Tag: Toronto
Ikigai: Your reason for waking up in the morning; the passion that drives your life.
When it came to choosing a Speechlust Jewelry tag and selecting what I’m most passionate about, it was tough choice between wanderlust and ikigai. I do love to travel (or lust to wander, as it were), and I’m always dreaming of my next adventure and clamouring to fly or drive to discover places new to me (or even just walking and discovering places within my hometown), but in the end, I went with ikigai (which is the combination of two Japanese words, iki for life and gai meaning “the realization of what one expects and hopes for,” because there are many things I’m passionate about that drive my life.
Some days I’m passionate about running (although some days, I can’t bear the thought of it because I feel drained mentally, nine marathons and 13 halfs and numerous other races will do that to you if you’re not careful). Some days it’s my lovable cats. Often it’s the laughs I have with my friends. And, let’s face it, sometimes what I’m passionate about is the simple deliciousness of homemade granola sprinkled on top of Greek yogurt.
Ever since I’ve been wearing my Speechlust Jewelry, I find myself touching the smooth gold tag hanging around my neck and reminding myself to enjoy the little moments of each day that drive my life. Because it can be all too easy to get caught up in meeting deadline, gossiping and what have you.
For more about the Canadian line Speechlust Jewelry, check my post on Vitamin Daily.
February 29, 2016
“What’re you doing here?”
People keep asking me this because they’re surprised to see me in Toronto. And yes, it’s true, the past few months I have had quite a few trips with little time spent at home. I think my poor cats are plotting to disown me.
Besides some lonely cats, my condo also has a very bare fridge and empty cupboards; since I haven’t been home for several weeks in a row, it’s been ages since I’ve come home from the grocery store with fresh goods to make several meals. I’ve been using the Ritual app for the occasional takeout meal, or just getting a handful of ingredients to make a really basic meal (ham and cheese sandwich day after day gets really boring, though, not to mention the fact that I’m missing important vitamins and minerals eating like this).
A solution I enjoyed is Chef’s Plate. Much like Mealspirations, this meal delivery service sets you up with the recipe and key ingredients for a tasty well-rounded meal. Rather than pore through recipes and grocery shop, Chef’s Plate sets me up with just what I need for the dish, meaning I get to eat a good home cooked meal (so welcome after eating often rich meals when I travel). It’s great for anyone who’s short on time or who maybe needs help with meal ideas or who simply isn’t a fan of going to the supermarket. It also works out well for me as I’m often reluctant to buy fresh produce if I’m only home for a couple of days since I won’t have a chance to eat everything and use up all the fresh ingredients. Since Chef’s Plate just provides the amount you need, I had less waste going in the garbage.
At $10.95 per plate it’s not unreasonable in price, and there are a choice of meat, fish or vegetarian plates that change each week, and you can order two to three meals, for two people or four people. One thing I think would make my life easier though is if you could choose the delivery day, currently orders placed by midnight on Thursday are delivered on Monday. My schedule is such that I might not be cooking until Thursday, for example, so an option of delivery dates would work better for me personally.
I chose the kale and tofu salad (above), which was very simple to make and one I’d happily make again, and the veal schnitzel, which took a little longer but was a comforting meal (it’s one I picture mom’s making for their kids).
Have you tried a meal planning service? Have they been a time-saver or do you prefer to do your own grocery shopping and menu planning?
November 11, 2015
Waiting. In. Line.
Ugh.
It drives me nuts. You, too? I mean there are things that need to get done! I work from home but I spend a lot of my days going from one beauty event for the launch of a brand’s new collection to a studio to get my gait assessed to a new bar to try a cocktail.
So I’m always on the go. And sometimes I pencil in event after event (my calendar is a colour-coded sight to behold!) really closely together so as to not waste a moment…Which means that I often have very little time to grab a snack or — this has happened a few times — I manage to completely forget about making time in my day for lunch.
Which makes Ritual app my time-crunch saviour when I’m just plain swamped and hangry. Now available in six neighbourhoods (Yorkville, Liberty Village, Yonge and Dundas, King West, Discovery District and St. Lawrence Market), Ritual eliminates the time wasted by waiting in line, making your order and then standing around til your order is ready.
How it works: All you do then is place your food and beverage order and pay using the mobile app and it notifies you how many minutes until your order is ready so you can time your walk over from your desk to go pick it up. You’ll find your order off to the side as a Ritual order with your name on it. Can’t you picture yourself just breezily walking in and grabbing your takeout already? No waiting in line, counting out cash to pay, waiting for change, and so on and so forth.
Just refrain from saying “Suckers!” out loud to the people waiting in line, haha.
November 9, 2015
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