An evening of innovative food infused with Tyrrells chips, live tweeting, games and meeting with bloggers.
There’s some new chip flavours in town! Sweet Potato & Smoked Chili (my fave), Beetroot, Parsnip & Potato with Sea Salt & Sweet Potato, Carrot with Sea Salt.
[Tweet “Tyrrells chips are all natural, home grown & hand cooked! #Foodie”]
I’ve never been to the RASA restaurant before this event so it was nice to scope it out. Located at 196 Robert St it’s a small dark space in the same neighborhood where I went to high school.(Harbord) On the menu were appetizers infused with Tyrrells chips. YUM. These appetizers are great easy ideas next time you’re entertaining people at home.
Exhibit A: Fish & Chips – Deep fried Halibut, tartar, crispy capers, served with Tyrrells Sweet Potato, Carrot with Sea Salt chips.
Exhibit B: Lamb Neck – with hummus, feta tabbouleh, pickled jicama and tzatziki, served on top Tyrrells Beetroot, Parsnip & Potato Sea Salt chips
Exhibit C: Tuna Tartare – Yellowfin Tun, yuzu chili aioli, apple slaw and ponzu glaze served on top of a Tyrrells Beetroot, Parsnip & Potato Sea Salt chip
Other apps include: Mini Muffins, Steak Sliders,Truffle Arancini & The Chopped Salad.
Getting caught up in the digital world is so easy. Making online friends (followers) is easy, but being in the present and meeting your online friends in the flesh is important but not as easy. At least not for me since I have the habit of getting so caught up with capturing the event for the blog, live tweeting, snapchatting etc. On that note It was refreshing to stop and acknowledge these lovely bloggers at the event: M Fab, @dee_sik & a familiar face @zamlos!
To conclude the evening here’s my OOTN (outfit of the night)
Guerlain launched a new fragrance which you can name yourself.
Guerlain Mon Exclusif has no name.
You get letters in the fragrance box so you can give your own name to the perfume or at the event we had a chance to get it engraved! I think the no name idea is brilliant! Gives the customer the feel of the perfume being their own. Putting your name, or the name of your choice on such a luxurious bottle feels… well..real pish posh.
I absolutely adore Guerlain. It’s luxurious and their makeup to skincare smells amazing. Guerlain has some affordable products in their make-up section. I’d say very similar to Dior or YSL. But I doubt either of them have an absolutely amazing cream that costs approx. $500! That’s a story for a different post.
The fragrance is described as a gourmand, with fougere accords of fresh fern, oriental notes, lavender, soft sandalwood, caramel, salted butter, coumarin and vanilla. They had me at salted butter!
If you haven’t been to the Guerlain boutique on bloor then you’re missing out on a luxurious experience. The staff is very welcoming and the products are exquisite! For the launch of Mon Exclusif, Elle Magazine had their readers invited to a day of make-up makeovers, snacks and more! Oh and this lovely bag with some of my fave Guerlain products 😉
My favourite products here are orchidee imperiale, the gel cream and the meteorites base. Both are such beautiful products.
I’ve been using the gel cream everyday and it’s almost finished. My skin feels extremely soft and hydrated. I love gel creams because their not heavy, especially if you wear make-up. The base is just perfect. Light to the touch and brings a natural light to your face. The little pearls are also beautiful to look at. I haven’t tried the eau de beaute yet, but I’m certain the other two will make it to my favourites video.
If you’ve ever lived in a smaller place, be it an apartment, condo or just a one bedroom shared home, you’ll know the value of space. Sometimes you don’t have room for a full oven, dishwasher or microwave. So getting products that have multiple functions and that benefit your standard of living becomes high on your priority list.
Which brings me to the Panasonic Cyclonic. This microwave isn’t like your traditional one. It use’s Panasonic’s Inverter® Technology, which delivers spinning waves of power in a circular pattern. Like a cyclone. Other microwaves usually deliver energy in a straight line. This new cyclonic energy is a game changer! It ensures food is cooked evenly, no matter what size or shape!
I had the pleasure of being invited to the Panasonic Cyclonic Launch hosted by Abbey’s Kitchen.
Abbeys Kitchen Blogger
At the launch Abbey demonstrated how to make 5 healthy easy recipes in the cyclonic microwave. Recipes that you would’ve never guessed were made in a matter of minutes! You can view the special recipes here.
