The beauty is there, but a beast is in the heart.

It's like eating bread sandwiched in more bread. There is a movement in our casa to decrease meat consumption and I'd say it's going decently well. Also, being the music master that I am, minions have approached me asking, "Dear talented music master of good taste and beauty, what pairs well with tasteless 'sausage' and 'beef' patties?" So here you go, lowly subordinates, take a listen. Quickly—before I take the whole lot of you and thrash you with this hand! And then bash you with this hand! And then take both hands and give you a massage to loosen you up! Don't get it? Well then, A) you're so uncool, 2) watch below, and PICKLES) is the name of a tiny chihuahua in the building across from us. She's very cute.

So, to tell you the truth, no one messaged me with said song pairing requests, but I have been receiving fan mail that's borderline flattering/stalker-esque, mostly about my gorgeous legs from a previous cycling photo. No, another lie, no fan mail. But the dogre says I'm purdy! Okay, so here are songs for you, dogre. In my journey to one day become a vegetarian, I also discovered that there is a sistah inside of me who occasionally comes out to play. Whenever something bluesy/soulsy/fill-in-the-blank plays, she takes over my mind and body and deceives me into thinking I've got rhythm. And for those few minutes, my eyes get all droopy and I groove to the music, all slinky and sexy. And then, I catch my reflection in a mirror and shrivel back up into the gangly dogress that I am. But in case you've got actual rhythm and soul (pfft—doubtful), I've added Divine Brown's song below.

Charlotte Gainsbourg - Heaven Can Wait (featuring Beck)

The Bird and The Bee - Maneater

Pete Yorn - I Don't Know What To Do (featuring Scarlett Johansson)

Camera Obscura - Honey In The Sun

Divine Brown - Lay It On The Line

Jedd's Frozen Custard Patisserie Cafe

Earlier this week, I was waiting for the train when Lady Antebellum's Need You Now played on my ipod and I found myself blushing and staring at my shoes, as if those around me had super powers and could tell what I was listening to. But it's okay, because the Smiths came on next and I quickly reverted to light foot tapping and observing fellow commuters with lowered eyelids, knowing how much cooler I was than them. I mean, if it's on the (500) Days of Summer soundtrack, it's obviously hip, no?

So another reason I know that I'm cool, besides my taste in music, is because I frequent cool spots like Jedd's Frozen Custard patisserie cafe. The decor and vibe ooze awesomeness and I know I fit right in. Oh, and the frozen chocolate custard is so good! They're giving out free custards until August 1st (go on their website to print the coupon).

To die by your side is such a heavenly way to die.

Mouse and Papabubble

There's nothing better than snail mail from friends...Unless it's a snail package. Or better yet, a snail package full of candy! Deliciously hand-crafted soda filled candies and a lollipop as large as my face arrived by courier, courtesy of mon friend, monsieur paille-baie. If I won the lottery, I'd have a guy who traveled around the world solely to mail me sweetly packaged confectioneries! Rocky, who is usually a wonderful and compliant model, was all mopes and glares and refused to partake in my artistic visions.

Models—they have their good days and bad days. Sometimes, it's magic. And other times, visual diarrhea. Go on Papabubble's website to see hard candies do their thing and strut their stuff, leaving Rocky in their tasty candy dust.

Yet another reason to visit Barcelona.

I can't change! I'm like a chameleon - always a lizard! / Food photoburst

Ever since we moved in last week, we've been frugal with our electricity and water usage. And it's not because we're environmental. Plain and simple, we're aiming for the lowest of the low possible bills! I think we're doing very well. 

But, it's made me hesitant about cooking and baking. The only thing we've used is the microwave (to nuke our veggie "sausage" patties below). Meals from May 24 at Kachi (mediocre).

Fancy desserts from my Shoe!

Unfortunately, I forgot my camera so this photoburst is very much incomplete. Tears. Just imagine delicious dim sum, pasta, sushi, Korean, pad thai...The beers were for moving day and since we didn't have a functioning fridge, we did it hotel-style.

The veggie patty was tasteless. Like eating bread between two slices of bread! And they were so puny...How embarrassing.

And the saddest of them all—our impromptu "breakfast" before the dogre headed off to work today. Tonight, me thinks I will actually heat up the stove top and cook up some pasta. For one. More tears. I wish I could have delicious chicken and chive dumplings at Cha Liu instead.

This. Looks. Delicious.

THIS!

And equally delicious...:

...NYC hotel...

...surprise birthday snail mail idea...

...cupcake food blog with huge visuals...

Is my conscience required to stay?

