It's Canada Day Bitches!

okay, it is tomorrow, but you have to make your plans now people. There are loads of things to do tomorrow and they are FREE so take note:

TONIGHT:

Kickoff Fireworks at Dartmouth Crossing 

8:00-9:30pm - live music, cake and fireworks

TOMORROW:

City Hall Canada Day Breakfast

 8-9am

Patriot Day Party 

33 Sackville, lower sackville (there is CAKE)

Queers and Nationalism Picnic 

3pm 6141 Watt st. - Potluck

Official Halifax Canada Day Ceremony 

11am-2:30pm - Free admission to Citadel site and free performance by Hey Ocean!

The Great Canadian Family Picnic at the Commons 

12-4pm: this sounds like a blast if you have kids

Free Concert at the Public Gardens

 2-4pm Carmel Mikol + maple cookies

Molson Canadian Free Canada Day Concert Featuring the Trews

4-12pm Alderney Landing: beer gardens open at 4 and lineup is as follows:

4:00 Kaleb Simmonds

5:00 Andrew Hunter & The Gatherers

6:00 Town Heroes

7:00 Hey Ocean!

8:15 The Trews

10:00 Fireworks

10:20 Standfields

It's Raining, It's Pouring...

A Review: The Battered Fish

okay, okay, okay, I know alright! I am vegetarian but I have been toying of the idea of eating fish for a while now that I live on the coast. I bit the bullet the other day at The Battered Fish. I thought that I would crack the veggie cycle with the traditional fish and chips. Let me tell you something: I am not going to be eating fish.

I go their one piece with fries. The fries were fantastic. The fish? Well.... not my thing. The first bite was okay, masked with their signature sauce all was well (see that HP reference? awesome). But it was the greasiest thing I have perhaps ever eaten and after three bites I became disgusted that I was eating fish and threw it away. Considering that I stopped eating meat mainly because I didn't like the taste it is surprising to me that I became grossed out at the thought of eating a fish. Times they are a changing I suppose. But I guess it is how I don't really like milk because it is squeezed out of a cow? I don't know but what I do know is that the 'fish' of 'fish and chips' is not for me. 

So besides the whole fish thing The Battered Fish is a place I will most likely pick up fries again because they really were quite good - little shoestring bits of magic. 

CSA: Week Three

Week three is the best week yet - FENNEL & POTATOES?! Um, yes please. I loooove me some fennel and I am going to be all hcore and dry the seeds because here is a pro tip: add fennel seeds to your coleslaw and be amazed. As for the potatoes, I think we all know that garden potatoes are like crack and just need to be boiled and salted before you enter rehab. Okay here is the week three haul:

There are mushrooms and strawberries and fennel and potatoes, kale and lettuce and I honestly don't know what the spirally green things are, they weren't listed in the email but I am going to go with beans? and three tiny carrots. Also, the above list needs to be sung to the tune of  "My favourite things".

I also took some photos of my walk:

people were chillin' on citadel hill and I wanted to join.. 

half way!

this is where I pick up my share every week

around the corner

these craft posts are everywhere and they charm me

Weekend To Do's

Tea Tasting

Sat., June 25, 10 - 11am

Learn the difference between Japanese green teas, how to prepare them and pair it with a snack. 

6417 Quinpool Road $7

Five Hole for Food Street Hockey Game

Sat., June 25, 12 - 6pm

Bring your sticks, your skills and your donations

Dartmouth Crossing

WideOpenWide Queer Film and Video Tour

Sat., June 25, 7:30 & 9:30pm

A queer-arts tour bringing twenty-eight films from across the country in a variety of genres. $6

Khyber ICA - 1588 Barrington 

MasQ Four Year Anniversary Party

Sat., June 25, 9:30pm

DJ Bludstone spins for this gathering of special guests. 

Belly-dance and burlesque. $8

Coconut Grove - 1567 Grafton Street

MEC Paddlefest Halifax

Sun., June 26, 10am - 4pm

Demos and clinics with canoes, kayaks and paddle boards all day.

Lake Banook 192 Prince Albert

Drag n' Shag: a Trans Fundraiser

Sun., June 26, 10pm

Reflections Cabaret - 5184 Sackville Street

For a complete list of events happening in 

and around Halifax this weekend check out THIS

I am so domestic

Today I potted a plant AND made dinner. 

