10 things I will miss about living in le plateau-mont royal

There are so many things I’ll miss about my old neighborhood in Montreal. It has changed so much in the 6 years I lived there… going from a bit artsy and rough around the edges, but with a Starbucks (one the reasons I bought my place)… to pretty much straight up yuppy today. But I loved every moment of watching old and new float by.

If I have to narrow down a list of the things I’ll miss the most, in order to fit into a post, here they are:

1. Hangover (or still drunk) poutines just steps away.

2. Street festivals with banjo players and discount shoes. 

3. My parc (La Fontaine) with sledding and skating in the winter… wine and baguette in the summer. 

4. Sangria on patios, especially outside the original Chez Baptiste.

5. The people watching. All sorts. 

6. The ample seating at Starbucks where I probably spent the price of a small car over the years.

7. 3 take-out sushi options within 1 block: a cheap option for weeknights, a medium option for weekends, and a pricier one for special occasions. 

8. My cab stand (but not the cabbies). 

9. Being able to Bixi from outside my front door downhill to the bar. 

10. Christmas music played in the streets. 

shhhh... valentine's day map of the world

VDB is not someone who likes to get surprise presents. He much prefers to tell me (and sometimes send me a link to) exactly what he'd like as a gift each special occasion...

But this Valentine's Day I REFUSED to ask. Instead, I decided I wanted to get something we could both enjoy in our new home. First I was thinking a wine opener. Might sound lame but neither of us have a proper one despite being in our 30's and wine drinkers. But then I was perusing my favorite home blog (Domaine Home) and got bowled over by this inspiring post.

You see VDB has mentioned several times that he'd love to have a map to mark all the places we have traveled to. I always liked the idea but most maps I see aren't super classy, until this one! Meet my newly ordered Design Ahoy's Black Typography Map:

Isn't it beautiful? I love the white on black... the typography words used to form the shape of the continents, and the overall moody effect. If I hadn't been convinced at first sight I was when I read all the stellar reviews on Etsy.

I ordered it right away last night but with only 4 business days until Valentine's I didn't like my chances of receiving it in time. Just as a shot in the dark I added a comment to the seller explaining it would be a V-Day gift in case it could be shipped any speedier. To my delight Nancy, from Design Ahoy, emailed me this morning and offered to ship it express today if I paid the extra cost. I agreed and she actually had it picked up by UPS before I even confirmed the PayPal request.

I can't wait to get it and will let you know later if VDB likes it and how it looks in person and framed!

Guess the Mackage bag will have to wait a bit longer...

bags...bags...bags... my mackage deva love affair

I have been drooling over this Mackage bag for over 6 months. SIX MONTHS.

I first saw it at the end of the summer when it was new fall season stock at Aritzia. I loved it immediately but the price ($430.00) was too much for me to justify when I knew I had to start planning a major move.

Since then, I've made fequent trips back to Aritzia (everytime a sale was announced) and the Mackage site just waiting... patiently.... (or not really) for it to go on sale. Now it has. It is part of a 20% off Valentines week sale on the Mackage website.

Down from $430 to $301.... What do you think? What should I do??

Before you judge too harhsly there are super pretty details you can't see in the pics. Mainly the zippers that are half silver (one side of zip) and half gold. Genius. Will match every accessory.

Oh the stresses of being a shopoholic.

tourist in my new town... asian inspired burritos

Asian inspired burritos in Montreal? I've never heard of such a thing... Oh wait, that's because they're not from MTL but TO, my soon-to-be new town.

That's right, I'm moving west (just not as far as some might expect) to Toronto and I was there last weekend to drop off stuff at my new place with VDB and indulge in some proper Super Bowl weekend junk food. On the menu over the course of the three days was McDonalds cheeseburgers... Ikea hotdogs... beef jerky (for the drive) and some kick a$$ burritos from a local (to Lesliville) spot, Chino Locos.

I'd ssen Chino Locos on "You've Got to Eat Here" and was pretty sure it looked close to our new pad so we entered it in the GPS after a long day of shopping and BAM. It's only 5 minutes away. This will be trouble.

I ordered the fish burrito and VDB ordered the BBQ pulled pork. I asked the guy at the cash how best to order it and he said, "With chow mein of course," so I did and spicy.

It was awesome. The fish was perfectly moist and the chow mein and black beans married perfectly with guac and sour cream. So odd. And the level of spice was just right, enough to burn my lips but not too much to overwhelm the rest of the flavors. (VDB tried mine and said the heat of the medium was more his style.)

My fish burrito with pineapple soda in background.

Chino Locos has two locations, the one is Lesliville and one downtown. We'll be back often to try more and grab Mexican sodas that they also stock. Just don't be put off by the mish mash of lucky Asian charms (cat statues, etc.) with dia de la muerte figureines. I think it's charming.

m.i.a... drinking wine in Malaga, Spain

Sorry I was MIA for the last two weeks… but I was in Malaga, Spain on a work trip and drank too much wine most nights to blog when I got back to the hotel.

Speaking of wine… and Spain…

I am now a true lover of Spanish red wine, or “vino tinto” as I so frequently ordered it with my porr excuse of a Spanish accent. My co-workers and I made it our mission to try out as many as we could while in Malaga and we did a damn good job. Because bottles range from 11 to 25 Euros in restaurants ordering a minimum of two each meal was totally reasonable. (Right?)

Here were a few of my favorites:

• Protos – Ribera Duero Robles 2009 (average price $26)
• Azpilicueta – Rioja Crianza 2010 (average price $23)
• Venus La Universal – Montsant Dido 2011 (average price $24)

 First bottle of the trip to be scanned into my Vivino app.