So I scheduled the whole weekend to tackle my assignments, knowing it'd be time consuming (resume revamping, writing about strengths, weaknesses, threats, opportunities, a bio, character sketch, and an elevator pitch!) and naturally, I decided cooking and baking was a more pressing matter. Honestly, the best times to invite yourself over is when I'm avoiding something (which is often. and most likely assignments).

So what churned out of my kitchen over the weekend? Roasted sweet potato wedges,banana bread with cream cheese icing (my favourite so far), and some comfort food. No, not cut up hotdogs with ketchup! Much more sophisticated than that, thank you very much. Good ol' hamburger beef chunks marinated in Diana bbq and hot wing sauce. The sophisticated part being the caramelized onions. Heehee- And don't you dare judge me! I know you'll bring up my previous post about eating healthy, but clearly, you can see the huge bowl of salad that accompanied the beef! Clearly. I think I'm being extra beastly with my meat intake these days because I suspect major changes to come after reading Foer's Eating Animals. It honestly scares me to think that I will potentially quit not just meat, but also dairy products. But we'll see; I might be giving myself more credit and willpower than I'll actually be able to exercise. But back to the banana bread. The recipe I tried in the past was good but very dense. This one is more of a coffee/tea type of bread and it's round and shorter so there's more crunchy crusts to go around!

We've also had Korean lettuce-meat-wrap two nights in a row. This restaurant at Warden and Lawrence called Makkal Chon is affordable, the portions are generous, and just look at the vegetable variety! I love soft cabbage.

Went on a second mini antique road trip with Jules and it sucked! Since I know that nobody from Hamilton reads this blog, I'll just come out and say it—I didn't much like it there! However, we drove through a neighbourhood that's similar to our fancy schmancy Bridlepath 'hood, but with more character and beauty. Will post photos up another time...along with the promised pictures from the first trip.

The dogre and I also had a heated argument (one sided...me) when we got back. Basically, the property manager of this unit finally (I lost count of the number of viewings, mostly because they started doing open house!) scored a future tenant but then emailed the dogre late at night to tell us that they would be coming in the next morning to take measurements of the place. Well, I'm almost certain this is illegal. They had the right to do showings to acquire tenants and they have access to enter for maintenance/fix-ups; but they definitely can't just stroll in during our time, for which we paid for, to allow the upcoming tenant to take measurements! So I took issue with how it was legally wrong, and at the very least inconsiderately last minute, but I also took issue with the fact that the dogre was quick to bend over and take it. Especially when it was inconveniencing me as he wouldn't be home. I got into a whole schpew about principles and him not considering my viewpoints and our general lack of assertiveness with these kinds of things. It all boiled down to selecting the road with the least hiccups and ass-paining, as well as not wanting to add another item on his plate (which I wholeheartedly admitted was large and I've been trying to ease). Why am I telling you this? No clue...Just making conversation, you know? Geez. Maybe I'm documenting this to remind ourselves to be better to our own tenants, should we decide to go down that route. Or, maybe it's because I'm such a gossip that I've even resorted to airing out our own "dirty laundry" to friends and strangers alike. But most likely, it's to use as ammunition for a future spat! Hehe. Who knows. In any case, you're here reading it, so you're no better!

Oh, and I wasn't completely unproductive over the weekend—my resume now (barely) fits onto one page! Hoorah- It's actually very intimidating to draft a resume as an aspiring Graphic Designer...Have you seen samples!? Look here. And here.

By the by, most of my titles are pulled from songs. This one, which I really like, is from Baby Now by Nichole Alden, used here:

Bullet proof vests are like hugs!

Had dinner at Banjara (over by Christie Pitts) with friends last night and then shamelessly gobbled up my leftovers just before passing out on the sofa (seriously knocked out. drool everywhere). Guess what I learned? Indian food gives me crazy nightmares. I woke up in the middle of the night covered in sweat, took forever to fall back asleep, and startled yet again after another nightmare! Oh, and the dogre did little to comfort. Jerk. So new rule: no indian cuisine after nine o'clock. That face over there sums up how I felt.

We've been very busy creating box towers all over our home and visiting the dogre's parents' house to assist with the cleaning before they list next week. This is a snapshot of the attic at Prudhommes Antique Market but is very similar to how cluttered their house is. After twelve years, they've amassed many antiques, artwork, and more cups and plates than the five-storied antique shop holds!

We're off to see our lawyer now to empty out our whole bank account and then head uptown to help out some more. The weather in Toronto is super-duper lovely today, so I'm hoping to squeeze in some evening cycling!

"Why is this happening to me!?"