I am a regular Mrs. Beaver - or whatever her name was.

a poorly focused photo of mushrooms and CSA green garlic and green onions sauteed with butter, salt and pepper

ya, I can boil water

and then toss it in a bowl with parm and olive oil

i took this plant

and put it in this dollar store pot. did you know you can buy soil at the dollar store? I was just going to steal some from the bushes across the street but it is fifty cents at the dollar store. 

and voila! hopefully the leaves will perk up now that it has room to grow.

CSA: Week Two

Welcome to week 2 of CSA adventures! I almost didn't pick up my share this week due to being exhausted and busy until 5pm on Tuesday. Then, after a recuperating apple juice from the dollar store, I sucked it up and began the walk. It was much shorter this week because I was already at the Scotia Square and besides the walk up Cogswell (seriously, that hill is ridic) it was a really nice walk. Sidenote: when I am out without sunscreen all I can think about is how my face is literally melting off and it is all my fault.

My share this week was larger than last week (I think) and contained such goddies as a turnip (!) and a tomato -I have hight hopes for this tomato as I have been eating two a day for weeks now (can I get on TLC for that?) and garlic greens which I have never had before.

I also got three carrots, a cucumber, swiss chard, mixed greens and more beet greens.  A note on beet greens: does anyone have an experience with them? They are quite tasty but seem to wilt by the next morning and that is inconsiderate. Oh, and there was parsley, but if you don't like something in your share you can put it in this box and choose something else in the box that someone else has left and as I don't like parsley so I traded it for fennel greens.

So week two was a success!

Fear Not...

I have not abandoned the blog. Truth is I am super busy trying to find a job so I can stay in this city. Also, the weather has been shit. Like, pouring rain allll the time. I can not afford to go out and do stuff when it is raining, cause those things cost cash monies. So, if you are wondering what you can do for free when it is raining in Halifax here you go:

Watch:
hgtv.ca - Crack
ctv.ca - tmz baby
ch131.com - my cable for all intents and purposes.

Read:
hellogiggles.com
thehairpin.com
thecoast.ca - their summer guide is up!
and get sucked into the youtube spiral. You know, you go to watch one video and then it is three hours later and you don't know what happened?
Super cheap books on your kindle

Listen:
z103halifax.com - they have super awesome mixes at 5pm

oh and if you are really like, trying to achieve something you can always work on life plans or that book you are getting around to writing.

Then clean your apartment and do laundry.

Just Sayin'

I miss the sky.

Weekend To Do's

Queer Acts Launch Party: Celebrity Status

Sat., June 18, 10 pm

Dress like your favourite pop culture icon, or come as you are to celebrate the lineup of this summer's Queer Acts Festival.

2315 Hunter St. $5

Midsummer Faire!

Sat., June 18, 11am-6pm

The ladies and knights of The Gillbert and Sullivan Society present a medieval themed day of family events and games.

Spring Garden & South Park (Victoria Park)

Atlantic Fashion Week: Fashion Market

Sat., June 18, 12 -9pm & Sun., June 19, 11am-5pm

A chance for buyers, consumers and the public to see the best of local clothing and accessories. 

Casino Nova Scotia 

For a complete list of events happening in 

and around Halifax this weekend check out THIS

CSA: Week One

Yay! I have been waiting for this for weeks and it is finally here! About a month ago I joined the local CSA. A CSA is short for Community Shared Agriculture. Basically people buy "shares" in a community farm and in return get a weekly assortment of goods grown on the farm. My farm is Taproot Farms. I am very excited to try this whole CSA business and hopefully every week I will get to share with you my adventures in farming from my bed.

How Taproots's CSA works is every Monday there is an email detailing what is going on at the farm and a list of what will be included in this week's deliveries. On Tuesday there is a two hour window for pickups from 4:30-6:30 at The Grainery. Today was my first pickup and round trip took me one hour and twelve minutes. Yikes. The walk there was lovely: it wasn't really raining and it smelled fantastic (I went up Spring Garden, then right at the Gardens and followed that until I hit The Grainery which takes you past the Citadel and lots of green). The walk there was exactly a half hour.

Here is the super fun part: as soon as I picked up my share, from a very nice girl, it started to POUR. Like we are now in a rain warning pour.  Another annoying fact: before I left I hemmed and hawed over bringing my own bags but looked at the website and everything was in these lovely blue canvas boxes with handles so I decided against bringing my own, I mean it was my first time and I didn't want to look like an idiot. FALSE. I got there and everything is in cardboard boxes. So it is pouring and I have at least a half hour walk ahead of me with a freaking cardboard box? Of course. Is anyone surprised? Oh, and I have to return the box so I can't just let it get destroyed in the rain. It is at this point that I am super happy I brought my umbrella.

