is this spatula mine or yours?

there's a great new rummage store in the market called funky junky. i've bought a couple old mason jars, bottle openers, lighters and cigarette boxes there (you can see where my lifestyle lies) and i'm always tempted to snag the rusted super 8 cameras in the back. however, i need to set boundaries on my spending right now. no more cameras, records, books, vhs or glassware until i move! packing sucks!

anyway, i was in the shop a couple weeks ago and and saw a candy thermometer in a bucket of dirty hammers and saws. i got phil to hold his lighter to it to test and boom! works. i got it for five bucks and have been really stoked to put it to use. i had leftover syrup from the chocolate peanut butter pillows so i found a recipe for simple maple-peanut candy (ok, she said walnuts and i used peanuts. so, what?). i gotta tell you, it was pretty exciting watching that needle rise, rise, rise to 200+ degrees... definitely more fun than dropping hot sugar into a glass of water. totally definitely.

i can do more than exist.

i've lived about thirty different lives. it's left me a connoisseur of city life, an expert in minimum wage jobs, a guru of illegal partying, an old hat at dodging creditors, a sage in customer service, a veritable encyclopedia of the entertainment industry and a fucking dynamo in dive bars. i'm better than average at most tasks but excel at none. my quarter decade of existence is a cornucopia of half forgotten stories, exaggerated memories and a hundred thousand pictures in a tattered box behind a non functional vcr.

winter isn't inspiring to me. february does not instill an artistic longing. snow and cold deter me from moving, speaking or creating. i will, however, scan some old photographs and recall some old times to (gradually) share with you all: the story of me.

meat is murder. murder is delicious.

i ate a lot of fantastic food these last couple weeks. i've been meaning to write about most of it but have been too busy attempting to occupy the perfect place with my perfect partner. we're this close to securing the place of our dreams and the anticipation is killing me. i've tried occupying my time with altering recipes and having dinner parties. so far... it's worked.

i made chocolate peanut butter pillows that i read about in post punk kitchen and ate a shitload of food at other people's houses. phil and i don't believe in valentine's day so (unlike the majority of the blogs i follow) i don't have some cutesy story. we did, however, attend two awesome get-togethers that revolved around food. the first was at the boyfriend's roommate's co-worker's house. he's british and made a ton of shit i'd never had before (ie: black pudding, cracklin). there was another couple there who made me feel as if i could have a kid. don't get me wrong, i still don't want one - but they made me feel as if i could successfully raise one.

on valentine's day we headed over to chadrad and aeryn's with a bag full of fresh seafood and a ton of drinks. we proceeded to eat until none of us could move. seriously. i was comatose on the couch for at least an hour. sure, it was weird to murder a live crab by smashing in it's crab brains... but the corpse was delicious and made the whole experience worth it. remind me to kill more animals immediately before i eat them. thanks.

i talk about shitting too much.

i finally got around to making those vegan energy bars i wrote about awhile ago. i've been busy apartment hunting for the past week: all my online energy is targeted at craigslist and viewit. my boyfriend and i are finally moving in together (just in time for our four year anniversary) and i am pretty fucking excited. i've lived with dudes before and it always ends in disaster. i'm so glad we waited this long because we are completely on the same page stylistically and neighbourhood wise. i really don't want to leave the small independent markets, butchers and cheese shops surrounding my current abode but i'm anxious to start building a life with phil. plus, we're avid cyclists and, to be honest, toronto ain't that big. our sundays will probably still be spent in kensington market. i'll keep y'all abreast of our hunting and stay tuned for (more than likely) a shit ton of diy projects and vintage furniture finds. i can't wait!

now, onto the food. i have a terrible habit of either not eating breakfast or eating a three egg benedict with four cups of coffee. my body hates me. so, when i saw a post on (neverhome)maker a couple weeks ago for vegan energy bars i freaked out a little. it usually happens when i see something delicious that i know i could so easily make myself and completely alter to my own tastes. i am totally in love with the result and, to be brutally honest, my shits have been fantastic!

these bars are loaded with fibre and goddamn delicious. i used flax seed, all bran cereal, almonds, coconut, organic rolled oats, sesame seeds, sunflower seeds, soy nuts, natural peanut butter, tahini, organic honey and local maple syrup. the key is to keep adding honey or syrup until the whole mess is sticking together. pack it in a brownie pan, bake for fifteen minutes and boom! portable breakfasts for days. your bowels will thank you.