Presentation isn't always everything

MAWA's Over The Top! Art Auction and Cupcake Party is just over a week away. Last year the cupcakes were a real feast for the eyes, elaborately adorned with butterflies, and sparkly sprinkles atop perfect piping. With that in mind, I thought I would try something a little more festive than my default Betty Crocker meets Duncan Hines creations. My friend Sarah lent me her Cupcakes! recipe book. After eyeballing the cupcake porn, I had pictures of Chocolate-Covered Brownie Ice Cream Cone Cupcakes dancing in my head.

Sadly, I was too lazy to follow the exact recipe. I replaced the fancy chocolate batter with a simple yellow batter. Then once I mixed the batter, I had to suspend production for a meeting with a contractor. The end result was a disappointment. The cupcakes were hard and dry, and the ones I made in Jumbo cones didn't rise enough. Only three of them actually looked like ice cream cones (that's why there are only three in the photo). And it turns out, eating a cupcake out of a cone is actually kind of awkward and unappealing (unless perhaps you are three years old and have a side dish of ice cream). On the plus side, the chocolate dip was super easy to make. For my next dessert, chocolate-covered strawberries!

Monetize me!

For the last several years our friend Jeff has organized a Winnipeg edition of the Amazing Race, complete with karaoke detours and rock-climbing road blocks. Jeff masterminds a course that takes teams to historic parks, overlooked monuments and funky neighborhoods. I love being a tourist in my own town, and travelling to corners of the city that I've forgotten about or never seen. If it weren't for Jeff, I might have missed the cartoon hydrants of Bruce Park.

Winnipeg is full of scenes that you never see, but are right in front of you all the time. Take the second-hand scene. I've been checking out some of the small businesses that buy and sell used stuff (since we're trying to de-hoard, we may as well monetize our assets). I'm impressed by how much money is flowing through this city's hand-me-down micro-economy. I'm starting to think it's the real reason Manitoba escaped the recession relatively unscathed. Here are some high points on my monetize-me map:

Music Trader: Since Christmas we have been digitizing our music collection, which means importing hundreds of CDs into the iPod. Music Trader in Osborne Village happily bought about fifty of my now-redundant CDs, for $170 cash. (If you opt to trade rather than sell, you get up to 25% more.) Billy Bragg was a hit there. The Cranberries were not.

Entertainment Exchange: I took the remaining CDs to Entertainment Exchange in Grant Park Mall (across from Safeway). The guy there was really friendly, and bought about 24 CDs (including The Doors and The Proclaimers) for $80.

Wolseley Wardrobe: They sell men's, women's and children's clothes on consignment, and they are super-friendly and helpful. Anything that doesn't sell gets donated. I highly recommend this store, since they also have a lovely yarn selection for knitters and they always have their radio tuned to CBC. Details on how to become a consignee are on their website.

The Neighborhood Bookstore & Cafe: I brought in a small box of about 25 books - mostly art, poetry and literature to this store on Westminster Avenue. The owner, Bill, gave me the option of cash or credit. I took $45 in store credit, which I spent on a whole lot of delicious tuna onigiri. Whodunit? Mystery Bookstore will buy your mystery paperbacks for $1 each. (Or you can donate them to the Children's Hospital Bookmarket).

Movie Village: This landmark Osborne Village business sent me a cheque for $40 for a handful of movies and TV series on DVD (including the disappointing third season of Veronica Mars).
They promised to send me the cheque within ten days. When it didn't arrive, I called and discovered there had been some kind of computer glitch and the cheque had not been cut. So make sure you keep your receipt, and follow up if there's a problem.

Mom and Children's Paradise: This store on Nairn Avenue is next on my list of places to visit. They buy and sell clothes for babies, kids and women, as well as "baby needs" and toys. My friend Meagan did some de-cluttering of kids toys and baby stuff, and got $55 for her trouble.

Do you have a favorite spot for monetizing your assets? Do tell! I would love to add to the list.

Happy International Women's Day!

This is the perfect day to share a few creations made by awesome women and girls. International Women's Day is almost over, but for me, this stuff is inspiring year-round:
* Amy Poehler's web series, Smart Girls At The Party, especially The Feminist - Ruby.

* Andrea Dorfman's video for Tanya Davis's song, Art

* Cecil Castelluci's graphic novel, The Plain Janes

* India Arie's song Beautiful Flower

* Bust magazine, "the magazine for women with something to get off their chests"

House of hoarders

A couple of years ago, I got the rare chance to tour Habitat 67, the stunning modular housing complex designed by Moshe Safdie for Montreal's Expo '67. I was in modernist heaven - I'm a sucker for humanist design, not to mention built-in bookshelves, natural light and a river view! I was surprised to discover that some of the Habitat dwellers were not as enamored of the original units. One owner transformed his lovely clean wood-and-glass cube into a black-and-white Zen garden, complete with stones, bamboo and water features. It was very sleek and glossy - and disorienting. I couldn't figure out where the family kept the detritus of daily life - the weekend paper, the umbrella, the dustpan. Then I accidentally caught a glimpse of their closet (I opened the door thinking it was the washroom) and discovered it was crammed full of junk. Slippers, cleaning supplies, lightbulb and two-litre bottles of Sprite were all ready to bust out at any moment like so many skeletons. It was a relief to realize that even the most minimalist of us are hoarders at heart.

