We're here!

Well I finally made it to Cochrane after a 9 hour drive. The drive was actually a lot of fun, we blasted music, drove with all the windows down and sang and danced the entire way.
We looked like crazy people (curly hair + windows down = the opposite of pretty) but we had a lot of fun and it finally felt like summer.

So we went to visit my grandma and spent 20 minutes or so talking with her at the hospital. As we went to leave she said to my sister, "Honey, aren't you going to introduce your friend?"

Hmph.

For the weekend...

This is the dreamy, hazy filter I would put on life if I could.

Make Me Some Pie, B*!$%#!

Does anyone else's mouth start salivating the second they pick up the Food & Drink magazine from the LCBO? Everything looks so delicious and some of the recipes are even easy! Some. Some are like trying to do a Rubik's cube.

But this pie. Pretty, pretty pie. I want to eat you.

Chicken Phyllo Pie with Fresh Peaches and Pesto Cream

By: Marilyn Bentz-Crowley

This savoury pie is simple yet sophisticated with layers of ingredients that require little cooking. Slowly defrost phyllo overnight in refrigerator if possible. Divide remaining phyllo into useable portions of four to eight sheets. Wrap in waxed paper. Tightly over-wrap with foil; refreeze until needed again.

Pie

3⁄4 cup (175 mL) chicken broth
1⁄2 cup (125 mL) bulgur
4 sheets phyllo dough
2 to 3 tbsp (25 to 45 mL) butter, melted
1 green onion, thinly sliced
1 large or 2 small peaches, peeled and diced (see TIP below)
1⁄2 cup (125 mL) toasted slivered or sliced almonds
1 1⁄2 to 2 cups (375 to 500 mL) bite-sized cooked chicken pieces
Freshly ground sea salt and pepper
2 tbsp (25 mL) basil pesto

Sauce

1⁄2 cup (125 mL) basil pesto
1⁄2 cup (125 mL) whipping cream

1. Arrange oven rack below oven centre; preheat to 400°F (200°C).

2. Heat broth in 2-cup (500-mL) measure in microwave or in a very small saucepan until boiling. Remove from heat; stir in bulgur. Set aside to soak.

3. Line a 9-inch (23-cm) cake tin with foil by turning it upside down to shape foil. Turn upright; fit foil into pan. Lightly brush 1 sheet of dough with butter. Lay in pan in a manner that 1 side overhangs much more than the other. Repeat with remaining sheets, placing at a quarter turn of pan so that the long overhangs circle pan.

4. Spread soaked bulgur in pan. Evenly sprinkle with green onion; then peaches and almonds. Top with chicken. Lightly season chicken with pinches or grindings of sea salt and black pepper. Drizzle chicken with pesto.

5. In turn, pick up and drop overhanging sheets on top of pie. Top is rough. Bake for 25 minutes or until pastry is golden and pie is hot. If top seems too brown before end of baking time, loosely place a piece of foil overtop and continue baking.

6. Meanwhile, for sauce, stir pesto with cream. Use foil to lift hot pie out of cake tin. Cut into quarters. Spread 1 tbsp (15 mL) of pesto cream on centre of each warm plate. Top with pie. Serve right away with remaining pesto cream. On the side, offer warm pita or cornbread and tossed green salad.TIP: Fresh peaches brown quite quickly when cut. If making this pie a few hours ahead of baking, in place of fresh peaches use 3⁄4 cup (175 mL) well-drained canned peaches or diced soft dried apricots. Cover pie with plastic wrap and refrigerate until needed.

Add 5 minutes to baking time.

Serves 4

I like pie.

Baby Showers

There are many reasons that I'm excited about my friends' soon to be popped out babies.
Mostly though, it has to do with how cute baby clothes are and my desire to turn their children into my own personal dolls. Or monsters. Whatever.
This bathrobe is adorable, affordable and is reminiscent of Where the Wild Things Are.
It's being sold by SDK Designs on Etsy - here

I wonder if they do adult sizes? I just know I like the monster look.

Anthropologie

Oh baby do I ever like this dress. You can find it, along with about a million other things that I need to own, here

Love

I love Love.

Favorville!

Amazing.

