Kelly "call me cookiem8ker" O.'s Profile

You know how you live in a city, and never really go to any of its sites or museums?  I don't want to be that guy, and I can literally see Fort York from my balcony, so this week I popped by to poke around.  
Fact:  Fort York is Canada's largest collection of original War of 1812 buildings!

This place is often busiest on holidays such as Canada Day, but on a random Monday afternoon, it was very quiet.  They did have uniformed British soldiers here to lower the flag at 4:30 in a formal ceremony, so that was neat.  The families attending seemed to enjoy it.  They can also take cool pictures of you with an 1812 cannon and that kind of thing.  They have a schedule of presentations and tours that are conducted multiple times daily.

The exhibits of the soldier's quarters and officers' quarters was very cool (if you enjoy re-created homes, complete with dishes and furniture).  The archaeological information in the basement was very neat, and signs are posted in 6 other languages.  
Fact:  Fort York was used as a military training facility until the 1930s!

The artifacts on display in a couple of the buildings however were really shabby - not the artifacts themselves, but the actual signage and display cases.  I mean, this is the ONLY museum I have ever been to where Bizarro comics are IN the artifact cases.  A couple things were actually school projects, for real.  Yay for involving the community, but boo for it looking a bit tacky and waaay tired.

I am going to give this place 4 *, because it is very interesting, well cared for, centrally located, and they are currently in the process of developing a new visitors centre, which will overhaul the somewhat disappointing displays.

Finally made it here for the much-raved about facial.  It took awhile to book, but it COMPLETELY worth it.  Its customized to your skin and its needs, and comes complete with a delicious arm, hand, neck and scalp massage while you're masks are setting.  Its crazy good.
I know many people are afraid of extractions, and I've never had anyone else do them better.  They are, of course, unpleasant, but this is the first time I left a facial without a red or blotchy face. I was glowing baby, GLOWING!

Good Old Sneakies...you never let me down!

This is NOT the place to take your fancy mother - the decor is otherworldly and the washrooms are scary - although packed with magic marker wisdom.   Rather, this is the place to go with friends for great food, drinks, music and overall good times.

The King's Crown nachos are top notch, and I'm not sure Ive ever had better.  They layer that stuff, so there's no bare chips at the bottom of you're pile.  They are all covered with something delicious!  Fajitas are great too....as is the burrito and vegan cupcakes.

This place is tried and true, so of course I'll be back!

This really is an awesome nail salon.  It is spotlessly clean (including the bathroom!), very chic-ly decorated, and has some of the loveliest ladies around.  I came here for a after-hours mani/pedi party with a group of friends, and we had a blast.  Nailsense had Pretty Woman on their large flat screen while we ate, drank, and were buffed and polished to perfection.  And the cost?  A mani/pedi here is $35.  Yep, you read that right.  35 BUCKS!  A complete steal for the level of service.

DEFINITELY will be back!

Came here on a steamy hot day for an impromptu bubble tea stop.  The order: Taro Slush with Tapioca.  It was pretty good, and the best part?  A medium is under $4!  You really can't beat that price anywhere downtown, and she filled the cup right up to the bubble top.  It could have done with a bit more tapioca, but for that price, I can't really complain!

Came here as part of the UYE Little India crawl.  It was a great choice!  They had mostly snacks, but any one of them could have counted as a meal.  The veggie pakora was very good and filling, but my favourite was the paneer.  Not sure the exact name, but they were like cute little fried paneer squares, and with 8 pieces for only 6 bucks!  The Dahi Bhalla was also good...and large.  It was served cold though, which surprised me (although this is common for yogurt dishes).  Fantastic flavour here for sure.

I also ordered the mouth-watering kulfi, which was served in a little rowboat and full of ice cream, noodles, creamy stuff, rose flavour, pistachios, and lots of other tasty things.  It was kind of like a rice pudding texture.  So sweet, and a perfect end to the crawl.
Luckily they have illustrated pamphlets, so you know what you're getting, and you can also specify how hot you'd like it.  

