In an effort to turn my frown upside down, and since we had already both booked time off work, my husband planned a surprise for me. And that Dear Reader is how I ended up at the Royal York Hotel.
Well last weekend turned out very differently than originally planned. I was supposed to be going to Ottawa to meet my friend Christine who was coming in from Calgary. Christine and I have been friends for nearly seventeen years - we met outside the kindergarten doors where our sons attended school together. Our friendship grew over playdates, mint tea and many a bottle of wine shared breaking bread together. It has been about ten years since she showed up at my door with her giant tupperware container full of flour and said goodbye. She moved home to Alberta but we always seem to pick up where we left off when we are able to meet up. I was so disappointed when she had to cancel her trip. In an effort to turn my frown upside down, and since we had already both booked time off work, my husband planned a surprise for me. And that Dear Reader is how I ended up at the Royal York Hotel. But believe it or not, it gets better! We headed downtown to the hotel for the 3pm check-in time. My husband had booked us into a king room for two days. But that was not to be. While enquiring about the upgrade special on the website he mentioned that we were celebrating our anniversary. The lovely lady futzed about on the computer for a few moments and then told us that she did not have a deluxe room available but instead....wait for it Dear Reader......she said these magical words...."What I have for you today is a one bedroom suite and on behalf of the Fairmont Royal York I would like to wish you and your wife a happy, happy anniversary." Happy Anniversary indeed! We were so surprised and thanked her very much! We headed up to the room in giddy anticipation.... We wandered around the suite with goofy grins on our faces. What a lovely winfall! With a quick pit stop back at the check in desk to once again say thank you, we were on our way out on the town. We went over to the Loose Moose for a light lunch and a few drinks and ended up going downstairs to the Antler Room to hear the Julian Taylor Band. Julian put on a great show, performing songs from The Tragically Hip, The Rolling Stones and even Simon and Garfunkel. Just a few short minutes later this bar was packed when the Blue Jays game let out. I was glad we were there early and had front and centre seats at the bar for the show. It was crazy crowded! When the show ended we went back to the hotel and settled in front of the tv and ordered room service. We were living large people! Granted, it was just a club sandwich but still...as you can see, "Hungry Horace" couldn't wait for me to take a picture before digging in. Feeling well sated, we called it a night. The next day we ordered a pot of coffee and banana bread from room service for breakfast. It was delivered and laid out with great flourish and lovely small talk. We set off for the St. Lawrence Market, one of our favourite places in the city. (Whenever I am looking for a special ingredient I head here because I know I will find it there. It was actually Christine who took me there for the first time) Of course while we were there, my lobster had to have his favourite, the peameal and egg on a kaiser. He can't go to the market and not have it. It's true. I am married to a hobbit, hairy feet and all... just like a hobbit, he had second breakfast. We wandered along Front Street for most of the morning taking in the sights. This is the Gooderham Building, (aka "the Flat Iron building" built 1891-1892). This is the mural on the back side of it..... We headed back to the hotel to watch the UEFA Champions League Final. Many moons ago, my husband played football (soccer) and we had invited an old teammate of his to watch the match in the suite. We ordered a few appetizers from room service to munch on during the game. I think I might be getting too used to this! While the boys were shouting at the tv, I mean watching the match, I read a copy of Bon Appetit and Martha Stewart Living and had a glass of wine. Luxury! When the match ended we invited Stevie to come back to the Antler Room with us to see the Julian Taylor Band. He really was that good that we went two days in a row! The bar was packed again because of the Jays fans, but lucky for us, our waitress remembered us from the night before and scored us a table right away. I love how raw live music can be and was so happy we had caught him one more time. I bought a copy of his cd at the end of his show and have since loaded in onto my ipod. We went for coffee after the show and then we wandered around the hotel. The hotel was completed in 1929 and has a lovely shabby chic feel to it. It has undergone extensive renovations and manages to retain its glamorous feel. Throughout the hotel, there is beautiful old architecture and antiques. The mezzanine is an art gallery of sorts with many pictures documenting the history and famous guests of the hotel throughout the years, including an autographed photograph of HRM Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Phillip. We were so spent we ended up in bed by 10:30 that night. More likely, it had something to do with the Australian Shiraz and the Heineken. Either way, the end of our escape was gaining on us Dear Reader. But we had one more morning. We thought about going out for breakfast but seriously, who can resist the novelty of room service? Not I..... Eggs Bennie for my fella and a waffle for me while reading the newspaper. Divine. There is something really very lovely about sharing breakfast together relaxed, mostly in silence, enjoying each other's company and this experience, this gift. 21 years later. Blessed am I. Feel better C. xxx
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Well that was some weekend! As promised, Dear Reader I have lots to share with you! It is going to take me a day or two to weed through all the photographs I took. Check back in a day or two....but for now....here is a tease. Back to reality......
