Tag Archives: travel

Guest Of Honor: The Liquid Lady

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Good day everyone! I hope you all enjoyed those breakfast ideas in the last post. Perhaps you had a quiet moment to yourself over the weekend. Maybe you found yourself spitting mimosas through your nose at brunch. Or who knows, maybe both!

Today I wanted to share something special with you all. I asked my soul mate and fellow lover of all things coconut, Sway, if she would like to write something for my blog. She has a consciousness about her, a steady disposition, and a profound relationship with life. Plus, I love her a whole lot! I was so happy when she was just as excited about writing a post, as I was. She’s actually graced us with her presence on here before… a couple little reunions in Richmond (made complete with a hot chocolate request since it was written in invisible ink on the menu), and also when we went on a road trip to Florida.

 

Sway has traveled and lived around the world practically her whole life. She grew up in England, Japan and Germany before moving back to the US for her senior year of high school. Her travels have taken her to North Africa and all over Europe. When she came into this world she emerged from the crest of a breathtaking wave out in California. Dancing her way through life, she currently perfects her pointes at Alvin Ailey. She is also a freelance writer for Interview, is currently working on a book/magazine, and a few creative side projects. A lady on the move, especially when she’s running. And when she’s not on the move she finds stillness in her yoga practice. Of course, there is always room for older Woody Allen movies that make her laugh until she cries.  So without further ado, here’s our guest of honor. Let’s start things off with a nice, refreshing beverage…

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On Holiday

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Hey everyone! I’m currently in New York, and finally finished up this post recapping the rest of my time in Toronto. So keep an eye out for my New York recap as well.

My mom spotted fresh figs at the store, so naturally they accompanied my breakfast the next morning.

Along with the most delicious yogurt ever Liberte’s Plain Organic, multigrain cereal, cinnamon, and almond butter. Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to find that specific yogurt since I’ve been in the states. I’ll try my luck once I get back down to Florida.

We also spotted a bread that’s made without yeast since my mom is trying to figure out the culprit of her stomach upsets.
Topped with vegetable hummus, Laughing Cow, avocado, grape tomato bits, and red onion.

The bread was dry, but nothing unexpected since that is how that bread typically is.

Later on, I went downtown and moseyed around.
I stopped in to get a big cup of tea.
I also went back to the chocolate bar, MoRoCo, with a purpose.

I had never tried a macaron before, but have heard lots about them. The reviews for these were comparing them to the likes of Ladurée and Hermes, which I’ve heard are the best.

The Salted Caramel…
It was quite tasty for the most part, but just a tad bit too sweet for my taste.
I also tried lemon macarons.

I actually enjoyed this one! When I bought the boxed pair I wasn’t too sure about the lemon and my heart was set on trying the salted caramel. Since they didn’t have any of the salted caramel macarons left to buy individually I decided to take a chance and get the last one that was paired with the lemon flavor. The lemon one had a much better consistency than the salted caramel, and had just the right amount of sweetness. Not to mention it brightened up my taste buds with it’s zesty flavor!

Zing!
I always think of macarons as delicate treats.
I also picked up some local sheep’s milk yogurt.

I wasn’t a big fan of it however. It was very pungent, but atleast it was creamy! Did you know that because of it’s molecular composition it is easier to digest, and can even be used as baby formula!

And another local find… strawberries from Ontario!

I find that local produce always tastes better.

Two fruit finds for breakfast: persimmon and strawberries

I was able to make a few outings to the downtown area during my trip, and came across a lot of interesting things.

Check out this work of architectural art at The Royal Ontario Musuem.
After a long day of walking around I picked up some take out at Fresh.

I followed the recommendation from a few of you, and I’m glad I did. Sadly, I couldn’t sit down and eat because I was with my pup, Matilda. But it’s alright because they didn’t make a fuss about having to take my order at the door. In fact, the man who helped me held Matilda for me while I went in to snap some pictures!

Snap snap
The first time I intentionally got take-out for myself in years!

I’m rarely in the mood for take-out, and I usually don’t find the motivation to order take-out. Wait. What? Since when does take-out involve motivation? Well, for me it does. I just have a lot of things that I can put together in a cinch and voila! And if I’m getting food from elsewhere I’d rather just go to the restaurant. So that’s why I rarely order take-out.

My eyes went straight to the quinoa-battered onion rings along with their housemade BBQ sauce.

