Friday Favourites

Another week has gone by, seriously!! Time to get linked up with my best friends from Texas Andrea, Erika and Narci!

1. I love that the "Throwback Thursday" show in Much Music (sort of the Canadian equivalent to MTV) and their "Retro 30" play music from the 1990s, my jams.  Right now "Country Grammar" by Nelly is on.  These are my favourite tunes, so I guess I need to accept that I am old now and these are indeed throwbacks. Fun fact, I know the words to many '90s rap and hip hop songs, probably more than you would think.  

2. If you have read the "Book of Negroes" by Lawrence Hill (called "Someone Knows My Name" in the United States) you would have heard of Birchtown and Shelburne Nova Scotia (Shelburne being my hometown).  Anyway, Birchtown always had Black Loyalist Heritage Centre but a few years ago it burned down.  They have rebuilt it and have done an amazing job.  I am excited to see it when I go home next time.  One of my favourite things is showing off my hometown to visitors because it is quite nice, even if it is small.  The new Black Loyalist Centre is going to host the inaugural Canadian Black Government Leaders Summit in June.  It is exciting that the Centre will be used for this event and exciting that new people will get to visit the area. 

3. Yesterday I shared my favourite microbreweries - two in Nova Scotia, one in Toronto, and one brand new one (that hasn't even opened yet) in Prince Edward Island.  I am also currently enjoying the 100th Meridian from Mill Street here in Toronto.  

4. Dave decided the other day that we should pick a longer book to read to E.  I have my old copy of Owls in the Family by Farley Mowat (a great Canadian author).  E wasn't that interested at first since there aren't many pictures in my version, but the other night I read him a whole chapter and I think he liked it.  I'm excited to read more to him.  It's a good book, and although I read it several times when I was little, I think it is a good "boy" book too (whatever that means).  Reading is one of my favourite things to do so I hope E will appreciate books as he grows up too.

5.  Long weekends are my favourite!  Happy May 2-4 to all you Canadians!  

This is the current scene at my house.  No, we aren't having a party, but Dave's parents are here and they got these 2-4s in the States.

Enjoy your weekend, wherever you may be doing. 

Beer beer beer

A few weeks ago, I posted about wines for the patio.  This week I wanted to tell you about some of my favourite micro-breweries.  This is more of an informational post rather than a recommendation post because these beers are not widely available so unless you are local to where they are, then you won't have much luck finding them.

Our backyard, don't mind the yellow buds from the maple tree

Garrison

This was my first real exposure to a micro brewery. Garrison started in a tiny building in the north end of Halifax and during my university years a popular thing to do was to go to Garrison for a brewery tour.  There was a tour, but basically you would just go to drink unlimited beer for a couple of hours.  They grew in popularity and eventually moved to a larger building downtown. One year we planned a New Year's Eve Party there.  Friends of ours had their wedding reception there.  It is a constant in the Halifax scene.  I have very happy memories enjoying the Raspberry Wheat Ale.

Boxing Rock

This brewery is located in my home town of Shelburne, Nova Scotia.  Their brews are available at the liquor store in NS (I believe), at the Halifax Farmer's Market, and at pubs and restaurants throughout the province.  The people that started this business have done a great job of marketing their product and making great tasting beers.  It is one of the highlights of my hometown now for sure.

Bellwoods

One time when E was little, the three of us went for a walk from the Queen St. W. streetcar, up Ossington, to College.  We just were out to explore and eventually meet up with friends.  Dave and I stumbled across this little place.  It was a brewery but they also sold little snacks, and they had a BBQ going too.  It was super casual and we thought it was great.  I have been back to their bottle shop many times to get beer to take home and to give for gifts.  Check it out if you are in Toronto, you will not be disappointed. 

Upstreet

This is a shout out to Prince Edward Island's newest brewery, and they haven't even opened yet! One of the brewers is married to a friend of mine from university.  I am following them on Facebook and Twitter and I am really enjoying seeing them get set up. I wish them every success.  Hope they will be ready when I get to PEI in June!!

Any other obscure micro or craft brews I should be aware of?  In order to be a true hipster, you've got to get in on these trends before "everyone else" figures them out!

Shop Local

I love the mall and I have bought plenty of things online, but I really enjoy being able to shop locally in my neighbourhood.  My Mother's Day gifts were all purchased within walking distance of our house, so they were extra special.

The flowers came from our favourite produce and flower store, Carload Food Market.  There are many places to buy fruits and vegetables in Bloor West Village but we found this one early on and we think it is the best.  We are never disappointed with their selection. 

My favourites, macarons. These ones are from Bake Sale.  Everything in the store is so lovely.  These are the perfect treat for a special occasion.

I also got this new pair of yoga pants from Flow Active. They sell Canadian made yoga and exercise clothing, including the brand Tonic.  I love the patterns and the combination of the black and blue.  I'm excited to see what else they have.  

I also got a gift card to get a mani-pedi from Nails Plus.  Can't wait to use that!

I wrote about shopping local at Christmas time here. 

What goodies do you have in your neighbourhood?

Weekend Recap

On Friday night after work we went to a birthday party for one of E's friends.  It was nice to see E play with his school friends.  It is too bad that none of his daycare friends will be in his kindergarten class, but I guess that's what happens in a big city.  I have friends that I've known since I was four and went to The Little People's Place in my hometown.

