October in pictures

I feel like all I did in October was eat, but apparently not. What I will remember is 3 out of 4 weekends were not very relaxing (Thanksgiving weekend in Montreal, then an unexpected houseguest, then Ottawa), but I made up for it with the past weekend (so lazy, I think I was comatose). I'm very much looking forward to sunshine returning to Toronto (I’m Vitamin D-deficient and I crave sunshine like crazy), but we got off easy with Hurricane/Superstorm/Frankenstorm Sandy compared to much of the East Coast, so I can't complain.

the book I’m currently reading; the book I just finished reading; India, our friends’ 15-year-old three-legged German Shepherd/Doberman mix; donkey; horse; chicken (we were at our friends’ hobby farm outside of Ottawa); a coffee table shaped like the Canadian prairie provinces; extremely friendly golden retriever; giant Great Dane impersonating the Sphinx.

adorable T-shirt at GapKids; adorable little boys’ suit at GapKids; asparagus fire hydrant sculpture in Westboro (Ottawa); teddy bear fire hydrant sculpture; Abby the anxious Basset Hound; kalbi beef taco at Banh Mi Boys (what, did you think the food photos were done?); sausage pizza at Pizzeria Libretto (so worth the gluten overload); ghosts!; giant pumpkin in Yorkville.

As for shopping this month, I picked up a few cardigans and a few T-shirts on sale from J.Crew, and this Club Monaco top in the maroon/navy stripe. Again, not sticking to my resolution to buy only one thing per month this year. But January was so long ago…can’t I just start over now?

J.Crew in Toronto

I have a bit of a love-hate relationship with J.Crew. I love a lot of their clothes. I love a lot of their jewellery. I love their bright colours. But I'm not keen on their high prices and their overly preppy aesthetic, I dislike the details that scream old-lady (the pearlized buttons on the Jackie cardigan, for example), I've found the quality and fit of some of their clothes severely lacking at times, and I’ve been to a lot of brick&mortar stores in the U.S. that are messy and uninspiring.

J.Crew opened its first international store in Toronto last year, but I’ve never been. I hate Yorkdale Mall (impossible to park at, out of my way to get to on the subway, and always packed—last year on Boxing Day there was a 3-4 hour way to just get park), so I never felt any reason to go there with online shopping and my generally “meh” feeling towards the b&m stores. But J.Crew opened their second store in Toronto on October 3 at the Eaton Centre, which is a 20-minute walk from work and on the right subway line, so I went when I got the chance.

It’s probably the nicest store I’ve been in, so I was pleasantly surprised. And only mildly overstimulated by all the colour.

With the Canadian markup and Canadian taxes, it doesn’t make a lot of sense to buy in Canada. I’ll probably still order online and ship to my sister in Boston, but it’s nice to see things in person first. And they were running 25% off promotions on sweaters, so I did pick up a Jackie (I’ll swap the buttons out when I find suitable replacements) and a replacement long black cardigan for my well-worn one that sprouted a hole in the elbow when I was in Montreal over Thanksgiving. 

The third Toronto store is opening at Fairview Mall on October 31, so I’ll probably go check it out next weekend.

Back to denying fall again

I can’t help it; it was sunny and warm today. My one concession to fall is tights and a cardigan, but I could almost have done without both.

Antho Reflecting Pool Dress (Moulinette Soeurs) | Antho Orchard House cardigan (Rosie Neira) | Hilary Druxman necklace | Wolford Satin Opaque Tights in Admiral | Tory Burch Reva flats

I’m in desperate need of a day off from work, but I’m too busy to take one. At the very least, I need a weekend where I do nothing but like in bed until Monday morning. I feel like I’ve been going through the motions of getting dressed recently; I hope I have more interesting outfits that are worth photographing soon, or I may have to quit this whole fashion thing.

A weekend of gastronomic suicide in Montreal

Well, not entirely suicide, because I'm still here. Maybe severe gastronomic self-harm? All I know is that I didn't feel too good on the drive back to Toronto the Monday after. Not surprising; in the span of 24 hours, we ate at Joe Beef, Première Moisson at the Marché Jean-Talon, La Banquise, Juliette et Chocolat, and Au Pied de Cochon. I should probably be dead.or at least suffering from heart failure.

