Jing "word up, friends!" K.'s Profile

I'm a low maintenance girl with low maintenance hair, but now that I have a daughter with high maintenance hair I can no longer justify the indulgence of expensive haircuts.

The haircut I got mid-May held its shape so well that I didn't feel the desperate need for a cut until early September.  As per the advice of other reviewers, I brought in a photo both times and only had to confirm the exact length when asked.  For $25 (plus a $5 tip) you get a juice box and an efficient hair cut experience.  No chit chat, unless you have a command of the Japanese language, which I do not, and even if I did there doesn't seem to be that obligation on anyone's part to make idle chatter.

It should be noted that I'm Asian and have straight, flat hair.  I would highly recommend them to other straight haired people.

I very much wanted to really like this new kid on the block, but after two take-out orders I can only go with three stars for now.

The decor is pretty cool, sort of rustic urban.  Ample seating with an area for live music at the back.  A good selection of microbrew beers on tap.  They are open until midnight so were I not homebound with a kid most nights, I could totally picture having a late evening pint and nosh here.

Now regarding the food.  It was adequate.  Between me and my husband we've tried the three sliders (brisket, pulled pork, pulled chicken), the burger (twice), the brisket sandwich, the mac and cheese, the collard greens, the coleslaw, the fries and the potato salad.  (This is over two visits, although the first time we ordered they provided us with an embarrassing four sets of plastic cutlery.)   The burger is very big, an inch thick at its highest point and the meat itself is tasty.  It was slightly overcooked and not as juicy as desired the second time we had it.  The brisket was fine.  The pulled chicken and pork were good, but a bit over-sauced for my taste.   I felt that at $6, the little side of mac and cheese was overpriced. The highlight of the list of things we've tried so far is the potato salad.  Classic picnic style done really well.

It's impossible not to compare Hardy's with the Stockyards, which I would give the edge to for food.  Hardy's, to its credit is open late, has lots of seating, is licensed for beer, and looks like a promising venue for events like their Oktoberfest coming up.

I used to think I was so smart, getting my glasses from Walmart (which actually has a surprisingly good selection of glasses).  But then along came http://clearlycontacts.ca and now I'm a believer.

The website has lots of helpful information like how to read your prescription, how to measure your PD or pupillary distance, and how to read the measurement numbers found on the inside arm of your favourite old glasses so that you find a set of frames that are appropriate for your face size.

I ordered on Friday during their free glasses offer and the glasses arrived to me in Toronto on Tuesday.  The arms just need some adjustment but I know how to do that myself thanks to the interweb.  Apparently the free glasses offer for new customers comes along every month or so.  It's not really free if you have a bad prescription and need high index lenses, but even with that upgrade and all the coatings and shipping and tax the glasses came in at under $200.  I'm accustomed to paying $400 (Walmart prices) to $600 (other retailers) for a pair of glasses so I'm basically in heaven.  

Highly recommended.

My hair is straight.  Really, really straight.  So straight that the record player screeches to a stop when I walk in to Curl Ambassadors, an establishment filled with curly-haired staff and curly-haired clients, one rainy Saturday afternoon.  And that's when I pull my almost-two-year-old curly-haired daughter out from behind me.  Music resumes and the friendly lady behind the counter nods in understanding as she beholds the frizzy mess on top of my daughter's head.  We make a haircut appointment for a few weeks later.

Our stylist Keina was extremely patient.  She managed to snip snip snip quickly and efficiently while my daughter moved around on my lap.  It didn't look like she cut much but evening out the length made a huge difference.   Many weeks after the cut my daughter's hair is still looking great.  It helped that we were provided with a styling 'map' that outlined the steps in refreshing curls and making them look their best.  They made us a sample of the recommended kid-safe hair product for us to try before committing to the big container.   We even got a follow up phone call from Keina to make sure the haircut was settling in.  

The haircut was about $40 after tax and such, which for a kid is a bit pricey but I appreciated the curly-hair tutorial so in the end it was worth it.

Sometime during my recent review-writing hiatus Vivek messaged me to ask if I'd been anywhere cool recently worth reviewing.  Cool. No. But exciting and worth reviewing for an individual of a certain demographic? Hell yah!

That's right.  On behalf of all the homebodies out there let me be the first to review the Corningware Corelle Revere Store in the hinterlands of Dufferin and Sheppard.

I have a nice Corningware casserole dish, you know, the nice white one with the fluted edged that you'd being to potlucks.  It was woefully underused in everyday applications because it only had a clumsy, albeit pretty, glass lid that neither sealed nor allowed for stacking.   I also have a square pyrex dish that was missing a plastic lid thanks to a mischievous puppy.  

