Papanak Zoo

Good Morning and Happy Monday Everyone!

I hope that you all had a wonderful weekend. I took my first trip to Papanak Zoo located in Wendover, Ontario this past Saturday and it was so fun! We had the perfect weather, sunny but not super hot, to walk around the outdoor zoo and see all kinds of exotic creatures from Wild Boars to Zebras.

 Beautiful picture of a bald eagle in the background and a huge spiderweb in the foreground

 The bear waved hello!

 Bosley, the crazy Baboon!

 Here's the lion getting his lunch on, those are chicken feet sticking out of his mouth BTW.

 The Bear and I

 Posing with the Deer

Having a Donkey lick your hand is a weird sensation! 

Romper: Milk Shop (new!), located in the Market downtown Ottawa

Belt: Suzy Sheir (came with a dress)

Shoes: Clark's (very old and normally wouldn't be my choice of foot ware but we were doing a lot of walking on uneven terrain so practicality won!)

I sadly feel Summer coming to a close and though I really love Fall and how beautiful it is, it also means Winter is right around the corner. I am so NOT a Winter lover, very un-Canadian of me but I gotta keep it real!

To go along with the remaining days of Summer, this song is really fitting:

I have really enjoyed my Summer and I will be doing a re-cap over Labor Day Weekend!

Did anyone do anything new and different this Summer?

A Perfect Summer's Eve

My Roomies and I partook in a local fair at the Rideau Carleton Raceway on a beautiful August evening. This was very "Summer" for me as it took me back to going to fairs as a kid and the evening was warm with a soft hazy light that was something out of a novel. Some of the above pics have a filter applied but the third from the top doesn't and you can see what the light was like.

It was so nostalgic seeing that the same rides and games are still kicking from 20 years ago and it was nice to see families out and about enjoying some good old fashion fun. I don't know how often I see families while I am out and they are all starting at their smart phones rather than interacting with each other; kinda sad but it's the world we live in now I guess. Events that bring us back down to earth like this fair (I hope) will never fade away as they are needed now more than ever!

On a side note I know that I have been seriously slacking with my posts as of late. This is mostly due to some changes in the settings of our work computers that is inhibiting my ability to upload  and edit photos. But I have some pictures stock piled and will take more of some clothing purchases I have made, one of which is a jumper (or are they called a romper?) which is something I never thought I would buy.

Hope you are all enjoying these last days of Summer!

A Quick Out-the-Door Outfit for Summer

Yesterday I recapped my weekend of lazy sunbathing, a trip to the salon to get my hair did and a dinner out to Moxie's. I wanted to post my super easy and very affordable look that I threw on to go to the Spa where I get my hair cut and highlighted about every 9 weeks.

As we had incredibly HAWT weather in Ottawa this past weekend, most of my time was spent laying by the pool. To head to my hair appointment I wanted something comfortable and easy to wear so I turned to a bright yellow tank that I picked up at Wal-Mart a few weeks ago and my black Target skirt. To add a bit of style and interest I threw on a bracelet and some necklaces. Paired with some basic Flip Flops and VOILA! A super comfy and stylish outfit that cost a total of $48 all together, jewelry included though the bracelet was a gift so that was omitted from the price.

Top: Wal-Mart $8

Skirt: Target $12

Flip Flops: Fairweather $10 (on sale)

Necklaces: Ricki's ($10) & Dynamite ($8)

Bracelet: Unknown

Summer is Finally Here!

I know some of you may not agree with this but I LOVE this heat! I long for these types of hot humid days in the dead of winter when I am scrapping off my car, swearing all the while :)

I don't have too much to post about as the majority of the weekend I did this.....

LOL!

I did manage to peel myself away from sunbathing to go out for drinks and dinner with some girlfriends on Sunday evening. We headed to Moxie's in Orleans to celebrate a birthday. Moxie's is a chain restaurant in Canada that offers a chic funky atmosphere and a variety of apps and main dishes to choose from. It's a great place to go to for after work drinks.

 I will have to say I wasn't totally pleased with this visit to Moxie's. I get it.... people (men especially) don't really go there for the food. The waitresses are all gorgeous and that's the main attraction so you should know that going in. We had to send an entree back (burnt) and some wine (musky tasting) so that was a disappointment.

