Month: September 2015

Living in Toronto

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I found this adorably funny Instagram account on what it’s like to live in Toronto in illustrations! Check out some of my favourite below:

Anybody who’s lived in Toronto will relate to these.

 

Thoughts on Apple Music

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Tomorrow is exactly 3 months from the day Apple Music first launch, so it means that those of us who signed up on the first day for the free trial will realize that it comes to an end and be charged $9.99/month if you don’t unsubscribe.

I decided to unsubscribe. To be honest, the only reason for my unsubscribing is a big one. I can’t use it in a browser. What both Spotify and Rdio have going for them are browser versions that I can use literally anywhere, including at work. To keep up with Apple Music means I have to keep an updated version of iTunes, which results in fighting with IT to let me download something that they might not deem worthwhile.

The interface and selection were great. Beats One has some interesting artists as guests, but all this goes to waste if it remains inaccessible to people who don’t have wifi at work (waste of data on phones and devices) or can’t download iTunes on their computer.

Scarborough Bluffs

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Instagram has helped me discover places that I didn’t know existed in Ontario. One of those things was Scarborough Bluffs park. It’s a beautiful area with cliffs and beaches that looks like you went to some tropical location. A few are dangerous and out of bounds but people frequently hop the fence to take photos anyways. It’s also by a water-treatment plant so not all the water is super clean.  We stopped by for some quick photos when we were coming back from Woofstock.

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When we were driving back the sunset was a beautiful pink:

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It’s fun to have adventures and explore the nooks and crannies of the places in cities nearby!

Moved Ride the Tempo to the Cloud

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Moving to the Cloud

Over the past week, I moved Ride the Tempo to a Cloud. I don’t fully know what this means as I was hosted on a shared server on Bluehost before. I’m still on Bluehost but I made the switch to their Cloud service with not much variation in price.

I always thought everything hosted on the internet in general was already “on the cloud”. From what I understand, cloud hosting means that your stuff is mirrored on multiple machines so that if it goes down somewhere it will still be live elsewhere. That seemed like a plus to me as any downtime detracts people away.

It also allows for more files to be hosted on the server (unlimited is never really unlimited) and the load times are bit faster. There were a few glitches and 403s I had to work through that were a bit frustrating but now that it is finally up I can definitely see an improvement in speed.

I now welcome the Cloud!

 

Woofstock 2015

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This year Woofstock got moved to September, maybe because the weather is much more comfortable for dogs than the 30 degree weather we experienced in the past.

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There were a lot of vendors but we found that there were fewer than in the past years. I think a few might have been skeptical about the fall move.

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It was still an awesome time for dogs with activities and things to buy everywhere.

DSCF4927We took our annual photo from President’s Choice.

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We also found this funny photo-op with a truck.

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Teddy went for a ride too!

DSCF4898I was hungry so I totally stopped for a crawfish poutine.

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We found this adorable doggy water fountain at the park.

Teddy also made a bunch of doggy friends!

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It was a fun day! Teddy did too and is warming up to the idea of a billion dogs in one place. He welcomed them all by sniffing their butts!

A Taste of Market 707

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Market 707 located at Dundas & Bathurst is full of pop-up shops in what used to be shipping containers. It’s a great place for local entrepreneurs to have a store front for an affordable price in the city. There are clothing shops, a barbershop, nail salon, jewellery and of course food. Besides my friend’s stand at Petit Nuage I hadn’t had any of the food until recently.

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This indulgent dish is from Filipino stand Kanto, which specializes in a street take on tradition foods. I ordered the Sisig fries which was Offal meat that has been boiled, then grilled and chopped into fine pieces. It was marinated in lemon, vinegar and spices. The dish was topped with Lechon Kawali (pork belly) and garlic lemon aioli on a bed of crispy fries. I loved the crispy pork pieces and the fries were super crunchy.

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My friend showed me her regular order at Cookie Martinez called the Patacon Pisao, a classic Latin American dish from the Colombian coast. Patacon starts by warming unripened green plantain to flatten, then fried until crispy. Hers had beef, avocado and a delicious sauce.