Then there was also the traditional Spanish sangria and the “tinto de verana” (translation is red wine of summer) that was also consumed. The tinto is a bit too sweet for me (its table wine mixed with a sweet soda, usually Fanta) and it didn't feel quite right drinking sangria in January, so I only indulged in one glass of both on the sunny Sunday.

 My Sunday afternoon sangria with free tapas!

Before leaving, as a treat, I stopped by a little store by our hotel and bought a 2009 Reserve bottle of Tinto Pasquera, Ribera del Duero to take home. I managed to make it through a weekend without cracking it open… but we’ll see how much longer I last! I will report back once I do give it a taste.

My glass of "para llevar" wine and dinner the one night we stayed in. 

P.S. I now use the “Vivino” app on my phone to track all the wines I discover. It lets you scan a picture of the wine and then automatically stores it in your history along with the date, any notes you make, and average price/ratings. By the end of our trip I had everyone using it!

tourist in my own town... dinner in chinatown

Last night I was having a drink at my friend's local watering hole (St. Liz) and the topic of good Chinese came up. I had just driven through Chinatown and had wondered why we don't eat there more often since my friend B lives close by. Feeling inspired, and hungry, we decided to walk down and dine at one of his recommendations, Keung Kee Restaurant, on Rue de la Gauchetière.

Walking up and into the restaurant it already checked so many of the boxes that our group (all originally from Vancouver and convinced we know true Chinese) wanted to see:

1. It's in an alley.
2. It's on the second floor and the carpet covered stairs have seen better days.
3. The tables are covered in disposable plastic table clothes.
4. The hot tea kettle hits the table before you can even sit down.

Even though we were filled with anticipation that we were sure couldn't be met on this side of Canada, it was. Our servers were fantastic.... they cracked jokes, mocked us for our love of Vietnamese hot sauce, brought us their own freshly mixed concoctions to try, recommended new dishes, and happily boxed up our soup before our second course even came because we had clearly over-ordered.

The food though was legitimately the best part. We ordered 5 dishes and 3 appies for the four of us (did I mention we had been drinking?) and all were good... But the Spicy and Salted Shrimp, the Kung Pao Chicken (typical white people order! I know!) and the duck were my fave.

I used to think you couldn't get good Chinese in Montreal... and while this may not be quite the same as Vancouver... it's legit.

So thanks B!

shoes...shoes...shoes... new hummel hightops

I'm a sucker for shoes and here is one of my neest pairs! (Yes, just ONE of my newest pairs... there are more.)

Despite the snow and cold which will prevent me from wearing these for a few months, I just had to have a new pair of high tops for 2014 and these hummel's are perfect. They are totally classic in style and the black/grey will go with so many casual outfits. I might even try to wear them to work on a Friday with my leather leggings. That will dress them up right?

I picked them up still on sale (from 129.99 to 99.99) following "Boxing Week" at NEON on Mont Royal. The same store where I bought my Fjallraven Kanken backpack before the supermodels started wearing them. (See below it being used as a picnic basket on my roadtrip with VDB to Ottawa last Canada Day.)

More shoes to follow I'm sure!

tourist in my own town... brunch at l'avenue

3 years ago my parents came to visit me in Montreal. My Dad didn't travel much later in life but he fell in love with my neighborhood, the Plateau. And he fell even harder when I took him to breakfast at L'Avenue. He loved the fresh blended fruit smoothies, the humongous omelettes and other brunch entrees, and the atmosphere (which was really mainly due to the fact we got the table in the window which allowed him to people watch). Every time we met in Vancouver afterwards he asked me if I had recently been to L'Avenue.

Today with my Mom and brothers in town for the holidays I took them to enjoy what my Dad had so often fussed about. My Mom and older brother had the classic eggs benedict which they are famous for. They enjoyed it very much, and almost even managed to finish, though we were perplexed as to why they have changed the recipe from a traditional ham to one slow roasted in beer and maple syrup and then pulled like pork. They agreed it was good, but almost too rich.

My younger brother and I had the Idaho omelette. This is my favorite as it comes not only with the BEST hashbrowns on the side but also with mashed potatoes folded into the omelette. I love poatoes of every variety. It also has bacon, red onions, and sour cream of course

I wholeheartedly recommend L'Avenue to anyone visiting Montreal for breakfast. But take note, i said breakfast and not brunch. If you get there after 10am you will be waiting in line.

an introduction

So here goes 2014…. With so much promise for a new year, new challenges and new opportunities… I’m going to seize today and start this, my very first blog. I have a few goals in doing so:

1. To work towards my resolution this year (carried over from failing last year) to do a better job staying in touch with my family and friends. I hope this blog helps encourage us to share our lives with each other.
2. To work towards a new life long resolution to appreciate all I have around me and am given. I’ve got a pretty damn good life so I may as well recognize that here and be able to reflect often back on it rather than only look enviously at what others are doing on FB.
3. To work towards an item on my bucket list, which is writing a book. This idea seems far too daunting right now but hopefully this blog helps me develop my writing skills and maybe even inspires a direction for my future tall tale.

To my poor readers, whom I expect to mainly be my mother and BFF’s, I should warn I’m establishing a few rules for my blog:

• This will be a home of primarily positive reflection, not a place where I share stories of crappy days or sh*tty experiences. These would do nothing to serve my listed objectives.
• Work is work… I don’t plan to talk about it much here except for when it takes me to cool places or introduces me to cool people, which I am very grateful for and will share as appropriate.
• The BF is to remain anonymous at his own request and will from here forward only be referred to as VDB. You know who he is anyway but this makes him feel better. It’s like he thinks I might become famous or something….

Last but not least, what do I actually plan to write about?? Well mainly all the things that bring me joy and that I hope might bring you some too: Fashion, food, travel, and time with my family and friends. Probably a few bits on books and art too.

More to follow!