My new favorite website of all time. Favorville.

http://www.favorville.com/

"Favorville.com is a social networking tool which provides members with the opportunity to help and be helped by others. With Favorville, members can post help requests, offer help and help grow the community. Favorville makes it easy to get in touch and build lasting connections with helpful neighbors, both in your locale or across the global village."

Have you ever heard of anything so fantastic? Is there anything better than this????
You have got to check it out!

I don't just like Favorville. I love it.

Killer Treehouses

Remember treehouses?

Ours were always made out of leftover lumber we scavenged, and they usually had rusty nails sticking out of them. But they were great! And even though my brothers didn't always let me actually come inside the treehouse, just knowing it was there was pretty great.

Now feast your eyes on this piece of heaven:


I want to go there. (30 Rock, anyone? anyone?)
I want to sell my house and live like an ewok. Is that so wrong?

Here are some more awesome - and a tad ridiculous - treehouses:


Oh tree houses. I want to climb up and live in you. I like you.

Going to Cochrane!

I'm trying to pump myself up for the loooong drive (9 hrs...eek!) to Cochrane by thinking about all the great things I will see on the drive up. No seriously, there is some weird stuff along that desolate highway.

I'm entirely sure why, but people in Northern Ontario love their giant statues of animals.
I don't know why they're there, but I love them and it makes for some much needed visual stimulation.

So first up, the New Liskeard Cow!


And the big fish in Martens River:


And the buffalo in Earlton:

(Why, yes I did make my mom stop and take a photo of me at every stop along the way...)

And lastly, Chimo the friendly polar bear in Cochrane:

It's worth noting that although I'm stopping in Cochrane, the animal statue carnage continues into the north, with a giant goose in Wawa, a moose in Hearst, Dryden and about ten other places, a muskie and a dream-haunting spider in Kenora and a sheep in Minnitaki.
(Really, a sheep? Really?)

Off I go into the Great White North!

Oh big weird animal statues, you're pretty neat, I think I like you.

Jam!

Every year around this time, I talk about how I want to make jam. Raspberry preferably, strawberry yes please, and blueberry most definitely. Have I ever actually attempted it?

Weeelllllllllllllllllllll, what can I say, summer is a busy time of year! But I'm putting my food down this year! I'm making jam and no one can stop me!!



I'll take my berry picking bum to Ovens Berry Farm located in Osgoode, about 40 minutes away from Ottawa. I will choose this farm based entirely on the fact that I know one of the Ovens and he is fabulous. So it would only make sense that berries from his family's farm will make fabulous jam, right?

And then if I'm feeling really crafty, I could make pretty little gift labels or lid covers and give them away to all my favorite people! And maybe even bake little loaves of bread to go with them! Ok, deep breath, I'm getting ahead of myself here. First, berry picking.

Oh Jam, anyone who doesn't like you is just crazy.

Doing the Robot

Those who know me know that if there is one thing I do really, really well, it's the robot.

It's fun and I like it and that is reason enough to do it all the time. And don't be discouraged if your robot skills are not quite where you would like them to be, practice makes perfect.

For instance, why not practice the robot on the top of a mountain in Waterton Lakes, AB?

Or at a hippo pool in Mikumi, Tanzania?

Or how about in Times Square, NYC?

Or hey, why not give it a shot at the ROM in Toronto?

You're right, that last one isn't really the robot at all. But it's kind of close, and really funny so it counts.

I like you Mr. Roboto-Man. You can stay.

I Like Turtles

This lamp is one of the best things that has ever come into my life. No one seems to get it, but this lamp is AWESOME. Because really, what is more comforting than grabbing your book on a rainy day, wrapping yourself up in a warm blanket, and reading beside a turtle lamp.
I rest my case.

And the fact that I paid $5 for it at the Great Glebe Garage sale just sweetens the deal.

Also, this video shows that I am not the only person who likes turtles.

Turtle lamp, I like you. Let's be friends.

Togo! Yes please!

I really like you, Togo couches. You look like you would be the perfect thing to fall into after a long day at work, and I'm pretty sure you wouldn't mind I happened to drool a little when I fall asleep.
I would like to own you and make you mine, but sadly you are for fancy people only.
See you in my dreams!

Oh Togo, I've never even seen you in real life but I'm pretty sure we'd be lovers.

