[Super Duper Fantastic] ISFP/INFP. 4w5. World Explorer. Super Hero. Rose-colored Glasses.

How is it possible to dedicate three separate posts to the same day? It’s the only way when you like to jam-pack your days the way I do! I’d rather not make my posts more than a few scrolls long.

In the evening, we took a walk through The Annex since the housewarming party was in the area. I made sure to try poutine the first chance that I got, which happened to be at The Acme Burger Company.

It’s French fries topped with fresh cheese curd, covered with brown gravy, the perfect late-night splurge. Definitely not part of an everyday diet, but it can be delicious, especially after a few drinks! After the housewarming party, we wandered around the neighborhood alleys to check out the art. The first thirty shots on my camera in Toronto must have been graffiti art.

At one point in the evening, we were standing in front of Lee’s Palace, a music venue that opened up in the mid-80s, talking to the owner about the mural out front. In 2009, due to the overload of pigeon compost and crap behind the front of the building, the building had to undergo some renovations, and the mural that originally went up in 1986 came down. After getting rid of the pigeon compost and crap, they were able to get the artist of the original mural, Runt aka Alex Currie, to come back and paint the venue’s new face.

Here are some articles I found regarding Lee’s Palace’s new face. Of course, this post would be incomplete without photos of the mural:

Totally random. Totally cool.

After wandering about the markets of Toronto on Saturday morning, Naly and I met up with a group for a food crawl in Little India. The crawl would visit five different spots in the area, but we would only tag along for four.

The first stop, Motimahal, was a very simple-looking eatery. We ordered vegetarian samosas to pad our stomachs for more food to come. I also ordered a mango lassi, which I drank rather quickly since the group was ready to head on to the next place, Udupi Palace. It was good, and I wish I had savored it.

At Udupi Palace, we all ordered dosas on the recommendation of the gal leading the food crawl. Tasty, but not anything I cannot find in the Bay Area. In fact, upon looking at the photo of the menu above, I now see their other locations, mostly in California. Update: There’s one in San Francisco, actually!

After filling up on dosas, we didn’t really have room in our bellies for the sugar cane at India Paan, but we still walked by the stand because it was on our way to the next stop, Bombay Chowpatty.

This was more of a snack joint and video store. I was pretty filled up from the samosa and dosa, so I just observed what was ordered by everyone else. Looked yummy. Here’s the Dahi Bhalla – lentil dumplings soaked in cool whipped yogurt with tamarind chutney topped with roasted cumin and cilantro:

I didn’t catch the name of this one though:

Naly and I left the group before the crawl actually ended to pick up some desserts for the housewarming party in the evening. She considered getting mangoes.

Ultimately, however, the Indian desserts at BJ International won.

@ The Haberdash [Magnolia Photo Booth Co.]

I arrived in Toronto on a red-eye thanks to Virgin America’s new routes from SFO and LAX to YZZ. There were plenty of crying children and babies on board too, so if I caught any z’s at all, it was less than a wink of sleep. Needless to say, I was a little delirious upon landing and as a result, not as nervous about meeting Naly and Ben.

I was super lucky because her parents picked me up from the airport AND even lent me a car for the weekend! With Naly as my navigator, seeing the sights of Toronto on Saturday was a breeze.

We started off at the Kensington Market where I tried a butter tart.

There was this shop right across the street from where we were sitting that I had to ask Naly about:

As we walked through the area, what stood out most to me was the abundance of art.

I was absolutely fascinated and snapping away! We headed over to a different kind of market after that – St. Lawrence Market.

I love that most of the street signs in Toronto indicate what neighborhood you are in.

These folks were in line for the free corn. It went along the building and almost around a corner, so no, I was not in that line. Plus, corn on the cob and braces DO NOT get along.

These recap posts are photo-heavy, so I am splitting them into sections! Next up: Little India, Taste of the Danforth, and more graffiti art.

More Toronto photos: here! I’d love to add captions to them all when I have the time.

On Tuesday morning, I said my goodbyes, hopped onto a bus and flew out of Toronto. Keane [new blog link, btw] was kind enough to pick me up and drop me off at home, where I putted around for several hours. Putted around = unpacking, figuring out what to wear for the hot, humid, and potentially wet cities of Milwaukee and Chicago, getting RV’s clothes ready for our date night, etc. When it was time for dinner, I picked him up and we headed over to Jardiniere.

Course 1 – Smoked Alaskan Salmon

Course 2 – Pork Belly

Course 3 – Sable Fish

I forgot to take a photo of the fourth course – Quail. By the time I realized this, I had already ruined the presentation of the course. :(

Course 5 – Duck

Course 6 – Cheese Plate

Course 7 – Dessert

It was a lovely 7-course meal, and then after a quick stop at home to pack [yes, last minute again!], I headed for the airport again.

I’ve been in Milwaukee for just two days, but I already want to come back. Aside from the countless breweries in the area, sustainable urban farming is growing here, specifically aquaponics, which RV is convinced we can simulate in our own backyard. By the time I found out about this, they were not having any tours before my departure. *sad face* Hopefully I will get a chance to return to the area!

