My new answers to "What have you been up to lately?"

It's been interesting to run into people lately and answer the question "what have you been up to lately?" Rather than be able to default to my usual answer of "working" or "doing a show", I've had a wider variety of answers... 

including playing in the sandbox that is now in my sunroom (true story), attending weddings and wedding related events, frolicking in parks, art journalling and having silly photo shoots with my little sister (in unplanned matching outfits no less). I've been singing and auditioning and seeing great theatre. Ash and I have started to talk about our next cabaret (October!!!). I've been doing hot yoga and rekindling my relationship with the gym. I find myself spending more time in the kitchen, making yummy things to bring to BBQ's, popsicles and treats for awesome people. I've had a lot of me time and time to reflect on what is important in my life.

This isn't what I had originally planned for my summer, but when life changed a whole lot at the end of May, this is what it became, and I'm pretty okay with that. I'm really thankful that I'm going to be able to look back  fondly on the summer of 2012.

Coming up....
This awesome fundraiser - tonight!
Seeing one of my very favourite bands
A weekend trip to Ottawa for a bachelorette
Singing in a vampire opera
Ashleyx2 cabaret planning
More popsicles
More sunshine (hopefully)
And so much more frolicking

Sister Time in Stratford

Thanks to everyone who sent me sweet tweets, comments and messages after last week's post. I'm feeling a lot better about the whole thing, it was just a really scary day! 

After feeling not so great for a couple days, it was really nice to be able to look forward to another fun trip to Stratford with Jessie for You're a Good Man Charlie Brown! It was so awesome to be included as part of the Stratford Tweeter's Club once again and have access to ridiculously great (and free for me!) seats for the show. 

We stopped in at Down the Street for dinner once again. 

And shared a really yummy curry and salad combo on the patio. It's a great little spot and the patio is adorable! In true sister fashion, we had a little photo shoot... 

We had a bit of time to kill before the show so we decided to take a little wander around downtown Stratford and saw some ominous clouds in the distance... 

 

and then in what felt like seconds we got caught in TORRENTIAL DOWNPOUR. 

So we took more photos. Obviously. 

Jessie managed to score a second umbrella at the PharmaPlus so we showed up back to the theatre feeling happy and dry. 

The show was good! Some really standout performances from Ken James Stewart as Charlie Brown, Stephen Patterson as Snoopy and Kevin Yee who stole my heart as Linus. The ensemble sounded great together, the set was super cute (with fun video elements), there was some great character development of the beloved Peanuts and the show made me smile a lot. There were lots of kids in the audience, which made everything a little unpredictable at times, but definitely enhanced the whole experience. It was another super night in Stratford and I hope to get back to see some more before the season is done! I've heard some great things about Hirsch and I definitely wouldn't mind seeing some Shakespeare. 

As always, an amazing evening with Jessie, made even more fun with some great theatre, a road trip and some delicious snacks from Bulk Barn for the drive home. The whole night made me smile a lot, which is exactly what I needed after a bit of a rough week! 

Whatcha up to for the long weekend? Have you seen any outstanding theatre this summer?

Popsicles for Ashley

Ashley was coming over for a lunch date yesterday and I promised her popsicles. 

I posted the link to my Summer of Popsicles Pinterest board and asked her to weigh in on which she preferred. She gave me a few options and I decided on the mango-kiwi-raspberry ones. We had a super yummy lunch, and amid our epic chat enjoyed some delicious popsicles for dessert. We also discovered that popsicles make great fuel for cabaret discussions. Oh yes, the next one is coming. 

They were awesome. Ashley even quipped that they were like "an f-ing orgasm in [her] mouth" - I don't disagree. I tweaked the recipe a bit, subbing agave for the simple syrup and only using it in the kiwi and raspberry segments and didn't really wait as long as the recipe called for before pouring in the next fruit puree. Yes, I'm getting cocky with my popsicle making, but if these guys are any indication, I'm getting pretty freakin' good at it. 

We've both been busy and haven't had a lot of time to recharge together, so yesterday was really important to both of us. She's such a big part of my life, and when we don't see one another for a little while I feel a bit incomplete and off. She's someone I bounce ideas off of, a person who makes me laugh about the most ridiculous things, someone I can count on when I'm down and the person who goes off on tangents even worse than my own. (Yesterday it had to do with sperm whales and then sperm and whales). When she's not around I just feel disconnected and I really don't like that. 

