Thrift Store Finds

I've gotten behind in showing you my thrift store finds, but be assured, the Value Village near Bloor and Lansdowne remains a favourite shopping destination! Here are some of the goodies I've found this winter.As usual, my most loved sections of the store are the housewares and linens.

Breakfast with Friends

We had the pleasure of sharing a Sunday morning meal with some special people last week, over to Julie, Guy, Lila and James' place.

Julie prepared an amazing buffet board, loaded with a wide array of delicious things. The possible combinations was limitless, although we all did a good job of trying to reach that limit! I especially liked the little detail of fresh marjoram leaves that added so much flavour.

The Mado's Hot Pepper Sauce we brought fit right in. (For all you fellow hot-sauce lovers out there, this small-batch locally made one is amoung the best. It's tasty and not blow-your-head-off hot. We get it at House of Spice in Kensington Market, previously written about in this post.)

Trying Something New : Making Earrings with Isabel

ass="aligncenter size-full wp-image-35463 blk-brdr" src="http://www.loulou.to/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/is-and-me-making-earrings.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="480">Back in the summer, my friend Isabel and I got talking about trying to make our own earrings. Then, we scheduled a date to do so ... and then rescheduled ... and then rescheduled again. I'm glad to say that we finally found a time that worked and we've done it! And now, I think I can speak for Issy when I say, we are both hooked!A couple of Sundays ago, we met near the bead shops on Queen Street West (about which I wrote in this post) to get our supplies. I'd done a bit of research ahead of time to figure out what we needed, and had already purchased three different pairs of jewellery making pliers, and pulled a pair of regular wire-cutters out of Nick's toolbox.So, what we needed to buy for our very basic beginners session were earring hooks, things called headpins, which are lengths of wire with a flattened end that you string beads onto. And, of course, we also needed the fun part -- the beads.As for the earring hooks and headpins, while they're available in different kinds of metals, we wanted to stick with sterling silver ones, especially for the hooks as they'd have direct contact with our skin, and we wanted to avoid any chance of allergic reactions or, more importantly, the frightening thought that the metal would contain cadmium. (Did you see this CBC segment about the unethical but regular use of poisonous cadmium in some costume jewellery making? Yikes!).(Note: I'm not saying that all non-sterling silver jewellery-making metal parts contain cadmium, just that there's a chance that some might, especially if they are sold at a really low price. I assume that silver-plated items are fine, as I'm told that the base metal is usually nickle-free brass -- nickle being an element that many people are allergic to. Also, I've since discovered a nice range of findings at Michaels that are made from stainless steel -- that's what medical tools are made from so they'll surely be safe to use.)When we arrived at the shops we found that the one we particularly wanted to go to, Arton Beads, was closed on Sundays.But that didn't stop us, as we are spoiled for choice in the "bead district", so crossed the street to a couple of shops that were open. First, we checked out a shop that I'd not been to before, The Beadery. Update : The Beadery has moved a bit westward, near Queen West and Portland Street.

A Friend’s Birthday and the Cowl Scarf I Made Her

Our much-loved friend Andrea had a birthday recently and we happily joined the celebrations!The Saturday evening began with a small cocktail party at her apartment, followed by some drinks and live music at a really fun place.I didn't want to be all "camera-in-your-face" at the cocktail party, so missed some shots I would have liked to have taken, particularly a close-up one of the delicious charcuterie board she assembled, and the big bowl of fruit-filled sangria. There were also balloons and a beautiful arrangement of flowers that her parents had sent her.

Friendship and Fresh Donuts at Little Nicky’s Coffee Shop (Closed)

UPDATE 2021 : The building that Little Nicky’s was in has been torn down, making way for a condominium, so it no longer exists in this location.  I’m not sure if it will reopen somewhere else in the city or in the new condo building once it’s completed.———————-What more can one ask for in a winter-time coffee date, than a nice cup of something hot, some freshly made mini donuts and a good friend to share them with?Julie and I got together for just that recently, at a place neither of us had been before, Little Nicky's Coffee on Queen Street West, at Peter Street (directly south of The Gap that's on the corner there).