I’m moving onward to Chicago shortly for the Healthy Living Summit. I’m excited and nervous about meeting the rest of the attendees.

I just wanted to post a quick update on how my three little pots are doing!

July 2010:

Now:

Not too shabby, right? That’s basil, dill, and mint from left to right!

We also bought a cilantro plant to see if we could keep it alive, and so far so good! It started looking a bit drab, but as soon as RV trimmed off some of the depressing-looking pieces, it started growing again. *phew* We bought a chives plant at the same time, and it has also survived the last month.

I don’t have photos of either of those, but I do have one of this mystery herb my lemon balm plant that’s just taking off.

It looks like mint, but smells like lemon! It came in a set of three different metal containers, but only this one remains. The other two didn’t do so well being in the sun all the time as the metal would just heat up and cook the poor seeds!

We really are just gardening by trial-and-error. Whenever the leaves look a little on the dry side, I just water them, and they turn out fine. It’s working so far, so I’m not going to complain too much. We’ve already started using the cilantro and chives, and I can’t wait to start using the rest!

I need to repot them once I figure out which ones are okay in the same pot. I also have to look up the best way to transplant them!

Reminder: I’m giving away a Renegade Craft Fair surprise on Friday, 8/6. Comment on this post for a chance to win!

We went sailing with friends in the Bay this weekend. RV brought his fishing poles in hopes of catching a halibut that would make a great addition to our mostly carb lunch of sweet potato chips, an orzo pasta salad, and focaccia. Unfortunately, he didn’t catch the halibut he had intended to, but he did land a few other things.

At first, we thought the line was stuck under the boat. The line seemed unyielding, and RV had to let some of it loose a few times to bring it in. As he reeled in, the rest of us were anxious to see what was holding down the line. Whatever it was, it swum back and forth under the boat, leading RV to both sides of the boat while keeping a grasp on the fishing pole.

When it finally came up closer to the surface, we could see that it was a Stingray! It flapped around from the surface, trying to set itself free from the line. It was fairly huge, and before we could get a net around it, the line snapped. Goodbye, Stingray! Goodbye, bait fish!

Correction: It was a Bat ray!

RV hadn’t brought the crab snares, so we definitely were not expecting to see a Dungeness crab, but there it was holding onto the frozen fish bait RV had used. You can’t keep Dungeness from the Bay anyway, but RV tried to lift it out of the water for the rest of us to at least catch a glimpse. The crab let go though, so no pictures!

What RV did end up landing was an average-sized adult leopard shark! It put up quite the fight before it finally gave in and let itself be reeled in and netted for the photo opp. Before holding the shark up, RV took the hook out of its mouth. He said that it blinked at him. :p

He looks so proud of himself, doesn’t he?

I’m proud of him too! Before the trip, I totally made fun of him for wanting to fish for our lunch. I told him that the entire group would starve if we waited on fish from him, but at least he did provide a bit of entertainment and excitement for the day!

We spent the last hour of the trip wondering what this monster was up to. It moved much faster than we did, so we watched it go by and maneuver through narrow channels.

It was a fun day, even when I was holding on for dear life as the wind kicked us around! I’m very lucky to have friends who belong to a sailing club, and I’m hoping that we get to go again some time! More sailing day photos: here.

I signed up to participate in an {Alphabet Walk} blog hop.

The idea is to pick a letter, go for a walk, and take photos based on that letter. When I selected my letter, I had a few ideas, but when it came down to the deadline, I ended up sticking to things around the house. Nothing too fancy.

KitchenAid - a beautiful mixing machine!

Kurbağa - Turkish for “frog” – gift from S – his nickname for me was “Kurbish” – little frog

Kidde and Kitty [a little fuzzy as we were both in motion]!

Visit the other participants here!

“K” is also for my latest obsession – Kylie Minogue’s recently released album, Aphrodite. I’ve been listening to it OVER and OVER and OVER again. Yes, it’s definitely inspired a random living/dining room dance party!

Just a quick post-weekend update! Last week, I wrote about my makeshift herb garden and how one of the four little pots had broken.

I’ve not yet replaced the lavender, but the basil, dill, and mint seem to be doing well! They’re pictured in that order from left to right. The dill went a little crazy after the first few days. The mint is still slowly catching up.

Perhaps my brown thumb is more of a yellow thumb…

I can’t wait until these can actually be used for cooking! It’s really annoying to buy a bunch of something at the grocery store, only using a little bit, and then having it just go bad within days. With the fresh herbs, at least the rest will still be alive on a plant! With that in mind, I should really plant cilantro/coriander too!

What else is relatively simple that I should try growing?

Suggestions please!

Here are my Four Little Pots.

Unfortunately, the purple one [containing lavender] is no longer. In one swift motion, the cat knocked it out of my hands as I was rearranging the pots. It hadn’t even begun poking out of the dirt yet. The dill and basil are sprouting beautifully though, and the mint is taking its sweet time.

Every weekend has been busy, and we haven’t taken the time to clear out the weeds in the tiny backyard [definitely not the selling point of the house], so I’ve turned the stairwell into my own little brown thumb’s garden for now.