She like laugh at that and a gone a Canada.

We had a pretty fantastic Saturday! Woke up all relaxed, mid-morning and lounged before heading out for some furniture shopping. Voila ici.

Yes, the tulip knockoff. And did you know they serve beer at Ikea? Something about drinking in a family friendly place like Ikea seemed badass so I felt compelled to order a bottle with my meal. Because, I mean, I am badass, so I need to do my part, you know? Next up, rugs, wall decor, new lighting for the den (above the dining table), and furniture for our gaaarden.

We're quite pleased with how everything is coming together but I have to admit that it all feels a bit too modern and sleek. In contrast, my inspiration folder is full of images that exude a non-fussy, airy, rustic farmhouse-esque/lovingly distressed feel. I'm itching to make this place more homely but need to remind myself that we're intentionally creating a space that will attract future buyers. But I'm not complaining. This isn't a complaint! I do really love each piece—but we're careful to acquire versatile items that can be used differently at another place and time.

SIDE NOTE: planning for the wedding, the ceremony, and moving into our first home all felt very natural to us. but buying a full bed set really got to me and it was as if I only now realized that I was married, had a husband, and was in this specific stage in life! and today, shopping for dining tables, was another reminder. more importantly, as we stuffed our faces with meatballs and mashed potatoes and chatted about the people in the playground just outside (we love people watching and making snarky comments), it happened; our first discussion about kids without it dripping in repulsion and feelings of anxiety/nausea. still prefaced with ifs and one thousand percent certainty that if we ever decided to procreate, it wouldn't be for at least another four or five years, but something was definitely different. and it unnerved us. It's giving me hives just typing about it right now. Have you read We Need To Talk About Kevin? Don't; if you're on the fence about children, don't! Let's change topics. We also visited Sheridan Nurseries and started up a mini garden on our balcony. Sweet million tomatoes and chives, mon friends! 

Hmm, I wonder if the secret ingredient to the fertilizer is sewage sludge. Dun, dun, dun!

Our lack of proper tools (the basics, really. pliers!) resulted in a lengthy but rewarding bike ride to Home Depot. Rewarding because I got to eat at Harvey's and Mad Italian Gelato Bar (pistachio and hazelnut). Leave me be, there were a lot of slight, barely-there inclines hills and I needed the energy! I had to mask my eyes because they looked all sneaky. But never-you-mind that, pay attention to my legs; they look so long! But, so does my torso. I'm what you call a flip phone body.

We finally celebrated Rocky's sixth birthday (two weeks late). Got him a peanut butter cookie bigger than his face!

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.

I think I was always misunderstood.

The move was successful, save a few obnoxious hiccups (we were without a working fridge for four days. devastating condiments casualty in this household. don't worry, the ketchup survived). Still preoccupied with a few details; customer care staff and trade workers coming in and out. Also, the dogre and I have been earnestly discussing my short term-long term (career) goals and plans, which I'll share once I've got something more concrete to divulge (for now, it remains a fluff of hopes, dreams, and starry eyes. sort of, not really). In the mean time, enjoy this amazing commercial, shared on A Cup of Jo:

No photos until we've tidied the place up! Our "den" is still barricaded with boxes. But, psst—we've officially graduated into adulthood: a full bed set! Flat sheets, more pillows than necessary, new duvet covers and all.

Picture perfect memories scattered all around the floor.

Came up with a list of things that I'll miss about our shoebox home:

1. The "unlimited" supply of utilities (goodbye random cooking/baking spritz and running water...hello candles! I exaggerate. hehe. sort of)

2. Sitting in the bedroom and still being able to look at and chat with the dogre when he's all the way across the house, in the kitchen. though...he claims to not hear me at times, which I think is a lie!

3. Access around the downtown core by foot. Public transportation!? Nooooooo!

4. Saying goodbye to our first home together as husband and wife.

But...I honestly won't miss it all that much. Excited to move! Countdown: 3 days! Keys in hands in: 2! TWO! Come Friday, I'm going to run in and be the first to use the toilet! Already wanting to change the lighting fixtures above our kitchen island to this pendant but it's likely too "heavy" for the space. Poo-poo.

I don't remember if I mentioned this before but Rocky gets very anxious if he sees luggage and cardboard boxes around the house. It's probably because every time they're out, somebody disappears for a long time (i.e. when I spent the summers in Korea or when my brother moved to Vancouver). When we packed up for our honeymoon, he spent every night in our open suitcase, just in case. Now he's doing the same with our moving boxes and luggage pieces. He's also extra grumpy. And no, it's not because I forced him to wear a toupée! By the by, you know you're looney when you think time is well spent touching up the whites of your dog's eyes in Photoshop. And it is!

Also, the super crafty Heidi Kenny creates the cutest things and provided a free printable dirty dozen cheat sheet, available here on her site. Dirty dozen being the fruits and vegetables that the USDA advises you always buy organic because they carry the highest levels of pesticide residues even after washing them. And then there are the items that are okay to buy non-organic. Finally, a visit to my blog has been resourceful to you! Goody.

I'll be without internet access until Sunday morning! Will be suffering serious internet and tv show withdrawal, I'm sure. Bye for now. Remember to hydrate yourself after shedding all those tears for me. In the mean time, how about a warm, feel-good documentary? I lied. Learn about why you should be asking your local farmers or produce sources what they put in their crops. This video may deter you from eating your fruits and vegetables! We live our days unaware that what we so casually flush away is turned to sewage sludge, full of metals, human waste, chemicals, solvents, tampons, condoms, et cetera, and spread onto our lawns, farm lands, and waters...consequently returned back for consumption! If you're only interested in Canada, start at the 18 minute mark.

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:

"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:

First Impressions. / Pre-delivery inspection.

Song: Pulling Our Weight by The Radio Dept.

I was super excited about posting this but after wasting thirty minutes trying to figure out why my video wouldn't import into iMovie and an additional thirty learning how to convert it to something else, I lost steam. So, voila ici, cheesetastic effects. Of course, that doesn't explain my shoddy and shaky filming job...but how dare you judge me! Oh, and you'll notice the watermark up top—that's what you get when you refuse to pay for a program. :(

COUNTDOWN: 18 DAYS

Packing has begun and we're baffled at how many boxes our little casa requires to clear out. The dogre has been frequenting street corners.

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!

I'm inadequate.

We finally have...a POSTAL CODE! Exciting. Oh, post title explanation: Rocky thinks I'm inadequate. Apparently, my commitment to eye crusties wiping is so appallingly lacking that he's learned to wipe them himself. Like a Shiba Inu...

Also, are you aware of his disability? Yes, his tongue is too big and long for his mouth. All you snooty canines of this world really shouldn't take eating so casually for granted!

I love how the Brits call their apartments, flats and their backyards, gardens. I'm going to relentlessly call our itty bitty balcony the gaaarden until you do so as well!

{apartmenttherapy.com}

By the way, if you aren't following The Selby, well, start already! You get to peek inside the fascinating homes of creative individuals.

And check out Present and Correct if you're as big of a stationery fanatic as moi.

Cute cake stands, yes? More pretty things (milkjugs, vases, dishes, etc) here.

{ohjoy.blogs.com}

For $40US, you can fancify your bikes with awesome wooden fenders!

 

From the Montreal etsy shop, red tail fender.

Lastly, you might be tired of my city poster gushing but A Cup of Jo brought new ones to my attention and seeing as how it's my blog and all, well here they are:

 

Originally found here.

I suppose it's time to study for my test now...which is in less than two hours!