There are a few events coming up in December that will bring a smile to my face and this is one of them.

Starting on November 8th, a life sized Holiday Gingerbread Village is opening at the Loblaws® Maple Leaf Gardens (60 Carlton) to bring the magic of the holidays alive.

The village will be open every weekend from November 28 until December 20 from 10 AM to 6 PM and on December 22^nd and 23^rd from 10 AM to 6 PM, with activities for the whole family. For a charitable donation of just $5 to President’s Choice® Children’s Charity, you can decorate a cookie and get a photo with Santa.

Of course, I went down to the Loblaws Maple Leaf Gardens store to check out this spectacular Gingerbread Village. This particular wall with all sorts of candy on it certainly did capture my attention!!

It’s not a secret that I’m Jewish and don’t celebrate Christmas but I have no problem enjoying everything about this holiday – the decor, the candy canes, the gingerbread homes, and the eggnog too!! (love the stuff).

Loblaws Maple Leaf Gardens and President’s Choice have done an exceptional job at this time of year. The store looks gorgeous!! By the way – don’t forget that there’s free parking underground when you purchase $20 worth of groceries.

Next week you will see another blog post about the PC Insiders Collection Boutique. (that’s code for “make sure you read next weeks blog post” K?).

Stay tuned for more events that will take place in December!!

Disclosure: I was compensated for this blog post however all opinions are my own.

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I’ve been off the radar for the last 30 days….no blog posts, no events, no movies, no parties, and very little facebook posts or tweets. My life has changed as my dad passed away on October 28th. I know my blog isn’t a ‘Personal Blog” but I feel like I need to write about my dad and how fortunate I was to have a dad like him.

I truly had a wonderful childhood and was raised by an amazing mom and dad who taught me how to enjoy life. People often wonder where I get my “sense of adventure”. Well – the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. My parents worked hard but spent Sundays roaming around the country side going to every fair outside Ottawa, known to man kind (Carp, Navan and Perth to name just a few). We went to Provincial Parks for picnics and to swim, and to local parks to attend Greek Festivals and Rib Festivals. Not to mention, every winter we went to visit some Ice Fishing Competition!

Ive often blogged how I go to the Maple Syrup Festival every year. Again – it’s because my dad took us every year to this Festival for pancakes and maple syrup and I wanted to give my kids that same type of experience!!

Yes – life was not boring in the Gosewich family.

My dad owned a sports store called Ritchie’s  Sport Shop for 45 years and this store was also a major part of my life. I would get on a bus every Saturday (like clockwork) with a friend and visit his store to flirt with the cute staff and visit my dad. Ok – I shopped too!!

His store received PLENTY of media as he was right downtown as well as an independent retailer. Not to mention he was well liked. When he turned 70 I put together this collage of the press clippings that my mom saved over the years.

When I went away to university, my dad wrote me many letters and I was fortunate to keep many of them and read them to him this past year. Those letters are so special and SO funny. For a quiet man that stood 6 ft 4 – he certainly had a great sense of humour. See that press clipping on the right? Well that’s the soap opera column (Feb 22, 1985) so I could keep up with my soap operas while attending Tel Aviv University. My dad was so thoughtful!!

Friends often ask me, “How did I become such a foodie”. I always reply that it was my dad who introduced me to great food. For some reason, it was my dad who did the grocery shopping. He would often come back with unusual fruit or rye bread (with the seeds of course) or some Laura Secord Bark for my mom. He exposed me to oysters at a young age, sushi in the early 1980’s, and kumquats when I was a teenager!

My trips to Ottawa won’t be the same anymore. My mom and my sister and I will miss his presence. However I have many (many) happy memories and he will always be remembered.

Thanks for taking the time to read this blog post!!

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I haven’t been blogging since October 20th but I promise to explain why, when I return to the blogosphere in December.

In the meantime, I’m fortunate to have my blogger friend Elise Burton attend a few events and act as a guest blogger for Momwhoruns!

