You know how popular blogs often have contests where all you have to do is comment to win, except so many thousands of people enter you know you don't stand a chance?? Well a few weeks ago I saw a link on Liqurious for a similar contest Oh Gosh! was having to win some bitters and I thought 'Hey, why not, I dig the labels.' So I left a post and then forgot all about it.




Well...I won!

I never win anything! I've always considered myself a non-lucky person, but lately I seem to be a good-magnet. I have an awesome apartment in a great location, a fantastic perk-filled job lined up, an amazing guy and now some fancy limited edition imported bitters! A fully loaded bar, sick new wardrobe and tuition to Complections and my life would be complete.

Happy Birthday to my Baby!

The party was great! Everyone seemed to have a great time and we didn't get to bed until 5am. I completely forgot to go get new batteries for my camera so I'll post pictures when I get them off Denise.

For D's birthday dinner today I made turkey burgers with tomato jam, olives and feta off of Epicurious and I have to say that they were delicious, we ate them off those new flat buns Loblaws sells and they were just the perfect balance of everything. I even handled the raw meat with my own bare hands for the first time ever, which is a big deal for me. I don't know why but it just seemed less gross when it was all ground up, so now D can stop calling me a sissy.

Tomorrow is the big party and I've been busy prepping for it. D and I will most likely be hammertroned by the time guests even arrive, which usually ends up with me force feeding people like an Italian grandma. I'm sad Brandi can't make it because she is in stupid London all weekend but Denise is coming all the way just to see me and that makes me feel special. In fact, there's going to be a lot of people I haven't seen in a while (and only one I wish would stay that way) so it should be a great time.

Pictures for sure!

Brandi and I get into an elevator at Ikea with our giant cartload of stuff along with a lady in a wheelchair and her friend. Without even thinking, I say the following things:

'Oh my God I want to cut my legs off'

'My feet hurt so bad'

'I don't know how I'm going to walk home'

As soon as the last one leaves my mouth my brain remembers who I am sharing the elevator with. Luckily, the doors open and we are able to get out of earshot before Brandi breaks into such hysterical laughter she nearly stops breathing and has to throw herself face-down onto a display bed while no less then 10 people stare at us as we gasp for air.

I am an asshole.

Apparently you can hurt yourself by jacking the intensity all the way up on pedicure massage chairs. I feel as if someone has pounded my back with a meat mallet.

And I would totally do it again!

Guess what? Someone named me is no longer a jobless bum and has been generously given a practically new electric BBQ by some soon to be married friends who are leaving the city for their new house in Oakville. I'm going to eat nothing but veggie burgers and hot dogs from now until the end of summer.

Yesterday was pretty much the greatest Monday in existence...other then the one I was born on, of course.

Both the cameras died yesterday after trying to take a photo of the cannelloni which isn't a huge deal except that I was cursing the absence of batteries around here when the batch of bread dough I had stirred up actually blew the top off a sealed (but vented) Tupperware tub and was exploding out the sides. It most likely had something to do with all the wine I was drinking when I mixed it. Much like I wish I would be doing tonight at my pedicure appointment with Brandi--which would be a reality if we were going here...instead we are going to a place where they don't speak English but they are cheap and that counts for something!

No BBQ for me. D strongly discouraged me from going to get one today after I told them they were charcoal. He told me charcoal would be a very VERY bad idea and piss off the neighbours and make people think our building was on fire. So lame. Our neighbours have this fancy pants Weber that runs off those $4 propane canisters and that's why they get to have one. I could smell them cooking something delicious when I opened the balcony door and now I hate them.

So we are having Salad King tonight. Tasty, but not burgerlicious.

My brother did some snooping around the corner today and discovered our neighbours have a sweet ass BBQ. I'm thinking it's completely fair game now if we get one which is a good thing because Canadian Tire is having a sale on these adorable mini ones. I have been craving all sorts of smoky delicious meat and fake meat products like you wouldn't believe.

I'm thinking tomorrow might be some turkey burgers and if I'm feeling really sparky, homemade hamburger buns for dinner.

I agree with Cori about the awfulness of the heat wave. I left the apartment once and only once today, to pick my brother up from the bus station (as him and his friends are using me for free parking and safe-keeping of their things) and I thought I was going to die. I'm really starting to hate needing to shower every time I set foot outside the apartment.