I imagine this microwave will make dinner preparation a whole lot easier for the working class who don’t have enough time. Goodbye last minute fast food stops!
My favourite was the Tropical Fruit Crisp. Delicious, healthy and made in 4 minutes!
Some other pretty awesome features are you’re able to keep your food warm as you finish doing whatever it is that you need to do before you set the table. No more cold food or the hassle of rewarming! There is also a button called the Genius Sensor that has up to 20 meal presets.
Technology has come a long way! The Panasonic Cyclonic has changed the definition of a “microwave dinner” forever.
A little late but I just had to share my experience. After all, it’s the first time Bestival came to Toronto. In case you didn’t know, Bestival is an award-winning festival in the UK.
I actually had no idea about Bestival until I received an email notifying me that my pictures on instagram were chosen by Fido for the first ever mobile music video for one of the bands performing at Bestival, Keys N Krates.
P.S You can only view the music video via your mobile phone: http://mobilemusicvideo.ca/
The great thing about music festivals (at least Bestival) is that it’s a no judgement zone. Full of love, peace and happiness spreading people. Hippy vibes basically. We hung out at the fido booth where hammocks hung from trees along with streamers and other whimsical decorations. I heard they gave out rain ponchos on the Friday of the festival when it rained. I went on Saturday and they gave out ear plugs. Music was so loud at the festival, I imagine many people used them. Three different stages with different performances/music made it hard to choose where to hang out. I wish there had been a fixed schedule to start with. It would’ve made planning a lot easier. There was a DJ on the island beach side, surrounded by tents/cabanas. We hung out there close to sunset right before the NAS performance. The views were just so beautiful of the Toronto skyline with a pink, purple sky.
Food truck options were exhausting but our friends directed us to the best pizza I’ve ever had from a truck. We had just come back from Italy, so trust me…it was that good. They’re called pizza700 and they do private events as well.
After the most epic NAS performance, everyone made their way to the ferry docks. The exit strategy for this festival was not organized at all. It seemed like all of Toronto was stuck on that island and we were all herded together like cattle, taking small baby steps to our common destination, home. Would I go again next year? Maybe. But seriously, they need to think of another exit strategy or at least let people know of the 2 hour wait to get off the island to the city. Also, posting the performance schedules ahead of time would be nice. By ahead I mean weeks in advance, not a few days or the day before.
Toronto’s Canada’s First Benefit Boutique is here!
You probably all know that I own a lot of Benefit products and that I’ve been a huge fan since my Shopper Drug Mart days of being a beauty advisor/make-up artist. If you asked me to name a few of my favourites, I’d start with gimme brow, high beam and the dallas bronzer. For those of you who have been living under a rock, don’t know about Benefit Cosmetics, it’s a San Francisco based make-up brand that believes “laughter is the best cosmetic”. Every product has a fun, girly and unique spin. I’ve been to the boutique in Connecticut and California, so I had an idea of what to expect.
I was over the moon excited to be invited to the Grand Opening of Canada’s first Benefit Boutique, here in Toronto. I must say, Benefit’s corporate team is a bright bunch. I mean, the whole team (brow experts to corporate) are amazing! The strategy of slowly entering the Canadian market by placing little brow bars in Sephora stores around the GTA was brilliant. The perfect way to create a strong clientele and an opportunity to see geographically what/where would work best for the first boutique. Well, that’s my own marketer assumption. If you haven’t heard yet, the boutique is located on 2614 Yonge St and you can’t miss it! (see above image of boutique front)
You don’t live in Toronto? Don’t worry, rumor has it that they’ll be opening more boutiques across the country in the next five years! The boutique has a brow raising variety of services. You can most importantly get your eyebrows done, facial and body waxing, threading, tanning and more.
If you didn’t get a chance to catch my snapchats (HumJK) from that day, here are the highlights:
Wednesday evening was eventful! You may already know that, if you’re following me on snapchat (HumJK). I took the subway, which I hadn’t done in almost a year, that was nice. And I bumped into a friend, which obviously never happens when you’re driving. That was nice too. It was great hanging out with other bloggers and the Globe Style team. As bloggers we get so enthralled into our digital worlds we forget to make time for face time. No, I’m not talking about the iPhone app. I mean real, good ol face to face connecting.
