So Toronto has annual themed food festivals: Winterlicious and Summerlicious, wherein participating restaurants offer prix fixe menus for lunch and/or dinner. One of my exec teams and I hit up Bannock today, and the food was very good, especially considering the price. Bannock is known for "Canadian comfort food" - I've actually been once before, albeit for their regular menu. On the note of Oliver & Bonacini restaurants, I've also been to Biff's Bistro previously.

The kale caesar salad, with dulse, horseradish and Bannock croutons

The pig + chips, with Ontario pork shoulder, roasted garlic fries and mustard greens kimchi

The cheesy chocolate cannoli, with chocolate peanut sauce, brittle, and Ontario cream cheese

First post of 2014. Feels like it should be something deep, or thoughtful, or aspirational. But I got nothing. I didn't even come up with a list of New Year's Resolutions this time around. Which is okay. It's going to be a phenomenal year regardless of whether or not I scribble down a series of random thoughts now that I probably won't even remember by December. But that's enough cliché ruminating on start-of-the-year stuff.
Twenty-first of January, three weeks in, a little over three months of undergrad left. A lot of things are beyond my control at the moment, a lot of waiting left to do.

The top photo is of my sister's hamster Coco, whom she spent months saving up for, and then purchased on her birthday. Sadly, Coco passed away last week.  

As a follow-up to 2012 in review, it's time to recap 2013:

JANUARY

• There was no reprieve to be found in January; right from the beginning, the year started off as go-go-go
• Made some foolish mistakes, but at the end of the day, it was still a good learning experience
• Ended the month feeling optimistic and resolving to do better

I didn't do the greatest job at keeping up with blogging this year, so there's probably a ton of stuff that I've missed in this summary, but oh well, it is what it is.

Here's to 2014!

2012 was huge for a number of reasons (mostly because of the many firsts that took place): living on my own for the first time, taking my first solo international flight, moving to Germany, being in Europe for the first time, backpacking around, traveling to five new countries, etc. 2014 is already set to be a monumental year, if not the most monumental year yet - finishing university (undergraduate studies, anyway), convocation, moving... (There'll [almost definitely] be [at least] one major move [if not two] this upcoming year.)

To pull a line from my first post of 2013: "But 2013 is a learning year, an improving year, an ongoing process." I think it's fair to say that in hindsight, that statement has held true. 2014 will still be a work in progress (but then again, isn't everything? Isn't there always room for improvement?), but it's also set to be full of the greatest adventures yet. Beyond excited for sure.

Here we go :)

^ Found the best white hot chocolate, guys. aroma expresso bar - check them out! (If anyone has any recommendations for fantastic hot chocolate/expresso/winter drinks, I'm open to suggestions.) Met up with A here - it was the first time I'd seen him in months, so it was great catching up. We also ran into C (who lived across the hall from me in residence during my second year and her fourth year) there, which was a pleasant surprise.
^ Word on the Street, back in September. J and I had gone together the previous three years, but unfortunately we didn't manage to meet up this time around for round four.
Indian food! With M's LMP people.
Sushi! With M & S.
Diner food! With M, S & S.

Normally, I actually like cooking - it's a doubly beneficial activity in that the act itself is de-stressing, and as an output, you get yummy food. But this semester, I can literally count on one hand the number of times I've cooked in the last three and half months. It's pretty sad. Looking forward to heading home for the winter holidays and having some awesome home-cooked meals.

(And now that I'm technically done for the term - today, while procrastinating, I made the following: chili, a lemon meringue pie, ribs, pork chop (just one!), and long beans. Yay!)