IT’S BEGINNING TO LOOK A LOT LIKE COCKTAILS! Let’s make this a low-tech Sunday. We’ll sing carols, make cocktails and kid-friendly mixed drinks, and read our Family Book Exchange books. Here are my recipes for a Fireshine Martini and a Hot Buttered Rum inspired, respectively, by my recent trip to Stratford and by our anniversary […]
BREAKFAST FOR DINNER! There’s nothing like the smell of Sunday brunch, especially on a Monday night! Bacon? Eggs? Coffee? Maple Syrup? Magic! Seeing as it’s the last Monday of the school year, we might as well go crazy and have an enormous breakfast for dinner. Along with the pancakes and bacon, I’ll have an amazing […]
MAKE A DONATION TO FORESTS ONTARIO Forests Ontario is dedicated to making Ontario’s forests greener. Their ambitious tree planting initiatives, extensive education programs, and decades of community outreach have helped plant millions of trees in the province each year—and it’s through these efforts that they’re bringing their vision for healthier forests to a new generation […]
BREAK OUT THE MITTENS AND TOQUES! WE’RE HEADING OUT TO SEE THE CHRISTMAS LIGHTS! Since we’re closing in on the winter Solstice, we might as well take advantage of all of this darkness and enjoy the holiday spectacle. Tonight, we’ll take a walk or a cab to see the rows and rows of light-up, inflatable […]
SPA DAY AT HOME Break out the sheet masks and polishes. Today, we’re going to have a spa day at home. And, we’re doing it on the cheap, with whatever we’ve got on hand. Want to slather an egg on your face? Go right ahead. Feel like rubbing avocado all over your tired elbows? What’s […]
PYJAMA EXCHANGE & PIZZA PARTY Today, we’ll be exchanging pyjamas by the fire. Of course we’ll put them on right away! Then, we’ll order pizza, pour the wine or fizzy water, cuddle up on the couch, and put on a few old movies. It can’t get any better than that! Fave movie? Holiday (1938), of […]
CHOCOLATE MALT BÛCHE DE NOËL & A BRISK WALK Every year, or close to, I come up with a new recipe or flavour profile for our Christmas Yule Log Cake, or Büche de Noël. This year, I’ve come up with a Chocolate Malt Bûche de Noël for us to bake. Click Here for the Recipe! […]
IT’S THE LAST DAY OF ADVENT! Here’s my Christmas Eve Checklist for 2017 □ Take another brisk walk outdoors and come home to a hot cuppa! □ Prep the mains and sides for tomorrow’s Christmas dinner. □ Eat a light lunch and have a teaser cocktail! Or, raid the cookie platter. □ Mid-afternoon nap to prepare for […]
MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE! Return to the Advent Calendar 2017 Monthly View
NEW YEAR’S EVE MOVIE MARATHON Every New Year’s Eve, we order take-out (usually Chinese) and have a movie marathon. These usually have a theme. We’ve done Sherlock Holmes, Lord Peter Wimsey, Hitchcock, and Thin Man Movie binges. And, last year, we had a Transformation Movie spectacular. What will this year’s theme be? Well, we’re still not positive. […]
TREE TRIMMING PARTY It’s December 1st and the Scouts have set up their Christmas tree lot around the corner beside the AME Church. We’ve had an artificial tree for years. But, now that we have furniture that seats more than two, our old tree doesn’t fit our living space. For the first time in forever, […]
Today, each of us is going to write a Punk Rock Christmas Carol. Signing bonus if you mention seltzer or incorporate the sound of carbonation. Here are some Ramones lyrics for inspo: _________________________________ Merry Christmas (I Don’t Wanna Fight Tonight) Merry Christmas, I don’t want to fight tonight with __ Merry Christmas, I don’t want […]
CHRISTMAS COOKIE WARS! Today marks a Battle Royale between the Ancients and the Moderns Today, our favourite Christmas Cookie recipe will go head-to-head with a rookie-newcomer for the title of Christmas Cookie Champion 2018! What does this mean? First, the family is going to settle on our favourite holiday cookie from our own recipe collection. Will it […]
