I always love October, and this year was no exception! Lots of cooking, another concert and I even left the country! More on that below:

• My work bestie Jess requested a Drake on Cake for her birthday, so I had so much fun planning it out and bringing it to life for her! She loves lemon, so I made My Favourite Vanilla Cake (plus lemon zest), filled it with lemon curd, and frosted it with My Favourite Buttercream. She absolutely loved it!
• I was so on the ball for Thanksgiving this year, as already documented earlier this month. I even gathered together all my go-to recipes in one post so next year will be even easier!
• I went to Florida with my friends Jen & Krishna for a long weekend and it was so much fun! It was also my birthday while we were there, which we spent by the pool drinking frosty bevs which was pure bliss! Of course, we went to Trader Joe’s, and the extra fun part was it was my first trip there where I had access to a freezer and oven! So we tried all kinds of stuff that I’d never had before – flatbread and mac & cheese bites and little mini tacos! Loved it all!
• For some reason, I had a vision this year of a cute Halloween cookie platter that I couldn’t get out of my mind. Maybe because it was the first Halloween in two years where I could share treats with my co-workers. I made these Soft Chocolate Chip Cookies with Halloween M&Ms I got at Target, My Favourite Sugar Cookies in pumpkin shapes with marbled royal icing, and another absolute banger of a cookie that I’ll post about next week.
• Here’s my recipe round-up for the month:
• Stuff I made from the archives: Cheesy Butternut Squash Rigatoni, Kale Caesar, Panko Crusted Haddock, Santa Fe Salad with Peanut Lime Vinaigrette, My Favourite Buttermilk Pancakes
• Some of my favourite go-to dishes: Butternut Squash Parmesan Frittata, Swedish Meatballs (I always make these after Thanksgiving to eat with leftover Cranberry Sauce), Beef Kofta from Oven to Table
• New things that I tried and liked: nothing this month!
• Homemade Snacks! (a new category for as long as I keep making them): Banana Muffins, Peanut Butter Oatmeal Energy Bites, Raw Chocolate Snack Bars

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

• Alexis and I went to see Lizzo! It was absolutely amazing, and immediately jumped into the Top 5 of concerts we’ve seen together. We had so much fun dancing, laughing and singing our hearts out!
• Okay, only the first batch of episodes have dropped for Season 3 of Love is Blind, but I am already OBSESSED! My faves are Alexa & Brennon!
• I only read a couple of books this month (Black Cake and Drunk on Love) but I did go to the Toronto Reference Library to an event with Jasmine Guillory, which was great! I used to do things like this all the time pre-pandemic, so it felt nice and somewhat normal to do. She spoke about her writing process and inspiration for Drunk on Love and was so charming and cute!

Flashback!

• One year ago [October 2021]
• Two years ago [October 2020]
• Three years ago [October 2019]
• Four years ago [October 2018]
• Five years ago [October 2017]
• Six years ago [October 2016]
• Seven years ago [October 2015]
• Eight years ago [October 2014]
• Nine years ago [October 2013]