ode to grill cheese sandwiches

Your crispy breaded shell
Your savoury butter grilling smell
Your gooey cheesy centre
Every time is an easy sell

I eat you in the morning
I eat you in the night
You make a delicious snack
And tomato soup side

Some think you're just for kids
I don't believe that's so
I love you, gourmet or simple
You make me warm from head to toe

This ode is a result of my consumption of quite possibly, my best grilled cheese ever. I made it with St. Margaret's Bay's Snair's Golden Bakery white loaf and some amazing goat/cheddar cheese slices I picked up at Costco. I topped it off with some cranberry sauce leftover from Thanksgiving turkey dinner and grilled it slowly to ensure the cheese melted evenly. Worked like a charm. My inspiration was the turkeycran croissant from Darrell's Restaurant in Halifax which is a splendid food combination. I paired the sandwich with turkey slices and dressing, the meal may have surpassed the original turkey dinner.

the very fine befine

It's been four weeks since I stumbled upon the Befine line of skin care products so now I can safely say -  it's delightful. Period. I have the Evening Sampler, a trio of three small volume versions of Befine products consisting of an exfoliating face wash made from almonds, a ginger pore refining toner and a cocoa night cream (woo! natural caffeine) that is so soft and luscious I can't stop touching my face.

I've been trying to get myself into a skin care routine because, as the receptionist at my salon told me, "You're 28 so it's time to start thinking about aging skin." Oy vey. I resisted the urge to start buying wrinkle cream in bulk that day and take her too seriously. (I'm actually kind of against trying too hard to turn back the sands of time. I think laugh and smile lines paired with a few creases are somewhat attractive, they represent a life lived.) I did decide however, that I would take better care of myself and start investing a bit in those things that I thought for the longest time were shallow and vain - skin care, better quality makeup that won't clog my pores, and more frequent pedicures - you can never be too nice to your feet.

Now my only problem is actually buying the products. I purchased my Evening Sampler at Winners for $8.99. Within a week, I went back for two more to stock up because, at Winners, products come and products go. I'd really like to get my hands on the morning sampler and the cooling peel-off mask but Befine does not seem to be broadly available in Canadian retail stores. Online shopping on the befine.com website appears to be limited to the US. I've sent an email to the company to find out more however, it has yet to be answered. Rest assured, the next time I visit the States, I will be tracking this fine product down.

serious about sirius

I am spoiled. There, I said it. You'll learn that relates to more than just one part of my life but in this case - I have satellite radio in my car and I just can't live without it. When I take rental cars for work and they don't have Sirius or XM, it ends up being a torturous drive. It's almost always to New Brunswick and if you've ever driven to New Brunswick and forgot your iPod or CDs, you'll know what I'm talking about. You're constantly switching channels and if you're like me, normal radio stations just don't meet your belting-out-tunes-in-your-car-by-yourself needs. (I often arrive at my destination with little to no voice, something that is somewhat awkward to explain when you are meeting with important people). It's come to the point that I've actually done something that I swore I would never do - I regularly listen to talk radio (CBC Radio One) in the absence of satellite. I've come to enjoy and rely on it to an extent but that doesn't mean that I don't try to hide it from passengers that join me in my car. I also do it on my way to and from work but that's because I need information and I now feel somewhat obligated to the Information Morning and Mainstreet hosts.

My station is AltNation with presets also set to Lithium, 90s on 9 (very guilty pleasure which allowed Robyn's Show Me Love to get me through a touch and go trip across the Confederation Bridge and rewarded my safe arrival with the Gin Blossoms Follow You Down), Iceberg, The Blend, The Pulse, The Loft and CBC Radio One because Jian Ghomeshi's voice is comforting and Q is always on the satellite version. My iPod playlists are now solely based on my subscription finds, I often try to write them down while driving. (I need that Shazam app pronto.)

Through Sirius I have met The Yeah Yeah Yeahs, The Constellations, Florence and the Machine, Against Me! and The Airborne Toxic Event. We're now BFFs. Bet you can't say that about Kelly Clarkson on C100 (insert local Top 40 radio station here).

PS. Shout out to CBC Radio Two's Rich Terfry and his colleagues who are keepin' it real on regular radio and improving musical tastes nation-wide. You're exempt from my radio complaints discussed above.

PPS. I just watched the season finale of Glee for the third time and got goosebumps when I heard that heartwarming Journey tune. I will be discussing Glee in future posts. Please don't let my adoration for the show lead you to question my musical tastes. My songful enjoyment is based on emotion, nostalgia and subconscious reactions - such as singing the lyrics to an entire song without actually knowing what it is - not necessarily the quality of the performance or composition.

calvin klein for the girls

Allow me to introduce you to the Calvin Klein bra. I discovered this life changing item four years ago while shopping in the States. I emitted a shriek of excitement in the Kittery Outlets dressing room and crossed the border with two that day. I've never turned back. Great fit, extreme comfort, classic styles and a plethora of coverage levels. And they hold up. My virgin pair are still in my regular rotation. Since then I've purchased the CK bra at the outlet store in Dartmouth Crossing, the Bay, Winners and possibly the most exciting location, Costco! Yes, Costco where they sell the basic style (with a handy loop that allows for racer back conversion) in a two pack for less than $30! Some styles can be a bit pricey but with so many retail options, you should never have to pay full price. (But if you do, it's worth it.)

fredericton finds

I was in Fredericton, New Brunswick on business last week. My job requires me to travel a fair bit and depending on my schedule, I'm usually able to squeeze some shopping in (airport shopping even excites me!) and last week was no exception. It's great to be able to shop without distraction - I'm by myself, can't run errands or do things around the house and typically, I have at least one evening while away without commitments. Unfortunately, I also use travel as an excuse to not go to the gym or worry too much about exercise which obviously increases my shopping time, and sadly my waist line, but I still think opting to shop is worth it.

This time I was in search of a wedding shower present for the coming weekend. I originally thought I would find a small store with local products - pottery, candles, jewellery - that kind of thing. I stumbled upon a couple of shops but nothing really fit. It was getting late and all of the shops downtown were closed so I headed to the always reliable Winners. Winners has a little bit of everything that you would normally give for a wedding shower and equally as important, many potential gifts for me (I typically apply the "one for you, one for me" rule when gift shopping).

I wandered around the home decor and kitchen stuff departments. I was debating between a round wooden-framed mirror and some charming dessert stands that would be perfect for a bakery, not so much for a shower present. The debate was halted when I spotted the entire back wall devoted to picture frames. I decided on five frames (the odd number seemed more appealing than an even) of different sizes with varying designs and styles, but all with the same silver finish so they looked as though they belonged to the same family. I was fairly proud of myself for coming up with something a little out of the ordinary but practical. And it was a great gift idea because not only is the bride getting married, but she has a nine month old baby and with babies come oodles of photos. I was also proud of myself because I ventured into the Winners beauty section for the first time and was pleasantly surprised at the selection. I came home with a 4-in-1 curling iron, mineral makeup and a skin care set.

Okay, so I cheated on the "one for you, one for me" rule as five frames constituted one gift but I was lonely with plenty of hotel room time to kill trying out my new products. And by the way, hotel room alone time is perfect for pampering - head to Shoppers for some facial and pedicure supplies.

One last great Fredericton find was Coffee and Friends, a coffee shop on King Street.  I had the dark roast which was delicious and a pumpkin cream cheese muffin that made my morning. I'll be back.

Not too shabby for my first post. Stay tuned, more to come...