Home Sweet Home

I've been back from my vacation for about a week now. I must say, it feels good to be home. Toronto and New York were amazing, don't get me wrong. It's just that nothing beats sleeping in my warm comfy bed with my sweet love Eric and my little Simon. That's home.

Here are a few of my favorite shots from Toronto. More to come from New York. The next time I go, I will be sure to bring a little piece of home with me.

Welcome to Toronto!

Today was fantastic! It is my first official day in the big city and so far, I am in love with it. Thank you Eric Ng for showing me around! 

First we had lunch at this delicious place called Starving Artist on Landsdowne Ave. Surrounded by beautiful little houses, this amazing gem specializes in the yummiest waffles. I had the "Starving 4 Vegan" - four mini vegan and gluten free waffles served with fruit salad and fresh mixed greens. The waffles were crisp on the outside, soft and moist on the inside, and they had a lovely hint of banana in them, which was really nice. They were not too sweet, and just perfect with a drizzle of syrup.

After brunch, we took the transit downtown to Eaton Centre and met up with our good friends, Eli and Leah, as well as their adorable 16 month old, Keiran. I hadn't seen either of them for at least a few years. And Keiran... it was my first time meeting the little guy and I am seriously in love with him. He is one of the most joyful and energetic babies I have ever seen. It's great seeing Eli and Leah so happy. Kieran is a very lucky boy to have such fantastic parents.

After our afternoon hangouts with the Kleins, we were headed towards Kensington, via Chinatown, which was great. The sidewalks were taken over by the overflow of the shops' offerings to the loads of people that walked on that strip. It gave me a slight sense of being in Hong Kong, just in a much smaller scale. Kensington was equally as wonderful. The narrow streets were sandwiched by the neatest shops and restaurants, and sprinkled with pedestrians. I managed to find my sister a little gift at one of shops, called Good Egg. Pretty excited about that! And then we treated ourselves to mini cupcakes from Miss Cora's Kitchen, which was a delightful treat. We walked around for a bit, just browsing, and then we decided to stop for some food at The Grilled Cheese. It was everything that I had hoped for. Simple concept, simple menu, tasty food. I had the "Dill-icous," which was truly delicious. Dill havarti, pesto, sun dried tomatoes, and onion. Nom! I even got the pickle I was hoping for when I saw their wall of pickled goods. It was all kinds of goodness in my belly.

When we left Kensington, we had some time to kill before heading to a show, so we headed for the BMV Books on Bloor Street. This place is packed with books and magazines... all three stories of it. I went up to the 3rd floor and grabbed myself a copy of Ghost World for $6.99. I wanted to get more but that would mean an extra 50lbs to my luggage when I go home, so I decided that buying anything more would be a bad idea. I plan on going back to Bloor and checking out the famous Honest Ed's!

We headed towards Queen Street for the show after BMV. Side note, I seriously can't wait to go back to Queen Street - so much shopping! We made it just in time to see Late July, Eric's friend's band. I really enjoyed them. It could be because of the girly lyrics, mostly about love... I am a huge sucker for love songs.

After the show, we started our walk back to Eric's place, but was sidetracked by Smoke's Poutinerie. I haven't had a poutine since I became vegetarian 8 years ago, so one of the things on my "to do" list was to have a really good veggie poutine. That was exactly what they had there. Eric and I shared the Veggie Deluxe Poutine, which had fried onions, mushrooms, and peas loaded on top of golden fries, veggie gravy, and cheese curds. It was very good... so very very good. 

Today was a good day. 

Final words - I ♥ TO.  

Fem Flower

Today, I started and finished a cross stitch project for a very good friend of mine. She recently moved into her very own apartment, so I thought a little something to put on her wall would be an appropriate house warming gift. Cross stitching is definitely a productive way to kill time when you're full of germs and sitting at home from work. Here is what I made for her. I found the pattern online, and changed a few things to make it my own. I hope she loves it!

Thank You Friends

I had a really really great birthday weekend. One of the best!

Thank you to all of my cousins who came out to have a wonderful meal with me. You are my bestest friends.

Thank you to my beautiful Mother for driving to the city and being here on my day. You are everything that I want to be. 

Thank you to all of my friends who made me mixtapes and cds, came out for drinks and hangouts, and sent me messages and birthday wishes. I am truly blown away and I feel totally blessed and so very grateful. You guys are seriously the greatest people in the world.

