foto friday: in memory of 518 jane

Now, from the archives of my iPhone's camera app...

A few weeks ago, my good friend Nicole Evans was wed in Sunbury, Pennsylvania.  Nicole has starred in my blog before, as we once were roommates at the best apartment in all of apartmentdom, 518 Jane: Where Life Is The Party.

This is the diner where we all ate breakfast.  A full breakfast in Sunbury was $3.49.

This was the incredible wall hanging at said diner that was beyond words. 

Baby squirrels have emerged from our neighbour's eavestrough (we are OK with this, primarily, because they are cute and it's not our eavestrough).  This is the closest I could get to three of them - there are four, but one is a bit of a mama's boy and stays inside most of the time.

This is how much fur we can brush off of Solmon once he begins to shed his winter coat.  Better outside on the porch than inside on my floor.

Every year, our church runs a youth conference called Freshwind for thousands of youth.  I have attended the conference for many years and Andrew and I ran it for the past three year in a row.  Since we're no longer youth pastors we don't run it anymore which, this year, was both odd, and very freeing.  

Oberon, hunting wild birds on BBC Life.

My mom and I went to Elmwood Spa in celebration of mother's day.  This was the third picture we attempted to take, but were laughing too hard to take properly.  My mom peed a little.

Here lies The Couch from 518 Jane: Where Life Is The Party.  It was a good couch, and had a good life. It has gone to live in Couch Heaven.

foto friday: something out of nothing

Near the subway station where I live there once was a blank wall under a bridge.  I featured part of this blank wall before here.  Over the past few months, however, someone has been commissioned to make the blank wall less blanker and with something other than rust stains.  I took these photos during production:

foto friday: I'M ALIVE

Here's proof that I have not deserted you.  I'm apparently just perfecting my skill of writing drafts.

In fact, most if not all of the drafts that I've written recently have been typed, deleted, re-typed, deleted again, and onwards in a never-ending cycle of indecision.  If only soul searching didn't act as as a costive block for my writing.

And now I've likened my writing to a bowel movement, which would make my blog...a toilet?

In a tremendous effort to write SOMETHING down - yes, I've read the comments left for me on my Facebook wall:

I figured I'd a) stick to writing and not deleting (hence, the above toilet comment), and b) start with a Foto Friday to get back into the swing of things.  How intimidating could photo captions possibly be?  We shall see.

These two parties should never meet.

Since watching this video, it has become impossible for me not to comment on things like this.

Sunbathing, part 1.

I found this book in the bookshelf of the amazing Red Room on Spadina.  The key adjective is "happily".

He's a wee bit bigger than he was last October, but we still treat him like a lap dog.  Solomon's take on it?  A+, as usual.

Sunbathing, part 2.

Andrew and I volunteered at this year's Kids Fest and I checked an item off my Bucket List: to pet a tiger.  Yes, it was everything you thought it was.

Hipster Cat, a portrait.

A wonderful little cafe on Annette called The Good Neighbour.  G'head and check it out if you live/work/shop in the area.

Because Hipster Cat is too good for the couch.

Noah joined a west side gangsta crew early.

Someone does not understand personal space.

Andrew celebrated his 31st birthday on March 6th of this year, and we had friends over for a mammoth meal followed by...Nintendo Wii.  Andrew said he felt like he was 15 again.  But 15 drinking wine.

I can't decide which is the best aspect of this portrait.  The mullet?  The pug?  The leather jacket emblazoned with mountain, lake, and giant bald eagle?

foto friday: bachelors and hipster restaurants

Today, a sneak peak into two lovely design spaces: first the one-bedroom apartment of our good friend, Paul Kalvaitis (who, I'm sure, thought I was joking when I said I would feature his apartment on my blog), and second is a quirky restaurant on Ossington called Delux.

Paul is one of the coolest bachelors I have the pleasure of knowing.  He's an accountant (NO WAIT! DON'T CHECK OUT), an avid lover of football, a fabulous musician and is hilarious.  It came as no surprise that his apartment was well decorated but what we weren't prepared for was the extent to which his tastes matched his incredible personality: tasteful, classic and charming.  As you will know from previous posts, I always give my readers the option of stalking these eligible friends of mine.  You're welcome.

K, first of all, this was the spread. This picture is not altered.  Veal chops, mussels in white wine sauce, grilled peppers and onions, fresh tomatoes with bocconcini, and baguette.  The boy can cook.

EVEN MORE FOOD!  Next to GQ magazines and mini samurai swords.

Move over, John Mayer.

Every bachelor pad needs a dart board with vintage cigar boxes perched on top.

And killer vinyl collection in old suitcase.

Paul's turntable and dial turned to Q107.  Good boy.

Fish tank (he's nurturing!) and James Bond 007 collection (he's adventurous!).

Jazz posters and - no joke - Audrey Heburn.  Serious point scorage for this.

Next, shots from an adorably hipster restaurant in the so-hip-it-hurts neighbourhood near Ossington Avenue.  

You'll never miss it.  Unless you don't know that W.C. stands for watercloset and don't know that watercloset stands for bathroom.

Andrew, probably Tweeting.

Fresh donuts, made in-house.