Where did I go?

In case anyone still reads this very neglected blog, I'm posting over at blog.chickadvisor.com, the official blog for my website, www.chickadvisor.com.

I may post here on occasion but most of it will be on the chickadvisor blog. The reason being, I'm in my final year of my degree (Radio and Television Arts at Ryerson University) and with the continued success of ChickAdvisor, I haven't had time to post my usual rants, raves and commentary here - even though I am practically hooked up intravenously to my macbook :P

I'm really excited about where the company is going! Our podcast was under "What's Popular" on Slice all summer, we appeared in the Toronto Star yesterday with a ginormous picture which was just kick-ass (do people still say "kick-ass"?) anyhooo.... and now this month we are being followed around by television cameras from CBC Newsworld for a new show they are doing called Fortune Hunters. The show itself is a really great concept and is airing early 2008. I can't really say anything about it except it's about time someone did something like this... :)

So as you can imagine things are a little hectic, but going swimmingly and I suspect I'll hit the ground running after graduation, which was all part of my master plan.. mwahahaha!

Seriously.

I have a lot of wasted years to make up for, what with my 4 year career as an insurance adjuster, which nearly killed me of boredom.

I may pop in here from time to time but primarily you can find me on ChickAdvisor :)

xoxo,
Ali

Schmoozing in the City

It was only a year ago that we lost the entire summer so we could launch ChickAdvisor. Our developers worked around the clock with us, watching the gorgeous summer weather through the window of our small apartment. This year, less than 1 year after launch, we're working hard once again to do bring you some cool new stuff.

The 2nd episode of our street fashion podcast, Summer Trends, aired on Friday, and we've been working for some time on some top secret exciting new stuff.

Toronto members, we are planning an event this summer so we can finally meet in person!

We've also been busily attending a number of events around the city, networking and schmoozing to get the word out.

We recently attended the Poa Studio shopping party at Verity, which made us wish all shopping experiences could be that much fun! There was a fantastic dj, a fashion show, sushi and other munchies, and of course fruity cocktails to sip on while perusing Catherine's latest imports. Unfortunately we had to bail early as we had double booked ourselves at a 2nd event that night.

Those of you who have been following the misschickie blog may recall our stylist friend, Giselle from Argentina. A business contact of hers told us about an event that was billed as a night of dinner and networking with local Toronto entrepreneurs. It was taking place in the posh neighborhood of Rosedale, so we thought it would be a reasonably swanky affair. We bought our tickets online arrived well stocked with business cards and smiles, anxious to make valuable contacts in the fashion and beauty space.

What we encountered could best be described as something of a Stars Hollow Town Meeting ala Gilmore Girls.

Though the event began at 6:30 we only arrived shortly after 8pm, since we had been at the Poa party. When we entered the dusty blue hued lobby (our first red flag), we were greeted by two elderly gentlemen:

"How can we help you, ladies?"

"We're here for the entrepreneur event. We bought our tickets online. I'm Giselle and this is Ali."

"Well where is your receipt?"

"Oh. We didn't know we were supposed to print it off. Do you have us on your list?"

"No. How could we possibly have a list? If you registered on the internet, everything is on the internet!"

"Ok, but you can access that information online. You didn't print off a list of who bought tickets?"

"No. Like I said, it all happened on the internet so how could we access that??"

"Usually, an organizer will print off a list of people who have rsvp'd and paid online."

"Well now, I don't know about that! Anyway, I guess we'll just have to trust that you two paid."

We put on our "Hello, My Name Is..." name tags, and walked down the blue hallway to the room where the event was taking place. We could hear a man's voice droning in the background. We took a seat at the back of the room, several feet away from the buffet table with crackers, veggies and dip (the dinner). Turns out, the key note speaker was an Historian. While he discussed the gargoyles that used to be on top of various buildings in the city complete with slideshow, Giselle and I looked at each other confused, wondering if we were at the right event. There were about 15 people there, many of whom, were senior citizens. There was a plastic shelf in the corner where everyone left a stack of business cards and we were strongly encouraged several times that evening to do the same.

After 30 minutes of Q & A with the Historian about why certain streets were named whatever there names were, it was time to mingle and network.

We were enthusiastically greeted by a variety of very genuine locals: the insurance broker, a couple of real estate agents, a chiropractor and so on, but not a single person from the beauty or fashion industries or anything even remotely connected to what we were doing or anyone who understood the internet.

As we were trying to figure out how to leave without offending anyone, I was approached by an adorable East Asian gentleman in his 60s. "I saw your name tag from across the room, and so I had to come over and introduce myself. You see, Ali is actually a man's name..." He then invited me to join their chapter.

Giselle said something about going to the bathroom and I said I had to go too. We got in the car and laughed all the way home. Next time we'll be doing a little more research.

Bikini Wax Trauma

I should've waited until Roza got back from vacation.

I consider myself to be a veteran of waxing of any kind since I've been doing it since I was a teenager. I've seen many estheticians over my years of waxing and have yet to cry or yelp out loud.

Normally, I only see Roza for these delicate matters, but Alex and I are going to the inlaws for a few days and they have a pool. So, when I called to book my appointment and found out Roza was away, I settled for getting someone else to do it. Some person I'd never heard of who was new.

