March at Home

March 2016 - Toronto ON

2016 year to date - January to March 16 Mexico

March 18 - March 31

It's been relatively quiet since we got home on March 17. We had the usual chores to do, unpacking, laundry, mail and other administrative things. As well more fun things deciding where the "stuff" we bought should go.

There's been trips to Costco and some shopping expeditions. This was taken at Sherway.

John bought me a new bracelet for my charms as the other one is full!! 

Our fridge and freezer were low on supplies since we had been away so lots of food purchases.

The Pantry had advertised white and black pudding and Irish sausages and they even gave me the discount even though it was after the date.

A trip to our old meat shop resulted in these purchases, ham, corned beef, lamb roast all in small sizes for the two of us.

Then we stopped for coffee at a French bakery Patisserie La Cigogne.

Tempting, but no takers.

But we picked up some chicken liver pate that turned out to be delicious and we served at Easter.

An overcast day as we drove by the Princes' Gates at the CNE.

Easter Weekend

We had dinner with friends at the Brogue Inn, our usual meet in the middle spot and got all caught up on the last three months. I was sure we took photos, but I guess not.

A trip to St. Lawrence market for Easter dinner goodies. It was crowded!!

We had family in for Easter dinner and again only took a pic of the delicious healthy (honestly it was gluten free and fat free) blueberry cheesecake that my ex BIL brought.

 John and I went to a Vietnamese place for noodle soup and had beef pho. I am going back to the wonton soup that I love there.

I baked one of our favourite brownies - Avocado black bean brownies.

John wanted peanut butter cookies, (yuck, I don't eat anything with peanut butter) so I used this recipe and he pronounced them delicious.

We had fun opening our package that we shipped from Toronto and deciding what to do with the loot.

The masks went onto the wall in our bedroom after we moved the trunk to that spot.

My favourite piece is sitting on the TV cabinet, aptly named Miguel and Catrina.

The cushion covers found a home in the living room.

A couple of items will have to wait for their homes in the kitchen.

My BFF made a baby's outfit from a sweater I had given for.

This is the baby modelling it in a photo shoot.

The baby, wearing the flower crown I bought in Mexico.

We had the plumber replace all the plastic piping under the kitchen sink with copper and also check everything out.

My BFF and I had a girls' lunch out at our usual spot, The Overdraught. We had a great time catching up on girl stuff from the last three months.

 And I came home to flowers!

I met up with the women who I will be hosting the condo monthly meet and greet coffee get together.

John had a birthday on March 31 and we went to Canoe for dinner.

Even Google remembered LOL!!

It was a rainy dull evening as we took the elevator up to the 54th floor. We had decided we weren't going to have any view over the foggy city.

So we weren't too concerned that our table was not near the windows. There was a woman on her own at the next table visiting from Washington DC. We shared ideas about both cities and she said Toronto reminded her of a clean NYC. She was also amazed at the diversity of the city.

Canoe is described as a stylish swanky space with inventive Canadian cuisine and extensive views.
John, studying the menu.

Disclaimer - photos taken with cell and no flash so they are not the best.

John and I started with s’mores foie gras and the waiter pointed out it was on the sweet side as it had chocolate sauce, it sounded more like a dessert! But it was delicious the pate itself was soft and tasty served with a waffle!!

John ordered the lamb with lamb bacon braised kale and potato dauphinoise and minted pear agrodolce. Phew what is agrodolce??? Well, thanks to Wikipedia I wonder no more.

Agrodolce [ˌaɡroˈdoltʃe] is a traditional sweet and sour sauce in Italian cuisine. Its name comes from "agro" (sour) and "dolce" (sweet). Agrodolce is made by reducing sour and sweet elements, traditionally vinegar and sugar. Sometimes, additional flavorings are added, such as wine, fruit, or even chocolate. It can be used for lamb, and served over rigatoni or wide noodles, such as pappardelle.

We continued chatting with the woman beside us giving her suggestions about what to see in Toronto.

I ordered the half Raw Bar consisting of east and west coast selections. WOW!!

It was amazing! There were oysters, shrimp, lobster salad, smoked halibut (not my favourite) and a foamy ceviche. Outstanding!

Our server asked if we would like to move to a table window for dessert and we were glad we did as we were treated to Mother Nature's light show with plenty of thunder and lightening. The power even went out down below for a minute or so.

Evergreens and berries - foraged berry crumble, cedar pastry cream, pine nuts and spruce tip ice cream.

Blogging and stuff

I completed our 2015 recap.

I did a recap to date for 2016 realizing how long it took me to do 2015!! This is the end of the first quarter.

A writer contacted me from Nova Scotia asking if he could use a photo he found on my blog from a light house. He needed the original photo and I provided it. The photo was taken by John at Gilbert's Cove Gilbert's Cove lighthouse.

Beth hosts Weekend Cooking where you can post anything food related.

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 Saturday Snapshots is hosted by West Metro Mommy.