We then went over to the theater for the YSL movie screening.
My thoughts on the movie, it’s definitely for an older audience to watch (too many drugs, vulgar scenes etc) but the clothes shown throughout the movie and the last collection was absolutely divine. The vibrant colours, turbans, belts, bangles… beautiful! I also learnt a few things I didn’t know about Yves Saint Laurent and some nifty tricks to use everyday. My favourite outfit? The model to the left of Yves below. (I’ve made a mental note to re-create that look, minus the turban).
Photo credit: http://innocenceterrible.com/
(Not sure why I look so angry in that last pic. RBF? :”/ )
Top – American Apparel
Shoes – Charles & Keith (Bought in Egypt)
Pants – Club Monaco
Purse – Forever21
Blazer – Forever21
Jewelry – Pandora/Persona Bracelets
Watch – Burberry
Glasses – Bought and made in Korea
It’s Thursday and you know what that means (on Twitter and Instagram at least)… Throwback Thursday! I like being different and thinking outside of the box, especially for party themes. I was really excited when I found a few ladies online, who shared their Alice in Wonderland themed bridal showers. All of a sudden, I didn’t feel so silly for choosing it as my theme. You still get a few people looking at you puzzled, like “whaaa? Alice in Wonderland? So, do you like, dress up as a rabbit?” Haha. That was the best response I got.
I compiled an album of images from my google search for ideas and inspiration. Here are some of them:
Tea cups, flowers & decor
Cake & Sweets Table Ideas
Dress inspiration
As soon as I knew my theme, I was on a look out for everything that could work for decor. It isn’t hard to pull off this theme, especially around spring time when you have faux flowers, rabbits and green everywhere! I was fortunate enough when one day I got off the street car, at the wrong stop and accidentally found a tea shop that had dedicated their entire window display to Alice in Wonderland. They had tea pots, topsy turvy decor, clocks and more.
The store wasn’t open at the time, so I went back later. If you’re in Toronto you MUST check out this store for any of your high tea events; Pippins Tea Company on Queen Street West.
One of the items that I was SO in love with at this store was their tea cup clock. Kind of looked like this (Note: It’s not the size of an average wall clock, approx. 25 inches length and width):
The price tag was a bit much to be used only for the bridal shower and at the time not knowing where I would put it didn’t justify the purchase. One day though, I may hunt this piece down for a room dedicated to where my ladies and I can have our afternoon tea or even look into making this my DIY project.
The ladies who own and/or work at Pippins Tea Company are incredible! As soon as I told them the theme of my bridal shower they were giving me lots of ideas, tips and helped me out with letting me rent a large hot water dispenser for the event and gave me Alice In Wonderland boxes for free! (The boxes were used to put the prizes inside for the games we played.)
I bought all of my tea supplies and decor from Pippins. Best find ever!
Pippins Tea Company: Key hole centerpiece
TIP: To give height to my centrepieces I added some books wrapped in colourful tissue paper. We did a poor job in wrapping them because we were last minute with this idea but it did the trick.
I got a styrofoam ball from Michaels and put these faux green grass pieces all around the top half and placed it on top of the pot.
TIP: If you can find a half ball, that would be so much better. The white part of the ball kept peeking through whenever a guest would brush their arm or hand against the top. A half would stay put and not move as much.
We left some of the loose tea we bought from Pippins Tea Company open and some already packed into tea bags for guests. Leaving it open allowed our guests to smell how amazing the tea was. It was hard picking only two flavours since they have SO many at their shop.
TIP: Label your teas. We forgot!
I used many different sets of tea cups for the event, just like the actual movie and story when all the characters in Alice in Wonderland are sitting around the tea table, notice how each one has a different cup/saucer?
I added a few other little Alice in Wonderland touches to the table decor. Clock, playing cards, rabbits and colourful food plates for the lunch that was served. If you choose to do this theme you could always just do high tea foods like sandwiches, croissants etc, however, I always like to do lunch as well. The lunch wasn’t part of the theme at all. I picked what the majority of my guests would love to eat, a fusion of Italian and Indian food.
I was bursting with excitement when my bridesmaids surprised me with an Alice in Wonderland themed cake, cookies, cupcakes and cake pops! What darlings to organize the very best themed sweets table I’ve ever set my eyes on. (Thank you loves!)
