“When someone says to me ‘Do you know how much you frighten people?’ The only thing I can say is ‘Not enough. Nowhere near enough.’” — Germaine Greer, in an interview with Elizabeth Renzetti
Category: awesome thing
Lucky Dip – A Selection of Strange and Awesome Stuff – January 15th, 2015
If you’re in Los Angeles, stop by the Los Angeles Public Library and check out the fantastic exhibit From Pop to the Pit: LAPL Photo Collection Celebrates the Los Angeles Music Scene, 1978-1989. Full of photos of some of your favourite bands (especially if you’re a GenXer) from gigs to publicity shots, and encompassing the […]
Awesome Thing – Geraldine’s Parisienne Milk Punch
At the beginning of January, the last thing anybody wants to hear about is milk punch, am I right? Weeks of parties full of cloying egg nog, resolutions to get fit… there is no place in there for a punch made with milk. Or so I thought. On New Year’s Eve the hubbs and I […]
Awesome Thing (That I Made!) – Scones That Are Flaky not Cakey
When did flaky scones become a thing? Growing up in Nova Scotia, scones in our house were always fried. We had tea biscuits, which are the closest in texture to what we now refer to as a scone, but they were dense and cakey, never flaky with discernible layers. We had heard of Southern biscuits, […]
Awesome Thing (That I Made!) – Feathered Hat Pins
For decades, I wasn’t able to wear hats. The things just didn’t look right on me. Then a year or so ago I changed my hair slightly and all of a sudden, hats looked grand! I celebrated by buying many of the things. Which was suddenly easy because hats had become stylish again. Or at […]
Awesome Thing – Halloween Greetings
Back in olde times, Halloween wasn’t the big deal it is today. The trick or treating, the parties, it just wasn’t as prominent. Although, as the ladies above demonstrate, the “sexy” costume dates back to at least the 1920s (honestly, no idea where this image came from or if it’s at all Halloween-related, I just […]
Awesome Thing – 3D Gifs
I hate those 3D glasses at the movies, they give me killer migraines. But it turns out that someone has discovered a way to make gif files look 3D. At the moment, it involves adding two white lines to the image, but here’s hoping that this can be tweaked to apply the technology to images […]
Awesome Thing – Fashion Blows
Anyone who follows fashion will have heard of Isabella Blow, the iconic stylist who was fixture on the UK fashion scene. She was known for her fantastic wardrobe, purchasing Alexander McQueen’s entire 1992 St. Martin’s College MA collection and launching his career. Blow committed suicide in 2007 and her entire wardrobe was sold to another […]
Awesome Thing – Brooches from StoryFolk
Who is your favourite fictional character? Mr. Darcy from Pride and Prejudice? Goldilocks? Romeo and Juliet? Maybe Anna Karenina? Wouldn’t you love to have an adorable brooch with their image on it? Christine Su is the mastermind behind StoryFolk, and creates felt brooches of a vast array of characters from literature, from the gingerbread man […]
Awesome Thing – That Time DEVO was on Square Pegs
Someone posted this yesterday on Facebook and, well, I had to re-post it here and share it with the world. Watching Square Pegs after 30 years is definitely (mostly) cringe-inducing, but the show was such an inspiration, and a weekly does of courage, for anyone who didn’t fit into the standard high school tropes. Plus, […]
Awesome Thing – A Floating Historical Garden
Barges used to make up a large percentage of England’s boats. Used to haul pretty much everything up and down the interior waterways of the UK, the bottoms of these flat boats would be filled with ballast (rocks, earth, etc) to weigh down the vessels when they docked. This ballast was often dumped, leaving behind […]
Awesome Thing – Toy Rebuilds from Professor Morbius
They walk, they talk, they play music. They’re cool and creepy at the same time. They’re the fantastical creations of one Professor Morbius who takes old toys, rebuilds them, steampunks the crap out of them, and sells them at local craft fairs as cool curiosities. Each piece moves, walks, sings, or crawls. All are one […]
Awesome Thing – Tibetan Shabaley
The shabaley, which doesn’t seem to exist on the Internets at all, although all of the Tibetan restaurants in Toronto’s Parkdale have their own version, is a heftier cousin to the traditional Tibetan momo. The momo, Tibet’s version of the dumpling, can be steamed or fried, and comes with a variety of fillings, usually vegetable […]
Awesome Thing – the Tourtiere at Victor
With no family nearby and a great fear and loathing of travelling during peak times, the husband and I typically spend the winter Solstice holidays in Toronto, just the two of us. Over the years we have made up our own traditions, which usually includes going out somewhere for dinner on Christmas Eve. Last year […]
Awesome Thing – Nature-Inspired Glassware
I’ve got a bit of a tree theme going on this week, but I was too enamoured of artist and glass blower Brad Copping‘s fantastic glassware, I had to share it. Copping makes these fantastic shot glasses, tumblers and pitchers by shaping molten glass around the end of a tree branch, dusting the outside with […]
Awesome Thing – Scones from Baker & Scone
I am so addicted to the scones at Baker & Scone (693 St. Clair Avenue West) that I have started to make up excuses to go to the Hillcrest neighbourhood. Thankfully there’s often something going on at Wychwood Barns, so it’s easy to make a stop on the corner of Christie and St. Clair West […]
Awesome Thing – Skeletons as Art
I want to be able to tell you all more about today’s Awesome Thing but the URL on the card I got doesn’t mention any work with skeletons or reconstruction. Brian Martland is a Toronto-area artist, but his website hasn’t been updated since 2012. What I can tell you is that I came across this […]
Awesome Thing – Soma’s Birch Branch
