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Nov 23, 2011

Treat or treat?

64.1
My emo pumpkin

Boo! Halloween is probably one of my least favourite holidays but this year I did something I haven't done in many many MANY years: PUMPKIN CARVING! Had I known ahead of time, I probably would've sketched out something but I decided to go with an emo pumpkin on the spot as you can see.

64.2

Emo pumpkin in the dark

We lit up the candles before it got dark :) Looks really "spooky" doesn't it.

64.3

This is Al's Movember inspired pumpkin. (yay to charity but eww to moustache).

Nov 7, 2011

Yo. I'm back.

I tried out a new Viet place last year near school (and blogged about it here). I said I would return to try something new.. and I finally did (2 months ago lol)!
On Dundas, East of University

I like how this place is always so clean :)

I opted for Pad Thai; the rest were ordered by my friends.

61.2 61.3 61.4 I've been M.I.A for the past 2 months BUT I have been collecting blog material!!! You'll be seeing lots of posts from me in the upcoming weeks! p.s I have been reading all your blogs but just haven't had the time to comment/reply yet D= I'll get to it a.s.a.p

Aug 31, 2011

A Dilly of a Pickle.

60-hour work weeks are over!!! What better way to celebrate than with food?! No surprise here right?

60.1
Honey Black Tea with Tapioca + Buttered Toast

I was wearing a lace dress for camp's Staff Appreciation Night. I left early to have a late night snack at Go for Tea haha. Al said since I was so dressed up that night, he'd dress up too so we can both look fancy for bubble tea LOL, go figure. I apologize for the graininess of this picture (didn't want to turn on flash). But here ya go, my first Go for Tea (dine-in) experience.

The other day, we picked up a couple of things at the mall and had a late lunch at Pickle Barrel.

60.2
Grilled Salmon with Maple Syrup & Mixed Nut Sauce

Grilled salmon fillet with toasted mixed nut pieces and maple syrup glaze served with Napa lettuce, red peppers and snow peas in a sesame dressing.

I love maple syrup on pancakes... but who knew it would be orgasmic on salmon?! "Twas yummy to the tummy. Not a fan of the warm veggies though (yuck).

60.3
Spanish Paella

Flavoured rice, mussels, black tiger shrimp, chicken, bell peppers, sausage, plum tomatoes, onions, zucchini, carrots, and mushrooms.

This was just alright, definitely not as yummy as the salmon. I think the mix of mussels, shrimp, sausage and chicken threw me off. Too much meat and seafood in one dish. Guess Paella isn't really my thing. Oh wellz.

60.4
40th anniversary ruby red velvet cake mini dessert.

I thought this was a cake.. but really it was an 80% cream cheese and 20% cake sort of thing - and I loved it - enough said.

So we needed the bill after indulging in our desert but our waiter was nowhere in sight for 20 minutes!!! The place wasn't even busy since it was like 4 O'clock. I was pretty fed up.

Me: Dare me to not tip?
Al: Yup.
Me: Ok.

So when another waitress finally walked by, we asked for our bill and what do you know? Our waiter returned but didn't even bother coming to our table to check up on us! Our time is valuable thank you very much. End of rant~

Aug 14, 2011

We can do whatever, be whoever we like.

Ever since August had begun, my energy level just went downhill =( Mainly because I haven't been going to bed at 10pm like I usually do lol But omg, only two more weeks of camp left! It's gonna be a bittersweet goodbye D=

59.1
Minnie Mouse

Every Wednesday is a themed day at camp and everyone is encourage to dress up! This is probably my most successful one hehe. One of my campers let me wear her gloves. I seriously want a pair now! Do they sell these at the Disney store? (or perhaps this calls for a trip down to Florida! haha)

59.2
Boredom

Lol, drawing on another staff's knee on a moving school bus XD Fun times fun times.

Kids: is that permanent?
Me: YES! It's a tattoo.
Kids: but that's a pen.
Me: well it's a permanent pen *smiles*
Kids: *confused*
Me: Ok it's washable.
Kids: *relief*

59.3
Claymation Slide

Being at camp these past weeks made me realize that I missed out a lot as a kid. Why didn't my parents send me to camp? All those summers I just sat at home and watched t.v., wasted. :( But luckily, while I only worked half days these past couple of days, I was able to crash other camps and relive my childhood! I will share my creations in a future post :) As for now, I need to sit back and relax the rest of my Sunday.

Jul 30, 2011

Next time I'll be braver, I'll be my own savior

WARNING: side effects upon reading this blog post may include: excessive droolage, extreme hunger and immediate gravitation toward food.

Here is my fantastilicious fine dining experience at Cafe Nicole during Summerlicious!