For the takeaways, I made these Alice in Wonderland themed gift bags THAT had AN EYE SHADOW, EYELINER SET WITH LIP GLOSS. THESE BAGS ARE REALLY EASY TO MAKE.
Takeaways
You need:
white gift bags black and Red construction paper hole puncher black ribbon red tissue paper
Directions:
Cut out hearts and clubs out of the black and red construction paper. Put aside. Punch holes into the hearts and clubs as seen in above picture and do the same for the white gift bags. Weave the black ribbon through the hearts/clubs (make sure the ribbon only shows behind the shapes) and then through the gift bag. Tie in back. Fill the bags with the tissue paper and gifts. Voila!
To bring this entire event to full circle I had to play the part by wearing a rabbit outfit wearing a blue dress like Alice does in her story. At first I looked everywhere for a blue dress and I found one but it wouldn’t come in time from Dubai for my bridal shower. So I got permission from the designer to have something like it made here in Toronto.
alice in wonderland dress
I found a seamstress on Queen Street who I read in an article had done many dresses for different stars who would come to Toronto for shows. Kingi from Peach Berserk took my design and created it beautifully. I was on a time constraint otherwise there were a few things I would’ve asked to have fixed but otherwise it was perfect!
November was amazing! What a month, full of adventure, meeting new people, travelling with my love, spending time with my besties and soaking in lots of information. Have you ever wondered why you have more busier and productive months than others? It’s actually very simple. You invest your time to be at places where you’ll get opportunities or that may encourage you to find them = a busier month.
It’s so easy to get stuck in a rut and find yourself going through your day, weeks, months and years in the same schedule, saying the same things. Things like, “I can’t wait to do this..” or “I’m going to build/make/start….” and then not do anything at all. Why do this to yourself? Essentially you’re holding yourself back. I’m sure you can think of a million and one reasons of why you are and how hard it is to start. Really, all it takes is you beating on your craft, talent and beating, beating until something comes out of it. Metaphorically speaking of course.
You’ll see that managing your life, your schedule and when you have time for particular projects will all lay out the way you want them too. November was a jam packed month for me, because I made the time for these events and I allowed the opportunities to come to me by being present. Whether it’s being present at a networking event, present on your social platforms or present to sit down and work hard at what you do best. Just be present. Put everything else you have on hold, if it really means a lot to you and you really want it. Everything else can wait.
November in a nut shell:
South Korea/Japan Trip
November started off with this amazing two week trip. I’ve posted a KYOTO OOTD and a summary of the famous Naksan Park in South Korea but that’s just the tip of the iceberg. I have so much more to share about this trip. I can’t wait for all these posts to go up. The cultures, people and experiences were amazing. People have asked me, would you go back? I most definitely, would.
Spark Sessions
First weekend back I was ready for a bloggers conference like no other. I was a bit sceptical at first, whether I should attend this event due to the agenda. I felt as if I already had a good idea of where I wanted my blog to go, what I was going to do in terms of short/long term goals and all that technical stuff I had down due to my experience with web and social media. After all, my day time job is being an Online Marketing Specialist. However this weekend was more than a weekend of passing knowledge. It was an opportunity to meet industry people, people I’ve already spoken to via emails, tweets and other forms of online communications. Best of all I met some great bloggers!
Google HQ
I’ve always wanted to go to Google HQ ever since the first tech site wrote about how modern and funky their offices are. Particularly the silicone valley head office. Especially if you’ve seen this movie:
Miracle 10 is a line of clinical skin care products formulated by The Plastic Surgery Clinic in Yorkville. There’s so much to do in Yorkville. Shopping, restaurants and lots of boutiques. I’ve been to a few different hair dressers and spa’s in Yorkville and none have really stuck to me, where I felt like, I’m definitely coming back to this place. I’ve been using Miracle 10 products for 3 days now and I’ve got to say that I’m impressed. I’m using the Miracle 10 products for a 10 day challenge and can’t wait to share the results!
Elle Magazine VIP event
What a great event! I can’t wait for the next Elle Magazine VIP event. Events like these are the best to go with your girl friends. It makes for the perfect outing. Best combo to a great night out is a group activity and then food. Here’s the full post.
