What I've Been Up To Lately - Summer 2024

After a hiatus from the August newsletter (I was enjoying the summer too much!) I’m back with a mini summer update! This summer, I was lucky enough to do many fun events with my nieces and nephews, including hitting the CNE, checking out the Toronto Lego City at LegoLand, and my niece’s 3rd birthday. Back in the city, I hosted my 2nd annual hotdog party (some would call it a social), visited Cherry Beach, bought every flower in sight, and I’ve turned into a tomato because that’s all I’ve been eating.

What I Ate

Summer never disappoints with all of the delicious food to eat, especially at the CNE. We visited this year with our niece and nephews who had never been before so we obviously had them try a blooming Onion (one of my faves!) and one weird food - a cheeseburger spring roll, that honestly was pretty good!

After a Sage event I stopped by Circles & Squares which is dangerously close to the office for a little treat! I ended up trying their snickers butter tart and wowwww! First it’s very heavy, and filled to the brim with peanuts, chocolate and traditional butter tart filling. It was the perfect salty sweet mix!

With zucchini season in full bloom I made a creamy zucchini pasta which was incredible and also easy. It was made with Baldassare pasta which tbh makes everything better.

With fresh tomatoes in abundance, I basically turned into a tomato. Here's a round-up of some of the best tomato dishes I made this summer:

• Grated tomato pasta from NYT Cooking

• Tomato galette from Bon Appetit

• Cherry Tomato Labneh Dip from NYT Cooking

• Garlicky shrimp with crushed tomatoes from Alison Roman's Nothing Fancy cookbook

• Bruised Tomato and Bread Soup from Bon Appetit

• Sunglold Pasta with Lemoney Shellfish and Garlic from Alison Roman's Nothing Fancy cookbook

• Bring back Bruschetta from Molly Baz's More is More cookbook

• Tomato Tart with Garlic and Capers by Alsion Roman

• A good ol fashioned BLT and Tomato and pickled red onion sandwiches

What I did

I hosted my 2nd annual Hotdog party, this year at Dovercourt Park, right in my hood! It was a great way for past clients to come together, meet some new friends, enjoy the weather, and have a couple of beverages and way too many hotdogs. A special shout out to Jordan, who cooked every hotdog, and my sister Melissa, who came from London, ON to help me set up and bring every single last-minute item I needed.

Hit up the CNE with our family for their first time—it was the best! If you do go with little kids, I would definitely recommend going first thing in the morning during the week. It's not as busy, so you can walk around easier, and the lines aren't as long, either. They had a great time and can't wait to return next year!

This year, we also celebrated my niece's 3rd birthday with all of her friends, which was ultra adorable. She really wanted a purple party, and my sister delivered—even the guests were asked to wear purple to enjoy the fun.

After getting rained out from Wonderland this year, we decided to hit up LegoLand to build some racing cars, check out 4D movies (including foam that sprays from the ceiling, lol), and see the Lego models of the Toronto skyline, including the CN Tower, Rogers Center, BMO Building, Porter airport, Yonge + Dundas Square, Niagara Falls, and more! Seeing it was a lot of fun, and the kids loved it!

It's not summer if we aren't going to Cherry Beach with the dog and hitting up Brickworks farmers market before. Since we don't live that close to Cherry Beach, we try to go on the weekends when it's a bit easier to get across the city, especially in the morning and I LOVE Brickworks Farmers Market and since it's outside my dog is welcome to come too! This year, I've noticed more farms growing flowers which is such a nice addition to the market. And they are super affordable and fresh too!

What I Read

TRCA Flood Plain Map—This summer, we saw some major rain come down in Toronto, so if you are thinking about buying a home or if you own a home, being aware of your flood risk is becoming increasingly important. Take a look at this map to see if your home is at risk.

Bank of Canada to Start Jumbo Rate Cuts by December - New home buyers and those on variable mortgages can start to give a sigh of relief as the rates continue to come down to more manageable levels. Will this invigorate the traditional fall and spring markets?

How to start tackling big debt - With the financial burden that most Canadians have experienced over the last couple of years, this article may be helpful. If you owe money, you’re far from alone. No matter how rocky your financial situation seems, there are steps you can take to get back on track

That's it for this month! See you in October 👋