I tried to be optimistic, but wasn't exactly a confidence builder when newbie started talking to herself under her breath going, "Oops! Oh, that didn't work. Hmm... what if I try it this way?"

She yanked and pulled from every direction, digging her sharp fingernails here and there on my raw sensitive skin (which was excruciating - not to mention unsanitary), using my woohoo as leverage to yank the strips away. It's the first time I almost screamed during a wax. I got the feeling she was ready to cry as well since it wasn't going very well from her end. She got so much wax caked on one spot that it wouldn't come off, so she started dabbing kleenex on it (an excellent idea putting wax and tissue together) and of course none of it came off. So she proceeded to gloop by the handful, some miscellaneous post-wax lotion that is supposed to get rid of any wax residue as she scratched with her nails on that raw sensitive wax and tissue covered patch to get it off. Simultaneously, to my horror, I felt an intense burning sensation in another area - an area that needs no introduction.

I begged her to stop what she was doing so I could go to the bathroom and wash everything off. She didn't understand and added another blob of this mystery lotion. "Here, this will help!" I tried my best to explain that this lotion had found its way inside and I needed to take care of it. Pronto. She offered me the lotion again insisting it was the only solution. I grabbed my skirt and ran to the bathroom.

I'm home now covered in teatree oil feeling much relieved.

Never again.

Where'd You Get That? Is Now LIVE!!

We literally stopped fashionable women on the street to find out where they bought their stuff. The most surprising thing for me was the amount of money these women spend on their bags!! It was a lot of fun to shoot and people were really receptive.

It was a lot of work and we've hardly slept for weeks but we're really excited about the way it turned out.

You can watch it on ChickAdvisor or Alliance Atlantis' Slice. Please add your comments and vote for your favorite looks!

The Best Foundation I Have Ever Used

This foundation is amazing!! Lately my skin has been really terrible with a bunch of bad breakouts. It started a couple of months ago when I was testing some products and hasn't recovered. I was really nervous shooting Where'd You Get That? (our street fashion podcast) because of a ginormous zit on my chin for half of the shoot. Luckily, my makeup artist (blogger Makeup Junkie in Canada) used Make Up For Ever on me and I couldn't believe how well it not only hid my breakouts but kept my skin even, smooth and relatively oil free. Considering I have very oily skin this was a feat by itself.

I loved this product so much that I bought it for my own use. I have never used a better foundation. It is a lot more money than I usually spend but for the results it is totally worth it and when I run out, I'll definitely buy it again. I have very pale skin but I use #30 (porcelain), a hint darker than my natural skin tone, which looks amazing. I highly recommend this foundation to anyone.

P.S. The good thing about Sephora is you can always get samples and try them out at home for free before you invest.

Odd Happenings of Late

While we've been working on our upcoming vidcast, there have been a number of odd things that have happened to us:

- We met Toronto Zanta at the Waterfront, who was only to happy to entertain us with a few of his famous pushups. We're pretty sure he isn't allowed within the city limits of Toronto but anyway...

- We got pooped on by birds at least 5 times during our outdoor shoot. Once on my hair during an interview.

- The camera fell over and had to go in for repairs.

- A number of people commented aloud as they walked by that I was some famous person - the most common guess was that I was Lacey from Corner Gas.

And then today, during a short break as we've been busily getting the new pages ready to display the vidcast, we happened upon this...

B Espresso Bar and the Pineapple Basil Martini

B Espresso Bar is our absolute favorite cafe in Toronto. They make the best lattes in town and have a fabulous selection of lunch dishes including pastas, pizzas and mouth watering panini's. We often try to meet people here for business lunches and find every excuse to come here.

Generally they are only open until 5pm so we were really surprised to discover yesterday evening walking by that they are open until midnight on Thursdays for "Italian Cocktails Night". We popped in for a drink and were glad we did because we had the most delicious refreshing martini we've tried yet.

The owner, Alessandro recommended we try the Pineapple Basil martini (the Martini Andrea). While we were skeptical at first, we figured we'd give it a try and see. It was so, sooo good! It is made with fresh pineapple and fresh basil leaves which is a surprisingly delicious combination. Apparently it takes a little while to make because you have to mash everything together so that it isn't chunky.

We took a photo of the menu so we could attempt to duplicate it at home, but we aren't holding out hope that it will be as good.

Now we just need to go back and try some of the other ones. Apparently the watermelon one is to die for!

A Cab Ride With "Mr. Geography"

Yesterday I was on my way home from Five on Spadina, my arms laden with clothes and hangers for an upcoming podcast I'm doing. I was considering walking the short distance but decided to take a cab so I wouldn't drop anything and ruin the clothes.

I hailed a cab and had just gotten settled in the back seat when the driver casually turned to me and said, "Princess - If you will answer my geography question correctly, your cab ride will be free."

"Umm... ok" I knew there was pretty much zero chance of me getting his questions right with my limited knowledge of geography.

"Princess.... Please tell me what is the capital city of Nigeria."

"I have no idea."

"It is Abuja. That's ok. I give you another one and the free offer still stands. Please name all 5 countries surrounding Switzerland."

I got all but 1. Stupid Liechtenstein.

"We'll try again. Please tell me the capital city of Iran."

I of course didn't have a clue. He offered for me to quiz him and, not knowing what else to say, I lamely suggested he name all of Canada's Provinces and Territories. He pretended this was an excellent and challenging question, but easily rattled them off one by one.

