In the City

I love Hamilton.  My father immigrated to Hamilton with his brother in the late 1950's  - so did my mother with her parents and sister.  Both of my parents paths lead here with the promise of a better life.  Back then, Hamilton was an economic powerhouse filled with job opportunities and vibrant communities.  Since the 1990's this city has unfortunately been in a steady decline.  It burns my ass at the ineptitude of City Hall to try to revitalize downtown Hamilton.  However, the times they are a changing thanks to artists who began opening galleries on James Street North and a grassroots movement.  The advent of the James Street Art Crawls, downtown is slowly making a comeback.   There are new businesses opening on a monthly basis.

The Fella and I spent a rare weekday off exploring the businesses of James North.

We first stopped at Ola Bakery & Pastries (230 James Street North), which came highly recommended by my friend Liz. For an early Monday afternoon, this little jem of a place was absolutely packed. They have to make some of the best sandwiches in the city (and an absolute steal at $3.25 each).  The bread is made fresh daily on site.  We accompanied them with lattes and a Portuguese custard tart which was to die for. It was creamy, sweet and had a beautiful buttery, flaky pastry.  The staff are quite brusque, but the food is so good I was willing to overlook it and plan to return soon.

Ah munna eat choo!  Too good to wait to be photographed

Also, on recommendation by Liz, we pre-ordered the piri-piri chicken to take home for dinner. You must provide them with a minimum of an hours' notice, so we placed our order and continued our exploration of James North.  Being the Instagram nerds that we are,  we spent the rest of the afternoon taking photos of James Street's urban beauty.

 I love the mix of the old and modern buildings

    My fav Christmas movie is "A Christmas Story" - love how this jewellery   shop designed their window around the theme.

 Ooh, new manicure salon!  Must come back sans Fella

Of course I had to make a stop at one of my favourite clothing stores, Blackbird Studios (161 James Street North)   www.blackbirdstudios.ca.   It goes without saying that I cannot leave this establishment without making a purchase.   Their one of a kind creations are original and beautiful and hand made on site. I purchased this 1940's inspired "Jessica" dress. I have absolutely no where to wear this, but when you find such a great piece you have to buy it. A wedding or formal event will always come up unexpectedly & you will be prepared with a fabulous outfit.  So someone, please get married pronto, so that I can wear this little number!

A sudden heavy downpour forced us indoors to have a quick pint (oh, damn, twist our arms) at our favourite local music venue, This Ain't Hollywood.

The downpour eased into a steady drizzle, which unfortunately cut our exploration short (don't even mention using an iPhone in the rain to the Fella...long story).  So we head back to Ola Bakery to pick up our piri-piri chicken and head home to feast.  My gawd - Liz was not kidding - it was absolutely delish!!

Nuptial-Palooza

This month I had the honour of being invited to celebrate the marriage of two lovely couples who had weddings a week a part of each other-- Pete & Kim and Shaun & Rachel.  These couples are the real deal.  I'm always curious to hear the story about how couples met each other  The beginning of these two love stories are hilarious--but not my stories to tell.  Plus Kim & Rachel would both KILL me if I posted the details for all of the world to read, and by all of the world I mean the three people (if I'm lucky) who actually read this blog.

Kim & Rachel were two very unique brides to be. Neither were concerned about the usual trappings that go along with the big business of weddings.  There was no obsession about rings, Vera Wang dresses, showers, etc.  Their laid back attitude was refreshing. Both were more excited about embarking on a big journey rather than focusing on "the big day".  Having their family and friends in attendance to celebrate the new chapter in their lives was what mattered.  It meant a lot to be  included as part of their celebrations. 

Oh yeah, and also OPEN BARS!!!  Hello, this blog is called Free Spiritz!!

SPIRITZ

At Pete & Kim’s event I stuck to one of my all time favourite beers – Lowenbrau (LCBO $2.25 – 500ml Munich Germany) – which I now have them hooked on after leaving a can (or two...or three) behind in their fridge after parties.  Lowenbrau (touted as the “official” beer of Oktoberfest) is a pale lager brewed according to the Bavarian purity law of 1516 – yep, this is an actual legislation on brewing beer!  In a nutshell, this law was to help keep “unhealthy ingredients” out of the brew and it strictly forbids corn, rice, sugar or chemical additives (yay! health points).  You can’t really go wrong with German beers, and I never met one that I didn’t like, but Lowenbrau is a fantastic beer for a price that can’t be beat.  

It was wine all the way at Shaun & Rachel’s celebration and the event was well stocked with chardonnay and valpolicella – made by the happy couple themselves at Brew time http://www.brewtime.ca here in Hamilton.  I was so impressed by the quality of this wine; I currently have a batch of Amarone lovingly fermenting as I write this.  Future blog on the experience pending.

FASHION

Ok, ok, both brides were gorgeous and dressed to the nines.  They knocked it out of the park.  What more can I say.  

As for the guests....

Blackbird Studios (http://www.blackbirdstudios.ca) ruled at Shaun & Rachel’s wedding.  Myself, Jenn and Leslie (crickey we look like the witches of Eastwick) sported designs made by the team of Kiki and Buckshot at the James North Hamilton store.  They describe themselves as catering to “rock stars, roller girls, burlesque artistes, fashion misfits and fashionistas” –you have to see these designs to believe them – the photos do not do justice to the amazing work that these two designers create.  All clothing is made on site and most of the fabric is made exclusively for the shop.  Not only are their creations unique and affordable, but they have styles that fit all women’s body types.

Thanks for reading. 

Eat, drink and don’t be Mary – just be yourself.