Heaps of prepared food. Lots of fresh juice. Massive gluten free section. Huge bread assortment including pretzel croissants (??) and Italian bread with real Italian ingredients (might be made by a real nonna?). Huge meat selection that will do custom cuts and a cool female butcher. Fresh sustainable seafood. So much yogurt. Exotic snacks. Self-checkout. Starbucks and collective art space on the lower floor. I also rode my bike there.
A new grocery store in the hood is pretty exciting. Before I lived in the West End, I was at Cityplace when the new grocery store opened up. [I actually even set up a Twitter account based on the store which I then shut down]. Everyone was so excited and that might seem a little dorky but when a new food store opens in your neighbourhood with all your fav things and fresh prepped food, your life is instantly better. So, I biked over to the new MetroWest Queen West for a tour on opening weekend (10mins bike from home!).
This location puts a focus on local and community with organic chicken from Yorkshire Valley Farms in Etobicoke, pastries from Dufflet in Toronto, and Portuguese products from Borges Foods Ltd. in Mississauga.
v cool lady butcher!Massive beer selection
Thanks Metro, for inviting me to the opening and the pedicab ride! Make sure to stop by and order a ready-made pizza, pick up some beer for the weekend, and grab yourself a fresh juice.
For info about Metro in-store events and other happenings, follow them on Facebook at Metro Ontario.
Sitting outside yoga and feeling happy. The sun is bright, air warm, I’m sipping coffee at a picnic table before biking home.
Had a pretty magical day yesterday, took Steph to Drake Commissary before her flight. After, I walked Queen West and popped into the Trinity Bellwoods farmers market to pick up some stuff. What a gem that place is, there was a babe playing guitar and singing, lots of fresh flowers, vegetables, fish. I got an organic chocolate fudge popsicle and sauntered down Dundas on my way home. I wasn’t listening to music but it was so lovely it was like there was a soundtrack playing.
Went to yoga last night and this morning which makes me feel back on my game. ?? After so many days at the cottage I was really missing my vinyasa flow. We did yoga outside today and it was so nice. The sky was a bright blue and breeze warm.
Fruit, veg, flowers from the market!Haven’t been here for about a week so was great to get back!Art on the wall at Drake Commissary
Finally replaced this little thing aka my personal photographer. It’s a Bluetooth remote for your phone. It works great and aside from photos you can use it for Snaps, Stories, or Boomerangs. Ordered on Amazon via Prime after I lost my other one. ???
In other news, Lauren and I are doing something crazy today for the new Spider-Man movie. Make sure you are following my Instagram for Stories as they happen! ?
Been having a pretty relaxing weekend. Can’t believe it’s already Monday. Back to the city tonight or tomorrow. I love being up here but I’m looking forward to going home. Feels like I’ve had more time at the cottage than home lately!
Canada Day canoe out on the lake!
My friend Steph is here from New York City. Sean and I met her last year at Anamaya Resort in Costa Rica. [Read about it here!] The weather has been a bit meh but it’s finally nice and sunny today. We created a super tasty wine spritzer with Kim Crawford Sauvignon Blanc mixed with La Croix, strawberries, and a bit of juice.
So good! La Croix, Kim Crawford wine, strawberries, juice
What a nice surprise it was to receive this package, cheese! ??? To commemorate the 150th anniversary of Canada, Dairy Farmers of Canada is highlighting three distinct Canadian cheese from local cheesemakers. This weekend I’ll be hosting a friend from NYC at the cottage and treating her to wine and great Canadian cheese.
Canada has a tradition of producing high-quality, great tasting cheese. A couple years ago I was in Montreal and visited Fromagerie Au Gré des Champs, one of the top cheese makers in the province. It was so cool to see how and where cheese is made. Tasting fresh cheese really gave me an appreciation for it. Safe to say my suitcase was loaded up with cheese for my trip home!
Comox Camembert, Natural Pastures, British Columbia – a creamy, rich cheese
Devil’s Rock, Thornloe Cheese Inc., Ontario – Award winning creamy blue cheese,
Avonlea Clothbound Cheddar, Prince Edward Island – rich full-bodies, aged 14 months
Growing up I didn’t eat a lot of cheese but *luckily* I grew out of that lactose allergy in my teens. I had hardly tried anything other than cheddar and mozzarella before Sean and I started dating 7 years ago. Since then, he’s shown me a whole new world of great cheese! There’s so many great varieties, and ways to eat it; sharp ones, super soft ones, melted cheese in general, cheese with garlic, on crackers, with potatoes, pizza, fruit, or my personal fav, with vegemite on toast.
