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There is a light and it never goes out...

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

Camel Toe & DT Bistro / A week(end) in food

Sunday night's dinner, in all its glory. Dogre, send a link of this post to your parents! (the dogre's mum often asks us what we eat and how we can possibly cook in such a small space and now we can show her that there's more to our diet than pizza—um, maybe you shouldn't send her the link to this post...just the photos). Dumpling soup, braised tofu, chilli dressing salad, and a little bit of meat on the side (find recipes on my online recipe box here), all haphazardly lovingly cooked by this dogress. Voila! 

We went on two dates this weekend. That's more than the last few weeks combined, me thinks! Firstly, we drove over to DT Bistro, our special spot for dessert and coffee (my favourite is the chocolate flourless cake but everything we've tried thus far has been good—mousse, tarts, cheesecakes...), for a light dinner.

Braised beef short ribs with mashed potatoes, house mixed green salad, passion fruit iced tea and mint orange iced tea. All delicious, especially the orange iced tea!

Secondly, we went on an impromptu date to the waters on Saturday afternoon—dogre style. Meaning: it was chilly and windy, he picked up sushi but forgot napkins and chopsticks, we ended up eating the food awkwardly in the car and took a brief walk before we had to flee because of all the insects. Plus, his eyes were caked with sand (Rocky's, not the dogre's...). All in all, it was fun. I love egg tarts!

Very different compared to the same trip we made last year, when we stopped over for some coffee and pastries at Pain Perdu, picked up deliciously fat burritos, and picnicked on a fallen tree. On that excursion, we had napkins and neither wind nor pesky insects were present. I even made a friend (only to be saddened when he injured a foot and his spirits fell...and other seagulls picked on him) and snapped photos of a family of swans (I almost wrote "sweens")! By the way, no Wrangler for us; used Kia Sportage instead. I find it endearing in an cute-ugly-dog way. The dogre vows to one day get a proper jeep though...

Oh, and he got me fresh flowers! What a beautiful lifestyle it would be to always have freshly cut flowers around the house. But how expensive! The dogre and I have agreed to my reasonable request for a monthly bouquet (that costs no more than $10).

What we don't want the dogre's mum to see: multiple pizza fests, mall food (calzones, greek, terriyaki), pasta, Korean, 7west carrot cake, fresh bagels, soup, DQ blizzards, and more tofu. Clearly, we're not very strict with recent goal towards better eating and health.

By the by, if you haven't tried the canned butternut squash soup by Wolfgang Puck, we can't be friends. I have high standards, you know. Bye.

And lastly, Jeudi and I walked over to Black Camel (the dogre has forever ruined the shop name for me by implanting 'camel toe' in its place...) and I got the roasted veggie sandwich again while she had the slow roasted beef brisket (five days to prepare! dry rubbed and marinated for three, slow cooked for half a day, and then left to "rest" for the remainder of the time). We were stuffed! Don't get the pulled pork though; it's very stringy and tough.

Animals and Itty bitties.

At the top of our summer activities list, along with decor shopping, cycling, and gelato-ing, is a trip to the zoo. Our last visit was eight hours long and by the end of the day, I was nursing a major headache and sore feet... I'm excited to return! Can't forget trips to the "beach" either. I have a couple of swimsuits but would graciously accept your offer to a shopping spree. Net-a-porter's been taunting me since December! And I haven't been resisting the looksies...

The long weekend in a snapshot. Or two...or three...or a few.

A bit of food...

Recipe for the braised tofu here.

Lin Garden in Scarborough. Really good Chinese-Indian Hakka food.

The in-laws are trying to sell off some pieces so I spent a few minutes snapping photos around their house.

Rocky had the most fun this weekend, tagging along on for the bike rides, enjoying some drive-by barking,* and rolling over dead bugs. Ahh, how lovely! And now we return to the typical Toronto spring weather full of gloom, wind, and rain. At least we have Monopoly!

