Category / kitchener waterloo

by Vicky

best photo locations on campus – self-timer edition

So you’re on campus and you look cute but you have no friends willing to take your fit pic. If this is not a story you are familiar with, then you are very lucky. Or you don’t really care about taking outfit pictures so this post might not be for you.

If you do have pals on campus who love (tolerate) #OOTDs, you can obviously still partake in photography in these locations but you already have the benefit of another human who can hold the camera. The campus is your oyster in that case.

However, if you are like me and you either feel bad about making your friends take the outfit picture or they don’t happen to be around, here are some places you can go to!

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by Vicky

spotlight on: one king north

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Unlike most of my spotlight series on cafes and public spaces, One King North is actually a new coworking space in Uptown Waterloo at King/Erb. When they first opened they only had a takeaway coffee shop that was open to the public but they’re also experimenting with other combinations of their coworking space and the coffee space so you now have a chance to see what it’s like inside.

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During the week (Monday to Friday) anyone is free to stop in an grab a coffee (They have Phil and Sebastian beans!) or baked snacks (Portuguese tarts!!!). They also have 4 small 2-top tables available in the cafe section of the building.

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On Saturdays the main floor becomes just a regular cafe so you can finally hunker down and do some work here! It’s a really lovely space and I enjoyed the atmosphere when I went this last weekend. One perk of the fact that it’s usually a coworking space means that there are outlets everywhere so you never have to worry about your laptop dying here.

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Additionally, if you or someone you know are actually looking for a coworking space I believe they still have some availability left – just take a look at their memberships page.

Their public hours on Saturdays are from 8-5 so you should pencil some study time/coffee dates into your calendar!

(PS – the wifi password is onekingnorth)

by Vicky

guide to thrifting in kitchener/waterloo

Cards on the table, I was definitely one of those people who started thrifting before Macklemore decided to make it a whole thing because secondhand is cheap and I loved the weird thrill that comes with finding something unique or something that’s actually way more expensive than the thrift store thinks it is. As a student, thrifting lets me shop within a limited budget and also lets me practice slightly more mindful consumerism. As accessible as fast fashion is, it’s hard to justify the price tag when you are (painfully!) aware that the company isn’t 100% ethical in their practices. Talk about problematic faves.

So if you’ve been wanting to get into thrifting I have some tips for you in this post as well as recommendations on where to go if you’re in Kitchener-Waterloo!

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by Vicky

apartment tour – v. 2(017)

Hi Waterloo, it’s us, we’re back! We moved all of a block down from our last place and added a new roommate – hi Hannah! The apartment hunting process itself was a headache and a half and it did not help that all three of us were working in Toronto during the spring term and couldn’t physically be around to do viewing and scope things out. There were envoys, countless photos and videos, a revival of the house hunt Trello board, and a truly bizarre leasing signing situation but ultimately we were not living in the SLC this year and for that, we are truly grateful.

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by Vicky

spotlight on: four all ice cream

Distinct and reliable signs of fall:

  • trees changing colours
  • people bringing out their long sleeves and sweaters
  • the insane lengths of the bookstore/Tims/Dollarama lines

After being gone from campus for yet another 8-month stint for my last two co-op terms, coming back to KW was a weird experience. Why is it so crowded on campus? Why is it impossible to find a cutlery tray? Why did I briefly think that I could survive 3 seminar courses? All excellent questions with no real answers.

In the two days it took me to finish writing and editing this post we have found a cutlery tray (a new unsullied Dollarama opened up on Erb) and I made the decision to save my sanity and switched out of one of the seminars.

What really helped me transition back to campus life was the fact that while I was gone, a new ice cream place opened up in Kitchener and I have been waiting months to try it out. Now I could go on and on about how “for someone who is lactose intolerant I shouldn’t love ice cream as much as I do” but that’s old and tired – unlike the products at Four All.

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by Vicky

spotlight on: just love pie

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The scene above might be in my top 10 Marshall moments from How I Met Your Mother because not only do I love charts, but I also really love pies. I don’t know why I ever bother telling people that I love pies because I’m pretty sure we all love pies so that’s just a given. Right?

I can’t imagine what you don’t love about a delicious baked pastry with fruit and things in the middle that you are encouraged to eat with a side of ice cream.

This whole preamble was to get you excited for the fact that Waterloo has a new pie cafe! Spoiler alert, a pie cafe is deliciously amazing.

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by Vicky

spotlight on: balzac’s coffee (kitchener)

Supposedly there is to be a Waterloo location of Balzac’s soon but that mythical location has not opened yet (to my knowledge) and I am very sad that I still have to go all the way to Kitchener for dope coffee. Honestly, it’s worth the trek, but we really need to be bringing more of these cute coffee shops to Waterloo.

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by Vicky

spotlight on: waterloo public library (john m. harper branch)

I love finding new places to study in Kitchener-Waterloo because sometimes I just really need to get away from my bed so I can focus. As I write this I’m taking a break (one of many from today) from writing my papers. I don’t really deserve a break but I’m taking one anyways.

As a result of giving Mike really shitty directions the other day, we ended up north of campus in Siberia – which is to say in the Laurelwood neighbourhood of Waterloo. Unfamiliar name? That’s because there’s basically nothing out here and only one bus route actually services this road. But we passed by this really nice building that caught my eye. Turns out it’s one of the 3 branches of the Waterloo Public Library all tucked away in a corner where most university students would never venture.

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by Vicky

apartment tour 2016

Living with strangers seems to be some kind of necessary university experience I’ve subjected myself to 3 times already. Some of those experiences have been awesome and those strangers became my friends (s/o to you 409 suities) but other experiences were less so. Needless to say, I was pretty excited to move into a place with my best friend (and her cat), especially when that place is a 2-bedroom and we don’t even have to put up with other people! And also other people don’t have to put up with us – it’s a great arrangement.

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by Vicky

spotlight on: smile tiger coffee

How much do you love natural light and coffee shops that make you feel like you’re in the living room of your dreams? I’m going to go ahead and assume that you answered like any other human because who wouldn’t love that? You need to get your butt to Smile Tiger.

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