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So far, winter in Toronto hasn’t been all that wintry, which means locals with a die-hard Canadian love of snowdrifts and icicles may want to plan a weekend trip to mountains further afield. To help you get ready for the slopes, we rounded up the year’s best new ski equipment. After all, showing off new gear is half the fun of a ski vacation.
All stories relating to Mountain Equipment Co-op
The Find: cool new gear to wear on the slopes
Happy Glamping: an indoorsy person’s guide to the great outdoors
The woods are supposed to be romantic. Our collective national identity depends on it. Remember those youthful summers at camp, where we learned how to do the J-stroke (and how to make out)? Or the northern lights? Or those Coureur de Bois Heritage Moment commercials? For urbanites whose idea of roughing it is ordering rare venison at a restaurant or looking in the windows of Mountain Equipment Co-op, Mother Nature can be a hard sell. But glamour and camping don’t have to be mutually exclusive—there’s a host of products available to make the woods just a little bit friendlier. What follows is an urbanist’s guide to not roughing it in the bush. Read the rest of this entry »
The List: 10 things award-winning theatre director Weyni Mengesha can’t live without
Mengesha’s production of Kim’s Convenience is on at Soulpepper this month
1| My djembe
I grew up around drums, and I’ve always been interested in African music. I got this one as a gift from Nation Cheong, my first drum teacher in Toronto. I get it tightened at African Drums and Art Crafts on Dundas, where I hang out a lot.
2| My bike
Riding my bike in Toronto makes me fall in love with the city. My old bike, a Trek hybrid that I had forever, was recently stolen. I’m going to get a new one in the spring, probably at Cogs Cycle in Riverdale. I can’t wait.
3| My Libre tea holder
This was a gift from my fiancé. I mostly use it for drinking hot water with lemon. I rarely drink enough water during the day, so this has saved me.
4| My pie fix Read the rest of this entry »
Apple pie is a very serious thing for me. I never restrict it to the dessert category—it’s any place, any time. My friends know I’m addicted. If I’m going to a nice restaurant, I’ll check the dessert menu first to see if they have it.
Holiday Gift Guide 2011: 90 of the best presents money can buy
By Fraser Abe, Karolyne Ellacott, Kevin Naulls and Mark Teo | Photography by Carlo Mendoza
The holiday season is rapidly approaching, and we’ve tackled the ever-difficult task of narrowing down a list of items that would be perfect for the men, women and children in your life. We find it is always a big to-do finding that special something for the wine snob who likes to aerate his or her wine, but we’ve got it covered, and to spare moms, dads, uncles, aunts and friends from waiting in line for this year’s Tickle Me Elmo, we’ve found some cool options for rug rats that won’t break down and send a greedy child into a tantrum.
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Holiday Gift Guide 2011: 20 kid-friendly treasures for the little ones on your list
By Fraser Abe, Karolyne Ellacott, Kevin Naulls and Mark Teo | Photography by Carlo Mendoza
Let’s face it: shopping for kids is hard. The fads change every few months, and while we admit some toys today are pretty darn cool, there are plenty we just don’t get. Thankfully, the classics never go out of style. We hand-picked some charming stuffed animals that are sure to be the highlight of any collection, plus an ash toboggan that will encourage your kid to actually go outside, if only to show it off. And while we love a Charlie Brown–esque Christmas, there’s plenty of modern stuff, too, like wall-climbing robots and a hoodie that transforms your precious tyke into a terrifying lizard.
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Holiday Gift Guide 2011: 32 great gifts under $30
By Fraser Abe, Karolyne Ellacott, Kevin Naulls and Mark Teo | Photography by Carlo Mendoza
Little treats are perfect for host and hostess gifts and stocking stuffers, so we’ve picked some presents under $30 to help with the stress of sticking to a holiday budget (and, really, there are always obligatory presents to buy for people we know nothing about). We have everything from a space-age travel toothbrush for that friend you used to have eight years ago who just came home from teaching in Korea (and is likely to depart again) to a baguette carrier for when someone chooses bread as their item for a potluck (it doubles as a wine carrier, if that’s more their style) to various smile-building knick-knacks.
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Best of the City 2010: Toronto’s top shopping
Left: Robber’s shirt-dress, Chasse Gardée’s sandal, Ella and Elliot’s dishware for kids, Harry Rosen’s cufflinks; Right: Canuck kitsch at the Drake General Store (Image: photographs by Jay Shuster; cufflinks courtesy of Harry Rosen)