Thank you to my Eric, my love, for being the most amazing companion and understanding friend I have ever known. I love you very much. 

I feel like the luckiest girl in the world... I AM the luckiest girl in the world. Thank you!

A few highlights from that night...

Fresh organic veggies from Amy's garden.

Me with a couple beards!

Ryan showing off his flat head.

Birthday note from my Mommy.

Happy Birthday To Me!!!

Today, I am 26 years old. I feel pretty good about it. As a teenager, the number 26 has always been my favorite number. It's awfully embarrassing, but this is why...

The boy that I was in love with from grade 4 to grade 9 had the initials, CM. C is the number 2 on the telephone keypad, and M is the number 6. I was a pretty huge dork. I still am because that number has stuck with me into adulthood. It is still my favorite number.

Last night, I got three more birthday mixtapes from three amazing and wonderful friends. Actual cassette tapes! I am so pumped! When they handed me the tapes across the table, I was so touched and surprised - my heart bursted with love. Mark, James, and Steve... you guys are too sweet to me. Thank you so much!

I also attended the Sonic Boom Festival last night. I was there to see City and Colour - which I love. And of course, the one and only, WEEZER!!! A little back story for you... as a girl, I did not listen to western music. I was all about the Hong Kong pop stars that my parents listened to and I had no idea anything else existed besides that. As I got a little older, I think when I was about 10 or 11, I was slowly introduced to bands like Nirvana, Silverchair, and No Doubt. I did not own any of their records. My parents never really had the money for me to blow on stuff like that, so I would watch MuchMusic all the time, hoping that some of my favorite videos would come on. I usually had the VCR ready to press record. I wish I still had some of those tapes.

Anyways, I had a birthday party, I think I was turning 12 or something like that, and one of the gifts were a gift certificate to the local CD shop in Peace River, where I grew up. I don't think I even hesitated or stressed over what I was going to get with that gift certificate. I brought it to the shop, picked up Weezer's Blue Album, and I went home a happy girl. 

They blew my mind with every single song that they played last night, even the newer ones that I was on the fence about. Rivers' stage presence and energy was just so amazing... I think I have a small crush on him now that I've seen him perform live. They played a good balance of old and new, but it was when they did Say It Ain't So, that was when I was the most pumped and oh so happy. That was one of my favorite songs as a teenager, and it was definitely one that stuck with me all these years. There is a very special place in my heart for this band. I can't wait to see them again! 

Marcel The Shell With Shoes On

I love this video... I love it so much! It makes my heart smile. I could watch this video for days!

MARCEL THE SHELL WITH SHOES ON from Dean Fleischer-Camp on Vimeo

I ♥ Lady Gaga

Tonight was a good night. I had the best Soy Latte ever - Thank You Transcend - while hanging out with my best pal, Max, went to Chapters and purchased two new graphic novels and a brand new daytimer, and I also picked up the September issue of Vanity Fair - Lady Gaga on the cover. I love Lady Gaga.

Now, I don't usually buy Vanity Fair, or any magazine for that matter, but this one I felt I had to have. After seeing her in concert last week, Lady Gaga has become so much more than just an entertainer to me. Yes, she is an incredible artist and puts on an amazing show, but what most people don't understand is that she is also a very inspiring, well spoken, and intelligent woman. She believes in self expression, freedom to do and say what you feel inside, and she encourages self love and self acceptance. Be free, be who you want to be, and don't let anyone tell you that you're not good enough or that you can't. "Don't leave here loving me more, leave here loving yourself more..." I went home that night feeling empowered, happy, and free. That is what Lady Gaga did to me, and she entertains so that all of her fans can feel that way too.

Birthday Mix CD - Volume One

I got my first Birthday Mix CD today!!! YEEHAAW!!! I am super excited and really really happy about it. Thank you to my good friend Tony Bao for this wonderful gift. The awesome cover and the little kitty on the back made my day. Here is the track list from his mix:

