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Thursday night I went to Clinton’s to see my ridiculously talented younger brother, Alex St. Kitts, perform Moon Walker: A Michael Jackson Tribute. I lived with him for 4 years and listened to endless bass and vocals practice, so I never doubted his talent. That said, I had no idea he could rip up the stage; singing, dancing and flirting with the audience the way he did Thursday night. All I could do was sing and dance along, thinking to myself, “who is this guy?!”

He started the night of with Michael’s Jam and kept the hits coming backed by a full piece band and vocals. Not only was the music amazing, but there were multiple wardrobe changes as well – red jackets, sparkling gloves, fedoras!

Even if Alex wasn’t my little bro, I’d have been all over that concert. The showmanship,talent and energy in the room was incredible. Here are some of my favourite MJ tracks featured that night:

Michael Jackson – Jam

Michael Jackson – Don’t Stop Til You Get Enough

Michael Jackson – You Rock My World

Michael Jackson – Thriller

To reach Alex via email click here

Last night was Toronto’s annual summer kick off, AKA the Dave Matthews Band concert at Molson Amphitheatre. Ive seen Dave in concert 4 or 5 times now at various venues, and have never been disappointed. He’s a great performer and has such a charismatic stage presence. Everyone, young and old, was dancing from start to finish. You just can’t help yourself. I didn’t sit down once (and neither did my aunt, who until now was a DMB virgin).

One piece of advice if you’re going to see a DMB show: buy lawn tickets. You want to have room to move and dance around. I made the mistake of buying seats one year and it was awful. DMB is taking their first break in over a decade next year – if you can catch a show on this tour, it may be your last chance for a little while.

I actually didn’t know most of Dave’s new songs but that really didn’t matter. Below are some of my favourite Dave songs from last night and in general:

Dave Matthews Band – You Might Die Trying

Dave Matthews Band – Ants Go Marching

Dave Matthews Band – Stay Or Leave

Dave Matthews Band – Seek Up

What is your favourite Dave song?

I was super excited when Groupon opened their doors in Toronto. For those who haven’t yet heard about this service, Groupon offers its members daily discounts to different products and services within their defined city. This ranges from restaurants, to photography sessions, mani/pedis, drinks etc.

Groupon emails me deals  Monday through Friday, offering something new and exciting every day. The discounts are pretty great too – none of this 5-10% crap. Usually discounts are anywhere from 30-60% (sometimes even higher).

Groupon works based on the number of people who buy into the offer. As long as the minimum number of purchases are made, the deal stands. Its a pretty great system, which ensures high value and interesting deals – otherwise they don’t fly.

If you haven’t signed up yet, I’d highly recommend jumping on the Groupon train. You won’t be disappointed.

Every spring I do a big shop for my summer basics: plain tees, tank tops, beach shorts, sandals and summer shoes. I’m not picky, the clothes need to last at least one season and be reasonably priced, that way if something happens to them, it really doesn’t matter. Year after year I find myself in the same stores that meet this criteria:

H&M: Say what you will about H&M, but their tanks, tees and shorts are perfect for getting you through the summer. You can load up on all the basics you need, walk away with tons of clothes, and only spend 100 bucks. If something happens to the top you spent $5.95 on, so what? I always stock up at H&M.

American Apparel: A little pricier than H&M, yes, but American Apparel has provided me with countless tees, tanks, belts and light summer dresses, all in fun and bright colours (which I LOVE). The brighter the better! And you can shop online!

Jacob: I have been shopping at Jacob since I was 15 years old. Their clothes always fit me really well, last a few seasons and never cost an arm and a leg. Their clothes have a bit more style and form than H&M or American Apparel and definitely last longer.

For footwear, I usually buy some new white sneakers and a few pairs of ballet slippers. My trip to Brazil last year left me rich in Havianas, but otherwise I would pick up a pair of those as well. Some stores that I frequent are Little Burgundy (Queen Street West and Eaton Centre locations), Get Outside (Queen Street West) and Payless (mainly for their ballet slippers).

Where do you go for your summer basics?

I have been spinning twice a week for nearly four years. For those who don’t know, spinning is a hardcore cardio workout done to the beats of loud music on a stationary bike. Really great spin instructors will leave you breathless, and fighting off the “I think I might puke” feeling. Being a regular spinner, I haven’t actually felt this puke sensation in a while, despite my amazing instructors. Until now..

I was introduced to Cykl about a month ago and have been singing its praises ever since. Cykl is the only spin studio in the city (or anywhere else that I know of) that has RealRyder bikes that tilt and move as you ride. The 65 pound wheel (regular spinning wheels weigh around 40 pounds) is located at the back of the bike, leaving the handlebars free to tilt and turn as you spin, resulting in a serious upper body and core strengthening workout as you are spinning.

