awkward ttc experience: regular day vs fri flooding

This is a classic, awkward TTC experience: The passenger sitting next to you farts, but there's nowhere to hide during rush hour:

This is the same experience with a twist, involving flooding at Union Station this past Friday.

The TTC can feel like the twilight zone. For more memes about the Union Station floording, check out blogto.

happy valentine's day!

 Just sharing two simple doodles. <3. (Drew these two with my friend Tiff in mind.)

We'll be baack!

Hello! Ish and Jen are going to be posting again in July. There are tons of exciting projects and goodies to show you later in the summer, so it'll just keep getting hotter around here. (Omg, it was suppose to be 37 degrees yesterday in June, but it also showered hail. Wtf.)

So meanwhile:
- You can check out the action on the right bar.
- If you want to know when we're posting next, you can sign up for the email notification. (I don't spam you - pinky swear.)
- You can leave a message here if there's stuff you want to see more of. Like, more Ish, or more Jen, or more Toronto, or more specific people. Or more art. Or less is more and we're doing okay.

Have a great start to the summer!

May 2nd Election Day

Monday May 2nd is federal election day, so I'm encouraging people to go out to the polls.
Who/What: I've asked a few people on what's the best way to catch up on the election news, and I've found it's helpful to search the political parties platform, and read the commentary on it.

When: Citizens are legally entitled to three consecutive hours to vote, which your employer must give you. However, they decide when the employees can take the three hours.

How: And if you don't have your voters card, you can register right before you vote with the necessary id.

Where: You can find your local polling station here.

Valentine's in the City

So a few days ago, my manager is like 'Hey, do you celebrate Valentine's Day?' And I said 'What? Omg, it's in four days!' ... At this point, it's tomorrow. After talking with some friends (and let's face it, out of necessity) there are some small and really sweet ways to celebrate on Monday that are tried and tested either on us, by us, or will be so in the near future. 

Chocolate:
Go skating in Nathan Phillips square (free), then go for crepes at Cafe Paris. Just for Valentine's day, they break out the roses floating in red tealight holders, and top off your strawberry-chocolate crepe with pink whipped cream. One of my favorite small ways to celebrate. Make reservations before you go skating, - it gets busy quickly. 

Jewelry:
Guys can walk in, and pick up a locket at Outer Layer or a Pretty Freedom, then write a sentimental note inside about an inside joke, or something the girl can smile about everyday.

Food:
Jen: Clean the living room, put on great music, and cook the other person their favorite meal. And if you can't make their favorites well, do something close. If they love steak and you can't make steak, do beef pasta. Lol you tried and they'll still love you for it.

Ish: O Noir’s tag line is ‘It’s better in the dark’. I can’t think of a more delightful way of savouring food while being in complete darkness with a bf/gf. Lots of adventures above the table….and then some more under the table.

Lingerie:
If guys are up for it, they get to pick something they’d love to see on their partner . If not, the girl could find something she hasn’t tried before, garter belts, fishnets, silk kimono... endless possibilities.

People argue that Valentine's is too commercial in Toronto, but I say, why not set aside a continent-wide day to celebrate love? If you're single, you can have an awesome singles night out. And if you don't have any single friends, like Beyonce once said "I'm gonna be my own best friend", and treat yourself to something great.

Much love!

Ish and Jen.

Morning Decisions (doodles)

I was in Chapters on John St. flipping through the fashion magazines that got siphoned to Toronto, and felt that Toronto's appreciation for class and sensuality is clear. Captured through sketches, by yours truly.

"Alright, I just woke up, and I'm not wearing much."

"Hm, what should I do?"

"Be completely naked. Fabulous."