On the Hunt for the Best Caesar in Ottawa

WHERE HAS THE TIME GONE!!!!!!! 

But actually. Tell me where!!

I have no idea how April (the month durrr not moi!) is already almost over. 

I started the month off right by celebrating my birthday back in Ottawa with my bebes. I didn't really plan much this year - all I wanted was a night of drinks and dancing. That's it! And I can honestly say, it was one of the best birthdays I've had in a really long time. I'm so lucky to have such wonderful friends from near and far to make me feel so special :) 

It's flowers! Shaped like a cake!  

Cranberry Margaritas with Strawberry - recipe here. 

Drunk in luUuUUuUUvv.

In other news, Dave and I did a cooking class! 

It all started one night when Dave made me watch a video of Gordon Ramsay cooking scrambled eggs. 

Then everything changed. Forever. 

Dear Mr. Gordon Ramsay, you blew our minds.  

Feeling inspired from our new idol, Gord (I really had no idea you were supposed to cook scrambled eggs that way!!), we decided to sign up for a PC cooking class at Loblaws.  

Surprise, surprise, I picked a class with a maple themed menu (April + maple = 4evr!!) which included: 

Maple scallops 

Maple quinoa

Maple pork roast 

... AND maple pecans and walnuts with ice cream for dessert. 

It was all so DEELISH and honestly a ton of fun.

You watch the chef prepare the meal (kinda poopy if you want to get hands on, but a really good thing if you are in the mood to sit back and relax!), and then it is plated and served. Even without getting our hands dirty, we both learned a lot!(Like what it means to nappé, and these lil pink peppercorns our chef was seriously obsessed with.) 

We went to the Superstore in Orleans - the other ladies in the class were adorable (I think they do these classes on the reg, and couldn't get enough of young Dave and I) and both chefs were super fun and interactive. If you're looking for a different date idea, definitely give one of these a try!    

  

Now stop your droolin', and LOOKIT ALL DESE PRETTY DRESSES!! 

Lil' Hanz and I spent a Sunday hitting up the Ottawa Vintage Clothing Show at the Ottawa Convention Centre. 

IT WAS SO COOL I'm so glad we went. The dresses were sick, they ranged from cheapies at $20 to vintage wedding gowns for around $800. The crowd was also super interesting. Hip fashionistas everywhere!! I think I had a 50/50 equal amount of fun watching the fashionistas shop and actually shopping myself haha. 

We spent like 3-4 hours (but it actually only felt liiiike 2!) checking out the different shops and trying on tons of vintage goodies. I left with a sparkly crop top and Hannah bought a pair of booties. Vintage clothes shopping is actually kinda hard!!! The event was HUGE and I had a hard time staying focused enough to riffle through all of the racks. You need a certain mindset to get in there and get stuff done. Gotta mentally prepare. Still a successful Sunday tho. We finished the day off with some burritos from Corazon de Maiz and I went home a happy wom! 

I have also recently discovered my new fav restaurant in Ottawa, The Albion Rooms!!! 

. 

So I can't lie... I've been here twice in just over a week. I'm OBSESSED. But I have good reasons!! 

A: It is sooooooooooo cool. Top 5 coolest restaurant in Ottawa for SURE. Just so cool. I really have no other words to describe it, other than cool.

B: I have finally discovered the best caesar in Ottawa!!!!!! 

Oh baybay baaaaybay 

For those of you not from Canada, the Caesar is a cocktail made of vodka, Clamato (a blend of tomato juice and clam broth, sounds disgusting but is actually good), hot sauce (the spicier the betta!) and Worcestershire sauce. The rim is usually rimmed with celery salt and it's typically garnished with a stalk of celery. It's a super popular drink in Canada, a hangover cure from the gods, and straight up DELICIOUS. You can order it with brunch. You can order it while out for evening drinks. SO VERSATILE! There's tomato juice in it, so you are basically eating a vegetable, so healthy right now. Kind of hungry but not too hungry? Order a caesar and it basically comes with a snack FO FREE! 

As you can already see, I am obsessed with caesars. I've been on the hunt for the best one in Ottawa, and I think I have finally found it at The Albion Rooms. They call it the "Marcus Brutus" and it is good stuff! Here's how I usually judge a good ole caesar: 

Spicy Factor: It needs to be spicy. Needs. This is non negotiable. 