So I may become the next Youtube sensation, found under the search "girl craps her pants at major intersection of Yonge and Bloor". Backtrack; I'm having the root canal procedure (along with prep work and temporary crowning on two teeth. costing about $3500) on Friday morning. This means I'll be heavily sedated from Thursday night onwards to ease my anxiety—I'll even be wheelchaired home (I'm a dentophobe so we're going all out and sparing no expenses, as I've opted for the fancifully titled "conscious sedation". believe-you-me, I need this! I've experienced multiple wisdom teeth/root canal procedures gone wrong while fully alert. I clenched my fists, crossed my legs and toes, and had to control myself from shrieking or crying). Enter, potential Youtube fame. I've never been on mood altering medication before and fear the worst behaviour possible...Maybe I'll call the dogre by the name of an old flame, or maybe I'll crap my pants. Or, maybe I'll crap my pants and then ask the dogre, addressing him by the wrong name, to clean me up. Of course, he wouldn't be so cruel to post that up on the internet...But, we're definitely interested in videotaping the aftereffects, as we predict it'll be memorable (and also? we've only used our fancy camcorder three times and we're feeling guilty)! Onto happier things. Like, looking at a photo of the new place!

We had to wear hard hats and steel toed boots for the inspection. Unfortunately, I wore mocs that day and had to stick my bare feet into foreign boots...Disgusting.

The dogre's eldest sister, who was a shopaholic and worked at Aritzia (a dangerous combination), moved to Vancouver last year and returned for a week to attend a wedding. Why do you care? Because, mon friend, after she packed up to return, she then let finn and I raid her leftovers! I'm the happy owner of pre-loved Aritzia pieces (including beautifully gray $200+ jeans), belts, and jewelry. Le sigh. What else, what else...

We changed vets. Our previous vet was incompetent. Example: Rocky chews and licks his paws a lot, which can indicate allergies. We took him and paid $80 for them to do some allergy test but never received a followup. Later, we asked what the results were and the jerk claimed we had never done such a test! Our first impression of the new vet was all sorts of positive. All staff members were professional, friendly, and knowledgeable. They were straightforward with costs and concerns, addressing all of our questions and showing a genuine interest in Rocky. It was very apparent that they were animal lovers! We'll be taking Mia in for a checkup after the move. Oh, and Rocky is a healthy, healthy boy! Next, food.

Miga, a Korean BBQ house, is fairly new and on the pricier side (targeted towards non-Koreans, we think). But, the quality makes up for the the higher price! My belly sang a sweet, sweet love song to my tastebuds all night long. New recipe of the week:

My first attempt at a lemon poppy seed loaf. A success story, really! Recipe here.

For Mother's Day festivities, we had burgers with the cousins, sans the dogre's mom. We had Greek with my mom but it was less impressive so no photo proof here.

This is what happens when the dogre works an evening shift. Random, lonesome dinners consisting of leftovers straight out of the tupperware or a bowl of cubed apples and feta cheese, drizzled in balsamic vinegar and olive oil. In bed. In front of the laptop or book. Tasty, but sad.

As revenge, the dogre has been appointed the role of Box Hunter. Where there are poo-stinky cardboard boxes, there is the dogre! Seastar and Mr. L play x-rated Monopoly.

Looking forward to a mini road trip with my cousin. We'll be checking out antique shops in the countryside. Will post any good finds we score. Hopefully, will not post while medicated and write regrettable things. I've already asked the dogre to hide away phones and computers. Side note, Vampire Diaries is juicier than ever! Cannot wait for the season finale (this Thursday). No more shame! Just pure enjoyment.

I shall leave you with something that made the inner typography lover in me giggle, years before I had chosen such a path. The Font Conference:

Lightning don't strike twice / Unless the topic is dentist and the dogress' oral health.

Ahh, pistachio gelato! An indication of summer to come. The weather's been unfriendly these past few days. Maybe it's a reflection of my miserable physical state. More on that later. Because I know you care. You do care, right? Good, so tonight it'll be a sandwich-style post: fluffy happy carbs around rotten, disgusting, despicable meat. So, let's begin.

Happy carbs—a beautiful wooden cake stand, as seen on ohjoy.blogs.com...

Happy carbs—we finally "cashed in" our large plastic bag full of coins at a nearby Canadian Tire. Sure, they took a nine percent cut, but we still skipped away with about fifty buckaroos!

Happy carbs—in all likelihood, we'll be sleeping in the new casa come May 29! Yep! The contractors didn't go on strike, home inspection is next week (so nervous and excited), money, paper work, and key(!) exchanges on the 28th, and move in by the 29th. We just need to book the elevator at our current building and hire movers. Feels surreal. I know I was all ambitious about re-painting our walls gray, putting up a chalkboard wall in the bedroom, and personalizing hardware pieces (switch plates, knobs, hooks, hangers, you name it!) but we'll likely delay all of that and just enjoy the bare skin and bones of our first home. Heehee. Looking forward to having the stipple ceiling removed and shopping around for a dining table, chairs, coffee table, office furniture (inspirational desk diy here), and lighting fixtures! Oh, and an electric stove heater, of course.

