Leonidas Chocolate 100th Year Celebration

Leonidas, a chocolate boutique and cafe, celebrated their 100th anniversary this weekend by hosting a party at their waterfront location at Canada Place. Leonidas is a Belgian chocolate company, with over 1400 locations across the globe. All the chocolates are imported from Belgium and are made with 100% cocoa butter. Along with chocolates, the store also offers other confectionery treats, ice cream and hot chocolate beverages.

Plenty of chocolate eggs in time for Easter!

So many chocolates to choose from.

The colourful macarons are certainly eye-catching!

A chocolate fountain was set up near the front of the store with fruit, Leige waffles and cream puffs for dipping. (I resisted the urge to put a cup under the fountain and just drink the chocolate.) Wine and hot chocolate was also offered as drinks, and small sandwiches and appetizers were brought around.

The hot chocolate was to-die for! I tried the milk chocolate, but they also offer white and dark chocolate drinks.

Turkey, goat cheese, avocado and pesto sandwiches.

Goat cheese and walnut sandwiches.

Tomato and cheese skewers.

Leonidas also carries locally made macarons. I tried the raspberry macaron with chocolate ganache. There are many other flavours to choose from, and they all sounded delicious! The macaron was less sweet than others I have tried, which I really liked.

Jeremy of @FoodGays and store co-owner Aisha about to devour a mint chocolate macaron!

As if a macaron tasting wasn't enough, we also got to try the different chocolates! Because the chocolate is made of 100% cocoa butter, they absolutely melt in your mouth!

The team at Leonidas.

Everyone received a chocolate goody to bring home!

The party was definitely a fun and delicious one. It was very nice to see some familiar faces, as well as meet new friends. Leonidas is a great place to visit if you're ever looking for a treat! Make sure to say hi to Aisha when you're in!

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Oz The Great & Powerful - Opening Sequence

I'm excited to go and see Oz The Great & Powerful in theatres!

Crate and Barrel Now Open at Oakridge

Crate and Barrel has opened it's doors at Oakridge Mall in Vancouver today, occupying a large space packed full of furniture and other household goods. I attended the preview event last night for a quick peek at what they have to offer.

There was wine and appetizers going around for all the guests, and the store was packed with shoppers who got first dibs on the store merchandise.

Crate and Barrel offers wall to wall plates, bowls, glassware, place mats, you name it. It was really difficult to tear myself away from the kitchenware!

I really liked this gorgeous Reflection Centrepiece. Live plants in a rock bed.

They also offer larger furniture and home decor, from bedding to tables and chairs.

Crate and Barrel is currently offering 15% off all merchandise during their grand opening weekend.

Kobe Izakaya Lounge

I picked up the a coupon deal at The Red Pocket for the lounge at Kobe restaurant downtown, so headed down there a few weeks ago. It was early in the week, so it was actually pretty quiet in the lounge area. A cute little place, it has Japanese decor and seems like a cozy place to go to for a night out. The food was decent, though not the best I've had. I have a feeling most people head upstairs to the pricier Kobe Japanese Steak and Seafood House, but the lounge is a nice quiet place to grab a drink.

We started with the Ahi Tuna Sashimi. It wasn't very fresh so I wouldn't recommend it.

Spicy Dynamite Roll. Good, but maybe a little too spicy for me!

Chili Garlic Calamari. This was nice and crispy.

Tuna Avocado Salsa. Probably my favourite dish of the night, the Ahi tuna tartar is laid ontop of tomatoes, onions and avocado. Eaten with the fried wonton chips, it was a delicious combination.

Short Ribs - slow cooked, seared and marinated triple AAA ribs, finished with glaze. Very tender meat, and the sauce was sweet.

Broadway Across Canada 2013/14 Preview

Broadway Across Canada hosted a 2013/14 season preview party at the QE Theatre downtown a couple of weeks ago. There were drinks and appetizers to start the evening off, and then we were ushered into the theatre.

 Mike Shaeffer from 103.5 QM/FM hosted the event where clips from the upcoming musicals were shown - Les Miserables (June 12 - 23, 2013), War Horse (September 24 - 29, 2013), and West Side Story (February 4 - 9, 2014).

Scott Tucker, the production representative of War Horse, then came on stage to tell us more about War Horse, a Tony award winning show that is currently playing (and very popular) in London, UK. We were all surprised when Joey, the star of the show came on stage!

Joey is an amazing puppet created by the Handspring Puppet Company that takes three actors to operate. The puppeteers breathes, snorts and whinnies just like a real horse. It was amazing watching the actors perform - you forget that it's a puppet and really start to believe Joey is a real horse!

Afterwards, the three puppeteers came out to answer questions the audiences had. Each trio of actors will do things differently, so you will get a different show every night. Unbelievably, it was the first show that these three had together that night!

I'm very excited for the upcoming season, as I haven't watched any of the three shows before. I can't wait!

Sharks and Rays at the Vancouver Aquarium

One of my favourite places to spend a day is at the Vancouver Aquarium, and when I heard there was sharks and rays exhibit, I couldn't wait to go! Located in the heart of Stanley Park, a group of us headed down last weekend on a gorgeous day. The Aquarium has been undergoing renovations for the last few years, so it was quite different since the last time I have been. There are plenty of amazing things to see - the sharks are one of my favourites still! Make sure to check it out during the summer months. It's definitely worth spending a whole day there! The Secret World of Sharks and Rays will be at the Vancouver Aquarium until April 30th.

Lots of renovations going on at the Vancouver Aquarium. This is the new entrance.

Penguins are the newest addition to the Vancouver Aquarium.

One of my favourite animals - the sea otter!

Belugas!

Giant Pacific octopus.

Blue-spotted Fantail Ray

Clownfish.

Tasselled Wobbegong - a type of carpet shark that is amazing at camouflage!

Hatpin urchin.

Dwarf cuttlefish

Splendid garden eel. They are adorable!

A shark egg case. The illumination behind it helped you see the shark moving around inside the case - very cool.

Hyacinth macaw

Tiger rat snake

Peek-a-boo! Blue-fronted Amazon.

Pacific white-sided dolphin.

Stellar sea lion.

Harbour seal.

False tomato frog

Green treefrog

Frog lovin'. Phantasmal poison frog.

These fish hide in kelp. You might even see them if you don't look closely!

Japanese sea nettle.