HomeSense is Good Sense

I finally made it into HomeSense on Yonge Street. OH. MY. GOD.
It's HUGE! Two floors of fabulous home decor at reasonable prices. They even have an escalator (up only) and an elevator, or you can take the stairs.
It's a very well layed out store. Every inch of square footage is well used and there is large, easy to read signage hanging from the ceiling indicating each section.
I became very excited the minute I walked in the door as I spotted the same chocolate coated reception candy sticks (not necessarily this brand) they used to give out when you were leaving Olive Garden (remember Olive Garden?). I love those things! They also come in peppermint, but I like the fruit flavours much better. The next thing I spotted was a fabric basket covered in the same print as my shower curtain. What are the odds? Resisting the black and white rococo sandwich plates ($4 each) was difficult, but I wasn't going straight home and didn't want to lug them around. The urge to buy the butterfly print cake stands (available in 2 sizes) was pretty strong too; there was also a matching teapot, creamer and sugar bowl. If you're in the market for some mercury glass candlestick holders, HomeSense has some beautiful ones in three different sizes at reasonable prices.
Bath, bedding, kitchen utensils, small pieces of furniture and pictures are all on the second floor. The linens sections is impressive, as much for the selection and prices as well as how very neatly they are displayed. Check them out today.
Located at 195 Yonge Street, just north of Queen.

Forever 21 - Disappointment and A Mystery

So excited. So looking forward to checking them out. So disappointed. I was in and out of the store in 15 minutes, and it was crowded. The store is two floors and there's tons of merchandise, but nothing to rave about.
The sizing is quite small. I found one XL tank top but it was neither extra nor large. A lot of the jewellery was brightly coloured wood or plastic, not my thing, but I did find a cute pair of gold butterfly chandelier earrings. The only other thing that caught my eye was a great metallic, silver fold-over clutch for $20.
The clothing wasn't any different from most other stores. You could probably go across the street to H&M and find the same things. Upstairs there was a section that had very trendy, clubbing clothes which were definately more interesting. I think the biggest disappoinment was the prices. I expected them to be much lower.
Now, if they were selling the great chandeliers, massive candelabras and antique styles tables used as display and decor items, I would have left the store incredibly ecstatic and a few hundred dollars poorer. I'd recommend visiting this store just to see these items.
The mystery - the large, empty wooden crate just inside the door. It not only took up valuable space, it looked awful. Everyone knows you must always have all packaging put/hidden away before the doors open.