Lion King the Musical!

 

Last weekend I went to see The Lion King with my boyfriend and his family at the Princess of Wales Theatre in Toronto. And it was truly amazing!

My boyfriend was so excited to see it, the Lion King was his favourite movie as a child, and I was really excited too.

 I love seeing live theatre! There's so much hard work, skill and talent that goes into these shows and they always blow me away. It's so much more exciting than going to see a movie in a theatre, I think because you never really know what's going to happen, and with musicals there's always something magical that takes place. I always feel a bit inspired after watching a musical and The Lion King was no exception! 

We went to the matinee, and I decided on my orange dress from Walmart, a yellow cardigan from the GAP and shoes from Payless. I thought it was quite a Lion King-y outfit haha.

 

Once we got to the theatre, we grabbed some popcorn, found our seats and waited in anticipation for the show to start!

 The Princess of Wales Theatre is beautiful! We had fantastic seats in the first row of the balcony.

 

Obviously you're not allowed to take photos during the performance, but it was incredible.

What impressed me the most was the way they made and acted out the animals; it was so clever! My favourites were the giraffes (people with stilts on their feet AND hands), the elephants, gazelles and cheetahs.

At the very beginning of the show there's a part where animals come through the audience and you get to see all of them at once! 

The music was also fantastic! On either side of the stage there was a little alcove which had all the African percussion instruments. It was fun to watch them as well, using all kinds of different instruments and drums. 

There were a lot of kids at this showing and I appreciated how funny and entertaining the show was for them. There were two little girls sitting behind us and they were laughing the whole time. They laughed especially at the hyenas, who were really funny and outrageous; there were definitely some jokes for the parents as well.

Of course I can't forget to mention the acting and singing! I think my favourite character was Rafiki; played by a hilarious woman who had the entire audience in stitches! The children who played young Simba and Nala were also really great. I can't imagine remembering lines and choreography for an entire show at that age! But I guess that's what makes them professionals. 

All in all it was an amazing show that I would definitely recommend if you ever get the chance. It's #1 in the world for a reason!

What shows have you seen? Musical, or not. 

Last year in London's West End I saw a play called 'The Lady Killers.' It's a dark comedy, it's also a movie by the Coen Brothers. It was fantastic! 

Tag | 50 Random Questions

I've been a little off the radar for the last couple weeks and I didn't want you to think I was neglecting you! So I went on tumblr and searched for the 50 Random Questions tag. 