Adopt and Invent an Animal Tuesdays are traditionally giving days on our Advent Calendar Today, we’re going “adopt” an animal from a favourite charity We’ll be letting the kids decide whether this is a symbolic adoption from either the WWF or the Zoo or a Gift of Hope in the form of chickens, goats, etc. […]
FRIED CHICKEN TOUR! Today, we’re starting stage one of our Fried Chicken Tour of the City of Toronto! T’s crazy about fried chicken and looking for the best in the city to sample. So, we’re going to scan the top-ten lists and get recommendations from friends re the best (non-K) FC in the City and […]
We’ve got a late night tonight. So we’re going to spend the tail end of it having… A Late Night Tailgate Party Get out the red and green tortilla chips, the coloured salsas, fancy cheese and guac! We’re going to watch the recorded highlights of Thursday Night Football with our late night meal! Starting Lineup? […]
Mail the Christmas Cards! With our best wishes to the hard-working folks at Canada Post! RETURN TO THE ADVENT 2018 EVENTS PAGE
Checkered Tablecloth, The Works! Tonight, we’re fixing on an old fashioned steakhouse dinner with steaks & burgers, frites & baked potatoes, beer & whisky + dessert! RETURN TO THE ADVENT 2018 EVENTS PAGE
Christmas Concert at Roy Thomson Hall Today’s the first of the two Saint Michael’s Choir School Holiday Concerts at Roy Thomson Hall. This season marks a shift from the event’s taking place at the choir school’s usual Christmas venue, Massey Hall, which is undergoing extensive renovations. For tickets: https://www.roythomsonhall.com/tickets/st-michaels-choir-school-annual-christmas-concert/ RETURN TO THE ADVENT 2018 EVENTS […]
CHRISTMAS CANNING Today, we’re making some extra special holiday gifts. Alongside my famous Whisky Fig Cranberry Sauce, we’ll be tackling either Lillie O’Brien’s Persimmon, Saffron & Vanilla Jam or her Cranberry & Sherry Vinegar Jam (or both!) from the miraculous cookbook I discovered on our summer vacation, Five Seasons of Jam. To speed the process […]
SKETCH THE TREE AND SPONSOR A LIVE ONE Today, we’ll spend some time sketching our Christmas tree. We’re fishing out all of the old boxes of oil pastels and charcoal pencils and sharpies and watercolours, and we’ll get to work memorializing the first fresh tree we’ve had in the house in over a decade! Then, […]
Pyjama Day + Building the Ultimate Breakfast Sandwich Each year, during Advent, we grab a pair of crazy holiday pyjamas for at least one person in the family (usually Bea) and we celebrate with Dinner for Breakfast. Today, we’re going to have Breakfast for EVERY SINGLE MEAL! And, we’re going to attempt to build the […]
Feast of Santa Lucia Family Book Exchange is ON B & T are swapping titles again this year. They’re hunting gently used books for each other (and an extra for their local book depository) This year’s key words are “Mystery” and “Light.” RETURN TO THE ADVENT 2018 EVENTS PAGE
Holiday Game Night with Cocktails for Mom and Dad Tonight, we’re going to play holiday versions of all of our favourite games. We’ll haul out the game of “Christmas Clue” we made with the kids ages ago to see if the Christmas Villain, once again, wasn’t Rudolph with the Sleigh Bells in the Toy-Makers’ Room! […]
Photograph the City Today, we’ll visit the Art Gallery of Ontario (for Anthropocene) and Allen Gardens (for the Winter Flower Show). Then, we’ll go outside and photograph the city with an eye for the elements from these exhibits which inspired us the most! RETURN TO THE ADVENT 2018 EVENTS PAGE
Hallmark-Style Christmas Movie Spoof Tonight, we’re going to write, produce, and film our own spoof trailer, meet-cute, or pivotal scene from a Hallmark-style Christmas Movie. Bonus points for “modernizing” Shakespeare, Jane Austen or one of the Brontës! RETURN TO THE ADVENT 2018 EVENTS PAGE
