a peek inside the fishbowl

Archive for the ‘– Thrifty is nifty’ Category

One of the things that I’m absolutely clinging to right now is our camping trip this summer. It looks like MIGHT be a go, but frankly, I wouldn’t be too surprised if it was cancelled by the powers that be. We booked our campsite months ago, pre-Covid. According to Ontario Parks our campground will be open by the […]

04 Jun, 2019

My most recent yard sale purchase

Posted by: andrea tomkins In: - Thrifty is nifty|Oh! Things!

There was a community-wide garage sale in my area last weekend, which coincided with a dozen other events I wanted to visit and photograph for the Kitchissippi Times. On Saturday morning I got up, made a coffee, and drew up a game plan. As much as I would have liked to hit up multiple yard […]

I’ve been wanting a plant stand for some time now, mostly because I wanted to move a few houseplants to the back porch for the summer and get them off of the teetering window ledge in our family room. Also, plant stands, which may be considered a holdover from our parents’ and grandparents’ homes, can actually be pretty […]

06 Jul, 2008

Saturday thrifting

Posted by: andrea tomkins In: - Thrifty is nifty|Oh! Things!

I went in looking for a glass goldfish bowl to make a second terrarium but didn’t find one.  Law of Thrift Shopping no. 1 states: if you’re looking for something specific, you won’t ever find it. But I did find some good stuff (photos to come!) including a black rain coat, formerly from Old Navy. It is […]

17 Apr, 2008

A new kind of shopping challenge

Posted by: andrea tomkins In: - Thrifty is nifty|Oh! Things!

It’s SPRING. And it’s garbage day. As I walked the girls to school I couldn’t help seeing what people were all throwing out. It seems a lot of us get the spring cleanout bug. I have caught it myself. I brought a stuffed garbage bag, a smaller bag and a box full of family castoffs to the […]


Archives

Me and my pet projects

Ottawa Bucket list

Subscribe via email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.


  • Gretchen Humphrey: I had a beautiful bee& birdbath filled with a solar fountain and dozens of antique marbles that were suddenly disappearing. At first I thought my
  • Jinjer: I am sobbing reading this post. And you're right, companion is not enough. Little furry treasured gifts that they are. Thanks for sharing cutie-pi
  • Karen: Dear Andrea, Mark and your daughters I am so very sad for your family xxx Piper was/is my favourite Instagram post. You shared with us so intimately
  • Christina Banuelos: Thank you for sharing Pipers life with us. Your posts of Piper brought me joy. Every time I see your post and see what kind of mischief Piper was gett
  • Carla Slocum: I am sitting here yet again crying at your loss. We have known that loss with Asta the WFT our first pup but now have the enormous gift of Stryker the
  • Janelle Brown: Dear Andrea Thank you for sharing Piper’s story with her followers. I empathise with your grief and emptiness as I lost my 14 year old Westie last
  • Natasha McReynolds-Nicholl: My god reading this is heartbreaking. December 1st was the as you describe longest day of my life, we lost out beautiful WFT hazel. Pipers final momen

The Obligatory Blurb

My name is Andrea and I live in the Westboro area of Ottawa with my husband Mark and our dog Piper who is kind of a big deal on Instagram. We also have two human offspring: Emma (24) and Sarah (22). During the day I work as a writer at the Royal Ottawa Mental Health Centre. I am a longtime Ottawa blogger and I've occupied this little corner of the WWW since 1999. The Fishbowl is my whiteboard, water cooler, and journal, all rolled into one. I'm passionate about healthy living, arts and culture, travel, great gear, good food, and sharing the best of Ottawa. I also love vegetables, photography, gadgets, and great design.

If you'd like to contact me, please use this form. If you're so inclined, you can read more about me here. Thank you for visiting!

 


Connect with me at these places too!

Still calling it Twitter