     {canadiantire.ca}

Happy carbs—a little ditty that the dogre is obsessed with. She'll be performing at some cafe on the west end, come May, and we're going to take a gander.

Happy carbs—a friend and I will soon be starting our very own Toronto picnic club! We'll take turns picking the park, date, and time, and attendees will bring their own blankets and food to share. It'll be an open invite to friends and friends of friends as well! Interested? 

Rotten meat—I've been dealing with persistent toothaches since January, after I got a filling in one of my top right molars. I went back before but my dentist attributed the pain to minor sensitivity exacerbated by my clenching+grinding. She merely shaved down the filling to fix my bite and refitted my nightguard (yes, I wear one. so does the dogre. we make a very sexy couple, you know). She was wrong. In fact, what I had thought were pesky allergy symptoms may actually be the consequences of nerve damage when the filling was put in. Why else would only the right side of my face (nose, eyes, head, ears) hurt? After today's visit, she's now 95% sure I've got an infection and sent me on my way with a prescription to penicillin and pain killers, requesting a followup in two days. They shuffled me around the whole visit, and unsurprisingly, totally changed the followup date and time without even consulting me. Oh, and now they've assigned me to the head dentist, who I find eerie and fake. And scary. I'll need the dogre to escort me again because I turn into a wide-eyed trembling doe (but cuter, of course) whenever I visit the dentist. Seriously, I have a phobia of dental offices and always leave nauseated and drowsy due to exhaustion, even if it's a ten minute consultation where they adjusted my nightguard! So anyhow, the dogre hates the place. He thinks they lack general courtesy and professionalism and calls it the fast food restaurant of dental clinics. I think he's right—they rushed me, all of them in a terrible hurry and showed a serious lack of patient care. I'm likely to change dentists, but after they resolve this issue because why should I pay elsewhere for their mistakes! They've yet to charge me for any followup visits I made since January because they know it's their misstep. And now, after a google search on the dangers of an untreated abscessed tooth, I'm freaking out over jaw bone and facial tissue damage, eyes, nose, ears, and brain infection! I'm wondering how worried I should be that my jaw feels weird, that my right nose and eye have been painfully dry and sore, and that I've been dealing with severe headaches! I'm the dogre is going to give the head dentist some serious drilling because I need to be assured that the infection hasn't dangerously spread elsewhere. On a related note, here's my word of the day for you: iatrogenic—a malady induced inadvertently by a physician or surgeon, or by a medical treatment or diagnostic procedures.

Happy carbs—mr. L alerted my seastar, who informed me, that we had missed our seastar anniversaire this year! So, we had a late celebration, doing what we do best; we ate. And then ate some more. We also nursed three cider beers each for five hours. My alcohol tolerance has become laughable.

Happy carbs—our home is super clean out of necessity and courtesy to the unit owners, who are struggling to rent this place out. Actually, we can call this one happy carbs/rotten meat because we've been inconvenienced with twenty six viewings thus far. 26! On one evening, they showed the place to six different individuals at six separate times. I don't think the manager has a good grasp of efficiency, as her ad sucked and she isn't even screening the inquirers. She's also getting the condo concierge to do her legwork, even though it isn't part of his job description and he doesn't receive monetary compensation! It's really annoying for us because it affects when we can cook, eat, and relax. But, times are tough and I suppose people are less inclined to spend x amount of money on a shoebox we've been calling home.

Happy carbs—these awesome titanium aviators by Ray-Ban.

Happy carbs—an adorable anchor necklace purchased at UO over the weekend. $20!

Happy carbs—food visuals! We ate at voglie ristorante & lounge,  just north of Church and Wellesley, for a friend's birthday dinner.

Clockwise: spaghettini al pomodoro with chicken, grilled new york strip, penne alla vodka, roasted chicken supreme. I'd return! Gawd, how I love spaghettini. It's my favourite! So thin and plentiful, and easily coated with sauce...Dreamy.

Some new recipes we tried last week...

Roasted maple chicken and sweet potatoes, turkey and bacon sandwich with avocado and pesto, toasted prosciutto, apple, and cheddar sandwich with honey mustard sauce, and chocolate chip oreo cookies. All recipes here, on my online recipe box. Looking forward to baking a lemon poppy seed loaf sometime this week.

Mama's Pizza had a special event and we got deliciously thin medium pepperoni pies for $4.99 each.

Really, are you even surprised to see pizza again? I forgot to eat dinner...Oops! How about another word before I leave: sesquipedalianism—given to using long words (I can think of a couple of people who intentionally and unnecessarily use long or fancy words...heh). Bye now!