An (almost) Perfect Day!

What a day! Finally, after months and month of ice, snow, cold and bleak weather, we were reminded today that humans are meant to be outdoors.

I started my day off by sleeping in. I then had a lovely shower, did my hair and make up and headed downtown to meet Gidgett for brunch. She was kind enough to retrieve my iPod for me which I'd left at work on Thursday, so I feel whole again. The brunch we were headed to wasn't just any brunch. It was a special, epic one, at my favourite restaurant: Courtyard Restaurant.

That place is amazing. It's in an old stone building and is beautifully decorated. The food is out of this world. This is what I had " 'Perfect' Scrambled Eggs, Crème Fraiche and Chives, Sourdough Toast, Bacon or Sausage, Oven-Roasted Tomato, Herbed Hash Brown". I have to admit, they really were perfect scrambled eggs. Before the main course, they served as a scone with jam (which was delicious), we had a mimosa to drink with our meal (champagne and orange juice) and then for dessert, we each ordered a different option and then split the two. We had: "Flourless Chocolate Cake, Cherry Purée, Cherry Crumble" and "Sticky Toffee Pudding, Caramel Sauce, Crème Anglaise" Both were outstanding. The Sticky Toffee Pudding was my favourite. I'm pretty sure this is where I want to go for my birthday dinner.

After all that food, we headed out into the sunshine and the market. We met up with Adele and went on a sight seeing/shopping tour of the market. I ended up coming home with fresh spinach and feta ravioli, roasted garlic tomato sauce, highly addictive rosemary and sea salt artisan bread crisps, drunken sausages (they have Mill St. beer in them) and some cupcakes from the Cupcake Lounge. It was a good outing. I had the pasta for dinner and 1 cupcake for dessert. A winning combination really. The sun was out the whole time we were venturing about. It was so great to feel its warmth on my skin again. It renewed my soul and spirit and gave me new hope that the warm spring weather will soon be here. It was also nice to spend some time with a couple of ladies who I rarely see outside of work. It's very therapeutic to be able to talk to people who can relate to some of the stuff I'm dealing with or for me to be able to offer advice because they're going through something I'd been through before. It nice seeing things from a different perspective too.

After dinner, I was ready to settle down for the night when Xtintor texted. He was home alone for the night as his ladies were at the in-laws so he asked if I'd like to go for coffee. Despite being rather sleepy and having already taken my bra off, I said yes. I got dressed and we headed out. I opted for herbal tea while he went for the Venti, full caffeine version. We headed to Britannia Park where we found a trail near the beach that was mostly clear of snow. We walked and talked and admired all the beautiful stars that are out tonight.

Just as I was being dropped off, my father phoned to rub in the fact that his hockey team beat my hockey team. I guess there had to be one flaw in my otherwise perfect day. LOL.

So now I'm quite sleepy and I'm pretty sure my feet stopped talking to me about a half hour ago. I think sleeping in tomorrow is definitely in the works. So's cooking a prime rib roast (never tackled one of those before).  I hope everyone has a very happy Easter.

Good Night!

Sarah

Outside of my favourite restaurant (in the summer)

Ooopsie!

It would appear that I'm getting a little forgetful as of late. As in I've forgotten to blog for two nights in a row now. I think I might have been tired.

I remember there I didn't blog Friday sometime Saturday while I was walking to the grocery store. I realized that I didn't blog last night while brushing my theeth before bed. At that point I'd already shut down my computer and turned the lights off and really didn't have the energy to fire everything up again so I said screw it. And here I am now.

My first day back at work on Friday was actually a really good day. People were genuinely happy to see me and Xtina, the new HR Casual had managed to get almost everything sorted out and organized so I was able to focus on the things that I had to do. So all in all, it was a pretty stress free day. Next week shouldn't be too bad either. I'm filling in for one of the finance ladies for the week, so one of our staff is filling in for me. I'll be on the same floor as everyone, just a different section. I might be able to hide from the chaos, which is fine by me!

Yesterday was an awesome day. The sun was out and it made everything look so crisp and beautiful. I opted to walk to Farm Boy (a local grocery store chain that prides itself on carrying fresh, local supplies) which is several blocks away instead of going across the street to Metro. It turned out to be a very nice walk in the sun and I got some very yummy things. After lunch, I ventured downtown to the Market. I hit up the Italian store and got some amazing sauce (wood oven roasted garlic tomato sauce) and a Canoli. I've never had one before. They're incredible. I don't know how I've never had one. So good. I then went to the butcher shop and got nitrate free sausages which went into the pasta I made last night, some double smoked bacon which I'm going to try this morning and a piece of marinated pork tenderloin which I'm having for dinner. After that, I went to LUSH and got some more of my favourite lip balm, one of their sugar scrubs and a bath melt (it smells so yummy and makes your bath water a pretty shade of pink). I couldn't get over how many people were at the BeaverTail stand when I walked by. As popular as ever, which is a good sign.

My last bit of shopping was buying a new pair of slippers on my way to back through the mall, en route to the bus.

After shopping, I met up with my buddy Xtinktor for coffee. Starbucks was too crowded so we got our drinks and headed to the mall to sit. We had a nice chat and visit, talking about our holidays and families and of course, talking about music. That's probably the one thing that we talk about most. It was nice to visit and the caffeine kick was very welcome.

Finally I made it home and started dinner. It was very, very good. I love the sauce I bought. I'm going to have to go back and get more. LOL. I think it's one of those things that everyone should have several jars of on hand, just in case.

I should get moving and get some tea or coffee into me. I bought a bunch of loose K-Cups when I was at home so I could try some new flavours. It's fun testing them out. I need to make breakfast and get on with my day too. I do love quiet Sundays. I'm going to attempt to clean and re-organize the kitchen today. Wish me luck!

Have a good day!

Sarah

We got lots of snow!