Cottage - Day 1

Last weekend we ventured north to Blue Mountain for Kim's birthday celebration. Friday was somewhat hectic and hilarious. On Thursday evening, I found out that Stephen's sister that lives in Australia was flying in on Friday afternoon. So we were going to stop by the airport on the way up to the cottage. While at work on Friday, I got notice that Kim missed her flight back to Toronto from Mexico where she was for a week prior for work purposes. Her boyfriend, Tony, was supposed to pick her up at 4pm, when she would have arrived and then gone straight to the cottage. It turned out that she was now arriving at 6:40pm. Since oddly enough, we were planning to be at the airport around that time anyways, we were going to pick her up. After work, I madly drove around trying to find suitable flowers for both Stephen's sister and Kim. Getting stuck in rush hour traffic certainly did not help. Upon getting to Stephen's house around 6pm, we packed the car and started making our way to the airport. Kim landed early. Stephen's sister ended up leaving before he had a chance to see her. :(

We went grocery shopping, stopped for food, got gas, and finally were on our way up to Collingwood around 8:45pm or so. With my speedy driving, we got there around 10pm I believe. Although we got lost trying to find the street itself, so we probably got to the actual house a bit later. Upon arrival, we were greeted by Tony, Aliona, Daniel, and Tony's friends Dan and Ria. The rest of the night was spent celebrating Kim's birthday. Stephen and I ended up getting caught up in conversation for a while, and when we emerged back out were surprised to find that everyone had gone to sleep. Since it was still somewhat early, we decided to try out the hot tub. It wasn't as hot as it should have been to be pleasant, so we moved on the the sauna. The recommended temperature was 50C, but we got it up to 80C and it was awesome. Was slightly exhausted after, but it was worth it. We were in there for quite some time :P

Someone doesn't know how to center the picture.

:)

Spiiiiriiiitsssss.

The cake Tony had made for Kim in Betsey Johnson style.

She was surprised and happy to see it.

Quite yummy.

Last picture of the night. Maybe that's a good thing.

Birthday Weekend

Last weekend was Stephen's birthday. It went from one extreme to the other. On Friday, I surprised him by having us go to the Elmwood Spa in order to have a Swedish massage. Neither of us had ever had a professional massage before, so I thought it would be an experience. Unfortunately I couldn't really take pictures in the spa, but I love the hot tub and overall feel of the women's change room. I think the whole spa is quite nice. The massage itself wasn't that amazing for me ... I think Stephen got the better masseuse :P But it was nice to be able to take a dip in the pool after and relax and spend time together. Afterwards, we went to the Bangkok Garden for dinner. I have never been there before, and chose the place mostly because of the location. I think we were both pretty satisfied with our meal and the whole evening overall :)

Fishies

The soup that was way too spicy. Stephen ate the pepper :P

Too much food. Had to take it home.

On Saturday we went to get tickets to the show we were going to see later on that day. The afternoon was spent walking all around Queen and Dundas, and back and forth numerous times which was funny. We went for brunch at Harlem again. I ordered the signature french toast, and Stephen got the blueberry pancakes (although the blueberries weren't actually inside). It was a nice day out, although cold. That night did not turn out as expected at all, for which I am mostly to blame. I feel like things have shifted, and hope they go back to how they were a while ago. This hasn't been the best week ever.

I love his face :)

House party

This last week and a bit has been a blur. I figured I'd update and catch up. Last weekend Aliona had a party at her house. It was nice to see some people I haven't seen in a while. Ended with me convincing Aliona's brother to try to win back my friend and show up and surprise her with a big bouquet of flowers, and my old friend Jaime spilling the details on his last relationships to me at 4am in his car. Interesting night overall.

Making caipirinhas.

I normally like this drink. Not so much this time.

So many limes gone.

The weekend ended on a not so positive note. I got a call from Dennis around 10pm on Sunday saying he was taking Aliona to the Emergency Room. I left Stephen's house and headed straight there. She was in such pain, and we waited until 1am for her to be seen and taken care of. Turned out she had a kidney stone.

AGIO!

So last Wednesday Stephen and I decided to walk around his neighbourhood since it was quite nice out. We stumbled upon a restaurant by the name of AGIO close by. A friend of his recommended it, and I have always been intrigued by the colourful sign, so we decided to try it out. While still standing outside looking at the menu, the chef and owner came out to tell us about his great place. Being somewhat swooned by his Korean mixed with Italian accent, we went in. We were the only people there. For the whole duration of our meal. Maybe even the day.

He began telling us about his stint in Italy and how he worked in Tokyo for several years as well. The stories were quite detailed. Even though it was a bit difficult to understand him at times, his enthusiasm for food and for everything he made was very evident and overall fairly charming (even if a bit too much). The prices outside the restaurant did not exactly match what was inside. Regardless, we decided to stay and enjoy our meal.

Yes, this is indeed a lobster chef doll. Slightly creepy.

We ordered wine (which was too expensive at $10 a glass) and waited. We did not have to wait long at all. We began with fried calamari with a side of tartar sauce. Very tasty. I then ordered gnocchi with chicken, bacon, Italian sausage, and mushrooms and Stephen ordered pasta shells stuffed with chicken and mushrooms in a rose sauce I believe. I really liked my main dish as well.

Crispy little squid.

Gnocchi with chicken, bacon, Italian sausage and mushrooms.

Stuffed pasta shells with chicken and mushrooms.

For dessert, we ordered sambuca creme brulee which was very tasty. As we were about to pay our bill and leave, the chef (Marino) kept telling us more stories and the history behind his dishes. The word "agio" means to take it easy I believe. Apparently fresh fish comes into Kensington Market on Tuesdays and Thursdays, who knew? He then decided to bring us his acclaimed tiramisu to try on the house. Despite being stuffed, we felt we should not refuse. It was interesting as it was quite different from the other tiramisus I've had; not in cake form, quite light and not sweet. After many thank yous all around, we finally left. Definitely a memorable dining experience.

Creme brulee. Delicious.

Tiramisu.

Marino. Definitely a character.