Moving Time!

Let me start off by saying, I have no idea how my parents moved sooo many times...especially with children! It is exhausting! Most of my time these past 2 weeks have been consumed with moving stuff: setting up electricity, wifi, renters insurance, etc. I was a bit ambitious and went out to buy my own router and modem for my internet instead of paying monthly to rent TimeWarner's router/modem. The budget conscious side of me said it was a no brainer to save money in the long run, the tech savvy side of me is not sure if it will be a smart decision to set it up myself...so we will see how that turns out!

On a more fun note, I have been doing a lot of shopping! I can not stop raving about the store At Home. I am not sure if it is just local, or where the other locations are. It is about the size of Sam's Club but the inside of Home Goods with better organization, if you're following me. As you can tell by my cart, I hit the jackpot with pillows and some furniture. Speaking of furniture, I have not really bought much, except for a few little things. The stand in my cart is either going to be a nightstand or an end table for my "living room". I also bought a dresser from Goodwill and redid it, not really loving how it looks. The handles were indented in so I couldn't change the knobs so spray paint had to do. That dresser may be going in the closet where no one can see it. I Googled the brand of dresser and found out the bigger version of that antique was going for $4000 on Ebay, I should've just sold it!!! I found another little table which I may use as an entry console or a TV stand, but I have a feeling my TV may look funny on such a small table. It was in the damaged section of At Home so it was super cheap...and oddly, I could't find any damage (it will probably fall apart one day), so I repainted it and changed the knob. 

Funny story: so I ordered a couch to the house I am living at now, which is a duplex. I got home from work and saw a huge box on my porch, it looked a lot skinnier from the driveway. When I actually saw the box up close I had no idea what I was going to do, I just wanted to get it in the front door and leave it at the bottom of the stairs. The problem was, the box was about the size of the entire space at the bottom of the stairs. My struggle...how to shut the door. I had to shove the box half way up the stairs awkwardly in a dress with one arm/shoulder/thigh while the other arm tried to close the door behind me, not the mention that the stairs are much steeper than regular stairs. I might have forgotten to mention this was a 135lb box since I just had to order a couch with a sleep away sofa, so it really was a couch and a twin bed. Let's just say, after a few curse words, sweat and a miracle, it is finally shut. Proper lifting mechanics were thrown out the window, today my back is killing me! This must be what it is like to live alone, oh joy!

Honestly, the majority of packing I have saved for this weekend, so I have a fun weekend ahead of me. I don't know why I have been dragging my feet with it, I just hate living in this half packed house.  I have been driving past my apartment building like a stalker making sure the renovations are happening and I did see they were working in it. Last night I reached an all time low and almost got out of my care and peek in the windows, but I told myself how psycho I was and drove away. I will just have to be patient and believe the property manager when she said it will be done next week. She did schedule a meeting with me for next Wednesday to get the keys (so I am assuming it will be done on time!!), so I will be able to move in all my little stuff Wednesday. The movers are coming Thursday night to move the rest of my boxes and furniture. I am stressed, sad about leaving my current place, but most of all super excited to have a place of my own and start this new chapter of my life! Stay tuned for more updates once I am actually moved in!

Canada Part 3: Adventures

So as I sit here sweating my butt off in 95 degree humid Cincinnati weather, I am wishing I didn't complain about how "cold" it was in Canada last week. While I try to cool off, I figured I could finish up my Canada post. Besides all of the eating and drinking we did on our trip, Shelby & I did actually get around to see some of what Toronto had to offer!

Roof top deck view of the condo complex we stayed in, pretty sweet. 

 Park in the middle of downtown--aka where we rested when we were tired of walking.

A man would feed the birds here and have about 50 pigeons around him, ew.

This rest was short lived once the birds started coming near us, everyone knows my love for birds.

 Fancy steak/piano bar we were too scared to go into.

 Patch of greenery with statues of cows in the middle of the financial district. 

