Out for Lunch : Sushi!

If you like sushi and you are hungry when you read this, I must apologize because it might make you even more hungry! Sushi lovers crave the stuff, right?!

We went out to our favourite Japanese spot for lunch the other day, Izmi at 714 Queen Street West, where the food is really good and the woman who runs it is delightful. She always has a warm smile and friendly wave for us when we come in.

A funny story about one interaction we had with her once ... she came over to our table to say hello and speaking to me, said that the man I was with was a different man, implying that I had been there at other times with a man other than my husband! Nick used to have much longer hair and had gotten it cut so she didn't recognize him, but if there had been any cheating in our relationship, I would have been busted!

(That's not to say that I never have lunch with male friends without Nick, but certainly not often enough that the staff at a restaurant would get to know who I was out with!)

Anyway, we got the nice table in the window where we got a good view of the street and the creative and interesting people who live and work in the area, and enjoyed a leisurely lunch of miso soup, tempura, sushi and rolls, sake and green tea. It totally took care of my craving!

Interesting Building : The Bank of Commerce

My camera and I found ourselves in Toronto's Financial District recently, where I had a flashback to my first year after graduation from university when I was tasked with going to the head-office of the Canadian Bank of Commerce to arrange a bank draft. My eyes must have been as big as saucers as I walked into the massive lobby of this gorgeous building, and then nervously conducted some business at a special business teller.

zzzpp ... Fast-forward back to the present .. On my recent visit I didn't enter the building but admired it from outside. Before I show you my photographs I wanted to show you this cool vintage one of the building that I found.

Game Playing : L.A. Noire

Nick and I like to play games on our XBox. We don't always go for the same types, with me preferring the adventure / scary / puzzle ones (Lara Croft, Silent Hill, Bio Shock) and he liking the strategic war ones (Gears of War, Modern Warfare) more than I do. But there have been many that we both equally like too, including the Elder Scroll series, Fallout and Invisible War. To fill you in if you don't play electronic games, each takes hundreds of hours to play and usually involve a progression of levels as you gain experience. Some are linear in that you must proceed through the game one step after another, while others are open, where you can decide where you go and what quests you do at what time.

If a game was well received by the audience, follow-ups are usually developed, some continuing where the last one ended and some having the same premise as the first one(s) but varying in story line. This makes selecting a new one to play easier. We also like to follow the makers of the game, assuming if they made one that we really liked, other games they produce will also be excellent.

Not only do we find games to be a low-cost form of entertainment, we find them to be absolutely engaging, and really good for your brain and co-ordination. With the recently revealed information on brain function beginning to deteriorate as early as ones 40s (waahh), we want to keep our grey matter as exercised as possible!

We often get one another a game for birthdays and/or Christmas, and the person who received it as a gift gets to play it through first. We will occasionally watch one another play, but find that this ruins the surprise element for when we have a go at it ourselves, so in our home, game playing is usually a solitary pass time. And since we use our one and only television to play them on, this leaves the other with plenty of time to pursue other endeavors!

This Christmas I wanted to give Nick a game in his stocking (which is actually a bag not a sock but that's beside the point) however I wasn't sure which one he wanted most. There were three options that I thought he would like: two new ones in the war game category that he likes, or one called Skyrim in the Elder Scrolls series, a fantasy role playing game. So I gave him an 'I Owe You' so he could pick which one he really wanted. (I also want to play Skyrim but the choice was up to him!)

Eddie Likes His New Toy!

Happy Caturday! I mentioned that I had made a macrame toy for my cat Eddie for Christmas (and I demonstrated how here). It turns out that he loves it and even plays with it by himself. I have left it hanging on chairs and door knobs and on several occasions we have suddenly heard the crazy ringing of that bell, as he has a go at it. It's pretty funny. The feathers have come out a few times, but I just stick them back in. Here are some pictures of him having some good playtime!

Food Friday : Making Mocha Coffee

c="http://www.loulou.to/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/mocha-by-loulou.jpg" alt="" title="mocha-by-loulou" width="640" height="433" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-4492">It's easy to make your own delicious Mocha Coffee at home!Ingredients: (for two generous servings)2 tablespoon pure cocoa (this is the unsweetened kind used in baking)2 tablespoons sugar1 cup milk (low fat works fine but avoid skim)1 1/4 cup (or so) brewed coffee1/2 cup waterMethod: Put your coffee on to brew. In a saucepan, make a chocolate syrup by bringing 1/2 cup of water, cocoa and sugar to a boil. Boil rapidly for 1 minute then remove from heat and stir in milk and coffee. Pour into your cups and top with milk foam if desired, (as I did in the photos).