Bricks and Mortar

Cancer Bats‘ new video makes my heart happy. These hilarious headbangers proudly show off their favourite Toronto restaurants, venues, and shops like Town Moto, Lee’s Palace, The Horseshoe, Bikes On Wheels, Sneaky Dees, Honest Ed’s, Suspect Video, and Sonic Boom. Consider this your guide to Toronto, courtesy of Cancer Bats.

There couldn’t have been a more perfect video for a song called “Bricks and Mortar”!

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Everything is the best

Just a quick note to express how I’m excited about everything and very happy these days. Everything is wonderful and it’s going to keep getting better. It really is “The Year Of Yes”, and not just for Nick and I.

I hope your year, though almost over, has been wonderful too!

Saying No

This Creative Mornings talk by Jason Santa Maria is extremely helpful and insightful for those of you who have your own business, are freelancing, or work in a creative field. I’m among the many who find it hard to say no to new opportunities, but after watching this talk, I happily realized I’m finally at the point where I can start to be a bit more selective about the type of work I take on. Hooray!

[Via Swiss Miss]

Parents Come To Greenpoint

This weekend, for the first time since Nick and I were married, my parents came to visit us in Brooklyn!

And although they’ve come to visit us three times now, this was the first time they were able to be here with no agenda, no plans, and not have to even venture into Manhattan. It was so nice to show them our neighbourhood and give them an idea of how we live here.

They arrived Friday evening, so we made dinner at home and hung out on the couch, drinking a bottle of wine from my favourite neighbourhood wine shop, just talking. On Saturday, after a bagel breakfast, we walked to Williamsburg and had lunch at Smorgasburg. I took my Mom to Dalaga (my favourite!) where she got to buy a cute sweater and scarf. We had a tasty dinner at Habitat and spent another night in, chatting on our comfy couch that has convinced them they need a sectional for their cottage ;)

This morning, we had brunch at Brooklyn Label and walked around Greenpoint, then to McCarren Park and back. It was such a beautiful, warm Fall day!

Since I got my sense of humour from them, I knew they’d appreciate our “Live Chicken Laughter” sign.

They should be landing back home in Toronto right about now. Thanks for coming to visit, Mom & Dad! We hope you liked Greenpoint and that you come back again real soon.

One Week After The Storm

Yesterday marked one week since Hurricane Sandy hit the East Coast. I spent that day preparing for a disaster, but hoping it would be unnecessary. Luckily, it was. One week ago today, Nick and I stepped out of our apartment building after being inside for 24 hours, wearing rain boots, since our windows face a courtyard, we were unsure of what exactly the situation was going to be. Surprisingly, our main street was packed with people going about their normal routines just like any other day, with the exception of some blown over construction walls, scaffolding left askew, and one building blocked off because pieces of brick were falling from it.

We knew from the nonstop coverage on TV that we were very lucky. The Rockaways, Jersey Shore, and Staten Island were absolutely pummeled and there was irreversible damage done to many houses, schools, and even waterfront landmarks.

Last week was definitely disorienting. I’m fortunate that I always work from home, but since the subway was almost completely shut down the entire week, Nick was forced to work from home as well. On Wednesday, he had a friend drive him and his two assistants to work in Midtown and it took 2 hours to get there. They walked home in 1.5 hours. Still, there are no subways running in Greenpoint and the buses are packed. It seems though that New York knows how fortunate it is and no one is complaining. We’re all happy just to be warm and safe.

This is the first time I’ve dealt with a natural disaster. It’s strange in so many ways. I’m relieved that Nick and I, and our friends, are fine, but it’s hard to relax knowing what the affected areas are going through. I want to help them, but because of the gas shortage and subway service, getting there is difficult. The best Nick and I can do so far is to have friends who lost power in the city over for hot showers, food, and phone charging. We’ve also made a sizable Red Cross donation. Still, I am so inspired to see so many business and individuals running drives to collect supplies for those areas. If you think New Yorkers are cold and heartless, you are wrong!

Do you want to help too? Check out these links: Donate to Red Cross | Help | New York Cares

Photo: NBC News

Bad Dads 2012

The Spoke Art Gallery in San Francisco is holding their third Bad Dads art show, featuring the works of many talented artists inspired by Wes Anderson‘s films. Here are some of my favourites from this year:

There are a ton of prints and originals to choose from in this show, unfortunately, a lot of the prints have already sold out. Have a look and see if your favourite is still available here.

Who else would love to decorate their entire apartment with these fantastic movie posters?

Also: Bad Dads 2011 and 2010.