Here's a late post of day 2 of Kat's visit :) Lots and lots of food and walking around! hehe

We first checked out Patata Patati's poutine. I had heard some good things about it and had walked by this place several times. Each time it was so packed! Luckily, when we came, it wasn't super busy and had seats right away. It wasn't quite what I was expecting. I had thought they'd had an extensive poutine menu like La Banquise but it was more a sandwich/burger place with poutine. Anyway, Kat and I ordered a poutine to share. It was pretty good! The french fries were really crispy (which I love!) so even with the gravy on it, it didn't become soggy. It was super cheap too! It's not quite the place I'd bring a visitor to Montreal but if you're just feeling some poutine, I'd come here :)

 It's also located conveniently close to Schwartz! So of course we had to make a pit stop there! We got some to go and enjoyed it on our way to La Banquise.

HAHAHA okay. We walked A LOT! And Kat's visiting from Montreal so poutine and smoked meat is a must! And Patata Patati was just not quite the poutine experience!

Anyway, note for next time I get smoked meat: ask for medium fat. It's so much yummier when there's a bit of fat on it. I think the guy gave us the skinniest one and it just wasn't as juicy!

After taking some wrong turns and detouring on a couple streets (I was thinking of our metabolism), we finally made it to La Banquise! It's so perfect how we keep missing the lines! We got seated right away and shared a classic poutine. The menu was much more exciting but we were already starting to feel full so we decided to stick to the one with the least amount of goodness piled on top! I think for a plain poutine, I enjoyed Patata Patati's more because of the crispy fries but if you're looking for more variety or something more exciting, I'd definately come to La Banquise. They have this guacamole poutine...it's amazing!

One last thing a visitor to Montreal must do is to have chocolate at Juliette et Chocolat. Luckily, there was one close to where we were :P haha I gave up chocolate for lent so it was quite difficult going in and smelling the amazing deliciousness! I didn't think they'd have anything non-chocolate but they did! Kat ordered the trifle which is my favourite! It's a cup filled with layers of caramel fleur de sel and whipped cream with brownie pieces and a cup of hot chocolate sauce on the side for you to pour on top. I ordered a caramel fleur de sel crepe. It cam with bananas and ice cream! I love their fleur de sel!

The great thing I love about Montreal is that everything is so close to one another. You could walk everywhere and find all sorts of different things to do :) We ended up going back downtown to do some shopping! We tried on many dresses at Simons. There's this one particular dress that I absolutely love! I've tried it on before but I hate that it's more pricy compared to some other dresses that they have. It's $38 which is okay for a dress but I also have no income and that's almost half my stipend -__- haha Kat gave me money to buy it (hehe thanks sistah!) but i'm still debating whether it's worth spending that much. It's so much fun though! Maybe when I get the time to go back and it's still there then I will make the purchase :P

I did get a dress from Urban Outfitters that was on sale though. It's pretty simple and grey but I like it! I'm excited for spring to finally come! We didn't do much more shopping after that. We were pretty tired from walking around so much the last two days. We took advantage of the free Starbucks coupon to sit for awhile and chill before we made our way to dinner!


For dinner I was craving Korean food and I had heard that La Maison Bulgogi was not bad so we made our way all the way down St. Catherines for it. It was rainy and cold and we had to walk almost 20 minutes to get there! The food was alright, nothing super spectacular. We ordered a bibimbap and ddokbokgi. Their kimchi was really good tho! It's a bit on the more expensive side though which is unfortunate. The owners though are Korean but had lived in Northern China for many years and could speak both Chinese and Korean which was pretty cool!

Sidenote: I went out with one of my housemates a couple nights later and we discovered a super cheap and yummy Korean restaurant! It's called Ganadara. I'd definately go there over this place. It's closer to home too! The place is pretty tiny but constantly filled! I always thought it was a laundromat when I walked by it because it's located right beside one :P oops! And of course, you have to love the fobby kongrish wallpaper that they have too! haha it's a pretty cute place. The dishes are huge, they're cheap and delicious, what more do you ask for?