1. Ceremony - New Order

2. Airbag - Radiohead

3. Only Shallow - My Bloody Valentine

4. Rock n' Roll Star - Oasis

5. Pump it Up - Elvis Costello

6. This Charmless Man - The Smiths

7. Come Together - The Beatles

8. Love Will Tear Us Apart - Joy Division

9. The Electric Co. - U2

10. Message in a Bottle - The Police

11. Serve the Servants - Nirvana

12. Rusty Cage - Soundgarden

13. Geek U.S.A. - Smashing Pumpkins

14. Debaser - The Pixies

15. New Sensation - INXS

16. Clocks - Coldplay

17. In the Sun - She & Him

18. Pictures of You - The Cure

19. Last Goodbye - Jeff Buckley

Cross Stitching

Something that people don't know about me is that I love to cross stitch. I love seeing the images and ideas in my head come to life, one stitch at a time. I've been working on a pretty major project for a good friend who recently moved away. It is slowly coming together, and I can't wait to see it complete. Below is something that I made for my boyfriend for Valentine's Day. I got the idea from another piece that I saw on the internet, and then modified it to make it our own. It took a total of about 24 hours and a whole lot of love to complete... and he loved it. The little gray kitty that you see is Graysie. She belongs to Taylor, Eric's old roommate. We love Graysie.

xoxo

PacMan Cutting Board

When I have my own home, I am going to fill it with amazing things like this! Someone please get it for my birthday. PRETTY PLEASE!!!

http://www.etsy.com/listing/45818490/pacman-cutting-board-with-blinky-or

Blogs

I am pretty new to this whole blog game. I'm not the most internet saavy person, so the steps have been small and slow. I am, however, learning how to do everything - from posting to editing, putting up photos to videos (which I learned from my good friend Dan). I feel my blogging skills have sprouted from its baby stages to its early toddler stages. I am so proud! Check out my friend, Jordan's, blog - he is definitely in the mature stages of this game. He writes about very interesting and educational topics. Way to go, smarty-pants!

Click here! http://jordallan.wordpress.com/

Baby Shower Menu

I haven't written too much about food and cooking/baking on here yet - which is crazy because my brain is constantly consumed with thoughts of those things. I love to cook, I love to bake, and I love to eat. Growing up in the restaurant business, I was always surrounded by tasty and delicious things. I loved spending time in the kitchen and watching my parents and learning from them. I jumped in to help at any chance that I got. I continued my education in food when I took one year of Culinary Arts in college. I didn't go back for the second year because I realized I did not want to be a fancy gourmet Chef. I just want to cook and bake and share my passion of food and love with my friends, family, and people who share these same passions. I hope to be like my parents someday - small business owners with love and passion for the food that they make and love for the people that they make it for.

Anyways - this weekend my sister is hosting a Baby Shower for my cousin, Christina. The theme is "Your Favourite Childhood Storybook," which is very fitting for the mom-to-be. She is having a little baby girl, which I am very excited about. I will be providing the food for this wonderful event, so I thought I would share the menu with you. Nothing too crazy, just tasty finger foods for an afternoon shower.

Curried Red Lentil Dip
Hummus
Pita Chips
Zebra Tomato, Avocado, & Red Onion Salad with Balsamic Vinaigrette
Egg Salad in Mini Poppadoms
Oreo Truffles
Mini Vanilla Cupcakes with Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting
Chocolate Puddle Cookies
Blueberry Cobbler

YUMMY!!! Can't wait to cook!!!

Chris Cornell - Black Hole Sun

I am in love with the acoustic version of this song.

Camping Weekend

I love camping... I think it comes from my small town roots. There is something about the smell of campfire on an dirty old sweatshirt that makes me feel comforted and happy. As a teenager, many weekends were spent camping with my friends and drinking around the fire. We grew closer to each other as we shared stories, laughter, and tears. Those are still some of my best memories. This past weekend, three of my best girlfriends and I went on a little trip to Lake Wabamun, just outside of Edmonton. It was like we were in High School again... laughing, crying, and sharing stories about everything and anything. We've been through so much, as individuals and as friends. They inspire me to be a better person and to try my hardest at everything. I love them with all my heart and soul.

Neutered Simon

Simon got neutered today. I was extremely worried about the surgery - which went well - and now I am super paranoid about him over exerting or hurting himself when he's running up and down the stairs. He's is not allowed to play nor jump for a week, which is impossible for a kitten, and I have to make sure he doesn't lick the incision site, which is on his freshly shaved balls. My poor little guy... I hope he gets well soon.

Happy Feet

I ordered two new pairs of TOMS today. These are definitely my favorite brand of footwear next to Vans. They are comfortable, adorable, and with every pair that you purchase, another pair is donated to a child in need. What an amazing concept and a wonderful and simple way to give back to your fellow man. These are the ones that I'm waiting for in the mail.

