Namur Metro: a good deal of fun (Part II)

yes, i was being punny in the title, namur metro is truly the full of good deals. today we'll head left out of the metro stop, along Decarie blvd, away from jean-talon, past rue Paré to:

villages des valeurs! (value village sounds so much fancier translated into french!). for my dear non-canadian readership, value village is similar to goodwill, but most stores are 2-3x the size of the average goodwill. it can be pretty overwhelming for the amateur thrift shopper, so i thought i'd compile a list of 5 key tips for success at V. V.:

1. time: i like to give myself PLENTY of time, 2 hours is usually about right to cover most of the store. but i might recommend starting in smaller increments. say 45 minutes-1 hour and just pick one or two sections to do that day (skirts and tank tops for example...).

2. maintaining a state of wellness: don't go if you have a headache- the bright lights, colors, oldies music won't make it better. make sure you're well nourished, bring a bottle of water, and please oh please wash your hands extra well after you're done!

3. get a cart, and fill 'er up! because of the mix of brands, eras, styles you MUST try everything on, just looking at the size can be misleading. don't be afraid to try lots on- i usually reject about 80% of what you pick out. you can look for quality classics, current pieces, or you can go for the fugly (fabulously ugly that is) and vintage.

4. trying your selections on and deciding what to purchase: leave about 1/3 of the alloted time to try things on. when trying things on think of what you can pair the piece with- could you make it work with the right belt, by altering it (if you enjoy sewing), does the color work on your complexion. when buying fugly pieces ask yourself, "where and when am i honestly going to wear this?"

Just plain ugly!

FUGLY!

5. its always more fun with friends!

saturday special

last night was really lovely. my apartment had a little ending-of-term dress up and go out night. we had a delicious dinner at the blue lotus down on Duluth. i'd rate them...

9/10 for presentation

7/10 flavor of main dish, 9/10 flavor of spring roll

9/10 service (he waiter took the nice group photo for us!)

10/10 my company



after dinner several of us headed up St. Laurent to the sala rossa to hear Basia Bulat in concert. it was such a great show. she is a fun, genuine, gracious performer. she has amazing vocal and plays a mean autoharp and guitar and her band (banjo, ukulele, cello, viola, piano, percussion) were so great! they're all so down to earth and they way they interact on stage makes you feel like they're a bunch of your friends. i bought her album, oh my darling, and will be listening to it on repeat all day. you can give her a listen here.

here's a sample from her goofy music video.


Part 2 of the Namur series Coming Soon. come back often.

Namur metro: a good deal of fun!

Namur might just be the best metro stop in montreal. yes, its FAR up on the orange line, 2 stops form the end to be exact, which is about a 25 minute ride from mont royal stop, but its a straight shot, no transfers, so you sit back, relax and enjoy the ride.
Namur is way up on the left by Cote-Vertu. I live way on the right at Mont Royal.

needless to say, namur is well worth the trip. in fact its a trip i make about ever week or two. i'm going to leave you at a cliffhanger though, wondering why oh why i would venture away from the comforts of my plateau neighborhood so eagerly. the delights of namur each deserve their own posts. for now, hopefully you'll be content and appreciative of Namur's spectacular sense of style.


original 70's architecture.


namur's quality music


outside and on the way to...

signs of spring

three dollar thrift store yellow shades = permanent sunshine (why didn't i find these in the winter?!)

I'm in!!!
I just received official notice that i've been accepted to the Yoga Teacher Training, August Intensive, at Heaven Studio.
yipeeee!!!

Earth Hour Outcomes:

How did Canada do?

Canada had one of the highest participation rates with over 150 cities joining in. Major attractions like Niagara Falls and the CN Tower as well as city halls across the country turned off their lights; even Parliament Hill went dark for Earth Hour.

How much power did we save? Toronto reduced its power consumption by 8.7% beating its target of 5%. London boasted a 2% reduction in power.

BC saw a province-wide decrease of 2% despite a cold snap that had some people turning up the thermostat. North Vancouver had the highest power conservation in province with 7% decrease.

Earth Hour & You

Just because Earth Hour is over doesn’t mean you have to stop trying to conserve. Earth Hour sponsor, the World Wildlife Fund is promoting its The Good Life program which encourages simple but significant lifestyle changes to help fight climate change. Here are some of The Good Life suggestions:

Get a high efficiency furnace - if your furnace is past its prime, consider replacing it with a high efficiency furnace to save money and reduce greenhouse gases.
Insulate your home - adding insulation to your basement, attic and exterior walls can save on heating costs while reducing your carbon dioxide emissions.
Install low-flow showerheads - helps to reduce water usage and saves money on water heating.
Equip your home with smart controls - with new technology you can control everything from you oven to your outdoor lights via computer. To conserve energy you can turn things on only when you need them.
Consider switching to green power - sign up with a green electricity company that provides your home with power generated from renewable resources such as wind energy and low-impact water power.

it was a beautiful day here, especially in the afternoon. it feels the the city is waking up, and happily hopping out of bed, after a much too long sleep. people are sitting out in bar terraces in the late afternoon sun, and on my street a guy was strumming his guitar up on his balcony serenading the passersby. i wish you were here and i had no papers to write and we could just wander the city. but at least i can sit at my desk with the window cracked open and the sun streaming in.

is it ok that i used a digital camera during earth hour?

hope you're not planning anything electric tomorrow night, because its Earth Hour!! From 8-9 p.m. cites, towns, restaurants, businesses, and homes across the world are turning off the power- lights, computers, tvs, etc.

when i was living in senegal the power would often cut out for an hour or two in the evening. although it can be really annoying when your in the middle of doing research or writing emails home, these often turned into really enjoyable times to slow down, make some tea and enjoy a nice conversation with family or neighbors. here, in north america, we get to choose whether we participate in cutting the electricity. in addition to kindling conscience for our environmental impact during earth hour, its also an appropriate time to remember that for many people around the world, every hour is "earth hour" in the sense that many live without electricity all the time. i plan to spend my earth hour making like the senegalese- boiling some water on the gas stove, making tea and sharing stories with some good friends. hope you take the chance to slow down, connect and reflect as well!