He then passed me several laminated newspaper articles of him from various publications. "I am very famous you see..."

Apparently, Mr. Geography has appeared on Conan O'Brian, Mike Bullard, Oprah, and pretty much every major Canadian network. He is known as "The King of Geography", has his own IMDB page (though it is empty) and says he is an international celebrity.

D'oh! Had I known that I would never have embarrassed myself by giving him such a stupid question. Still, this brush with celebrity was well worth it. Next time I'll be prepared.

Google results for Mr. Geography

The Cutest French CD You've Ever Heard: Putumayo Paris

I bought this cd while in New York from some random internet cafe and I LOVE it! It's my favorite of my whole Putumayo collection because it is just so darn cute! It sounds like something you'd hear on older movies like French Kiss or any charming movie about Paris really.

The best part about these cd's is that a portion of all proceeds goes towards Terre Des Hommes to help with their efforts in providing active support to disadvantaged children around the world.

So... I get a collection of adorable songs and I get to help underprivileged children. It's a win win for me. You can preview the cd's on putumayo.com or buy it from Amazon for $12.99 USD.

Eating Our Way Through NYC: MissChickie's Trip Vlog

I made a silly little video from our trip. The best part of course is the song from the Putumayo cd we picked up while there called "Paris", which is an adorable collection of french songs you'd hear at a cafe or something. And then of course there is the bull balls part.

As you can see we ate a lot. I really miss New York!

Building Your Own MAC Eyeshadow Quad

I've been using MAC eyeshadow for as long as I can remember. I recently bought a few new eyeshadows and was informed that you get a better deal when you create your own quad vs. buying the eyeshadows individually. Each eyeshadow is about $16 or so, but if you buy the quad case ($4.50) and the quad inserts ($12.50 each) instead, you save money. They are magnetic and pop right in - you don't have to buy the pre made quad color combos.

I was a bit confused at first when she explained this to me but, the quad inserts are the same size as the regular eye shadows and come in all the same colors - all it is, is different packaging. The quad shell is also part of their recycling program, which, by the way, I was told, has now been extended to include eyeshadows and one of their lip gloss'.

MAC eyeshadows are fabulous to apply and blend without getting blotches of darker color here and there that you can get from cheaper eyeshadows. They also stay put and are less prone to those dreaded crease marks that appear on your eyelids halfway through the day.

A Trip, A Dress & My In-laws

I finally have some time to myself to get a few things done and inform you all that yes, I am still alive and doing well despite the fact that I haven't blogged here in ages. A thousand apologies.

Our trip to NYC was fabulous and I absolutely fell in love with that city. As soon as we got home, we discovered we were having family over the very next day for the weekend. So I had exactly one day to clean up, get some work done and prepare to entertain. We did our best despite an empty fridge and it was a lot of fun.

I always get a kick out of Alex's parents because they funny, charming yet often, brutally honest. Being South American, they love their wine - with ice and/or water in it. 50-50. Every now and then they would ask, didn't I want some ice in my red wine to cool it down? Or, maybe I should try my white wine diluted with half a glass of tap water? I thought this was very odd, until I saw a movie this weekend where some Italians did this and I realized it wasn't just them. Still, I think I'll pass.

South Americans are also very comfortable speaking their minds. We spent a little time on Queen Street popping into various boutiques when I found the most sexy gorgeous little black dress in RK, which was marked down to $40 from about $200. They only had one size. One teeny tiny size, but I decided to squeeze myself into it.

Alex immediately insisted we buy it. My Mother in law said it was too tight. Alex immediately insisted we buy it.

On the way out of the store, she leaned towards Alex and talk-whispered, "She will have to eat nothing but salad and water for a WEEK!" I guess I know who to ask next time I want an honest answer to the age old question, "Does this make my butt look big?"

I have some crazy things coming up this summer, but I'm really excited and looking forward to seeing what happens next! I will try to post more regularly.

New York Pics!

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NYC: Here we come!

I'm embarrassed to admit that I've never been to New York, but as of this weekend, that will no longer be the case!

Alex and I try to get away every year for a few days to unwind and have some fun. This last year has been insane and we've had very little down time. So, when I came across a fantastic deal on Expedia, I planned a surprise trip to New York for his birthday! I tried to make the whole thing a surprise: I secured his vacation time, booked everything and last night, packed our bags. The plan was to tell him where we were going when we got to the airport and he wouldn't have to lift a finger. Well, that was until this morning when he received a phone call from a mutual friend suffering from a terrible bug - who knew this was supposed to be a surprise - and in a cold medication induced fog accidentally announced, "And when you're in New York this weekend, you MUST check out the following restaurants...". Oh well, she meant well.

So the beans are spilled, but we're both really excited for the trip! The hardest part will be controlling myself with the shopping. I look forward to that challenge ;)

Steamed

I got this book from one of the authors, Jessica Conant-Park. I am always nervous when people send me stuff - what if I don't like it? But my fears were unfounded cause I loved it!

It's a fun lighthearted murder mystery with interesting characters and amazing mouth watering food. It even has recipes at the back for some of the dishes they talk about.

This is perfect chicklit to read sitting on the beach or vegging after a long day at work. If you enjoy books like the Shoppaholic Series you'll love this forsure. I definitely recommend it!