I wasn't tagged by anyone..deal with it ;P

1. Where were you 3 hours ago?- Sleeping in my bed, having a weird dream.
2. Who are you in love with? Le boyfriend.
3. Have you ever eaten a crayon?-Nope.
4. Is there anything pink within 10 feet of you?-A candle and a CD case/holder thing.
5. When is the last time you went to the mall?- Last week.
6. Are you wearing socks right now?-No
7. When was the last time you drove out of town?- Hmm.. it's been a while. I flew out at Christmas.
8. Have you been to the movies in the last 5 days?- No, not for a long time. What movie would you recommend?
9. What was the last thing you had to drink?-Yes
10. What are you wearing right now?- My pjs and my high school hoodie :)
11. Do you wash your car or let the car wash do it?- I don’t have a car.
12. Last food that you ate?-An everything bagel. Mmmm.
13. Where were you last week at this time?- On my way to work.
14. Have you bought any clothing items in the last week?- Two button ups for work, a crop tank and some black tights,
15. What is your favorite animal?- Probably a dog.
16. Your dream vacation?- England or Greece! (Managed a trip to England last summer; would LOVE to go back!)
17. Worst injury you’ve ever had? - Stitches in my forehead after tripping over my own shoe. *takes bow*
18. Have you been in love?-I think so.
19. Do you miss anyone right now?- Yes
20. What is your secret weapon to lure in the opposite sex?- I wish I had one haha.
21. What are your plans for tonight?- Working until 9:30 :(
22. Who is the last person you sent a text message?- John
23. Next trip you are going to take?- To Johns parents for Easter.
24. What do you want to know about the future?- Will my kids be assholes? haha
25. Are you wearing any perfume or cologne?- Not yet.
26. Are you due sometime this year for a doctor’s visit?- I guess so?
27. Where is your best friend?- I assume at work.
28. How is your best friend?- Just dandy, thank you for asking.
29. Do you have a tan?- I have a bit left over from my trip to Cuba!
30. What are you listening to right now?- The sound my laptop makes when it's over heating.
31. Do you collect anything?- Not officially. I'm a bit sentimental though.
32. Who is the biggest gossiper you know?- I know a few, I try not to contribute.
33. Last time you got stopped by a cop or pulled over?- I think back home with my mom.
34. Have you ever drank your soda from a straw?- Yes of course
35. What does your last text message say?- "Meeting w my boss for the next hour and a half though. I'll tty after"
36. Do you like hot sauce?- No, spicy doesn't agree with me.
37. Last time you took a shower?- Yesterday
38. Do you need to do laundry?-Yes. Our washer was broken for a week or so, so we've got quite the pile.
39. What is your heritage?- Canadian, French, Scottish, Venezuelan (Spanish)
40. Are you someone’s best friend?- I hope so.
41. Are you rich?- Nope.
42. What is your favorite food?- Candy, mashed potatoes, smothering steak, fresh baked bread.
43. What is your Song of the week?- Didn't Leave Nobody But the Baby - O' Brother Where Art Thou OST.
44. The best thing you eat for breakfast? - French toast.
45. How many languages ​​can you speak?- 2, English and French
46. What color is your hair?-Naturally dark brown, right now it's kind of auburn-y brown
47. How many brothers / sisters do you have?- One sister.
48. Your OTP?- Mary Poppins and Bert haha.
49. What color are your eyes?- Dark brown
50. Do you have tattoos / piercings? - Just my ears pierced. Would maybe like to get a tattoo.

I tag you to answer these 50 questions! If you have any other questions, ask below!

I hope you have a great day guys :)

Homemade: Chicken Noodle Soup

Hey guys!

Lately I've been in a bit of a cooking mood. I'm not the best cook in the world and I like to follow recipes; I'm not one of those clever people who can whip up a delicious meal from memory, or out of the blue. I wouldn't say my cooking is bad, I just don't have a ton of experience with it.

 My boyfriend made some roasted chicken breast the other night and when he was packing away the leftovers I could just hear my Grammy saying, "Don't you throw those bones out, you could make a whole other meal out of them!" She's a very budget-friendly lady. So I put the bones in the fridge as well and Googled how to make chicken noodle soup! 

After reading a couple recipes on how to do it from scratch, I decided on this recipe here, with a couple adjustments of my own, to suit what I had in my cupboards. It had all the instructions as well as a handy, helpful video (I also texted my sister with a couple of questions). The whole process was actually pretty easy, just a bit time consuming as you first have to make the broth, from the bones, some veggies and spices, before making the actual soup (total time was about 3 hours). But it's well worth the time and effort because the soup turned out really well! And you can get loads of other work done while it's simmering away. You can rest easy, knowing exactly what ingredients are in it. No preservatives, much less salt and no weird chemical sounding ingredients that you might get with store bought soup, or even store bought broth.

Homemade chicken broth, leftover roast chicken, egg noodles, carrot, celery, onion, pepper,salt and thyme = Yum!

I'm quite proud of my soup, I know that probably sounds strange, but for me it was a real accomplishment.

Gettin' all them angles in haha.

Making food from scratch makes me feel very grown up and clever. 

What's your favourite dish to make at home? Or that your parents/grandparents make? I'm always calling my Grammy to steal some of her recipes!

Do you have any suggestions to make my soup tastier next thyme? .. Get it? Hah..haha.. 

Happy cooking!

Cuba 2014 - Part 3

Back again! Here's the last installment of photos from my trip to Varadero, Cuba. 

