Toronto, i love you

With her giant Karen Walker sunnies and neon orange satchel, Katie
Merchant is hard to miss. Fresh to Toronto from Hamilton, (via Seoul,
South Korea where she was teaching English) Merchants blog
is a gorgeous mix of food, fashion and art. Here, she shares some of her
favourite city haunts

shop
Chasse
Gardee has to be my favourite store in Toronto. Karen
Walker sunglasses, a rack of A
Détacher, and of course, beautiful shoes (my favourites: Dieppa
Restrepo loafers and YMC
punk sandals).

For vintage I like Philistine
(all blouses 2 for $40) and Penny Arcade (1177 Dundas St W).

To buy gifts (or magazines for myself, like Lula,
Bad Day and Worn
Fashion Journal) I visit Type
Books, The
Drake General Store or Good
Egg in Kensington Market.

For aplayful selectionof local
artists’ work(thinkcrocheted
cacti and floral
headdresses)I love goingtoMagic
Pony on Queen West they alwayshave the cutest window displays.

eat+
drink
Living
in Parkdale, Capital
Espresso (1349 Queen St. W) is my go-to spotforcoffee and
freshly-baked muffins (especially the carrot coconut). Forcheap wine,
tasty meat, cheese platters and asoft, relaxed atmosphere I oftenfind
myselfatThe Common (1071 College St.).

For brunch I like Saving Grace (907 Dundas St W), especially if they
have fig
frittatas on special. Delux
wins for my favourite lunch and dinner, though (even more so if the meal
finishes with their donuts).

And finally, after spending over a year in South Korea, I needed to find
a place that would satisfy my constant craving for kimchi and soon tofu.
Luckily, Buk
Chang Dong has done just that, and the price can’t be beat.

do
I
especially like Show
& Tell Gallery which recently hosted Double
Rainbow Rainbow,a bright and beautiful group show by artists Maya
Hayuk & Jen Stark. For days that call for a cold theatre, see anything atThe
TIFFBell Lightbox it’sa near-perfect movie going experience.
Athena
Tsavliris