ChickAdvisor Product Review Club

We realize "Product Review Club" is a totally unoriginal name for what is in fact a very cool thing, but hey, we came up with the idea during one of the gloomier days in April when the weather was so bad it stunted our creativity. So there.

Anyhoo, we've been bombarded lately with fabulous products from companies who'd like to get them reviewed and as much as we'd love to hoard it all to ourselves we decided to share the love and pass some freebies on to our members.

ChickAdvisor members who sign up for the Product Review Club will get free stuff to try, review - and keep. All we ask in return is that you review it within 2 weeks of receiving it.

We've already done this twice and so far there have been Chicklit books, and Sunsilk hair products. This is a great way to try cool new stuff for free rather than shopping by trial and error.

For more info on our review club, read the forum post here.

Did You Know About Zanta?

Every city has their own collection of oddballs and wierdos and Toronto is no exception. We have several Santa Claus impersonators downtown that beg for change or just make a public spectacle of themselves all year round. I spotted one Santa at Fashion Week wearing a red leather jacket, hamming it up in the media lounge that I'd given money to in the winter when I thought he was homeless. I nearly asked him for my twoonie back. Like that turban wearing, electrical guitar toting dude on rollerblades in Santa Monica, Harry Perry, some of our Santa's are practically famous.

Take Zanta, for example. No, I have not spelled his name wrong, this dude goes by "Zanta". He wears nothing but shorts, boots and a Santa hat on all year round, is obsessed with doing push-ups in public and shouting "Yes yes yes" and "Merry Christmas". He is also known for disrupting filming outside the CHUM building, his appearances on Speaker's Corner etcetera and so forth. There is a theory that he bumped his head and has been nuts ever since.

He has been banned from the TTC (public transit), and, last I heard, the City of Toronto, though I'm not sure how that's possible.

Sooo.... wanna meet him?














The man has his own Wikipedia page and yes, this is how I spend my time when I don't feel like studying.

Oh, and here is his website.

And here is a really funny article about Harry Perry.

Baghaus "Designer Inspired" Bags

Baghaus is for the girl who loves the look of designer bags but isn't willing to give up her grocery budget for a month (or several) to pay for one.

The schtik on their website says these aren't your typical knock-off bags you'd find on the street. They are quality well-made handbags that just happen to look like your favourite designer bags - and they do look mighty similar.

You can shop by celebrity style or look alike brand so if you've been lusting after a certain lesportsac bag, you can snag one that looks just like it for a fraction of the price.

With average prices around the $40- $50 mark, I think it's at least worth investigating, however, I wonder how all of the designers whose creations "inspired" all of these bags feel.

What do you guys think? Would you buy one of these or would you rather go for the designer label?

St. Lawrence Market Customer Appreciation Day

Free food, drinks and live music at one of my favorite weekend haunts, the St. Lawrence Market, sounded too good to pass up. Today was their customer appreciation day and a friend gave us some tickets. Well, I’m not sure I felt appreciated.

The first clue should have been the lineup that went around the building an hour before the doors opened at 7pm. Security guards carefully scrutinized every ticket but considering it appeared that the entire City of Toronto was invited, I'm not sure why they bothered with tickets at all.

For those of you familiar with the St. Lawrence Market, imagine it on a Saturday. Usually it's packed to the point where you can hardly maneuver between the meat and cheese counters and though it is a perfectly charming place to be, you count the minutes until you can load your groceries into you car or cab and get the heck out of there. Now imagine there are 20 times as many people. That's what it was like today. All of this for a free meal that turned out to be a whole lot of communal fruit and cheese platters.

To me there is nothing grosser than a bowl of free for all where every grubby hand in the joint can reach in and spread their special brand of bacteria onto innocent strawberries and cheese cubes.

To be fair there were a couple of meatballs with toothpicks sticking out of them so those were more sanitary - except they were all pork, which isn't exactly a universal favorite. We stood in several lines and I found myself feeling like a commuter on a crowded subway car, looking at the ground waiting for my stop as I plodded ahead like a zombie for my free cheese cube or meatball on a toothpick.

There were some performances, which was kind of neat, and I think the idea in theory was a good one. But in the future, S.L.M people, I'd feel a lot more appreciated if you would offer a 15% discount over the weekend or something rather than stuffing several thousand of your customers into a room to stand in 20 different lineups for one bite at a time.

But what do I know - I'm not the marketing genius.

Sandwich Box

My husband has been raving about this place for a while. I finally had a chance to check it out yesterday. It is amazing!!! The best sandwich I've ever had. The selection is fantastic. You can either select a recommended sandwich (I had the grilled veggies) or you can make your own. They have the most delicious bread selection. I had the rosemary focaccia. Wow! Everything comes with salad and it is all packed away in cute little white boxes that you can eat out of. They also have a fabulous soup and salad bar with a huge selection of available toppings (they make it for you - it's very sanitary).

The place looks like it would be really expensive but it isn't. For less than you'd pay at subway or Quiznos you get a far superior sandwich and overall experience. We went to the Richmond Street location. It has really cool ambiance, great music and funky clean decor. There is limited seating so go early or expect to take it to go.

This place is a new favorite for me.

www.sandwichbox.ca

Alanis Morissette "My Humps"

This makes fun of every trashy single out there. What really gets me though is how much she looks like my friend here (the face, the hair). Really, really creepy. McKChick, are you sure that isn't you?

