Ittekimasu

After ten years, I'm putting a pause on this thing. I think we can all agree that 2020 was a terrible year; I've been uninspired and need a break.

Grateful for: family, friends, health, laughter, love.

May 2021 lead to better things.

City Twilight

On an unseasonably warm November day: consumed pints of ice cream while people watching in a park, and enjoyed the sunset against the city skyline.

Toronto is back in lockdown. Hope everyone is keeping safe. 

Fall Foliage

I'm so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers.
- L.M. Montgomery, Anne of Green Gables

Shinrin Yoku: Forest Bathing

Escaped reality for a bit by spending a weekend at the cottage: hiked, paddled, stargazed and bonfired. Nature really is restorative to the soul.

Pandemic Summer

Bike rides and park hangs: my life in a nutshell.

Discoveries of Summer 2019

Bike rides where you don't feel like you're in the city.

I've done this route multiple times and have yet to get sick of it.

Toasted homemade sourdough bread tossed in a caprese salad made with tomatoes from my dad's garden, olive oil I lugged back from Portugal, and Maldon salt a friend kindly brought back from England.

I was doubtful anything could improve a caprese salad, but I was wrong.

We The North

June 13, 2019: the day the Toronto Raptors won the NBA Championship.

It's hard being a Toronto sports fan. We're cynics because our hearts have been crushed time and time again. The New Yorker even wrote an article about how we're a bunch of anxious freaks when it comes to our teams.

The last major championship win in the city was in '93 by the Jays. (Sorry, Argos and TFC, but you don't count.) I have very vivid memories of the Joe Carter home run and attending the victory parade, which I'm not sure why my newly immigrant mother who knows nothing about sports would bring her child to, but am thankful for the experience.

The Raptors parade was last week and while it was marred with issues (the planned two-hour parade turned into five, etc.), it was so. much. fun. Champagne was poured on me, new memories were made. Just look at this city:

Don't ever doubt that sports can bring people together.

P.S. The Toronto Raptors mascot is considered the best in the league - this is my favourite write up on the dinosaur.

Summer Lovin'

Temperatures have been hovering around 30 degrees C all week, which makes me ecstatic because I get to bust out the rarely-worn summer dresses.


I spent last weekend at a cottage where we woke up bright and early to watch the sunrise, went for a run, did a bit of yoga, made a delicious breakfast and canoed on the lake, all before noon.

Life is good.

Winter Blahs

Winter has broken me.

It may be my least favourite season, but this year seems worse than usual.

I'm tired of snow. I'm tired of the cold. I'm just tired and uninspired and it's only February.


Longing for this weather.

Ottawa Wedding

You might have heard of this thing called a polar vortex.


It has been making my winter more miserable than usual. If you have never experience -36 degrees C windchill, I can tell you that it is very painful. And cold. But mostly painful, in the ohdeargoodness, someone-just-put-me-out-of-my-misery kind of way.

Fortunately, the one weekend I went up to Ottawa, the weather warmed up.


The unfortunate part was that freezing rain coated the streets and sidewalks and turned the whole city into an ice rink.


Of course that didn't stop me from all the eating. I brunched until I could brunch no more, and followed it up with some donuts.



The real reason why I went to Ottawa was to attend my dear friend El's wedding. While geography has distanced us since our university days, she will always have a special place in my heart as the person who helped me pass swimming class (oh, to be a kin major), the person who dyed my hair when I wanted that change, and the cramming and dancing and toga parties that came with being a student.

I wouldn't have missed it for the world.

Ode to Summer

And just like that, summer is over.


It was a pretty fabulous one, filled with beaches and wineries, music festivals and cottages.


I was surprised to still see peaches at the market this weekend and quickly snatched up a basket. Preserving peaches - my last ode to summer.


Goodbye, summer. See you in eight months.

March Blues

March is when I start to get antsy - winter is not quite over, yet it's not quite spring. I'm desperately itching for warmer weather, some sunshine to pass these dreary grey days.


Cooking-wise, I've been uninspired. I'm at the point of the year where I'm tired of root vegetables and cabbages and ready to pounce on the first sign of delicate leafy greens. I finally opened my jars of strawberry and raspberry preserves, which has me dreaming of summer. I'm counting down the months until peach season is here.

Can you tell I am a summer baby?


The weather has been warm enough to start the flow of the maple sap. I visited a maple sugar bush, ate piping hot pancakes doused in melted butter and maple syrup. Fact: pancakes are so much better eaten in a non-heated cabin after a good work out.


I am going back into hibernation until the air smells sweet of spring showers.

Until then.

2013, here I come!

I will be out of town over the holidays so I just wanted to wish everyone a Happy Holidays!

See you in the new year.

September 2012

Major changes occurring around me has forced me to become contemplative about my life. (More than usual, anyway.) What are my life and career goals? Where do I see myself in five to ten years? I've always had a general idea, a certain path I'd like to follow but if I think too hard about the future, it can be a little overwhelming and frightening.


It can also be frustrating, as I certainly did not expect to be where I currently am at this point in my life. I'm sure there are many people in their 20s who feel the same way; I've seen enough articles in the media about how young adults are struggling in this economy. I know quite a few people who are job searching, myself included.


I will attempt to stay positive and fight the good fight, because what is the alternative? I've always been one to think that everything happens for a reason and things will work out eventually, so I will continue to cling to that belief even when things are tough.



These pictures are from my trip up north during the labour long weekend. There was a day trip to the Bruce Peninsula, which was gorgeous beyond words - blue skies and clear water for as far as the eye could see. There was a stop at the blueberry farm, but the highlight was the pick-your-own tomatoes. I love tomatoes and at the height of the tomato season, I can't help but eat them raw because they're so flavourful and I don't want to tarnish their perfection. I eat them like a fruit! (Because they are a fruit. Ba da bum.)


Here's a picture of a sunflower field. I will let you in on a secret: I love sunflowers because they make me happy. Hopefully this puts a smile on your face too, as it does to mine.

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A major change that happened: one of my closest friends got herself hitched this month.

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