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*Rocky used to love all dogs. But, when he was about two or three years old, we took him to a park and some random dogs ganged up on him. Since then, he's only been friendly to doggy friends of the past (though it's a one-sided love. one-sided on Rocky's part) and animals of different species. When he encounters unfamiliar dogs, he freaks out about 98% of the time. Le sigh. In any case, biking is heaven on wheels for him—he gets to sit leisurely in the basket while efficiently terrorizing dogs. Drive bike-by barking at its finest, really.

Shed some light on things / Goodies from afar

I love snail mail! Particularly when they introduce me to their travel mates—gifts! A buddy of the dogre's recently sent us a package of goodies from Busan (along with a sweet note that was ridiculously challenging to open up and I eventually...kind of...sort of...ripped up here and there. in my defense, it was a very complex heart shaped origami fold that must have taken a gajillion steps to make, I'm sure). Looking forward to more of this from my seastar (not so subtle hint hint, nudge nudge) when she leaves me this summer...for 4 to 5 years.

By the by, I never cared for birds as pets but was very tempted after looking at the flickr photo set here. I never knew you could bond like that with birdies!

And check out the jobs of yesteryear.

Scrotation marks! / Zara photoburst. And then some.

I think my fashion style screams clean basics with the occasional whimsy/quirk. It's also been called a cross between granny and French style (according to my seastar and the dogre). Comfort is essential to me. Along with not standing out...Which is why I gravitate towards cardigans, loose tees, and skinny jeans in grays, blacks, whites, and navy blues. When I'm feeling playful, I'll bust out floral prints and pops of colour. I've never really cared what the current trend was, picking up pieces that I liked and disregarding the rest, combining things that maybe would lift eyebrows, but mostly be ignored as uninteresting! When I picked up my new pair of high waisted, pleated trousers, I hemmed and hawed, foreseeing all the intense teasing I'd receive from friends and family. But, they looked so classic and fitted my ill proportioned legs to hip ratio of a body. Yes, I'm wearing two different shoes up there! I try on new purchases with the old because if it doesn't match at least a handful of things in my closet, it goes back to the shop. I had almost given up on Zara, actually. Everything on the racks looked fantastic but 'twas a different story on me body. More from Zara (such amazing prices—like twelve buckaroos for the skirt and tee). Sco-ore for me!:

The dogre and I have big news. We're going vegan. No, that's a lie. We're going strictly organic. That's not true either...What we've actually decided on is a conscious effort to go as organic and local as possible. Hoping to minimize consumption of preservatives and place an emphasis on fresh ingredients. And most importantly, we're watching our portions. Sort of. Over the weekend and for the father-in-law's birthday celebrations, we checked out Glow Grill at Don Mills and Lawrence. I was hesitant since the restaurant focuses on health and well being but everything was super delicious! Not that any of the fish dishes were sampled by moi... But I hear they were good too. Yumm—one step forward for us!

And five steps back because we also gorged on endless Korean table cooking of jumuluk meat, ssamjang, and sangchew on Monday evening with my mum. At least we had just as much greens? As for tonight, 'twas taco night in our casa. So good! So fresh! I wish every Wednesday was taco night but alas, it's probably too high in salt for such a dream to come true.

Random food photoburst. Including When Panda Mugs Attack (no, but that is the very mug that cut my toesies! tui, tui.)

I like my grilled cheese sandwiches lightly coated in unsalted butter, sprinkled with onion and chili powder, and oozing with sharp cheddar cheese! And, of course, a squirt of ketchup on the side. Try it! I sound especially frivolous and self-important tonight. Oh well, this will come in handy when I become a super fancy personal fashion advisor/food artist-photographer/book cover designer/interior decorator. Eh? And you're still planning on getting me that Leica you promised? Please and thank you!

NOTE: the beautiful trousers were returned. I was too consumed with financial guilt. Should have returned the sunglasses too but forgot. And now I don't want to go back because seeing on the receipt that I had already made one return may raise eyebrows and I don't want to be "that person." Le sigh.