What I'm drinking this week

This is my Starbucks beverage this week:

That's a decaf, sugar-free vanilla, non-fat, extra-hot, Americano Misto.
It's definitely a mouthful!

I feel embarrassed ordering it, and then I remember how good it tastes. It's worth the embarrassment.

What does your future hold?

(photo by Nino Andonis)

what to do, what to do?

My French-language course is winding down. Two more weeks to go, and then I'll have my Tuesday and Thursday nights back!

I realized a couple months ago that if I don't plan out my life, I don't actually accomplish much. So I've started a list of '31 things to accomplish by 31' (inspiration from Sarah Von) and my planning for the next couple months relates to the things I want to accomplish. (yay!)

One thing on the list is to learn Braille.

A couple years ago I investigated becoming a Braille Transcriber, but my plans were thwarted fairly early on in the process.
Now I've decided to try again. Fingers crossed!

Another thing I might attempt this summer is becoming an Audio Book Narrator.
The idea itself makes me laugh, because I don't think I'm a very animated speaker. The process I'm looking into is fairly involved (various tests, audio samples, and interviews). But I'll start and see how far I get. It should be fun.

I'm not sure what else to try and start this summer. If everything goes as planned with my job, I will be out of town from October to Christmas. So in-person activities are out of the question.
hmmm...

How to Enjoy Yourself in Toronto

Last weekend a friend of mine came to visit me in T.O and I was given the challenge to provide her with an exciting classic Toronto weekend.

As someone who doesn't particularly enjoy planning (I prefer the 'go with the flow' method), I struggled to come up with a timeline of activities for the few days.

In the end, I only had one timed item on the list of activities. However, as is usually the case, we had a great time! We wandered around the city and enjoyed some of my favourite Torontonian things.

1. Luminato: "Habit"
This was my first time taking part in the 'Free Creativity' festival.

We went to OCAD on Saturday morning to view a play called "Habit". A description from the Luminato website:
"Three actors inhabit a house for eight hours a day, spontaneously going about their business while seamlessly repeating a script....as you watch through the windows of ... a fully-functioning house, constructed inside the project space...  Habit raises fascinating questions about the nature of performance, spectatorship, and even reality itself."
It was pretty hardcore. Brilliant concept. Uncomfortable script / subject matter.

2. Starbucks
Yes, I'm including this on the list. My beverage was made just the way I like it. And it made me happy.

3. AGO giftshop
I love browsing through the AGO Store. This is where I bought my latest gadget!

4. Burrito Boyz
Arguably the best burritos in town.
We popped by the Adelaide location and took our burritos to go.

5. 401 Richmond Roof-Top Patio.
My first time to this patio.
 
It's smaller than I envisioned, but it has a great 'community' feel.
 
I imagine that all the creatives in the building pitch-in and make the space comfortable and clean.

6. 401 Richmond 
After munching on burritos on the patio, we wandered around the building. I love this space. I should go there more often. The building itself is fantastic, as are the tenants. We wandered around the design book store and art gallery.

and I was enthralled with the washroom.




brilliant.

7. NFB Mediatheque
To give our feet a rest, we headed to the NFB to watch some free films.
We ended up watching Nadia's Journey. A film about the experience of women living in Algeria. It's an eye-opener for sure. And really sad.



8. 7 West Cafe
After coming back home and watching the Oprah DVD, we headed out to XocoCava for some after-dinner ice cream. Unfortunately though, they close at 10pm. ...Where do you go when everywhere is closed? 7 West of course!
7 West is one of my favourite spots. I'm a tad bit obsessed. We were there for a few hours and then headed back home.

Day 2 involved visiting a small community church in my neighbourhood, having lunch at a local park, and window shopping along Yonge St. We also stopped by an art store and I bought myself a huge canvas to make my next painting  (stay tuned for the final piece!)


So how do you enjoy yourself in Toronto? Wander around, take the subway, explore, go through open doors, eat, stay up late, and most importantly, do it all in the company of a friend.

Phone Love

My latest gadget: A MoshiMoshi POP Phone handset by Native Union.

I love this thing.

It's a silcone-y old school style handset.

Probably not the most practical thing, but it's SO much more fun than earbud-type headsets.

Digital Storytelling

Upcoming fun: digital storytelling!


Through my volunteer work with the Annex Cat Rescue, I've signed up for a 3-day digital storytelling workshop!

The course is being offered through Volunteer Toronto and at the end of the three days, I'll have a completed digital story (like this!) describing my experiences volunteering with ACR.

I'll admit, when they first emailed me about participating, I was intrigued, but quickly had doubts. I emailed them back and said I would think about it and get back to them in a couple days.
I thought: 'My experiences aren't all that unique... What would I say? I'd probably let them down. I'm not interesting enough. They should probably find someone else. '

Blah blah blah.

