Dec 10 2009 - Work Party

My team celebrated Christmas on my birthday this year, so I decided to give my birthday pictures it's very own DEC 10th post, because combining it with something work-related is just sad.

That being said, here is a selection of pics from the RBC Homeline Closing Officer Christmas Party!



My BFF Christie Close organized the party & made it special for everyone (we all got candy canes! yay!)



Nothing says Christmas like JAMAICAN FOOD from a place called "Ritz" in Toronto. This restaurant doesn't even have a website. Sketchy, but DELICIOUS! This was my special vegetarian meal. I didn't bother using a plate since I didn't have to share with anyone. Classy & selfless, that's me.



John was so busy piling food into his mouth he didn't bother to pose for this picture. Understandable.



Time for "Pin the Post-It Note on the Snowman's Nose!" Kendall has a go of it.



My turn! (Claudia ultimately won... Damn her)



Tis the season...for your boss to flip you off, in a not-so secret way, at your work Christmas party. Happy Holidays, ya filthy animal.

Nov 27 2009

After a week of bringing my lunches to work, it was decided FRIDAY would be the day I got to give in to my craving. My craving for a big ass burrito from Fresh West Grill. Wes and I had to wait in line for quite a while (this is what happens during the afternoon lunch rush) but it was well worth the wait.



I am so happy.

Nov 16 2009

Jess, Chantelle and myself dined at Pizzeria Libretto in T dot O dot (Ossington and Dundas) and dear lord I want to go back right now. My mouth is watering just thinking about it.

Funny story: We entered the restaurant at 11:58m or just there abouts. The host greeted us with "Sorry, we don't open until noon." Jess thought he was kidding, but he wasn't. Really, dude? Really? Why have the restaurant's main door open if you're not ready to seat customers?

We got a table because 1) They realized how ridiculous turning us away would be and 2) Chantelle is a cripple with a cane and she's willing to use it on anyone who stands in her way, especially when food is involved.



Drove along Bloor Street, blaring the "Glee, Vol 1" the entire way. I've never actually been in Honest Ed's. I think I'd like to go.

Oct 21 2009

Today I baked delicious banana muffins with Shamara. Recipe can be found at www.catcancook.com . Absolutely scrumptious.



We also took Maggie on a nice long walk. Autumn in Oregon is really really pretty - so many bright colours :)

Oct 13th 2009

To Red Robin we go! I had never been to this restaurant before. It was pretty good - they had a decent Garden Burger that I ordered, so I was quite pleased. Upon leaving the restaurant I noticed........



For those that don't know - McGrath is my maiden name. I had no idea my family owned an illustrious fish house. Well, wait... that's not true. When I told my husband about this place he said I have seen it before and he's told me about it numerous times. For those that do know me - you know my memory is a piece of crap.

Oct 8th 2009

In Lincoln City, Oregon. A lovely little beach town.



MASSIVE spider Derek spotted while walking to the beach - click to enlarge (if you can HANDLE it)



Shamara and Derek said we could eat lunch at Moe's. I started flipping out, thinking they were taking me to Moe's Southwest Grill since I LOVE their burritos. It turned out to be a seafood restaurant, even the salads had seafood. After being seated we decided to eat somewhere else... so we literally got up and left the table after ordering our waters. What-evs.



Foggy day at the ocean. We were only out for a few hours, it was pretty cold by the water. Derek attempted to catch ocean fish while Shamara and I had a Photoshoot. After she edits my imperfections out (Oh hello Mr. Zit on my chin) I hope to post my favourites.



On the way back to Salem. Ta-ta for now Oregon Coast.

Portland Day 4: Sept 30th 2009

Today wasn't particularly happy. I had to say goodbye to my mumkin, who was flying back to Toronto. We enjoyed our last meal together, for the time being that is, at Bijou Cafe in Portland. My Tofu Scramble was absolutely delicious!

I had a great time with you mom : ) Now, on to Salem Oregon to chill with my husband's family.

Portland Day 1: Sept 27th 2009

We left Seattle at 11am and took the Amtrak train to Portland Oregon. Check out our fancy-pants hotel room at "THE NINES" booked on Hotwire for the low low price of 80 bones/night!



Met up with the old "in laws" for dinner at Henry's Restaurant. Mama Thornton to the left, big daddy-o Jason in the middle and lil' sista Liz on the right.



Hey, it's Shamara and Derek! Looking fine as always. These beautiful people will be my hosts while I stay in Oregon.



Family Photo : Take 1



Family Photo: Take Two. That's better. Well, for Shamara at least.



We (I say "We" but really, Derek) got lost in Portland heading back to the hotel after dinner. There are so many 1 way streets here, which aren't usually that big of a deal, but there are also a LOT of streets where you're not allowed to turn either left or right. A tad frustrating for the driver, I'm sure. I had fun in the back seat, not sure how Derek felt with my mom and I chanting "U-EY U-EY U-EY" in an attempt to get him to both 1) break the rules of the road and 2) give us a joy ride.

Seattle Day 3: Sept 26th 2009

We were able to head back to the Experience Music Project to finish off the tour we started on Friday. The museum was insanely busy and I wasn't overly impressed with what they had to offer. The one room I really wanted to check out (The Sound Lab) was overrun with little kids whos parents didn't feel they needed to "share" the exhibits. Over all, I'd give the EMP a 5/10 for value & fun.



After the EMP we headed over to the Mayflower Hotel for our SECOND food tour! This one was Savour Seattle's Chocolate & Coffee Indulgence tour.



Ben the Bartender (at Oliver's in the Mayflower Hotel) started our tour off by serving delicious coffee based shots.



The baristas at Cafe D'Arte showed us how to make fancy designs on lattes. This girl has been serving coffee for 8 years and made it look very easy.