Today, we’re going to make Soft Salted Caramels for the family and for gifting! Here’s a copy of my recipe! Soft Salted Caramels 1 c heavy cream5 tbs unsalted butter (cubed)1.5 tsp+* fleur de sel, Maldon flake, or pink Himalayan salt 1.5 c white sugar.25 c light corn syrup.25 c water1 tbs vanilla1 tbs cognac […]
Topping Up the Food Bank Box Today, we’re going to pile canned goods into the Daily Bread Food Bank box at our local grocery store. The most needed donation box items are those high in nutritional value, including: Baby food and formula Peanut butter Canned fish and meat Canned fruits and vegetables Rice, grains, lentils, […]
SEE ALL THE LIGHTS! Our annual tradition lives on! After a holiday event downtown, we’ll cruise the giant inflatable Santas on Inglewood Drive and SEE ALL THE LIGHTS! RETURN TO THE ADVENT 2018 EVENTS PAGE
Toronto Christmas Market It’s our annual tradition! Today, B and I will go have a lunch in the Distillery District and Ride the Ferris Wheel at the Toronto Christmas Market. RETURN TO THE ADVENT 2018 EVENTS PAGE
Holiday Beatnik Coffeehouse As you may have noticed, I took suggestions from the teenagers as to what they’d like to do on various days in Advent. In addition to the Fried Chicken Tour, we’ve had a request to basically relive the scene in the movie Funny Face, where Audrey Hepburn goes to find her philosopher […]
St. Lawrence Market Cheese Board This morning, we’ll get up before dawn and travel to the amazing stalls at St. Lawrence Market, gathering the ingredients for our Christmas Dinner and Building one heck of a mad cheese board / charcuterie plate! RETURN TO THE ADVENT 2018 EVENTS PAGE
Today, we’re making the Bûche de Noël for our Christmas Dinner! We’ll either be making this amazing Chocolate Mint Buche de Noël or my all-time favourite Lemon Bûche de Noël with Lemon Mascarpone …. or both? RETURN TO THE ADVENT 2018 EVENTS PAGE
Here it is! The annual Christmas Eve Checklist! □ Go for a Brisk walk with our mini-schnauzer, Elvis! □ Make tons of Christmas cookies. □ Live stream Jon Solomon’s 30-Hour Christmas Radio Show. □ LATE-AFTERNOON FEAST OF THE SEVEN FISHES IN TWO to THREE DISHES. Dish One Possibility: A Massive Cold Fish Plate with Shrimp Cocktail, Scallops […]
Merry Christmas! RETURN TO THE ADVENT 2018 EVENTS PAGE
TRAIN FILMS!!! This year’s New Year’s Eve film fest will consist of movies that take place on a train or which feature a train scene as a main plot-point. Since we’ve already done a few Hitchcock-heavy marathons, and since we’re not interested in tackling nuclear disasters, epidemics, or bloody westerns, our New Year’s fare will […]
SSJ’s Advent Love-to-Do List 2019 is now live! Check out the full post, here! And don’t forget: SSJ’S 2019 Advent Calendar begins to populate on December 1, 2019! Follow along daily by checking the 2019 ADVENT CALENDAR MONTHLY VIEW.
MY 2019 ADVENT CALENDAR WILL BEGIN TO POPULATE RIGHT HERE ON DECEMBER 1, 2019! FOLLOW ALONG DAILY BY CHECKING THE 2019 ADVENT CALENDAR MONTHLY VIEW OR HEADING HOME TO SMELLINGSALTSJOURNAL.COM ! IN THE MEANTIME, TAKE A LOOK BACK AT MY SSJ ADVENT CALENDARS FROM 2018 AND 2017.
It’sthe firstday of Advent!Time to trim the tree! First, we’ll have to choose one!This afternoon, we’ll trek over tothe local Scouts lot for a tall, slim fir. Then, we’ll turn on some music, make someof my Santa Baby Cookies, and choose picturesfor the 2019 version of our Favourite Photo Ornaments. Sometimes, we throw on a […]
Design your own Bookplate! Today’s Advent TBD is a MAJOR THROWBACK to our very first online Advent Calendar in 2011 ! The kids were too young to get involved, and we wanted the bookplates to be surprises. So, Blaise sketched bookplates. I scanned them, added text with photo-editing software, and printed them on sticky-backed paper […]