My first class, the instructor told me to throw everything I thought I knew about spinning out the window because most of it wouldn’t apply on the new bikes. She was dead on. If your form isn’t 100% perfect, the handlebars go crazy wobbling.  Standing up and turning right and left is a hell of a lot harder than third position on any normal spin bike. When I got off the bike after my first class on the RealRyder my legs were jello. When I got off the bike on Monday after my 7th class on the RealRyder, my legs were still jello.

Its an amazing work out. I recommend it to anyone who is looking for a serious full body challenge. The instructors are all pretty great, my favourites being Jen and Katya (who will absolutely makes you feel like you’re going to puke). Costs are comparable to most other cycle studios and the first one is free!

Let me know if you give it a try and what you think!

I know I’m not alone when I say I love shoes. I love love love love love them. No matter how many pairs you have, it seems you never have quite enough and you can ALWAYS use more. When my boyfriend presented me with a gift certificate to Shoes of Prey, a website where I could design my own shoes and then have them shipped to me, I knew he was a keeper. I was amazed!



The website is pretty awesome. You get to select the shape and style of your shoes, and test different heals, fabric, colours, and decorations (bows etc.). After playing with a ton of different variations I realized how daunting the task really was. The pressure was on to design the most perfect shoe for myself to sport this summer, and design I did.  I went through a number of different designs before finally settling on the ones I named Red Red Wine. I submitted my order along with my feet size and a picture of my feet to help them with sizing,  just in case I had any weird extra toes. I received a personalized email  letting me know that they had received the order and that I could expect my shoes in 6 weeks. The countdown was on.

Due to the high volume and recent popularity of the site, my shoes of prey actually took closer to 8 weeks to arrive, but I got a $10.00 credit along with an actual picture of them to make up for it.  When they did finally make it to my door step, the wait was well worth it. The shoes were beautiful, exactly as I had hoped and they fit perfectly. Shoes of Prey even sent me insoles and a personal, handwritten note about my shoes which was an unexpected but appreciated touch.

Girls: If you’re looking for a pair of shoes that are really YOU, there’s no better way than to design them yourself.

Guys: Honestly, this was one of the best gifts I’ve ever received. You’ll score big points with this gift idea.

Best Boyfriend In The World: THANK YOU!

I now have a BBQ on my front patio. This has without a doubt changed my life. Why steam, bake or fry something when you can grill it? Seriously, everything is just better hot off the grill, including pizza. When I came across this recipe for barbecued pizza, I couldn’t resist putting my grill skills to the test. I had to try it, and I’m glad I did. It was absolutely delicious, rustic and crunchy, with the perfect amount of flavour and char. In the mood to put the tongs down and try something new? Man Up!

BBQ Pizza

Ingredients

We decided to make 2 different types of pizza. The first was a fresh and delicious marriage of basil and bocconcini, which I would highly recommend. The second, Greek prosciutto, got a little more creative and followed the fresh taste of the first pizza perfectly. I cant say which turned out better. Both were amazing.

Basil Boccancini

1 small can basil tomato sauce

1 tbsp. chopped garlic

8-10 whole basil leaves

200g sliced bocconcini cheese

1 hand full of halved cherry tomatoes

6 pieces grilled zucchini

Greek Prosciutto

1 small can basil tomato sauce

1 tbsp. chopped garlic

100g crumbled feta cheese

1 bunch of green and black olives

7 sliced sun-dried tomatoes

1 large sliced green Thai chili

5 small antipasto peppers (red)

Instructions

**note: this is a 2 person job

1. Roll out the dough into “circles” which will likely look more like mis-shapen ovals

2. Chop all pizza toppings and place them in separate sections on the cutting board

3. Add about a tbsp. of garlic to 1/4 cup of olive oil (mix to infuse the oil with garlic flavour)

4. Fire up the grill – medium to high heat, coat with a layer of the garlic olive oil

5. Carefully lay one of the rolled out pieces of dough on the grill, brush the top with a thin layer of garlic olive oil

6. Gently flip the dough when browned on the bottom

7. When both sides are evenly browned, remove the crust from the grill and layer on your toppings. Place the pizza back on the grill on low to medium heat and cover until the cheese melts and the toppings are cooked

8. Remove first pizza from heat and repeat with the second pizza.

9. ENJOY!

As per my previous post, I am now a certified West-ender. I moved to the trendy King West neighbourhood and so far couldn’t be happier. I found out that I was moving on March 5th, and successfully moved into my new digs April 1st. To say that those three weeks weren’t going to be hectic would be like saying the leafs had a chance at making the playoffs – completely naive. Like any situation where you are basically forced to plan and organize a number of different things and people on the fly, I learned a lot about moving in Toronto.

