TBT: Florida 2010

Since everyone seems to be taking a trip somewhere warm lately (yes, I'm jealous) I thought I would post a Throw Back Thursday from my trip to Florida from 2010. It was around this time 3 years ago that I was in sunny Orlando, going Black Friday shopping (deals like no other), going to Blizzard Beach and Seaworld (AHHH-MAZING), buying my first pair of Cowboy boots (out of my comfort zone), trying indoor Skydiving (how many people can say you have tried that?) and my first visit to Clearwater Beach (so beautiful).

It was a vacation to remember because we did SO MUCH and had SUCH FUN going on all of these adventures. This trip was bitter-sweet because upon returning - and spending a TON of $$ - I found out that I was laid off from my job of 10 years, two weeks before Christmas no less. Ugh, was a punch to the stomach that was. It all worked out for the best and took my life in a new direction. Things have a way of working out when they seem hopeless at first. That is a lesson I learned well and this trip reminds me of that :-)

Here are some snaps from that trip, I wish I was there right now since we have 20cm of snow here in Ottawa.

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Fav Quotes

"Happiness is only real, when it is shared" - Into the Wild, film based on Christopher McCandless 

Randomness on a Tuesday

 Good Morning All! Hope everyone is having a wonderful Tuesday. This will be a very random post so my apologies but sometimes these posts are the most fun to write.

First we had some visitors stop by our pool the other day. A female and male duck appear every spring to take a dip, splash around and say hi to the dogs. You can only see the male in this picture but soon after I took this another male duck swooped in and there was a bit of a love triangle going on and the female flew away with male duck #2 to leave this little guy all alone. I know how you feel bro!

A friend of my Roomies dropped by a couple of weeks ago as he was in town for business and brought over this AMAZING rum called Kraken. It's spiced and sweet so if you don't like that type rum you will probably not enjoy this; I however LOVED it. I actually drank it straight over ice which I never do; it was that good.

For those of you wondering what a Kraken is, it's basically a huge mythical Octopus.

Very cool display of the Kraken Rum.

Photo source: www.retailhellunderground.com 

And more randomness with this picture of me ready to head out the door for another glorious day at work <insert sarcasm here> ;-)

Blouse: Ricki's (love this as it doesn't need to be ironed that much)

Belt: Le Chateau (very old)

Skirt: Ricki's which you have seen here

Bag: Coach, referenced here

Mother's Day Weekend

I hope everyone had a wonderful Mother's Day weekend and that all you Moms out there were spoiled rotten! I traveled to Kingston to spend the weekend with my Mom and we had a lovely long walk at Lemoine Point, a park/conservation area near Collins Bay. This is my Mom's favorite place in Kingston.

Again, I have to apologize for the quality of these pictures. They were taken with my very old iPhone so they aren't the best quality and no zoom available :-(

 We spotted a Geese family going for a dip. Can you see the babies?

 So cute!

 With it being Spring and all, there are tons of babies out and about. Here's a little baby lamb (or a kid I should say) bouncing around the rocks at Lemoine Farm. 

 Me and the Trilliums, Ontario's Provincial Flower.

 My Mom at her favorite place in the whole world!

Tranquility

I also took my Mom to Chez Piggy (look out for a Eat Here Before you Die Post on this place soon) for Sunday Brunch and had the most amazing Lobster Eggs Benedict! OH EMMM GEEEE it was sooo good. And unfortunately I forgot my phone in the car so no pictures of that. Booo! But I found this picture just randomly on the Web to give you an idea of how luscious this dish was.

This is basically what it looked like.....heavenly!

What did everyone do for Mother's Day?

Artichoke Bruschetta

Good Day! I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend.
It was my God Daughter's 1st Birthday Party this Sunday and today is her actual Birthday! There were about 30 people at her Birthday Party so it was a busy weekend cleaning the house, getting the backyard ready and cooking tons of yummy food. Some may think it is strange to have such an extravagant event for a 1 year old, but I see it as a good reason to get together with the people you care about to eat, drink and be merry! I can't believe that one year has past since she has been born, time really does go by so quickly.

I was asked to make Artichoke Bruschetta as an appetizer as it is ALWAYS a crowd pleaser. So I wanted to share this dish with you to try at home or to bring to your next Pot-Luck. Everyone loves these hot, dreamy Bruschetta bites and they are really easy to prepare so let's get to it!