Here’s her blog post about a recent event she attended at All the Best Fine Foods:

I was lucky enough to attend All The Best Fine Food’s Holiday Cocktail event this evening and it was a lovely way to usher in the holiday season. So many beautiful things to see, smell, eat and drink – it’s hard to know where to begin.

One of my first loves is, and always will be, cookbooks. All The Best has curated a great collection of books from both world famous chefs and local authors that will capture the imagination of both the experienced cook and the novice.

There were dozens of delicious looking hors d’oeuvres being passed but without a doubt, my favourite bite was the antipasto skewer that featured a cube of 3 year old aged Cheddar, a chunk of stellar dill pickle from the folks at Mighty Fine Brine and a piece of delicious Spanish salumi imported by Fermin.

One of the evening’s real treats was getting to meet David H. Chow, a talented chocolatier who is really better described as an artist. His featured products were just gorgeous. They combined the finest quality chocolate with both traditional ingredients – hazelnuts, caramel, peanut butter – and non-traditional ingredients – pink peppercorns, buckwheat honey and freeze-dried mango. Yum.

I left this event with endless ideas and inspiration for gifts, decor, cocktails and recipes for the holiday season. Thank you All The Best Fine Foods.

For more information:

All the Best Fine Foods: 1101 Yonge St, Toronto, ON (416) 928-3330

Twitter: @AllTheBestFF

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T’is the season that pumpkins are everywhere!! I’m not complaining as I adore pumpkin pie but didn’t want to go thru the process of making crust. Know what I mean? So I went online (for a change) to see what other options are out there and naturally I was inspired.

I bought a can of Pure Pumpkin and made two recipes with it and still have some left!!

Recipe #1…Pumpkin Pudding (for the original recipe please click on www.myrecipes.com). This recipe is super easy and only required 6 tablespoons of sugar. #loveit.

INGREDIENTS

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I must be living in a cave as I’ve only discovered this eatery this year!! This blog post is not going to be lengthy as I’ve only had ONE thing from Bitondo’s but that one item is indeed very blog worthy.

Bitondo’s Pizzeria is located in Little Italy and is famous for their slices, sandwiches, panzerotti & pies. The space can be described as an ageless eatery with simple decor but that doesn’t seem to bother me as I’m generally inhaling my panzerotti in the car!!

I keep returning and ordering the same thing. (which is generally how I roll, when I find something I like).  Here’s a few words that would adequately describe this panzerotti: heaven, cheesy goodness, perfect and divine.

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I’ve been going to  Las Vegas with my mom for almost 10 years. We typically leave on a Thursday night and return on the red-eye that leaves at midnite on Monday.

We keep going back to Vegas for two reasons: the food and the weather.

The weather did not disappoint. It was certainly above seasonal for this time of year and we were very happy about this!!

My mom and I take our sun very seriously and sat in the sun everyday from 9 to 5. One of my favorite activities to do in the sun is to read and that’s exactly what I did. I managed to download a whole bunch of books for FREE (thanks Tuebel) and got thru the following books:

-Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn (which I’ve been trying to finish for a year)

-Why Not Me? by Mindy Kaling (perfect pool book).

-The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins (just started reading this book)

-The Book of Aron: A Novel by Jim Shepard (which I’ve been trying to finish since August)

-The Rosie Effect by Graeme Simpson (got thru most of it)

Not bad eh?

As for food:

Dinner #1: Lolas: A Louisiana Kitchen

We selected this restaurant as it was featured on  Diners, Drive Ins & Dives. Plus it had shrimp and grits on the menu which is something you never see in Toronto.

Dinner #2: Arawan Thai Bistro & Dessert

This new Thai restaurant opened up only 4 months ago and it was one of our favorite meals. For some reason, Las Vegas has some unbelievable Thai restaurants. (we’ve been to 3 over the years and they are all exceptional)

Dinner #3: Glutton

Another winner!! We ordered four dishes and every one was flavourful and presented beautifully.

