LIFE IN CANADA (SO FAR)

So this is a more of a 'what have I been doing since I left the country' post. In many ways, I'm still settling in, I've been here for a month now and I guess I can call it home but despite starting classes last week, it still sort of feels like an extended holiday! I've done so much so I won't be able to pack it all in one post. But I've got lots of plans to do some travelling, backpacking, camping and general sightseeing, so you'll here about that soon. Plus I've had a lot of meals out, some good, some average. Once I find somewhere worth blogging about, you will see it up here! I'm also hoping to do some recipe posts, however; SHOCK AND HORROR, I don't have a real oven here! The house is only stocked with mini convection ovens and microwave ovens, luckily I have a friend across the road who's oven I can work out once I need to start baking when winter comes...which is scarily soon. So here are 10 happy things that have happened in the last month!

1. Visiting Niagara Falls! The falls themselves are awe-inspiring and seeing them up close was especially crazy. I got soaked whilst trying to wrap my poncho around me on the boat so it was a good thing it was such a hot day. 

2. Toronto! It's such a cool city and one of those 'liveable' cities where you could see yourself going about your everyday activities. We stayed in Kensington which was an especially cool area with loads of street art, vegan bakeries and trendy looking students milling around. Dinner was at a great little Jewish bistro which served the best blonde beer from Quebec. 

3. TIFF or Toronto Film Fest! We saw Adult Beginners on a rainy Saturday morning. Very funny and very sweet, highly recommend. 

4. Going to Supercrawl, a free festival in Downtown Hamilton. I saw Charles Bradley play; if you don't know him, he's a James Brown-esque Jazz singer with a killer voice. I also ate beavertail (deep fried chocolate and banana covered doughnut dough mmm) and got a pretty handmade pink and purple patterned purse from an independent craft stall.

5. Eating Canadian Foods! I've been so fat and I don't care. Poutine has been a revelation; it's a classic Canadian dish of chips smothered in gravy and cheese. I got some in Niagara at Smokes Poutinerie which were topped with pulled pork and crispy bacon. 

   

6.The Chinese Supermarket in Jackson Square. I found this place literally on my first day in the city. It has EVERYTHING. Fresh dim sum and cheap sushi, raw sugar cane, a wall of exotic teas... I could spend hours roaming the aisles I swear. 

7. Treating myself to a NARS blusher in Sephora. Oh Britain, why oh why do we not have a Sephora? It's glorious.

8. School Pride at MAC! McMaster has crazy enthusiastic school pride. I went to a football game on my second week here and the stadium was buzzing with cheers and chants. It's such a happy atmosphere and really infectious- I even bought a McMaster t-shirt myself. 

9. Coffee Breaks at Tim Hortons. Cheap, good coffee and yummy baked snacks. No wonder Canadians love Tim Hortons. 

10. The (first three weeks of) weather. Ok so it's cooled a bit down now, but until last weekend it was 30 degree heat, sunshine and smiles. There were a couple of thunderstorms but they brought much needed coolness when it was a bit too much. Plus the lightning was incredible!