A couple of weeks ago during my random walks, I stumbled upon the cutest little pastry shop by work. Located on King East, just a block east of Parliament lies one of the best pastry shops I’ve been to in the city. Roselle. Everything about this patisserie is amazing and I can taste the love that’s been put towards each pastry that’s been made. I’ve gone there 4x in as many weeks and I have yet to be disappointed.

My most favourite is probably the almond cookies, the almond paste just melts with the first bite you take.  There’s a tie for second place, the banana cream eclair is by far one of the best eclairs I’ve had since London, however, the pecan shortbread is impeccable, not too buttery and not too sweet. Everything made is simply divine.

Photographed above is the Trinity, it’s an earl gray custard filled petit choux on top of a sable breton base with a hazelnut cream. Delicious.

If you are in the Corktown area, Roselle is the place to be because desserts make you happy. 362 King St. East is the only address you need to know.

until next time…
-c.

Fall is my most favourite season. The colour change of the foliage. The crunchiness of the leaves. Just to name a few. One of the fall activities I’ve been wanting to do is apple picking. It’s not as big in Canada as it is in the States. So, during my weekend trip to Boston to visit Pothik and Sid and meet up with Christine, we headed a bit north of Boston to a very Bostonian fall activity: apple picking.

Besides the endless picking of apples, we were able to enjoy a beautiful fall day that Boston is well-known for. I must say though the picked apples are far more superior than the apples we get from the grocery store. If it wasn’t a custom thing, I would have brought apples across the border because they were that good. Pothik said the best part of apple picking wasn’t really the activity of apple picking but the apple cider donuts. Oh they were delicious. Freshly made from the oven. Apple cider donuts is the best thing to eat after walking around aimlessly through the apple trees.

Monday Musts #8 : On a crisp fall day, go apple picking with friends or make it  a date with your significant other.

The best kind of concerts are the ones that turn into a big dance party. If you haven’t gone to such a concert, I suggest you go to one. Each year I try to go to at least one. Last year, Arcade Fire threw a costume dance party at the ACC and I was lucky enough to the ultimate dance party while getting the floor access. This year, I finally got the chance to see the Icelandic group, Of Monsters and Men, at TURF.

It took place at Fort York, Garrison Commons – and luckily the rain held out and we enjoyed a great night listening to amazing music. There’s something about outdoor music festivals… it’s probably the most lax atmosphere you can imagine. Food trucks lined the TURF grounds, as everyone chilled on the grass.

We got there a little after 8pm and had the opportunity to catch UB40… like I told Dons – you will know who they are if you just hear their songs. Their 2 most famous songs are “Red Red Wine” and “Can’t Help Falling in Love with You.” I especially enjoyed their performance because it was so carefree with so much Jamaican influence… it felt like you were on a beach sipping on some cocktails.

At around 9pm… we walked back to the main stage area to wait for Of Monsters and Men. Like all the past outdoor concerts I’ve gone to it turns to this gigantic dance party. When I listen to their songs with my earphones or just blasting it on my speakers – you sometimes don’t realise how many instruments are being used. Case in point, I was so amazed by how many instruments each of the members played… each song required a change of instruments. The dance party broke out when they played their hit single “Little Talks.”

Monday Musts #7: Go to an outdoor music festival/concert and just dance the night away.

… until next time
-c.

As we grow older we are inclined to really not celebrate our birthdays. Some most than others. It’s usually the case for Donna, however, this year she decided to be organized and efficient and sent out a save-the-date two weeks prior to her birthday. Of course, this was the year we decided to throw her a surprise party. It was a small bump we had to overcome but it wasn’t as hard as you would think. Luckily, the past weekend she was in NYC, so when it came down to making a dinner reservation, I decided to be the helpful friend that would call and make a reso. We found out the resto she wanted was too small to house 30 people. So when Sunday night rolled through… I randomly emailed Mascot Brewery (Toronto’s top summer rooftop patio) if they could accommodate us, last minute. Sure enough they did. I made the deposit without really thinking of how to convince Donna to have her dinner there.

Monday came around and I decided to give her a call to tell her that MissThings was fully booked. I strategically let it slip that she should check out Mascot Brewery. She said she would go and have a look and I told her adamantly that I can make the reservation because I knew someone that worked there. (Yep! She has this much trust in me.) She said to go for it. Everything was coming into place. She also suggested the late start of 7:30pm, which was what we had planned all along. I love in the midst of this – she would still ask us if the time would be good for us… seeing it that it was a Thursday.

We got to Mascot just after 6:30 and were welcomed by Sean and Michelle. Seriously. I can’t thank this team for their amazing customer service. During their busiest nights, they still find ways to check up on us to make sure everything is good and making sure we have everything we needed throughout the night. We were situated right by the entrance with 3 picnic tables, I noticed that once we come in, the furthest table was the first thing she would see. So, we had the 7 people she actually invited to dinner to sit there, while the rest just makes themselves scarce.