Mixtape, My Love

My birthday is slowly approaching - September 5th, to be exact - and I have been pondering this idea and hoping that you will help make this wish a reality. I did this once before a couple years ago after my Dad passed away... I felt I needed inspiration and encouragement, and the only way I felt that was possible was through music. I can honestly say that I am in a much better state of mind than I was two years ago, however, I still have plenty of room to learn and to grow. I know my life has not reached its full potential and I am no where near where I want to be. This is where you come in, my lovelies.

I am a true believer in signs - the universe is telling you something, and you need to follow your heart until you find out what it is. I know, how cheesy. But seriously... these past couple weeks, it seems like everything I do, every book that I pick up or article that I read, any video that I watch... somewhere in there is the mixtape. My mind is all about mixtapes. I've got a fever, and the only prescription are more mixtapes. I felt I need to cure this hunger and make my birthday wish come true.

For my birthday, I wish that you, my friends, would make me a mixtape. They can be songs that make you laugh, songs that make you cry, songs that make you smile. Or they can be songs that you listened to as a teenager, songs that remind you of me, songs that remind you of you. There are no limits, no preferences, it's all just about love, music, and friendship. I will listen to these mixtapes and think about you, your life, and how you have touched mine.

My friends are a huge part of who I am. My closest friends are like my family and know me better than anyone else out there. Without my friends, I would not exist as I am today. Thank you to those of you who've sent me mixtapes - or mix cds - in the past. I still listen to them, with you in mind, and I appreciate every thought that went into the songs that were chosen.

Thank You Folk Fest

Monday night after Folk Fest... I have the post Folk Fest blues. I couldn't have asked for a better weekend. Sometimes I forget how lucky I am to be living in the city that hosts the best Folk Music Festival in Canada. This weekend, all my memories came back to me... and it was shared with my best friends and my most amazing boyfriend. At the top of the hill, we are a part of a colourful quilt of tarps and festival chairs, scattered side by side in no particular order. At the bottom of the hill, I catch the overwhelming beauty and mass of that colourful quilt. It is unique, it is organic, it is special. When the sun begins to set, the candles light up, one by one, like the stars coming out for the night. This sea of candles is an image that I hope to see again and again, every single year to come. Thank you, Edmonton Folk Music Festival.

www.efmf.ab.ca

Ben Harper

Ben Harper last night at the Folk Fest was absolutely amazing. Not only is he a phenomenal artist and musician, he is a really nice guy... so sincere and humble. He started with Fight Outta You, followed by Diamond on the Inside, which nearly brought me to tears. Every song that followed was equally as powerful... I didn't want the night to end.

Photograph by: Ed Kaiser, The Edmonton Journal

Folk Music Festival

Just a couple more hours until I head down to Folk Fest for the night. I am super excited to be surrounded by friends, nature, and music. If you haven't been to Gallagher Park, I highly recommend you stop by on your next walk or bike ride. It is absolutely the most beautiful place to be in the city with the most amazing view of the city's skyline. Here is a shot of Eric and I last year while we were watching Iron & Wine. Absolutely beautiful.

Photo taken by my friend: Tony Bao

Summer

I can't believe it's already August! Where did my summer go? I have been so busy with work, I feel like I've exhausted myself from enjoying the summer. Hopefully I get in my fair share of summer sun at the Folk Music Festival - August 5th-8th. In the meantime, here are some photos from the summer of '09 that make me smile.

Simon

Born February 23rd, 2010... Simon rules my heart.

Girlfriends

First post. I figured I better make this a good one. Tonight I had a coffee date with a few of my closest and dearest friends. Opportunities like this happens once every so often... sometimes it's tough to find a time that works for everyone. The wonderful thing is that we always pick up where we left off. It doesn't matter how long it's been since the last time we spent together, in what combination we are in, or how long we have to laugh and chat... we always make it count. We're pretty easy to pick out of a busy coffeehouse - just follow the laughter and you will find us there. I always leave our date inspired, delighted, and encouraged to do something amazing with my life. Each and every one of them has taught me so much about life, love, and friendship. They are all such talented, smart, and beautiful women... I feel very blessed to have them in my life.

This photo was taken at Amy and Mike's wedding on July 21st, 2007 in Peace River, AB.