My Weekly Adventures: Announcement Time!

Posted in My Weekly Adventures by Kim

Hey! A late post going up today! I had to insist on this going up today because I do have an announcement here, which if you are familiar here, you’ll have an idea of what happens in February.

Life’s pretty routine when it comes to the beginning of the year. January is a crazy month in general so I don’t have as much time to do a lot of stuff outside of work and home. I also have some personal stuff that’s been lingering in the background that I have to settle (well…follow-up at this point). Either way, enough of this serious stuff but not a whole lot to talk about in this weekly adventures.

Snow Storm

Winter took a while to get here but it finally did. We got a snow day of maybe 20cm or something. I don’t remember anymore but then it turned around a few days after with some lovely ice rain and such turn it into a slippery ice rink and then massive puddles because the city didn’t get the snow cleared fast enough.

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Well. Thats nice. After conquering skating rink (aka icy roads), we head for a few lakes (giant deep puddles of mush and water). It is an adventure to a bus stop this morning. Fellow montrealers and others in surrounding area, be safe on the roads today if you have to go. #montreal #suburbs #icyroads #badroadconditions #giantpuddles

A post shared by Kim (@tranquildreams) on Jan 24, 2019 at 4:59am PST

Ultimate 2000s Blogathon

So, we’ve been attacking everyone with announcements and reminders but I’d like to share for anyone who is interested to share their fave 2000s film in a form of review (or some other format that we can discuss). You can find all the details HERE.

Yokato Yokabai

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Not even a snowstorm can stop us from going to getting a nice bowl of #ramen at @yokatoyokabai . #food #mtl #montreal #japaneseramen #comfortfood #warmbowlofgoodness #delicious #porkbelly #lotusroot

A post shared by Kim (@tranquildreams) on Jan 20, 2019 at 1:11pm PST

As I mention the snow storm above, the crazy people in us decided to go get ramen as per our last year’s journey with my good friend. This adventure took us to another ramen place which we’re having debates whether we like it between than the other place. I think this place is better because I like the sides. Of course, this also sparked my first time pushing a car because it got stuck. Luckily, my husband and I had a passerby that hopped in to help us both push which was the extra strength that we needed to get out. All around a memorable day, I’d say.

Montreal DemoNight 2019

A few nights ago was Montreal DemoNight 2019. I was swamped with work and overtiming like a crazy person but luckily they did stream it so I was still able to watch it. There are quite a few games that look incredibly interesting. I don’t have much to talk about right now but I’ll leave it for the recap. I’m usually more efficient but the recap will be out some time over the weekend over on the Game Warp blog.

Announcement: Valentine’s Marathon

And we’re here again. Valentine’s Marathon starts tomorrow! This time I’m going to be a bit more ambitious and do a little Netflix Alphabet Valentine’s Marathon in the form of double features. I couldn’t think about a feature franchise (since I didn’t finish last year’s) and I wanted to get through my neverending Netflix list so this seems like a super awesome idea. If things go well, I’ll get double features everyday from Feb 1st to 14 but lets be realistic that it won’t happen whether its not being about to catch up with watching movies that fast or writing up fast enough while having other stuff going on on the blog since I won’t just do movies, of course. So we’ll see how things go.

As this post goes up, I’ve already watched A-D films so hey, who knows, right? 😉

Cute Kitty Pic

That’s all for this Weekly Adventures!
Hopefully next time, there will be more to talk about!

10Nov2018

Wine Recap – October 2018

Posted in Food & Wine, Wine Recap by Kim

Time for last month’s wine recap! We are back to our healthy selves, well, physically, I’d say so. We’ve had stuff to celebrate last month and stuff to grieve over. So, different times to relax while drinking some wine and other varieties.

Rose Nodo Bobal Garnacha Spain Wine 2017

Alcohol Content: 12%
Location: Spain

Nodo is a wine that I picked up randomly at the supermarket. I still am in search for a Rosé wine that can beat the two that I currently like. However, if there’s anything that I’ve come to learn is that Spanish wines are fairly dry and this one was extremely on that end. If you prefer something dry, this one definitely will be up your alley. Unfortunately, for myself, it wasn’t as enjoyable.

J.P. Chenet Ice – Sparkling Wine

Producer: Grands Chais de France
Alcohol Content: 10.5%
Location: France
Taste Tag: Fruity and Sweet

JP Chenet is the wine that my sister in law brought over for our Thanksgiving dinner. Its light and fruity and sweet. Very beautiful and delicious. It is one that definitely is a crowd pleaser. It finds a nice balance between being very smooth but also feeling like there is a decent amount of layers in the drink itself. The star of October for us has to go to this wine for sure.

Millebois Original

Producer: Millebois
Alcohol Content: 4.8%
Location: Quebec, Canada
Taste Tag: Light and Dry

I can’t say I agree with taste tags all the time but this one nails it. Millebois is a company that we discovered when we went to Sherbrooke to the Public Market there. You can see the haul HERE. Millebois is one that makes maple syrup based alcoholic beverages. Light it is and also dry it also is. I can’t say that I loved it but its tolerable on the dry scale, something like a semi-dry sort of feelings. I think the harder part for this drink and is more of an acquired taste is the maple syrup based portion. I’m not sure that I’m a fan but then I’ve never been a particular fan of maple syrup based alcohol.

