Category: Events

An Anti-Valentine’s Day Dinner Party

Feb
14
2011

Like a lot of people out there (notably single) the over-commercialization of Valentine’s Day just grinds their gears. The over-priced heart-shaped chocolates, the fluffy teddy bears, the couples sitting down to a romantic meal in a restaurant, seeing your co-worker getting a ginormous bouquet delivered to her in the office by her significant other… you know the deal. Well this year I decided to have an Anti-Valentine’s Day Dinner to celebrate with all my single friends.

On the menu was:

Spring Salad

“Can’t Wait ‘Til” Spring Mix Salad and Avocado with a Creamy Vinaigrette

Making your own salad dressing is a big money-saver. For this one I used some olive oil, balsamic vinegar, a dab of mayonnaise, some lemon juice, parsley, salt and pepper.

Shrimp Dumplings

“Stuff You” Steamed Shrimp Dumplings

I admit, this is from a store-bought package, but they tasted delicious!

Bacon-Wrapped Asparagus

“Spear My Heart” Bacon-Wrapped Asparagus

So yummy. My first time trying anything wrapped in asparagus.

Jerk Chicken with Penne Pasta in a Cream Sauce

“He’s A Jerk” Chicken with Penne Pasta in a Cream Sauce

I marinated some chicken breasts overnight in a home-made jerk sauce (could’ve used more “jerk” though). Next time I’ll be sure to add some scotch bonnet peppers.

Chocolate Lava Cake with Ice Cream

“Dark Hearts” Chocolate Lava Cake with Vanilla Ice Cream

I meant to make the cake (and even the Ice Cream) from scratch, but was running out of prep time (had to go salsa dancing later that night!). Not as “lava-ey” as I hoped (I think I left them in the oven too long), but still quite tasty.

Chocolate-Caramel Apples

And my girl Colleen brought some fan-freakin-tastic chocolate-caramel covered apples for post-dessert! Courtesy of The Real Canadian Superstore (who knew?).

Dinner went wonderfully, and my lovely friends definitely enjoyed all the food (thank you for coming!). Who knows? Maybe I’ll make this an annual thing… we’ll see what cupid has in store.

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Posted in Food, Holidays | No Comments »

All I Want(ed) for Christmas…

Dec
25
2010

Christmas is one of those holidays that sparks a lot of memories for each person when it comes to this time of year. Whether it’s helping out those in need, travel woes trying to make it home in time to spend with loved ones, those special moments with friends and family, shopping hassles trying to find that perfect present.

Speaking of presents, I’m sure a lot of you at one time or another have been double-checking around the Christmas tree after all your gifts were unwrapped, wondering, “That’s it?”, or have tried to keep a straight face when you open yet another ugly, knitted sweater or boxed panettone cake (“Gee… it’s what I’ve always wanted!” )

That’s made me think of some of the gifts of yesteryear that I’ve always wanted to receive for Christmas, but never got. Here’s my list (in no particular order):

  • Pogo
    Not only did this thing look like the planet Saturn, but it made you feel like you were bouncing on the moon (yes, I tried the one my friend got back in the 6th grade).

    • Pogo Ball

  • Easy Bake Oven
    I swear, if I had this growing up, I cooking and baking would’ve definitely become my profession instead of my hobby.

    • Easy Bake Oven

  • Dream Phone
    Is it too much to ask to call guys and get clues to find out which guy really likes you? “Hello, hunks!” Seriously though: is it just me, or are the guys in the commercial, like, 30-years-old?
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  • Tamagotchi
    I borrowed my friend’s once. I vaguely remember killing the pixel-based creature.

    • Tamagotchi

  • Girl Talk
    I’m not quite sure if I’d take the dare over the zit sticker.

    • Girl Talk board game

  • Mall Madness
    If I got this game as a gift, I would probably be more of a shop-a-holic than I am now.
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  • Skip-It
    This was definitely a workout. I forgot how many “skips” I clocked, but I was in the high double-digits for sure.

    • Skip-It

  • Teddy Ruxpin
    Who wouldn’t want a talking, animatronic teddy bear? Just as long as it didn’t end up like Chucky. LOL@the zombie-like response from all of the kids in the commercial after Teddy asks if they could be friends.
    YouTube Preview Image

Now of course Christmas is not all about the latest fads and gifts, so I’d like to thank Mom and Dad for the gifts they did manage to get me over the Christmases (like the Lite-Brite, She-Ra doll, Popples, Nintendo and the Star Trek paraphernalia). The holiday season is about being thankful for what you already have, spending quality time with your loved ones, and helping those less fortunate than yourself during this great season. As commercial as this holiday season has come, stemming from its humble beginnings with the miraculous birth that one silent night, I hope that everyone acknowledges the true meaning to the season and enjoys their holidays to the fullest.

