current obsessions

There's only a couple of things I'm currently obsessed with but I'm crushing on them hard.

#1: The most beautiful handmade bags by Dazzling Lanna


Seriously, I want every single thing in her Etsy shop.



#2: The farmers' market

There is nothing like fresh, local fruits and veggies from one of the 3 awesome farmers' markets in our neighbourhood. I've started giving myself an "allowance" before I go, otherwise I'll end up spending way too much and buying one of everything. Current favourites: peaches, raspberries, and zucchini.


#3: Versus
Last Friday, Paul's band Soft Copy opened for Versus and Polvo at Lee's Palace. Late Fri afternoon Paul got a call from Richard Baluyut of Versus asking if he'd fill in on drums for them that night because their drummer had to go back to New York to be with his wife who was having a baby. Despite the short notice and no practice, he agreed to do it. I should mention that Versus is one of Paul's all-time favourite bands so this was quite a thrill. Anyhow, I was blown away by how well he did! I've been listening to the Versus album "The Stars are Insane" ever since.

Searching around for Versus videos on YouTube led me to find that someone actually recorded the show at Lee's! So here's Paul playing one of my favourite Versus songs "River". I remember thinking how he absolutely killed this song when I was watching it live and now watching it back again, I am even more impressed! Best part....around 3 min 43 when the drums really kick in again and all the rolls and cymbals are out-of-control! And if you look closely, right at the end of the song it looks like Fontaine (bass player) nods to Paul as if to say, "nicely done!". Hee! I'm so proud! Exclaim magazine and Chromewaves blog both said he did an amazing job filling in. He even got to go to Montreal the next day to play with them for that show too!

breakfast of champions

summer is sadly coming to an end and i'm headed back to work next tuesday after two glorious months off. so this morning as i fixed my breakfast, i realized that in a few days i probably won't have time to linger over the lovely meal i've been making for myself for most of the summer.

this breakfast has been such a treat for me over the last couple of months. it usually contained some variation of the following:
* 10-12 buttered crackers with brie
* a handful of raw almonds
* a few dried apricots (i like the organic kind but it takes awhile to get used to that rusty brown colour instead of the bright orange you typically find)
* organic vanilla yogurt with seasonal fruits mixed in (today it was some diced peach, blueberries, and strawberries*...all from ontario)

mmmm...

*believe it or not, the strawberries are from ontario even though strawberry season is kind of over. these are apparently called "everbearing strawberries" or so the friendly farmer from the market tells me. i think i was able to buy them well into september last year!

the tastes of summer

last thursday i checked out a new farmers' market in the neighbourhood. it wasn't as good as my favourite one (which i sadly still haven't made it to yet) but it was still nicer than the grocery store aisle. check out all those pretty colours!

*****

and tonight's dinner i'm dubbing "adventures in sushi". i guess that makes it sound like it was a little dodgey but it actually all turned out really well. i've made maki rolls before but this was my first time making inari sushi. it certainly won't be my last...so easy with those little pre-made wrappers! we stuffed ours with rice, avocado, and carrots. mmmm...so good!! here's a blurry picture...we were too hungry to take a perfect one...sorry! (for non-sushi eaters, that's wasabi in the dish in the middle of the plate. we mixed it in some temari sauce for dipping).

quite quiet

just peeking in to say i haven't been blogging much lately because there's just not much new or exciting to report. i'm still fighting a nasty chest infection but feeling more energetic which means i've been spending more time working in the studio. it's so funny...i often worry what will happen when i run out of ideas. but the last couple of weeks have been quite the opposite! i've got so many new ideas that i'm worrying i won't be able to get them all done in time for the show. i've also had to break down and ask paul to make me a few extra displays so i have somewhere to put the new stuff.

in other news:

* i made the yummiest roasted butternut squash & apple soup last night. it was like eating autumn in a bowl.

* i wish i had time to start a knitting project. i really want to make a cowl or the shopping tunic i posted about here.

* i've been enjoying baking cookies...made a batch of super spicy ginger & chocolate chip (so yum!) and also some (very meh) peanut butter cookies.

* i miss swimming. i can't wait to feel like myself again so i can get back to it.

* noah's hair is growing a bit shaggy and i swear he looks like a little teddy bear these days.