58.1
Cafe Nicole

They had "patio" seating.. but it was literally on the sidewalk, an inch away from the street. As much as it was a nice day out... we sat inside. It was also the night of Taylor Swift's concert in Toronto and thus making my way through crazy fan girls downtown was quite aggravating. You know you got crazy fans across the globe T.S.!!! No hate though.

58.2
Wine

My friend Peez convinced me to get wine X_X This is about all the alcohol I can drink in one sitting without having difficulties to walk afterwards lol. Ehhh... I'd take beer over wine any day.

58.3
Bread and butter


58.4
My Appetizer

Sun Dried Cranberries, Candied Pecans, Goat’s Cheese and Hand Picked Field Greens tossed in Maple balsamic Vinaigrette. One word: fantastic.

58.5
Peez' Appetizer

Moules & Frites with a choice of Herb de Province White Wine Cream Sauce or a Zesty Tomato Basil Sauce. The musscles were delicious too! I Didn't have amy of the fries though. Anyone else agree that this is a weird combo?!

58.6
My Main Course

Chicken Kiev with Lemon Dill Sauce, Sautéed Belgian Endives & Garlic Whipped Potatoes. This was really good too! The chicken was slightly stuffed too. Can you tell I love sour food? Haha.

58.7
Peez' Main Course

Pan Seared Trout with Toasted Pecan Brown Butter, Rapini and Apricot Couscous. I think Peez said it was delicious too. Yay!

58.8
Dessert

We both got the Mini White Chocolate and Raspberry Crème Brule. It was minuscule damnit :( I need one that's 3x the size ya know? Dessert should be the most important course of a meal =p My sweet tooth was satisfied though.

Good food makes Cakester happy ^_^

Jul 18, 2011

I can't promise to solve all your problems, but I can promise you won't have to face them alone.

A Cakester rule: Never turn down good food with good people!

Hello my lovely cupcakes!! Although I'm consumed by work at the moment, I have not failed you guys at obtaining material for my blog =p You are currently reading another Cakester classic: FOOD POST!

Here is Outing #1 with Al at Restoran Malaysia.

57.1
Roti Canai

You break the roti into smaller pieces and dip it in the curry sauce.I thought it was an interesting concept since it was my first time hehe.

57.2
Hockien Mee / Kuala Lumpur Style

This was a huge plate (dinner size)

57.3
Pad Thai

Can't go wrong with Pad Thai... yum!


Here is Outing #2 with Al at Taka Sushi House.

57.4
Hand Rolls (Avocado, Spicy Salmon, Spicy Butter Fish)

J.Al helped me with the presentation of this one. Yay for wonderful helpers!

57.5
Yam Tempura Roll, Chicken Teriyaki Roll

Does it bother anyone that one of the bottom right Teriyaki roll doesn't have as much sauce as the other ones? I mean, if you're gonna put sauce on it... why stop at 5 right? (I'm OCD like that.)

57.6
Sushi: Salmon, Tuna, Butter Fish, Shrimp, Tofu Pocket, Egg


57.7
Beef Rib, Chicken Teriyaki, Yakishrimp


That is all, for now. Kthx.

Jul 13, 2011

I'm superwoman.

You know you love your jobs when you've had a 62-hour work week and you're not hating on life.

56.3
podium

First week of camp went well.. a little bumpy on Monday when I nearly lost my voice but the rest of the week turned out better than expected. I'm still getting use to having my name called every 20 seconds though (not an exaggeration). I don't blame them; I have to take them to the washroom even if they are like 14 years old (camp rule). Camp is keen on supervision which is a pain in the butt especially when you need to stay in ratio and feel like you are short-staffed.

56.2
Miss. Helen

YES teaching is a very rewarding career (I can finally validate this saying myself now!). Unfortunately, I don't see myself teaching in the future but kudos to those who do! Appreciate your teachers, professors and mentors!

56.1
Flower.

The same boy who drew the picture of me also gave me this yellow flower during lunch time and my heart just melted. It was definitely the highlight of my week. I actually don't like real flowers but his gesture made me want to give him the biggest bear hug ever... except no hugging is allowed at camp *sigh* (only side hugs). He even asked me if I'll be returning to camp next year to teach again! Wohoo!

Looking forward to my day off this Sunday after 13 consecutive days of work ^_^ Meanwhile, I shall pass out on my bed for 8 hours. Good night =D

Jul 3, 2011

Officially over.

Ahhh starting my new full-time job tomorrow and I'm not ready!!!!
Anywho, this was pretty much my last outing before my 50hr work weeks begin.

55.1
Harbourfront.

In celebration of Canada Day, my friends and I hit Harbourfront and Woodbine beach :) I'm neither a fan of sand nor water but I wanted to see fireworks so I tagged along :D

55.8
Real Taste of India.

First Indian food experience for me! It was pretty good!!! Totally recommend it if you are ever at Woodbine beach hehe.