1. Finding a new place: We found our place on good, old, reliable Craig’s List. We also checked popular sites like View It and Toronto Rentals . Online is the obvious place to start your search, but don’t cast aside more traditional listings like the the Toronto Star, The Globe and Mail and other Toronto newspapers. I found the listing for my second choice apartment in the Globe and Mail’s print edition, and ended up beating all the View It and Craig’s List hunters.

2. Boxes: As the organizing begins you’ll obviously need boxes and storage containers, not to mention mattress bags, garbage bags and tape. Being in a rush, I didn’t have much time to go to places like Canadian Tire and No Frills looking for good packing boxes. I ended up ordering everything I needed from Boxes On The Move. All of my packing materials were delivered the next day and their customer service was excellent. It was a bit pricey, about $75.00 dollars after delivery, but well worth it when you consider the time and stress saved.

3. Movers: I think I basically got scammed by my moving company (Mo Movers). They ‘conveniently’ neglected to tell me about a bunch of additional ‘labour’ charges on top of the hourly rate; and presented me with the bill for payment just after arriving at my new home, but before they actually unloaded any of my stuff. Rock and hard place, meet Heather. The movers ended up costing 400.00, which was twice as much as expected.

4. Junk Removal: I hope that you don’t need to use this next tip, however, we were not so lucky. Upon arrival at our new home we found that the previous tenants had left a number of gifties behind when they moved out. These ranged from a food, pictures, a bike, a rusted out BBQ and a tire. All in all the junk we cleared out our first weekend ensconced our front patio. We had no choice but to call junk collectors to take it away. Monday morning at 8:45 I called Rid Of It and by 10:00 that same morning my junk had been removed (including all of the dead leaves) for a total cost was about $150.00 (which will be charged back to my landlord).  Service was quick and really friendly – definitely recommended!

I am glad to be settled in for at least a year, but moving season is still ramping up – do you have any tips or advice for Torontonians still planning their move?

Ahhh, big sigh of relief as the pain and anxiety caused by redesigning Toronto Uncovered and changing hosting companies slowly melts away.  I’m really excited that most of the heavy lifting is over.  There are some pretty noteworthy changes to call attention to, most obviously is the new theme! I’m going for more of a magazine feel, featuring latest posts from a variety of topics on the main page. I will continue to tweak different features over the next couple of weeks to make sure everything is running well – suggestions are welcome!

There will also be some new bloggers joining the ranks. Look for upcoming welcomes and bios. If you are interested in writing on a specific section/topic of Toronto definitely contact me!

I recently decided to sell my East side, Jarvis and Adelaide condo and move West.  I’m definitely excited to re-immerse myself in everything the West side has to offer: more restaurants, more shopping, more culture, more parks and bike lanes, but I will definitely miss certain East-end-only features that  I have come to take for granted.  Below is a farewell tribute to the East end and everything it has to offer.

1. St Lawrence Market: I’ve been coming to the St. Lawrence market on Saturdays ever since I was old enough to walk on my own. My grandparents used to take me every weekend, introducing me to all the shop vendors and teaching me the art of  negotiation.  Toronto’s most famed market has a huge array of meat, cheese, baked goods and the freshest produce around.  If food isn’t your thing (if you people even exist), the St. Lawrence has a huge antiques market on Sundays. I blogged all about this recently, as I love to peruse new and used treasures. St. Lawrence, I will miss you!

2. Peace and quiet: The East end, while being close enough to walk to pretty much anything, is actually pretty quiet. I am rarely woken up at night by late partiers, streetcars, or sirens. The streets are rarely crowded no matter what time or temperature, making walks or bike rides enjoyably peaceful.

3. More for less: Whether you are renting or buying, the East end usually has larger apartments, houses and condos for much less.

4. Parking: There is actually parking readily available on most streets and for most grocery stores. This is something much harder to find in the West.

5. Hot House Sunday Brunch: There are few, if any, brunch spots in Toronto that out-do the Hot House Sunday brunch-capade. Their buffet is reminiscent of the scene in Hook where Pan and the lost boys use their imagination to create a grand feast. There is quite literally every type of food you can possibly imagine. SO GOOD!

6. Proximity to the Beach: I love the beach, and love to play volleyball there every weekend. I’m going to miss having it a 10 minute drive from my house – but wont hesitate to jump on my bike for an extra 20 minutes to get there.

East side, I bid you farewell.. West end here I come!