* only 2 more weeks left of the farmers' market. then back to (bland) grocery store produce. (sniff) besides, i'll really miss our farmer friends. they're always so nice to kim and me.

random food stuff...and other random stuff too

i know this isn't supposed to be a food blog, but i guess since it's a general whatever kind of blog, i can post about food once in awhile, right? and since i haven't been doing much other than swimming and gearing up to go back to work on tuesday i don't really have anything else to post about right now anyway.

ok, so first here's a picture of some really pretty eggplant that i spotted at the farmers' market last tuesday.

and today i ventured over to the brand new t&t supermarket in the portlands district. it's a big asian supermarket that just opened up a week or two ago. it was busy busy!!


i went in search of dulp pock. dulp pock is a type of tofu that is soft and pillowy and light as air. i think it's probably been deep-fried prior to being packaged but let's just forget about that ok? i haven't had it since i lived in guelph about 5 years ago. i'm happy to report that t&t didn't disappoint me! i found about 5 different kinds.

tonight we had steamed beans and roasted mini-potatoes (both from tuesday's market visit) and dulp pock smothered in president's choice szechuan peanut sauce. oh my! it was UNBELIEVABLE! the best part was the crunchy bits where the sauce carmelized.

***
other random stuff:
on friday, paul & i went to see the square foot show at awol gallery. we were amazed at how many pieces there were in the show. lots of fun eye candy there! wish i had brought my camera...i didn't think they'd let us take pictures.

also on friday, i was driving home after dropping paul off at his band's practice space and i saw george stroumboulopoulos driving an s.u.v. i know...i was sad he was driving a gas-guzzler too.

and the lovely wendy has named me a rockin' girl blogger! thanks, wendy! i guess i'm supposed to nominate 4 or 5 more people? this is hard...i don't like leaving people out. i think i'll just quietly email the people and let them know. is that allowed? i know...i'm so bad at these tagging things.

fun days and just regular ol' days

yesterday was a fun day.

after lunch i picked up my new friend, kim, and we went to the farmers' market together. even though we got there a bit late there were still some yummy fruit & veggies to be bought and sampled. most importantly, there were yellow watermelons still left. ever since paul & i finished up the yellow watermelon from last week i've been dreaming of getting another. it is without a doubt, the sweetest & juiciest watermelon i've had since i was a kid.
(isn't it pretty?)

after the market kim & i went for tea at a neighbourhood cafe that i really like. i had no idea it even existed until she introduced me to it at the beginning of the summer. i had the yummiest iced tea that was some fancy exotic blend i can't even remember and then we just sat and chatted for hmmm...a couple of hours i think! kim is so sweet and funny and tells the best stories ever! it was so nice to just hang out and forget about the work waiting for me at home...

last night i was very excited to watch madonna's documentary i'm going to tell you a secret which was actually being shown on one of the 11 channels we get. i've been a huge madonna fan since i was in grade 7 and had posters and magazine pages of her plastered all over my bedroom walls. at the risk of dating myself, i was in grade 7 back in this era of madonna.

i haven't bought one of her albums since the early '90s but i'm still totally fascinated by her. the documentary was really entertaining but the parts where she tried to be deep & spiritual didn't seem quite right. i don't know how else to explain it. maybe a bit fake? (sorry, madonna!)

anyhow, after a pretty great day yesterday today was just a regular ol' day filled with lots and lots of errands. the best i can say about it is that i feel like i at least accomplished quite a bit.

i hate to say it but i'm actually hoping for rain tomorrow so i don't feel too guilty about working in the studio all day.

biggest excitement for tomorrow: picking up the 5 books waiting for me at the library.

i luv farmers

i was an early riser again today. 7:00am. why is it so easy to wake up bright and early when i'm on vacation but as soon as i have to go back to work i drag my sorry ass out of bed only after two alarms have gone off?

today i was motivated by the farmers' market. what a great way to start the day...shopping for fresh, local produce and handing your money directly to the farmer who grew it all!

i was so excited by all of the lovely fruits & veggies that i went a little crazy. i'm most excited by the corn on the cob (because i loooove corn on the cob), the strawberries (because i thought the ontario season was over so it was a lovely surprise!), and the yellow watermelon (because the woman gave me a sample and it was the sweetest melon i'd ever tasted!)

after the market, i drove out to mississauga to pick up my camera that was finally fixed. i'm so happy to have it again!

on to the grocery store to pick up a few groceries for the week.

back home for a quick lunch.

then to the dog park to take noah for a walk.


he had a fun time running about and sniffing just about every square inch of the grass. he didn't want to sit still for a photo so the picture is a little fuzzy but i like it because it looks like he's laughing.