Two secrets that I will admit to you about today’s awesome thing – I have been known to break into the log song while cutting slices of this delicious treat. I have also been known to cradle it in my arm like the log lady from Twin Peaks (timely, huh?), except you can’t do that […]
Awesome Thing – Modern Tea Cosies
At first glance, they look like hats. Beautiful, thick, felted wool, with nifty little flowers or fringe at the top. And then Flock of Tea Cosy creator Michaelle McLean pulls one up to reveal a teapot underneath. Or a bodum. For tea drinkers with modern decor, grandma’s knitted tea cosy might look a bit out […]
Awesome Thing – Vintage Glassware
This festive display of fall-themed glassware caught my eye at a recent Annex Flea and drew me to it like a moth to a flame. Sonja Stefanovic of Woo Hoo Decor has a great eye and finds some really cool things that she then passes on to the public (at great prices – the two […]
Awesome Thing – Cashmere Jockstraps
So… being neither a guy, or a jock, I can’t speak to the quality and comfort of the wares of Happenis Jockstraps (Get the play on words? Cute, huh?), but when I came across Phred Stewart and his display at the Etsy Made In Canada event, I had to declare the things awesome. Each jockstrap […]
Awesome Thing – Rose Hot Chocolate
It’s fairly common for rose flavour to appear in tea. But outside of the UK, it seldom appears in candy. To the North American palate, it can go a little soapy. The funny thing is, this hot chocolate mix from Flying Bird Botanicals in Washington state flavoured with vanilla and rose is lush and sweet […]
Awesome Thing – The Adora Belle Pin Up Art of Nic ter Horst
This is another great score from last weekend’s Etsy Made In Canada Day. Illustrator/animator Nic ter Horst was at the event selling prints and copies of her zine, full of the most, well, adorable pin-up art I’ve come across in a long while. Adora Belles features a number of quite adorable characters, two poses to […]
Awesome Thing – Blueberry, Vanilla & Coffee Jam
I know. But it works. No, wait, just listen… it shouldn’t. It should be awful. But it’s not. It’s actually quite lovely. I met Camilla Wynne Ingr of Preservation Society a couple of weeks back at the Well Preserved Kitchen Party event at Harbourfront Centre. She was one of the vendors set up selling various […]
Awesome Thing – Fabulous Felted Jewellery
Cute right? Look again… these beaded necklaces are fuzzy! Which makes them even cooler, if you ask me. I came across Sandra Negrete of Azul Nocturno at the Etsy Made In Canada event this past weekend, and I absolutely adore her jewellery made of felted beads. She makes a whole variety of bracelets and necklaces, […]
Awesome Thing – Charley Harper Pint Glasses
Have you ever come across something that you needed desperately but didn’t know you needed desperately because you didn’t know it existed? For me, that thing was this set of bird glasses by artist Charley Harper. I’ve been a Harper fan for years, and my dream sleeve tattoo (come on, everyone has a dream sleeve […]
Awesome Thing – Chocolate from Sugah!
My wee niece has discerning tastes, so for my birthday recently, she sent Aunty Sheryl something wonderfully awesome – some chocolate bars from Sugah! in Halifax. Sugah! is a confectionery shop on the boardwalk in downtown Halifax, and they make a point of using local ingredients in their unique products whenever possible. Which is how […]
Awesome Thing – Artsy Sunday – Malkovich, A Clockwork Orange, Chalk Art
Some awesome art I’ve come across online this week… Yes, that is actor John Malkovich, recreating the photo of Alfred Hitchcock by Albert Watson. Photographer Sandro Miller teamed up with Malkovich for an exhibit entitled Malkovich, Malkovich, Malkovich, Homage to Photographic Masters in which the actor poses for recreations of 35 iconic images from American […]
Awesome Thing – Mid-Century Modern Lamp
I’m all up in the mid-century modern decor lately, and I’ve been on the look-out for amazing lamps, ideally in great condition. This baby jumped out at me during a visit to Mrs. Huizenga (28 Roncesvalles Avenue) recently and I decided on the spot that it had to come home with me. At a reasonable […]
Awesome Thing – SOMA’s Calamansi Lime Chocolate Bark
How does that song go? You put the lime in the coconut… If lime and coconut are your thing, then this chocolate bark might also be for you. The awesome folks at SOMA Chocolatemaker have come up with this great combination, pairing the sour/sweet duo of the calamansi lime (sour juice and pulp but a […]
Awesome Thing – Plates Covered in Ants (Sort Of)
Yesterday, my awesome thing involved picnics, so I thought today would be a great day to promote ants. Actually, this plate is the work of German artist Evelyn Bracklow of La Philie. Each piece is handpainted and fired and is available via the artist’s Etsy page. Why it’s awesome: because it’s disconcerting – bugs in […]
Awesome Thing – Well Preserved Picnic Blankets
Last weekend, the husband and I headed down to Well Preserved‘s Home Ec Big Outdoor Kitchen Party event at Harbourfront. It was a wonderful gathering of producers of preserved food, as well as a series of lectures and presentations on the various aspects of preserving. Joel MacCharles and Dana Harrison at Well Preserved have done […]
Awesome Thing – Funky Festive Gourds
Festive gourd season! I know. It brings up images of dusty gourds, arranged in a basket, maybe with some Thanksgiving or Halloween tat to dress it up. But these are not the festive gourds of Grandma’s autumn table setting. These little guys are way cooler. I came across this collection of festive gourds in a […]
Awesome Thing – The Bristol’s Chicken and Waffles
Sure, you can get chicken and waffles lots of place. The southern delicacy is pretty much ubiquitous in Toronto these days and the quality varies greatly. So what makes a dish that has otherwise been done to death stand out? Well, you’ve gotta put your own twist on it. At The Bristol (1087 Queen Street […]