On the spectrum from Zen minimalist to hoarding horror, our house is perpetually on the cusp of horror. (My sister tells me that if you have to close doors to certain rooms when you have visitors, you are a hoarder). Once every couple of months I pack up a box of clothes and other stuff for Canadian Diabetes. I've taken our VHS machine and old battery chargers to the e-waste depot. I've donated boxes of baby stuff to Villa Rosa. I have been known to visit Unclutterer. But still stuff accumulates. Lately I'm getting a kick out of spinning our household junk into cold hard cash. (And no, I'm not selling stuff on Kijiji or Used Winnipeg). The fact is, a surprising number of businesses in this city will give you money for stuff you no longer want. I'll walk you through a few of them in a post later this week.

This 22 minutes cost me $20

I just paid $20 to watch a half-hour TV show. Grrrr. It had better be good! As I mentioned before, I'm a big fan of Less Than Kind. For its first season, the program aired on City TV, but its audience numbers weren't stellar. Blame The Bachelorette, not a great lead-in for a quirky comedy set in Winnipeg. So the show has moved up the dial to HBO Canada, a better fit according to show writer/producer Mark McKinney. He's probably right. I just wish I didn't have to shell out $20 per month to MTS to see for myself. Ah well, I'm looking forward to the season premiere. Apparently Dave Foley has a cameo.

Don't forget to see Remember The Night

If you missed Remember The Night at the Winnipeg Fringe Festival two years ago, I highly recommend you catch the remount next month. Daniel Thau-Eleff penned this play, described as "equal parts murder-mystery, dark comedy and bittersweet love song to Winnipeg." It sold out its entire Fringe run, partly because it was in a tiny 60-seat venue. (I specifically remember this because I scored the very last advance ticket available). In his five-star review for CBC, my friend Kaj wrote it "mixes Woody Allen-style laughs with Tarantino-esque structure." I thought everything about the production was terrific - the multi-generational cast, the direction by Arne MacPherson, the innovative set, but most of all its poetic reflections on our imperfect and lonely city.

Remember The Night is showing at nightly at 8 p.m. from March 3 - 14 at 290 McDermot. They have a couple of matinees and PWYC shows. To find out how to reserve tickets, visit their website.

Hindsight is 2010

Let me state for the record that I am not generally all rah-rah about the 2010 Olympics. Don't get me wrong, I heart Clara Hughes as much as the next Winnipegger. (I also heart snowboarder and Dancing With The Stars contestant Louie Vito.) But as someone who appreciates the free speech aspect of living in Canada, I was saddened by the fact that, back in November, border officials detained journalist Amy Goodman for ninety minutes, grilling her about whether she would speak about the Olympics.

I am also not generally all rah-rah about McDonald's, for reasons not worth going into here. I just want to note the irony, as I have become totally rah-rah about the McDonald's Happy Meal 2010 Olympic mascot collectibles. There are eight different ones, and each performs a different sport.

My fave is Miga the figure skater. As you wheel her along, she spins. All eight hook together to make a train of Olympic cuteness. I should have started buying them three weeks ago when they were first available. Now the only ones left are Quatchi on the luge, and Sumi playing ice sledge hockey (which I didn't know was a sport).

My big regret is that these little plastic toys, which you could buy for less than 2 bucks if you forego the Happy Meal, are now selling on eBay for $20 each (including shipping). If you were smarter than me and bought the set, you can make a tidy profit online!

Whatever, H+M

Martin Cash at the Winnipeg Free Press reported today that H&M isn't setting up shop at Polo Park. Apparently they are looking for the "perfect location." Seriously? If 40,000 vacant square feet in our biggest mall isn't good enough then forget it. Someone call the good folks at Anthropologie and I'll just window-shop there instead!

Two dates to mark in your calendar

First, mark Sunday, March 21 on your calendar. That's the date of my favorite fundraiser of the year - the annual Over The Top! art auction and cupcake party at MAWA. I love the cheerful buzz as bargain-hungry art-lovers elbow their way past cupcake-laden tables to examine the work and devise their bidding strategies. In past years I've seen photographs by Diana Thorneycroft, prints by tamara rae biebrich and sculpture by Aganetha Dyck. A huge range of artists contribute, from well-known artstars to up-and-comers, so you're bound to fall in love with at least one piece. And with bidding starting at just $50, you can score some serious art deals. A few years ago we sweated out a silent bidding war over a tiny Wanda Koop painting, and emerged triumphant! Our "mini-Koop" now hangs happily in the hall. Over The Top! tickets are $10 and available at 611 Main Street. Or email me and I'll hook ya up.

Drop The Needle is back this month. On February 21, at 7 p.m., you can learn bookbinding from the multi-talented Chantale Maynard. The soundtrack of the evening is provided by organizer and D.J. extraordinaire Mama Cutsworth. See you at the Lo Pub!