Everyday Ottawa Artist

Exploring the city, getting creative; a space to share thoughts and opinions!

[lecs-ni]

[mattmarmentini-blog]

I wish I could pull of a trench coat like this. But at a mere 5'5" I am too short for that. Thank you to the honest sales person who told me no. At first I was angry, but in the end I'm glad I didn't buy it.

[mattmarmentini-blog]

Hey Guys!

So today was kind of a lazy day.

I woke up at around 7:30 to the sound of my downstairs neighbors arguing. I want to tell them something like, "Everyone can here you!" or "What the fuck are you arguing about at seven thirty?!"  But I don't. They're usually really quiet. Actually all my neighbors are pretty good. Oh, except the one guy who leave his garbage bag in the hall. I hate him.

Anyway, so I made home fries for breakfast. I used some leftover boiled potatoes and fried them up with a little onion and some s+p . Yum! Afterwards (as you can see) my placereally needed a good cleanup, so after I did the breakfast dishes that is what I did. It has been a long time since I really organized, so it was a bit like an unexpected treasure hunt! I found a lime under my sofa. When was the last time I used a lime for anything?

After that I went out with a friend at my favorite restaurant the Fox and Feather (more on that later). We talked about "Fat Sick and Nearly Dead" which is a documentary on Netflix about a juice cleanse/diet. She was into it, I was not. I think it's stupid. A lot of fad diets don't work unless you are a non-human with iron will power.

For the afternoon I came home and watched Youtube and Game of Thrones and now I am creating a look book. More on that later.

That's it for now,

Love y'all!

[mattmarmentini-blog]

In honor of the people of France I have decided to make French Toast this morning. Even though (and correct me if I'm wrong) I'm pretty sure nobody there actually eats it. If they don't, then where did the name come from? Anyway, I had one egg left in the carton and French Toast is yummy and comforting and pancakes are just too much work.

Ingredients:

4 slices of bread (I used white because good health is overrated)

1 large egg

A splash cup milk... let's say, 1/4 cup?

1-2 tablespoons sugar

A pinch of salt

A dash each of ground nutmeg and cinnamon.

Method:

1. The first step is to find the proper bread-dunking receptacle in which to prepare your batter. I do this because I am usually too lazy to wash that extra bowl. Whose got that kind of time? A glass Pyrex baking dish works pretty good.

So, (after finding your baking dish buried under other unwashed dishes in the sink and rinsing it off) whisk together all of the ingredients that are not bread. (Egg, milk, sugar, salt, nutmeg and cinnamon.) Play around with it! After all you are the one who is going to have to eat it. You can add no sugar, more sugar, vanilla extract or even ground ginger.

  2. Don't forget--like I did--to pre-heat a frying pan. On medium heat. With some oil.

3. Once the pan is nice and hot, dunk a slice of bread in the eggy mix. But you have to do it quickly, because you don't actually want it to soak through or you'll run out of batter and, well... you only had the one egg! So, just sort of tap your bread on both sides and toss it into the pan.

4. Here is where it gets tricky. You have to check to see when the underside turns crispy, so that it is not burnt and gross or if it's still gooey and you might poison yourself and die. Not a good start to your morning. But don't check too often or your bread/toast will get squashed. I usually take this time to do other things like cutting up fruit as a side, or checking Facebook. Once your toast is crispy, flip it and toast the other side. Do this with all four slices.

5. Now is the fun bit; eating it! There are so many options to decorating your plate! Fruits, nuts, powdered sugar, syrup, honey, jam, cream cheese. The choice is yours! You could even make a breakfast sandwich with your French Toast! Go wild! My personal favorite is peanut buttered with maple syrup, and a tequila sunrise. But I didn't have oranges or orange juice or tequila so I just added some rum to my tea. Happy eating!

Notes; this recipe serves; 4. Calories per serving; ugh.

[mattmarmentini-blog]

A quick glimpse at my apartment. This kitchen is really small, but a few simple storage solutions help make this space very functional! I used a wheeled kitchen cart (RÅSKOG by IKEA) and added a shelf above the fridge to optimise the vertical space!

Note to Self: I don't remember buying cereal... D:

[mattmarmentini-blog]

A Bit ABoot Me

Hi Guys!

This is sort of a continuation on the 'What it's About' post. Except less about the blog and a bit more about, well me! Don't get me wrong, I actually hate talking about myself, but since we are going to be spending some time together I thought it'd be best to kind of introduce myself. (...)

Anyway, I am from Ottawa. Home to the Canadian government, a rich history, Canada's  4th largest city! Exciting right? Wrong. Ottawa is so boring! Or so I thought. Outwardly, Ottawa is a very 9-5 place, with a lagging nightlife and is stuffed with so many museums that for some reason all close at 5:00. But that's just the surface! Ottawa is actually quite vibrant when you look close enough. Day by day, across the capital, new businesses are opening up, hundreds of events are taking place. Every city is like this, I'd imagine. There is always something new to explore, so get out there! It is something I want to do more of because, usually, I am nervous to try new things.

I like to get creative, although sometimes the inspiration is not always there. For the most part, we all have things we like to do. Whether that be painting, coming up with new recipes, photography or sewing. I was reading a fashion blog a couple of months ago and it was all about one man learning to make his own clothes. How cool is that? If you are like me, then your creative projects often wind up in a closet. This ends now! My favourite creative outlets are painting/drawing, creative writing and cooking/baking. If you want me to try your favourite medium, let me know!

Although I can't say I am an expert on anything, I do like fashion, interior design and trying new places. So a lot of this blog may just be me sharing some of my personal design tips, trend likes and reviews for restaurants and hotels I go to. If there is any place you'd like reviewed let me know!

Lastly, there are times when I really like to  'nerd out'. Which to me basically means when I'm a couch potato. (Where did that expression even come from?) Usually I am reading a book. I love books! I hope to kind of start a book club-ish thing. Maybe we even choose a book and read it at the same time! That's TBD. Sometimes I am playing computer games like the Sims4 (Opinion on that later) I like to binge watch shows on Netflix, YouTube or else I will by the seasons on DVD. It's tough waiting for it to come out, but in my opinion worth not having to sit through commercials.

Apart from all this, I am 21 years old, work as a Sales Clerk and am generally an average person. Now enough about me, I can already see your eyes glaze over. MOVING ON!

[mattmarmentini-blog]

What It's All About

Hi Guys!

Wow, the world of blogging sure has changed since I wrote my first one in 2009 (?) I don't even think the site I used still exists anymore. Yikes!

So basically, my blog was--and will be--about everything! Well, not everything, I guess... but a lot of things like art, books, food, fashion, some journal entries, restaurant reviews and more! Kind of a dashboard for ideas and opinions while hopefully being somewhat entertaining to the reader!Eventually, I would like to choose a different topic for each day of the week like "Fashion Friday!" What? Over used? Okay, so it's a work in progress.  

It is important to challenge ourselves to think outside the box. Explore, maybe? Try something new? Here's a question, have you ever backed out of trying a new style of restaurant in fear of not liking it? Do you have an unfinished scrapbook sitting in a closet somewhere? Why?

MM