This month, I decided to shake things up a little with my design blog and pivot away from home interiors and, instead, spotlight a few of my favourite local businesses right here in Toronto that are sure to inspire. As the owner of a small, homegrown business, I can really appreciate the need to support our local community. Join me as I share with you the new lip colour I can’t live without, a jewelry line that I’m slightly obsessing over, and the BEST pasta place in the city (and I don’t say this lightly) that you’ve probably never heard of.
Day to day, I am pretty low maintenance when it comes to skincare and makeup routines – a little under-eye concealer, some mascara, brow glaze and away I go. But recently I treated myself to a few new products to up my game while keeping my routine quick and easy. The best brow and beauty bar in Toronto, in my humble opinion, is HB Face, located on Eglinton Ave W in the Forest Hill / Allenby area (and a second location in Oakville). They are experts when it comes to brows. I started going there a while back for brow threads & tints and would occasionally purchase their skincare products like hyaluronic acid and face wash. They also carry their own makeup line, so I recently decided to try out a few products, well maybe more than a few. To be honest I love them all but one of the items I bought really stands out. It is a lip crayon (yes crayon, not pencil) and OMG it looks sooooo good! The colours in this collection really are the perfect neutrals. They are available in several shades and, honestly, when I was picking it out, I had a tough time deciding which one to get because they were all so nice! Luckily the staff there are super helpful in selecting the best shade and I ended up choosing colour number 09. Then I went back a few weeks later and picked up number 03…um, so now I have two favourite lip colours!
In 2021, a unique and dazzling jewelry line called Heili Rocks was started here in Toronto and has been shining bright ever since. Born from one woman’s passion for jewelry and the special healing properties of stones, her colourful pieces including bracelets, necklaces, rings and earrings are made with stones such as diamonds, sapphires, rubies, moonstone, emeralds, and turquoise as well as other materials like beads and coloured string. The combinations of materials and colours along with bold styles inspired by fashion, travel, and nature have led to a vibrant collection of statement jewelry. I was lucky enough to be gifted one of her chevron diamond & string bracelets for my birthday and it’s become a staple in my wardrobe. There is no store-front but check her Instagram for the occasional pop-up shop (last summer she opened one in Muskoka) or stop by the Narwhal boutique for a selection of her pieces. Can’t wait for a pop-up? Send her a DM and let her know what you’re interested in. A word of warning: Once you have your first piece of Heili Rocks jewelry, you will want more. They look amazing on their own and even better stacked or paired together. Her success has spread into the US and is adorned by celebs like Delilah Belle, Mindy Kaling, and Cheryl Hickey.
I am in no way a restaurant critic or a food guru, but my love for Italian food runs deep. My husband and I honeymooned in Italy and were careful to avoid the tourist trap restaurants and instead sought out the best food that our travel guidebook recommended (that was back in the day when we used actual travel books and lugged them around with us) sometimes having to walk in what felt like a maze around the city in order to find these often hidden gems. After successfully eating our way through the country, we came home with a renewed sense of what good Italian food truly meant. In Toronto, we are lucky to live in a large, metropolitan city that has some fabulous Italian restaurants, but there is one that stands in a league of its own.
A couple of years back when my husband first discovered this barely-more-than-a-hole-in-the-wall spot tucked away on Geary Avenue, he insisted we head down for lunch. They keep very limited “restaurant” hours – from noon to 2pm Wednesday to Friday. I hesitate to even use the word restaurant as it is really a factory that they open to the public a few hours a week to serve hot, freshly made, mouth-watering dishes and if there is any signage out front it is easy to miss. When we arrived on a bright, sunny afternoon, there was a long line up that snaked down the street. I felt like we were part of a secret club of people in the know and I figured that a long line was likely a good indication (although have you seen the lineups for the Cheesecake Factory?? Eek. Not a good example.) They accept walk-ins only and do not accept reservations. I think we waited for about 30 minutes before placing our order at the counter for one of each of the pastas of the day. Not a bad wait, considering the length of the line. Somehow, we managed to snag a table inside which was lucky given that they only have 10 seats in total. Most people sat on benches outdoors. Their menu consists of two pastas each day along with a few starters and a dessert. You can check their Instagram for a preview ahead of time or just head on down and take your chances. Now, I can’t recall the exact pasta dishes we shared that day, but I can recall feeling like I had just died and gone to Italy.
They also offer a smattering of grocery items like fresh pasta that you can cook at home, Italian wines, fresh bread, ragu, prosciutto, olive oils, tiramisu, and even some branded merch. Their retail hours are a little broader than their restaurant hours but still limited. So, what’s the name of this local hidden gem? Baldassarre. Now, who wants to meet for lunch?
Mirelle Goren Interiors offers full-service interior design in the GTA. If you or someone you know is looking for home remodeling or decorating services, click on the Let’s Connect button below to find out more about our services. I’d love to hear from you!
xx Mirelle