hello 2014!

Now that the total craziness of the holidays is over I think I can now try to focus on blogging more frequently! The holidays are such a crazy time for EVERYONE! Your eating, drinking and driving {not at the same time} all over the place to see people you love and miss! I hope everyone had an amazing and {hopefully} relaxing  holiday and that Santa was good to you! I had a solid 9 days off from work which was amazing! I didn't feel like I had to rush rush rush and I could take my time getting places and wrapping presents! It was nice to be able to spend the holiday's back in Ontario for the first time in 2 years! I missed getting together with my girlies and maybe having a bit too much wine...or waking up on Christmas Morning in my parents house.... so weird! Here are some snap shots of the past few weeks! I'm planning on doing a holiday gift round up a bit later! Happy 2014! Here's to new beginnings and happy changes!*

the ladies at our Holiday Craft Party!

we crafted wine glasses and champagne flutes! The goal was to resemble these Bubbly Gold Flutes sold at Chapters!

The Griswold's never get old...!

Just  call me Martha! A little holiday spread for some festivities!

I made marinated bocconcini {recipe}, sea salt & vinegar sweet potato chips {recipe}
and chocolate stuffed frozen raspberries {here}! I also made frozen fruit skewers for the wine and sugar dusted rosemary for an eggnog garnish!

 

Christmas Vacation Commencing!

Christmas dinner at the parents...

 so.full.

 

little Effy in her new Canada Pooch coat from Santa!

 

totally loving my new Bodum French Press from my sister

us skating at Nathan Phillips Square!

I didn't fall which was a bonus!

New Years Eve outfit!

{BCBG Onesie old - seen here}

Happy New Year!!

 

 

weekend snaps

Monday. Possibly the worst day of the week! Hope everyone had a great weekend! It always goes by so quickly. This past weekend was pretty busy! Friday I wanted to go out....so we told the cab driver to take us to Bloor West and we would randomly choose a place to eat! We walked past a very highly talked about Japanese Sake Bar called Guu, there was no line so we went in! SO DELISH! If you love Japanese and you like to share little plates this is the place {also very inexpensive!}! The food is great, the drinks are great and the atmosphere is lively and energetic! Saturday my friends were heading out for Halloween. I'm not a fan so I helped them all get ready! They all looked AMAZING as mermaids! Sunday, we try to go an experience all the different markets Toronto has to offer! Last weekend was China town this weekend was Korean! We wanted to make sushi so we headed to an amazing market that had everything and anything you would need! I always go crazy in those markets buying things I have no idea what to do with!!! Here are some iPhone snaps from the weekend!*

casual Friday!

{Jeans: Joe Fresh $29, Blazer: RW&CO $89, Pumps: MK $120, T-Shirt: boyfriends...} 

 

Drinks @ Guu

 

amazing graffiti

 

creating a "fish face"

 

delish black bean filled waffle fish

homemade sushi Sunday!

 

 

 

new start....new name!

It's been awhile since I last posted {almost 4 months}and I apologize. A lot has happened these past few months and I needed to take some time away from my blog and get my life sorted out. As I mentioned earlier in the summer I had moved from Calgary back to Ontario. Things in Calgary were not working out for me and I decided it was best to come back to Ontario where I was comfortable in the environment and surround myself with positive energy, friends and family. Sadly, with this move brought the ending of my relationship. Ultimately, I didn't feel things were working, and I truly believe that if we had not moved out west things would have ended up much differently, but I take it all as a learning experience and I do not regret anything about the past 2 years.

I recently moved to TORONTO!! I finally found a great new job after 8 months of looking, and things are looking up! This city is truly where I belong. I feel happy, healthy and excited to experience everything Toronto has to offer!

I didn't necessarily want to start a whole new blog and delete Vodka and Caviar. I had started that blog when I first moved out west as a way to let my friends and family know what I was up to! But I felt something needed to change. Today I changed my blogs name to Champagne Toasts! Toasting to a fresh new start in a new city. I don't want to delete Calgary from my life or my memory I want to be able to look back on my posts and remember the good times....this is just a transition just like my life has transitioned. I will be making minor changes, but nothing drastic! I want to focus on the city life and amazing spots I find and exciting things I'm doing! This city is filled with amazing shops, restaurants and things to see and I have only just scraped the surface!*