Tight High [OOTD]

Outfit Details:

Dress, Jacket & Boots - H&M; Bag - Phillip Lim for Target

Just a quick snap since it was raining that day, this is such an easy and comfy weekend for the weekend. When you buy pieces from the same collection, everything just match... do you agree?!

And yes, I still like anything fringe and just love this flat tight high boots booth from H&M that I got back in Spring. But the fringe are somehow way too long with how the boots slouch a bit.

The Art Institute of Chicago [Chicago]

After our stroll and photo opt here at the Millennium Park/The Bean, it was still raining so we decided to head to The Art Institute of Chicago (@artinstitutechi) and with more than a million square feet to explore, we end up spending the entire afternoon there.
Tickets are at $23pp and it was definitely money well spend! It is voted #1 Museum in the
United States by tripadvisor after all (^_^)

They have an older wing and a newer more modern wing, love the difference from the warm old space to the bright open modern space.

Picasso & Chicago

The Bean [Chicago]

Of course I had to go to Millennium Park when we were in Chicago and take the standard pictures at The Cloud Gate aka "The Bean"

It was so gloomy and raining every other minutes we were in Chicago but thought it was still beautiful  in a different kind of day.... now I finally understand why people take so many pictures at The Bean, there's just no resisting.

Outfit Details: 

Dress & Necklace - H&M; Jacket - Zara; Belt - ASOS; Boots - UO; Bag - Marc by Marc Jacobs

The Windy City [Chicago]

Just wanted to post some pics we took when walking around the city.

We stayed at Hotel Monaco because of it's great location and great rate online but too bad we got a room that didn't have any view and there was construction just going on outside our window. It get so noisy that we got waken up at around 7 o'clock every morning (^_^)

All 4 days we went, it was raining and gloomy and therefore we didn't get to take a lot of pics.

I really hate packing for non-summer weather since you basically have to have one jacket, one pair of boots and one bag to match all the outfits that you bought.

The Bongo Room [Chicago]

Have been trying to finish my Chicago post from April, I have been so lazy. For our last day in Chicago, we decided to head a bit north out of the downtown core (The Loop & The Magnificent Mile) and we decided on The Bongo Room for brunch.

Fat Tire Beer & Bloody Mary

You must know by now that I am huge fan of Caesar but I somehow don't like Bloody Mary at all and no matter how much vodka is in it.... it just lack the flavors and texture compare to the Canadian Cocktail.

White Chocolate Pretzel Pancake

This was huge, I can barely finish 1 out of the 3 pieces and this was definitely a sweet indulgence. Even with Ben's help, we can barely finish 2 of them, love the thick layer of white chocolate and caramel, plus there's a fare amount of pretzels bits mixed into the pancake batter itself which give it a very interesting texture on top of the thick fluffiness.

Steam Kitchen [Chinese - Richmond Hill]

Sometime we too many food events going on during the week, we try to stay uptown and lay low on the weekends. We headed to one of our favorite Chinese restaurant that Saturday only to realize that it's closed down.... so we went to Steam Kitchen which we saw last time we were in the area.

As the name suggest, they have mostly steam dishes and we were especially attracted to those mini pot of steam soup. After taking a sip, it was so good that we decided to order another one. 

It's steam/cook in the small pot where all the flavors are sealed in which make it so delicious and intense in flavor.

Mushroom & Conch Soup  $4.99

+ $1.00 for a Lotus Leaf Sticky Rice Wrap 

The wrap was just not that great and super mini, so not worth the extra $1.

But the soup flavor was intense, love the conch and the super intense mushroom flavors.

Foodival [EVENT]

I was invited to Foodival, Toronto's First Carnival Themed Food Festival by Little Birdie Media and Foodies on Foot (@foodiesonfoot) at
99 Sudbury.

The event was both indoor and outdoor with a bunch of vendors showcasing their carnival theme food with a side of flame throwers

 The Happy Hooker

 Shrimp Corndog

This definitely was the most "carnival food" for me while the others are pretty standard eats to me.

Rasher

 Wild Board Slider

~ Cider glazed wild board, apple chutney, blue cheese & arugula

Have been meaning to visit this Leslieville Sandwich Shop with all things bacon, therefore I was so happy they were here.

osteria dei GANZI #getsocialbecentral [EVENT]

Last week I was invited to Get Social and Be Central at Osteria dei Ganzi (@GanziToronto) for their new menu launch. Located on Javis, a bit apart from the rest of the other restaurants on Church in a historic mansion of over a 100 years old.

We could only make it for the 2nd seating of the menu tasting launch and as we arrived a tad early, we wear quickly rush to the bar area where we were greeted with a cold glass of Prosecco each. 

And as soon as we were done with that, we were quickly ask if we want second or cocktail.

We had a four course dinner designed and executed by Chef Staropoli and Italian Cocktails designed by their mixologist JoaoMachado. Cocktail like Chamomile Sazerac, Aperol Spritzer and Negori Spagoliato.

