My 24th Birthday in Toronto

Sunnies (Madewell)

Hi babes! Greetings from northern Ontario!

I just spent such a fun and adventure packed week in Toronto with Francis and my family, and am now officially on vacation up north at our cottage. I worked throughout my week in the city, parking myself at various coffee shops, scrambling to get my work and to-do’s done in record time so I could meet my sister for lunches and after work drinks… Normally back home I don’t stop for a lunch break and typically work pretty late; luckyily this week was relatively chill for me (had to work till 10 pm on the Friday at our cottage, but that’s a different story). We really made the most of our time!

I will be working on a more in depth Toronto post with all the details of where we stayed, ate, and all the things we did to make life BSE (aka best summer ever, our squad moto) in the next few days, but wanted to do a quick recap of my 24th birthday because it was such a special day 🙂

Pink Blazer (Aritzia sold out, similar) / Polka Dot Dress (Abercrombie) / White Slingbacks (JAGGAR via Shopbop) / Wicker Bag (Etsy)

My family has a condo in the city, which we jokingly refer to as “Barbie’s Dream Condo” because it is a weeee bit on the small side; my sister Kate and my parents stayed there all week while Fran and I checked into the Shangri-La hotel. The hotel is right in the fashion district, a super hip area with awesome public transportation, restaurants, bars, cute areas to sit outside and people watch. It was a 5 min walk from where my sister is doing her internship, so we could meet every day! The first night my family and I drove in from Chicago, we met for dinner and to kick off my birthday celebrations at this awesome Mediterranean restaurant called Ricarda’s. They had an awesome bar, really cool drinks, and a killer menu (tons of pescatarian options for me and my sister). Also side note, there is a cute angel mural wall right across the street with mini sized matching angel wings for your dog to pose with! Kate and I went splitsies on a crab risotto and fresh fish. For dessert, the restaurant gave us complimentary glasses of a 10 year old port for my birthday (and chocolate mousse!)

On the day of my actual birthday, I worked a busy morning at the hotel, then put on one of my favorite new pieces (this fabulous pink blazer is sold out at Aritzia but I found an almost identical one from H&M) and met my mum and sister at OB Canteen. I hadn’t been in years, but it’s a fave spot of my fam’s; the lunch menu is BOMB. Obviously decided on a boozy lunch and ordered these fun popsicle prosecco drinks, along with this super fresh, flavorful, and light tomato and watermelon salad. For my main, I got their take on a salmon poke; it was kind of deconstructed style, with a big dollop of avocado, diced pineapple, radishes, and black forbidden rice. YUM.

Shorts (Joe Fresh) / Leather Sneakers (M. Gemi)

We went to SUCH a cool spot for my birthday dinner; I have seriously been yearning to go to Lavelle for yeaaaars. Lavelle is part swanky pool club, part lounge bar, part dining room. It’s situated on the 16th story and has the most incredible views of the Toronto skyline I have ever seen in my life. Apparently, during the summer you can get a membership here to use the pool, which I would totally do if I lived here full time. My mum and sister have had amazing meals here, but to be honest I wasn’t crazy impressed by the food (worth noting that I am a very tough food critic, but still). Our waiter said they just took on a new head chef, so there are normally some understandable growing pains associated with that transition phase… Will definitely give the food another change however, and would 110% come back for the ambiance alone.

Blouse (Chic Wish) / Shorts (Aritzia) / Slingback Heels (JAGGAR via Shopbop)

The best part about the day was that I got to celebrate in my hometown, most favorite city, with my most favorite people! I have been in Toronto on the day of my actual birthday for as long as I can remember, and this was the first birthday of mine that Francis and I got to spend together (bonus that my sister was there too, because she’s often already been at summer camp as a counselor this year). Such a good day! 23 was one of my best years ever and I can’t wait to see what 24 brings 🙂