Don’t get me wrong, I want to find someone to settle with and hopefully build a family but I’m not the type to sit around and worry about it (and I don’t necessarily have the time). I have so many things going on in my life that I often start the week thinking how did I manage to book the rest of the week already?! I hear my uncle in the back of my head saying “you have to make time”… So this year, my couple of single friends and I have decided to actually make the effort to “make time” to mingle.

An acquaintance of mine introduced me to the Cook and Date events. First thought in my head… no way, there are events like that in Montreal? My friends and I decided we should definitely try it out.  One already created a profile and is waiting for the rest of us to do so as well. I think she should have created our profiles and just told us to show up! I’m never going to get the courage to this…

Taken from the Concept section of www.cookanddate.com:

They want me to post my profile on their website? My friend left that part out.

I guess it sounds like it could be fun. There’s a two hour cooking class followed by a two hour eating and mingling part. You have to register on the website, of course after creating a profile, and choose from a list of upcoming cooking events. The list of events for this month: Couple’s Aphrodisiac Night, Pizza Night, and Carribean Dream.

Reading through the testimonials, it looks like everyone’s experience was positive.

I tried to get a glimpse of the members through the profile search section on the website, and with the limited number of criterias to fill, I already don’t have many choices (I feel like I’m shopping).

I’m getting off their website because I’m already thinking of excuses to get out of this…

What do we have to lose I guess!

www.cookanddate.com

514-664-5991

Photo taken from www.cookanddate.com

The post Cook and Date? appeared first on Montrealing.

I knew the Harlem Shake videos were going around but I didn’t know about the ones in Montreal.

Well, I knew about the one at Ardene http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jfvQiG7Wwts which is freakin cool (1 point for Tamar)!

There are so many awesome Motreal Harlem Shake videos.

Just to share a few:

Concordia’s John Molson School of Business http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mkuqxy8IhMU

McGill Swim Team http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U_OtGhZH1h8

Harlem Shake in the Montreal Subway http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j7-lGJ0yq9k

Harlem Shake at Mount Royal http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=93z-jbXfP74

Stay crazy Montreal! I love your energy!

The post Montreal Harlem Shake appeared first on Montrealing.

Au Bonheur des Gourmets offers homemade artisanal confections and treats made with all natural and organic products (whenever the organics are available). The talented artist behind it all… Tania.

“To me, there is nothing more rewarding than making people happy. Through my food, I realized that I have been able to put a smile on people’s faces.”

Dear Tania… keep them coming!

Hot chocolate, candied orange peels, truffles, these are just a few of her delicious creations. Even her website doesn’t do justice to all the wonderful things she makes and posts on her facebook page.

What makes your creations so special?

“It’s a little tricky because I don’t have one specialty like cupcakes or anything. But at the same time, that’s exactly what makes me different. I have different, elegant, artisanal and out of the box products that are not your typical cupcakes.”

Tell me a little bit about your most special products.

• Hot Chocolate: my recipe is thick, luscious and old fashioned.
• Sablé cookies: tender, buttery cookies. They are conveniently long shaped so people can slice, bake and enjoy a warm and delicious cookie whenever they please. These cookies can stay in your freezer for months.
• Manana: oriental marshmallows. Their name translates to “sent from God”. This product is special to me because its recipe is four generations old.

Aside from what she mentioned, Tania also makes cannelés, candied orange peels, chocolate salamis, and truffles. Everything she makes has variety.

For an order of hot chocolate, you have the choice between regular, mint, zest and cinnamon, or cardamom.

Candied orange peels can come dipped in chocolate (milk or dark), or in cane sugar. They are a vegan treat!

For truffles, you have the choice of dark chocolate, milk chocolate, roasted hazelnut, choco-mint, or Grand Marnier. Tell me you didn’t just crave for some truffles!

Although their name sounds odd, chocolate salamis are delicious. They’re usually made with chocolate, cookies and nuts, but Tania isn’t satisfied with the usual. You can pick as many extras as you want to add to your salami, like fruits, marshmallows, or a hint of alcohol. You can even decide what type of cookie you want her to mix. Who else will give you the option to customize a simple chocolate salami?

Of course, I placed an order and tried for myself before telling all of you about Au Bonheur des Gourmets. I tried cardamom hot chocolate, regular hot chocolate, mananas, and candied orange peels (an order dipped in dark chocolate and another dipped in cane sugar). I took the candied orange peels to some friends’ house for dessert… and we pretty much finished the bag!

Her hot chocolate truly is thick and luscious without that overly sweet taste. It’s just perfect.

Her packaging is very nice too as you can see in the picture below. Her products make great gifts.

You can place your order online and usually have it ready in 2 days for you to enjoy.

Check out her facebook page and her website for more information.

http://www.aubonheurdesgourmets.com/

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Au-Bonheur-des-Gourmets/204587159589467?sk=wall&filter=12

The post Au Bonheur des Gourmets… Bringing Joy to Your Palate appeared first on Montrealing.

(just like it did for me), HOLD ON! Read the rest of the article, I promise it’s not what you

think!