Enter the Corningware Store. Not only do they have the lids for my orphaned Corningware and Pyrex dishes, but they also have all sorts of kitchen gadgetry and essentials with an emphasis, of course, on food containers.

It would actually be an amazing place for a housewarming gift, or a very practical wedding gift, or a just-because-gift for your friend of a certain demographic.

If you can, visit the zoo with a small child and see the exhibits through their eyes.  

For my birthday my husband surprised me by taking the day off work and taking me and my 19 month old daughter to the zoo. Yay!  Last time I was there I could hardly be called a responsible adult and I was so excited to show my daughter all the animals from her picture books in real life.

As expected she got a huge kick out of the orangutans, the rhino, fish, the gorillas (baby gorilla was hiding unfortunately), the turtles, and we laughed when she got totally freaked out by a free range fowl in one of the pavillions.

Inevitably she fell asleep in the stroller and we decided to make the most of our $23 per person admission price and keep touring and taking photos to show the kid later.  And that's when we noticed the forlornness of the arctic wolf's howl as she answered the passing train and that the wolves live in an enclosure smaller than the off-leash park my dogs get to visit each day.  One of the polar bears was in the midst of what I can only assume to be an OCD-like-tic, shuffling into the corner, pawing it and then backing out again - I watched him do it at least 8 times.  The painted outback scenery behind the wallabies was sad and shabby.

It would've been nice to know from the zoo website if certain animals like the elephants wouldn't be showing.  While it was a relatively mild winter day, we should've guessed that even then it would be too cold for them. There is however a whiteboard right before the entrance gate listing the renovations and animals not on display.  

On the plus side we pretty much had the zoo to ourselves and got a sweet parking spot right at the front.   The jellyfish were hauntingly beautiful and one of the otters was playing, adorably, with the neighbouring beaver even thought they were separated by thick plexiglass.

So yeah, if you don't have your own kids, find a niece or nephew or whatever and watch them watch the zoo animals.  It's way more fun that way.

I've recently been assigned a guy to take care of my every technological whim.  I guess I qualify as a 'corporate client'.   Which is cool.  As a bonus my guy is a weekend photographer so when I call him up to hook me up with memory cards and RAM, we also get to talk shop.

This is not the antique store from the movies with artfully displayed spinning wheels and charming roll-top desks.  This is an enter at your own risk, go digging for that treasure type of establishment.  If you think shopping at Winners is too much work because you have to search, then this is not the place for you.

The process is as much fun as the result.  I would advise wearing gloves, not because the items are so precious, but because you might want an extra layer when you have to move a pile of stuff just to get to the other pile of stuff.

I found a trove of old frames for an upcoming show.  I also noticed lots of other small knick-knacks like old cameras, little wooden boxes and other doo-dads.  (The Art Collector owned by Mr. G a few doors down is better if you are looking for large items like furniture).

One item that sticks out in my mind is a carefully framed cross-stitch landscape - on the back it was addressed to a Mr and Mrs on the occasion of their 50th anniversary in 1976 from Mr and Mrs Thompson.  If found, please return to Mrs Thompson of Georgetown, Ontario.  What brought that little treasure from its comfortable home in Georgetown to this purgatory?  I was tempted to buy it and maybe try to finding this Mrs Thompson of Georgetown.

I'm finally able to write this review after coming down from combined sugar/dairy-fat/tasty drink/fabulous people high.

A Yelp Elite party is probably the best excuse to finally check out the delightful Madeleines.  If milling around waiting for drinks wasn't enough of a reason to start chatting, then the cookie decorating craft table was just the ticket.  Props to the staff at Madeleines for keeping things flowing.  Best drink was the one Dustin invented towards the end of the night - a cold coffee and Bailey's mix with sugar rimmed glass.  Oh, I guess you can add caffeine-high to the list above.

Awesome job again Vivek!

This review covers only the produce section of the market.

Don't bother buying your produce here.  Yes the prices are good but it is dimly lit and I made some regrettable purchases.  The fruit and veg look like they are the castoffs from the worst No Frills.  I couldn't find a single red or orange bell pepper that didn't have a grey dint in it (you know the kind that would quickly morph to a rotten spot).  Half of the eggplants I brought home had to be trimmed to get rid of the questionable not so fresh bits.  The bananas tasted fine but the outside had an unattractive grey tinge. The beets were fine.  The one high-light was the giant asiatic flat bread seasoned with nigella which was excellent once toasted.

I only went here because I was already at Downsview park shooting a freezing cold university field hockey game in the SNOW on October 31.  I should've just cut my losses and gone home right after.