We talked a bit about an article I had tweeted yesterday that discussed why it's harder to make friends as we grow older and it reinforced why I feel so lucky to have such an amazing group of friends like Ash, my Jessie and my Melly in my life. They've been with me through a lot, and know the back story to the back story and sometimes I feel like they know me better than I do myself. I feel so blessed to have them as a part of my life. This does not discredit the relationships that I've built and established more recently, as I am incredibly thankful for them as well (and they are awesome!), but there is something truly unique and special about those friends who have known you the longest. 

Sometimes life just calls for simple things - amazing friends (who sometimes share your name), popsicles and epic conversations in the sunroom. 

Thoughts on making friends as you grow older? What do you think the difference is (if any)? Do you feel differently about the friends that have known you for ages or the ones you've made more recently?

Sweetness To Leave The Not So Fun Stuff Behind

There’s been a lot of fun stuff happening lately… and some not so fun stuff too. I’ve really been lucky to have such amazing people in my life to help me through that not so awesome stuff.

Fun thing #1: Belmonte Raw with the ever fabulous Dani & Miranda. Those gals are just all kinds of awesometown. And Carol’s food is seriously some of my favourite fare in the city.

Fun thing #2: lying in parks reading books, a trip to the AGO for Picasso and gluten free vegan fare & mojitos on a patio in Kensington with someone who makes me smile.

Fun thing #3: a visit from my beautiful friend Rosie all the way from Chicago. That girl has been such a great source of support, laughter and encouragement and it was such a treat to have her here in the city. I can’t wait until she comes back and when I take a trip to Chicago to visit so we can talk more about the real meaning behind Moosehead…

Fun thing #4: new blog design by the amazing My Girl Thursday. Chantilly has been nothing but brilliant in this process. She’s creative, patient and thinks outside the box. I think what she’s come up with is absolutely beautiful and oh-so-me and I can’t wait for you to see it. New blog design also means a bit more direction on this blog and a whole lot more posting. I’ve been saving stuff for unofficial relaunch, so I guess that’s fun thing #4a.

Fun thing #5: discovering new music that makes me want to squeal with joy. I had planned to attend a show at the Drake a few weeks ago to support the oh-so-talented Paula Perri who was opening for a band called Pearl and the Beard, who I had never heard of. Paula just blew me away (as expected) and I decided to stick around and see what this trio was all about. They were wonderful!! Seriously sweet tunes, beautiful harmonies, interesting mix of instruments and fantastic banter and connection with the crowd. The whole night was stellar and I’m so happy I discovered some new music that I’ve been obsessed with ever since. They’re the best.

Fun thing #6: the lilacs are out. I love them.

Fun thing #7: singing my little heart out, learning new music, being inspired and meeting wonderful new people in Tracy Michailidis’ Songbook Lab. Tracy is a fantastic performer and a generous, warm, challenging teacher. It’s been a treat to be back in class with so many talented people and I can’t wait to take it again to keep working on my audition book.

Fun thing #8: by the time you read this, I’ll be on my way to NYC! (maybe I’ll find more men in uniform??) Last week when I got a notification that Jonathan Reid Gealt was hosting a master class along with people like Adam Guettel (responsible for brilliant musicals like Light in the Piazza and Floyd Collins) and Tituss Burgess (the man is incredible), I knew I had to be there. I emailed Jonathan right away and less than 10 minutes later I was planning a trip to New York. The weekend is going to kick my ass and frolicking in NYC is going to make my heart sing; I couldn’t be happier.

I’m not going to get into the less-than-fun stuff right now, and instead focus on all this sweetness and everything great that is to come as a result of some big changes. The always amazing Jessie helped me to write a list of good things to make me happy when we were together last week and a lot of things from this list were on there. I’ve been carrying the list around with me and glancing at it from time to time as a reminder of how many good/fun/awesome things I have to be thankful for right now. Big NYC post when I return!

A Very Happy Birthday Gal, Everywhere You Look

This weekend marked the beginning of another year in my 20's, and I feel so blessed to have spent it with some of my most favourite people, in some of the coolest places, doing some of my absolute favourite things!!

Saturday was just all around awesome. I started off with a great spin class and then spent the afternoon relaxing and blissing out with my little sister at Body Blitz. I. Love. That. Place! I always leave feeling 100x more relaxed and happy and joyous. I can't wait until they open their east end location!

Saturday night involved copious amounts of sushi, a great playlist, amazing cake from LPK'S Culinary Groove, beautiful friends and a Full House puzzle.

The Full House puzzle was an amazing gift from Ashley and after I dumped it out on the floor we had no choice but to spend the next hour putting it together.

When's the last time you did a puzzle without your grandma?!

You got it dude.