55.2
Menu.

A good selection of food. *thumbs up* Poor design *thumbs down*

55.3
Canadian eh?

What's Canada day without Canadian beer?!?!?! Cheers!

55.4
Samosa

Came with a spicy sauce.. 'twas delicious.
Me: why is the pepper white?
Friend: the shake is not transparent.
Me: *face palm*

55.5
Rice

Some sort of chicken and rice... 'twas very good too.

55.6
Some sort of spread

55.7
Chicken

55.9
Me.

Pale indeed. Good news though, I have been getting a bit darker :D


waterrrrr!

Dipping feet in the water. The water was actually really cold lol I like walking along the shoreline :D

55.11
Let's listen to some music

Me: Let's put on some music! Adele yea?
Good times, good times.


And of course, I had to record the fireworks :) This is at 400x speed though because it was 14 minutes long. Doing this again next year? Hell no! The beach was so packed that the bus couldn't even move when people started leaving! I walked from Queen St. to Bloor and I beat the bus to it lol go figure.

Jun 27, 2011

Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take but by the moments that take our breath away.

36.3
Cranes

Thank you for making me smile, again.
Thank you for reminding me that I'm special.
Thank you for showing me that there's more to the world than I know.

A Cakester Belief: Don't wait until it's too late to thank the special people in your life.

Jun 15, 2011

Summer is over.

Fact: Summer is coming to an end.

Back in April, I landed a (full-time) summer job (to be discussed in a future post) which I didn't really need since I don't plan on quitting my current part-time job any time soon. However, my parents had "asked" me (more like forced lol) to pay for my own tuition this year. I made an estimate of how many hours I'd have to work at min. wage to pay for tuition and let's just say I have many many many hours to go *sigh* Thank god I took summer school last year and only need to pay for 8 courses now instead of 10.

53.1
Dummies

The job requires me to be CPR/First Aid certified and I took the 2-day course a couple weeks ago :) Aren't limbless dummies scary?!?!

So while my sister is counting down to her summer holiday, I'm counting down to the end of summer. ~ So long my last summer as a student ~

Jun 9, 2011

I'm fearless

52.1
Ray-Ban P

To me, fearless is not the absence of fear. It’s not being completely unafraid. To me, fearless is having fears. Fearless is having doubts. Lots of them. To me, fearless is living in spite of those things that scare you to death. Fearless is falling madly in love again, even though you’ve been hurt before. Fearless is walking into your freshmen year of high school at fifteen. Fearless is getting back up and fighting for what you want over and over again… even though every time you’ve tried before, you’ve lost. It’s fearless to have faith that someday things will change. Fearless is having the courage to say goodbye to someone who only hurts you, even if you can’t breathe without them. I think it’s fearless to fall for your best friend, even though he’s in love with someone else. And when someone apologizes to you enough times for things they’ll never stop doing, I think it’s fearless to stop believing them. It’s fearless to say “you’re NOT sorry”, and walk away. I think loving someone despite what people think is fearless. I think allowing yourself to cry on the bathroom floor is fearless. Letting go is fearless. Then, moving on and being alright… That’s fearless too. But no matter what love throws at you, you have to believe in it. You have to believe in love stories and prince charmings and happily ever after. That’s why I write these songs. Because I think love is fearless.

- Taylor Swift


... it's as if Taylor wrote it for me ♥

Jun 2, 2011

four.

Current Album: Adele - 21

My friend invited a couple of us over for dinner when the semester ended back in April. I was just expecting pizza or Chinese takeout but she made a friggin' 4-course meal from scratch! I'm a pretty good cook too if I must say so myself! My specialty is boiled water... in an automatic kettle. Chyeaaaa B)

52.1
First course: Soup.

It's not pumpkin soup. No, not carrot soup either. It's sweet potato soup!

52.2
Second course: Salad.

Celery, grapes, apple, poppy seeds, and yogurt as the dressing. Loved this salad! I didn't know yogurt can be used as a dressing! If you're in for a healthy salad, try this recipe!

52.3
Main course: Lasagna.

This post is clearly overdue since I cannot recall what was in this yummy lasagna. However, I do remember that my friend used eggplant and some green veggie. This recipe can definitely be modified to suit vegetarians/vegans :) The meal is still looking healthy right?

52.4
Dessert.

I think this was raspberry scone or something like that. And it was goooooddd!!!! Man.. I need to ask my friend for this recipe and make it myself sometime.

52.5
Group Shot.

Cool Nerds Foreva. ahahha.

Je suis faim maintenant.
(I'm hungry now.)