Perhaps it’s the winter weather that’s making me yearn for cozy knits, but I suddenly got a hankering to start knitting again a couple of weeks ago. When my sister was still here, we ventured out to Walmart to pick up some yarn when she pointed out how ironic albeit funny it was that the cat aisle was right next to the knitting supplies. Talk about exploiting the stereotype!

Anyway, when the first snow fall came here in Toronto about a week or so ago, I took Gloria out for a “walk” in the back yard. Well, she shivered while I made high pitched noises about how cute her paws were in the snow. Don’t worry, we were only outside for two minutes before I took her back inside.

In other kitty news…

1. Too bad this is sold out but this is just as chic.

2. Whisker umbrella to add sunshine to a gray weather.

3. Last but not least, please send your love to the talented Jeana Sohn of The Closet Visit series. Her sweet cat Nylon passed away this weekend. :(

There are only a few things that require a mandatory appearance in my life and on the top of that short list would be a healthy dose of food and company which is why it’s no surprise that this week was all about that.

Good times with my Italian friend Mike at The Butler’s Pantry where we munched on quiche and Moroccan stew. Then capped off the night with a pitcher of Amsterdam around the block at The Beer Station.

The winter blues made a brief appearance at my door step Saturday evening, but I instantly perked up when I realized that this stew paired so well with Inniskilin’s Brae Blanc wine. That and sounding off to my sister through text message until I felt better.

I was craving something sweet and decided to finally make a simple dessert that really hit the spot—chocolate mousse. Can you believe it only takes two ingredients to make it? Chocolate and water!

I’m looking forward to grabbing coffee with a bunch of (lovely) strangers at the Distillery District this coming Saturday afternoon at The Sweet Escape Patisserie. I’m already torn as to what cupcake I’ll be pairing with my coffee.

My sister came towards the end of December to spend Christmas and New Years with me. Needless to say, there was a lot of obnoxious and incessant laughing from us through out the entire trip. While there were a lot of memories made to keep us warm and fuzzy until we see each other next, the trip was naturally dominated by the plethora of food consumed as depicted in these iPhone snapshots.

When we hopped off the bus from Montreal, I said that it was imperative that we put sushi in us, pronto! I took her to New Generation Sushi, my favorite late night sushi haven. If anyone is ever there, get 84D (right image). Trust, it’s as good as it looks.

The French really do know a thing or two about desserts. I took my sister to La maison du Macaron where we got a box of assorted flavors to take home. I think it’s a given to say that it was nippy in Montreal, so a hot cup of anything is always a must to survive. We skipped the local Starbucks and instead made our way to Juliet et Chocolat for a quick pick me up. I’m not exaggerating when I say that the trifle, made up of salted caramel, whipped cream and brownie bites has to be the best dessert I’ve ever had.

It wouldn’t be complete of course without making pit stops at a couple of my favorite acronym burger joints: GBC for their poutine, bacon mushroom melt burger and strawberry milkshake and BQM for their grilled tofu burger. Note: Don’t knock the tofu! It’s full of flavor and can rival any of the other meat contenders on the menu.

Even though we had to experience bone-chilling temperatures in an effort to actually do some obligatory sight seeing of the city, it was one of the best winter holidays I’ve ever had. I can’t wait to see her again in a few months for my birthday. Oh, spring can’t come around any faster.

P.S. Please excuse the current undressed state of this thing I call a blog. There are about a hundred things to be tweaked but since I am busy with my offline life, it just can’t be done as I speak. Regardless, in an effort to keep my promise of making a post at least once a week, this post has to go up.

I’ll admit it, I am terrible at blogging! TERRIBLE. Therefore, one of my new year’s resolution is to maintain a blog for a year and posting a minimum of one entry per week, two or more if I’m feeling nutty. I already imagine this to be taxing as I don’t see how my life is any bit interesting, especially when summarized in 150 words or less as I have a tendency to elaborate my hyperboles when speaking about topics such as cheese or my pet peeves.

Nonetheless, I will do my best to be appealing this year through this blog. If you are ever to run into me in person, make sure to throw me off by asking me absurd questions that make me feel slightly uncomfortable like, “What’s the point of eating corn when you see the whole kernel in your poop?” I promise I won’t pepper spray you between the eyes.