Enough complaining, here is my haul:

my box... whoops

the biggest green onion I have ever seen

a bag of mixed greens

Kale

Beet Greens

carrots and strawberries (!)

cilantro

 So overall I am fairly pleased with this CSA business. I hope that I will always be able to pick up my share, but if I can't then it gets donated. I am super happy that I got strawberries this week. Turns out I hate cilantro - it tastes like soap (am I alone in this?). I cannot wait to make Kale Chips and I already used 1/2 my onion in tonight's dinner. So here's to week one and I hope to have many more.

A Review: Darrels

Okay, I know that I am going to catch a lot of flak for this post, but I have opinions. I went to Darrell's last week. Darrell's is a much loved Halifax institution. They win a shwack of awards from The Coasts Annual Best Of's   and everyone seems to love them. I do not. This is probably just a vegetarian thing, but like, I was not impressed. There are several salads, but who wants to go to dinner at a diner and get a salad? Besides that there is a falafel wrap, and a veggie wrap (and dude, who is going to pay ten bucks for a veggie wrap?) I got the falafel wrap, also ten dollars, with the Darrell fries, which are very good, I will give them that. 

I asked about their veggie burger, because I have been craving one for weeks, but it is a soy patty. Look, I understand that people think vegetarians are weird and that a veggie burger should taste like a regular burger, but where is the fun in that? I don't like the taste of meat, that is why I don't eat it, so why would I want to eat something made of soy simulated to taste like beef? No thanks dude.

So verdict, my dining partner said it was a good burger and everyone seems to enjoy Darrell's a lot so I will probably give them another go - but perhaps get a milkshake and fries instead. When in a diner, stick to the diner fare.

A Review: The Argyle

Last weekend a bunch of us went the The Argyle which is, funny enough, on Argyle St. Reviews all round were thumbs up. Rave reviews on the Salmon Burger, Louisiana something sandwich and I loved their house salad. It was nice enough to dine outdoors on their extensive patio.

mushroom and brie sandwich with house salad

The Argyle doesn't have much in the way of Vegetarian options. There are a few salads and then this sandwich (which was pretty good) and maybe a pasta option. I have walked by several times on the weekends and they seem to have a decent brunch menu with great brunch booze specials $3.75 mimosas anyone?

Weekend To Do's

Roller Derby Bout: Halifax  vs. Moncton

Sat., June 11, 7-10 pm

Tickets avail at Venus Envy, Pretty Little Things Boutique, Utility and Fashionably Dead $10/$12

Shannon Park Arena

Origami Workshop

Sat., June 11, 10-11am

Learn how to make a ladybug, wreath and wristwatch. Advanced Registration required. $7

6417 Quinpool Road

World  Naked Bike Ride

Sat., June 11, 12 pm

Bare bums and banana seats unite to celebrate bike culture. Meet up for body painting at noon, ride starts at 1pm.

2539 Agricola Street 

Greek Fest

Through June 12

Weekend of celebrations 

38 Purcell's Cove Road

For a complete list of events happening in 

and around Halifax this weekend check out THIS

The Movies - X-Men & The Hangover

Friday afternoon last week I went to see the latest film in one of my favourite franchises: X-Men First Class. I love, love, loved it. Because I haven't read the comics (which I really want to do now) this movie explained a lot of things, while making me question so much else i.e. how can Professor Xaiver be kind and understanding to Eric, but hate on Mystique? Like, they were practically related and in the older films there is no love lost? Also, January Jones has zero facial expressions. The entire film she had this blank absent look on her face, yawn. Banshee is adorable. I just have to get that out there, super cute - that would be him second from the left.

So then I snuck into The Hangover Part 2 - meh. Like, we all knew it wasn't going to match the original, but it really fell flat. Of course there were laughs, but it just didn't do it for me. 

A Review: Sushi Nami

Sushi Nami is delicious. I have been there twice now - once for dinner during late night Tsu-Nami Hours and once for take out because their Vegetable Dragon Roll is the stuff of dreams. I decided to branch out a bit when I got takeout: besides the Vegetable Dragon Roll I also got the Firecrackers Dream and Grilled Veggie Maki. I was not a huge fan of the Firecracker, but the Maki was delish and the Roll was everything I have been dreaming of.

