Author: avery

Haunted Toronto Scavenger Hunt

Looking for something fun to do in Toronto on Friday night?  Check out the Haunted Toronto Scavenger Hunt from Urban Capers.  It’s like a normal scavenger hunt, but you don’t collect items, you collect answers to tricky and humour questions about the people and places you discover along the way.  Sounds like spooky fun!

Read all the details here.  It doesn’t say the date on the website, but I know it’s going to run this Friday, October 26, in its “beta version” (there might be a few kinks to still iron out, but it will definitely be fun!)  Contact Urban Capers to book your spot.

[painting of University College, purportedly haunted, by Edmund Walker]

A Great Gift for a Coffee Lover

Wow, and I thought I was a bit of a coffee snob.  There’s a whole world of fancy coffee out there just waiting for me!  Check out this Compendious Coffee Chart print by Pop Chart Lab – wouldn’t this be a great gift for a coffee lover?  Tip – if you view it on the website, you can zoom in on each section.

Check out Pop Chart’s other awesome prints, including Culinary Tools, Beer, Baseball, and even Hollywood Haircuts!

Finger Lakes Getaway

We have some holiday time coming up in mid-November, and are trying to figure out what to do.  We’ve rented our house for 5 nights, so we have to skip town, but don’t want to spend a lot of money.  Ian’s parents have graciously offered to take Clara for a week, and my parents will take our dog… so what should Ian and I do?

We’ve been looking at the Finger Lakes region of upstate New York.  It’s an easy drive, and we could hang out in Ithaca, where Cornell University is.  It’s supposed to be a lovely town with good restaurants (and a great beer bar for Ian).  There are many breathtaking waterfalls and gorges nearby, so if the weather is good, we could go for a few hikes.  Or, if the weather is miserable, I’d be just as happy sitting by a fireplace reading a book.

I’ve been looking at rooms at the William Henry Miller Inn, which is right in town.  It looks really cozy – I would love to sleep in, eat a huge breakfast, and spend the days casually poking around town. I think it could be quite romantic!

Have you been to the Finger Lakes?  Any recommendations?

I’m in the Toronto Star today

I’m on the front cover of the Life and Entertainment section of the Toronto Star today, in an article about breast reconstruction.  The piece is about the “show and tell lounge” sponsored by Willow Breast Cancer Support Canada, which happens on Wednesday as part of Breast Reconstruction Awareness Day.  I’ll be in the show and tell lounge, showing off my fake boobs.

Yep, they’re fake (but aren’t they rockin’?!?!).  I had a preventative double mastectomy 3 years ago, because I have “the breast cancer gene” (BRCA 1), which makes it difficult for my body to fight breast and ovarian cancer.  My mom had the gene, and she died of ovarian cancer at the age of 52.  Not me, no thank you.  Hence the preventative surgery.

You can read more about my situation on my “Diary of a Mutant” blog here.  And read more about Willow Breast Cancer Support Canada and the BRA Day here.  And of course, check out the article in the Star here.

What the Heck I’ve Been Up To

My regular readers may have noticed that I’ve been a massive blog slacker lately.  I’m not ignoring you… really… I’m just finding it hard to squeeze everything in to my busy days, and the blog has been suffering.  I’m sorry.  I’ll be back soon, I promise!

In the meantime, I figured I’d tell you what I’ve been up to…

My Web Design Biz:
– designed and launched this
– designed and launched this
– two more website launching any day now
– three websites I just started on

Camp Tech:
– two successful workshops in September
– Email Marketing workshop tomorrow night
– two WordPress workshops in October, including our first ever Intermediate level workshop

Conferences, Events and Things:
– I attended FITC Screens last week and had my mind blown
– I attended WordCamp on the weekend and met some really lovely people
– I’m going on my first official business trip next week to teach a seminar
– I’m speaking on this panel October 18
– I’m attending this conference October 19
– I’m attending this conference October 20
– I’m speaking at this conference November 1
– I’m attending this conference November 3-4
– I’m attending this event December 1

AND, I’m SOOOOO EXCITED that I purchased my ticket for An Event Apart San Diego in May 2013.  I’m going to meet my web design idols in person!

Wow, I’m exhausted just looking at that list.  Onwards and upwards…

[Everyday I’m Hustlin’ Tattly Temporary Tattoo by Arianna Orland. Somebody buy it for me, please]