 Pizza

~ salmon, magherita, bosco and bianca

 Misto Board

~ parmigiano regiano, gorgonzola, scamorza, salami, mortadella, prosciutto, arancini & fried olives

served w/ piccante sauce & basil marmalade

~ paired w/ Aperol Spritzer

This was just for the 2 of us and that was enough to fill me up for the night but although we still have 3 more course to go, we couldn't help to finish the whole board. Love everything here especially the fried olives, I think I could have finish bowlful of it. Oh and don't forget the basil marmalade, give me bread and that sauce and I could be a happy girl (^_^)

DAVIDsTEA

This Spring, my allergies seems to have gotten worst and have been craving for a hot cup of tea before bedtime to relive my itchy throat and nose. Wanted something herbal so that I won't have any problem sleeping, so we head to DAVIDsTEA (@davidstea) to find one.

If you have never been to a DAVIDsTEA store before, it's about time... it's an incredible experience where you can smell all the yummy delicious tea before deciding which one to get. Although their website offer free shipping for orders over $50, I felt like I need to smell it before deciding if I like it (unless it's a re-order)

I wanted something minty for my allergies and after a few recommendations, I felt in love with

Mother's Little Helper

~ organic and herbal

~ peppermint, lemongrass, rosehips, hibiscus, chamomile flowers, valerian root, cornflowers

Not only the peppermint help my allergies, it's definitely the best tea to get me relax and have a good night sleep.

ME and Ben being the addicted coffee drinker for years, felt in love with tea all over again.

Since that first visit, we went back for more and more. Making ice tea during summer and now, those warm fall tea flavors like Pumpkin Chai (spicy & comforting) and Forever Nut (ohhh, it's pink btw... super cute) which is perfect with a bit of milk or as a latte.

Pink Passionfruit

~ apple, apple pomace, rosehip, sweet blackberry leaves, hibiscus, passionfruit, artificial passionfruit

As you may know, I have a thing for anything passionfruit and this is no exception. This is my favorite for Iced Tea in the summer but also just as perfect hot with a touch of honey.

It's the perfectly sweet, tangy and refreshing

I recently order a bigger steeper just to be able to make tea for the both of us (I have a smaller one for one) which is the most convenient gadget ever. It's so easy, convenient and lighter to use everyday. Just put the steeper over your mug and it magically flows out through a specially designed filtration system.

Movie Night

~ Apple, Sencha-style green tea, popped corn, artificial flavouring

Buttery popcorn goodness in liquid form, love this as a latte. Can I say it's better than popcorn with no calories and it's sweetened with maple and apple.

Def a great sub in the colder nights while watching a late night movie (^_^)

Verdict :

Love all the different variety of flavors at DAVIDsTEA and they keep launching new flavors for each seasons. With our addiction, I need to find a bigger spot to put my teas.



Frida Restaurant + Avocados from Mexico [EVENT]

Two weeks ago I was invited to Frida Restaurant & Bar (@FridaRestaurant) hosted by Miss Avacado (@missavacado) of Avocados from Mexico. This dinner event is title "Authentic Mexican 101" where chef and owner Jose Hadad took us on a culinary journey featuring authentic Mexican flavors in a four course meal revolving around Avocados #LuvMexAvocado

Remember my Avocado post here and here is a quick recap of the fun fact of  

Avocados from Mexico:

~ The world's 1st avocado was grown and cultivated more than 9,000 years ago in the fertile, volcanic region of Mexico

~ Currently Mexico is the only region in the world where avocados bloom four times a year

~ Mexico is responsible for approximately half of the world's total avocado production

~ Avocados contain nearly 20 vitamins and minerals and more potassium than banana

~ When served with other vegetables, avocado's healthy fats (help lower "bad" LDL cholesterol) help the body absorb fat-soluble nutrients from the foods.

 Some guacamole to munch on.

Chef Jose Hadad doing live demonstration which was very entertaining and educational.

And voila, here's the final product from the demo

Nauman's Pumpkin Patch

The only thing I like about fall are all the beautiful color which help me to forget the approaching cold winter days to come. A friend mention this pumpkin farm and we immediately decided to head over to Waterloo the following week (^_^)

After our usual St.Jacobs Farmer Market Stop (see my old post here), we stop by  

Nauman's Pumpkin Patch. 

What a sight, so much beautiful color everywhere and who knew there was that many type of squash and pumpkins.

I frankly don't know one squash from the other but thought everything was so beautiful that I want to share some of the pictures I took

 

Gourds

 

Fresh Canteen [EVENT]

I was invited to Fresh Canteen (@FreshCanteen) Media Launch 2 weeks ago which took place at the gorgeous Market Kitchen in St. Lawrence Market. Love the meal-in-a-box-ready-to-cook concept which is basically delivery of ready to cook, packed & pre-measured of fresh ingredients/meal in a refrigerated box.

There are always 6 recipes to choose from every week, each recipe is available for two weeks with 3 new ones rotated in every week. 

Delivery take place every Tuesday between 12:00 to 8:00pm and with the refrigerated recyclable box, no need to wait for delivery.

In the box, you'll find all the ingredients including all the spices/seasoning and a step by step recipe card with easy to understand photo instructions. 

Most recipe will take you 35 minutes or less from start to finish with only the basic tools/equipments.

There was plenty of yummy appetizers to go around while we waited for everyone.