We drove to Montreal from Toronto on Saturday morning, got to Montreal around lunchtime and had St-Hubert for lunch. It's a Quebec institution.

Quarter-chicken with mashed potatoes (dark meat), hot chicken sandwich with fries

Saturday night at Joe Beef:

The sign in the window on rue Notre-Dame, the foie gras Ruben double down (smoked meat and sauerkraut sandwiched between two slabs of foie gras coated in crushed potato chips, deep-fried and covered in melted cheese), a giant Bison head in the bathroom

Joe Beef was first and unfortunately I was a little disappointed in it. The food was good, but it was so hipster it hurt.menus on chalkboards you couldn't read (seriously, someone with nicer handwriting needs to write those), tiny tables, the gigantic bison head in the bathroom (seriously, it's freaky to pee next to it), long wait times, and pretty high prices. But the food was good. We were so hungry once our mains came (steak and fries) that we didn't bother to photograph them. It was also close to midnight (much later than I usually stay up, much less have dinner), so we were tired.

Sunday morning at Marché Jean-Talon:

24-lb turkey for $86.47, aubergines, fresh cranberries, romanesco (cross between a broccoli and cauliflower), colourful cauliflower, baskets of blackberries, blue Concord grapes, white chocolate ghosts at Premiere Moisson, baguettes at Premiere Moisson

It made me so happy to be there, surrounded by beautiful fresh produce and gorgeous bread. We had chocolatines (pain au chocolat) for breakfast. I could have eaten 5 of them.

Lunchtime on St-Denis:

Le Dan Dan poutine (fries, gravy, cheese curds with bacon, onions, and pepperoni, sounds disgusting but it was delicious) at La Banquise, Viennese hot chocolate at juliette et chocolat, fleur de sel caramel petit pot at juliette et chocolat

Fries, cheese, chocolate.it's so French it hurts.

Sunday dinner at Au Pied de Cochon:

A spoon the size of my palm, well-worn APDC dinnerware, the best bread I've ever had, duck carpaccio (with mushrooms, parmesan, and a raw egg on top), bison steak tartare, the pied de cochon (pig's foot with cabbage and cheesy mashed potatoes), canard en conserve (duck in a can), the back of the can, the duck in the can being poured onto my plate

SO GOOD. Can't describe. I really thought I was going to die though.

So yeah, that was my weekend in Montreal. In between these meals we walked A LOT, I think we logged about 12km (7.5 miles) on Sunday alone. It helped, but not enough, I had to go straight into a "detox" when I got home. Worth it though!

Falling hard

I was resisting, but I think I’m coming around to fall now. Maybe it’s because of the cool crisp weather, or the leaves changing into pretty colours, or the hearty comfort food I want to cook and eat (like cottage pie or mac and cheese).

Soïa & Kyo trench coat (2008 or 2009) | Club Monaco scarf | lululemon leggings | Puma ballet flats

Or maybe it’s because of my favourite coat and scarf and a giant pumpkin at Marché Jean-Talon this past weekend.

It was an epic weekend, gastronomically speaking. More on that to come later this week.

Not falling yet

Time does weird things to me sometimes: days go by fast, and then slow, and then fast and slow at the same time. I remember watching the clock at work a lot in the past month, but at the same time I can’t remember September at all. Almost like I literally blinked and it was gone.

So since I missed September completely, I haven’t clued in to the fact that it’s October, fall has been officially here for two weeks, and I should put summer behind me.

Anthro Drape & Twist Top (Postmark) | Matsu necklace | J.Crew No.2 Pencil Skirt in Retro Jade | Miss Sixty Tracy shoes

The weather has been lovely lately, so I can get away with bare legs for a little longer. But I suspect that once I get back from my trip to Montreal this weekend, I’ll be back in tights until spring.

A little gripe about the J.Crew No.2 Pencil Skirt. This and the Berry Pink one are the first I’ve owned. I tried it on in store, then ordered it online in the same size but Petite for the length. The Petite is tighter than the regular size, which is fine in the Retro Jade, but the Berry Pink is noticeably narrower despite being the same size (I checked the labels three or four times). Very annoying because the pink doesn’t really fit right now, but I’m keeping it because it was on sale. Actually, the jade probably won’t fit either after my gluttonous weekend, but I can use them as motivation to get back on track.