RIP Michael Jackson

Wow this one I did not see coming.
Michael Jackson dead at 50. So surreal.

Not that he's been in the public eye for a long time, but I am absolutely blown away.
And all I can think about is my friend Sandra, who has loved his music over the years, regardless of what might have been playing out in the media.

I hope he has an easier time in the afterlife than he did on earth. RIP MJ.

Coin Jewelery

It might be because my mom has a gorgeous ring and pendant that are old coins - they are without a doubt the most beautiful pieces of jewelery I have ever seen. It helps that they are family heirlooms, I'm a sucker for sentimentality. Unfortunately I have had very little luck persuading her to give them to me, but I'm sure I'll wear her down one of these days.

In the meantime, similar jewelery can be found all over the place!

These amazing earrings are available on one of my favorite sites, Etsy, which features handmade goods from artists.

Check them out here at http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=7955866&ref=sr_gallery_19&&ga_search_query=coin+jewellery&ga_search_type=all&ga_page=1&order=date_desc&includes[]=tags&includes[]=title

Because my birthday is coming up! Seriously, November is not that far away!

I really do like you coin jewellery.

Ray Lamontagne

If I didn't already have the love of my life - I'm pretty sure I would have quit my job, sold everything I own, and have followed Ray Lamontagne around from venue to venue begging him to be my Valentine. Will you be my boyfriend? Check yes or no.
But in all seriousness, this man's music is more amazing that anything I can possibly put into words. And unlike the celebrities who have been discovering him lately (back of ladies, he's MINE!), I have known him and loved him for years.

I want to snuggle him, feed him and make him write songs about me.

http://raylamontagne.com/

Oh Ray Ray, I know I like you. It might even be love, but don't tell B.

People Getting Hurt

That sounds really insensitive but who can say that they have never laughed at people get hurt on AFV. But I try not to make a habit of it. But seriously check out this Stride Gum commercial.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ojgi16des-U&feature=fvst

I've never heard B laugh so hard, AND I'm pretty sure he made us rewind it (PVR I love you) at least 30 times. That was the first time we saw it. We've subsequently rewound it again and again and even made our friends watch.

Finally we made the decision. That poor guy is actually getting hit in the balls by that ram.
I bet if you weren't gonna watch it before you will now. Sucker.

Vino!

Well just like any good Italian, I love indulging in a glass - or bottle - of red wine.
Ok, so I'm only 25% Italian, but what can I say, it's in my blood.
I like to pick up a bottle of wine from a different area every time and tell whoever I'm sharing it with (I'm a good sharer) that we are visiting that area for the evening.
I've very well traveled when it comes to wine. Argentina, France, Italy, California, Niagara-on-the-Lake, Chile, I could go on all day.

But if I had to narrow it down to my three favorite wines......hmmmmmmm it makes me thirsty.

1. Casillero Del Diablo - originally I fell in love with the Cabarnet Sauvignon, but they recently released a Carmenere that it delightful. And it's called Cellar of the Devil so that's pretty bad ass.

http://www.conchaytorousa.com/wines/diablo.html

2. Liberty School - I don't usually go for the American wines, because it doesn't seem as exotic for my travel-tastes, but my friend Amy introduced me to this wine and I love her a little more for it.

-http://libertyschoolwinery.com\

3. Gato Negro - Ok, this wine is cheap - it's definitely not a snotty-type wine but hey times can be tight and I don't always want to spend a lot on wine. Especially because I drink it more than I would like to admit. And sometimes you don't feel like sitting around sniffing your glass, sometimes you want to drink some wine, play some cards and talk about religion, politics, oh who am I kidding, I mean have a dance party and act like an idiot.

Ahhh wine I really do like you.

My First Post!

Well here it is, my very first post!

Hmmmm awkward?

I guess the best way to ease in is to show what the blog says, Things I Like. There are so many things to choose from but there are a couple of things that I even love.

So without further ado....

This is Frankie - or Frankenstein, Frank&Beans, Frankford, I could go on all day. I do quite like her. Despite the occasional poops on the carpet, barking at squirrels, eating out of the garbage and about a million other irritants, she is a pretty good girl. Her wagging tail is a registered weapon and she can lick the skin clean off you - I like her. Ok, I love her.