THE SIMPLE LIFE

I just got back from a very busy weekend...but also a lot of fun.

It all started with Thursday evening movie - I finally got to see 'I love you man'. Alex had already seen it with his med boys so Mike and I went on our own after doing his exam. It was a decent movie...but remembering the scenes & lines in retrospect makes it much better than it actually is.

It was Carson's 23rd birthday this weekend and we went to celebrate in Niagara. Needless to say, when you're going so close to the border, you gotta cross over! We went back to Waterloo Thursday night to pick up our American currency left over from my Chicago days. However, in my rush to leave TO after the movie I forgot to pack my passport. Alex and I had to drive back to TO on Friday to pick it up before we were on our road trip to The Falls. (there was a LOT of travelling this weekend).

We went to Canyon Creek chophouse for dinner and I got to spend time chatting with Aaron about our profession and his perspectives as a student right now. It's always really encouraging to talk to ppl who are super enthusiastic - it reminded me of how I felt when I was in school...and how much I miss being involved while in Chicago. We had TWO reasons to celebrate Carson - his b-day AND his acceptance to Law School. Congrats!!

Alex and I stayed at the Embassy suites for a REAL good price - we got a view of the Falls PLUS a buffet breakfast at the Keg the next morning. It wasn't a skimpy breakfast either - they made Omelets with anything you want on it...and you get to watch the Falls again while you eat too.

We went to Buffalo saturday afternoon but didn't anything at the outlets. Our only purchases ended up from Target (sort of like a K-mart). Their stuff is so much cheaper, even with the exchange rate. I bought a whole pack of Burt's Bees lip gloss, (Zaditor) some allergy eye drops not available in Canada and (Airborne) sim. to ColdFX but not available in Canada either. The guy and the border kind of laughed at us when we showed him our receipt.

Any way, Saturday night we travelled back to London for Alex's Grad formal. It was good times celebrating everyone's achievements. Congrats to Brian and Drew for their honour awards - especially Bri. You know, we should be really proud of our friend. He got the longest applause and the ONLY standing ovation. I'm glad their class recognized what a special guy he really is *smile*.

Sunday morning we went for brunch at this place which served breakfast in bowls. Literally, the typical eggs, potatos, meats but a bowl instead of a plate. Weird I know, but it's actually pretty good. Any way, the service was really slow so we spoke to the manager and ended up with free meals & drinks for all 7 of us. Pretty cool...now that's what I call a good manager!

We travelled back to spend Sunday night in Waterloo and got to finally watch Slumdog Millionaire. It WAS a good movie and all in all, a good but busy weekend as well.

I love when my profession gives me perks - one of which is free food. Yesterday, I got to go to a corporate sponsored event and for listening to someone talk for 2 hrs, I got free unlimited alcohol and dinner at Auberge du Pommier. It was sweet! I just went onto their website to find out what we got - they spent over 90 bucks me on last night; craziness!

For h'or douvres they had Cappuccino de Truffle. It's pureed mushroom and truffle soup with velvet shank cream and parmesan biscuit. It was soooo good. Although looking at the menu, it costs $19. It was such a tiny little tease...now I wish I drank more than one cup =P I also got to try their tuna tartare inside hallowed cucumbers. I have to say I was a little disappointed with that one. Although their presentation was nice, I actually preferred Simon's version at last week's dinner. They also had chicken kebobs with a sweet mustard sauce which was just okay too.

For appetizers we got to choose between Winter Squash Veloute, Mousseline of Scallop or Foie Gras Terrine. I chose the the Scallop, which was chilled mousse of sea scallop wrapped in smoked salmon with tarragon and lime dressing. I guess I should've read the menu more closely cuz making a scallop mousse just sounds kinda gross. It really didn't taste great either - the salmon was good but the scallop was very rubbery and pairing it with the lime didn't make it any better. I should have gone for the Foie Gras instead - doh!

For the main, we got to choose between a roast grouper, loin of lamb or grilled beef tenderloin. I went for the lamb with golden potato, braised garlic, roast parship and rosemary. It was delicious. Perfectly done and oh so yummy. I was really full by the end of it. The only sucky part was burping lamb for the rest of the evening. Doesn't taste as good coming back up - ewwwww!

For dessert everyone got Auberge Crepes. It was undescribable. They filled it with pastry cream and fresh oranges and grapefruit. Topped with a citrus reduction mixed with Grand Marnier. So so so so so so good!

All in all, it was a delightful evening. Oh yeah...and I got to talk to a few strangers and learn about some new products. I hate networking but I'll do it for good food...or just free food.