I'm all about the love

So many things that I'm loving today. It's one of those days where life is great, and everything just seems a couple of degrees more, more delicious, more comfortable, more relaxing, more exciting, than usual. And here's what I love, both because they're making my day, and because they seem even better than they might on a normal day:

• Cave Springs merlot. At least, that's what I think I was drinking at Centro last night. Our waiter was new, and I think he brought me a wine that I didn't order. However, it was cheaper than what I did order, and really good, so I'm not complaining.
  
• Centro. Our Winterlicious dinner (steak with sauteed forest mushrooms and pommes neuf) was really good, and the atmosphere was spot on: modern, but warm, with incredibly comfortable banquettes, friendly, unpretentious service, beautiful linens, glassware and flatware, and a good noise level. Apparently a good noise level is rather uncommon nowadays, at least according to The Globe and Mail.
  
• My fuzzy pink pyjamas with the Scotties on them. My Nanny gave them to me for Christmas, and I had the BEST sleep in them last night.
  
• Coffee with real cream.
  
• Eggs on toast. Sunny side up on whole wheat with a bit of butter and lots of salt and pepper, to be specific. One of my most favourite meals in the whole world. Must have it for breakfast at least once every weekend.
  
• My super soft grey and navy sweater. Pretty much my Saturday uniform, along with my trouser jeans and my new running shoes, which are incredibly comfortable and cute. They had a tiny petrified lizard in them when I unwrapped them, which I'm not sure if I mentioned or not in my last post. A bit odd. But they're great anyway. And after it stopped freaking me out, the lizard was kind of cute.
  
• My new notebook from Staples. It has this great black damask pattern on it, and the paper is gorgeous and heavy, and even the lines are more interesting than in a normal notebook. From their new M by Staples line of stationery. There are a bunch more things that I want, like the matchbook notepad, and the note cards. I love stationery.
  
• Front St. in the sunshine.
  
• Crepe It Up at the St. Lawrence Market. The hubby had the monster crepe today, which has everything but the kitchen sink --spinach, cheese, egg, ham, mushrooms, peppers, onion-- in it. Next time, I'm totally getting the strawberry/banana/Nutella crepe. Yum.
  
• Phil's Place. I got the most gorgeous spinach, fingerling potatoes, avocados, lemons, and limes. I also got my #1 favourite flower, pink tulips. I hope I can find some when it's time for the wedding (I'm making my own bouquet, and so what flowers go in it will depend on what's available the day before).
  
• Lively Life Fine Foods. All of those ingredients that I see in Nigella and Tyler Florence and wonder, "where do I get that?" I get it here.
  
• Indigo. I got two new J.D. Robb mysteries and The Other Boleyn Girl today. Gotta stock up for the long weekend.
  
• The fact that it's a long weekend! All hail Family Day!
• Dollarama. I got some really nice drinking glasses (we've been using Dixie beer cups for way too long!), and the hubby got a new set of headphones, as he melted his in the dryer.
  
• Bon Iver. (Pronounced "bon hiver", as in French for "good winter", and spelled wrong on purpose). I read somewhere that For Emma, Forever Ago sounded like early Iron & Wine, and as I ADORE early Iron & Wine (The Creek Drank the Cradle is maybe my favourite album of all time), I had to get it. And it is great! I especially like the almost Gregorian chant sound of the beginning of "Lump Sum." I seem to have a thing for music that people make in their garages/dad's cabins in Wisconsin with almost no equipment. Maybe it seems more authentic to me, or maybe I like it because it sounds like something that a non-recording artist person could almost do. But mostly I like it because it sounds good.
  
• Diet Coke with lime, drunk out of my new glass from Dollarama.
  
• Haagen-Dazs strawberry ice cream. Cream, milk, sugar, and strawberries: just how good ice cream should be.
  
• The hubby. Eating breakfast, reading & drinking coffee, going to the market, and running errands seem like the best things I could possibly be doing when he's around. We have fun no matter what we're doing, and there's no one that I'd rather be with than him. Probably why I'm marrying him!

This afternoon, my big plans are to make biscotti, listen to some more Bon Iver, cook a proper "it's the Saturday night of a long weekend and I've got time" dinner (Nigella Lawson's tempura cod, with sauteed spinach, light on the garlic and viciously lemony, and Tyler Florence's fingerling potatoes, although I am certainly not going to serve them with caviar, as he suggests). Apparently we're going to the Maddy tonight for a friend's birthday, and I am in no way shape or form planning to repeat my last night at the Maddy, a.k.a. the New Year's fiasco, so it should be fun. Well, I'm sure that New Year's was fun. I just don't remember.