Hello! I’m Fatima and I live with my roommate Atticus, a brown domestic tabby (I like to think of us as equals) in Toronto. Between the hours of 9:00am – 5:00pm from Monday to Friday, you can find me in a cubicle on the umpteenth floor somewhere, clattering away at a keyboard. However after 5:00, you can find me heels off, barefoot in the kitchen cooking up a storm, or tearing through cookbooks, finding a new recipe to try out. The idea of My Extended Weekend came to me at a point in my career when I became unhappy during the 9-5, and living for those short 48 hours come Saturday. And for good reason. I love to cram my weekends with exploration and fun. Eating a new restaurants and waiting in line somewhere trying the latest new dessert craze that has plagued this city. However by living this way, come Sunday night I was a ball of nervous energy dreading the sunrise. Certainly not a healthy way to live.

I realized that the week is an untapped treasure trove full of beautiful memories and experiences waiting to be had. Finding things to do, and implementing pick-me-ups during the week inside and outside of work can save you. For me, it’s mainly cooking (and now this blog) that I am able to embrace creativity and happiness. But there are so many other things you can do. Treat yourself to a latte mid-day; listen to your favourite album; establish a tea/candy/chocolate stash drawer; take a bubble bath; add a plant to your workspace; go for a walk in the park during lunch; visit a used bookstore; have lunch with an old friend- or a new friend!

The point is this: extend your weekend beyond Saturday and Sunday.

While I intend to provide a bit of everything here- home decor, favourite things, travel snapshots- I will be mainly posting my tried, tested and loved recipes. My philosophy is that if you cook everything yourself, with fresh, raw, and wholesome ingredients, you have earned the right to indulge. Therefore, while I try to mainly eat healthy, I won’t refuse myself a tossing of cheese on a dish, I will use real butter, and I will happily lick the cake batter off my spatula.

Having said that, I do believe in simplicity. Cooking doesn’t have to be scary or hard. To me, it’s an escape after a long day. Where I find peace and happiness. And there’s something so beautiful in eating a meal you have created from scratch. From handpicking each ingredient in the grocery store, to successfully completing each step before you finally start to see things come together in creating your beautiful and aromatic dish. My goal is to make you fall in love with it as much as I have.

Thanks for dropping by, and please do stay a while 🙂

F.