Tiana Feng

Owning My Okayness

September 14, 2015September 14, 2015Health, Life, RelationshipsLeave a Comment

I still get anxious in social situations that involve other people. It’s taken time for me to not feel self-conscious, like the entire world is judging my every move.

As I grew older, I started to care less about what people thought of me and more of what I wanted to be, for myself.

It wasn’t until I was 24 or 25 that I embraced my own quirkiness, personality and openly discussed my anxiety with friends (thank you Static Zine).

Being okay with myself includes the sometimes difficult task of ignoring negativity from people who don’t really have your best interests at heart. After all if they are so quick to react negatively, are they worth keeping around?

The Internet (twitter) made it easier to make new friends that share similar interests, anxieties and who somehow like the transparent person they see.

The people I choose to surround myself with are positive people. They are the ones that show up when I need them, the ones that splurge on food with me, unafraid to be silly or lend an ear.

My best friend and I talk about literally everything including our farts and poops. We can be idiots together or push ourselves to achieve our goals.

I can own my own Okayness because the people in my life are pretty okay too.

County Pear Cider

September 13, 2015Drinks, FoodLeave a Comment

I splurged on a bottle of $7.95 pear cider I never tried before from County Cider Company located in Prince Edward County. It’s more expensive than most o the ciders on the shelf and I wanted to see if I would even appreciate the difference.

It’s a small batch cider inspired by travels to Domfront area of Normandy. In this area they use pears from 200 year old trees to create cider. County Ciders also use handpicked fruit (though not from far away I think).

The cider was sweet and smooth. It went down super easy but at the same time there is an alcohol content of 6.5% so you definitely feel something after finishing a bottle!

#PieTunes at Fred’s Red Tomato

September 12, 2015Food, Restaurant ReviewsLeave a Comment

On Wednesday, I went to Pie Tunes, an event at The Red Tomato where we were invited to sample pizzas. We’ve been patrons here before for their set dinners but we’ve never tried the pizza. It’s a small space below Fred’s not here, with the same owners (yes, a guy named Fred does exist). We arrived a little later than the 5pm start time and by then, there were no more seats so we stood awkwardly at a standing table. The bloggers who happened to be seated at tables I found were served more than us and generally treated with more care and attention. For a little while we didn’t know what was going on or if we were just in the wrong place.

Finally we were offered a slice of the Spinach and Artichoke pizza with brûlée ricotta cheese and walnut pesto (pictured above). It was a deliciously light combination.

Next was the Hangover Cure which had soppresata, tomato, olives, double smoked bacon, mozzarella, grana padano, chillies and topped with a fried egg on each piece. It was truly a hangover cure!

There wasn’t a cocktail menu so I asked our server what was the recommendation and he said a sangria. You can’t go wrong with sangria right? This particular one was a tropical flavour with pineapple and banana.

Excuse the horrible photo but this was a slice of Smoked Chicken pizza before I got impatient and ate it before taking a photo! It was a delicious combination of chicken, chipotle bbq sauce, and peppers, some of which were a spicey!

I think my favourite of the pieces I tried was the Pork Belly. Fatty pork belly pieces (yum!) were lightened by white sauce, radicchio and onion.

We spent an hour there listening to the music and wondering if most of the pizzas would ever make it’s way to us. We watched the bloggers at tables get served twice as many as us or the others at standing tables and the bar. I don’t know if they were people more important or whatever, but we were invited (plus influencers too!) and I thought that all invited guests should’ve be treated with the same respect. We left after the fourth piece because we were stuffed and didn’t want to wait forever to try something else. The pizzas were really good but I felt that the event would’ve benefited from being split into multiple nights where everyone was equally served.

It’s Hard Not to Smile At A Dog

September 11, 2015Life, Pets1 Comment

When I am feeling down, I like to scroll through photos of my dog. It’s hard not to cheer up after seeing his adorable smiling face.

Sunsets and Froyo

September 10, 2015FoodLeave a Comment

Over the weekend, I went for a walk with Teddy while the sun was setting.

The sky had a beautiful redness, like an arrow shooting down.

We stopped by Yogurtys where I ordered a bunch of fruity flavours and Teddy had his own too!

View this post on Instagram

Froyo times #dogsofinstragram #froyo #vscocam

A post shared by Tiana Feng (@tianafeng) on Sep 6, 2015 at 5:31pm PDT

I Think I’m Allergic to the Sun

September 8, 2015Health, LifeLeave a Comment

Dear blog readers, I think I’m a vampire. The sun makes my arms itchy.

It was a condition that I developed a year or two ago, in my mid-20s. My mom also has a similar condition, but I always assumed she made it up as a ploy to make me wear a hat or sunscreen. Now the latter is mandatory, so I believe it’s hereditary.

From my own google searching (though I don’t recommend you do this) it is very possibly PMLE (Polymorphic Light Eruption). I break out in itchy bumps on my arms which is the area that is most frequently exposed to the sun. I haven’t really had anything show up in my face or legs yet, fingers crossed.

Putting on sunscreen does help but it’s a nuisance to remember and on rainy days I always think I can skip it but the UV rays can still be quite strong in Toronto summers. I was wondering if any of my readers have had such an experience and what sort of tips you guys might have that can help!

I love going outside and I’d rather not be a vampire.

Can Never Find My Name

September 7, 2015LifeLeave a Comment

My sister custom made me a coke at the CNE with my name. That’s the only way I could get one that said “Tiana”. It’s funny to see my name on something.

Growing up, it’s always been like that when I visited stores with “personalized” things. I didn’t have a name that was considered common. I could buy a “Tina” or “Diana” and it would be close enough, but that’s not my name. As I progressed through life, I started to like my slightly-less common name more and more. I was always the only person with my name in my class. There was rarely any confusion.

Now I don’t care that I can never find my name. Besides, personalized stuff is quite lame.

Gelato @ La Vizziata

September 6, 2015Food, Restaurant ReviewsLeave a Comment

Hot days call for gelato so we hit up La Vizziata Gelateria & Dessert Bar for some dessert! They had a wide array of gelato flavours.

It was a difficult decision but I settled on a scoop of pistachio and one Stracciatella, which is a chocolate chip icecream. Their scoops are large and generous and gelato was smooth. We went for the gelato but next time we’ll try some of the other desserts too!

Playa Cabana Cantina

September 5, 2015Food, Restaurant Reviews4 Comments

Today for lunch we randomly strolled the Junction area for something to eat. We ended up picking Cantina, part of the Playa Cabana family of restaurants.

I ordered the Chile Rellenos which were Poblano chiles, Oaxacan cheese, seared in a rice flour batter with salsa roja, queso, crema, rice and black beans. The fried chillies were crunchy and delicious, the heat offset by the light Oaxacan cheese. The black beans and salsa were super flavourful too.

Nash ordered the steak cantina style burritos with guacomole, salsa verde, queso, crema, rice, and beans.

To wash it down, I ordered a sangria because it’s appropriate for every meal!

Nash had the Dark and Handsome.

It does match him right?

Anyways, we super enjoyed all the food we ate and were super stuffed. Despite it being a Saturday, it wasn’t too hard to get a table around lunch time.