You will need:

• 1 (6 1/2 ounce) jar marinated artichoke hearts, drained and chopped ** If you live in Canada, get the Artichoke Hearts from Costco, they are the BEST**
• 1 medium tomato, seeds removed and diced
• 1/2 cup grated romano cheese or 1/2 cup parmesan cheese
• 1/4 cup finely chopped red onion or you can use a couple Shallots for a different flavour
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed ** I use more, I like these garlicky (sp?) **
• 5 tablespoons mayonnaise ** Hellman's is the best **
• 1 French baguette, cut into 1/3 inch thick slices * * Slice these diagonally **

Directions:

1) Preheat the broiler.
2) Place the bread slices on a baking sheet and toast lightly under the broiler.
3) In a medium bowl, mix marinated artichoke hearts, Romano or Parmesan cheese, red onion, crushed garlic, diced tomato and mayonnaise.
4) Top the lightly toasted French baguette slices with equal amounts of the artichoke heart mixture being careful to spread the mixture over the entire surface.
5) The edges of the bread will tend to burn if not covered by the artichoke mixture. * this is important*
6) Arrange slices in a single layer on the baking sheet.
7) Broil in the preheated oven 2 minutes, or until toppings are bubbly and lightly browned.

You can view the recipe from Food.com HERE

Here are the decadent little bundles of heaven..... Also I will post more pictures of the event soon!

Dress I wore to the party, sorry for the poor quality. I bought this in the Turks & Caicos. So glad that the weather is warmer so I can wear it!

Eat Here Before You Die!

Hello and Happy Wednesday! This Eat Here Before You Die! post will feature a Sushi Restaurant from Montreal, Quebec.

I LOVE SUSHI....like love,  Love, LOVE it. I consider myself a bit of a Sushi snob when it comes to this Japanese cuisine. Being from Vancouver and eating superb Sushi freshly caught that day is a very hard standard to live up to. Most Sushi restaurants that I go to in Ontario are kinda meh!? Don't get me wrong, there are some great places to get your Sushi fix inland and I have had some really great Sushi all over Ontario. However once you have had the best of the best in Vancouver where the fish is fresh, the Chefs are world renowned and you have access to cutting edge flavor combinations for this creative delicacy, it's like comparing apples to oranges.

On a trip to Montreal several years ago with my old Roommate from University we were hankerin' for some Sushi and the Concierge recommended we go to Shodan, located on Metcalfe Street. From the moment we walked in, we were impressed. The decor was modern and stylish, funky house music was playing but at a volume where you can still talk comfortably. The staff were very friendly and like any good Sushi establishment, the Chef's assemble their dishes for all the restaurant to see.

The Chefs will prepare dishes that are off the menu, kind of like a see-what-you-get dish with your favorites as a starting point, if you wish. The fish is fresh tasting, the dishes are incredibly presented (it's like art) and the service was efficient and friendly. This is a great place to start your night out at before you hit the club scene or you can have a romantic dinner for two as well.

 The Pheonix

 Rose Maki

 Specialty dish. Yes that's watermelon you see there. You really never know what you will be surprised with!

 Beautifully modern, funky decor

 Martinis YUM!

 Me the first time I visited Shodan in 2008.

Me again the last time I was there in 2011. It's time to go back!

There is a wall of celebrities that have eaten there, including Ms. Britney Spears, back before she went off the rails :-)

Even if you don't really like Sushi or haven't tried it before, I really think you will enjoy eating here. Please, if you are in Montreal check this place out!

Neutrals

You have heard about my new obsession with Jessica Simpson jeans and how I love the way they fit. I had picked up a pair of the Jessica Simpson Forever Skinny Jeans in White and today being the gorgeous day that it was, I thought it was time to break them out of hiding! I love the look of white Pants or Capris  There is something so crisp and polished about a fresh whites, before I go spilling food all over them of course!

 Sorry for the lack of clothing brands! The top was purchased long ago in Virginia, cardigan was also bought long ago and I can't remember where. The Bracelet is from Ricki's and the Necklace is from Dynamite (love this, wear it all the time and get tons of compliments on it). 