On November 26th Elle Magazine VIP held an event in the distillery district at the ARTA Gallery. Sponsored by Persona World, the event Passport to the World had exhibits for Sahara, Asia and India.
The three exhibits presented Persona World collections that had charms representing these geographic areas. Beautiful charms like the taj mahal, lanterns, a geisha lady and vibrant colours were just some of the charms that stood out to me. Appetizers were served during the event, Sahara exhibit had a Smashbox station, the Asia table had different saki’s and the India exhibit had a henna artist and chai tea.
Greeted by a massive cover of their magazine, coat check and a VIP guest list, I entered the gallery to the end of a presentation on fashion from these three geographic areas. Having travelled to two out of the three places I was excited to see the exhibits and felt a bit nostalgic. We all received a passport card with stamps and visited each exhibit to see the collections. Guests received a persona bracelet and had a chance to chose one charm from any of the three exhibits, tweeting about our chosen charm would get you a bonus Canadian passport charm! So cute.
To represent the recent Asia trip I went on, I chose the geisha charm from the Asia collection. I love the hand-painted details and it reminds me of our trip to the Geisha district in Kyoto, Japan.
I had the pleasure of meeting Francine from Smashbox. She showed me the new double exposure palette, which is wet & dry! I absolutely LOVE wet & dry palettes. In one of my YouTube videos I mentioned trying to use one of my shadows from my Smashbox full exposure palette, wet. I just wanted to experiment and see if it’ll make the colour pop. Big mistake. That shadow got ruined because I dipped a damp brush on it. In my 10 years of beauty experience and work, I’ve never done that before, don’t know why I tried it now.
My girls & I at the event
We ended off the eventful Elle Canada VIP evening by celebrating my friends, Reema and Alicia’s birthdays at El Catrin. I love their fish tacos and the guacamole is a must. They make it fresh right in front of you! I’ve been here so many times, they should just give me an assigned table called Hum.
Let’s face it, we all love our hair and have tried Pantene Pro-V products at least once before.
I’ve tried many brands of hair products, from the high end to the low end and honestly, I believe in changing up your hair products anywhere from 3-6 months. Whether it is a whole new brand or within the brand.
Just like our face and every other part of our body and lives, everything changes over time. I remember about 8 years ago I had really curly wavy hair. I would wash my hair, air dry and POOF! curls and waves galore! Now it’s different. Air drying gets me minimal volume and waves. Just the natural evolution of hair.
Feb 13th, a day before Valentine’s Day, I was invited to the Pantene Pro-V product launch on King street, downtown Toronto to be pampered. If you’re familiar with Toronto you’ll know this venue. Right across from Shoppers Drug Mart at King & Peter and was used for marketing TIFF, Toronto International Film Festival.
Upon entering, I was approached to have my coat taken and my information. Everyone invited, had registered ahead for an allotted time to be treated to their ‘Pantene Beautiful Hair Bar’ services. The venue had a pristine ambiance. Furniture, tables, counters, make-up station and the waiting lounge were all white, to fit the salon look and feel.
Here’s a vine I made on the day of:
While you wait in the lounge, you’re welcomed to do your nails at the nail bar, help yourself to treats and Starbucks hot drinks; all complimentary.
The lounge:
The blow dry bar was set up with 6 stations and had a featured chalkboard wall, where guests left positive, uplifting notes of their beautiful hair experience.
My hairstylist, talented Matthew Lill from Shagg salon in Yorkville styled my hair.
First, he went through a questionnaire to find out what hair solutions I was looking for and then matched my needs to Pantene products. We both agreed that the Ultimate 10 all in one Pantene line was perfect.
My finished look thanks to Matthew was wavy, bouncy curls, all done with a straightener. I loved the result!
The products I went home with:
I’ve been using these products for about a month now to write an honest review and love them!
Here’s a list of the Ultimate 10‘s solutions:
• Repair for Rough Hair
• Strength Against Damage
• Silky Softness
• Brilliant Shine
• Smoothing
• Moisture
• Frizz Control
• Gentle Cleaning
• Manageability
• Detangling
The only solution I’m unsure about is Frizz Control. However, because of our unforgiving cold weather this winter, I suspect nothing would be able to battle the frizz I had to deal with.