I know that the whole Sushi = raw fish thing has some people freaked out, but there are plenty of vegetarian options (yay) and grilled meat rolls, i.e. Wild Wild West - Lightly torched Sirloin Beef, Potato tempura, Avocado, Tomato, Mayo, Ketchup, Bacon Bits, Fried Onions with Dijon Mustard Sauce - wow, what a mouthful. I also suggest their miso soup, always down for edamame, Vegetable Gyoza and Vegetable Tempura.

Vegetable Dragon Roll

Firecrackers Dream w/ cucumber & Grilled Veggie Maki

Sweet Potato Tempura, Cukes, Avocado, Grilled Veggie, Tofu Pouch & Mushroom

Price wise everything is pretty basic, the most expensive item is a $14.95 Deep fried rock lobster roll, but in general prices range between $4.45-$12.95/roll. If you go during Tsu-Nami hours (Monday - Saturday 3-5 & 9:30-close) everything is about 20% off reg. menu price. 

All in all Sushi Nami is my go to sushi joint - seriously, that Dragon roll is a jenga tower of flavour - and I will definitely be back again soon. 

Fucking Construction

So last week was super enjoyable for me. I was woken at 7am on Monday by the most godawful screeching sound. It took me two hours to feel well enough to get up and shut my window - yes, I was hungover, and yes, I had been home for like three hours. Anyways, when I finally did get up I was welcomed to the sight of a bunch of dudes sawing up the sidewalk.... which then turned to jackhammering... which was followed by big machines clearing the rubble.... you get the picture. An entire week of this shit. I was literally trapped in my apartment at times. I thought it was all over on Friday but two sections cracked while drying so the entire process started up again this morning. I miss sleep.

A Sunday night MUST

Last Sunday I had a true Haligonian experience:  The Lower Deck.

WOW. That basically sums it up. But since I have recently taken a vow to be more "myself" on le blog I suppose I shall have to go into more detail. 

First off: Wardrobe. Every girl knows that this is key to a successful night out. For example, if you wear the wrong shoes your entire night is ruined. Luckily I only brought five pairs of shoes with me so my options are limited - this night I opted for my only pair of "nice" flats: black patent brogues. Next you need to decide on a level of causality - the degree to which you want to be dressed up - since I had never been to the Lower Deck I had no idea what level it required, this is where the internet comes in handy. I clicked over to their website and saw that it was a fairly casual place, but it turns into a club vibe after the band plays so there is also a heavy mix of trashiness happening. I ended up sorting through my meager wardrobe to come up with what I thought was a balanced mix which ended up leaning a little too heavy towards hipster territory once I was inside: the patent brogues, sheer black tights with black polka dots, a short, black, high-waisted skirt with a grey and white striped top tucked in and a chain-like necklace. I wore my glasses (as always - which are a vintage 50's frame) red lipstick and left my hair down and wavy. 

As I said this look was a little too much for the atmosphere, but it wasn't so out of place that I felt weird. I would say that on Sunday nights the look is very easy and casual with lots of denim, breezy dresses and the like.

Secondly: Drinks. Okay, you may not need them but I enjoy my cocktails. So downstairs they only serve beer. It is apparently a good price, but I don't drink beer so I wouldn't know. Upstairs they serve the good stuff - and for a good price. A double is $8. YOU HAVE TO GET A DOUBLE BECAUSE THE GLASS IS GIGANTIC. I am not an alcoholic, but the only glasses are beer mugs, so yes, you need at least a double unless you want to be in the bathroom all night.  Here some magic happened. I only bought my first drink and then lovely NAVY boys bought us drinks all night. I love being a girl.

Thirdly: Music. The band was incredible: Signal Hill (be sure to click the "listen here" line - top right). Seriously, the place was absolutely packed and everyone is singing and dancing. It was really, really great.

probably what the band looked like to me at the time

Signal Hill aka the greatest cover band EVA!

on the right some guy was being escorted out... 

and the reactions to the escorting on the left

Summary: The Lower Deck is the place to be on Sundays. It gets -packed and I mean packed. You need to be in line by 9pm if you want a chance of getting in. There is cover. I think it was $7. Downstairs is the stage and a beer only bar. The rest of downstairs is wall to wall picnic style tables and benches and the walls are lined with people all night. There is also an outdoor patio on the lower level to cool off after squeezing through the masses and dancing the night away. After the band is over (well really about 11ish- the band goes until 1) upstairs turns into a club. There is a dance floor, DJ, lights, grinding etc.

The Lower Deck is a must go for anyone is the Halifax area looking to have a good time on a Sunday night.