my city...

toronto life lately...

 the ROM at night.

orange leaves and a walk through a gorgeous path (philosopher's walk).

i like seeing police on horses; it's like a throw back.

happy weekend!
dylan is on his way up for the day.
between his crazy classes and working, we've barely seen each other lately.
♥

ps: this is post #600!!! crazy!!

word on the street...

as me and my mom were driving back into toronto on sunday, i heard on the radio there was a book festival that afternoon in queens park! after we put my stuff away, we ventured on over. it was huge! tents and books galore! it took over the majority of the park and a main street.

 delicious, i'm sure, but we passed.

on the radio they had said the author of 'the book of awesome' was there at 4pm, but when we got there and saw how big this festival actually was, i didn't even know where to go. and i would have had no idea where he was. bummer. we didn't buy anything, and we didn't really stay too long. it was just way too crowded and i wasn't finding any good deal. you win some, you lose some.

treats...

**thank you all for your comments the last 2 days, re: my new hair and job!! much appreciated :):)**

a cookie shaped like a sundae. looks pretty good if you ask me.

  waiting is pure torture

her birthday treat.

 and some gelato for me. hazelnut and strawberry.

no longer jobless!

this is really exciting to say...

i got a job!!!!

i got the call yesterday. is it what i pictured myself doing 5 months post grad? no. a carrer job? no. but that's ok. i have a full time job, i'll get to meet people, hopefully have some fun, and make money!! because that's the important part ;) it was getting prettttyyyy close to me having to leave toronto because i couldn't find anything. so this was perfect timing. it's also my first job in 2 years!! what?!? crazy. what matters is that i can pay my rent + pay off my loans every month. at this point, my parents still pay for my cell phone, internet, cable and food (i know, i'm very lucky and grateful), so those are the 2 things i have to focus on. 

i'm not going to say where it is because 1) i don't know you people and i don't want stalkers!! ;)

2) i don't need this blog coming up in searches for that company. considering my friends/family still don't know about this blog, i don't need my workplace knowing either. again, not that i ever use this to say anything bad, it's just my journal and somewhat personal. ya know?

of course i'll still be looking for a career job (although at this point i still have no idea what i want that to be), but this takes a huge stressor off me. and, about an hour before i got the call, i was taking a look around my apartment and picturing myself telling my landlord i was going to have to leave. it was sad.

 thumbs up for no longer being unemployed! i start next monday :)

-miss yesterday's post? yep, you're at the right blog, i'm now part of the brunette club!

ch-ch-ch-changes...

nothing big or life altering, but...

long(ish) and blonde.

 4inches shorter (& healthier) and a rich brunette!

i kind of felt like carrie from SATC movie when she goes dark because she's in kind of a 'dark' period. i've done a post on my various hair colors and styles here. but really, i just needed a change. it's getting to be fall, i wanted something different, and i'm still jobless and really frustrated, so the new hair kind of suits my current general mood. (i also couldn't get a decent picture of myself with my new hair to save my life)

 ok i look bit more lively in this one.

*i've had it for 4 days and i still freak myself out when i walk by a mirror, even though i've been dark before.
**i'll be back to blonde in a few months ;) i still feel more me that way. even though this brunette is actually pretty close to my natural color, believe it or not!

happy birthday little one!

a happy 4th birthday

to the love of my life

the highlight of my day
and the one that can always make me laugh 

 she looks so thrilled to be taking her birthday pictures with her momma at 9am ;)

<3 

later on, she's off to the groomers so she can look all pretty going into her older years.

shop till you drop...

for the last 2 years, i've gone to something called loulou's shop till you drop (see the free swag i've gotten in past years here and here). it's put on by the magazine and a bunch of stores offer discounts, campagne, snacks, goodie bags and other fun stuff. my favorite place is winners because all you have to do is spend $50 and you get a wicked swag bag filled with girly things (it's like a stocking, but in september!); plus, i had a $50 gift card that i got back in may from my parents friends for grad which i still hadn't spent. that being said, every year is the same thing-if i don't see anything i want to buy, i don't get anything. i won't spend $50 just to get free stuff. that's silly. and a waste of money.

 at indigo-live jazz band, half eaten cake pop stand, and a delicious cake pop

 all freeeee. for meeeee. (which means that yes, i found stuff to buy!)

 the black bag on the left came with this big red circle scarf. love it. (from winners) ps. excuse the hair-it was pouring.

another bag from winners. toothpaste, perfume, spf, eye pencil, kleenex, palmers skin oil, blonde shampoo, iced tea packages, herbashine (to make your hair shiny!wooo), and a breakfast bar. and the magazine of course.

and the little black bag in the front- a bookmark, a sucker and a lipgloss from indigo. so what did i buy at winners? a plaid shirt (i was just thinking yesterday i needed a new one for this season, and it was $13!), a grey poncho type sweater (kind of? but hard to explain), valentines day dvd, and a nail polish. and because that came to $49 and it had to be $50 before tax (grrr), i bought a pack of mints to bring me to $52. 

i went to a few of the other stores, but there were long line ups and then it was really starting to rain and my feet were soaking wet and my shoulders were killing me from lugging around all my free stuff. poor me, eh? 

see ya next year! 

ps. i would also like to say that toronto is awesome for giving out free things. i get stuff all.the.time. on the streets.

bringing out my inner cook...

not only is this pasta dish easy and delicious, but it also makes a lot so i have leftovers for a few days afterwards :)

 plum tomatoes + garlic; feta cubes in oil and spices.

i'm not the best at describing recipes, mostly because there is no set recipe to follow with this. my dad just does whatever, and when i called him for the 'recipe' he just told me a few basic steps. so if anyone cares, here goes:

-heat a bit of extra virgin olive oil in a pan (the 2nd time i made this, i used a bit of oil from the feta package shown above).