Oh my word! These were incredible and I didn’t have to try the other onion rings in Toronto to know that these deserve to be dubbed “one of the best”. You get more than the usual satisfying crunch with the quinoa. Then you bite into it you get to the soft onion ring in the middle. The BBQ sauce was the perfect dipping sauce for these, thanks to the waiter’s recommendation! Seriously, I could go on and on about how great these were. If you’re in the area you should definitely stop by and try these.

I ordered their monthly-special salad, which had too many delicious things to remember them all.

The ginger dressing was another welcomed recommendation from the waiter. Let’s see… it had all sorts of sprouts, sweet potato rounds, tofu, all sorts of colorful kale, pumpkin seeds, quinoa, goji berries, broccoli… ohhh so many things to remember!

Matilda and I had quite an adventure that day.
Finally got back to the hotel to enjoy the rest of the salad.
And Matilda got a giant doggie cookie after enduring her first subway ride.
On our last night in Toronto we met up with my mom’s co-workers at a Hungarian restaurant.

The only options I could have were the salads, aside from this creamy mushroom dish with tomato sauce that didn’t sound appetizing to me. I ordered the spinach salad with fresh fruits and an orange-yogurt dressing. It was actually quite tasty! Not very filling, but what did I expect? I had another restaurant picked out for me and my mom to enjoy, but she wanted to meet up with her  co-workers who were already at this place. To be honest, I was upset about not being able to enjoy an actual dinner together, especially on our last night. Oh well. Atleast the company was fun!

So my last night in Toronto entailed a yummy salad and a microwaveable soup.
The next morning involved quick packing.
All the while little Matilda was relaxing on her pillow.

So that was my trip to Toronto! It was very low key, but it was nice to atleast be introduced to Canada. If I go there again I’d like to do things a little different so it’d be easier for me to get to places, so I can experience it more. Ever have a vacation that you’d just want to do over?

I’m extending the Restaurant.com giveaway till next Wednesday. Who in the D.C. area wouldn’t like to get a $25 gift-certificate to any of the restaurants on the D.C. guide list?! What’s better? I’m giving away four. So I’ll repeat the rules:

1. Browse through the Washington D.C. restaurant guide, and let me know which restaurant you’d like to go to.

2. If you have a blog you can mention this giveaway in a post.

3.  Share this give away on Twitter: “Win a Restaurant.com $25 Gift Certificate for the D.C. area from @mixoparthenos over at  http://wp.me/puETn-1ze!”

Each of these counts as an entry so please make sure to notify if me if you share this on Twitter. Good luck! The giveaway officially ends next Wednesday 13 July, 2011 at midnight.

Party in the City Where the Heat Is On

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Hey everybody! Yeah, I quoted that Will Smith song! Anyway, did you all like the video? Sorry it’s so long and I couldn’t post it on the actual blog. Bah. But I’m back in Richmond now, and I was greeted with cold weather and a grey sky. All I could think was, “why did I leave Florida?!” Oh that’s right, I’ve got a life up here! I was also reunited with my little bumpkin, Matilda. Hehe she’s really not from the country but that word is cute! I missed her so much and she’s seriously looking more adorable than ever.

Anyway, let’s see… where were we on the Florida recap? Aha! Saturday morning…

Breakfast looked like a blob!

Breakfast looked like a blob!

After getting home late, I managed to wake up around 9. I mixed some oats with yogurt and cottage cheese. I topped it off with a peach, dark cherries, apple butter, cinnamon, and peanut butter. I went to lie down a little bit more before I got ready for my AM yoga class. It felt so nice to be doing some deep stretches! After the yoga class, me and my mom went to the sauna for a bit. Then we came home and I whipped up a quick lunch.

Lots of green!

Lots of green!

I made a stir-fry with bell peppers, zucchini, bean sprouts, and scallion with Teriyaki sauce. On the side is a ready-made Indian food called Patra. It is basically stuffed taro leaves and mildly spicy. We served it with a sauce made with coconut kefir (you can use any yogurt), and tamarind-date chutney. Check out the avocado!

On the side I had cottage cheese with fruit preserves and pomegranate seeds.

On the side I had cottage cheese with fruit preserves and pomegranate seeds.

After lunch I got ready to run some errands with my dad again. We went to several places, and made an impromptu stop at a local Italian market called Doris’. Everything there is authentic and they have the best produce! They’ve also got fresh pastas and cheeses, aisles of olive oils, tomato sauces, chocolates and almond candies. Did I mention a bakery as well? I remember on Christmas they had a crowd of regular customers at the door right before they opened and they were thanking everybody for sticking with them throughout the years. We finally got home and it was time to get ready for dinner.

Mom and daughter!

Mom and daughter!