Dinner #4: Society Cafe. We selected this restaurant as we were already at the Spa at the Encore and needed a bite to eat before heading to the airport. We scored.

Please note: This trip did NOT involve shopping. That’s right – we didn’t go to one outlet mall or one store.

Nor did this trip involve gambling’ OK – we spent $16 in 4 days on a slot machine. Does that count?

This trip did NOT involve drinking either. OK – there were a few jello shot involved. Hee Hee.

However we did go to the Spa at the Encore and it was seriously a great way to end our trip before heading to the airport.

It was a spectacular space. All 55,000 square feet of it. I took advantage of the waterfall shower, the shower with 12 sprays, the wet sauna, the dry sauna, the relaxation room, the cold plunge and the jacuzzi. Plus I had a massage.

There is a reeason why this spa is listed as one of the best spas to visit while in Las Vegas.

Sadly the trip is over, however I’m already looking forward to my next trip to Vegas in 2016!!

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I think I hosted a brunch three times in six weeks. But thanks to Pinterest I didn’t serve the same thing over and over again. All I did was punch in the word “BRUNCH” and a ton of photos came up which provided just the right amount of inspiration.

The last brunch I made consisted of: Cheesecake Stuffed Strawberries, Crustless Quiche, Baked Cinnamon French Toast, Baked Granola Cups, and a cheese platter. Needless to say, no one left hungry!

Plus, one of my guests brought this DELICIOUS baked brie.

Here’s one of the recipes that I found on Pinterest and was an instant hit with my guests:

CHEESECAKE STUFFED STRAWBERRIES (original recipe can be found on www.thegirlwhoateeverything.com)

Ingredients:

A container of strawberries

6 tablespoons of soft cream cheese ( a little goes a long way)

1 tsp of vanilla

1 or 2 graham crackers that I smashed into little crumbs!! (again – a little goes a long way)

Instructions:

1. Using a sharp knife, dig a cavity into the top of the strawberry.

2. Using a sharp knife, also take off the bottom of the strawberry so it stands up nice and pretty

3. Mix the cream cheese and the vanilla

4. Carefully spoon the cream cheese mixture into the cavity of the strawberry.

6. Sprinkle the graham cracker on top.

FINAL RESULT

Happy Cooking!!

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The other night, my boyfriend and I went went out for dinner followed by dessert. As always, I’m always open to checking out new restaurants so we went to TWO new places that have been on my radar.

For dinner, we decided to go to Baju BBQ seeing as my BF really enjoys BBQ and I was craving some protein too!

This restaurant is owned Deli king Zane Caplansky and the kitchen is run by Jason Rees. I’ve tasted Jasons’ BBQ before so I knew that the food was going to be beyond-good. I was right.

We ordered the Meat Tornado which features: 2 rib bones, 2 brisket slices, 2 chicken thighs, pork belly, pulled pork, 2 wings, plus your choice of 1 side! It was perfect for sharing.

The meal consisted of a lot of these phrases:

“hmmm…this is delicious have you tried it yet”.

“hmmm….no no this is delicious! Have you tried it yet?”

“hmmm..what’s your favorite meat that was on this platter”.

This $35 dish satisfied both of us in a big way. In fact, we had to take home some leftovers cause we were TOO full to finish it.

Every piece of meat was tender, juicy and I could also add a lot of other adjectives that used when describing BBQ meat that’s cooked properly.

Jason Rees sure does know what he is doing when it comes to BBQ!!

Then we continued to Sweet Jesus . I heard about this new soft serve place thru facebook as many of my food blogger friends have been posting photos over the last few weeks!

I asked the cashier what’s the most popular item on the menu and he replied the PBC. This is described as: Peanut Butter Sauce, Crumbled Toasted Salted Peanuts, Chocolate Soft Serve. Naturally that’s what I ordered.

Their soft serve specialty menu appeals to me in a huge way – soft serve with a unique combo of toppings, sauces and flavours.

For example: Cinnamon Crunch – Crumbled cinnamon toast crunch, cream cheese frosting, vanilla soft serve.

