Somehow, I managed to arrange a meet up with some travel lovelies. From left, @MlleTravelista (those legs!), @EpsteinTravels @MelanieHillier (fingers crossed for Tues!) @belizeadventure @thetraveloution and moi at the super fabulous, Thompson Hotel Rooftop in Toronto.
Hello again. Miss me? Here’s the life update. April’s Resolution post is here. Continue reading
Thinking about buying this Teux Deux app. Teux cute! All hail Swiss Miss.
As you may know from my resolution posts, I’m trying to cut back on my expenses to get out of my debt and of course prioritize my spending for dreams (like travel or to buy tech tools or education that will help further me in my career). Continue reading
Eating in means I can scratch more destinations off my scratch map!
It’s been a while. 🙂 I’ve got some developments and I’m excited to share them!
Hear Ye. Hear Ye. Continue reading
Challenge: to fit into these comfortably by June 23, 2012.
Inevitably there comes a point in one’s life when one (read: me) has eaten too much. Continue reading
Photo: Knot PR http://www.flickr.com/photos/knotpr/
So I figured I’d wait a while to try a new restaurant since I’ve been working on other resolutions. After all, I have now completed NINE of my ten resolutions and it hasn’t even been six months. Go me! But the sacrifice is my waist line (and after trying on a few pairs of shorts, I’m realizing I need an exercise resolution, not a restaurant one).
The culprit in feeding me copious amounts of delicious food this time? L’unita.
I’ve attached pictures but it was so dark in there that we literally had to crowd four candles around the food to get a decent picture. Yes, were one of *those* diners.
After deciding to try out L’unita instead of Niagara Street Cafe (which beckoned my first twitter hater who didn’t like the fact that I wasn’t coming to Niagara Street Cafe because it was closing), I’m glad I made the choice.
I went into a detailed review of my first experience on Yelp. I’ll talk about the food on my second visit and the vibe as a whole here. Thus, the two reviews will be mixed. Continue reading
The Ginger Chicken Banh Mi Sandwich. This photo does not do it justice but I can't embed the video for some reason!
So…there’s this amazing website in Toronto called “My City Lives” and what makes it different from other sites is that it’s a hyper local travel site that’s dedicated to video blogs. Not only can find out about specific categories (shopping, food and drink, etc.) you can look for videos based on location via the map of Toronto. Pretty nifty! So these geniuses teamed up with financial jaggernaut ING to launch a video contest called “My City Saves.” Anything goes but you have to show your best saving tip in Toronto.
Cold Tea
So lately, I’ve been going out a lot (no, this is not new news if you know me). I guess I’ve been drinking more than usual too. And while I won’t go on about how alcohol can be draining on the budget, Toronto has some great places to drink. I’ve stumbled upon a few new places (to me) and thought I’d share. The full Yelp list is here.
Champagne Taste and Beer Money (after debt payments).
RECAP: New Year’s Resolutions are here. January update is here. February update is here.
1. Debt Repayment
I’m continuing to track and I’m continuing to pay minimum payments. But this is NOT enough.
This month, I’ll be getting a big writing check and as much as I want to put it right towards a trip to Buenos Aires, I have to be responsible. This means I’ll be able to concentrate on this effort a bit more and not have to worry about splitting payments between credit cards. Phew!
That said, if I wanted everything paid off in a year, I would still have to put much more than half of each check towards the credit cards. And good ol’ VISA will not let me change my card so I can have a reduced interest rate until I prove myself to them for another 6 months (in this case it’s probably about 4-6). That said, focusing on the VISA solely will help concentrate efforts and reduce debt.
It means not going out and I know that’s where I’m spending my money. It’s not going to be paid off in a year. Not unless I find a job that pays me more or take on more freelance assignments at the risk of my sanity.
What’s helped: pre-cooking for the week for lunch so I’m not having a boring lunch or eating sodium induced microwave meals. i.e. I’ve cooked a big batch of pasta, brought pre-made pesto sauce and voila! I’ve got three lunches this week (I’m ok with eating the same thing for two or three days in a row one week). I got the pizza pops again and I think it’s a vice. They’re so good. I still have to do my taxes as well and I’m dreading it. Continue reading
The classic CN Tower shot. And The Thompson is practically the only place you can comfortably get the shot without any other buildings blocking the way.
The CN Tower is Toronto’s icon and landmark. And everyone has their spot for the best view. There are a few that I’ve mentioned in the I Heart My City series on National Geographic Traveler’s website. But now that a condo has been erected around every inch of downtown and the waterfront, the view is blocked. Until The Thompson Hotel took real estate.
I had the golden opportunity on a sunny day to explore the Thompson Rooftop which is infamous for its view. It’s true. I could stay up there for HOURS. I’m kind of jealous of the bartenders that get to work there. Seriously, what a VIEW. They have a Sundown Sunday to hang out on the roof but it’s for hotel guests and residents. Thanks again to the Thompson for a very fun time!
This was also an opportunity to use my new Olympus E-PL3. It’s a great little camera to travel around with and I was able to get these shots using it. Continue reading
PS Banana Republic really needs to recreate THIS dress in THIS colour! Come on BR. Though they've stepped it up this year a bit.
I’m committed to crossing all of these off my 2012 list and start making some dreams come true.
RECAP: New Year’s Resolutions are here. January update is here. Continue reading
Near. Afar. 