Rim: There needs to be a substantial rim in place. The thicker the better. 

Consistency: Ain't nobody want a watery caesar. Too chunky can be weird too. 

And last but not least... the garnish: Simple celery stick... meh. Spicy bean... we're getting there. Cured meats... YES PLEASE!!!!

The Marcus Brutus has earned a near-perfect Caesar score and I highly recommend it. 

The Albion Rooms is great for dinner, or just casual drinks with the girls (with a cheese plate, you won't regret it!!!). 

And if you know of any other quality Caesars in Ottawa, let me know! The hunt never really ends.  

2013 Wrap Up

HAPPY (extremely belated) NEW YEAR!!!!! 

I'm not exactly sure how to sum up the past year. 

But before I get started, just a heads up: things are about to get cheeeesayy!! I realize we are now over a month into 2014, and most people have already forgotten about their New Year resolutions by now, but I didn't feel right skipping it over. So, here goes. You have been warned! 

For me, 2013 ended on a high note. I wrote my December exams (wahooooo!!), celebrated Christmas in ugly sweater style with some wonderful people, hit up the slopes partied it up in Mont Tremblant, and spent the Christmas holidays in sunny Cuuuba with my family. 

"The Team" in our ugly sweaters

Mont Tremblant

Maple Treats!! num num num.

The closure of 2013 also marked a few other big changes in my life. I ended a toxic, unhappy relationship that had gone on far too long. I was with someone who I knew wasn't right for me, but for some reason I kept falling back in. There's a quote I've seen around the internet, that goes something like: We accept the love we think we deserve. In hindsight, whatta truth bomb!!! This brings me to resolution #1: if it doesn't feel right, I'm not gonna keep doing it. I'm either 100% into someone, or not at all. Cause I deserve it! [and you do too :) ]. At the same time I know that I can be hard on people sometimes, so this will be a delicate balancing act of being patient yet picky. Gonna nail it in 2014!!! 

In other news, I also found out that I will be going on a month long exchange to SWITZERLAND this summer!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya ya! The paperwork that ensued was overwhelming and at times I wondered if it would all be worth it, but now that everything is all submitted I could not be more excited for this adventure. Imma be chillin' on a mountain, eating fondue, with my new blonde-haired blue-eyed Swiss homies! Awwwww yea!! One requirement of this exchange is that I am able to communicate fluently with patients in French. This makes me mildly nervy!! I CAN speak French, I just get a lil shy when I'm not 100% confident at what I'm doing. Soooooooo here is my resolution #2: take a weekly French course this semester!! Even if I wasn't going to Switzerland, it's still a good idea to brush up on my frannnnçais. I've been to 4 classes so far. I think this is a resolution I'm going to keep! Oui oui! 

Raclette, another cheese based Swiss dish. 

Varadero, Cuba!

Havanaaaa!!!

Cuuuties ;) 

Shopping in Old Havana

My dream home!!!! How cute and girly is this place!!

In addition to the standard set of resolutions I set for myself every year (eat healthier, exercise more, mix in some studying... blah blah) there's a few other things I want to try to do more of in 2014. 

COOK MORE! Cause I luv doing it! But I've been having trouble making time for it lately. I spend wayyyy too much money buying pricey kale salads and organic soups. Gotta make this more of a priority!

GET CREATIVE! My mom said something to me the other day that made me think. We were talking about some of the photos I took during our Cuban vacay, when she said: You know, you're a lot more creative than you think you are. You see things other people don't see. Now I know she's my mom, and she's supposed to say things like that, but it was really nice!! I LOVE taking pictures. Time to step up my game! And not just photography. I love making things and being crafty! Ma gurl Hannah recently encouraged/hassled (hehe just kidding Hannah, mostly encouraged, and I'm thankful) me to submit some photos to an art show she's organizing at school. The theme was "connections in medicine", here's a sample of my piece! 

My final (and favourite!) resolution for 2014 is to do MORE ACTIVITIES!!!! 

MORE ADVENTURES!! More "firsts". Go places I've never been. Try new things just for fun. You know when your parents call you, and ask you what you've been up to lately? I want to have something neat to talk to them about! Something I'm excited and happy to be doing. Big or small. Like spending an afternoon skating on the Rideau Canal with my BFF :) 

Let's do this thang. 

Bring it on 2014!