Shelby was mad at me for having to stop and see this, and for having to listen to

my marketing lesson about my theory behind why they were in the financial district,

"cash cows" making sense to anyone else?

Cute strip of restaurants on King Street East.

 Free taxi that I wanted to take, but we didn't. A guy bikes you around, poor guy.

Great picture taking skills Stephanie, I'm like a 50 year old mom with my finger in it.

 Dundas Square-Torontos version of Times Square. Some weird Indian Festival was going

on while we were there. Dundas Square is off Yonge Street, which is a street with a lot 

of shopping but it gets sketchy reeeeal fast.

 Old City Hall

 Shelby enjoys vacationing with me.

 View of CN Tower from our walk to dinner.

Only picture we had someone take of us...we will be better next time.

Our experience trying the lovely poutine, ew.

 The Flatiron Building, my favorite building in Toronto. So cool!

 St Lawrence Farmers Market. 

 Just being a tourist.

 The Distillery District, my absolute favorite! Fell in love with all the cobblestone. 

 Cutest little shops!

 Antique first aid kit, totally wanted to buy it, but it was $159! 

Locks of Love.

Bookstore madness.

Sugar Beach & Lake Ontario! Walked all the way there, only for it to start raining.

 Scarborough Bluffs-we took a little adventure out to the suburbs and in the back of a neighborhood

we walked through a park, hopped a fence and this is what we saw....amazing!!!! 

What a hidden gem! And to think Shelby was too scared to go over the fence. 

Well worth breaking the rules and risking our lives,

since it said the bluffs can crumble at any moment and we went there right after it rained.

Also, I just want to point out that dirt path that looks like people

walk that far out on the cliff.....crazy!!

Casa Loma-oh hey, we saw a castle too! We came the the conclusion that Canada

is kind of a 'want to be' England, minus the attractive accents. 

Overall, we had a great trip! Toronto was a bit too "hipster" for me, not the place to wear pastel colored Jcrew. But other than that, it was right up my alley, I love going out and exploring on vacation; laying around at the beach gets boring and is something I personally don't really enjoy. Hope you enjoyed the glimpse into our trip! And for all of you that are wondering, crossing the US border was much easier for us. The security guard only asked me, "why did you ONLY buy 2 bottles of wine to bring back?" apparently they don't make you pay the tax unless you bring back gallons and gallons of liquor. Oh well! 

Canada Part 2: Munchies

To be completely honest, the majority of what Shelby and I did while on vacation was eat and drink. I love me some good food! Prices in Canada were much higher but when you take into consideration the exchange rate, it is about the same as in the US. However, one thing that was different was the portion sizes. I sure did miss the American size portions.

We did notice a couple other different things they do at restaurants in Toronto. For instance, they don't put salt and pepper on any of the tables. Only 1 restaurant we went to had them on the table. Paying with a credit card is also much different there too. They bring the credit machine to you and stand there and watch you use it at the table. Awkward...because then you hand it back to them and it displays the tip. Even if you pay with cash, their aprons have change that they will give back to you at the table instead of taking to the other payment area like in America. Pretty much every restaurant took credit cards and one time I even paid using US dollars, which I'll never do again because she didn't covert it and I totally got screwed on my change back.

We typically ate 2 meals a day: brunch and dinner, sometimes a snack in between. Here are some pictures of the delicious food we ate while on vacation, with our silly little stories that go along with each meal. The name of the place we ate at will be listed below the picture.

South Street Burgers: This was the first place Shelby and I went to when we got to Canada. 

It was right down the street from our condo on King St. We experienced "seating yourself" for 

the first time, which I will forever hate. God bless America and our hostesses.

Le Petit Dejeuner: A little french place that is known for having the best waffles in Toronto.

They were amazing! But overpriced. I was so disappointed that we got there at 10am and I 

was not allowed to be served a mimosa til 11! Very popular place, had to wait outside for 15

minutes; something we quickly learned was normal around here, after I walked in like an idiot 

and asked to put our names in. The "hostess" takes names and party sizes outside.