All this time, we were in contact with Donna – with Jia accompanying her. She really wanted to change things around because she actually wanted to be on time this year. With a delivery from Drew and Jia’s slow walking pace… she managed to be late :D I met her and Jia downstairs because it really was a maze going to the patio. And… S U R P R I S E !!! Her reaction was priceless. She was so startled she nearly ran into the table by us and she bee-lined to the entrance. Yep.  That’s Donski for you.

Also… just a quick shout out to the Mascot Brewery team for the venue + the impeccable service and Fred from Delysees for the amazing cakes !

Monday Musts #6: Plan a surprise birthday party for an unsuspected friend and have it go according to plan.

… until next time.
-c.

This past Saturday we celebrated Jenny’s birthday (aka ‘creative twin’ aka ‘custom-card-guru-maker‘)… and I knew that the celebration was going to be epic, since she sent out a SAVE THE DATE a month prior and she’s not much for celebrating her birthday – so it was going to be special.

We all met up at a park in uptown… where it all began. It broke down into 3 games : the egg hunt, the 3-legged race and the be-the-first-group-to-melt-the-ball-of-ice. Can I just say that this brought me back to being a kid again? Which brings me to the point… no matter how old you are… you’re inner child is always in you – it wouldn’t hurt to let out once in a while.

The eggs were hidden in the trail, in the bushes and up on the trees. We had to grab as many as we could. Inside each egg, there was a folded paper with either a letter, a pink heart or a blue heart. The first thing we had to spell was J-E-N-N-Y. Team Awesome lost this round.

The 3-legged race had me paired with Jia, we got the hang of it on our way back. But it’s all good, as we cross the finish line with our friendship in tact. There were 2 heats, from each heat the first 2 that crossed the finish line went to the finals. I decided to stand on the other side and I was scared for my dear life. When I had 8 people literally running towards me to touch point then pivot back.

The last game was melting a ball of ice. Our group lost… ironically, the thing that made the ice was a gift from yours truly. #epicfail

The birthday girl got to hit the Dora the Explorer pinata. The kids had no mercy and took all of the candies. Then….. dinner rolled around in a form of a food truck. Oh yes! You heard me a FOOD TRUCK. The food truck had 3 sandwich options: fish po’boy, pulled duck and pork belly with a side of OUT-OF-THIS-WORLD-TRUFFLE-FRIES. All of the fries I’ll be consuming will be drizzled in truffle oil. Case closed. (Yes… it was that epic).

Monday Musts #5: Let your inner child out and celebrate your birthday at a park with games and a food truck.

… until next time.
-c.

Photography has always been a huge part of my life  ever since I picked up my first Canon DSLR Rebel. Capturing that moment. Freezing that emotion. It’s something special when you can capture it all. With the boom of Instagram – many are calling themselves “photographers” but truthfully… there’s only a handful of photographers out there. The ability to capture something and allowing us to feel some emotion is a rarity.

Then I encountered Alexander Yakovlev, a spectacular Russian photographer that captures the most amazing dance imagery. I’m still at awe.

Like seriously. Ah-mazing. Check out more of his work on his website… like RIGHT NOW!

… until next time.
-c.

Image source: Alexander Yakovlev

Monday Musts is a blog segment about the must-do’s, the must-haves, the must-eats, and pretty much a post about all things that must be in your life.

Driving in another country. There’s something about driving in an unknown country. Friends know driving isn’t something I enjoy in an everyday setting but put me in another country and I’m down. It all started several years ago during my West Coast visit that started with Wendy’s wedding in Vancouver. Then I decided to go to Seattle and from Seattle drove to Oregon. To this day, I found the Oregon coast to be the most beautiful and enjoyable drive I’ve experienced.

Last year, Savannah and I wanted to visit other cities in Ireland and the best option was to drive instead of taking a bus of sorts. Of course, at the that time, I didn’t think driving on the other side would be difficult. So, I was like sure why not. I actually didn’t freak out until I got in the driver’s seat and realized that this may be more challenging than I expected. But at that point it was too late. I just wanted to take this time to… Thank the Dublin-ers for being such polite and non-honking citizens. I’m pretty sure I broke many road rules with all the roundabouts but we survived. Yay!

Truth to be told, it was liberating to drive in Ireland or anywhere else I’ve traveled to. It gives you a sense of freedom and for that moment it felt like you are part of that culture. The drive to Cork was just fun except the part when our GPS decided to stop working as we were driving back to Dublin. Oh and to add on the craziness, it was also raining. So… thank you Dublin-ers for being such nice people. We literally stopped about half dozens pedestrians to direct us back to our hotel…. which was just 2 blocks of where we were once got off the highway. And here’s to no speeding tickets (that I know of). I was pretty liberal on the gas pedal. But to my defense… we were driving a compact car and it’s all about the flow of traffic.

