Sometimes we find ourselves wondering, "Where do I put these lead acid batteries now that they've started to leak corrosive fluid all over the place," or, "How can I save money while being green in 2008?" A new Greentree book by Allison Greenbaum gives us the answers. "The Little Green Book of Big Savings" is an indispensable tool for being green and thrifty in Toronto in the new year, featuring over $4,000 in savings......

Torontoist is ending the year by naming our Heroes and Villains of 2007––the people, places, and things that we've either fallen head over heels in love with or developed uncontrollable rage towards over the past twelve months. Get your dose, starting Boxing Day and running into the new year, three times a day––sunrise, noon, and sunset. This past June, Urbana Coffee (1033 Bay Street) quietly opened at Bay and St. Joseph, diagonal from Film Fest......

Just because you're being indulgent doesn't mean you have to ignore environmental, human rights, and health concerns. That's the philosophy of the Kakayo Chocolate Company, a fantastic new truffle shop that opened last week. Located at 1584 Queen St. East, right at the edge of the Beaches, Kakayo is a truffle shop with morality in mind. Not only can you fulfill your cravings for delectable, high-quality chocolate, but you can do it ethically. Founder......

It’s cold. Horrifically, monstrously cold. Walking around bundled up like six-year-olds—unable to fully bend at the knees and elbows—reawakens childhood memories of freezing one’s butt off. That and thinking how some hot chocolate would help make everything bearable, at least for a little while. But where can an adult, also chilled by global warming guilt, find a cup of hot chocolate to warm the spirit? Nestled in a corner of Toronto Sprouts (720 Bathurst,......

Two of our contributors, Shari Kasman and Jenelle Rupchand, are all about arts & crafts this weekend. In this roundup, Shari brings you some of the many weekend fairs going on, while Jenelle's stocking up on some fair trade goods. Baby Liam wants something soft and turquoise, Aunt Priscilla needs a lavender shawl, and Herman the co-worker would love a fashionable paperweight. With crowds galore and awful renditions of the top Xmas hits, the......

A brief aside; The London Film Festival is currently running and our sister site Londonist are covering it, and have already given a sterling review to one of our favourites from TIFF, Reprise. You might want to check it out. But back here on home turf (well, if not Toronto’s, at least making our way across the Atlantic as far as Nova Scotia) Trailer Park Boys has made it to the big screen, and the......

At last October's Run For Cure, Torontoist couldn't help but notice more than 100 per cent of women had a coloured stripe across their bums. Even women not participating in Breast Cancer fundraising run were wearing the black pant avec stripe-across-the-cheeks garment. Upon further inspection, Torontoist found that some of these female runners did not appreciate us inspecting their bums. Upon even further inspection, the athletic wear-slash-uniform turned out to be from the heavily popular......

Torontoist Boy Reporter won’t be sending flowers to anyone this Valentine’s Day. But if he had to, he’d consider sending an organically-grown bouquet from Eco Flora. With annual sales in the US around $17 billion, flowers are big money. Most of the roses, carnations and other buds that make their way up to Canada are grown in South and Central America where wages, working conditions and standards about pesticides are almost non-existent. The pesticides......

Grapefruit Moon, that Seaton Village hub of hashed browns and fair trade coffee, is getting the makeover treatment. Its windows will remain covered with a fetching black plastic while a show, rumoured to be called 'Restaurant Makeover,' gives the resto the wham-bam-resplastered-mam redux. While Torontoist wasn't gaga for the Moon's previous look, it was cozy, and seemed to suit the local establishment quite nicely. We'll be curious to see what those speedy and dextrous......