Weekly Bests VIII
BEST THING I DID
I had a fabulous Sunday at the Prince of Wales hotel in Niagara on the Lake with my mom, Jasmine, and my brother’s girlfriend, Amentha. We made the journey out there for afternoon tea in the Drawing Room. The Prince of Wales had a great promotion this month: 2-for-1 tea! As soon as my mom heard about it, we knew we had to go :)
My mom asked if we could have the best seats in the room – right by the fireplace – and they were kind enough to accommodate us. Shannon, the lovely lady who served us tea on our last visit, was there again and made us feel like royalty. I love the Sloane tea selection – my mom had my favourite (Heavenly Cream), and I tried the "Niagara Fields" which became my mom’s favourite!
The warm scones, sandwiches, and petit fours were all delicious. We sat and chatted for a couple hours, and I was close to bursting by the time we were finished! Fortunately, we made a stop at the Niagara outlets so that we could shop off some of the calories ;)
I was lucky enough to spend more time with my mom this week when we went to dinner and the symphony to hear the music of Ralph Vaughan-Williams. Our dinner date was fun – we went to Hey Lucy on King Street, since it’s right by Roy Thompson Hall, and they have $5 martinis on Wednesdays ;) They claim to have the best wood oven pizza in the city, but I’d sadly have to disagree. Nevertheless, the libations were scrumptious and much appreciated before settling in to the concert.Some of the pieces were played with a choir, which I found enchanting. We also had the privilege of hearing Principal Oboe, Sarah Jeffrey, perform Concerto for Oboe and String Orchestra. Wow, watching her was just as amazing as seeing her. The oboe is such a beautiful instrument, and takes a lot of work – I bet she could hold her breath under water for at least a couple minutes! Teng Li, Principal Viola, was also a joy to listen to through Flos Campi.Listening to live music is such a treat :) I know I mention it quite a bit, but I really encourage you young’uns (35 and under) to take advantage of the TSO’s TSOUNDCHECK program! Even if you’re not a classical music fan, sign up – it’s free! And just try it out once – you might really love it. I recommend the “What Makes It Great” concerts, because they’re educational, fun, and really give you a good understanding and appreciation of the pieces being performed.
BEST THING I ATE
My mom made mashed potatoes with brown butter – GAME CHANGER!! I was pretty certain I could eat the entire pot in one sitting… and I did make a pretty sizeable dent :) The holidays are coming, so I encourage you to try this neat little adjustment to the ingredients!
BEST THING I READ
An old schoolmate of mine shared this New York Times article on Facebook, and I’m so glad she did. What a beautifully written piece – I connected with it instantly, and found it to be poignant but also heartwarming. It’s bit of a longer read (for millennials, and basically a novel for gen Zers), but I really encourage you to read it when you have a spare ten minutes.Here’s a taste:“But just when I could finally afford to buy my first 13-quart heavy enamel Le Creuset lidded pot, and invite people to dinner around a real table — not a Salvation Army jobbie — guests started coming to dinner with their phones, the glow of those screens as lethal to the conversation as empty seats had been. People passed them back and forth to show photos meant to illustrate things that they used to describe verbally. We stopped looking at one another across the table and started crowding in on one another staring together at a tiny hand-held screen someone was holding up in explanation of a trip to India, the fog from a morning run. Quickly our vocabularies shrank. Instead of summoning words, people tapped on images. People stopped finishing their sentences. And in startlingly short order, they could no longer describe with language the places they had been; the way they had felt in the dark night; the powerful weight of the tropical winds and the humidity of their recent vacations, the dirt road they got lost on, the woman who brought milk and bread and butter and yogurt to their pensione. There were fewer well-told stories at the dinner table, fewer compelling twists and pauses, fewer meandering conversations among the group, until there were almost no more wire Champagne cages gently twisted into the shapes of animals. We had our hands full with our phones.”
BEST THING I WORE
During our aforementioned trip to the Niagara outlets, I made an impulse purchase that turned out to be one of my best shopping decisions of the season!I semi-splurged on a new pair of flat black ankle boots. I felt a little silly buying them, because I have almost the exact same pair by the exact same brand in black leather, but this time I opted for black suede with silver tips….and I’ve worn them non-stop!I made the purchase because:
- I wore the black leather ones to death last winter, so I wanted a back up pair in the same style
- The black suede is even sleeker, and the silver toe tips are a stunning detail
- It was a good deal!
These boots are pretty much a perfect dupe for the Acne Jensen boots – only at a FRACTION of the price! Chelsea boots are a closet staple for me in autumn and winter, so I’ll always consider them a good investment piece no matter what.Thank you for reading! Xo