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Top 7 Toronto Thrifting Tips & Tricks
Thrifting is trendy, affordable, and most importantly, sustainable. Shopping second-hand curbs fast fashion, keeping lightly loved clothes out of landfills, and giving them a second life! I’ve been thrifting for almost a decade and still bump into people who stick their nose up to the idea. But I’m convinced thrift shopping is like going on the ultimate treasure hunt. I remember when it started… On our day off as summer camp counsellors, six of us crammed into a minivan and drove to my first thrift store: Talize. I was in shock. We found shoes to share, matching sports jerseys, décor for the cabin. I felt like my third eye was…
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A Day on the Danforth. Local Shopping at Local Businesses
The model has changed. The shopping model, that is. And no, I do not mean the blank staring, ever-looming and bow-legged mannequins that haunt most retail stores (perhaps donning an interestingly fake-looking wig like H&M). I am referring to the trend towards big box shopping. We all take part in it, with the exception of perhaps the most ecologically minded, low stress, and free-time-to-spare citizens of the world. Indeed, the lure of one stop shopping and sweat shop prices have all attracted us at some point. With each ribbon cutting at each new location taking up more and more of the consumer market, the negative impact this can have on…
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From the Surreal To ‘Make You Feel’: 4 Canadian Films To Stream On Mubi That Will Distract You From The World
As we come out of the winter months, and COVID restrictions ease up, you might find yourself looking for good films to watch on your own, or in company, to distract you from the 24/7 news cycle. You might also feel overwhelmed by the constant new releases from streaming sites like Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, or Hulu, which often favour quantity over quality. Slow down and walk back into the archive of current and vintage films with Mubi, one of the best streaming services to offer a global selection of films and documentaries. Mubi’s curated archive of films “strange” and “alternative” is unrestricted by genre and allows the viewer to…
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An Othered Cuisine
Food. Something so simple can have such a resounding effect on how we interact with ourselves and others around us. Staple Nigerian dishes and the accompanying scents were a commonplace in my childhood, having grown up in a Nigerian household. Dishes and scents were also intrinsically tied to community as they were a common component of Nigerian events and functions my family would take part in. The realization that something so common in my day-to-day life could be othered and viewed as strange had not occurred to me until I reached elementary school. Though I was surrounded by Nigerians outside school, the same sense of diversity I derived from those…
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5 Simple Financial Tips to Set You Up for Your 30s
As I enter my 30s, I look back on my financial history with concern. Sure, some of it was unavoidable, but there was a lot of spending on things I didn’t need. Those credit cards were probably a little too close at hand. Here are some easy financial tips for your 20s that will set you in a much better place come 30. Start an RRSP Fund A Registered Retirement Savings Plan isn’t something you have to wait until you’re in an established career to start. Even working that minimum wage grind you can contribute a small amount every month depending on what fits into your budget. The sooner you…
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4 Cafés to Visit on the Danforth
The Danforth—primarily known as Greektown—has a lot to offer in terms of restaurants, cute little bookstores, vintage shops and local cafes that people visit every day. What’s better than a cup of coffee to start your day? Here are 4 cafés that are a must visit, the next time you find yourself on the Danforth. Tsaa Tea Shop Located at 412 Danforth Ave is Tsaa Tea shop. Although this café specializes in tea, it also offers a wide variety of café drinks, from coffee to bubble tea. Filipino-owned, they also have a separate menu for just Filipino desserts from Halo Halo to Turron! The interior is small and cozy, decorated…
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7 Great Films to Watch When Jumping Across the Pond
Along with the rise of the non-English film industry, I too will be looking into some of the best non-English films of the last year, because why stay in the monolingual cave when the dawn of multilingual entertainment is upon us? Titane Following the intensity that was Raw, this film from Julia Ducounau once again breathtakingly displays the director’s ability to push buttons and explore limits. Christened “body horror” for a reason, this film focuses on a woman who, after suffering injuries from a car accident, has a titanium plate fitted to her head. Full of gallows humour, questions about sexuality and gender identity, as well as parenthood, this is…
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The Internet Ruined My Love Life
Nothing haunts me more than the idea of online dating. Aside from the fact that dating apps are anything but romantic, internet dating is just a nightmare for someone like me. I am a bibliophile and a romantic who completely loathes the idea of meeting my future husband online because—among other, very valid, reasons—it completely derails the fantasy I have meticulously created for my love life in my head. Despite my pathetic and misguided assumptions that people will eventually revert to dating without apps and websites, I’m afraid I must admit that internet dating is not going anywhere. This leaves me at an impasse, wondering where I can go from…
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Loukoumades on the Danforth: Greece’s Oldest and Most Delicious Dessert
When I was younger, the Danforth was Toronto. As a twelve-year-old growing up in Northern Ontario, I didn’t know anything about the city. All I knew was that my childhood best friend, Hannah, lived in Greektown. Every once in a while, I would take a Greyhound bus to the city to visit her. The trip was very stressful for me—the bus station at Bay and Dundas was always packed and disorienting, and the subway map was anything but straightforward. But when I arrived at the Danforth, everything became familiar and comforting. I loved Hannah’s house, which was a tall and skinny building with lots of windows. As a kid who…
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Pink is Back on the Danforth
In February of 2020, life in Toronto was business as usual. Natalie Borch, founder of The Pink Studio in Toronto, was teaching a variety of classes at her studio: dance, yoga, barre, and pilates. On March 17, 2020, Premier Doug Ford issued a state of emergency, and by April 1, 2020, the Government of Ontario sent the entire province into lockdown, plunging businesses into an indefinite closure that would have profound ramifications for the fitness industry. In what would end up being one of the world’s longest lockdowns, the industry would suffer immensely, and for businesses to survive, they would need to innovate quickly, which is exactly what Natalie and…
