Happy Monday everyone! Or, if you’re like me and Monday isn’t a happy occasion – it’s almost Tuesday!
First of all, a very cold welcome to winter in Southwestern Ontario! These photos taken over the last week show how much snow we got over just a few days. I’d guess it came to just over 2 feet total, mostly coming down Sunday-Tuesday. On Tuesday I stood in a snowbank and it reached my knees, and I’m a tall girl!
With all the snow came a lot of hassle getting to and from work, especially for a public transit commuter like myself. We also had some off-site meetings this past week that made the week feel disjointed. I’d be pretty secure in saying that this past week felt like one of the longest in my life, and I was so happy to be welcoming the weekend by the time Friday came around!
Friday
Recovering from a long week required an entire night. I actually just stayed in the entire night, lounged around the apartment with not much to do. I’m pretty sure the day went something like this: run into the apartment, away from the work week, eat some hastily prepared and not-at-all healthy food, avoid all responsibilities, watch the Food Network, and fall asleep. I can’t even tell you if that’s what actually ended up happening, because I was in such a haze from this week that I’ve actually forgotten everything about Friday. The only thing I remember was ordering pizza.
Saturday
Saturday was our long-awaited return to the Toronto Christmas Market. We had a great time there last year and were hotly anticipating the cozy winter feels, cool shopping opportunities, and warm drinks.
We piled into the car bright and early Saturday morning and drove to the closest train station to where we live, hopped on that train and then headed to the Market. But not before discovering the most amazing thing I’ve ever seen:
DANISH. PASTRY. HOUSE.
We ran into it in Union Station in Downtown Toronto. I had actually spotted the Oakville store from the train and mentioned to Rachel we were going to have to drive 1.5 hours to Oakville just to sample these pastries. Little did we know we would be given an excellent opportunity to go nuts on our way to the Market! (Or, I went nuts. Rachel mainly rolled her eyes and indulged me.)
Let me tell you about this magical place. In a land where Danish goods are scant, and hygge has only just been discovered, this place is a marvel. But it was such a brilliant place for this store: after an hour train ride, the tempting display of Danish pastries was impossible to ignore! Walking in there are shelves of freshly made Danish goodies, written in Danish and served by Danish émigrés. There was even a sign with “Hygge” in big letters on the back wall!!
I prepared myself to spend a lot in this store. I selected four items: kokostoppar, a vanilla wreath, an apple filled pastry, and a heart-shaped jam cookie. I was in such a frenzy I forgot to commit to memory the Danish names except for the kokostoppar which seems to be the most recognizable Danish dessert.
I just finished reading ScandiKitchen: Fika and Hygge: comforting cakes and bakes from Scandinavia with love and I recognized most of the treats in the window by sight (not by name – I need to learn more Danish first!) Looking at this company’s Instagram, they have other traditional goodies too that weren’t in stock when we were there (like the tebirkes!) so we definitely need to go back to get more!
I ate these goodies on Sunday – skip forward to that section to hear how they were!
The Market was fun but a little of a let-down from last year if I’m being honest. The thing about the Market is that it’s nearly identical to the previous year (or it was between 2016 and 2017), so it wasn’t as exciting. I finally got a Chimney Stax which was a treat, and we found some cute Christmas ornaments that will work well with my Scandinavian themed Christmas in 2018. But the weather was so cold! It was -10 Celsius with cold winds off the Harbour, making it almost unbearable to be outside for long periods of time.
The other thing about the Toronto Christmas Market is that it’s very expensive! The entry fee was affordable, but the food prices are quite high (that Chimney Stax was $10, Poutine was $6, hot chocolate was $10 for both of us, and we didn’t even bother at any of the restaurants because of the wait times). All the shops in the Distillery District are artisanal, locally crafted, and totally unique, which makes them ideal gifts for picky friends and conversation pieces (whether it’s a piece of clothing, furniture or decor item). However, you have to pay a high price tag!
We took lots of photos while we were there, but after hitting the best spots and window shopping, we left. We were there for about 3 hours total, including 30 minutes in Balzac’s warming up.
In the evening, we decided to have a warm night in and bought some liquor to enjoy in a rare occasion when we can and want to have a drink.
Sunday
Sunday was a relaxing day for me and the perfect opportunity to revive my energy from a long, cold excursion on Saturday and a long week. All 4 of the treats from the Danish Pastry House were happily consumed between Saturday night and Sunday. They were all extremely delicious. Kokostoppar was probably my favourite, followed by the apple pastry, heart jam cookie and vanilla wreath. I will definitely be returning to Danish Pastry House whenever I am in the area!
Besides relaxing with some tea and Danish treats in true hyggesøndag tradition, I also did a top-to-bottom cleaning of the apartment, did laundry, had a nap, started a new book and prepared for the work week. When Rachel got home we rented Kingsman: The Golden Circle which was good and then headed to bed, putting a fun weekend behind us.
Final Thoughts & Up Ahead
This weekend was one to remember thanks to the discovery of my new favourite bakery and trip to Toronto for their Christmas Market. We will be returning to the Market in the future, but probably on a biannual basis.
I can’t believe this is the second-last weekend before Christmas! With the snow and the Market, it really felt magical. Next weekend we will be preparing for the Christmas festivities with family which involves 2 days of travel, one lunch that we have to prepare, and last-minute plan making. We are also hopefully booking our Spring trip to Iceland soon…more on that later!
Thanks for reading, and have a great week!
Beccas Blog 