Edward Scissorhands

A play, based on a beloved Hollywood movie done entirely with dancing - no words and sans Johnny Depp sounds like an impossible thing to pull off. But it was amazing.

Last night was the opening night at the Hummingbird Center in Toronto and I managed to drag my reluctant husband along. Apparently he saw the Lion King a few years back and decided he hated live theatre of any kind ever since. Well, this might have changed his mind.

The costumes, music, set design and choreography were amazing and the acting really impressed me. How do you convey a story and genuine emotion with no words, no singing... nada? The performances were very passionate and believable. I am embarrassed to admit I nearly cried at the end. The crowd gave it a standing ovation.

This is a fantastic all ages show that anyone who loves the arts can appreciate.

Check out the preview on You Tube:


ChickAdvisor members get $15 off any seats in the house. There are only 3 shows left in Toronto.

Check out the official website.

Nothing Intelligent to Say

Not that anything I've ever said before has been particularly brilliant - but I'm heading into a hideous period of major assignments, 10 pagers and final exams. I'll be done by April 23rd.

So if I'm unusually silent until then, please know that I'm still alive, just treading water for a bit.

Oh, and this picture is where I'll pretend I am in the mean time... the South of Spain... my honeymoon. *Sigh!*

How to Announce a Fire Alarm

My husband and I have lived in a certain downtown condominium for nearly 3 years, and we have yet to hear a single concierge make a fire alarm announcement that sounds like they know what they are doing - much less like they know how to speak. I find this highly annoying. Take tonight's alarm at midnight:

-> 12:00am - Dude leans on a warning buzzer for about 45 seconds, which is done to notify us of an upcoming intercom announcement. Different concierge hold it down for different lengths of time. Some to the point where you want to go downstairs and throttle them. It is a very loud, horrible sound, of which, 5 seconds or less would be more than sufficient.


->12:06am - Crackling and chewing sound (Dude was probably eating a sandwhich or something). Attentionattention (chomp, chomp slurrrp!) There is a, um, this is the concierge... ... speaking... ... Mumble, mumble mumble (chew chew gulp)... Fire department (more terrible mouth sounds)... notifiedstayin... ...yourunitsattentionattention (and repeat of above horrendous sounds).

For some reason the fire alarm in our building goes off up to several times a week. I'm sure Toronto Fire Services are not pleased. This means we are exposed to horrendous concierge Fire Alarm announcements on a regular basis and it pisses me off every time because they are always horrible like the one tonight.

Luckily, this time as my ears were assaulted once again, I devised a fool proof plan for them to prevent this from happening again.:

1. Have a pre-written blurb they can say and a time limit for how long they can hold the buzzer down. I suggest 5 seconds. If pushing the buzzer and saying the announcement is too complicated for one person, have one person be the official buzzer pusher and the other can do the announcement.

When doing the announcement, read the it off the paper. Pretend you are speaking to humans (who may or may not have been sleeping) - and try to sound professional. Easy peasy.

2. When hiring concierge, screen them first, by having them perform a test on their button pushing skills and ability to read off a piece of paper in a pleasant sounding manner. If they fail the timed button pushing exercise or the fire alarm announcement making test, send them on their merry way.

I'll have to suggest this to the management right away. I'm looking forward to getting my sleep back. Though I have a new problem now since I can hear Alex snoring in the bedroom.

Would You Wear The Prada Turban?

Apparently, while I've had my nose in the books for school, I failed to notice that Prada came out with the most ridiculous accessory for spring.... the female turban.

This is a scary, scary thing and here's why. Muiccia Prada is considered the fashion leader when it comes to new trends. When she does something, others will follow. Please. Someone stop her!

Just look at Style.com (where these pictures are from) to see a whole runway of turbans from Prada. I look at this and I think Aunt Jemima? WTF? My head would look like a bowling ball with this on, what with my big cheeks.

This reminds me of another terrible idea: the horrid Balenciaga riding hat from Fall 2006. Woof!

What do you guys think? Would you wear either of these looks?

The Canadiana Version

Oh Canada! I'm so tired of seeing how afraid we are when it comes to taking risks. Though we have a nice talent pool for Internet, film, television and pretty much every other industry, we're always afraid to try something new. Nope, the Americans have to do it first - and then it comes to Canada. Here's a few recent TV shows that immediately pop to mind:

America's Next Top Model -> Canada's Next Top Model

Deal or No Deal -> Deal or No Deal Canada

Entertainment Tonight -> Entertainment Tonight Canada (I still can't figure out how they managed to clone Mary Hart's voice box and implant it in Cheryl Hickey)

American Idol -> Canadian Idol

I know there are loads more and it's not just television, but I'm sick today and those are the ones that stuck out through the fog induced by my cold medication.

I applaud the Americans for taking chances and constantly innovating. I also applaud Canadian companies who do the same and don't fit this stereotype. I just don't think there are enough of you out there. Canada needs to step up and take more chances. We need more original programming, more innovation, and more funding to support that innovation.

Unless of course the goal is to be:
United States of America -> United States of America Canada.