Sizzling heat means no cooking, even if we do have air here. The oven is just too new and powerful!

Really, I think someone should just give me a job as a party/event planner because it's one of my favourite things to do. I love doing the cooking for parties and the decorating for parties and just generally showing off how awesome I am. I'm just really good at paying attention to detail, like using gold cupcake papers when I make Guinness cupcakes to match the harp or remembering to stick the toothpicks with the coloured stuff on the ends into appetizers so they are easier for people to eat. When it comes to parties, I kick some serious ass.

We've decided to just have our 'Come check out our new place/apartment warming' the same day as D's birthday since it seems ridiculous to have it after, when everyone will have already seen our place. Our building has a sweet party room with a pool table available for our convenience but I'm the only person who seems to think that is cool. Basically this year will be a repeat of last year only with mandatory coaster use, a smaller guest list (75 vs 200) and with a pre-warning to come hungry so that I don't have to shove appetizers down peoples throats. We have air conditioning this year too so I can make hot appetizers without turning the apartment into an sweaty oven of death.

Here's a list of things I am considering making so far:

Chocolate Cake (D's only request)
Stuffed Mushrooms
Spinach Dip
Meatballs (Because I have a slow cooker now and didn't get to make them last year)
Chipotle Deviled Eggs

And if I'm feeling up to it, a Croquembouche because I've been dying to make one but haven't had a reason to. French weddings, house parties...does it really matter?

I'm expecting this list to double because those were just the no-brainers. I've yet to finish ransacking my cookery shelf and scoping Epicurious for more ideas. What are your favourite party foods?

Labels: cooking, food, parties

Step 1. Go to Lush and purchase a 'Christmas Carol' Bath Fizz.

Step 2. Wrap Bath Fizz and Give to Enemy Friend

Step 3. Laugh. Hysterically.

Why Step 3 you say? Because inside that smiling little fairy are 900 million specks of glitter that don't appear until it's too late. Glitter that gets into places on your body you didn't even know you had and leaves a sparkling ring around your tub. Glitter that refuses to come off. Ever.

Labels: anger, awesome, ridiculous

I feel as if someone stuffed my head full of cotton balls, which may be partially true because my agency called today to find out where the hell I was--I apparently had an interview at 11am that I have no recollection of scheduling at all and therefore missed. Pissed doesn't even come close to describing how I feel about that one.

But what's done is done.

We didn't bother to make dinner tonight since I can't taste anything and neither of us was very hungry but D was insistent that I eat something since all I had was a glass of 2 juiced oranges and a carrot in an attempt to wake up my immune system. So I invented something, I added a sliced green onion to some leftover mashed potatoes, some jalapeño Havarti cheese and a whole lot of cayenne pepper, formed them into little cakes, breaded them and fried them. Then I made D try them to see if they were good because all I could taste was a little heat from the cayenne.

The verdict was tasty but needing a dipping sauce. When my taste buds start functioning again I'll recreate them and see if there are any improvements to be made and then maybe write an actual recipe. Until then I'm going to suck back the Neocitran and stay bundled up on the couch.

Labels: anger, work

Today was a lazy, lazy day, spent mostly on the neighbourhood patios people watching and drinking pitcher after pitcher. We visited a kitchen store though we only bought practical boring thing and breakfast was the only cooking I did. I made Pop Up Pancakes (or as I call them 'Puffy Pancakes') from Make and Takes, which I've had my eye on for a while now. I decided to half the recipe since there was only three of us and I'm not sure what I did wrong but they were almost impossible to get out of the pan even though I greased it like nobodies business. They were good though, a bit like mangled Yorkshire puddings once I ripped them out but I made a hot strawberry topping out of frozen strawberries and sugar to pour over them that was really yummy.

Other then that I managed to come down with a cold and get sunburnt at the same time as well as seriously consider stealing this guys 3 month old Boston Terrier puppy. It was gouge your own eyes out cute! Walking around with a puppy that cute should be illegal.

Labels: cooking, food

What's up with the new gothy layout at Tastespotting? They said no screwing around! They've done tons of screwing around! I think I just need to accept that my favourite site is a lost cause. Every time I visit they've done something that's made me go 'Blech.' But so far the black has been the worst, it really does an injustice to the photography.

