west queen west

I took these photos on a sunny Sunday afternoon on the way over to pick up some doughnuts. Ossington turned into Queen West turned into West Queen West turned into Roncesvailles.

glory hole doughnuts

Has everyone heard of Glory Hole in Parkdale? (The doughnut shop - don't worry you are safe to click on that link.) Well we tried it out for the first time just last weekend and were totally blown away. There was so much glory in these doughnut holes. I will be back for more, that's for sure. We had the Cookies & Cream and the Bread & Butter. Cookies & Cream tasted just like Cookies & Cream should taste (AMAZING), and Bread and Butter tasted just like heaven. Actually like a mix between heaven and the doughnut version of Beaver Tails. I recommend you all try the Glory Hole experience.

missing summer already

A distinctively crisp fall breeze perks me up as I leave the house in the morning. I know it's a fall breeze because it's given me a chill as well as lifted up and scattered a few fallen leaves from the path in front of me. In this one instant I am reminded of every other autumn that has come before this one - all the other first days of school, apple pies, my wool sweater, turkey and stuffing. I feel two things: excitement for the new season and the new term of school, and also mourning for a sweet summer that has come and gone way too quickly. Today I will look at these last pictures of White Pine and remember what it's like to sit in the sun in bare feet and a sun dress. Tomorrow I will buy myself a new red cardigan and happily show it off in class.

baking cookies

Chocolate chip cookies are so easy to make and so much FUN to make. I am still perfecting my recipe but it's getting close. My ideal chocolate chip cookie is crispy chewy, not cakey and not too crisp. I also don't like having too much chocolate in them. I always use about half the chocolate chips the recipe says to put in. And I don't actually use chocolate chips - I chop up baker's chocolate into chunks and shavings instead. I don't always use my mom's fancy sel de mer, but this time I did. Shhh, don't tell.

The cookie dough camouflaged into my mom's kitchen counter

This was breakfast. Had it with coffee and the paper.

bacon jam

This post is about bacon jam. For those of you who were not aware: yes, there is such a thing as bacon jam. It was invented by beautiful people who have a great understanding of life and the universe. This summer at the cottage, my aunt, my cousin and I made baguette toasts, spread guacamole on them, topped them with bruschetta, then dolloped on a dollop of bacon jam. We said, "God is good" and then ate them up.

here comes the sun

white pine MMXII

This year at White Pine was the same but different, like it always is. I was one of the first to arrive, which has only happened maybe once before. I saw the cottage in its completely undisturbed, pristine state, with all the chairs in place and the beds unmade and up against the walls instead of pushed together or all crammed into one room like I'm used to seeing them. All the couch cushions were in place. The kitchen cabinets were empty. The fridges were empty. There were no playing cards scattered on the floor of the living room, no half-made puzzle on the card table, and no stack of guitars and guitar cases in the corner of the deck. It was eerie. I did not like it. I took some photos, then waited impatiently for the crowds to arrive.