Three cheers for three glorious days off Dear Reader! Happy Victoria Day, the unofficial kick-off of summer here in Canada. Neighbours you haven't seen in months all of a sudden reappear....car washing, gardening and barbecuing abounds. Birds singing, children laughing and playing. My toes have finally been freed from socks. Hooray! So stereotypically, as a good Canadian, I did what I am supposed to do this weekend. I did some gardening and attended the first barbecue of the season followed by fireworks. I am a terrible gardener. It's true. I have a black thumb. I don't know why. I try. Every year. This year is going to be different. I hope. I planted from seed this year and in 7-14 days we shall see how I did. Fingers crossed! So I was trying to decide what to take to the barbecue and then I remembered...a few weeks back, a fellow I work with had brought in a plate of brownies that his wife made. They were so over-the-top ridiculously good that I knew I had to have the recipe. He called them "lethal brownies" and that they were. Unfortunately for me but lucky for him, he went on vacation to Cuba. So I went on a mission for you Dear Reader because you need to experience these brownies. I scoured my collection of recipes (remember that box of tricks I told you about?), my cookbooks, and the internet to see if I might find that magical recipe. I share with you today the fruit of my labour. Final Exam Brownies Adapted from tasteofhome.com 4oz unsweetened chocolate, chopped 1 cup butter 2 cups sugar 4 eggs 1tsp vanilla extract 1 cup all purpose flour 2 cups miniature marshmallows 1 cup pecans, chopped 1 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Melt butter and unsweetened chocolate together over double boiler. Stir constantly until ingredients have melted and mixture is smooth. Remove from heat and allow to cool. Combine the sugar, eggs, vanilla and cooled chocolate mixture in large bowl. Beat together until smooth. Add the flour and mix until combined. Gently fold in the marshmallows, pecans, and 1/2 cup only of the chocolate chips. Grease 9 x 13 inch cake pan. Spread mixture into prepared pan and sprinkle remaining 1 cup of chocolate chips evenly over the top. Bake until top has set, approximately 40-45 minutes. Cool in pan on wire rack. Cut into 30 bars once completely cooled. I will confess that I don't think this is the same recipe, however it was really good too! So off we went to Oshawa for the barbecue! The sun was shining and the smell of lilacs filled the backyard. Baby Max was there and I spent alot of time with him in my arms. What a darling! What a set of lungs! It took me back down memory lane. I sang Eric Clapton's "Wonderful Tonight" to him just like I had for my two boys all those years ago and he settled into sweet slumber. Wonderful indeed. We all ate far too much and a few of us drank too much (no names needed...you know who you are) and then off we went to the park for fireworks. Our friend Tom sets them up every year and most of the street comes out to watch the show. I hope you like the changes I have made to my blog recently. Stay tuned. I think you are really going to like my next post Dear Reader. My husband has planned a two day "staycation" for us that includes a stay at Toronto's Royal York Hotel. I am very excited about it and hope to have lots to share with you next time!
Well it is a beautiful sunshiney Sunday here in my neck of the woods...yesterday was the same too. Not a cloud in the sky. I am no longer in doubt that Spring has finally arrived. I guess it just got a bit lost on its way here. It is amazing the difference a week can make. Last week I posted a picture of the tree in my backyard...look at it now! We were out and about all day yesterday. We met my niece and her family for breakfast out in Oshawa. My great nephew Noah (no Dear Reader I am really not that old!) is quite a character and kept us entertained during our meal....he mischieviously pinched the toast off my plate bit by bit with a cheeky smile. Well worth sharing with him for the wet kiss goodbye! At home, I always make an extra slice because even when they insist they don't want any I know better. One whiff of that toasty goodness and that's it. But now, thanks to Noah it will cost them a kiss...a toast toll if you will. From there we headed to Kendal which is located in Clarington, Ontario for a penny sale fundraiser. I purchased ten dollars worth of tickets which gave me one thousand tickets to drop into the cups in front of items I was hoping to win. There was a huge selection of items to choose from....everything from hand-made rag rugs and afghans to tea towels and bakeware. It was good fun wandering around the tables looking at all the goodies! I will have to report back if I ended up winning any of the draws as they took place after we left for my favourite used book store in Port Perry, Willow Books. My youngest son has been on a bit of a Stephen King kick lately and found a few titles and I found a few treasures to add to my collection too. Since we have been getting a bit of a tease of the summer that lays ahead I thought I would share this potluck/picnic favourite with you Dear Reader. It's not your normal run of the mill sludgey mayo drenched potato salad. It has a surprising elegance about it. It is colourful to look at and the dijon and citrus give it a bright zesty kick that regular potato salad just doesn't have to offer. I will admit that the day I made it we had it with hot dogs....not very elegant, but fabulous just the same. Best Ever Potato Salad
Adapted from Canadian Living Magazine, July 1998 issue 1 1/2 lb small red-skinned potatoes 1 yellow pepper, cut into chunks 3 tbsp vegetable oil 2 tbsp white wine vinegar 1 tbsp lemon juice 1 tsp Dijon mustard 1/2 tsp salt 1/4 tsp pepper 2 green onions, sliced 4oz sugar snap peas ( a nice handful will do!) 3 tbsp fresh dill, chopped Cook potatoes in boiling, salted water for about 20 minutes, or until tender. Drain, let cool until cool enough to handle. Halve each potato and place in nice bowl. For the dressing, whisk together vinegar, oil,mustard, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Add peppers and onions to the potatoes in bowl and toss with half of the prepared dressing and leave to cool. Cook snap peas in boiling water for one minute until bright green. Drain peas and run under cold water to set colour. (I usually skip cooking the peas because my family likes them crunchy). Just before serving, add the peas and dill to bowl. Toss with the remainder of the dressing and serve. Makes 4 servings. |
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