The second to last day we spent on the beach. Feeling the impending doom of returning to cold, snowy Canada, we wanted to soak up as much sun, heat and loveliness as possible, and I think we were all a bit tired from the previous days' action.. It was also Valentines Day! We figured the trip was present enough though, so no huge romantic gestures or events for the boyfriend and myself ;)

Just the boyfriend and I at breakfast. It was a low-key morning :)

The waves were huge this day and really fun to jump in!

We relaxed on the beach all afternoon. It was "Cuba Day" at the resort and they had a yummy barbeque by the beach, which we enjoyed. 

Our plan for the evening was to go into downtown Varadero, to a restaurant recommended to us by one of the resort staff. She said they have the best lobster in Varadero. 

 Again, no pictures of this unfortunately.. Too busy living life I suppose ;) We took taxis into downtown, and shopped at the large market square they have there. We bought some souvenirs for ourselves and friends/family.

I love these salad tongs, for my sister and her husband.

And a little t-shirt for my soon to be niece or nephew! (excitement!!)

A car made out of Coca Cola cans! I thought this was awesome haha. For my little cousin.

After the market we made our way to the restaurant, which was small, but you could tell the food was going to be amazing. If you're ever in Varadero, it's called La Rampa Restaurant on 43rd Street. We all ordered the 2 lobster tails (15 pesos) and some beers. We all scarfed it down pretty fast and it was really delicious. The lobster was cooked in tons of garlic, and it came with sticky rice and some vegetables. We all enjoyed it so much, I wish I had a picture to show you!

After dinner we decided we didn't want to pay for taxis back, and we knew there was a double decker bus that takes you back to all the resorts for 5 pesos a person (6 of us), as opposed to 40 pesos for two taxis, we'd seen it dropping people off outside the market, so we were going to walk back that way. But then one of our friends saw one of the charter type buses parked on the road and there were no passengers, only the driver. So he went and asked if he would take us back to our resort and the driver said yes! And only 3 pesos a person. I don't think he's normally supposed to do that sort of thing, but he made a few extra pesos for himself. It was one of those funny, spontaneous things that happen when you're on vacation..but I definitely wouldn't always recommend getting into a strange vehicle in a foreign country. We recognized the company of the bus he was driving though, so we felt safe enough. 

We spent our final night in Cuba on the beach after dark, (drinking of course) and we built a shelter out of the stacked beach chairs because it was a really windy, kind of chilly night. 

Two security guards came by and we all had a really nice chat with them, they hung out with us all night until we left. It was interesting to talk to them about their lives, and if they enjoy their work, etc. They said resort jobs are pretty good jobs to get in Cuba, if you can. The language barrier was kind of funny, lots of miming and hand gestures. The security guards were very friendly, and both had families, so we gave a lot of the clothes and things we'd brought, to them to take home. They were very grateful and gave one of our friends a nice bottle of rum! 

It was a great way to spend our last night. Chatting and drinking with friends, old and new, reminiscing about the trip, and life in general. 

The beach after dark. No one around but us!

  

The next day was our final one in Cuba. Our bus to the airport didn't leave until 6pm, so after breakfast and checking out, we stored our luggage at reception and spent the last hours by the Rock Pool. We were all a bit hungover, and just wanted to relax before our flight. We discovered a giant checker board outside by the Rock Pool, so a couple of us played while the others watched from the shady benches. We were all pretty tired from the last couple days, so we actually napped by the pool, under a small hut/umbrella, it was actually really nice. 

Goodbye Cuba!

Eventually it was time to get changed, and hop on the bus to the airport. Our flight was a little bit delayed, and we got back to Canada around 2am. Needless to say, we did not accomplish much the next day haha. 

It really was a great trip. It was my first time traveling with friends as opposed to family or significant other, and I really enjoyed it; lots of memories made. We've already been talking about where we'd want to go next year! Any suggestions?

All photo cred. goes to my boyfriend and myself.

Cuba 2014 - Part 2

Here's Part 2 of my trip to Cuba!

Starting where we left off; Day 5 - the Jeep Safari (cue dramatic, action movie music)

This was the day we were all most excited for, we booked this excursion through our travel rep at the resort and none of us were entirely sure what to expect, or which activities we were going to be doing. We had a rough idea, but there were lots of surprises! It turned out to be everyone's favourite day. 

