Monthly Archives: January 2011

What did you just say?

Posted on January 31, 2011 by Shop Girl| 10 Comments

In early December the Hubster’s parents came to visit.

They moved out to the East Coast in 2009, and this was their first trip back since the move. As we live in a teeny apartment that is jammed to the ceiling with our stuff, they stayed with The Hubster’s grandparents and aunt and uncle, and drove out to see us after we finished work each day. We’d drop all our work stuff, change quickly and head out for that evening’s adventure.

As we were driving one night, we passed a tiny little restaurant. The sign caught my father-in-law’s eye.

FIL: “Sushit & T? What kind of a name is that?!”

The Hubster, his mom and I all turned to gape at him. My father-in-law never swears. It was so shockingly hilarious that we all erupted into waves of laughter and tried to figure out what on earth he was talking about. Embarrassed, he tried to justify his previous statement and pointed to the sign as we passed.

FIL: “Right there! Look! Sushit & T!”

This is what he saw:

Sushit & T Restaurant

Of course, this only made us laugh harder. The Hubster’s Mom has long believed that her husband is colorblind, and now had another piece to prove her theory.

MIL: “That doesn’t say Sushit & T, it’s SUSHI T&T!”

FIL: “What? No it doesn’t.”

MIL: “Yes dear, it does. What colour are the letters?”

FIL: … (no comment)

I don’t think that the Hubster stopped laughing throughout the entire conversation. You see, this is what the sign really looks like.

Sushi T & T Restaurant

While the letters are close together and could be mistaken as one word, the two colors tend to leave readers with a different interpretation than the one my father-in-law had.

Of course, every time we pass it now it’s all we can read. The Hubster has since been there to eat and said the food was fab, nothing like the… err, “poopy” name of the restaurant.

Posted in Crazy City Stories*

Following Through*

Posted on January 30, 2011 by Shop Girl| 1 Comment

Well, it’s almost here.

On December 29th, I finally got my act together and wrote my first blog post in over a month. I made a goal to write every day from then on until the end of January… and I’m almost there. Tomorrow is January 31st, and barring the loss of my fingers in the next 24 hours, I will have written every single day since I set this goal for myself.

I’ll be completely honest: I really didn’t think I could do it. My blogging record for 2010 was less than impressive, and while I’m wonderful at setting goals for myself…

…I’m terrible at following through. (for reals.)

But I really, really missed writing, I just couldn’t find the motivation to do so, and this little challenge really helped me push myself. I went from staring at a blank screen wondering what to write about, to having to keep a list of post titles near my laptop as I keep thinking of more things I can’t wait to tell you. I already have enough post ideas to get me most of the way through February… and you should probably be excited.

I may or may not tell you about the time I may or may not have cried at a Rob Zombie concert.

Yeah, that might have happened. (Shh.)

Anyway, the point is–blogging has found its sneaky way back into my heart. Sitting down to write has become one of my favourite parts of my day.

Writing = love.

Thanks for being here while I’ve tried to bring this baby back to life. According to Google analytics, in the past month my readership has tripled (and is still growing) and I’m even getting a comment or two on my posts again.

So, I’ve decided to keep going. I’m going to try and write every day in February and see if I can keep doing this. It feels so good to have completed a goal I set for myself.

I’m also going to set another one. Remember that time last spring when I tried the sugar-free, yeast-free diet? I made it for about two weeks before I gave in… I started supply teaching in the middle of it and found it too difficult to maintain while I was working two jobs.

…but I felt awesome while I was doing it, and I lost 4 pounds in 3 days just by changing my eating habits. So I’m going to try it again. I’m going to start small, and take it a week at a time. So, my goal is to be sugar and yeast free for the first week of February. This is what I’ll be doing:

**Week One:

-No Processed Sugar. I realize that sugar is in almost everything, so this week I’m focusing on cutting out the crap. No baked goods, no chocolate, no sugary drinks, no candy, etc.
-No Yeast. I’m saying goodbye to bread and anything else made with white flours and yeast. If I’m dying I’ll eat whole grain products.
-No Starchy foods. This one breaks my heart, but it includes saying goodbye to potatoes and corn, two of my favourite foods.
-Limited Dairy products (no cheese)

I keep a food journal and record everything that I eat and drink. If I can survive week one, I’ll try for week two, then go from there. I will write about my progress and I may complain (a lot) but I want to try it. Want to try it with me? :)

So those are my two goals for February. It’s the second month of the year, so I thought that was kind of appropriate. Wish me luck!!!!