The Rivoli: We stopped at this cool place for a mid afternoon snack after doing some shopping

on Queen St. $5 mimosas made up for my disappointment earlier in the day. 

Guacamole is also my new favorite!

Queen Street Warehouse: What do I even say about this place...Shelby & I used Yelp a lot to help us find places to eat, which was super helpful. This restaurant came up as having all food for $4.95, how cheap! Well we went there Sunday night around 7 and waited outside for about 20 or so
 minutes while we realized this was a CRAZY bar. Couldn't even hear each other talk.
The table next to us was on their like 5th round of shots while the girl danced on the table. 

Food was...well, worth $4. The drinks, on the other hand, were way overpriced, look how tiny! 

Drunken craziness on a Sunday...people in Toronto party hard! 

Shelby's face pretty much describes this experience.

Eggspectation: Best breakfast! Look at that plate of deliciousness!!! And yes, I ate it all!

(Don't worry Mom, I didn't eat the grapefruit...thyroid problems)

Lavazza Espression: Everyday we were in Toronto, I got a chi tea latte. Lavazza had the most creamy chi tea latte, just look at all that foam, mmmm. I don't understand all the rave over 

Tim Hortons, they cannot make a chi tea latte at all, it was nasty! 

The Corner Place: This place has the cutest outdoor area and it was nice so we sat outside. The sangria was pretty good, the food however, ehh. Check out our "chicken kabobs"...2 pieces each! The dish next to it is "poutine". Poutine is a traditional Canadian dish that everyone raves about so we figured we'd try it.  Let me just say, why would you ever ruin fries like that? 

Gravy, cheese & onions?! EW.  Atleast we tried it.

Barsa: Favorite restaurant/bar of the whole trip!!! Shelby and I went here after Corner Place 

for a "second dinner" since we didn't like what we had. It became the joke of the trip that we

always went for a second dinner since we did it a few times. The 2nd place always ended up

being a lot better too! We had the most amazing pitcher of sangria, it was SO good. It went down

like water, wish we would've gotten a large. It was so nice that day so we sat outside and 

drank all evening! Perfect way to end the day!

Buster's Sea Cove: We visited St Lawrence Market Tuesday morning, the market gets a ton of attraction around here. It basically is a large indoor farmers market.  I was not impressed, 

I'm so use to Findlay Market in Cincinnati so it was nothing great. 

It also didn't compare to the farmers market at The Grove in LA. 

We were starving and I'm not sure why we thought getting seafood was a good idea 

that early in the morning, because it wasn't. The seafood was good it just was too early for it. 

We had lobster bisque and seafood risotto. (It doesn't look that appealing) 

El Catrin: We fell in love with the distillery district in Toronto and this restaurant has the coolest decor inside and outside! We made reservations and were excited for our tapas. 

First we had guac, yum! Then we had these crab fritters that were gross. 

They were in a chocolate sauce and it just did not go well, but that is ethnic Mexican for you. 

The Pollo Con Mole tacos were good though. 

Although, I'll always prefer Bakersfield when it comes to Mexican. 

Mill Street Brew Pub: Since El Catin was a bust, we went for our second dinner at Mill Street,

which is also in the distillery district, if you couldn't tell. I enjoyed a nice flight of beers, 

followed by some fries and a beermosa. Yes I know, I don't know how I stay so thin with the type 

and amount of food that I eat in a day, let's blame good genes! 

Fran's Restaurant: This place was not anything great. Subpar at best. I got the Montreal hash with corn beef, eggs, potatoes (fries) and toast. It was about as good as it looks.

Wish we would've picked somewhere else. 

Vagabondo: Our last dinner in Toronto was at a super nice Italian restaurant. You can never go 

wrong with some good gnocchi. We treated ourselves with creme brûlée since it was our last

night in the city. (Can you tell I love sangria?)

Well if you made it to this far in this post, bravo to you! That was long and lengthy and now you're probably hungry. Go enjoy some sangria and make yourself something yummy!