My mom (my private photographer) and I went to try out the breakfast at Bellepro’s in

Faubourg Boisbriand after hearing that the service at THIS Bellepro’s would be different

from what we would expect.

We walked in to a very nice decor, it did not look anything like a fast food joint, and we

were greeted by a waitress who assigned us a table. The first time my friend told me that people

who just have breakfast and people who want to order from the regular menu sit together,

I thought what does she mean? Where else are they supposed to sit? Well… she meant that

they have table service!

We sat down and got a menu with 5 long full pages of breakfast choices: omelettes, pancakes,

french toast, special house potatoes, waffles, and the list goes on…

The prices are very affordable, the plates are too full for one person to finish and

everything is delicious!

I’m very picky with my french toast but let me tell you that I was afraid to ask my mom if

she wanted to try a piece because I was not ready to share it!

Speaking about my mother… This woman will not go anywhere else but Galleria for breakfast.

No matter where I take her, she finds a reason not to like it. “Too expensive, not good, too

loud, Galleria sausages are better, service is slow”, etc. and etc. The only reason she agreed

to going with me was so I don’t go alone. Bellepro’s Boisbriand…I thank you and congratulate

you for passing the MOM TEST. She had nothing bad to say about this place.

Honnestly, everything was delicious. You have to try their special house potatoes and go there with an empty stomach.

Check out their facebook page for pictures of their lunch menu. They have mouthwatering choices.

So… where are you having breakfast this weekend?

3490 Des Grandes Tourelles, Boisbriand, Quebec J7H O2A

The post Breakfast at Bellepro’s… Not Quite What You’d Expect appeared first on Montrealing.

Photo by Patrick Beaudry, www.snapephoto.com

The sweetest thing about the band was their simplicity. Jeans and t-shirt, and just them having fun on stage. No dancers or background singers.
The band was incredible. The guitar solos were amazing.

There were two huge screens for close ups and images on an M shaped stage, visual effects like fire around the dj and drummer section during their Harder to Breath song, and a big bridge that connected the main stage to a smaller one more towards the fans.

The whole crowd was singing with Adam from the beginning to the end of the concert. The energy level was insane!

At one point, the guitarist noticed a girl holding a poster that said “I was in your Daylight” video and told Adam who then called the lucky girl on stage. Apparently, the band had asked fans from all over the world to share their feelings about everything and anything, and submit videos that would eventually be used to put together the Daylight music video. That was really special, and of course, we were all jealous of the hugs she got and of how Adam was singing to her… Sigh…
You can watch the Daylight video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N17FXwRWEZs&sns=em .

It was a great concert. Maroon 5 rocks!!

The opening act was great too although I didn’t know any of their songs except for “Everybody Talks” which constantly plays on the radio.

The post Maroon 5 in Montreal appeared first on Montrealing.

Ladies, if you’re anything like me, you’ve grown up admiring wedding rings. Let’s admit it… your wedding ring will be on your finger for a veeeeery long time (hopefully), so first, the one you pick should be a timeless design, and second, it better be of the best quality.

One thing’s for sure… my prince charming will be sent to Tony and Joseph Malo at Malo Creations to get my ring. He has no say on that part!

Malo designs in just a few words… timeless, classic, elegant, original, modern, simply beautiful.

Of course, their styles wouldn’t matter without quality. You can be sure that they pick the best gems and precious metals for your special pieces.

I know for a fact that Tony will scrap his work completely and restart from scratch if he isn’t satisified with it before even showing it to the customer. Once you get your order, you know you won’t have any surprises because of the quality control these guys do before delivering the products. They are dedicated to their customers and pay attention to detail.  It’s no wonder that Tony and Joseph now represent the third generation of jewellers.

Of course, they don’t only make wedding rings. My family and I go there to get gifts for all occasions.

http://www.malobands.com/

The post It’s All About Quality appeared first on Montrealing.

My mom of course decided to go see the puppy, fell in love and brought him home. Needless to say, that was one of the best decisions she made as Cookie has stolen my heart.

Aside from the fact that the previous owners lied to my mom about him being a puppy when in fact he was 10 years old, we later also found out that Cookie’s owners had not been taking care of his teeth and the poor dog now has so much tartar built up that he can barely chew with his front teeth. Cookie is the sweetest, most cuddly and loving dog I have ever met. He is full of love and you can’t help but fall in love. Each time you go home, he runs to the door, shakes his tail like crazy and jumps up and down.

However, had my mom not brought Cookie home, I would probably still be thinking “I can not have a pet in the house”. There are so many misconceptions about pets and how clean or dirty they are, how well behaved or how bad they are, how easy or how hard it is to take care of them, how they do or don’t get along with children and other animals… This is why we need pet owners everywhere to educate people. I’m not saying everyone should have pets at home, there are many other factors to consider, but we have to at least open people’s minds and bring it to their attention that pets need them to care. There are way too many pets being abandoned every day for as stupid of a reason as they don’t feel like taking care of them anymore.