Even so, my meal was pretty decent. I ordered off their Summer Menu and got the Linguine Arrabiata With Pancetta & Lemon Mascarpone. The chorizo sausage added spice and the tomato-lemon undertone was a nice flavor. Mixing in the mascarpone made the dish creamy but still light tasting. Overall, about a 7 out of 10, I can make better pasta at home ;-)

Photo source: www.moxies.ca

I wanted something light to wear as it was so hot, too hot to sit outside even. So I went for this dress that I first wore on my trip to Prince Edward County. It's easy to throw on and very light. I had my hair cut & highlighted on the weekend so it was straight, which was hard to maintain with this humidity!

Dress: Vero Moda

Shoes: Aerosoles, seen here

Clutch: Le Chateau

Sunglasses: Coach

Necklace: Dynamite (seen too many times to mention!)

Overall, it was a pretty relaxing lazy Summer weekend. What did you get up to this weekend, how did you beat this heat? Would love to hear from you!

Love,

MelMac oxoxoxox

Neon and....Scallops?

Hi All! Kind of a weird Blog Title today but I didn't really know how else to summarize today's post :-)

So last night I made dinner for my Roomie and I wanted to share the recipe with you as it is tasty, received raved reviews and best of all, it's good for you!

This was originally a Weight Watcher's recipe that I tweaked a little but it is still Low-Cal so not to worry. If you like scallops you will love how these Pan Fried Spiced Scallops turn out.

What you'll need:

1 Bag of Scallops - Spend the money and buy the big fresh ones. For frozen, I think you can't beat Costco.
1/2 Tbsp Cumin
1 Tbsp Onion Powder
1/2 Tbsp Paprika
1 Tbsp Cajun Seasoning
1 tsp Crushed Red Pepper Flakes (optional)
2 Tbsp Bread Crumbs (they can be Italian)
1/2 tsp Salt (sea salt is best but you don't need to use it)
1 Tbsp Olive Oil
1 tsp butter

What you'll do:

1) Take your defrosted scallops and pat them dry with a paper towel.
2) In a small bowl combine all of the spices and breadcrumbs, EXCEPT for the salt and place them on a small plate.
3) Take one of the scallops and gently roll it around in the spice/breadcrumb mixture until completely coated. Place coated scallop on a separate plate. Repeat this step with all of your remaining scallops.
4) On Med to Med-High heat, heat a non stick pan on your stove. Pour the Olive Oil and butter onto the pan and let the butter melt.
5) Place the scallops into the pan making sure not the crowd them. You may need to do two batches depending on how many scallops you have and the size of your pan.  If you place too many scallops in the pan they will not brown! Also do not touch the scallops once they are in the pan or that will cause them to steam rather than get crispy on the bottom.Check the heat and turn down if there's too much smoke.
6) After about 2 mins, peak at the bottom of your scallops, they should be golden brown. Flip all of the scallops in the pan to cook the other side for another minute or so.
7) Once the other sides are golden brown, remove scallops from the pan and place on a clean plate.
8) Sprinkle the salt over the scallops while they are steaming hot and enjoy!

We served the scallops with a favorite salad mixture called 7 Super Foods and a Wasabi Sour Cream sauce on the side. For the side sauce all you do is take about a 3/4 cup low fat or non-fat sour cream and mix in wasabi powder to taste -- add a little at a time and taste before you add more. If you dump a bunch of the powder in at once, WOOOOOOWWWEEEEE!

Here's the finished product! It's a light meal with BIG flavor; perfect for the Summer. You can also serve these golden little medallions of scallop heaven in a tortilla with the Wasabi Sour Cream sauce drizzled on top. With a nice glass of Pinot Grigio ....so YUM!

Here's a look at today's outfit and a Top that I picked up at...you guessed it, Wal-Mart!

 Top: American Apparel, shown here

Skirt: (New) Wal-Mart for $8 and they still have some in stock!

Flip-Flops: Fairweather, shown here

Look down from above

This is a top I picked up at Wal-Mart. I think it will look cute with some skinny jeans or a pencil skirt.

Wishing you all a wonderful weekend!

Love,

Melmac oxoxoxox

Canada Day Fun

Here's peak at what my Canada Day was like. For those of you not residing in Canada, click here for more info about our Nation's Birthday!