See what I mean? There’s 10 unique soft serve specialty items on the menu and one sounds better than the other. There’s also 5 soft serve menu items without all the fancy toppings!! Plus there’s Paletas, coffee and tea from Lemon Lily!

I haven’t enjoyed a serving of ice cream in several years, however I popped two lactose free pills and devoured the whole thing!

True Story: Barely had to eat breakfast or lunch the following day!

For more information:

Baju BBQ: Upstairs @ The Monarch Tavern, 12 Clinton St, Toronto

Hours: Tue-Wed: 12:00 pm-10:00 pm, Thu-Sat: 12:00 pm-11:30 pm

Twitter: @BajuBBQ

Sweet Jesus: 106 John St, Toronto

Hours: Sun – Mon: 7am – 10pm, Tues – Sat: 7am – 11pm

Twitter: @SweetJesus4Life

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I’ve been a fan of Real Sports since it opened. In fact many years ago I organized a small tweet up at Real Sports, to watch the final of the Australian Open.

It’s a pleasure to watch the most exciting moments of  a game on their 39-foot HD Big Screen and 199 HD TVs.

Plus you can sip from over 50 beer selections or select from one of their 126 draughts on tap. To sum it all up – there’s 25,000 square feet of incredible atmosphere.

This month, they have introduced a new menu. I found out that they developed a menu that pairs well with beer and I think this is a fabulous strategy!! Not to mention that they made the menu a bit smaller so that they can focus on quality and consistency vs. quantity! Again, a great strategy.

Here are 3 dishes that I would certainly order again:

1. #Litterally Popcorn Chicken – Popcorn dusted fried chicken bites in a sweet, hot chili sauce.

(oops can’t find a photo cause I guess I was too busy eating this dish)

2. Buffalo Cauliflower – Fried Southern Style with Buffalo Sauce, Coleslaw and Blue Cheese. True story….a blogger sitting beside me thought this was a chicken dish. That’s how good it was.

3. Hawaii 5-0 Pork Chop – Double cut pork chop served on bacon fried rice with pineapple blue cheese salsa.

For more information:

Www.RealSports.ca

Address: 15 York St, Toronto (Maple Leaf Square)

Phone: 416 815- REAL

Twitter: @RealSports

Instagram: @Real_Sports

Disclosure: My meal was complimentary however all opinions are my own.

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Did you know that PC© mobile recently rebranded, with a new focus on the theme of “Nice Call”. This makes me smile seeing as we have all had those “bad calls” but prefer NICE CALLS. It makes all the difference in the world.

Notice My Smile?

PC mobile features simple plans with strong offerings in a straightforward system that allows you to earn points with your purchase. This sign reinforces this message! I’m especially fond of the phrase…”Earn PC Points”.

Here’s a few reasons why you should consider a PC mobile:

Protection: PC mobile customers don’t suffer bill shock, as they can take control of their monthly bill with Voice & Data stacks, with the option to limit charges. #loveit

Support: PC mobile offers personalized support so that customers get the most of their mobile needs

Rewards: PC mobile allows PC points to be redeemed for both groceries AND a new device. What a great idea, don’t you think?

So let’s talk about those nice calls for a second.

I know that I’ve had really nice calls with some customer service agents. The customer service agent was friendly, had a upbeat tone, and listened patiently to my questions or concerns.

True Story: A few months ago I was in the market to buy a new washer and dryer. I called 5 retailers and left messages. Only ONE retailer took the time to call me back. Guess what? They got my business. Not to mention the Sales Rep acknowledged he was busy and gave me his cell number so I could text him.

We all make nice and bad calls on a daily basis and choosing PC mobile as a mobile phone carrier is just one nice call you can make.

Also, my experience at my local PC Mobile booth was fantastic. They helped answer my questions and provided me with a great customer service experience.

Hope you get a chance to drop by a PC Mobile booth in the near future.

Anyone else experience a Nice Call? Do share…..

For more information:

www.pcmobile.ca

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