I had these thoughts for an hour or so, and then remembered Funfundfunfzig and realized that
a) This workshop sounds like fun! and
b) My experiences will definitely be 'good enough' (whatever that means)!

So, I emailed back and told them I'll take the course in July!

Perhaps I'll post the final video here!

A big bowl of vegetarian fun!

I cooked something....yummy!

I have this chronic condition where I spend hours in the kitchen making a meal for myself which ends up tasting horrible.
it's a problem. (...which could easily be fixed with a couple cooking classes, but that's besides the point!)

Well, my new vegetarian ways have prompted me to take on this challenge head-on.
armed with some tips, a cookbook, and some (correct) fresh ingredients, I now have a signature dish, which I absolutely love.
(wait, does 'signature' mean that I created it? ...cause I'm pretty sure I didn't make this up myself...)

I haven't thought of a name for it yet. For now I'll call it, Big Bowl of Vegetarian Fun.

 Ingredients: 

• 2cups chopped peppers
• some chopped green onions (what's the other name for those? ... oh yes, it's "scallions")
• 2/3 cups Italian-flavoured veggie ground round
• 2 7-inch torillas
• 2 dollops of sour cream (fat-free will do the trick!)
• spray oil

Kitchen appliances:

• stove-top
• oven (microwave oven will suffice!)

Other stuff you'll need:

• Food scissors will come in handy
• chopping knife
• cutting board
• a third-cup measure
• cookie sheet for the oven 
• skillet

Directions: 

Step 1: preheat the oven to 350
Step 2: cut up the tortillas into little triangles, put them on the cookie sheet, spray some oil on them, and pop them into the oven (they'll be in there for 15 or so minutes....until crispy!)

Step 3: spray some oil in the skillet and turn it on to medium/low heat
Step 4: cut up the peppers and green onions and throw them in the skillet
Step 5: (about 5 minutes later) add the veggie ground round and mix it up!
Step 6: cook for another few minutes then turn off the heat.
Step 7: The tortilla chips are done! Remove from the cookie sheet and place them in a bowl.
Step 8: Remove the big bowl mixture from the skillet... and place it in a big bowl.... add the sour cream on top of the mound.
Step 9: Enjoy! healthy vegetarian goodness... and chips!!
Step 10: uh.. there isn't anything else to say here. I just couldn't leave it at 9 steps... 

I'd say, this recipe serves 1.5people. ...or one hungry person. (I eat it all myself.)

Also, I add some cherry tomatoes sometimes.
And if I feel fancy, I may sprinkle some dill on the tortilla pieces before popping them in the oven.

Podcast Gold: MATES

I love me some Tom Cavanagh.

So when I stumbled upon the Mike and Tom Eat Snacks (MATES) Podcast, I was intrigued.


On the one hand: Seriously?! How ridiculous!

But on the other hand... Tom Cavanagh!!
Plus, my interest was peaked by the vast array of snacks. From yogurt to microwave popcorn, to snickers, to 3rd Degree Burn Scorchin' Habanero Doritoes, to Crudités.

So, I took a chance and downloaded all 20 or so episodes.

 

The verdict: I. love. it.

Yes, it is ridiculous. 

And yes, it is hilarious.

I burst out laughing today on the subway. Cavanagh did a comparison of the Parisian french accent vs the Quebec french accent. 

I was still laughing about it when I arrived at work. (Check out the first 5 minutes of the Microwave Popcorn episode.)

A great one liner from the Snickers episode: "Snickers is the Paul Neuman of candy bars"

It's a fun, random, ridiculous, hilarious time.

And now I want to go eat some classic lay's potato chips.
fried, not baked,

ice cream for breakfast

A gem that I saw on Pinterest last week: Super Healthy Banana 'Ice Cream'!

I made it for breakfast on Sunday and it. is. amazing.

Life just seems to be better when you eat chocolate first thing in the morning... you know?

The idea/recipe is from confident-beautiful-motivated.tumblr.com .

Step 1: freeze a banana.
Step 2: take said frozen banana, remove the peel, and put it in a blender
Step 3: add 2 tbsp of cocoa powder (I used high-protein chocolate pudding powder. super yummy and filling!)
Step 4: blend and enjoy the extravagance of guilt-free ice cream in the morning!

yay!!

Endless Eye Candy

Eye candy of all kinds, that is.

I *just* found out about this catalog of all kinds of lovely things!
Fine art, home decor, crafty projects, and even some traditional eye candy....

How many hours have I sent browsing the pins lately?

Some recently 'pinned' gems:

Patio Scrabble. (from Sunset.com)




Cheesecake-stuffed strawberries (by SugarDerby)


 (topped with graham crackers!!)

 The time is now (via ffffound)

A lovely space (via lovely spaces)


Penny flooring (from Revolver)


(click the link for more pics of the floor - it's amazing!)