Toronto's Eaton's Centre

Toronto's Eaton's Centre is one of the best places to shop in all of North America - but sadly it is largely limited to clothing.

It is great for example if you are a woman and you want to buy lingerie at say La Vie en Rose, Victoria's Secret, or any one of the approx. 10 different lingerie stores inside the Eaton's Centre.

It is not so great if you are a person who likes shopping for power tools - in which case you need to walk to the Canadian Tire down the street because there is no other tool stores in the area.

It is also good if you want to buy books, because then you can go to the Indigo, the World's Biggest Bookstore further north, or the 4 used book stores north on Yonge Street which sell a variety of books on all topics.

The photos below of Toronto's Eaton's Centre were taken in February 2014, during the Winter Olympics in Sochi - shortly before Valentines.

The Crown and the Dragon

The Crown and the Dragon is a low budget fantasy movie - but with a fairly good plot, considering its a low budget film.



There are a lot of cheesy low budget fantasy films out there - and many of them are outright horrible. But I must admit the writers put in some extra effort when they were making "The Crown and the Dragon".

I think this extra narrative quality comes from the fact the movie is based off a book from the book series "The Paladin Cycle", as opposed to most low budget films which are based on a horribly written script. Movies based off of successful books are always going to be more successful.

Take for example the low budget movie "Orc Wars" - which is based on a horribly written script. You can tell the difference between the two films easily just from the quality of the narrative. "The Crown and the Dragon" also had a better budget - nothing spectacular, but enough to make better looking dragons and costumes - whereas in "Orc Wars" some of the orcs are wearing jeans and boots with shoelaces... which shows the costume designers for "Orc Wars" just plain didn't care and had a really small budget to work with.

Thermos Cafe Bottle

By Tamyka

This year, we have a heavy winter season. Beautiful snow covers everywhere. Perfect to slip into my favourite Nike boots and wear my thick black coat in the frigid climate. I walk to catch the TTC bus from my home with my large boring GUESS purse that my older sister had given to me two years ago. Inside I have my dear Thermos cafe bottle to drink my tea on the bus.

With money consumption to buy a warm drink from Tim Horton or Second Cup after I felt BRRR...so one day, I went to Wal-Mart store to buy a beautiful shiny blue thermos cafe bottle at Wal-Mart store. I made a test to see if the thermos cafe bottle is a true miracle. On yes! I poured very hot tea into it and capped it tightly. I sipped it on the bus or on the train, amazingly, the hot tea was still hot for up to about 5 or 6 hours! After that, it became warm.

Thermos cafe bottle is a true miracle and money-saving!

Puck Sports Bar and Grill on Bloor Street

On Monday I went to the Puck Sports Bar and Grill on Bloor Street.

I ordered water (because I had boxing lessons afterwards and it was an inappropriate time to be drinking) and the "Puck Burger".

The glass of water they brought me was HUGE. See photo below. It was so big the straw barely comes out the top - which kind of defeats the purpose of the straw.

The burger was overpriced - and I realized afterwards I should have ordered the basic burger which was on special. Whoops! Total cost (including tip) was $16. It did come with fries and coleslaw, but that is very expensive for a burger.

Beyond that the place was kind of plain - the decorations were focused on many different screens so that regardless of which direction you looked (ignoring the floor and ceiling) you could watch the 2014 Winter Olympics.

Conclusions?

Food - Okay. 1 star.
Service - Okay. 1 star.
Decor - Nothing special, zero stars.
Price - Horribly expensive, zero stars.
Zazz - Meh, sports bar. I didn't even ask if they had wi-fi. They have tvs, that is their gimmick, so zero stars for zazz.

Total is 2 stars out of 5. Disappointing to say the least.

Puck Sports Bar and Grill

Address: 362 Bloor St W, Toronto, ON M5S 1X6
Phone:(416) 901-7825
Hours:
Sunday 11:00 am – 2:00 am
Monday 11:00 am – 2:00 am
Tuesday 11:00 am – 2:00 am
Wednesday 11:00 am – 2:00 am
Thursday 11:00 am – 2:00 am
Friday 11:00 am – 2:00 am
Saturday 11:00 am – 2:00 am

Handmade Quilts - Amazing quality, but very expensive

By Charles Moffat.

Further below is a photo of a handmade quilt made by my Aunt Edna, quilted circa 1979.

What I like about this quilt, aside from the horses which are awesome, is the fact that it is both incredibly warm, but also highly decorative. Oh and easy to clean, thanks to her choices of materials.

In this particular case the quilt stayed wrapped up for many years and I didn't even know it existed until I was a teenager. Then it stayed wrapped up for many more years (because I felt it was too valuable to use).

It was only recently that I started using this quilt which is 35 years old now and has been used less than a month during its lifespan. I made the decision to start using it because I realized it was a waste to have such a nice quilt and leave it in a closet unused all the time.

Plus I like horses. So added bonus. (How did my aunt know I would like horses???)

The trick about quilts like these is that they are exceptionally valuable. To hire someone to make a quilt like this in 2014 would cost over $1,000 CDN easily - because of all the hand stitching and embroidery. Each of those horses embroidered on the quilt took hours of skilled labour to complete. 24 squares plus all the other embroidery, the backing, the stuffing, the endless hours of sewing. We are looking at a quilt in the $1,200 range - at least.