Oh, and before I go, I absolutely have to say a huge HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Miss Gentle Nudge. She is a friend and has been a long-time reader, and she often pushes me to write when it’s been a while. (that’s how she got her blog name… haha) Even when I thought that absolutely no one still read my blog, she convinced me otherwise. THANK YOU, and I hope you have had the most wonderful birthday. xo

Posted in Goals*, My thoughts*

The Doctor Search: Progress*

Posted on January 29, 2011 by Shop Girl| 4 Comments

(Courtesy of: http://tinyurl.com/5reubqv)

Earlier this month I posted about my search to find a family doctor in my area.

It’s almost that time for the dreaded yearly physical, and I’ve had enough of going to strange, new doctors every year. Last year’s experience–while not horrible–was uncomfortable enough to really push me to start my search. My ideal? A young-ish, female doctor that someone I know goes to and likes.

So, I started asking around. I posted that I was looking for a doctor on Facebook, and I began asking every woman I knew who her doctor was, how they liked him / her, and whether or not they were taking on new patients.

Luckily, many wonderful people came to my rescue and I began compiling a list of doctors that I could call, hoping that I might luck out with one.

I also mentioned that I registered with Health Care Connect. In less than 10 days after I filed my application I received a packed in the mail with the information of my “Health Care Connector” who was actively looking for a doctor for me. I was very impressed with how quick the turn around time was.

So I had the package… but what do I do with it?

I had quite a bit of time off this week (it’s exam week for high school students), so on Wednesday I sat down with my list of doctors and decided to start making some calls. I began with a female doctor that was closest to where I live. I called the office and politely asked the receptionist if said doctor was taking on new patients. She abruptly told me to call Health Care Connect and dolled out a 1-800 number before hanging up.

I was a little put off, and extremely confused. Hadn’t I already registered for that?!

I called the number she gave me and was forwarded to my health care connector. She was very nice, and explained that most doctor’s offices get so many calls asking about new patients that they forward everything through Health Care Connect now.

She asked me for the name of the doctor I called, and I held my breath while she looked her up. She then happily told me that this doctor was taking on new patients–though only through the HCC system–and that she was actually the doctor closest to me and I probably would have been matched with her anyway.

The fact that I called just sped up the process. Big time.

She forwarded my records over to the office, and I should receive a package from the doctor in the next two weeks. After that, I just have to call & make an appointment to go in and voila! I have a doctor!

How awesome is that?

I know I haven’t met her yet, but knowing that someone I know goes to her and feels comfortable with her makes me feel worlds better. It’s not some random stranger in a walk-in clinic to whom I am just another face–this is hopefully someone I can see every year, or whenever I’m not feeling well.

So, all I can say is, if you live in Ontario and don’t have a family doctor yet–definitely, definitely register with Health Care Connect. I am so impressed with their speed and service, and I hope that I’ll have post about my new doctor for you in the next six weeks.

Now here’s my big question: this will be my first time meeting a doctor–what sort of questions should I ask?

Posted in My thoughts*

30 Day Challenge – Day 4*

Posted on January 28, 2011 by Shop Girl| 1 Comment

It’s Friday. :)

Even though I was off for most of the week, I still love the sound of Friday… and I love knowing the my alarm won’t go off at 6:08am tomorrow morning.

(Even though I’ll still wake up at that time anyways. Dang internal clock…)

As I spent nearly two hours wresting with an online Employment Insurance application, I’m going to save the wondrous story I had planned to write for another day. I think the last of today’s wit and charm died somewhere in the pile of pay stubs I just poured over.

Anyway.

I thought tonight was a perfect night for the next installment of the 30 day challenge:

Day 04 – A picture of your night.

Rather than just one picture, I thought I’d take you on a little photo story, and let’s see if you can put it all together…

(Courtesy of: http://www.seedol.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/unemployment-insurance-rate.jpg)

(Courtesy of: http://joshbrisbane.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/Do-not-get-frustrated-in-direct-sales.jpg)

(Courtesy of: http://www.istockphoto.com/file_thumbview_approve/9308940/2/istockphoto_9308940-finished-stamp.jpg)

(Courtesy of: http://preaprez.files.wordpress.com/2008/05/walmart.jpg)

(Courtesy of: http://punkoryan.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/rj_superstore_310709_02.jpg)

(Courtesy of: http://www.inhabitat.com/wp-content/uploads/mcdonalds1-537x402.jpg)

(Courtesy of: http://www.givememyremote.com/remote/wp-content/uploads/2006/04/Office_cast_Cover_EW1.jpg)

(Courtesy of: http://www.australia.edu/images/stories/students_watching_tv.jpg)

The End. :)

Posted in 30 Day Challenge*

Thrifty Thursdays: Costa Blanca Coat*

Posted on January 27, 2011 by Shop Girl| 4 Comments

My sister Peeah came down to do some shopping on Saturday, and she actually helped me find my “treasure” for this week’s post. We had hoped to try a few stores, but as bad weather hit we had to cut our shopping excursion a little short and head home early.