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Posted in Holidays, Rants & Raves | 1 Comment »

Earth Day: Think Green

Apr
22
2010

Image from Google EarthToday marks the 40th anniversary of Earth Day, which was designed to inspire awareness and appreciate for the environment.

There are a lot of events going on in the city and across the nation. But it’s important to remember that being mindful of Earth’s environment should be done 365 days a year.

I’m happy to see so much positive change when it comes to environmental promotion, less consuming, recycling, and reusing. But there’s so many things that could still be done. I’m going to try to to my part to help conserve and keep Earth as green as possible, whether it means opting for public transit over driving, turning off unnecessary lights, or by carefully recycling all that I can.

Be sure to do your part. Get involved. Keep in mind that this planet is the only one we have, and we need to sustain it.

Find out more about Earth Day events in your city (including taking the Brita® FilterForGood pledge at Yonge-Dundas Square to reduce bottled water waste) by visiting earthday.ca. If you’re free this weekend and would like to attend a fun and educational eco-consumer show, visit the Green Living Show at Exhibition Place in Toronto. Check out the details at greenlivingonline.ca

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Posted in Events, General | 1 Comment »

Let’s go to The EX!

Aug
21
2008

The EX

It’s that time of year again. The Canadian National Exhibition opened last Friday, and I finally made my way down there yesterday. Great crowd (esp. because of the Canada vs. Jamaica soccer/football game at BMO Field). Of course my first stop was the Food Building, since I was starving.Wheelchair Basketball Olympic Exhibit at The EX Had a potato roti (no, I couldn’t afford the one with meat… lol), shared some fries & gravy with my friend and then we rolled out of there after we overate.

It’s a good thing the Olympic Exhibits are right outside the food building. After seeing some awesome trampoline work by some athletes, my friend and I tried wheelchair basketball which was a cool experience (check out my form :P ).

Then it was off to shop in the warehouse outlets housed in the Direct Energy Centre… got myself some nice deals at Stitches (can’t go wrong with $2.50 for a graphic T-shirt).

We missed a part of the Grand Illusion & Escape Artist show (featuring The EXKevin Ridgeway and Kristen Johnson), but we did manage to see her get submerged into a tank of water and escape from locked chains which was cool.

As the sun went down, we managed to sneak in a bit of the game by watching the giant screen just outside BMO Field (ended up in a tie game). Then it was time to call it a day.

I’ll probably be going again next week to get more Tiny Tom donuts. :D

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Posted in Festivals, Random | 1 Comment »

Jump Up! It’s Caribana!

Aug
03
2008

Caribana Parade 2008

Yesterday was Toronto’s popular Caribana parade, the highlight of the two-week celebration that brings a huge amount of tourism and Caribbean flavour to the city.

It was a gorgeous day on Saturday (after the morning rain let up at least), so I decided to make a last minute trip and head down to see the parade. I think I spent more time on transit than I actually did at the parade itself! Getting from any of the subways stations down to the Caribana Parade 2008Exhibition grounds was crazy. My friend and I were lucky enough to get a seat on the way down there and on the way back (makes a huge different walking to the previous stop). The bus was packed and there was a lot of traffic on the road heading down to to the parade.

Once along the Lakeshore, we were greated by wonderful sounds of steel pans, soca music and the smell of delicious Caribbean food. There were so many people, many of which were adorned in in a flag from their retrospective Caribbean nation, in costume (I guess they got all tired out from playing mas), or wearing as little as possible/dressed to impress. What sucked though that all the ‘real’ Caribbean food was on the lake-side of the parade, and there were fences sectioning off the parade from the other side that we were on: I couldn’t find a way to get the roti I was craving! :( Plus my friend had to head to work, so we walked around for a bit, took some photos, grabbed the Caribana Parade 2008most DELIOUS, sweet-tasting corn-on-the-cob ever (which was the most ‘Caribbean’ option available over hamburgers, fries, hot dogs and cotton candy) and headed home.

All in all, it was a fun day (especially the people-watching… if only we were fashion police). I was planning to go to Olympic Island today for the Island Festival, but I think I’m too late to buy tickets. :P Next year I’ll make better plans though, and make sure I get there early!

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Posted in Festivals | No Comments »