Go on Ebay or Etsy and you will find handmade quilts with price tags ranging between $700 and $29,000. I also found a news article about a quilt that sold at a Sotheby's auction for $264,000. (The higher prices for these quilts are because they are classified as art pieces instead of items meant to be used on your bed.)

So yes, you can get an amazing quality quilt that is a work of art as a gift from your aunt or grandmother or similar relative - but if you try to go out and buy a quilt like that expect to be paying an arm and a leg for something that is now valued more for its artistic qualities than its ability to keep you warm at night.

Sears Clearance Sale - Nevada Jeans

After cleaning up the last time I went to Sears during their clearance sale I simply had to go back again.

This time I went to the jeans department and got 4 - count them, FOUR! - pairs of Nevada jeans for $13.49 each. (Their regular price was $44.99.)

However I want to point something out here - I do NOT endorse Nevada jeans, and I shall explain why. In my opinion Nevada jeans is one of those cheap jeans manufacturers that use thin fabric (which is less durable) and rely on advertising to sell their product to less discerning customers who don't know any better.

Basically they are cheap not very durable jeans that I fully expect to be full of holes by this time next year. But I balanced that against the price - $13.49. Making this purchase I realize that these jeans won't last very long and that these are basically disposable clothing I will likely throw out a year or two from now, depending on how long they last.

Sears at Eatons Closing Sale - Everything on clearance

A couple weeks ago the Sears store at the Eaton's Centre put everything on clearance - 70% off everything in the store!

Why? Because the store is closing and they wanted to get rid of everything, including the furniture, the fixtures, the display cases, everything!

I was at the Eaton's Centre because I was looking for a birthday gift for my grandfather (who turned 90) so I got him two shirts in his size (XL) and two shirts for myself (size M).

What was amazing was the prices. Roughly $6 or $7 for a shirt. Final price on 4 shirts was $30.22, tax included.

Shopping Tip??? If you see a company having a closing sale and everything is on clearance for a huge discount, stop and take a look and see what they have available. Save yourself a bundle on a variety of designer labels and brands.

Hoodie and Jeans from Mark's Work Warehouse

Last week I cashed in my $25 gift card from Mark's Work Warehouse.

What I got was jeans and a hoodie - both on clearance, so price wise I cleaned up. The jeans were marked down to $19.99 and the hoodie was $24.99. Minus the gift card it was basically $20 + HST.

I was very pleased walking out the door. The shopping tips here are - buy on clearance, and if you get a free gift card make full use of it! :)

Fionn MacCool's at 1867 Yonge Street

Yesterday I had a business meeting with two other people at Fionn MacCool's at 1867 Yonge Street.

I chose the place because it was a good looking pub, it was located in midtown Toronto and it had wi-fi. I didn't even look at the reviews listed online at various websites I researched to find a place for the meeting.

Thus I have no idea what other websites are saying about the place, I just know how I felt about the place after going there.

#1. Good service. So they get 1 star for that.

#2. The atmosphere was okay, but nothing fantastic. I have been to a lot of British style and Irish style pubs, and unless they do something special with the decor then it isn't really a big deal to me any more. eg. The Artful Dodger and The Spotted Dick have much better decor. Half a star.

#3. The food was good. I had my standard choice, fish and chips and a Guinness. I am not being fair. It was really good chips! The fish was definitely above average, but not the best I have ever had. My meal also came with coleslaw, which was by far some of the best coleslaw I have ever had (and I usually don't like coleslaw). 1 star for the above average fish and excellent chips / coleslaw.

#4. A tad pricey, but not ridiculously so. So half a star for that.

So now I have a choice, do I give them 3 stars out of 4 or do I come up with a fifth category on which to judge this pub?

Lets see, the wi-fi worked, but it took awhile to get it working because you have to click the Fionn's Guest wi-fi, not the regular Fionn wi-fi (they don't tell you which one to use or how to use it) - and then you have to load a page in your browser and fill in the password inside the browser instead of the normal wi-fi route...

Which means I was able to connect with my laptop, but not with my phone. For this reason I don't feel like giving them any extra stars due to the overly complicated wi-fi procedures. It was too annoying.

So if pressed I would have to say only 3 stars out of 5 for Fionn MacCool's at 1867 Yonge Street. It is an okay place, but nothing special, and while the food and service was good, the atmosphere was lacking, the food overpriced and the wi-fi annoyingly difficult to get working.

Battling Mold on your Window Sills

Canadians might be seeing a lot more mold growing on their window sills and walls near their windows this winter due to excessive cold we have experienced this winter. The reason is because the colder temperatures on the glass windows causes condensation on windows, the water collects on surfaces near the window and then the mold grows wherever there is moisture.

The good news is that is just superficial and looks disgusting. Black mold, the kind that can damage your lungs, won't grow on such surfaces because there isn't enough food supply for it to eat. Common green mold just needs moisture and a little bit of dirt to grow - but isn't dangerous to be breathing in.

Mold commonly grows more often in bathrooms and kitchens more often because of the extra heat and moisture in these rooms. Some people who have very warm bedrooms will also experience more mold around their windows and on window sills.

So how do you Clean Mold on Window Sills and Walls?

Honestly, good old fashioned soapy water is good for cleaning off the mold, but the stuff I recommend is Pledge and / or Pine-Sol. That way it isn't just clean, but smells nice too.

Afterwards dry all the surfaces with a towel - and I recommend following up with a paper towel to be doubly sure it is dry.

In the future make an effort of cleaning the area of any condensation if you notice condensation building up, that way the mold won't have a chance to grow in the first place.