Wake up time was 6:30 am, which on a vacation seems blasphemous, but our bus was picking us up at 7:45 and we had to get breakfast beforehand. Our double-decker bus picked us up and took us to the Jeep depot, I guess you'd call it, where there were TONS of jeeps all lined up, for different tour groups. Along the way we had to pick up people from different resorts; it was cool to see some of the other resorts in Varadero, as well as some of the cities,towns and countryside.

There were these funny little taxi buggies everywhere!

Cuba is full of beautiful old fashioned cars.

A bus similar to ours and some horses!

And finally we got in the Jeeps!

You got to drive your own Jeep and follow a guide. I think there were 7 or 8 Jeeps total. We first drove through some small villages and saw lots of children and families. It was at this point that you saw how poor the country is, but everyone seemed very happy. All of us had brought toiletries, and clothes to give away to people, but we didn't know we were going to be driving through these villages on the excursion and unfortunately left most of it at the resort. We made do though, giving away spare hats, sunglasses, tshirts, cuc pesos, that we did have with us to some of the kids and mothers who would stand by the side of the roads. Some of the kids would come running from their houses or playing fields when they heard/saw the Jeeps coming. It makes you realize how fortunate you are and some of the things we take for granted. 

The first activity on the agenda was snorkeling! I'd never done it before and was a little nervous. I don't have many pictures from this because obviously I didn't want to get my camera wet. But it was really fun and I'd love to do it again! There was a touristy type area with a bar and market near the place we went to snorkel, so afterwards we got a beer.

After snorkeling we got back in the Jeeps and headed to a cave with a fresh water pool. It was really cool and one of the best parts of the day, one of the nest parts of the trip even! You first had to walk down a big winding staircase, into the cave and then when you jumped into the water, it was SO refreshing. I found out when I got home that my mother had gone to the same cave when her and my grandmother went to Cuba years ago, which I thought was very cool.

The pool was small, but so very, very awesome :)

After the cave we drove to a farm. Lots of gorgeous landscapes along the way. And once we got there, there was another small market stall selling fruits. We all bought some of this delicious peanut dessert bar that tasted like sweet peanut butter, and I also tried some starfruit for the first time. I liked it, it was kind of citrus-y. The farm had a restaurant on it, and you could tell it was a tourist destination, but it was much more authentic than the food at the resort. We had lunch at the restaurant and it was by far the best meal we'd had so far (and of course I forgot to take pictures of it; we were so excited for real food). It started with a delicious soup. I don't even know what was in it but it was so flavourful, we finished the entire large bowl they set on our table. We were also given a kind of squash and delicious fresh pineapple. Next a salad of lettuce and shaved carrot, some really yummy beef, rice and black beans and for dessert some sugared guava and cheese. 

After lunch, the others went into the farmers house and had Cuban coffee with him (they said it was really good). I don't drink coffee so I had a peak around the farm. There were lots of birds, goats, a donkey, some cows, a man with a bull you could ride and horses you could ride (which I did).

Some old farm equipment and a chicken.

The landscape was beautiful.

The clouds looked so ominous, it rained a little after we got back in the jeeps, but only for a few minutes.

My first time on a horse! They were tied together and you just go around the farm, still fun!

A pretty bird

The farm was fantastic!

The last activity of the excursion was taking a ride down the river on a boat. We had to drive about 45 minutes in the Jeeps to get there and saw lots of sights on the way. 

A cool mural on a wall in the city.

A bit of an inside joke..

Passing another boat just like ours.

After the boat ride we drove the Jeeps back to the depot, got back on a new bus and headed back to the resort. We got back around 7pm, it was a long day but so great! We napped, showered, ate and then saw one of the shows the resort puts on. It was kind of Lion King themed..but with no animals. Lots of fire and cool/scary lifts and jumps performed by the dancers. Needless to say we all slept really well that night. The day really was amazing.

Next up in part 3, the last 2 days in Cuba, very bittersweet. 

Stay tuned :)!

All photo cred. goes to my boyfriend and myself.