After dinner Kat and I made our way back home for a swing dancing lesson! One of my housemates (same as the one I was talking about above) loves swing dancing and is amazing at it! She's also really good at teaching too! It was a ton of fun! We had people over, a bunch of our housemates joined in, it was a big swing dancing party! :)

All in all, it was a fun weekend and I got to go places and do things I normally wouldn't on my own! Thanks for visiting Kevin! :)

My sister came to visit me this week in Montreal and so I took her around and explored some new places and a lot of new food! The weather was beautiful and so we walked around with dresses on and the sun in our faces! I love spring :)

We went to this Chinese cha chaan teng in Chinatown for lunch. I have no idea what the name of this place is. I had gone there once before and ordered their bbq pork and duck on rice dish...it was rather good. Problem with this place is that their menu is all in Chinese, can't read Chinese? Can't really order then. Last time we had a friend who could read and translate everything for us but this time we were a little stuck. Both my sister and I can't read Chinese. I made out a few of the dishes but we weren't feeling those and didn't want to order it. We also didn't want to ask the waitress to read it to us cuz then that'd just be embarrassing! Thank goodness for technology :P We took a picture of the menu, sent it to our parents and had them read it to us over the phone. hahaha still embarrassing but a little less :P I just need to learn Chinese, at least characters for food anyway. We ended up getting the salted fish and chicken fried rice with the beef in black bean sauce over rice noodles. We were so full. One dish would've been plenty. It was really yummy though and a taste of home :)

My sister's friend also found this coupon to get free Starbucks (caramel macchiato or hazelnut macchiato; hot or cold) for the whole month of March and so we enjoyed one each. It's a pretty sweet deal. It's actually free! No catch to it. I think it's to promote the new hazelnut macchiato. Good for meee :) There are also so many Starbucks downtown I could totally switch around where I go so I don't look so shameless :P I still need to watch how much I get though. Even if it's free, it's so fattening and not very good for you. It'll be a treat every once in a while. It's a good place to take my students too :) Doing ministry on a stipend! haha


Lastly, after walking around Old Port for a while and taking lots of pictures, we found a yummy crepe place called Muru! My sister and I split the Suzette. It had bananas, whipped cream, sugar and butter and was flambeed with Grand Marnier. It was super good. We devoured it almost instantly :P

I will post more pictures later. These were the ones that were taken on my phone :)

It was such an eventful day. We walked a lot and ate a lot. There are parts of Montreal even I haven't explored and are just beautiful :) Today we are taking it easy. We're at my favourite cafe getting a bit of work done :) Afterwards, we're gonna grab some poutine, walk around the plateau a bit and then do some shopping downtown! It worked out that Dawson had their reading break this week and training for two of the days got cancelled. I feel like i'm on a mini vacation too :)

I went on a walk up Mont Royal last night and I'm glad I did! At first I was quite hesitant. I went by myself and looking into the wooded trail up, it was really dark and kind of scary. I felt like it was a parable to my life. I know there is a spectacular view at the top but going there is scary and I don't know what to expect. It's so easy to just say no and turn back but then I miss out on what's at the end. Looking into the forest, it was dark and my imagination could go wild as to what could happen. Do I say no and turn back towards what is familiar and comfortable? Or do I go forward into the unexpected, taking a risk and trusting that God is by my side? In what places in my life am I hesitating? Once I took the first step towards the mountain, it was much easier to keep going forward. In fact, turning back halfway just seemed stupid. I feel like in my journey with God, the only place to go is forward. There is no turning back once you've entered the Kingdom. It can get tiring, and new risks lie ahead but I need to keep going. It felt so nice once I got to the top of the mountain. It was so beautiful. I know that God has something amazing planned for my life. I'm at the point where I look out and everything seems dark, unknown and dangerous, but I need to trust that God is always by my side and that as I go forward, I am not in it alone. He is by my side. Don't settle for what you know or what is comfortable. God has something far greater than you can imagine that He wants to give you. But you need to accept it, respond and go forward.

I'm glad that Montreal and all the beautiful people I have met here has been a part of my life story. I love this city, my housemates, my students and the friends I've made. Every part of me would love for God to call me here but I know it's not the place, at least not now anyway. I need to keep moving with God and wherever He is calling, believing in His promises.

New Baking Ideas!

Rainbow Rice Krispy Squares!

These look a lot of fun and add colour to a simple but yummy dessert :) Perfect for a picnic! Spring is coming!!

Red Velvet Cheesecake Pops

These just seem like they'd be fun to bake and a surprise in the mouth! Probably quite heavy but delicious nonetheless!

Lemon Almond Cake

I just had a slice of lemon almond cake at a cafe I was at and it was amazing! I'd like to attempt to make my own! A light and flavourful dessert :)

I love this.


* Maggie Blanchard *c'est* si* bon* de* louer... by Kadoch_Mati

After a week of retreats it's back to work. I can't believe how fast time is going. It's already March!