Baking

I've never been particularly good at baking, but I've always enjoyed it.  I think the fact that I grew up watching my Mom be an awesome  highly trained Pastry chef has rubbed off on me...  So I can often "expertiment" and follow recipes loosely (or not at all) and still have sueess.  Like I've mentioned before, I have fun with my baking experiments at night sometimes after Rowen goes to bed.  EATING the end result is definitely my favourite part though.  I haaate cleaning up afterwards.

This past week, I made some mini cheesecakes.  Some had oreo crusts and some had chocolate chip cookie crust.  I also improvised the caramel sauce.  

Lowell bought some "Pirate cupcake" liners and flags, so these caramel pool cheesecakes became known as Pirate Cheesecakes.

The week before, I also made another peach cobbler.  Lowell and I have been buying lots of peaches this summer.  I've been working on inventing my special almond-y cobbler top.

A good summer for pretty peaches!

Photos: We spend a lot of time at the park...

We've been hanging out a lot at the park these past few days...  

I LOVE Trinity-Bellwoods park and I will be sad if we have to move out of the neighbourhood when our lease is up in the tiny apartment this January.  (Sidenote: It's pretty amusing bringing my adorable Baby almost every day to the very same park that I used to be er, intoxicated in frequently in my more youthful days.)

The BEST soy latte in the city, for realz.  

I enjoyed my White Squirrel latte along with my a muffin while the Baby slept... which meant no rushing and shoving huge bites in my mouth or taking quick stealth bites to avoid little hands trying to grab my food!!

Another day, another park hang... practicing our sitting and Android skills

I baked Pirate cheesecakes.

Another day, another Family Dim Sum trip.  

Lowell: Do you have any change to leave for a tip?

Rowen: Hang on, let me check my purse Daddy.

Another day, another delicious "bao" from Banh Mi Boys.

I'm currently still obsessed with Banh Mi Boys!

BEST sandwiches (Vietnamese or otherwise)  in the Universe, no doubt about it!

Happy Birthday Lowell!

The Baby bought Lowell some beer.  

I thought it would be funny and kinda nice since I haven't really been letting Lowell keep beer at home lately. Which kinda makes me a total jerk...cuz man, on my 24th many, many, many moons ago there was a literally a bathtub full of booze.  We called it the boozetub!  But I digress.   We got a 2-4 of nice Muskoka beers for Daddy's 24th. (Except we only got 12.)  

Super tall classic chocolate cake and a baby strawberry-rhubarb pie from Mabel's, one of my favourite places.  

One of my favourite lemon bars, possibly my favourite lemon bar in the city is from Mabel's! And their brownies are amazing so I figured their cakes must be as well.  They use real quality, local ingredients so that's a plus too.  I was way too lazy to make a nice cake so I bought one.

BUT! The wonky icing writing was done by me at home....

Her shirt says Incredible, Amazing, Incredible Dad.

Rowen very seriously composed a song for the occasion on her Baby Einstein piano.

Happy Birthday Lowelldish!  We love you!

The Gladstone Hotel

Lowell and I also had a lunch date this week at The Gladstone Hotel. It's a great little boutique hotel literally ACROSS THE STREET from our apartment. It's been great having it thisclose to home. I started suggesting brunch and lunch dates there when I was hugely pregnant... and then after the Baby was here, it was the most convenient location for baby's first restaurant venture and also Momma's first excursion sans baby!

For our lunch date, Lowell and I got there for the last 15 minutes of lunch so that there wouldn't be too many others in the restaurant. Sometimes when you're walking into a restaurant with a baby, you get the same looks as if you were getting onto a plane.    The café side was nice and quiet, just us and 2 other groups. Not that it mattered because the Rowen Baby was impeccably well behaved as usual! She just hung out in her seat playing with her blankets, eating her hand and watched us eat! Such a perfect little baby.

Everyone should have a lovely little getaway so close to home!