What I've been up to lately - May 2023

Spring is here and I am ALLLL for it! I'm getting outside more than usual, meeting up with friends and family, going to Jay's games, eating all of the foods and hitting the pavement with showings!

Food I Ate

A friend and I stopped for lunch in to check out Janet Zucarrini's latest restaurant Cafe Zuzu in Regent Park. Their mortadella sandwich was perfection, topped with stracciatella, olives, peperoncino pistachio served on a squishy potato bun 👌

I visited Union when CLRS was doing a takeover of their kitchen featuring their take of Japanese classics, including sushi beef seak, tofu caesar salad, matcha brulee and hojicha cheesecake.

My sister visited me in the city for a weekend and I took her to Bar Raval. Not only is the interior absolutely stunning, but the tapas food also hits the spot every time.

My Italian grandparents probably wouldn't approve of this pasta, but it was so good and easy that it's made it's way into my cooking repertoire. This simple no-cook green sauce is made with spinach, kale, basil, cream cheese and feta cheese. Blend it all up, and pour over pasta. It couldn't be easier. Get the recipe here.

I also made Alison Roman's mint chip ice cream cake for a friend's birthday. I'd say it's the

perfect summer bday dessert and you can make it way ahead of time.

Things I did

We were invited to a Blue Jays Fan Festival event where we explored all of the new areas, played catch on the field, got our picture taken in the new raised bullpen area and tried some of the new food options. I also got to bring my niece and nephew to their first Blue Jays game too!

I've been taking some nice long strolls in the neighbourhood now that the weather is heating up and making sure to stroll slowly past all of the blooming lilacs.

Oh and lots and lots and lots of showings happening. Buyers are back and they are ready to start exploring the Toronto market and I'm ready to help!

Things I Read

TVO's Let's put office towers to work — as housing

It's not a secret anymore that Toronto is having a housing crisis, and converting old commercial buildings into residential housing could be an option as we try to combat housing and climate change. Since the pandemic has changed the way many business work, it's left a lot of vacant (especially older) commercial office buildings vacant, and IMO they are the perfect buildings to be converted. They are typically centrally located and connected heavily by public transit. CBRE estimates that Toronto has about 13 million square feet of empty office space, which, if converted to 1,000 sqft condos, would mean some 13,000 new much-needed apartments.

Urban Toronto's Rental Housing with Mass Timber Frame Proposed in Leslieville

Mass timber is getting a lot of news lately, not only it's sustainability but also it's stunning looks. Leslieville may be getting its own 9-story, 289-unit residential rental building. Utilizing a mass timber frame would significantly reduce the non-renewables used in construction. Be on the lookout for this new building!

Better Home & Gardens' - 7 Balcony Garden Tips for Making the Most of Your Space

May 24 is known as THE weekend to get your garden started. With the frost behind us it's the perfect time to jump in. If you have some outdoor space, why not build a balcony garden. I love to grow herbs on my balcony every year, but maybe you'll be more adventurous and add some veggies or fruit to your garden!