I looked up Mediterranean restaurants in Miami and I spotted one that looked interesting. It’s The Lido and it’s located in a spa that’s apart of The Standard hotels.

It had a retro vibe going on.

Once we got inside we had someone guide us to the restaurant since it’s a part of a spa.

Its too dark to see really, but the pool looked like it was about to overflow.

It's too dark to see really, but the pool looked like it was about to overflow.

Outdoor dining - the kitchen was outdoors as well!

Outdoor dining - the kitchen and bar were outdoors as well!

The atmosphere was very relaxed and people were just lounging around in the deep seats or by the bar.

It was a chilly and windy evening for south Florida.

It was a chilly and windy evening for south Florida.

Since we were sitting right by the bay, it was super windy! I ordered a coffee hoping to stay warm and not get tired. I had a night of dancing planned for me!

We ended up moving where we sat because it was incredibly windy and we didnt want to be eating our hair.

We ended up moving where we sat because it was incredibly windy and we didn't want to be eating our hair.

I ordered the raw vegan living lasagna which consisted of ground nuts, thinly sliced vegetables, and I cant remember what else!

I ordered the raw vegan living "lasagna" which consisted of ground nuts, thinly sliced vegetables, and I can't remember what else!

My parents ordered fish dishes.

My parents ordered fish dishes.

I wish I could remember what the dishes were, but my dad liked the yogurt sauce that accompanied his piece of snapper. They also gave us what I believe was toasted lavash and pita chips.

After dinner we just walked around the spa for a bit, and they had an adult playground complete with swings!

After dinner we just walked around the spa for a bit, and they had an "adult playground" with swings!

They also had a firepit which was perfect for the chilly night.

They also had a firepit which was perfect for the chilly night.

Afterwards, it was time to head back and rest a bit before I went out again.

Tonight we were dancing!

Tonight we were dancing no matter what!

Kenny and Chris said they had a surprise for me!

Kenny and Chris said they had a surprise for me!

I made the same face after my first sip!

I made the same face after my first sip!

Oh my gosh Kenny poured us what he called “suicidal shots”. Basically that meant 3 or 4 shots in one.I don’t really drink on the regular so I took a sip and made a sour-puss face. I ended up mixing it with pineapple juice. Then it was time to leave their place and walk to the clubs. Pilar and I were holding on to each other for body warmth. Even Florida has cold fronts! We were relieved once we got to our destination! I didn’t bring my camera, but I found some pictures online of the place we went to.

They had dancers

They had dancers

An outdoor area with a firepit and fountain.

An outdoor area with a firepit and fountain.

And some places to sit indoors as well.

And some places to sit indoors as well.

There were some very interesting people at the club! Some guy was dressed up as a gladiator and stood on one of the platforms and totally got into character by acting like some emperor. Then there was someone dressed up as… I can’t even describe. But they had everything covered from head to toe. Anyhow, we were dancing the night away and it was so much fun to let loose. Dancing is something I love and I never care what anyone else is thinking. It’s like the world around me just disappears. We finally headed back home and I passed out in the car, I was dead tired and I knew I had to wake up in 2 hours anyway. I got home and I didn’t even change into my pajamas. An hour later my dad woke me up and I quickly got ready, but I didn’t bother to change my dress. Stinky! But hey, this is what party animals do, right? Party all night, then catch flights in last night’s makeup and dress!

But I did have something quick ready for me to eat for a quick breakfast!

I did have something ready for me to eat that made for a quick breakfast!

If you like super thick yogurt then I suggest Icelandic style skyr. It’s thicker than Greek yogurt, the siggi’s brand is anyway.

I also packed myself a little lunch.

I also packed myself a little lunch.

Ever since I got food poisoning at the airport, I’ve been kind of paranoid of eating things from any airport. So I just pack my own stuff instead.

Some orange tea before I passed out.

Some orange tea before I passed out.

I made a PB&J sandwich! I also brought 2 giant carrots and Dr. Kracker's crackers.

I made a PB&J sandwich! I also had two giant carrots (Bugs Bunny style) and Dr. Kracker's crackers.

Now I’m back and just getting into the swing of things again. The last two days in Florida were full of friends and family and just going out there and living it up! It’s hard to feel motivated to do schoolwork after going back home, but the semester will be done before I know it! I’ve also been having tummy issues, and I’m not sure from what. It really sucks though because my stomach is acting up after everything I eat. No bueno! I should get some ginger cubes and ginger root.

I hope you guys are bundling up if you’re experiencing cold weather. Being sick with the sniffles is not good… except for the part when there’s someone special spoiling you!