the music. But especially the wine. It was Château Haut Maurac Bellecour, Cru Bourgeois 1996. Both Vince and I can say we have never tasted a better bottle which is no small feat!

The cuisine is molecular. So everything we tasted was made to challenge the eye and tongue. The picture below is one of the many amuse-bouches that looked like a small shot class of beer and an egg yolk. Not so, it was ginger vodka cider and the 'yolk' was pineapple that was meant to be burst on your tongue at the same time as comsumming the cider.

Vince ordered his favourite, the Pigeon which was delivered to our table in a courier envelope of it's own!

The cheeses were hand selected from a fromagerie in Fontainebleau and you know we tried every one of those babies!

We had no room whatsoever for dessert but when the coffee came it was accompanied by home made marshmallows, pate de fruits, caramels and a few extra little sweet amause bouches to send us on our way.

We stayed for 3 hours. It was heavenly and unforgettable. I can't say we will be dining like this every day but if the occasion arrises well, why not!

Are you curtious about the Michelin star system? Have you ever been to a restaurant like this? Do you know if there are any in Toronto or Canada for that matter?



Love and Hugs

Be- Quiet

I need this more than ever this week. Just because people are enticing me into arguments doesn't mean I have to engage. I don't want to fight and so I won't.

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Because what other people say and think belongs to them not me. My heart is good and loving and I would like to keep it that way.

This is what I am struggling with being today. What about you? Please tell me I'm not alone.

Love and Hugs

Freeforall- First things first

Now that I am officially back in Canada to stay there are a few things I need to get done before I can really feel settled in.

1. Drink a lot of Clamato and Vodka, that's a no brainer.

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2. Eat more dill pickles and pickled beets than humanly possible.

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3. Head over to my local Shoppers for beauty products, hoisery, photo printing, drugs, magazines and more! Oh how I've missed you my sweet sweet Shoppers!

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And then I should be good. So if you're looking for me this weekend you know where to find me. I'll be hanging outside the Shoppers, drinking caesars with a large jar of pickled beets on hand!

What about you? What fun Canadian stuff are you guys up to this weekend?

Love and Hugs

Do- Get spooked at Père-Lachaise cemetery

Last Saturday Mom, Dad, Vince, Sunny and I drove into Paris for a day of sightseeing in the 19e-20e arrondissments of Paris including a stop at Père-Lachaise cemetery. And holy moly was that thing big. When we left Fontainebleau in the morning we had planned to see Jim Morrison, Oscar Wilde and Chopin. No big deal right?

Think again! We made it to pay out respects to Jim and that was it. I think either you come back over multiple visits like when visiting the Louvre or stop for drinks half way through.

This is Jim's grave. There were a lot of people hanging around taking pictures, smoking hash and writting on trees. Mom made friends of course!

Lots of the graves were like tiny chapels. Apparently many members from one family will all be buried in the same grave as time goes by.

We could have honestly stayed all day meandering through the small alleyways and avenues of the cemetery but it got dark quick and the grey foggy sky hanging over seemed to be closing in and asking us to leave.

So instead we headed to Le Baratin for dinner! And what a lovely dinner it was. Actually we don't have any pictures of it because we were just too busy enjoying it!

So there you have it my last Saturday in Paris for a while! We are back in Toronto now and looking for jobs. So the big question is, when are you coming for a visit?! ;)

Love and Hugs