Other sweet gifts included fun sparkly things, hair bows and this perfect notebook

They know me too well… We followed up the house shenanigans with a trip to The Boat for Chronologic where we danced like no one was watchin’. They start off with music from the 1890’s and play songs all the way up to the present day, spending a whole lot of time in the 50’s, 60’s, 70’s and 80’s. It was all sorts of amazing and I laughed, smiled and squealed the night away.

There were Ashley’s galore, my little sister, Charlie’s Angels, friends, roomates, my high school sweetheart and complete strangers who did things like sing happy birthday to me and/or buy me drinks.

My actual birthday was Sunday and I had a wonderful day with more people that I adore, wonderful food (including a stellar dinner at Hogtown Vegan), flowers, sweet gifts, sunshine and a birthday nap. The birthday goodness continued into Monday with beautiful flowers and cards from my awesometown team at work.

I am a very happy girl.

Thank you to everyone who was a part of such a wonderful weekend of joy including everyone’s awesome messages on the Twitter and Facebook! I am so very excited for the year ahead!

In the spirit of my birth week and fun outings… I’m giving away a pair of tickets to DefineTO happening this Thursday April 12 at the Fifth. DefineTO is encouraging people to “be the exception, not the rule” by being passionate, fearless and social and using social media to spread good and connect the awesome people of Toronto. The proceeds of the event will be going to The Remix Project.

In order to win, go follow DefineTO on the Twitter and then tweet “Hey @ashleydtl I wanna be the exception, not the rule and support @theremixproject @defineTO” I’ll be choosing one winner after 5pm today from all the twitter entries. Good luck!

Veg Food Fair Fun and a Road Trip to Stratford (Biebs, Sweets and Swans Included)

For the first time since I’ve been back from New York I was genuinely excited about being in the city. (More on my trip later in the week…) I knew that I was going to be surrounded by sunshine, delicious food and special people all weekend and that seemed to make up for the fact that Toronto has been feeling strangely foreign these days.

This was my third year at the fair and I was looking forward to once again hanging out with my sweet nutritionista friend Meghan Telpner and the awesome folks at Sweets from the Earth. (You can read about the 2009 and 2010 fairs too).

On Friday night and all day Sunday, I donned a pink apron and chatted to peeps about gluten free treats, irish moss, Meghan’s amazing life loving totes and our upcoming trip to St. Lucia while enjoying treats from Bunner’s and APieCalypseNow! and relishing in what felt like vegan Christmas / one big vegan tweetup. Desserts were definitely covered, but once again there wasn’t a ton of awesome “real” food at the fair. I had something from a raw vendor that shall remain nameless on Friday which left me seriously underwhelmed and hungry.  I had a blast in the sunshine with lots of friends, new and old!

Sandwiched between two sweet days at the Fair, I enjoyed a road trip with Jessie (aka my little sister) to Stratford to see Camelot!

Way back in the spring I was invited to be a part of the Stratford Tweeter club, which gave me access to free tickets to various shows playing at the festival. Being the musical theatre geek I am, I jumped at the chance and with everything that went on this summer, Saturday was the first time we could escape the city.

A little research showed me that Stratford had one official vegetarian restaurant called Alpha Beet Soup. After our 2 hour drive to Stratford, we arrived to learn it had closed at 4pm. Being two very hungry veg girls, we scrambled to make alternate plans and found ourselves sharing salad, a tofu/veg curry and wine at Down the Street. My foodie pics didn’t turn out well due to the lighting, but the food was yummy and we were fuelled and ready to check in with King Arthur, Guenevere and the knights of the round table in Camelot.

Not before I took innumerable pictures of swans… I was yearbook editor in high school, and whenever we went to Stratford, our photographers would waste ROLLS of film on the swans. I would always be so irritated going through the photos of swans in every single pose imaginable. Apparently this weekend I turned into one of those people… Jessie finally confiscated my camera…

and off we went to the theatre.

The show was fantastic. I was forced to sing the Simple Joys of Maidenhood in my first year of theatre school, and was familiar with the story, but had never seen the show onstage. It was wonderful. The set, costumes and lighting were beautiful. I loved the relationship of Arthur and Guenevere. The story played out like a Disney movie for adults and the music was fantastic. Guenevere is absolutely a dream role and so is a role at the Stratford festival. We left feeling happy and giddy and silly.

Which meant a trip to Shoppers Drug Mart before we drove back to Toronto was a great idea

It was a fantastic way to end the evening and definitely fuelled our spirits for the trip back into the city. So lucky to have Jess in my life (I think I’m actually going to write a blog post about her soon…) I’m so thankful for such a fun weekend surrounded by wonderful people and so many great memories.

Did you visit the Vegetarian Food Fair? What was the highlight for you? Have you seen anything at Stratford this season?