Maybe I'm just being too cranky lately. Sitting around the apartment stinks, but trudging around in the heat is worse and job hunting is starting to feel like a circus. Also, the air conditioning died on Tuesday and has yet to be fixed. Boo.

If I'm lucky I will have something by Monday. Hopefully at the place that has cake day.

*Crossing my Fingers*

I'm so glad my mom came to visit me today. I feel like I've gained a little sanity back.

That and we finally have curtains!

It's amazing what a difference they make. No glaring sun in the morning, no creepy feeling that someone somewhere is watching you with binoculars while you sleep and no more looking like a blah concrete box.

Curtains make a difference!

I had planned to cook tonight but we were so exhausted from assembling the behemoth of an 'Expedit' cube shelf from Ikea, let alone getting it into the apartment--that my mom just offered to take us out for dinner. We really got spoiled today--which only makes me realize how much more I miss her.

The convenience store below our building is pretty much the magical shop of everything that ever was. I don't think there is a time we've gone down there and didn't find exactly what we were looking for. Toothpicks? Yup. Shower curtain hooks? Yup. Toilet plungers? Yup.

A HACK SAW?

YUP!

No word of a lie. We bought this shower organizer thing at Canadian Tire a few days ago, now we should have taken the hint when every box on the shelf was taped up with packing tape--but we got it anyway--of course, it was way too big for our shower and the instructions said to 'Just cut the pipe' if your shower was shorter then 7' 8"

Yea, right, I'll just whip my scissors out and take care of that cos who the hell owns a pipe cutter???

Anyways, D got sick of looking at it in the hall and started doing all sorts of man things to it like hammering it with a screw driver and what not. None of which worked and all which made it completely non-returnable. We headed down to 'The Bee' to pick up some groceries for dinner and D asked them if they had a hacksaw. The owner felt around on top of a messy dusty shelf and voila! - pulled down a hacksaw (for only $5.99!)

Seriously! EVERYTHING! Except curtains, we still don't have those and it's weird. But our shower is organized! That problem should be solved tomorrow though, my mom is coming to visit and to take me to Ikea to get the 101 million things we forgot.

Labels: ridiculous

I'm glad Christina won Hell's Kitchen, she pretty much kicked everyones ass the whole show. I don't even know why they brought Jenn back though, what a miserable bitch, obviously you are not the best chef or you wouldn't have been booted off. I'm kind of interested to see what this other Hell's Kitchen show is that they keep advertising, the one that Gordon Ramsey isn't on and where the contestants are a bunch of celebrities I've never heard of. Sounds like crap to me.

Today was the perfect day for the A/C in our building to break, and to find out our balconies get soaked and the windows leak when it rains. Hey Summer, how about you stop being an A-hole? It really sucks getting to job interviews after walking 900 blocks in the hot sticky sun wearing a business suit. Things that don't suck? Wearing sneakers with said suit and not having a single person look at you like you are insane. Or switching shoes with a pair of heels you have in your purse in the middle of the sidewalk before you enter a building. Nobody cares because THEY DO IT TOO!

I Heart Toronto.

All the walking around has me exhausted, sometimes I really miss having a car, but am pretty impressed with some of the distances I've done. Today was a little hectic and my stress level was near meltdown but then I got a fantastic gift delivered from my stepmom. She is the coolest!


It's an edible bouquet and it's not only totally gorgeous but absolutely delicious too! The strawberries are HUGE! I really wish I could have left it on display, but then I would have had a pile of yucky fruit and really, its better to eat it then to let that happen. Those chocolate dipped ones are h-e-a-v-e-n!

Labels: awesome, food

Finally, my first food post of the month! We're finally starting to get things straightened out around here and so tonight I decided to cook something fun so I could bust out the fancy dishes.




Servings: Serves 4

Ingredients:

4 skinless boneless chicken breast halves, sliced into strips
5 tablespoons vegetable oil
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1/2 teaspoon Tabasco sauce
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground pepper

1 large onion, sliced
1 large red bell pepper, cut into 3/4-inch-wide strips
1 large yellow or green bell pepper, cut into 3/4-inch-wide strips

8 6-inch diameter flour tortillas

Sour Cream
Lettuce
Salsa

Method:

Add first 8 ingredients to large freezer bag, close bag and knead to coat chicken with marinade. Refrigerate at least 30 minutes. Add peppers and onions to bag and and knead to coat with marinade just before cooking.

