Vintage Score

As I noted in an earlier post, I'm back into home decor mode in an effort to liven up my empty walls. A good friend of mine who lives over at Pape and Cosburn writes a really great blog on thrifting called  The Grunge Queen and she has inspired me to be really creative in my decor efforts without spending a ton of money. I like to shop local when I can so on that note, I decided to make a trip to our neighbourhood Value Village at Danforth and Woodbine to scrounge for some treasures. I've made two visits over the past few weeks and I totally scored.

On my first visit I found three pieces of silver plate tableware for a total of $25. They were black with tarnish, but I walked over to the new Home Hardware (a few doors down east of VV) and bought some silver polish. When I got home, I spent about half an hour polishing them and I was thrilled with the results! I put the tray and dish on my dresser as a perfume and jewelry tray and the "bucket" became a flower vase on my built-in shelves in the living room. The before and after pics are below (sans flowers!):

From East End Pioneer

On my second trip to VV on New Years Eve, I was looking for some champagne flutes and was only hoping to find a few mismatched items for my NYE shindig. I scored a full set of 6 copper plated flutes from Pier 1, new with labels on. I paid a bit more than I should have ($5 each) even though I tried to talk down the price with the woman on the cash. They are gorgeous and a nice functional decor addition to my china cabinet.

My next local decor stop: Ciraco Frames to frame some nice prints. Stay tuned!

New Year, New You

Some call it the Molson muscle, I call it the "holiday eggnog muscle". It's that gut that you get at the end of December from eating and drinking too much sugary-holiday-goodness. At the beginning of last week, I decided that I was not going to wait for January 1 to get started on a new fitness regime. In my mind, why wait? The faster I can get back into my pants, the better.

I already belong to McFitness (GoodLife) which is great for Saturday morning classes and their vast array of cardio implements, but I wanted to toss things up a bit. I hate riding my bike and thus, I hate spinning but it's one of the best indoor cardio workouts you can get, so I decided the best course of action (*obviously*) would be to sign up for a spin class.

I headed down to Legacy Indoor Cycling at 1506 Danforth to try a class last Wednesday and I actually enjoyed it. Andy, the owner, was attentive and helped to set me up with a padded seat cushion (I know, cheating!!) and adjusted my bike for me. He and the instructor both urged me to go at my own pace and in the end, I was thankful, as I made it through the class without too much pain.

When I went back for the Saturday morning class, it was a lot harder than Wednesday's. My hair was dripping and I thought my legs were on fire, but today I am already feeling the difference. I signed up for their 3-month weight loss challenge, just for fun, so now I'm accountable to someone which is great motivation. I can see it now "Danforth's Biggest Loser".....

Granola: X-rated

We're getting a little racy today on Pioneer.

Our nearest "female friendly adult store" Red Tent Sisters, over at Jones and Danforth, were creating some headlines back in December. They are advocating for environmentally friendly "toys" and have appealed to our nation's leaders to regulate the industry. Here is a link to the story.

Design Find

As a new year and some new adventures in my life begin, I've started to once again turn my focus to sprucing up my quaint old east end house with some funky cool decor. I'm sure that most of you, dear readers, have walked a simliar path: getting to this point has been a labour of love as we've poured money into structural functions, insulation, electrical, doors/windows and things that you can't see. So in between that and having a baby, the house has remained for the most part, a hodge podge of random furniture and very little in the way of decor.

However, my inspiration has been rekindled anew!

On this note, I stumbled across an amazing find last night that I wanted to share.

A Toronto design company called Walloper has created these amazing Wall Stickers based on the TTC subway stops. Here is a link to the images of Danforth line:

http://walloper.com/toronto-transit/Danforth-Subway-Stations

These are great for people who are non-committal. They are literally removable stickers that can be peeled off the wall whenever you want. And they come in whatever colour and size you desire to fit your decor.

I loved the Coxwell and Greenwood ones, so I am thinking about ordering one for my living room wall. DH will hate it, but considering we have no budget for art, this is a great temporary solution!

Eating Local

It's the 30th, and my thoughts have drifted towards tomorrow night when another decade will close and a new one begin. I personally like to spend the first seconds of the new year in my pajamas. I don't know about everyone else, but gone are the days when I shivered in the cold in a mini-skirt and 3-inch stilettos looking for a cab at 4am.

I'll be hitting up Royal Beef for some nice steaks and some delicious cheese and olives for my dinner guests tomorrow night and when 2010 comes around I'll be happily cheering it on from my couch on Danforth East.

For those of you who are on the fence (don't want to stay in but don't want to go out) why not consider eating local and making it home for the stroke of midnight. I made some calls to save you the trouble:

Melanie's - an a la carte menu starting at 6:00, with some special NYE entrees. Book now as Melanie herself said that the spots were filling up for the night. Kitchen closes at 11:00. (416) 422-1870

Relish - same as above, pretty much.

Ten Feet Tall - a $55 set menu with some tasty tasty menu items (you can find it here). Two seatings. Call for reservations: 416-778-7333. And it goes without saying that the music will be fantastic, as Karon's masterful selection of entertainment always is.

Happy New Year everyone, no matter where you end up. What matters is that you're with the people you love (or atleast like!!)!

Here's to a great 2010 on Danforth East!

Northern Lights

I'm betting some of you are wondering what happened to my holiday lights contest. I did get a few entries (thank you all who submitted!), but I realized that beauty is in the eye of the beholder and so in the holiday spirit, I have decided to refrain from pointing out holiday houses-of-horrors. Besides, it's quite hard to get a good photo in the dark, don't you think?

In lieu of that, here is my favourite line from my favourite Christmas movie which does in fact have the most heinous lighting display ever:

"What are you looking at?"
"Oh, the silent majesty of a winter's morn... the clean, cool chill of the holiday air... an a**hole in his bathrobe, emptying a chemical toilet into my sewer... "
(National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation)

Festival of Lights

DH was playing editorial assistant today and came up with some suggestions for stories for me. His funniest idea is something I loved.

As I'm sure everyone knows, we have some pretty gorgeous and pretty heinous Xmas lights in the area. For instance, take a drive north on Greenwood between Mortimer and O'Connor and you'll see what I mean!

DH would like everyone to send in pictures of their favourite, least-favourite, loudest, ugliest, brightest, craziest and/or funniest Xmas lights from anywhere in Danforth East. I will post them and we can vote on which we like or loath the most (if there are enough entries). If you're game, you can email us at thedaily *at* eastendpioneer *dot* ca.

Winning entry gets a $10 gift card to a local coffee shop of your choice (True Brew, Three's Company Too, Last Drop, Seb's or Small World)!