On Saturday morning we were up early as usual and before E and Dave went to swimming, I tried picking out the clothes for our family photos.  The outfits I picked out and shared on Friday Favourites were not the ones that we actually wore.  We took the subway to High Park and joined the hoards of people there to see the cherry blossoms.  We had a great session with our photographer.  Here are some sneak peaks.

After our photos, we played with some friends at the park and then walked over to see the cherry blossoms for ourselves.

Then we had lunch at The Works on Bloor.  We have been meaning to try it out for awhile but never got around to it until this weekend.  It was pretty good.

We were exhausted when we got home. Dave and I fell asleep while E watched TV.

That evening we had some friends over for drinks and a round of Cards Against Humanity.  We got to sit outside for a bit and it was lovely.  I made this delicious guacamole.

Yes, the pits keep it from turning brown

I made the Old Cuban drink that I had enjoyed so much at Drake One Fifty last week.  There is a reason why they charge $15 for those suckers...because you should not drink more than two of them.  Making them myself meant I had an unlimited supply, not a great idea!

I woke up to this lovely spread of Mother's Day gifts, all locally purchased in our neighbourhood.

After a day of being lazy, we enjoyed a rainstorm and ordered some delicious Chinese food.  I loved spending the day with my boys!

Mother's Day

I loved seeing everyone post pictures of themselves with their mothers, grandmothers and children yesterday on Facebook and Instagram.  I was fortunate to be raised by a very special mother myself, who had her own very special mother, my Nana Do.  Happy Belated Mother's Day to all of the lovely mothers out there!

Caribbean Cruise January 2011

Drinks on the cruise

Nana loved E

Four generations of Wakefields

It was so wonderful to have my mother walk down the aisle with me.

E's first walk to the grocery store with his proud Nana Anne

When people ask me how I do all of the things I do, my answer should be that I don't know any other way.  My mom worked and looked after me all by herself and I never felt like I was missing out on anything.  She made sure I got to participate in everything I wanted to do when I was growing up.  I also learned how to be independent.  My nana was always busy too.  She was never one to sit down for too long when she could be up making supper, working around the house, or going out somewhere.  She was on the go all the time so I must get a little bit of that from her.  From both my mom and nana, I learned how to cook and bake.  There is not much I like doing more than cooking a big meal for family and friends, or baking something with E.

Being a mom isn't always easy but I don't worry too much about whether I am a good mom because I know I must be since I'm doing everything that my mom did and her mom did.  There is nothing better than being able to rely on love  to know you're doing a good job!

Friday Favourites

Linking up with Andrea, Erika, and Narci for Friday Favourites.

As usual some random favourites on this Friday.

1. We are getting our photos done tomorrow.  I have never really coordinated outfits for photos before but I am taking a shot at it.  I can't decide on pants for any of us.  The choices will probably change a few more times before Saturday morning.

2. It is Sakura in High Park this week.  That means all of the cherry blossoms are in bloom and the park is packed with people.  We will be there on Saturday morning for our photos so we can also see the blossoms while we are there.   Here is a picture of E's first Sakura.

3. I met Dave after my seminar on Thursday for a drink before heading home to pick up E from daycare.  We went to Drake One Fifty.  I ordered the Old Cuban, and it was delicious!

4. On Wednesday I talked about our current favourite kids shows.  Paw Patrol tops the list!

5.  And now for something completely different, one of my favourite things is when the justice system works.  Of course I am a lawyer so I am a little biased that the justice system works, but there was a good example this week.  Omar Khadr was released on bail on Thursday.  He has been in jail (including Guantanamo Bay) for 13 years since he was 15 years old.  This is not a commentary on why he was in jail and the whole process around his custody, treatment in jail, child soldiers, terrorists, etc. All I want to say is that when there is not just cause for denying bail then the prisoner should be released.  Contrary to what our Prime Minister wanted, the court made the right decision and granted bail in this case. 

Have a good weekend!

Roasted Beet, Pear and Feta Salad

Roasted Beet, Pear and Feta Salad

As promised last week, I am sharing another salad recipe.  This one is so tasty and way easier to make than you might think. 

3 roasted beets, cooled, cubed

1 small pear, cubed (Asian pear or Bosc)

1/4 cup feta cheese

Mixed greens (about one handful per person)

1 1/2 Tbsp olive oil

1 tsp balsamic vinegar

1 tsp honey

To roast the beets, remove the ends and the skin, and cut into cubes.  Toss cubed beets in olive oil in a bowl and then spread on a cookie sheet covered in tin foil.  Roast in the oven for about 30 minutes at 350 degrees F.  If you can roast potatoes, you can roast beets.

Place salad greens in a large bowl.  Top with the cooled beets, pear, and crumbled feta cheese.  

The salad dressing is barely a dressing, it is so easy.  Mix together the olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Pour over the salad.  Drizzle with honey, and toss the salad together.  Add salt and pepper to taste. 

A note about balsamic vinegar.  Most balsamic vinegars you see at the grocery store are really red wine vinegars with some grape must.  A real balsamic has a first ingredient of grape must reduction, and it is thicker and more flavourful.  The ones at the grocery store are fine, but the real ones are special.  We got ours in New York at O&Co in Greenwich Village.  

Yum! The sweetness of the beets and pear go well with the feta cheese and balsamic vinegar.  

Hope you like it!