Thrift Store Finds : A Touch of Holiday Edition

On a recent trip to the thrift store (Value Village) I found that they had gathered all the Christmas related stuff and displayed it together. A quick look through what they had didn't reap any of the vintage European blown-glass baubles that I would find in a thrifting-dream-come-true scenario. Rather there was a lot of unattractive, cheaply made new things that weren't worth taking home, using for a couple of weeks and then storing for the rest of the year.I did pick up a couple of specific holiday related pieces though, that I quite like, the first being this little planter, especially for a little African Violet plant which always has a few flowers at this time of the year. This particular plant with its iridescent white blossoms, has its larger flush of flowers in late spring but always gives me a few more again in early winter. So a Christmas planter was just the thing to allow this hard little worker to show off a bit. (I have a collection of African Violets, each of which has their own habits and personality. I'm planning to do a post on their care next year.)I haven't decided yet if this is something I'll use this year and re-donate after Christmas or if I'll store it for next year.

Dinner at The Piston and a Friend Reads Her Poetry

On Tuesday we had the pleasure of eating some good food and then slipping into a back room to hear some writers read some of their work. We went because our friend Julie was participating and were happy we did because the whole evening was fun.

Let's start with the food! The Piston, located at 937 Bloor Street West (just west of the Ossington Station, on the south side) served it up very nicely.

My favourite kind of restaurant seating is a booth, and I have been known to return to a certain spot with so-so but edible food, based on this style of seating (no names required and the place is now closed, but they did have awesome booths). I'm sure this stems back to back-to-school shopping trips with my mother and siblings when I was a kid, which included lunch at a very old diner with booths, that used to be on Yonge Street near Dundas. Having grown up in the suburbs of the big city, these early trips downtown were a highlight, during which I decided that, without doubt, Toronto was going to be the place to live when I grew up. So booths in restaurants are all wrapped up in that and you might say a big part of the reason I live here now. (Haha, I know ... too much read into the type of seating in a restaurant, right?)

Anyway, upon entering The Piston I was delighted to find a nice row of cozy booths with one free and just waiting for us. I made the decision to like the place while taking off my warm winter outerwear and slipping into it. Then this decision was further confirmed by the food we were served.

Sorry these pictures are so dark but the dim lighting contributed to the ambiance.

Cat’s Christmas Portrait on Handmade Greeting Cards

c="http://www.loulou.to/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/eddie-christmas-scarf-01.jpg" alt="eddie-christmas-scarf-01" width="640" height="457" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-21152 blk-brdr">A certain furry someone had his Christmas portrait taken last week. The powers of suggestion work pretty well with our Eddie, in that if we lay a blanket, mat, pillowcase (you get the idea, basically anything he can sit on) on the floor, he will make a speedy beeline for it, no matter what. (You'll see more of this phenomenon at play next Caturday when I show you how helpful he has been in getting all kinds of things ready for Christmas.)So this little idiosyncrasy resulted in him plunking his bum down on the red woolen blanket I was putting down, even before I'd had a chance to get it straightened out.I wasn't so sure how he would react to wearing the scarf, which came tied around the neck of a past Christmas themed teddy bear, that is long gone but from which I saved the cute little tartan scarf. Turns out that Eddie seems to have been waiting to be given a cozy scarf. He was right into it, continuing to wear it around the house for a bit after we were done with the photos. In fact, he made a dash for the door going outside when Nick had it opened, and I literally had to chase him to get the scarf off before it was lost to the wilds of the great outdoors.

The Christmas Market in The Toronto Distillery District

On Sunday my friend Andrea and I had a very good time at the Toronto Christmas Market over in the Distillery District. Website : http://thedistillerywintervillage.com