Monday Musts #4: Let go. Drive on the other side of the road. Speed. And get lost.

… until next time.
-c.

A couple of weeks ago I was in New York, where I was reunited with my shopping partner in crime, Dave. Let’s just say after a year shopping hiatus, it went straight to first gear. And I didn’t look back. D and I have similar fashion sense and he always knows what kind of stuff I would like. Of course, this time it would be no different, even with the long distance friendship, he still knows what I like.

We went to Williamsburg on a fine Sunday afternoon and he brought me to the cutest store front called In God We Trust. Little did I know that they have 2 other brick and mortar locations in NYC. I went in… really not looking for anything (which is pretty much a sign I’ll be buying something)… and I just fell in love with the first thing I saw. The cutest romper one did ever see. I love the classic tailoring and when I showed it to D – he said I must tried it on. I was quite iffy on the size, so I didn’t have any high expectations on whether it’ll look good.

When I saw myself in the romper. I knew I had to get it. I came out and both D and the sales associates complimented on how well it fit. The tailoring was impeccable. It was the perfect piece to add into my wardrobe as I could dress it down or dress it up. Contemplated for 2 minutes and next thing I knew I was at cash. Obviously.

And now more about the store… what drew me to learn more about the brand was that I love the fact that everything is made in New York and the pieces aren’t mass produced. Every time I travel, I always make sure to check locally made products because I always love one of kind pieces. Where’s the fun of being like everyone else? “In God We Trust believes in locally-produced basics made with love and pride right here in NYC, and hopes that each piece purchased from the company will live happily in your own personal collection for years to come.” How amazing is that? And the staff – I absolutely love them – they made my shopping experience much more enjoyable. They weren’t too overcrowding but I appreciated their genuine opinions about how the pieces looked on me.

So if you are in New York, be sure to drop by In God We Trust. They have 3 locations: Williamsburg, SoHo & Greenpoint or you can just shop online.

… until next time
-c.

Indulge a little. I’m a bit of a food snob and I would spend good money on amazing food (when necessary, of course). Not to say I indulge every day of my life but when I crave for something amazing, I’m willing. As my friends would attest, the one thing I would spend my savings on are desserts. Amazingly goodness that just melts in my mouth. When I was in Paris, I bought the prettiest French pastries every night I was there. It was probably the most unnecessary expense but it was probably the highlight of my night.

When I was in London last year. I ended up falling in love with a Madagascar Vanilla Bean Eclair – TO THIS DAY… THE BEST ECLAIR I’VE HAD. I mean… it was $20 when push comes to shove. So it better be the best eclair I’ve had. I sat in a neighbourhood park, like a European would and took my time tasting the heavenly goodness. But let me tell you what happened prior to this. I was walking around Harrod’s, taking the sights and sounds of this ever-famous department store. And I remember Savannah mentioning to me that I should go to the Food Hall. And boy was she right. I didn’t know where to look. I stood in front of the pastries for a good 10minutes before deciding on the eclair. I still dream about it and it’s been almost a year. It was that good.

Seeing that I can’t always fly to Paris on a whim. I’ve searched high and low for amazing French pastries in Toronto. And I’ve found it in the form of a Parisian pastry bakery that opened up at King & Bathurst called Delysees. I absolutely love everything about this pâtisserie – I first fell in love with their croissants because there’s nothing like a Parisian croissant. It has the perfect flakiness and butter ratio – every bite brings me back to Paris. It’s also home to amazing macarons, eclairs and artisans pastry… such as the gigantic Ferrero dessert. If you are in the area, head over to Delysees. It’s the perfect Paris getaway in the city.

Monday Musts #3: Live a little. Indulge. And have amazing pastries.

… until next time
-c.

I just got back from New York yesterday.

And it just hit me that I’m back in my bed and I’m back at work. I’m back to my everyday.

Even though New York is just an hour plane ride away… it was still a getaway. And even though New York is a way busier city than Toronto. I still found moments of much needed quietness. Be it eating a croissant on a rock at Central Park. Or reading a book in Bryant Park. Or people watching at the High Line. Or just admiring the artwork at the MET. I found my solitude.

The day after traveling is the worst. I am no longer caught up in a rush of discovering a new area. Or eating something so amazing that I will never have until I return to the city.

The day after…. I catch myself looking for the next time I can book off my vacation. Withdrawal. Perusing my phone through the random snaps I took during my short time there.

Ah… the day after. After the day after… will the need of traveling just disappear?

Probably not.

until next time…
-c.

p.s. Yes. I know the image is of Monaco – I’m currently bombarding my Instagram with pieces of NYC. So I figure I’ll give you a break.