Preheat oven to 350°F. Wrap tortillas in foil. Heat in oven until warmed through, about 10 minutes. Turn oven off. Leave tortillas in oven.

Heat a heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Pour chicken, peppers and marinade from bag into skillet. Sauté until chicken is cooked through.

Serve with tortillas, sour cream, lettuce and salsa.

Labels: food, recipes

St. Lawrence Market is awesome! We only went for a quick look to see what it was all about but we did pick up some fresh pasta........which was insanely expensive! We were going to get some cannelloni, two types of pasta and this really amazing sauce, until they rang us through and it came to $36! I seriously almost dropped dead right there! I mean, they had given us a sample and it was good, but not $36 good! 6 cannelloni alone were $15! Needless to say we didn't get those and chose to downsized our sauce--which turned out to be $9 for a 2 cup container. It is fantastic sauce though, I don't know what it is called but my best guess would be that it is a combination of marinara, alfredo and pesto. It came layered and you stirred it all up when you reheated it and it was so delicious that I would probably go back and pay the $9 to have more.

There was also a huge kitchen supply store/labyrinth in the middle of the building that was just loaded with all sorts of cool things--like french rolling pins and ravioli molds--just stacks and stacks of everything you could possibly think of. We didn't stay around long because D hates going places without having a definitive purpose, whereas I am perfectly content to browse for hours on end. It's pretty safe to say I will be going back the next chance I get to stock up on all sorts of lovelies!

Two of my favourite people are coming by tonight which is great because I'm starting to feel a bit like Rapunzel with my puffer fish ankle. Flip flops and tile floors are not your friend.

Labels: food, shopping

I haven't gone exploring yet in our area yet because 1. I hate going places by myself and because 2. I am prone to getting lost, but on the drive up here I found out that we are only a few blocks north of the St Lawrence Market and I am absolutely dying to go check it out. (Cori pretty much has to come visit me now so we can go there and to Cheese Magic!) All we have in the fridge right now is eggs and beer. Gross beer that tastes like hot dogs according to D. This weekend is going to involve grocery shopping to the MAX!

So since this month is going to be the month of food, and I have a now have a kitchen that's all MINE for once, here are five things I want to make this month:

1. Homemade Pasta
2. Mayonnaise
3. Dulce De Leche
4. Cream Puffs/Choux pastry
5. Pizza Dough

We'll see what I actually get through.

I made it! I'm now a Toronto girl!

The new place is great, so much space we don't know what to do with it! Almost done unpacking, internet and cable are up and running, all that's left to do is to get a job!

We're going to see Ladytron play at Harbourfront tomorrow night, it's free and they are one of my favourite bands so it should be beyond awesome!

Labels: moving

I failed miserably at last months NaBloPoMo 'Home' theme. I tried, I really did, but I found it next to impossible to keep up seeing as I was preparing to move all month (which will all be over tomorrow!) This month is most likely to be just as hectic, but I just can't pass it up, reason being: This months theme is Food.

Food, as most people who know me well enough know, is pretty much my favourite topic of all time. I have four boxes strictly full of cookbooks and cooking magazines I couldn't bear to recycle, I get upset when the LCBO runs out of their Food & Drink magazine before I am able to get a copy and I cannot be left alone in the housewares department for any length of time in any store.

So even though I'm going to be busy getting life in order for the next 4 weeks, this one is going to be a breeze because if worse comes to worse...I'll just post a picture of dinner.

Labels: food, NaBloPoMo

The cottage was great, even if the weather was crappy all weekend. A little rain never stopped us from getting inebriated and burning the neighbours lawn ornaments though!

This year we were introduced to the brand new bar in the basement which we aptly named 'The Avalanche' and finally had some stairs installed so that the path down to the lake is no longer a death trap. Blow Darts and the Potato Cannon were out again in full force, Dave was no longer the newbie as he had been replaced by Maria's new boyfriend Chris, (who is so nice and a bartender to boot!) Lemon Drop martinis and Mojitos were one too many and only one person managed to fall into the lake.


If I could remember the rest I would tell you about it. I was hoping the pictures I took would jog my memory, but they only get weirder and more cut off as the night went on.