Birthday Macarons

Last Sunday, on my very own birthday, I had to wake up early to go write an midterm exam. Yes, you read correctly, I had an exam on Sunday morning! No, it wasn't an alternate... that's just how my university does thing. " Oh let's schedule exams on weekends; Sunday mornings!"

Since I didn't get the chance to plan out what to do to celebrate with my friends, I pushed the celebrations to some other time and stayed home and relaxed. By relaxing, I meant making maracons! I've been wanting to make some macarons for a bloody long time but never really got to it! I called up my friend Mark and asked him he was wanted to join, which he did. Good thing he came, because I don't think it would've been as successful had he been not here. I was all over the place, creating messes after messes. Mark, on the other hand had previously made macarons, so he was able to guide me through it. We made rose flavored macaons, which are one of my favorite. The first time I had taste rose macarons was in Paris and I've been thinking about it ever since! Overall, the macarons were good, but we might have over baked the merengues and didn't put enough coloring. It's definitely something we will have to try making again!

Oreo Wednesday

What do you do on your day off? You make deep fried Oreos stuffed with bananas, obviously. The video came up on my Twitter feed recently and I decided to give it a try since it was a super simple recipe. It was a nice to finally spend a day doing anything but school related work. Lies - I did write a few emails for JMAS, but that's just my workaholic side.

I took some pictures, which means I took take out my D5100! I missed it so much! Honestly I should've taken this day off to go shoot given it was a beaaaauuutiful day. But whatever, these heart-attack-in-a-bite were totally worth it. Of course, leave it up to me to forget to take pictures of the final product because I was too busy stuffing my face. I'll have to admit, I wasn't sure how these fried banana Oreos would turn out. Especially with the stares my sister was giving me. She did end up liking them, so I win. Maybe next time I will make them with Fudgee-Os instead of Oreos. Deep fried choco-banana deliciousness? Hell yeah.

Chicken & Steak

Despite my busy work schedule during the winter break, I still had the chance to have dinner with friends. The first dinner was with my friends with whom I lived the four most amazing months of the my life. Pat, Georgia, Sophie, Courtney, Julian, Fiona, Naomi & I were all on exchange in France together. For four months, we lived in Juan-les-pins and attended the SKEMA together. It was great to catch up and reminisce of the good old days. The last time we were all together was probably back when we were still in France. Those moments seem to be so far away. I'd give anything to go back in time and live it again... We met up at Laurier Gordon Ramsay, which I have being dying to try. The ambiance was nice and cozy. I enjoyed my chicken and the wonderful company I had.

The very next night, it was the JMAS Christmas dinner! We chose to eat at luxurious steakhouse, The Keg. Despite the crazy rain outside and the dangerous, slippery ice outside, everyone arrived at the restaurant in once piece. Our table was in a little isolated corner, which was great because we had some privacy. But the corner was, in my opinion, a little bit tight for all 15 of us. The gift exchange was hilarious! Everyone came up with great ideas as secret Santa. The food was amazing. My steak was absolutely delicious and it heartwarming to have spent a wonderful night with my colleagues.

Steak with shrimp and crab garnish & twice baked potato

Turkish Night

Life has been hectic lately that it felt so good to finally sit down over a nice dinner and catch up with friends.

Last night, I met up with Sue and Connie, who I met during my time at Starbucks. I haven't seen Sue for a very long time, so I was very excited to meet up with her. She gave Connie & I  a tour of her cozy and unique downtown apartment before  heading to a Turkish restaurant nearby. None of us knew what to order since we never had Turkish food before. But we ended up all the getting the Special of the Day, which included a lentil soup, a beef main dish, Turkish bread (similar to a naan bread, but much thinner), and some tea and dessert at the end.

The food was good, but the best part of the evening was actually sitting down and chatting with two wonderful ladies. We ate, talked, laughed and laughed some more. The night was filled with laughter and everyone had a great time. We all agreed to meet up over dinner more often, perhaps over Korean food next time! It was such a fun and relaxing evening. I can't wait to do it again!

Lentil soup

Main dish

Sue & Connie

Tea

Dessert

Oh my god! This is so Blair Waldorf!

After seeing the ever so wonderful Blair Waldorf eating endless amounts of macaroons on this week's episode of Gossip Girl, my friend Gabrielle proposed we do the same. And so we did. After our class today, Gaby and I headed to the very chic M Cafe on the corner of Maisonneuve and De La Montagne. Oh boy was it delicious! Although, I must say, some flavors were quite... unique (ie. banana & lime and peppered mango). Each of us ordered six macaroons and we ate them while listening to this old man's cellphone ring 1,058,103 times during our stay. I am not exaggerating. The cell rang every two minutes and it got to a point where the wife angrily said: "I will never eat with you again"! Anyways, I digress.

While enjoying those delicious french pastries, I couldn't stop thinking about my own journey to the land of macaroons. I am leaving in less than 2 months! For those who don't know yet, I will be studying abroad the upcoming winter semester. "Where are you going?" you might ask. Well, I am heading to the world capital of croissants AKA La France!  I have never set foot in Europe, so I am quite excited to leave. When I leave, I plan to convert this blog into my travel diary. I will be posting my adventures with my friend Naomi, who will be studying and sharing an apartment with me.

I will soon be writing a post with more details like where will I live and what school I will be attending. Until then, take a look at the beautiful macaroons I had today :)

Apple & Cinnamon, Peppered Mango, Chocolate & Passion Fruit, Lemon, Salted Caramel and "After Eight "(choco & mint)