Sexy Canadian Designers Part I: Rudsak

We recently posted a poll on ChickAdvisor to see what you all thought about Canadian Designers. While 46% of you have already purchased Canadian designer labels and loved it, or plan to in the future, the majority of you said you either never buy designer, or you had no idea Canada even had a fashion industry. We thought this was a travesty that needed to be addressed. Soooo, we're going to start filling you in on a few Canadian designers we think are sexy, innovative and fun.

Rudsak:
We've been big fans of Rudsak ever since we first started attending Fashion Week in Toronto. Rudsak is a Montreal label designed by Evik Astoorian, who started his career in footwear before getting into the leather business with his family.

Though they launched in 1994 and are one of the fastest growing labels in leather garments in North America, they've only recently started getting the street cred they deserve. This is largely thanks to their popular shows at Toronto and Montreal Fashion Weeks, and more recently, their newly opened boutiques on Queen Street West and Sherway Gardens in Toronto and a few in Quebec.

Rudsak is known for its signature leather accents in jackets and coats, and leather accessories. This is a great store to buy a trench for spring, a winter coat or an uber cute leather jacket. You'd probably also like the leather handbags and wallets.

They carry mens and womens apparel and even have jeans and a few tops, which are reasonably priced. This is a must shop for Canadian designer wear and the prices are comparable to big chain stores. Regular priced coats run from about $200 - $600.

visit www.rudsak.com for more pictures or lorealfashionweek.ca to watch a video from their latest collection.

* Photo credits: www.rudsak.com

Skipping Out on a Conference to Shop

Alex and I spent the last several days at ICE '07, (Interactive Content Exchange), which is a huge multimedia conference with delegates visiting from all over the world to discuss the latest and greatest in multimedia.

While the conference was a great networking opportunity and we met a lot of invaluable fascinating people, I got a wee bit distracted and somehow found myself downstairs in Winners buying these uber comfy Micheal Kors pumps. It wasn't really pre-meditated, it was friggin' freezing in the Carlu and I needed a sweater. I wasn't about to go about in my winter coat. I just happened to pass by the shoe rack and without meaning to, I ended up trying on these.

Alex was there and insisted we buy them. I don't like to argue, so I bought them. Now that I have them at home, I'm feeling a little indecisive. They were $100 (CAN). What do you guys think? Yay or nay?

We won 1st Place!!

We're still here at the conference (people are speaking as I rudely type this) but I just wanted to say thanks to everyone who wished us well. It wasn't as scary as I imagined and we got 1st place so we'll definitely be talking more about this. Yay!

ChickAdvisor is a Finalist at U-Pitch!

We recently entered our street podcasting concept "Where'd You Get That?" for the U-Pitch competition for Ice '07, "the world's coolest interactive media business event".

I found out this Thursday that I am one of 5 finalists who will be presenting our concept to a panel of industry experts in an attempt to win a cash prize to develop our idea. This is taking place in Toronto on Wednesday at 2pm. Whoo hooo!

I'm officially peeing my pants.

Public speaking terrifies me. I blurt out words that don't exist. I say things backwards like, "it's mreat to geet you!" If you're still trying to figure out what that means, you understand how odd I can come across. It's not that I don't know my stuff, it's just that crowds are very imtimidating to me. Especially crowds with media toting video cameras who can broadcast my bumblings to the world. Ironically, video cameras alone don't bother me at all. Go figure.

Sooo, here's to me speaking English, not fainting or tripping on the stage and making us proud. Goodness knows we need the cash. At 2pm this Wednesday please send positive vibes my way. I'll let you know how it all goes down...

L'Oreal Fashion Week F/W '07: boutique le trou

I made this little video using my little digital camera. It came out pretty good considering it's supposed to be for taking photos. I wish I would have thought to make all my videos like this instead of lugging around a 35 lb DVC Pro Camera and broken 40lb tripod all week. I guess I know better for next time!

boutique le trou is on the hip Queen Street West strip. The owner, Marlene Shiff, is an absolute doll. I got a chance to talk to her last night. I'm hoping to include that interview with my fashion piece, which should be ready some time next week.

Anti-Fashion Week Conspiracy at Ryerson University

The Ryerson Goblins are at it again.

They already have me in a perpetual state of disheveledness with huge bags under my eyes, horrendous hair and bad skin from many demanding assignments. They had the balls to assign work over reading week, which included meeting with a professor for clearance on our topic of choice, then going out and filming a local event and editing it in addition to scheduling major exams and assignments immediately thereafter. Reading Week is supposed to be time off so we can all go lie on a beach somewhere and contemplate our bright futures. Balls. Now I am being forced to miss out on the most brilliant night of shows at Fashion Week - AGAIN.

Every year, Toronto Fashion Week falls in mid October and mid March. Coincidentally (though I argue this is in fact NOT a coincidence), this is also the time of year where Radio and Television Arts goes from extremely busy to flat out, mental. It's bad enough that I suffer through 11 hours of solid class on Wednesdays, but this Wednesday also happens to be the most packed day of the shows I want to see at Fashion Week.

This time, I am forced to blow off Rudsak, Comrags (Your website is creepy), Andy The-Anh & David Dixon (Do you HAVE a website?), to name a few. I am not happy about this.

It's not like I can skip class since all of my most major assignments of the year are to be delivered on this day, including a huge presentation from 6-9pm. Again I say, Balls! My theory is that Ryerson purposely schedules all major tests and assignments to coincide with major events in Toronto so they can suck every last vestige of joy out of our lives. Then they laugh evilly at the site of our gloomy, weary and unfashionable faces. (All my villains laugh evilly).