Hand cut Charcuterie from Drake Commissary, Comox Camembert, Natural Pastures (British Columbia) + Avonlea Clothbound Cheddar, Cows Creamery (Prince Edward Island), Muskoka made Fig jelly, Ontario blueberries
A Bit of History
Cheese making in Canada goes back to our French and English heritage, “French settlers brought over methods for making soft, ripened cheeses, while United Empire Loyalists fleeing the American Revolution, introduced the distinctly British characteristics of cheddar“.
In my research, I learned cheese making in Canada can be traced back to the early 1600s but it wasn’t until 1864 when the first cheese factory was set up. Cheese making in Canada is older than the country itself! By 1867, there were over 200 cheese factories in Ontario alone. ?
“Our great Canadian cheeses start with 100% Canadian quality milk, which are produced by our passionate dairy farmers in a sustainable way’ said Sebastien Bergeron, Director of Marketing for DFC.
Representing the best of the best in Canadian cheese, Dairy Farmers of Canada has hand-picked three highly-awarded varieties to share as part of the Canada 150 celebrations. My favourite from the three DFC sent over is the Avonlea Cheddar. The recipe is from Scotland, and the flavour comes from the salt air, iron-rich soil, and Holstein cows milk.
My sample cheese board, I needed to test everything before the weekend ok! Canadian Cheese + Mill Street Canadian Beer
Join me in celebrating Canada and the dairy farmers who help make cheese possible by sharing great Canadian cheese with your friends and family this weekend. ???
I don’t get jealous often, but it’s time to come clean! ?? For the last year or so, I’ve watched two of my colleagues at 1188 Films use and rave about, their Surface Pro devices. They use it as a tablet on set, a computer in the office, and a notepad in meetings. While here I am lugging around multiples devices… It does seem that the interactive screen is becoming increasingly utilized and well-regarded in a business context thanks to it being compact, mobile, easy to use, fast, and highly accessible.
I wanted to take one for a test drive, so when I got an email from the Microsoftstore.ca team to do just that, I was totally game!
Here we go with the Surface Pro!As you know, I spend a lot of time on my computer. I shift from being a blogger to working as a director with 1188 Films Inc. and doing a variety of other client-related tasks throughout the day (aka. emails galore). I’ve only had the device for a couple of days, but it’s seriously impacted my productivity. The Surface Pro 4 is both computer and tablet, so it saves me lugging around 2 devices. It’s also small and light, so it’s easy to carry in a purse or backpack. Lately, I‘ve been lugging around both my iPad Pro and MacBook Pro which makes my purse kinda (super) heavy.
As a girl on-the-go, I found the Surface Pro to be super portable, and versatile.
It’s like powerful little studio all in one device.
The fact that the device converts from computer to tablet is a solid feature for creatives like myself. I’m able to work on a document in computer mode, present something in a meeting in studio mode, and give directions on set in tablet mode. All in one device. You can also work on a bunch of things at the same time, great for multitasking.
Multi-tasking to the MAXWorking lunch at Drake CommissaryThe computer is fast (Intel® Core™ processor) and you can run heavy programs like Premiere or Photoshop with absolutely no issues. You can even edit a video and spit it out in 4k which is super handy for any editor. The battery lasts a full workday (50% more battery life than Surface Pro 3.), meaning you don’t need to drag a charger around. (You know the struggle of finding an outlet is real. Very real).
Computer mode at the 1188 Office
I’ve been making a lot more art lately, so I was super keen to check out The Surface Pen. It’s got a wide sensor and pressure range great for detailed drawings. One of the things I noticed before I even got started is that the pen and Surface device are magnetic, aka the chances of you losing the pen are lower than with the iPad Pro. (If you have one of these devices you know what I mean!)
Using the brushes in Fresh Paint is hyper-realistic, I was painting with oil and the way the paint moves, blends and smudges is incredibly close to the real thing. I’m familiar with Autodesk Sketchbook so was glad to see it was available for Surface Pro. I use that to sign my name for the blog and the pen is very detailed, exactly like what you have it set to ex. paint brush, chalk, pencil, ballpoint pen etc.
If there was one thing I’d change, it would be to add another USB port as there is only one on the device. You can purchase a Surface Dock on microsoftstore.ca to transform your device into a desktop PC! There is a firewire cable, and you can pop in an SD or Micro SD card directly to the unit.
Overall, great device especially for students or freelancers that work on-the-go. Highly recommend for anyone with a mix of creativity and business in their life. For more info on the Surface Pro 4 or to make a purchase, visit microsoftstore.ca.
If you have any questions for me about using the device, leave a comment!
drawn on Surface Pro 4
This post is in partnership w/ the peeps at Microsoft. I really enjoy testing new gadgets and it is so incredibly cool that it's my job! Being compensated for something I love to do is a dream come true!