We stopped by Pike Place Market to try chocolate and cheesecake at The Confectionary. On our way, our tour guide Carolyn ran into another tour guide Eric. These guides are REALLY comfortable with their pink umbrellas & with blocking traffic to pose for silly pictures.



Holy cow - a real, live MASTER barista! How do you know he's a master? The black apron is a dead giveaway. All other Starbucks Baristas wear green aprons. It's no easy feat becoming a master, you have to be really interested in coffee & willing to take a bunch of tests to qualify. Our Master (can't remember his name) gave us Aged Sumatra coffee, brewed using the "CLOVER" machine, which originally sold for $15 000 each before Starbucks purchased the company that manufactured them.



Seattle Grace isn't a REAL hospital. Boo! Grey's jumped the shark a looong time ago anyways.



Our tour concluded with a lil' meal atop the Space Needle. We got stuck at the "losers" table which included this annoying family (Dad owns a coffee shop and felt inclined to comment on everything, Mom was ugly and kid was outspoken and kept budding in front and blocking the way) and annoying Asian couple (Boyfriend went on and one about the "notes" in all the coffee, cheese & wine we tasted. FYI Asian BF, no one cares).



Despite being stuck with the people who annoyed us most on the tour, we enjoyed a delicious mini-meal & took in the amazing views of Seattle.

NOT Pictured - shopping (yes, again) at H&M & Banana Republic... and dinner at Brava Restaurant which was disappointing and I'm sure Sheila & I would like to forget that portion of our trip all together. Poor service + Poor food = Sheila & Amber being very unhappy.

PS -



COWLS ARE IN! Even for men, according to H&M. I'm going to knit more of these bad-boys & sell them off. Taking orders now.

Seattle Day 2: Sept 25th 2009

Day 2 began with a FOOD tour of Seattle. Ya that's right, a tour of FOOD. Jealous? We met our group at the Starbucks on 1st Ave and Pike Ave.



First Stop - DONUTS! Great way to start the morning.



Our tour guide, Brett led us around Pike Place Market by carrying a pink umbrella. It was really really funny and slightly embarassing for everyone involved.



You know the tour had to take us to the famous Seattle fishmongers. This was the only stop on the tour where I wasn't able to partake in the 'tasting,' it was still great to visit these fine fisherman. So much fresh food!



You knew this photo was coming - the famous Flyin' Fish! This fish was HUGE and our guide said it was probably the largest he's ever seen them hurl across the counter.



For the stop at Chukar Cherries we were taken INTO the stall, behind the counter for our tasting. There wasn't a lot of room so we all had to squeeze in. My fave part about this picture? The smiley Asian woman smiling behind my mother.



View from behind the counter, lots of hungry shoppers perusing chocolate covered Espresso beans & chocolate covered cherries.



I don't remember what kind of cheese & crostini we ate, but DAY-UM was it good! Thanks to Beecher's Homemade Cheese.



We left Pike Place Market with full tummies and great memories. I'm still thinking of those Donuts.



After our food tour we took an hour long harbor tour of Elliot Bay 'n Stuff. My camera battery died 2 minutes into the tour, which really really pissed me off. I only managed to get this one shot. I lost out on TONS of beautiful photos of the skyline. I'll never forget to charge my battery from this day on.



We took the Monorail over to the Seattle Center, home of America's CN tower, the Space Needle! It's so cute in comparison to the CN. I'm sure it's usually really impressive, but I don't think 1) It lights up at night and 2) it's really all that tall.



I really really wanted to check out the Experience Music Project. We arrived at 4pm with full knowledge it was closing in a hour. Our tour guide said everything in Seattle closes early as the people here love to nap. The museum closing at 5pm really proved that theory for me. We toured for an hour then had to leave =/ Luckily we're able to use our tickets to go back tomorrow, hopefully we can squeeze in!

NOT pictured today: Did a little shopping after our Seattle Center adventure & enjoyed a delicious Thai dinner at WILD GINGER (thanks to Josee for the recommendation).

Seattle Day 1: Sept 24th 2009

To Seattle we go! Our flight left from Buffalo at 842am, so we had to leave Whitby at 430am. Ugh! Too early. Christopher was nice enough to drive us to Browntown. Sheila was able to catch a few winks in the car, lucky duck. I ran on about 2 hours of sleep.



We had a brand new plane, which is great and all, but you had to pay to watch the on flight films. Sure we had personalized access to DirecTV, but $6 to use that system? Screw that noise! We mainly slept and worked on crossword puzzles. I pulled an "Amber on the train" and whacked my head on the window when my head was bobbing. Owie.



View of the mountains as we make our decent into Seattle.



View from our hotel room at the Sheraton Seattle. Visit us in Room 3022! Close to the top of the hotel, we're ballers.



It's that time. Brand new hotel, new city, what else is there to do other than JUMP ON THE BEDS! This is a Sheila tradition and I'm happy to be apart of it.



I'm trying my very best not to break the bed.



We dined at Branzino's Restaurant. Oh my, talk about gourmet food. This is the home restaurant of current "Top Chef" contestant Ashley Merriman and it was damn good. We both had Mixed Green Salads, with Pears, Pine Nuts & Cheese as an appetizer. Sheila had the trout entree while I enjoyed the freshly made Tagliatelle pasta with Heirloom Tomatoes & Crisp Garlic. TO DIE FOR. Our waiter, Dennis was awesome. We ordered some wine and he was cool enough to leave the bottle in case we wanted to "sneak more." For dessert, Poached Pear Sorbet with Creme Fraiche... Oh my. Go to this restaurant if you're ever in Seattle.



We had to get to bed early tonight as we have a busy day ahead tomorrow, but there is always time for a night cap, right? My French Martini was delicious. Grey Goose + Pineapple... You can't go wrong.