This afternoon, I biked up to my school to do some watering and weeding in our school garden. I stopped in at Value Village and there was NOTHING, I say NOTHING. Riding home down O'Connor, I stopped by the Peek Freans' cookie outlet. I can't tell you how good this cookie factory makes east Toronto smell. We can smell that vanilla cookie smell sometimes in our East York neighbourhood. Other days I can smell it outside my school in the Victoria Park/Eglinton area.
The building appears to be Art Modern. I love the shape and the fact that it was never knocked down in our bulldozer crazy city.
Time for some sweet deals on cookies.
Inside is a cute little store with odds and ends off the assembly line. Some cookies are just in their cellophane packaging without the box. Many cookies and crackers are the way you'd find them in the store, but with prices slashed. It's not a place of broken biscuits.
Here's what $5.80 bought me: two packs of Lifestyle cream and jelly cookies, a box of chocolate fudge snacking cookies, a package of light cranberry cookies, and a box of Ritz crackers.
Coffee break time. Cookies on a vintage tourist plate and coffee in my Goodwill-bought sushi mug from last summer. Life is good.
I recently stumbled upon your blog. I have been enjoying it so much. Imagine my surprise when you started talking about my childhood stomping grounds. I looked at your profile more closely and believe it or not I graduated from Clairlea PS in 1971! I follow a lot of different blogs but it is great fun to listen to you talk about places I am familiar with such as the Goodwill Outlet in Scarborough and the Peek Frean Outlet. I even had my first job packing orders for Regal Stationary just down the road from there. Keep up the good work and I will continue to follow.
ReplyDeleteHello,
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for this post. I feel so happy. You did some first class sleuthing. I'm moving from Room 204 to room 108 this school year. I went in today and the school was a ghost town.
My mom used to shop at the Regal Stationery in Leaside when I was a kid. I remember her buying things that she liked, but I didn't (no toys!).
Again, Thanks for this message. I had former Clairlea students get engaged across the hallway this year and I got all misty eyed.
It's a small world.
Do come back.
Erin
I remember the Peak Freans building! I don't often get down that way so it's always nice to see they haven't torn down some of these wonderful, old places.
ReplyDeleteRecently, I drove along Eglinton, and was delighted to see the Chrysler lady still swinging. As a kid, I used to love seeing her wardrobe change with each season.
Hi Lynn.
ReplyDeleteYes, yes - the "Swing over to Chrysler" lady. I went to Leaside High School, but we lived in Scarborough when I was a teen, so we'd drive by the swinging lady every day. I loved the way they'd change her outfit depending on the season.
Ahhh, memories.
Glad she's still swingin'
Erin
When I was 5 years old, I lived across the street from Peek Freans on O'Connor Drive.
ReplyDeleteShame what they've done to the main entrance (corner of O'Conner and Bermondsey). That used to be the entrance to the offices. Nive interior old style 1950s wood panelling etc. Anyway, at least the building has not been knocked down. It's a nice bit of architecture and I guess would be considered historic now, built in 1949 I think.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the post, interesting.