 Baby Yoga anyone?

 Woot Woot! Hands in the air, wave'em like you just don't care!

 Fire pit that was put in last year. Yes, I am a very lucky girl to live here. 

 Busting out some Canada Day moves!

 Hat was $2 and bathing suit cover-up $12 at Giant Tiger, what a bargain.

Again, so fortunate!

I am so disappointed that I didn't get any pics of the food but that's because it was gone as soon as it was served! 

I hope everyone had a safe and happy holiday!

Love,

Melmac xoxoxoxox

Wally-Mart

Made a quick trek to Wal-Mart today to get myself out of the office so here's a quick recap of what I picked up.

Here we go!

I have been looking for a nice pearlized pink nail polish and they are hard to find; probably because they stopped making them in the 80's LOL. But I like the color on my nails, it's easy to wear and if it chips it's not as noticeable as red would be. I found this colour from Revlon which is pretty close to what I was looking for.

I found a great tip on a fellow blogger's site, Spiffy Kirms. She keeps these Simple Face Wipes in her bedside table on nights that she's too "lazy" to wash her face. She is super fit so I can't imagine her lazy is the same as my lazy :-) I really try to wash my face and apply good moisturizer every night but sometimes, I just can bring myself to do it. It is really important to wash your face to remove all of the dirt and oil to prevent breakouts. Also applying a good moisturizer will help keep your skin looking fresh and aids in cell regeneration during the night while you sleep.

 Tried on this ruffled skirt and this neon sweat shirt thinking it would go well together.  It's hard to tell in this picture but there is a neon fleck in the skirt pattern (see close up below). I didn't love this look so I only got the skirt ($14) which I have a cute outfit idea for. I am not 100% sure it will work but stay tuned to see!

Meh...

Close up!

Work outfit, remember me?

I also picked up a neon skirt that I might wear tomorrow.

 Tomorrow is last workday before a long weekend in Canada. It's Canada Day on Monday where we celebrate our joining of the British North American Colonies into a federation. Basically it's Canada's Birthday!

I hope you all had a fantastic Thursday!

A Wine Tour in Prince Edward County - Part 1

Since I have lived in Ontario (moved here when I was 12), in the Summer a must go to trip would be to Prince Edward County, more specifically Picton, to lie on the beach or camp in Sandbanks Provincial Park. When I was young this was a favorite spot of mine, the beach has nearly white sand, there are gorgeous sand dunes to explore and it really is the only nice beach of this size in the immediate area. It is located in beautiful Prince Edward County where B&B's, 30+ wineries and amazing restaurants are a way of life. Things just seem more laid back when you are in "the county" and the landscape is totally serene with idyllic homes and cottages peppering the vast farmer's fields.

This weekend I was lucky enough to travel to the county with four girlfriends that I have known since Elementary School. We all met up in Bloomfield and stayed at this super cute and affordable Inn called Angeline's. It is a combination of a motel with affordable yet really contemporary rooms, a cottage with more upscale suites and an Inn with more rooms furnished with antiques acquired from the area. We stayed in the motel and it was really fun! We had side-by-side rooms so we could just sit outside of the rooms at a patio table and chill out with a drink, watching the comings and goings of the visitors to PEC.

 Angeline's Motel. I didn't get a picture of the inside of our Room but there are pictures available on the website.

Right across the way, the entrance to the Hubb

We arrived on Friday evening and went for a meal at Angeline's restaurant called the Hubb. I can tell you have eaten in countless restaurants this was one of the BEST dinning experiences I have had.

 This is the Hubb Burger. It had fois grais and bacon jam along with locally made cheese. There is some grainy mustard and homemade ketchup on the side with some potatoes. TO. DIE. FOR!

Double Trouble? Count me in! Note: this was my friend's beer. I wouldn't dare order a beer in Wine Country!

In the morning we went into the town of Picton and did some shopping. I didn't buy anything but scouted out some possible online purchases. Hopefully more on that to come! Our wine tour didn't start until 1PM so we grabbed some lunch at Buddha Dog. This is an eat here before you die experience for sure. Locally raised beef to create hot dogs that look more like pepperettes (that's what happens without all the fillers and nitrates), combined with sauces made from ingredients all grown in the County. The map behind the counter you see here is drawn in chalk and shows where they get their ingredients from. I love that!