I will cover what I can despite my sketchy attendance. Just please forgive my bedraggled appearance on camera should I chose to torture you with it.

Far Coast: A New Favorite Cafe

I finally had a chance to check out this fabulous new cafe on Bloor Street West + St. Thomas St. I just picked up my fashion week passes from the Intercontinental Hotel and needed a spot to do a little studying for a major test tomorrow (which clearly I am not doing as I type this!!). As I ran along the street in the cold fighting every urge to pop in one of the warm inviting stores and just go shopping, I spotted this place across the street with it's huge windows and funky decor that I could see from far away.













I'm really glad I checked it out. It's so adorable! Fresh aqua walls, hardwood floors, eclectic mismatched furniture, comfy couches and lots of little nooks to read a book or get a little work done.

I'm having the Raspberry Roobois Tea, which tastes like hot fresh raspberries. There's lots of room in this two level cafe and it's easy to sit here for hours people watching and avoiding studying, which is so dull by comparison. The only problem with this location is fighting the temptation to go shopping.

Hmmm... that reminds me, what on earth am I going to wear to Fashion Week??

A Stranger and a Cell Phone

This picture has nothing to do with my cell phone, except that I took it with my cell phone.
The most ridiculous thing happened last night. I took a cab to a friend's birthday party (pajama party theme!) and in my fumblings to find an appropriate tip for the driver, somehow left my cell phone in the cab.

I didn't realize this until I was trying to buzz in and realized I didn't know what floor my friend lived on. I tried 5 times but they kept buzzing me in without speaking to me so they couldn't hear me shouting "What FLOOR are you on?"

I put my bag down on the dirty floor and rummaged around for my cell phone so I could call her and tell her I didn't know where to go. That's when I realized my phone was sitting cozily in the back of the cab speeding through town.

So there I was in the lobby of her building with no phone and no way to get into her apartment, mentally calculating the cost of a new cell phone and various accompanying service charges from the evil corpora- er, cell phone company.

Just as I rang up a 6th time my friend came down the hall in fuzzy slippers, pink pajama pants and a tiara, "Hey Ali, I've been trying to buzz you in forever!" Ya, I know. I told her about my phone and she gave me a big hug. As soon as we were inside, she lent me her phone so I could call my cell. I tried several times but there was no answer. Just as I was calling Alex to get him to cancel my phone, a call came through from a woman who found my phone!

Turns out she lives in my building (!!! what are the chances of that?!) and left it with the concierge for me. I still can't believe the coincidence. I got my phone back within 3 hours of losing it with no harm done. Someone else might've taken advantage and called a few overseas relatives.

Thank God for people like her and Thank God for coincidences like that.

Start Your Own Charity

We all love a good cause but finding the right charity to invest your time can be difficult. You have limited time and they have limited resources and opportunities. Often, landing the right volunteer position can be nearly as hard as finding a new job. That's why sometimes you've just gotta take matters into your own hands.

Nearly two years ago, I started my own clothing drive at my condominium to help the local homeless and I've been doing it ever since. It's a pretty easy thing to set up actually. Here's how I did it in case you'd like to do something similar:

1. Approach the condo board for permission to run the drive and place donation bins in the mailrooms of the condominium complex for a 1-2 week period. That was relatively easy to do.

2. Approach local charities and see if they would be willing to pickup and distribute the donations. This was a little bit harder. The first couple of times I did it with the help of a friend and fellow resident who secured an agreement with one of the shelters run by The Salvation Army. They provided the bins, picked up all of the donations and distributed them to homeless at Salvation Army shelters.

3. Run the clothing drive. This is where the elbow grease comes in. A lot of people donated loose articles of clothing, which we bagged up ourselves to make it easier to transport. There were a few odds and ends that made their way into the bins, which probably should have gone into the garbage instead (homeless don't have sewing machines or washing machines, people!)

Sometimes the mailrooms were flooded with donations so we had to check on them several times a day to make sure it didn't get messy or out of hand. We also met the delivery van and loaded the donations every day. Over a couple of clothing drives, we raised over 100 large bins of good quality clothing.

I'm running another drive starting this weekend in conjunction with the Yonge Street Mission, who it turns out is logistically more equipped for this sort of endeavor. They have stores where their clients can purchase the clothes with dignity going into their store with a prepaid card that they provide them with. It feels less like a handout, gives them a sense of pride, and they also hire them to work in the store so they can gain valuable job experience.

Whatever your passion, be it the environment, kids, the homeless, disease - don't be afraid to just start something on your own. It requires a little bit of extra elbow grease and organization but it allows you to start helping right away, on your own terms. You don't need to sit around and wait for a perfect volunteer opportunity.

I honestly believe that if we all do our part to help in some small way, together we can make a huge difference.

Transition Man + The Sob Story Game

Hi y'all, I'm just passing on the latest freebie on ChickAdvisor. Enjoy!



We're teaming up again with our friends from Corner Office Beauty to bring you another freebie. Just think of this as therapy for your broken heart. Spill your ugliest, saddest or silliest breakup story here under the forum topic here (you've gotta be logged in to view) and get a free Transition Man Soap*, courtesy of Corner Office Beauty + ChickAdvisor.

