Booyah

As I alluded to in an earlier post, this was the craziest month I’ve had in a long time on a personal level. I quit my job at the company I’ve worked at for the past 15 years! I still can’t even believe I did it! In September I’ll be starting my new job at an amazing non-profit foundation in Toronto, and I am SO EXCITED.

The past six months were really tough for me at my old job, which I didn’t really talk about too much on the blog (because this is my happy place), but you can see I briefly mentioned it here. At the beginning of July, I found out about this new opportunity, applied for it, and started the interview process which ended up taking until the middle of August. It turned my life upside-down, and derailed a few summer plans, but I’m so proud of myself for following through and [extreme Kelly Clarkson voice] taking a chance and making a change.

Anyway, in the midst of all this upheaval, I still had to eat, and here are the highlights:

  • Over the last few years, the Financial District has been overrun with places to buy expensive salads and bowls (see: iQ, Kupfert & Kim, Hopscotch, Copper Branch, Plancha, Salad Days, Salus) and the latest place to open before I moved was Tractor. My friend Erin and I went to check it out, and had bowls with power greens, brown rice, curried cauliflower and a half grilled avocado. It was all pretty tasty, but my main gripe with these places is they’re using greens out of a bag or plastic box. If I’m paying $16 for lunch, is it too much to ask for some freshly chopped lettuce and kale?
  • Lydia and I had a scheduled date to hang out on my balcony, which turned into a celebration because it ended up being the day I found out I got my job! We drank rosé and snacked on a hit from the archives: Peach, Tomato & Goat Cheese Crostini.
  • The week I quit, I decided there was no other way to end the week than with a giant ice cream cone, so I went for a little adventure up to Booyah Inc. after stalking them on Instagram since last summer. I had a scoop of Toasted Marshmallow and a scoop of Cinnamon Toast Crust, which are two of the flavours they make in house, and they were perfect. I wandered around the neighbourhood where I used to hang out a lot after I finished university (my friend had an apartment up there), and had such a relaxing time after a stressful week.
  • My friend Jenn and I went for a catch-up dinner at Piano Piano, another place I’ve been following for ages but still hadn’t been to. We shared a smoked burrata appetizer with toasts and fresh peaches and basil, and then I had Canestri Alla Vodka, which had a spicy tomato sauce and sausage. Jenn had the real stunner of the night, which was Ravioli con Bolognese, so picture a bed of bolognese with rich cheese ravioli laid out overtop, and I will definitely return to order that myself!
  • I was so spoiled by my friends and co-workers with treats on my last day: lots of my favourite Squish gummies, so many chocolates from Soma, and a S’mores Cookie Sandwich from Sorelle, and we closed it all out with drinks on the patio at Goose Island Brewhouse.

Other non-foodie things I was obsessed with this month:

  • I was so excited for the Netflix adaptation of To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before after reading the books (and it’s two sequels) this summer, and it lived up to my expectations AND MORE! I will say the movie missed a little bit of the nuance of Lara Jean and Peter’s relationship, but that’s just ridiculous nit-picking because it’s actually pretty perfect. I, like the rest of the internet, loved Noah Centineo as Peter Kavinsky, but also Lana Candor as Lara Jean was just so sweet and cute and perfect for this! I may have watched this 5 times this month, it was like comfort food for my brain.
  • This is going to seem very repetitive, but the Crazy Rich Asians movie was amazing too! It also blew all my expectations away! Everything was so perfect – the casting, sets, clothes – and very true to the book, but with a few surprises added. I saw this once with Kristine and May (and we went to August 8 first for all-you-can-eat sushi) and then again with my Mom because she’s read all the books too. So happy that the sequel was green lit for this already!
  • I got HBO again because my favourite, favourite, favourite show is back for Season 3: Insecure. I’m sure Issa Rae would say this show isn’t for me, but I just love it. I need each episode to be longer than half an hour though! And the season longer than 8 episodes! It’s not enough!
  • Each of the two times I’ve seen Drake in concert the past couple years, I left thinking, I’m good – I don’t need to see him again – but I just can’t resist! I went to his Aubrey & The Three Migos tour (although only 2/3 members of Migos made it) and he brought out Travis Scott as his special guest and I actually knew who it was, without having to ask the 16 year-old next to me. Aubrey, I just can’t quit you.

Flashback!