Why We Love it: The Hintonburg Public House

Here is the second installment of blogging-babe Sophie's exploration of Ottawa's charming Hintonburg neighborhood. Eat it up. - S 

My second (and awesomely unexpected) stop was to the Hintonburg Public House. This cozy-cool pub/restaurant offers pub fare, and comfort food – made from scratch using local ingredients – and has an awesome selection of beer (six on tap!) The atmosphere is super warm and elegantly rustic; with warm woods, bernardin jar light fixtures (my favorite detail) and tea-light holders, beautifully restored tables and chairs, and a vintage turquoise buffet, serving as a bar. Plus, the staff is fabulously easy-going and friendly, and even struck a pose for me! With all of this good food, cool drinks, warm vibes, and good people, the Hintonburg Public House hit the nail on the head. Find it at 1020 Wellington Street West… (you won’t want to leave).

Hintonburg Public House

1020 Wellington Street West

www.hintonburgpublichouse.ca

Why We Love it: Wabi-Sabi

My beautiful best friend, Sophie, was visiting over the weekend so naturally I sent her on a Capital Oh adventure. We haven't really explored the Hintonburg area yet, so we decided this was the best place for Sophie to begin. The results do not disappoint. With a little wandering, Sophie was able to uncover Hintonburg's unique sparkle. - S

Sophie: First stop: Wabi-Sabi. First thought: Wasabi…? Sushi…? Nope, none of the above. Wabi-Sabi is a wonder-FULL store for all of you knitting, spinning, and weaving fanatics (like myself), as well as for all & any beginners (they offer courses in knitting, sewing, felting, spinning and weaving, and some for the kidlets too!) The store bursts with vibrant and tantalizing wools, yarns, and fibres of all kinds, and I could immediately feel the cozy potential of everything around me. On the back wall, they had some of their yarns hanging, unwound, in a tempting display. I loved this way of displaying the yarn, seeing as I could get a great sense of their color/texture/softness… which was a feast for the eyes (and hands)! Of course, I couldn’t leave empty-handed, and I bought some luscious plant-dyed yarn for myself (originally from a small fiber studio on Salt Spring Island – Kattikloo), and have already begun knitting a lace-like spring scarf! Wicked. All in all, this store is super cool, friendly, and bursting with creative energy… happy creating!

Wabi-Sabi : “a Japanese term describing beauty that is imperfect and incomplete. And that sort of describes working with fibre and wool with all the fuzzy bits and that.” (pulled from the business card).

Wabi-Sabi

1078 Wellington Street

www.wabi-sabi.ca

Carleton University Vagina Monologues

Hi Ottawa people. Not to toot my own horn, but uhh I'm in a pretty awesome show with some pretty awesome women. It's a hilarious, sad, strange, empowering, and magical show that all people with vaginas or all people who love vaginas or people who want to know more about vaginas will definitely enjoy. Watch the video. Laugh. Try and remember how I look when I'm not making this face. Please. And then go buy your tickets in the Carleton University Centre. Tickets are 10$ in advance, 12$ at the door. There are three shows: this Saturday, March 10th at 6:30, and this Sunday, March 11th at 1:30 and 6:30. ({}) >^.^< ({})

Why We Love It: Wunderkammer

They say when one door closes, another one opens.  This is exactly the case with Wunderkammer on Dalhousie - located in the old Canteen building, the owners of this jewellery shop have made the space all their own.  Before setting up shop here in the city (they opened a mere four months ago!), the duo had been based in Montreal.  The interior is warmly lit with a rustic, woodsy vibe.  It is also filled with some of the coolest and most unique jewelry in the whole city of Ottawa, and S and I love us some statement jewellery.  The owners, Nathan and Tamara, are also the designers behind frug, one of the in-house jewellery lines sold at the store.  They really do have something for everyone - I definitely had my eye on some gold-pressed earrings and a great cicada ring (a cicada on a ring...genius!).  Aside from jewellery, they also sell cards (with cats on them!) and small gifts.  I highly recommend checking this place out, I know I'll be back! We may have lost an old favourite (RIP Canteen!), but we definitely found a new one in Wunderkammer! You can check out their facebook page and website for more info! - J