Lisa's Warehouse Sale Spring 2014

haul from Lisa's Warehouse Sale in Markham, despite every intention to behave and not indulge myself with makeup products that I don't really need:

prices were so good that I really couldn't justify not picking up the stila "in the garden" eyeshadow palette; the Anna Sui fragrance called "Rock Me - Summer of Love" and Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain in "Honey" and "Charm" - 70% off the retail price is simply too irresistible!

blush pretty

 L'Oreal Magic Smooth Souffle blush in Celestial - goes on almost invisible which is great because I tend to be a little too heavy-handed when it comes to applying blush - actually, going overboard may be a trend with everything else I do... but that's beside the point -  and the sheerness of this creamy blush prevents me from walking around with cheeks in the color of monkey-butts.

now I'm kicking myself for not having picked up the shade dubbed Angelic as well - Angelic is ever so slightly warmer in tone and would have been perfect for the summer!

black force one

this stout from Denmark definitely lived up to its claim of being strong - it's more bitter than sweet but mildly sweeter than Guinness, very slightly tangy and somewhat burnt - all in all, an okay stout but I'm not sure if I would have it again. 

Pretty happy about the windows phone update because the notification center does come in quite handy.  I had to tweak the settings a bit but this I can't figure out- apparently we need constant reminders every time my battery gets depleted by 1%?

breakfast for champions

Wrapped up a fun and delish weekend with a feast in the morning - homemade cinnamon rolls and banana pancakes with blueberry compote, bacon, sausage rounds and scrambled eggs, plus some clementines to round out the menu.

I'm so glad the griddler is getting coming in handy and is producing such delicious results - the pancakes were fluffy and the blueberries and chocolate chips in the batter almost negated the need for syrup, except the blueberry compote elevated the pancakes to a whole another level of yumminess.

The cinnamon rolls smelled heavenly fresh out of the oven with just the right touch of crustiness and soft tender middles - even B liked them despite his dislike of cinnamon and had more than two bites.  It's exactly the kind of breakfast I had been craving for since a couple of weeks ago and it really hit the spot - the only problem now is  that we'll have trouble settling for store-bought cinnamon rolls from now on.

bodega on baldwin

celebrated the long weekend with a fancy dinner at bodega with good friends and good food:

I liked the french onion soup, but B is convinced that the one from Creperie Catherine at Mont Tremblant was better

The pan-seared scallops were juicy, tendered and cooked just right, and the tangy fig and tomato relish perfectly complements the sweetness of the scallops.

I still can't pronounce "bouillabaisse" but I know now that I really like it - it's got the taste of a lobster bisque with the texture of a broth and it's full of treasures - meaty scallops, prawns and fish and my only complaint is not having enough crusty bread to soak up every glorious drop. 

Duck confit can only be ordered with seared duck breast which was tough and bland.  The fig, tomato and mushroom sauce made it tolerable on the palate but it's not something I would want to order again.  The leg confit was tender and fell right off the bone. The portion size was quite generous but I think I enjoyed the duck leg confit from The Explorer's Cafe much more.

Thank goodness for cup noodles

Chained to my desk, i  would have starved to death if it wasn't for cup noodles

What's keeping me sane this morning

Radioactive

Green goop my post-tactduo raw skin can't live without - what better time to pick it up than Sephora's VIB sale?

wooly bugger

Lofty head atop dark brown ale with creamy caramel notes with a smooth finish = a winner in my books

But first - let me take a selfie

Late night treat

Needed a quick treat while wrapping up some slides for tomorrow's meeting and this just hit the spot

Next time I will try to replace milk with vanilla ice cream