They Unpaved a Parking Lot to Put up a Paradise

Today I have photos taken in an area that, at one time, was not a place that you would particularly care to see. But now it is a remarkably transformed garden and thriving wetland, complete with spawning fish, frogs, turtles and marsh birds. And although I didn't see any of the animals other than the usual seagulls, pigeons, sparrows and squirrels, simply being there and reading about what has happened to the area brought joy to my heart! Where once there were unattractive parking lots, water that smelled and looked bad, tall chain link fences, and a whole lot of dimness, there is now a little patch of healthy nature.

A few weeks ago I walked to Toronto's waterfront to take some pictures for the Take Tuesday photo challenge, for the theme of water. (You can see those pictures here.) It was a short(ish) walk and after heading down I told myself I would go back. It was so pretty and relaxing. Now I will be visiting it much more often and plan to incorporate the trip south in my regular walks about town. I really want to see all the seasons from the vantage point along the water.

While I was there I took these pictures of an adjacent place called "The Music Garden".

Out for a Favourite Lunch and What I Wore

Update:  The Epicure has permanently closed.

Aside from brunch out with a friend over Thanksgiving Weekend, it had been ages since Nick and I went out for lunch. Since we work together from our home office, our lunches usually involve heated up leftovers. Don't get me wrong, they are always good leftovers as Nick plans for our lunches when he cooks, but they are leftovers nonetheless.So yesterday when he asked me if I'd like to go out for lunch (just like colleagues working out of the house in an office would!) I said sure. Especially after he suggested one of our favourite spots in the neighbourhood, Epicure.Housed within an old building on Queen Street West, which appears to have Gothic characteristics, this restaurant is much more French Bistro inside than it is Goth. The building was erected in around 1900, when Victorian architecture was popular. Curious about those spires along the top, I looked into Victorian architecture and discovered that it borrowed many features from much older forms of architecture (which in this particular case would have been Gothic, a style which was in favour in the 1600s.) This building was the first one ever on this site; Before that this was farmland. Its unique style really makes me wonder about the people who originally had it built.And although the whole menu is very good, we both always seem to order the same thing at Epicure ... the same as we each had the previous time we were there, and also the same as one another. It is their soy burger. They serve them in different 'styles' and this time I went with the Swiss (with Swiss Cheese and Portobello mushrooms) and Nick went with the New York (with a spicy peppercorn sauce.)Mmmm, so good. So good in fact, that I found myself later, at 9pm, thinking about it again and reminding Nick of our delicious lunch. And no, the thought of it did not send me to the kitchen in search of a snack. If fact, it took away any feelings of hunger because I remembered how comfortably full I felt after our delicious treat earlier that day.

Take Tuesday Photo Series : Numbers

Hello :) The 'Take Tuesday Photo Series' continues this week with the theme of : Numbers.Here's what I have ...

Hey Look … We Found an Hour!

You know that excellent feeling when you reach into the pocket of a coat you haven't worn for a while and pull out a twenty dollar bill that you'd forgotten about?  Well we experienced this feeling the other day, but instead of money, the found thing was an hour of time.

We needed some things that would best be found at a really fun kitchenware store, called Tap Phong Trading Company, located on Spadina Avenue. They stock anything and everything that you might need to cook with.  Apparently it's the place where many of the city's chefs and assistants go to get their gear, which is good quality at very decent prices.  NOTE if you go there though, to check your change carefully if you pay with cash because the three times I've been I've been short changed.

Anyway, we were going there and decided to arrive just as it was opening at 10 am.