Cha Gheill: A Queen's Celebration

Just over a week ago, I saw many of my friends graduate from Queen's. Unlike Brock's convocation, this ceremony was for only those graduating from the Biology program. I didn't have a ticket to attend but luckily since I work for Undergraduate Admissions, I was able to work the event.

The day was gorgeous. The days before and after had been riddled with rain and cloudy weather but the sun was shining and there wasn't a dark cloud in the sky!

Grant Hall (our convocation hall) was filled with tricolor regalia. It was a true Queen's celebration.
Fun Fact: The hall also has a lot of truly inspiring histories; during WWII, it was used as a hospital for the injured. Kingston itself is a very historic city.




One of the best things I love about Queen's is our traditions. Forget the new almost-grads walking into Grant hall to piano music. At Queen's, they're led in by bagpipes to honor our Scottish roots.

It was great to see all my friends walk across the podium, get hooded, and get their diplomas but a little bittersweet because if I wasn't returning for another year, I would have been right there with them. But it was still great to be able to attend the graduation and see their bright smiles as they officially became Queen's alumni.







A beautiful day for some beautiful girls. So proud for all of you! And I'm very happy to have shared the 4 past years with you!
Congratulations, ladies!

Lil' Baby's All Grown Up!

Exactly one week ago, I saw one of my friends graduate from university.

Dressed in a gorgeous red number with classic black heels, she strutted down the stage and collected her diploma as her family and friends (including me) cheered from the audience. The day was absolutely gorgeous and the campus was alive with the sounds of laughter and excitement of all the other graduates and their family members.

She is the first one of us to graduate and needless to say, we were incredibly proud of her being an official grown-up now.

After the happy grad finished taking all the traditional pictures, her parents left and we moved to more suitable locations.

We then moved to one of her classrooms and took a bunch of pictures there, mostly in an attempt to find a good Facebook cover photo.

With all the pictures and adventures we had in that short amount of time, the new grad was left content with just a twinge of sadness as she walked out the classroom doors for the last time.

CONGRATULATIONS, LOVELY!! 

YOU DID IT!

An Afternoon at The Office

This past weekend, I saw one of my high school best friends, Rima, walk across the graduation stage and get her diploma. I made a special trip to Toronto and then Rima, Sonia, Lovejeet, and I made a road trip to St. Catherine's on Thursday evening just to see her convocate on Friday morning. Running on about 3-4 hours of sleep, we were all tired and were starving by the time her ceremony concluded. Just before we left for Toronto Friday afternoon, we made a quick stop at one of R's favorite places to eat, The Office, for a very late (but deserved) lunch.

When she talked about it, I don't know what I was picturing but I can tell you that it was nowhere close to how the restaurant actually looked. As you walk in, the first thing that draws your attention is the bar and the wonderful painting done above it. The whole place itself was nice and quaint but not too small. The bar, however, stole the show for me.

Aside from the bar, I also liked that the restaurant had a separate Vegan menu--and this menu wasn't just a list of 3-4 things. It was a page long! There were a lot of choices and it seemed like the owners had put a lot of thought and creativity into the restaurant.

Patiently waiting for our food...

Not really because our stomachs were literally growling with need of sustenance. ...Or was that just me?

But it came soon!

[caption id="attachment_239" align="aligncenter" width="640"] Vegetarian Ratatouille[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_240" align="aligncenter" width="640"] The Ricky Gervais Chicken Club[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_242" align="aligncenter" width="640"] L: Harvest Penne
R: Veggie Burger[/caption]

The food was delicious and in the end, four little piggies piled in to the car and drove away to the big city, fuelled up and happy.

Recipe: 10-Minute Nutella Cookies

I've been trying to bake more. I have never been a baker but sometimes you just get a craving to eat something sweet but you have nothing. This time, I was getting a craving for something chocolate-y but the idea of Nutella on a piece of toast didn't fit my craving. So whilst surfing blogs, I came across this stellar 10-minute Nutella cookies recipe.

The best part (aside from the Nutella goodness)? It only uses 3 ingredients.

Ingredients
- 1 cup Nutella
- 1 cup flour
- 1 egg

Just mix all the ingredients together until the mixture begin to look like a crumbled mess. The dough isn't going to look like what you might find when making regular cookies--be aware of this fact and don't freak out like I did! Once it's thoroughly mixed, start scooping out little bits of the dough and roll the scoop into a ball like below:

Now I forgot to take a picture of this part but with the back of a spoon, just push down on the little balls to make the cookie shape. Then simply bake for about 7-8 mins in the oven at 370 degrees. Let them cool and enjoy with a glass of milk!

These cookies aren't the sweetest but they're absolutely divine! After 2-3 cookies, I guarantee you'll need a cold glass of milk. This recipe is great for people who don't have a lot of baking experience and want to make something to satisfy a craving in less than 10 minutes. If you try this, comment below and let me know how they turned out!

Well, I'm Feeling Perkins

First off, apologies for not blogging for a while there. This week has been crazy! But I did go home this past weekend and a few days home means meeting up with two of my high school besties, Rima and Lovejeet. Our perfect, though slightly rainy, day began with a very late brunch at Perkins, a restaurant and bakery hidden away in the shadows of Toronto and introduced to me by Lovejeet (there, happy?). Sadly, I had left my camera at home but Rima was more than gracious enough to lend me her Samsung Galaxy S4 camera so I could snap away!

Each of us ordered one of these badboys but sadly, I was quite disappointed with mine. I like my milkshakes sweet and although there were 4 scoops of ah-mazing vanilla ice cream, the after-taste was a little to milky and unsweet for my liking.

[caption id="attachment_208" align="aligncenter" width="640"] For R: Mediterranean Omelet with WW toast and hashbrowns.[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_207" align="aligncenter" width="640"] For L: Pancakes with added chocolate chips (only part of her giant meal!)[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_206" align="aligncenter" width="640"] Me: Belgian waffle with strawberry. Yum-my![/caption]

[caption id="attachment_205" align="aligncenter" width="640"] Ah yes, the remaining bit of L's meal.[/caption]

By the end, we were three happy musketeers! Although the milkshake was bit of a downer for me, the Belgian waffle more than made up for it! Stuffed to our necks, we ended our day with going to watch Now You See Me at the local theatre (find my review HERE).

You can find Perkins HERE. There are locations all over the US and Canada so if you have time for a delicious brunch on a weekend, go and have a bite!