Well, you all know just how much I love shoes. I also have a secret love for coats. I love coats. I love having different ones to go with different outfits. Sure, I have my “everyday” coat that I wear most often, but it’s fun to change it up and wear something new, especially during these long, long winter months.

So, while we were at Value Village, I took a minute to peruse through the coat racks–an aisle I don’t often visit. While I was there I found this:

A Costa Blanca goldy-beige dress coat. I have absolutely no idea what these cost originally, but I don’t have anything this color in my closet and I loved it immediately. Sadly, after pulling it off the rack and trying it on, I noticed that there was no price tag on it. I was hesitant to even put it in the cart as I didn’t want to make it all the way to the cash only to find that the price was more than I wanted to pay. Peeah talked me into it, so away we went.

It ended up being my only find that day, and I was thrilled when the manager priced it at $9.99. I took it home, washed it, and here’s what it looks like! Please excuse the obvious self-taken photos–my photographer (aka the Hubster) was at work and I didn’t want to wait until he got home. haha!

A classic mirror shot for you! And here’s the whole outfit… complete with my thrifted Guess shoes!

Just a little blurry*

So, I was pretty happy with my purchase. I may tighten a few of the buttons, but other than that it’s in fabulous shape.

———-

I’ve been posting my outfits on my Facebook Page, and I’ve been getting a ton of positive feedback about thrift shopping and my friends’ own experiences. Until now, I’ve shopped exclusively at Value Village and Goodwill, but I kept hearing fabulous things about smaller consignment shops. So, I knelt down before the mighty Google to see what I could find. I found the addresses for two consignment shops within walking distance of our apartment, so I decided I’d tackle one place each day and see what I could come up with.

Yesterday I decided to try and find the one closest to my house. I walked over, only to discover that it had recently gone out of business. It was such a lovely day, and I wasn’t quite ready to head back home yet, so I decided to keep walking up the street. Just one block up I found a huge Salvation Army store! I hurried in to scope it out.

It’s a good-sized store with lots of different things to look at. I took my time looking at everything (shoes first, obvs) and found an adorable white H&M long-sleeved cardigan for $7. It is scoop-necked and has great big white buttons that I love.

Today I walked over to the other store, and couldn’t believe what I found. It’s a little haven of designer thrift fabulousness tucked away in a plaza. There were purses, shoes, clothes, wedding gowns, and I recognized several big names like Coach, Dior, Chanel, Jimmy Choo and Burberry, among others. I think I stood in front of the handbag wall for 15 minutes trying to pick one, but it was SO hard to choose. Now I know they probably aren’t all authentic, but several of the ones I looked at were. I’m eventually going to go back and buy a bag… there was a Coach one I really liked for $40. The prices in the store were higher than the other stores I’ve been in, but everything was in perfect condition and a lot of it was brand name.

I’m pretty excited about both the stores I found this week, and I’m going to keep looking for more.

But I also have some other exciting news for you! If you’re already a thrift shopper–or have been thinking about giving it a whirl–there are two fabulous sales happening tomorrow that you may want to try out! Goodwill is having a 50% sale and almost everything in the store is marked down. Go early though, they are usually pretty busy on these days! On one of these sales my parents found a loveseat for $2.99. Unreal!

Also, The Salvation Army Thrift Store is having a “Buck or Two” sale tomorrow. All books, blazers, skirts, dress pants and dresses will be marked down to $1, and all purses, shirts, activewear and blouses will be $2. I’m really excited and I can’t wait to see what I’ll find!

———-

Lastly, I’m taking on a bit of a challenge for this week’s thrift adventures! The lovely Jae of How Not to Dress Like a Mom reposted an article she’d previously written about breathing some life into a “neutral” wardrobe by adding in little splashes of colour. As is clearly evident by my photos above, neutrals are my thing. But, I think a little color can be fun, so for this week I’m on the hunt for colorful accessories and shoes that I can use to brighten up my outfits! I’ll let you know how I make out–I’ll be starting with those awesome sales tomorrow! :)