-cut the plum tomatoes long ways and then again long ways. then dice into 3. or however big or small you want them really.

-when the oil is warm, throw the tomatoes in with some salt and pepper.

-keep them moving around every once in a while. also, start boiling salted water for your pasta (i prefer bowtie for this) and when ready, add your pasta.

-once the tomatoes start getting soft, add your cut up garlic (i use a lot because i love garlic). my dad puts it in at the beginning with the tomatoes, i put it in about half way. see, no rules.

-i let the tomatoes go on really low heat for about 25-30 minutes total. they get really soft and what not. then i had some basil, either fresh from my parents garden which i break up in small pieces or i guess you could put dried too. i have.

-when your pasta is done, drain (duh) and add to your pan with the tomatoes and garlic (so make sure you use a fairly big pan) and mix up! then i add the rest of the oil from the package shown above (or just some more extra virgin olive oil) and the feta cheese. mix mix mix so everything is covered and you're ready to go! 

ta-da!

a walk through the park...

you know what i noticed this weekend? that there's actually some leaves on the ground. and they're crunchy! random fact: i love crunchy leaves. i even joined a facebook group (back when people actually joined those) called 'i love the sound of stepping on crunchy leaves' or something along those lines. i got dressed in fall clothes for the first time this year (skinny jeans, black flat boots, a plum velvet belted blazer (kind of?) and a scarf and set out on a walk with chlo.

 orange leaves. some bare branches. leaves on the ground.

a second walk. more comfy shoes. more crunchy leaves.

fall came pretty quickly, and i'm certainly not complaining. seems it's here for good now, and not just random cold days in between hot ones. yay.

see how pretty your hair is...

have you all seen this video yet? probably. it's the newest viral hit.

is that not the cutest thing? (staged or not) i love the part about the 'boobies'-hilarious.

read the accompanying article here.

music on my mind...

some songs on repeat lately; some new, some old.

-Plain Jane Automobile - Stones

-Mat Kearney - Lifeline

-Coldplay - Every Teardrop is a Waterfall

-Coldplay - Paradise
-Band of Horses - The Funeral

-John Mayer - Heart of Life

-John Mayer - Assassin

-John Mayer--actually every song. yes every one. i love him.

-Ray Lamontagne - You Are The Best Thing

-Aqualung - Strange and Beautiful

-Aqualung - Brighter Than Sunshine

-Snow Patrol - You Could Be Happy

-Jason Castro (from American Idol) - Somewhere Over The Rainbow (absolutely love this song, and this is my absolute favorite version)

*each one will take you to the song on youtube*

when celebs tweet

...

 

  to which i replied 'oh we rocked it!"

ok, so maybe he's not the biggest celeb, but still.

i'll take this to mean that he's going to do well this season ;)

other celeb tweets here and here. 

tiff times...

when my mom drove me back to toronto on friday afternoon, she stayed for the weekend in hopes of seeing some celebs who are here for TIFF. mostly goerge clooney.

didn't see george :(

delicious daiquiris in between celeb stalking.

 cbs news people? not important enough for me to care ;)

 there were 2 labs in the back; it was pretty cute.

 crowds waiting across from the hazelton hotel in yorkville, where a lot of celebs stay. and a lot go to that starbucks, too ;)

free stuff throughout the day..4 vodka coolers, 5 cups of chocolate covered coffee beans, chips and cream. pretty good, i'd say. between these bottles, and the wine and sangria and vodka that's in there, my fridge currently looks like a liquor store.

holla.

 another day, walking by and seeing this crowd. it was some of the degrassi cast. it's a canadian show that's been on  for years and years (the 15 year old that it used to be about, are now the parents and teachers).

 i can't really consider these kids celebs. i've seen most of the cast around the city at some point or another by now (concerts, clubs, walking by...)

no celeb sightings yet (boo), but there's still 5 days left. i'm keeping my eyes ope. there's hope. 2 years ago, i wrote about seeing michael douglas and matt damon. then last year, here's posts about seeing james franco, michael c hall and sarah silverman. i would have loved to have seen ryna gosling and adam brody this year, but are  ya going to do, eh?

today, while the rest of UofT is starting classes, i'm not. it's still really bizarre to me. i'm an alumni. elementary school, high school, college, and finally university. i've always had classes to go to come september. it's rather unsettling knowing i won't be walking through that campus along with the thousands of other students anymore. of course, i still can, i just won't be one of them, and i won't be on my way to class. (and it's also not like i'm waking up going to work today either. nothing on the job front yet. so there's that, too.)

a couple weeks ago, i took chloe for a walk through campus just because. it really is so beautiful. that part, along with the comfort of stability, i'm really going to miss.

it was a good 4 years.

signs of fall...

you be your bottom dollar that as soon as the pumpkin spice latte was out, i was at my nearest starbucks throwing $4.15 at them. however, at that price for a tall, i won't be getting very many this season. and luckily, it was a chilly 14˚C that day; perfect pumpkin latte weather.

mm mm good. fall in a cup.

making cinnamon baked donuts

 just a wee bit too full...

some lost their 'hole' and look like muffins ha

have a chilly weekend!
i'm off to stalk bump into celebs that are here for TIFF ;)
♥

pool life...

after painting and playing with the dogs, we got some drinks together, bbq'd some burgers and went for a swim.

 whiskey + coke for him, vodka + 7up for me.

 he's so rude.

well crap, it might be blistering hot outside, but the water was chilly!

all is good. enjoying life (with a double neck).

drink up!

multitasking.

he thinks he's a lap dog. and i'm ok with that.

fish eye.

sketched.

 so, this was our labor day weekend. and just like that, the weather went from nearly 40˚C on friday to 15˚C on monday. i think fall is pretty much here to stay now.