 Getting our dogs ready!

Sample flight that was put together by the Ladies of Buddha Dog. All had sauces that ranged from Sweet to Savory to Spicy. They were so unique and delicious.

On to the Wine Tour! We loaded up in a van and began the tour lead by our super sweet and knowledgeable driver, Murial. I'm sorry that I didn't get a picture of her now #fail. Our first stop was Huff Estates which I have visited before and stayed at their Inn a few years ago.

 My friends, Kelly and Denise outside of Huff. What do you think of Denise's sunglasses? Retro much?

 The vineyard at Huff's. They bury all of the vines in the ground for the Winter otherwise they would all be destroyed. That would be a big job considering the size of the vineyard.

Next we visited Sugarbush Vineyards, one of the smaller wineries but they produced some very unique blends. Robert Peck, one of the owners/operators was a very generous pourer. A quality that instantly endeared me to him. He also works 40 hours as an Engineer and said that he puts in MORE than 40 hours/week with the winery! But he's living the dream and is good at at what he does.

 Robert Peck. 

These are soon to be Sugarbush vines that were imported from Europe. They have wax covering them to protect from diseases that they can carry that aren't present in North America. They are soaking in water for 10 days to prepare them for planting.

On to what was my favorite winery of the tour, probably because they provided a pairing of food with every tasting, of which we had nine. This is Karlo Estates, located in an old barn that has been converted into a tasting area and restaurant . This was such a beautiful space to relax and enjoy all of the pairing of whites and reds. We weren't rushed through and took our time enjoying a wide variety of Whites, Roses, Reds and Ports. Every morsel of meats, cheese, olives and even potato chips paired beautifully with the wine and really brought out the best flavors. They are known for their excellent Ports and I picked one of the red ports up which I never thought I would buy but it was insanely good. I can't wait to enjoy it on a warm Summer evening.

Our tasting guide cutting up one the pairings for a Red, spicy sausage.

Inside the tasting area.

Here is a cute collage that Denise texted me last night of our trip. There weren't many picture of me that I liked so I didn't post any. But is collage is such a cute recap of our Weekend Getaway.

My apologies for the lengthy post, and this is only post 1 of 2 or maybe 3! I hope you enjoy peeking at our wine tour and if you need a relaxing weekend of wine, food and overall indulgence, I HIGHLY recommend Prince Edward County! Stay tuned for more!

Sunday Funday!

Gooooood Morning! I hope everyone had a super weekend. Here in Ottawa, Saturday was a really grey, gloomy, muggy day (which I loath) but Sunday had glorious weather! I may be the only one but my weekends are normally split into a fun Saturday and Sunday is either lazy or dedicated to getting stuff done like laundry, cleaning, errands etc... But this weekend it was reversed! I had a great Sunday where I got up and went for a really long walk through some paths near my home which I haven't done in forever. It was bright, sunny but not unbearably hot with not too many bugs. I had my music going to keep me motivated to keep on walking and I really felt like I was able to get a lot of pent up stress out of my system. After the walk I felt refreshed, a little sore and mentally I was more at peace then I have felt in a while. I didn't realize how much I needed that outdoor activity.

After my walk, I was lucky enough to lay by the pool to catch some rays and managed to clean the pool cleaner and do a sweep with the bug net; which gave me a feeling of accomplishment for the day!

In the evening, my Rommie and I met some of her girlfriends for some drinks and a bite at Milestones restaurant here in Ottawa. I LOVE Caesar's so I downed a couple of those before dinner and had a glass of Malbec with my meal, which was Portobello Mushroom Chicken. SO YUM!

I didn't get a picture of the actual meal so this is courtesy of Sherman's Food Adventures. 

 This is what I wore out to dinner, yes that's the same Coach purse in Purple, seen here and here! If you find a clothing piece or accessory that you LOVE and comes in different colors, always buy at least two!

 Top: Joe Fresh, seen here.

Skirt: Giant Tiger, yep I swear it! It's just a basic black skirt but it works in several different outfit choices and it's comfy!

Necklace: Old, can't remember where I bought it.

Bracelets: Both from Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. If you ever travel to Mexico, pick up some silver jewelry there. It's reasonably priced and the pieces are beautiful.

Shoes (seen above): Novellino in Kingston, Ontario