 Down from above

Shoes: Aldo beige heels

Some Progress

I have mentioned before that I have been doing Weight Watchers since early January and I wanted to share a quick post of my progress with the hopes that it will inspire others to start/continue/contemplate a weight loss program of their choosing. Now first I must say that Weight Watchers has not sponsored this post or given me any compensation to endorse their program. I have participated in WW before a few years back and it worked so I chose to use it again. That's it, plain and simple.

Also I don't want to get into my struggles with weight, body image, self-esteem or anything about my "journey" to my goal weight. It's not that I don't want to share that with you.There are SO many of these stories out there, you've heard it a thousand times on Oprah or the Biggest Loser, Ricky Lake (haha, "Go Ricki!"), any magazine and countless blogs. I think we are saturated with the reasons why people choose to change their eating habits but it all comes down to one thing, the need to change. That's what it was for me and that's all there really is to it. 

So I have been slowly loosing weight and have been keeping it off for 3.5 months and I feel much better overall. Again I say I have slowly lost weight and I think this is part of the success and why I want to keep going. I do indulge now again with my favorite guilty foods and I do still drink alcohol from time to time. But now I plan for those splurges by eating better the rest of the time. Before, every day was a splurge!  I saw a commercial for WW the other day with Jennifer Hudson and she said something along the lines of that she has been successful with the program not because she doesn't indulge in her favorite foods, it's because she does indulge that she is successful (in moderation of course). 

Here is a before and after. I am not sure if you can really tell that I have lost weight but I am down 17 lbs so far. I am tall-ish 5"7, so I can gain and lose a few pounds without others really noticing; but I notice!

Before

This was taken right before Christmas 2012, when I saw this picture all I could think was "what the hell happened!"

After

This was taken Friday April 19th 2013. Now I know I am posing more to the side in this picture compared to the before but I still think it shows the progress I have made.

I should say that this weight loss is entirely diet driven. I have not done regular exercise this entire time. But I will begin to walk/run again as the weather is getting nicer. I am more of an outdoor activity person then a gym person. I took the dogs for a walk on Sunday and it was so fun! I will do that more often now as I have plateaued and I will need to burn more calories then I am taking in to get over that hump.

If you wish to share your thoughts on weight or struggles that you have had please leave a comment or send me a message. Just because I have chosen not to divulge my history with weight (I may at some point) doesn't mean I don't want to hear yours!

Style for Days

So last time for a Style for Days post, I featured a man with some serious swag. Again I am featuring a male celebrity that I personally think has a style all his own and oozes with confidence and sex appeal. I have seen him in several indie flicks but I really came to appreciate him looking HAWT in a little show called Boardwalk Empire. I love this show (airs on HBO) and I totally drooled for his character, the bad-ass tormented James "Jimmy" Darmody. But alas *SPOILER ALERT if you haven't seen this show and want to* he was killed off and I have missed seeing him in his gangster suits with a cigarette hanging from his mouth. The Style for Days pick for this post is Michael Pitt.

 Michael Pitt // Appearances: Academy Of Television Arts & Sciences Presents An Evening With Boardwalk Empire 

 

Source: michaelpitt.blogspot.com

 Source: selectism.com

Source: http://fuckingyeahmichaelpitt.tumblr.com/#

Source: theplace.ru 

Michael Pitt can look a little grungy, but sometimes I like a man to look like he doesn't give a F*$% and still be sexy. And what is so alluring about the "other" Mr. Pitt is that he does sloppy well and he also cleans up so beautifully when he puts a form fitting suit on. He is long and lean so clothes fit him well and with that hair slicked back and piercing gaze, you KNOW he means business.

I don't know why but I seem to be gravitating more towards how a man dresses rather than a women these days. Women have so many options that it can be easy to see what works and what doesn't for us. But for a man, they really have a casual jeans and t-shirt look (which I am not knocking) or they have a suit (I know I am really generalizing here). So when a man's style catches my eye, it must mean they are doing something right. So I am in Boardwalk Empire withdrawal and have been in Michael Pitt withdrawal for quite sometime but now I have this post to get my fix when needed! :) What do you think of my choice for this feature?

How I feel knowing today is FRIDAY!

I hope you all have a fantastic weekend!

See you on Monday oxoxoxox