Milton Cidre de FeuProducer: Cidrerie Milton
Alcohol Content: 10%
Location: Quebec, Canada
Taste Tag: Sweet

We’re a big fan of ice cider in our home. However, if you haven’t had fire cider, well, you are missing out. Its our favorite thing ever. We’ve never had this Cidrerie Milton version though. This one is pretty good. It had all the elements of a fire cider that we love and has more layers. It tastes a lot like drinking apple juice which also makes it a silent attack for those who drink this quickly.

Willm Riesling Réserve 2017

Producer: Alsace Willm
Alcohol content: 12%
Location: Alsace, France
Taste Tag: Fruity and Vibrant

I’m usually a big fan of Riesling. They usually find a nice balance of texture and not being too dry. Willm Riesling is definitely more on the dry side of things. Its one that took a little bit of an acquired taste. Its also the first time (in my memory) that we’ve chosen a Fruity and Vibrant taste tag (and what are the chances that the wine below also is). Dry it may be, but if you like dry wines, this one does goes down really nice. There’s still a good texture to it.

Yalumba The Y Series Viognier

Producer: Yalumba Wines
Alcohol Content: 13.5%
Location: South Eastern Australia
Taste Tag: Fruity and Vibrant

Australian wines are something of a hit and miss for us. We’ve had some lovely ones like Jacob’s Creek who never fails to deliver. But Moscato is a different variety so can’t be compared to something like this one. Yalumba Y Series Viognier is a really dry wine. I mean, just a whiff of it and you know it. I can’t say its a bad wine though because there is a nice texture. Its just more than we usually like to handle from the dryness. However, I would recommend it for those who like dry wines. Saying all that, I was doing a little bit of research on what else they offer and they have some other variety that I wonder if the SAQ here holds to try like the Riesling and their organic wines as well.

It seems like there was a lot of dry wine varieties in October.
However, we did have a few enjoyable wines that worked for our preferences.

Have you discovered any wines (or cocktails/liquors, etc) lately?

15Dec2013

Winter is Here with Icy Roads, Lots of Snow and Parties!

Posted in Everyday Randomness, Food & Wine by Kim

My fellow friends and bloggers, this week, you know winter is here. Why?

Well, after the mild weekend passed, it came back on Monday with decreasing temperatures all the way to Thursday and what does that bring? My most hated part of winter: ICE.

Because you know, I bought some kickass snow boots last year and as deep as those groves under the boots are, it does not grip on ice. So just my luck that the first ice we get, I add on my many injuries this year and my body goes all creative and I slip walking to the bus stop on Tuesday morning because there was a bus coming and I stepped on the foot of a driveway. Which begs the question of how the F did they get out of their house without falling? Excuse my anger..moving on, while most times I land on my very well-padded butt or even on my hand, I landed on my knee. Bone to cement, my friends, hurt a lot and let me tell you, walking this week was pretty painful and the bruise is only looking worse. To spare you looking at it, I pretty much have half a purple knee right now. Not pleasant!

Moving onto happier things: That same night, I went back to the arts and crafts show with my coworker and bought a little something as a gift to my boyfriend and me. I’ve been doing this a lot where its planning for the future. I love this!

Mail/key holder that you can make notes on top

There was another one with a mirror and ones with candles. All very awesome but I only have limited funds and for $45+tax, this was an alright deal and its useful 🙂

Suffice to say though, I was pretty happy when the weekend came around because it was more of a relaxing time. I finally had the chance to spend some time at home on Saturday morning. I took the liberty of snapping some pictures of two of my favorite things in the world!

My cat sitting/playing by the window among the plants

Christmas Cactus in full bloom 🙂

That night, I started the first night of the holidays although its not really to celebrate the actual holiday but for a going away party with a good friend. He’s going off to follow his dreams and he reminds me every day that if we persevere and keep at our dreams, we’ll get there. Giving it our best shot is what matters 🙂 I wish him the best in his future career and lots of success! The party was partially at dinner at a restaurant called Elixor located in the Laval area.

Caesar Salad –> My boyfriend’s entree

St. Louis Burger –> my boyfriend’s meal

Chicken and Ribs Combo–> my meal

Yeah yeah, my cheat day everybody consists of ribs. I was literally scared to look at my calorie count but at least I enjoyed it! Thats what matters 🙂 Great times with friends!

Yesterday evening also marked the first actual snowstorm which is still going, although slowing down now. We pretty much had no snow on the ground yesterday, maybe 1cm, on the grassy area (if even that much). I geared up in my snow pants! Thank you mom for the foresight 🙂

Sweater and Snow Pants ready for shovelling!

And lets open the door and check out the damage! VOILA!

Winter Wonderland!

Oh yeah! Nice fluffy snow 🙂 May have taken an hour to shovel the whole driveway but I expect a second round when the plow goes by eventually but hey, its still quite pretty, don’t you think?

I know some of you got hit with this storm also. Did it stop yet?

That pretty much wraps up my weekend. I still have to get a few things done today so I’ll be running off but I have next week’s posts pretty much planned out, just have to write it all up 🙂

I always end with some vids so this was the 2013 Youtube Rewind video that I liked quite a bit since I recognized a few of the Youtubers and it was pretty cool!