Author: avery

Where I’ll Be On Sunday

baconfest

My neighbourhood, Leslieville, is totally the place to be in Toronto on Sunday. The Leslieville Flea will be on at the Ashbridges Estate, and the Leslieville Farmers’ Market is just down the street.  Hitting up both is always a treat, but this Sunday August 17 is extra special… it’s “BaconFest” at the Farmers’ Market. There’s a competition featuring chefs from the Ceili Cottage, The County General Riverside, Glas, Rashers, Skin + Bones, East Side Social and more. You know where to find me on Sunday!

PS – This is my 800th blog post. EIGHT HUNDRED. Whoa.

Our New Favourite TV Series

moone boy

Ian and I have been watching the most delightful television show. It’s called Moone Boy and it’s by Chris O’Dowd (remember him? The cute guy with the Irish accent from Bridesmaids? Kristen Wiig’s love interest? Yeah, him).  He plays the imaginary friend of a pre-teen boy who lives in a small town in Ireland with his 3 older sisters, parents, and goofy best friend in the early ’90s (the costume designer NAILED it).  O’Dowd created and co-wrote the series, based on his own childhood in Ireland.

The only downside is that it’s really difficult to Moone Boy. It aired on Sky in the UK, and then disappeared. We’ve been watching it on this weird/awesome channel that comes for free with our satellite package. They don’t have it at the Toronto Public Library.  If you’re in the States, you can watch it on Hulu (there’s the Hulu trailer below), but it’s nowhere in Canada.  If you happen to come across Moone Boy anywhere… rent it, download it, buy it.  And then let me borrow it.

Follow-up: Bourbon Lemonade Recipe

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Last week I wrote about wanting to make bourbon lemonades, so Kinnon and I gave it a whirl on Monday night. We followed the Smitten Kitchen “Vermontucky Lemonade” instructions and used bourbon, water, lemon juice, and maple syrup, and they were amazing.  Here’s the recipe:

Mix in a pitcher:
1 cup lemon juice (if you’re too lazy to squeeze lemons, get the good stuff at the grocery store)
2.5 cups cold water
0.5 cups maple syrup (again, use the good stuff)

Put ice and however much bourbon you want in a glass, and then pour the lemonade mixture over top to fill your glass. Stir slightly, and enjoy. Mmmmmmm.  We used Bulleit Bourbon, and next time we’ll try Knob Creek or Four Roses.

 

 

Wow… Talk About A Vacation Rental With A View

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Here are two vacation rental properties (link one and link two) I found on Airbnb recently during one of my semi-regular wanderlust-induced browsing sessions. These are both in Muir Beach, California, which is only about 15 miles from San Francisco. Could you imagine relaxing on the deck of one of these places and looking at that view?!? Dreamy.

[first 2 photos from this rental property; last 3 photos from this rental property]

What I’ll Be Drinking All Summer Long

I usually drink white wine in the summer, with the occasional beer, margarita or even a gin and tonic for variety. But a couple weeks ago I had bourbon lemonade (pictured above) at Hogtown Smoke with my pal Hilary. It was delicious.

I need to figure out how to make them so I can now drink bourbon lemonades all summer long. Do you have a good recipe? I’ve found some online that suggest using triple sec or maple syrup in addition to the lemonade and bourbon, for sweetness. Or this recipe on The Kitchn suggests using honey bourbon with lemon juice, sugar and water. I guess I’ll have to try a few different recipes to find which one I like best. Sounds like a fun experiment.

Do You Read Graphic Novels?

thisonesummer

Other than a few Neil Gaiman comics I read in high school, I don’t often read graphic novels. But I’ve heard of two recently that intrigue me, and both are by Toronto writers. The first is This One Summer by illustrator Jillian Tamaki (whose work I adore) and her cousin, writer Mariko Tamaki. It’s about two girls on the cusp of becoming teenagers, during one summer at their families’ beach houses. Sounds like the perfect summer read.

The second graphic novel that interests me is Seconds by Bryan Lee O’Malley (you know, the guy who made Scott Pilgrim). Apparently it has a strong female lead (which you know I love).

Have you read any graphic novels that you really enjoyed?

[images via Jillian Tamaki’s blog]

Before and After Pics of Our New Backyard

YARD

I took off a few hours from work today to put the finishing touches on our new backyard, and I’m so happy to say it’s done! We just finished a 3-week long full overhaul. Our old deck, shed, walkway and pathetic grass patches were full removed, and a new patio, deck, and gardens were put in (with proper drainage and grading and all that not-so-sexy-but-all-so-important stuff). We worked with Ted Hobson and his crew from Hobson Landscapes, and they did an *amazing* job. I highly recommend them. Lots more photos of before, during, and after the landscaping after the jump…

Continue reading “Before and After Pics of Our New Backyard”

I cannot wait for this movie.

boyhood

I love Richard Linklater. The “Before” series (Before Sunset, Before Sunrise, Before Midnight) are some of my all-time favourite films. I even enjoy his goofy stuff, like School of Rock and Dazed and Confused.

When I heard about his latest film Boyhood, I was blown away. It took Linklater twelve years to make the film. That means he started it in 2001 (woah… can you remember what you were doing in 2001?).  He filmed the same cast for a few days every year, slowly piecing together a story about a boy growing up. The film is fiction (this isn’t a documentary) but it was made in real-time (the star of the film, Ellar Coltrane, was seven years old when they started; now he’s 19).

Sounds cool, but also a bit gimmicky, right?  Hopefully not with Richard Linklater. I hope he brings the same amount of depth and thoughtful nuance to Boyhood that shows in the “Before” series.

What an amazing project. The movie comes out in July. Watch the trailer here.

[via Kottke.org]