Another thing I wasn’t aware of was the existence of non-profit organizations, sometimes run by one person or two, who spend their time, effort and energy in trying to save pets who have been abandoned, find them better homes, and fight for animal rights.

One such organization is Sophie’s Dog Adoption. The team is composed of Sophie Fournier, her son Rick, and Annie. Sophie has been saving dogs and placing them in homes since 1996. Once she rescues the animals, she gets them sterilized and vaccinated, and then puts them up for adoption. Her mission is to find the rescued dogs a “forever home” as she says on her website, and to find the perfect family for each one. Of course, she doesn’t just give the dogs away to the first person who is interested. She takes the time to screen the applicants to make sure that the dogs will not risk being abandoned again.

Instead of keeping the dogs locked up in a shelter until someone adopts them, Sophie has a network of foster homes where the dogs live and are cared for until they are adopted. You can apply to be a foster parent of a dog too if you wish to help:  http://www.sophiesdogadoption.com/application-forms/foster-form.

Her website has successful placement stories, information about dogs you can adopt, stories about those who unfortunately could not be saved, tips and tricks to help you with your pet, and more. Just like she states on her website, adopting a pet is like adopting a baby and it should be taken seriously.

How you can help: organizations such as Sophie’s Dog Adoption need volunteers, funds and donations. She needs foster homes, she needs money for the sterilization and vaccination of all the dogs she rescues and she needs people like you and me to care and raise awareness! She also has a wish list on her website (http://www.sophiesdogadoption.com/wish-list) where she indicates things that she needs: laptop with wi-fi connectivity and a good battery, Cesar Melan’s DVD’s and or books, medium size dog cages, good quality dog food, dog toys and accessories, free or discounted vet and grooming services, etc. There are so many things I can think of that Cookie doesn’t use that can be donated. I’m sure you all have things your pet doesn’t use too.

I have been saying I want to put together a fundraiser for this organization for over a year now but simply can’t find the time to do it alone with my work and school schedule. If you are interested in helping, PLEASE CONTACT ME! I have also started a chocolate sale at my office to raise funds, and got my mom to donate a percentage of her jewellery sales to this organization. Although we have just started all this, I am confident that whatever amount we collect will help Sophie and her team achieve their goals.

No matter how small your donations are or no matter how little time you have to help, you can make a difference as long as you don’t ignore the cause (whatever it may be). Pet owners and pet lovers, UNITE!

To contact Sophie and her team:

(514) 523-5052

info@sophiesdogadoption.com

http://www.sophiesdogadoption.com

https://www.facebook.com/sophiesdogadoption

The post You Wouldn’t Abandon Your Baby… appeared first on Montrealing.

Pros

• No lineups before purchasing tickets for the show. The secret? I went on the last day (Sunday) ten minutes before the ticket booths close their doors for good.
• Automobile manufacturers were a bit more lax letting visitors enter the pricier cars this year.
• Salespeople/Dealerships were very friendly, especially the Rolls Royce’s representative.

Cons

• Too many kids, especially the punks who think locking themselves in a high-end car and playing with the radio while text’ing won’t get them noticed.
• Placing a cafeteria right before the main floor is a terrible idea. There were greasy hand and finger-prints all over the vehicles after people eat a greasy hot dog and don’t wash their hands. Yuck.
• The event’s floor layouts are not always organized or efficient. Volvo and Kia at the very top and beginning of the show was a crappy experience. Why weren’t they just placed with the rest of the vehicles on the main floor?

The post The Top 2013 Montreal Auto Show Vehicle Picks (and pics) appeared first on Montrealing.

During the months of January (whatever’s left of it) and February, 5 restaurants have chopped their 3-course meal table d’hote prices.

Get excited Montreal, some good restaurants are actually participating:

• Wienstein & Gavino’s
• Decca77
• NewTown
• Guido and Angelina’s
• L’Atelier d’Argentine

You can see the menus they are offering at https://www.facebook.com/LeChopMTL#!/LeChopMTL .

Of course, there is always a fine print… “Subject to terms and conditions. Cannot be combined with any other promotions. Offer not valid on February 14, 15 & 16 2013″ (https://www.facebook.com/LeChopMTL#!/LeChopMTL).

Nevertheless, you have the rest of the month to enjoy!

The post Le Chop MTL … Chopping Table d’Hote Prices appeared first on Montrealing.

At La Récréation (French for recess) art, games and coffee give recess a new meaning.

Located at 404 Ontario Est, La Récréation has a very interesting concept.

First, it has a contemporary art gallery where artists get a chance to expose their work to collectors and admirers.

The schedule to go see the expositions is from noon to 5pm from Wednesday to Saturday and from noon to 7pm on Sundays.

Also on Sundays, from noon to 7pm, and on Wednesdays, from noon to 5pm, game sessions are held in another one of their spaces. An animator explains the rules of a game of chance or strategy and participants play in groups of 2 to 4 people. What a fun way to meet new people!

Finally, they have a café where you can just sit back and relax.

Visit their website for more information:http://www.larecreation.ca/

Enjoy!

All pictures are taken from http://www.larecreation.ca/

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