unsolicited opinions on random things
It’s Friday. It’s cold outside. I am looking forward to relaxing later on, with a pint of craft beer or a glass of wine, in front of my fireplace.
But what if you don’t have a fireplace? Check out this perfectly timed article from Torontoist, featuring 11 awesome Toronto pubs where you can imbibe, fireside.
Cheers!
[image of the Drake Sky Yard rooftop patio from their website]
I’ve seen a few retail shops and craft show vendors using their iPads (or iPhones) at checkouts. Attach a Square credit card reader, and you have an instant cash register. If that’s your setup (or if you’re considering that setup), have a look at this beautiful wooden stand by Tinkering Monkey. It pivots back and forth so both you and the customer can look at it, and they will laser engrave your logo on the stand.
I have no real need for this, but I kind of wish I did.
I love these images of people diving under waves from Mark Tipple’s Underwater Project. They kind of remind me of these photos by Barbara Cole.
There’s a neat video on the photographer’s website showing how he shoots the images.
[via Twisted Sifter]
I read a few parenting websites, magazines, and the occasional book about parenting. One trend I’ve noticed recently – there’s a real emphasis on Dads. Particularly stay-at-home Dads, or Dads-as-primary (or at least equal) caregiver. Two examples I’ve seen in the last few days: style blogs are blowing up with the launch of Kindling Quarterly, a new magazine about “exploring fatherhood”. And this “I’m Daddy and I Know It” video of a Utah Dad looking after his 5 kids (including triplets!) has gone viral on YouTube.
The magazine and the video seem unrelated (an uber-hip Brooklyn publication and a suburban Dad in a minivan) but they definitely have one thing in common – they’re unapologetic. They seem to say “Hey, we’re Dads, we’re proud, and we’re here to stay.” As Kindling Quarterly says, “men who are active caregivers are not a novelty.”
I LOVE this. I see more and more Dads on the playgrounds and at playgroups here in Leslieville, and in our house, parenting is a completely equal task. This is groundbreaking stuff for our generation, and modern Dads need our support and encouragement.
[image of Bill Cosby as Dr. Cliff Huxtable – one of the most awesome Dads ever (fictional, but still awesome)]
Don’t you just love it when someone you admire and respect thinks that you are cool too? That happened to me about a month ago, when I received a lovely email from Alanna Cavanagh, the illustrator and printmaker. She told me that she loved the website I designed and built for The Soft Mechanic (aka my super amazing RMT Michelle Yee). I was tickled pink to hear that someone I think is so great in turn thought that my work was great. *blush!*
Alanna and I have something in common in our love for Michelle – she really is THE BEST. Alanna recently wrote more about how awesome Michelle is on her blog (and mentioned me in a small way too). What a lovely lovely post. Mutual admiration society, indeed.
[ps – according to this post on Alanna’s blog, her wildly popular holiday tea towels at the Bay have spawned a “capsule collection” at the Bay, available in April. I’m not exactly sure what a capsule collection is, but if she’s behind it, you know it’s going to be rad.]
[image of Alanna Cavanagh’s A Room of One’s Own print, hanging in the treatment room at Michelle’s home studio, c/o Alanna’s blog]
Here’s a real Canadian nerd problem if I’ve ever seen one – I can’t use my iPhone when I’m wearing my winter gloves. And with the weather we’ve been having lately in Toronto, that’s a serious issue!
I’ve been on the lookout for a pair of gloves that has touchscreen-friendly fingers, but most of the ones I’ve seen are really ugly or really expensive. I wished I could wear my normal gloves (which I love) but still use my phone. I was about to order this DIY touchscreen glove kit (saw it on Swiss Miss), but then I saw these GloveTips on 50% sale at Indigo. I figured, for $10, why not give ’em a try?
They came in the mail today, and I put them on my favourite blue snowflake gloves. I can happily report that the GloveTips totally work! Of course, I don’t have the same dexterity as bare hands, but it’s a pretty good solution. Score!
Get your GloveTips on half-price blowout at Indigo, if you want to try them yourself.
Do you often lose your TTC tokens? Mine fall out of my wallet all the time. And the ones I don’t lose are often confused with dimes, or just misplaced.
Check out this awesome TTC token holder, made by Spacing Magazine. It holds 10 tokens, and still fits in your pocket or your purse. Brilliant! I bought a bunch of them before Christmas and gave them to friends and family as stocking stuffers.
You can get yours at the Spacing store, and they’ll ship one to you (approx. $2.50 for shipping).
Christoph Niemann illustrates Maurice Sendak’s last interview, on Fresh Air with Terry Gross. So simple, beautiful and moving.
[thanks Kinnon for sharing]
Last night’s episode of The Layover with Anthony Bourdain featured his visit to Toronto (when he was here back in July). Someone has posted the episode online, in case you missed it. And if that link disappears, you can always readToronto Life’s roundup of the show (although reading about it isn’t nearly as fun as watching it).
[thanks to my pal Andrew for the tip]
Would you sleep in an igloo? I’ve heard they can be quite warm and cozy. If you’re so inclined, check out this collection of “snow domes” (aka igloos) on Airbnb.