Toronto

We left home on April 2nd to spend a week in Toronto with Daughter Number Two, a very famous writer and editor of children's books. We flew Porter Airlines for the convenience of landing on Toronto Island and taking a ferry ride of less than six minutes to the downtown. I was ready for this break. I hadn't been away in over nine months and I had a long list of things to do there.

View From the Ferry

One Of These Things Is Not Like The Other...

Leaning on my suitcase on the ferry ride, I happened to glance down and saw, for the first time, that while I had black shoes on, they were different from one another. And both of them badly needed shoe polish!    Groan. Groan. Groan.
Advice: When taking the red eye anywhere, turn the hall lights on in those hours before dawn so you can see exactly what you are taking out of the coat closet! And it gets worse. On day two, I rummaged through my suitcase and discovered that I had tops for five days and absolutely no pants. How old am I????
Advice: Double and triple check your travel outfits before closing the suitcase.

I wasted good shopping time in Toronto trying to find comfortable walking shoes and a pair of pants - any pants - that fit, when I had both at home! Thankfully, everything else about the trip was great.

We spent the bulk of our time in the city doing three things - shopping, exploring eateries, and completing  a bedroom makeover with everyone pitching in to paint, take out the old furniture, shop, and assemble new furniture. The change in the room was dramatic and just lovely. I even grew to like the color grey on urban walls.

We went to the Red Box Tea Room one afternoon for lunch. It is a quirky little tearoom on Queen West that expands via a narrow back passage, leading to an open air patio and from the patio, through French doors, to a coach house that is furnished with low tables and chairs, low lighting, and a feeling of being cocooned in the heart of the city.

We were feeling relaxed and festive so we ordered dessert and when the cakes arrived, they were gorgeous but so very, very sweet that we had to box a good portion of each cake and take both home. If only Lucy and Apolline had been there to help out!



On the way out of the tearoom, we noticed a gingerbread house and took a photo as we thought Movita Beaucoup would appreciate seeing a very ornate blue ginger home!

We tramped up and down Queen Street West, exploring button, paper, clothing, and furniture stores and - miracle of miracles! - I went to wonderful Romni Wools and did not buy a scrap of yarn as I have so much at home! Such self control! I feel so virtuous.

I discovered a designer women's shop on Queen West called Comrags and realized as soon as I stepped inside that as long as they stay in business, I will be able to buy skirts, dresses, and suits that fit, are in proportion to my body, and suit my age without being one bit boring and dowdy. Hallelujah!
I purchased two absolutely gorgeous two piece outfits. This is the first time in decades that I have found outfits that I liked so much. I will be wearing for them next decade. Truly. In the closet at home, I have Liz Claiborne black suede shoes that I bought in 1992. They are back in style now, proving that if you live long enough, you can once again be fashionable!

Daughter Number Two also introduced us to a home decor store called Urban Barn and we loved so many things there. One of the staff kindly took the time to bundle three prints for us and wrapped them extremely well so I could use them as my second piece of check-in baggage on the airplane home. The prints are lacquered, pretty, inexpensive, and fill the space above the bed very nicely.