And if the mood strikes you, they also have hundreds, or perhaps thousands of Bollywood DVD's for sale!

Cash or debit only.

This market is even BIGGER this year than last.  This year they have added prepared food vendors, such at the Burrito Boys and Dominic's Meats.  The pie and tart retailer was quite popular, and I couldn't even get NEAR it to check the flavours or prices.   Now you can buy all your fruit, veg, cheese, honey, flowers, lunch AND dessert-all at the same time.  Oh yeah....and this year they have also added LIVE music on stage to entertain you while you scarf down all Ontario has to offer!

LOVE IT!

This is a super fun place to get lunch if you're in the financial district.  On for the summer only, this market features all types of fruit, veg, and even potted plants for your garden!  The best part: The wickedly good prepared food.  Buddha Dog had their handmade hotdogs with a selection of homemade aioli and locally produced mustards.  Each dog is $3.  Jamie Kennedy wine bar had their deliciously herbed fries, also served with your choice of homemade aioli (the chipotle was delicious, and the cider was very reminiscent of malt vinegar), also $3.
Also there: LPK culinary groove, selling their tasty sweets, 100 mile farms, the mushroom guys, a honey retailer, organic lemonade guy, homemade tortilla retailer, and even a group of people that will tune your bike!  A bit of the country comes to this concrete jungle!
Open from 11-2 every Thursday throughout the summer.

If you have never done an Ion Foot Cleanse before, it is quite an interesting process.  You place your feet in a tub of warm water, and an electrical machine is also placed in the bin.  This machine puts out charged ions, which apparently latch onto yukky things in your cells, removing impurities, excessive metals, acids etc. in the body through your feet.

Believe it or not, but my 60+ dad is a fan of this, having had relief from some gallbladder issues, so I thought I would give it a try!

The claim:
- removes impurities, heavy metals from the body
-cleanses vital organs, especially liver, kidneys
-energy boost
-strengthen immune system
-improved sexual functioning (HOLLA!)
-curing world hunger, and general amazing-ness

This review will NOT focus on the scientific or medical claims of this treatment, but simply the place itself.  You can go on YouTube to search for the various claims on this process.

The Ion Cleanse Spa is conveniently located at the corner of Queen and Bathurst.  And you can just walk right in.  Treatments are 30 mins in length.  

Ion Treatments:  Yes.   Spa-like?  No.  
Tea and water were on offer here at no charge.  It was overall a very strange place.  Might have been kinda fun with a friend, but reading my book in silence while the employee played on the computer and listened to bizarre music wasn't very spa-like.
The tubs were very clean, but the whole place seemed unkempt.  You could see coffee cups, microwave, employee coats etc.  I don't want to see that stuff really.  It ruins my relaxation time when I focus on these things.

The treatment was 30 bucks, which is easily calculated to $1 a minute.  Worth it? Not too sure yet....I definitely felt a tingle in my toes, and the water post-treatment was heinously nasty...dark orange with a scummy brown top.  Super gross!  Toxins BE GONE!  

I expected a run-down on what this colouration meant, but it was more of a "pay and get-out" kinda place.  A bit disappointing.  I was hoping for more analysis on my health.  So far I feel no bounce in energy or sexual functioning.  But maybe I'll sleep better tonight.  Who knows.

Cash Only, and it goes right into the clerks personal wallet.  Sketchy.

Many of you may remember this place as being called "Gardenview", located kitty-corner from what you remember was called "Much Music".  Apparently the profitability of providing excellent plant products and accessories has been overshadowed by the profitability of providing downtown residents top quality pet products instead.  Hence the recent renovation.

Here you can find many, many brands and sizes of the most popular dog and cat foods such as Ancana, Science Diet, Merrick, Orijen etc.  As well as many kinds of treats and smoked bones and animal parts.

They also have TONS of cool accessories - balls, leashes, clothing, soaps, deodorants, bowls, costumes and toys.  
The prices here are quite good, and they carry lots of "imitation" brand name toys, which has saved me lots of sweet moolah.