Hey friends! I hope that you're all doing well and surviving the tremendous amount of snow that has been dumped on the Northeast (or maybe just the North in general). To stay warm, I've been doing my best to conjure up memories of sunny days and warmer climates.

Maybe it's just me, but I associate a lot of happy memories with food. In my family, most milestones are celebrated with gatherings full of beautiful and bountiful tables. With my background, t's certainly no surprise why I love to eat!

Today I'm going to share one of my favourite things that I ate in Brazil. Acai! I usually eat it blended into a bowl, but you can have it in a juice or smoothie too.

What you need:

1 Sambazon Pure Unsweetened Frozen Acai Berry Superfruit Pack

1/4 cup of Bear Naked Fit Granola, V'nilla Almond

5 (ish) raspberries

1 banana (1/2 for blending, 1/2 for topping)

1/4 cup of frozen blueberries

1/3 cup coconut water

Throw the acai, 1/2 a banana, blueberries, and coconut water in the blender. I like to use the puree setting, for a few seconds, and then turn it down to the mix setting, to get to the right consistency. Serve in your favourite bowl, and add your toppings!

Acai is traditionally served with honey, but I like to throw some coconut chips and a drizzle of all natural maple syrup on top. I am Canadian after all!

My way is not exactly traditional, but it's the blend that I like. You can follow the directions that Sambazon recommends, or come up with your own recipe! Follow breakfast artist, Ksenia @breakfastcriminals, for some crazy delicious acai bowls, and other awesome eats! Want to start your day with a little more love? Grab the heart bowl, and fill it with your favourite morning snack.

Serve with an Americano, and you're all set! Just watch out for any hungry Rude Boys! I like my Americanos with milk, so I use Alchemy Espresso beans from local roaster, George Howell Coffee. So delicious! There's nothing like a good breakfast and the smell of freshly ground espresso beans (and maybe a little vinyasa flowin') to wake you up in the morning.

ON ANOTHER NOTE, LET'S GET TO MY NEWS!!!!!

I have joined the team of local lifestyle blog, Mass Musings, as a Contributor! I am so excited to be joining the Mass Musings tribe. MM provides inspiration for the creative individual, and I just love Kayte's (Founder/Editor of MM), vision for the site. So, at least once a month you will find me over on Mass Musings, sharing my words and photographs. I'm hoping to start a travel series and explore New England, what do you guys think? That is, if it ever gets warm enough for me to want to venture out of the apartment...

What does this news mean for YYZ->BOS, exactly? Well, there will be a few changes. First off, more posts! Not everyday, but I am guaranteeing 1-2 per week. Second, you may have noticed I have taken down the PORTFOLIO section of my site. It has needed a MAJOR overhaul for a long time, and well, at this point I think it's doing me more harm than good. Which brings me to my third point, I'm working on a little re-design/re-brand. The header and design of the site was always meant to be temporary. I threw it together in an afternoon when I decided to create this space. But now, it's time to put in the work.

So excited for so many new adventures.

Peace and love until next time,

Alex

Hello friends! Hope you are all doing well, and as your weekends are about to begin - that there are many brunches in your future. I just wanted to thank you all for following along with my burgeoning blog. It's going to take a little bit of time for me to hit my stride (and y'know come up with a posting schedule), but thanks for bearing with me while I figure things out around here.

To keep you up to date with all things YYZ -> BOS, here's your weekly CURRENTLY update.

EATING

I'm probably super late on this train, but avocado toasts are THE BEST. I can't get enough of them. I had a super late lunch after yoga class today, and these little toasties curbed my cravings (and filled my belly). Super easy and delicious (+ nutritious)! This version has mashed avocado (with a splash of lime juice + chili flakes + tbs of olive oil), non-fat cottage cheese, sliced tomatoes, and is topped with a little salt + pepper + chilli flakes.

I've been cooking a lot lately in an effort to order less take out. Last week Pedro and I challenged ourselves to make all of our meals at home, and I would like to announce that we have been very successful in our endeavours! We only went to Chipotle once after we saw a movie last weekend! We've even made all of my americanos at home. Go team!

WEARING

So many happy mail days this week! Well... two of them anyways! Yesterday, these fab Jeffrey Campbell Hanger booties arrived, and they are AMAZING. I don't want to take them off! Hence, why they are being worn with my also new forrest green yoga pants in the above photo. So not cool... I promise that they are being worn with real outfits too! But I'm breaking them in, ok?

DOING

Yoga! And a lot of it! Well I've been practicing everyday anyways. I'm challenging myself to practice everyday this month. I usually aim to practice at home 5x a week (sometimes it's 3-4), so it's not a huge stretch. But this week, I made an effort to leave the apartment and go to the studio. I've also started my first Instagram yoga challenge (I'm trying to keep busy), which started on October 1st. It's the #letsgetflexy challenge with @kinoyoga + @beachyogagirl. It has only been a few days, but I'm enjoying myself so far. Plus, it's fun to connect with people with similar interests and a common goal. Along with this blog, the challenge is forcing me to take photographs daily, which is awesome. My dusty SLR is finally being put to some use, and that makes me really happy.

WATCHING

I know that the whole of the internet has mentioned it by now, but Gilmore Girls is on Netflix! Do you know how exciting this is? Ok, so maybe it's not that exciting, but it does make me feel awfully nostalgic for my younger years (in a good way). I am admittedly already on the second season, which (along with Season 3) is my favourite.

This still is from my favorite episode. Ok, you caught me, it's obvious that I just have a crush on Jess. The show is a little different watching it through this time around. Maybe it's because I can't really relate to Rory (she's too young in the early seasons) or Lorelai (she's definitely a little older) at this point in my life? BUT, I do enjoy their fast-talking, clever, pop-culture quips as much as ever!

Pedro and I are going on a date tonight. Tapas, sangria, and a movie! I'm pretty excited. Definitely going to rock my new boots ;)

Until next time,

Alex