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I also wanted to try the shrimp ceviche from Cookie Martinez. It was served with plantain chips was a bit of a weird (mostly inefficient) receptacle for ceviche. The ceviche itself was very fresh and flavourful.

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To wash it down I had an iced matcha from Petit Nuage, the best in the city (Disclaimer: I know her personally but it really is the best in the city)!

 

A First Everything

Categories Inspiration, Life1 Comment on A First Everything

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I found this adorable journal at BMV for a discount price. It has many blog idea sparking questions that have to do with first times.

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There’s everything from big life decisions to really random things like the first time you cheated in school. I’m looking forward to filling out this journal and seeing what kind of blog posts come out of it!

La Carnita

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For my friend’s birthday, we went to La Carnita‘s College Street location. It is tapas style so everything comes out together in shareable plates. For example, if you and a friend ordered tacos they would often come together in the same serving plate. This was slightly confusing since we were in a group of more than 15 people. I opted for 3 tacos. The first one (pictured above was the) was the Tostada de Ceviche: Albacore Tuna, guacamole, coconut milk, habanero, tomato, cucumber. It was very fresh and light tasting.

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I had a bite of the In Code We Trust, a fish taco, with Cod, Voltron sauce, lime crema, pickled red cabbage, green apple & cilantro. What I totally forgot to take a photo of was my Crispy Cotija taco with crispy cotija cheese, cauliflower & pinto bean, pickled carrots, chipotle sauce, green onion & cilantro. I can’t resist fried cheese.

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My third taco was the Pork Belly Al Pastor Taco, a daily special with roasted pork belly, guajillo BBQ sauce, pineapple salsa, coriander crema and mache lettuce.

All three tacos were flavourful and fresh and would’ve filled me up on their own but I felt like splurging a little so I got a few extras.

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Funny story about the corn. I looked at the menu and was like “who the hell would pay $9 for corn?” and then I saw a little kid eating it at the table behind us and it looked amazing, so I ordered it. I have no regrets. It was the best grilled corn I have ever had with Mexican crema, queso anejo, arbol & ancho chili powder. Who thought corn could pack so much punch?

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The table also shared nachos with guacomole and corn salsa. Both were fresh and delicious. The chips themselves were lightly salted and could totally be eaten on their own.

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To was things down I ordered a few of their sangrias that were infused with peach, mango and raspberry. I could’ve drank a pitcher of these (which was available).

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It was my friend’s birthday so the waiter bought over some birthday churros with a candle. The churros were crunchy and served in a cajeta, a silky nutty sauce. These are the same churros that can be ordered over at Sweet Jesus.

I was super stuffed from ordering too much but I highly enjoyed my meal at La Carnita. Everything is fresh, flavourful and relatively inexpensive (if you don’t go overboard).

La Carnita Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

I Miss My Own Cooking

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In the past week, I’ve been so busy that I rarely have had time to sit down for more than half an hour at home let alone make a solid meal. I’m currently putting together some quick bacon and eggs as dinner. While those things are delicious, I do miss and crave a more thoughtfully cooked meal.

I want fresh vegetables, tenderly cooked meat, homemade soups. I can’t wait for the free day to cook a real meal.

Adventure Time Card Wars (iOS)

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I caved and purchased the Adventure Time Card Wars game for $4.95. Despite it being a paid game there are still in game purchases such as heart energy and premium games. However the quality of the content is worth the more than 99cent price tag.

  

It plays a bit differently than physical card version. Attacks have a spinning wheel that are a little bit up to chance and effects that increase or decrease attack and defense stack. 

There are a ton of cards in the game that can be earned in battle or discovered through treasure chests. Buying premium gems will give you rare cards, but you can get them with in game money as well so there isn’t a need to spend more than the original $4.95. 

There are hundreds of levels and also a function to battle other random people. This is my favourite iPhone card game yet.