Go ahead! Wash that man right out of your, er, hands. Slough those bad memories off with this citrucy minty (and lightly exfoliating), soap and just fugheddabouthim!

A few pointers:

1. This is meant to be for fun, not make fun of your pain. All bean-spillers must be treated with absolute respect and sympathy by fellow members. Remember, we've all been there!

2. If you'd like to mark your story as annonymous, please do! Just email us with a link to your entry so we know where to send the soap here. We promise we won't tell anyone it's you!

3. It's probably a good idea to use fake names rather than mentioning your ex's real name. Ya know, the whole slander thing. Not fun.

*Offer runs until March 31, 2007. While supplies last.

Blog or Website Badge Thingys

You may have noticed the new ChickAdvisor badge I have at the top left of this blog. If you have some reviews on the site, please feel free to add one of these thingys on your website or blog. You can find the code and instructions here.
:D

One More Reason to Love Le Gourmand...

Good things can come out of complaining. Generally I complain if something is illogical or ridiculous because it amuses me. Sometimes I complain to help people.

A couple of months ago I emailed the good people at Le Gourmand to tell them they really should do something about the music situation. I believe I complained about that here. I complained for selfish reasons ( I despise commercials), but I wanted to keep coming.

Today I'm blogging from Gourmand (as evidenced by above cheeseball photo on location) and instead of the usual noise pollution, they are playing cds. Nice jazzy ones to boot. Oh - and they also have a free wireless connection or I'm stealing some poor resident's bandwidth.

As you can see this makes me very happy. Enough to blog about. I'm not sure that I'm entirely responsible, but if you must, I will accept thank you letters and cards from those of you who enjoy Gourmand as much as I do.

A Tribute to Those Who Waste Our Money...

Yesterday I helped fund the Toronto Pearson Int'l Airport.

Along with millions of others, I generously donated an extra 20 minutes worth of parking fare ($3), for the pleasure of touring levels P1, P2, P4 & P5 in addition to where I was parked on P3.

If you too would like to donate an extra 20-30 minutes of your time and parking fare, here's how it works:

Park on any level except P5 and P6. Dodge cars in the cold ginormous parking lot for 15 minutes until you finally reach the terminal. Locate your loved ones, such as your elderly Grandmother and assist them with their luggage as you confidentally lead them back to your car. To minimize her anxiety at encountering said ginormous parking lot, tell her enthusiastically, "Don't worry! It's not too far!"

Weave the cart ladden with baggage through 20 rows of dirty cars, then remember that you need to pay before you reach the exit. Funny though, you didn't see one of those payment machines anywhere on this level. You determine you must have missed it in your enthusiasm to see "Oma".

Tuck Oma safely in your car, then run back to the lobby area of your parking level. There are signs everywhere but none of them indicate where you should pay. Walk around the lobby area a couple of times to see if you can find some directins on where you should pay. Run back to the terminal to see if there is a parking machine somewhere in there or along the way.

In fact, there isn't.

Locate the parking office (how was that easier to find than the bloody machine??). Listen carefully to the instructions on where to find a machine. "Take the elevator up to P5, turn right, then just before the terminal entrance you'll see them."

Ride the elevator to P5 and run around as instructed. Locate the bloody machines. There are 25 buttons to choose from. Stand there for a minute to take hold of the situation. You hear a voice behind you giving you instructions. "Put the card there, press that button, now press this". It's the human designated to help generous donators figure out how to use the machine.

You say thanks then ask why there aren't payment stations on each parking level. "Tell me about it" she says, "I totally agree with you. It's their way of making more money having everyone run around for an extra half hour trying to figure out where to pay. Only P5 and P6 have those machines."

It cost $12 to pick Oma up from the airport yesterday. I'm not impressed.

Winterlude, My @ss!

Here are a few questions I ask every winter and have yet to get a reasonable answer:

1. What were they thinking??
I grew up in Winnipeg or "Winterpeg" as it's commonly referred to. Every winter as the temperatures swung between a balmy -20 and -30 Celsius (I don't imagine those temperatures even come in Fahrenheit), I would ask myself what the heck were the pioneers thinking when they settled in this wasteland? Without the technology we have now, which does little to ease or prevent the bone chill, how did they survive? You'd think after 1 winter they would have packed up and left, and yet, they FOUGHT to stay there (??) I would have preferred Europe, thank you very much - and not just for the clothes.

2. Why is my family still there?
I moved nearly 7 years ago and though I love my family dearly, I haven't once considered moving back despite the toxic Toronto air. There is more to do here and I don't feel like I'm being stabbed in the throat if I breathe sans balaclava 6 months of the year. I've been trying to convince them to move with little success. I may have to resort to such devious tactics as grandchildren, but that also means more work for me.

3. Are you people sure we're genetically designed to be here?
I'm quite confident I am not built for winter. Though I bundle up from head to toe with my big furry boots and toque complete with earflaps I'm always desperately cold. It makes me angry and irritable. This weekend we're in Ottawa, which is colder than Toronto - and these people are playing outside having Winterlude! Dudes, why?? For me, winter is all about survival, not enjoyment and certainly not to stand around in the cold eating sugar covered lard (beaver tails) carving ice creations in the snow. I'd much prefer a glass of wine by the fire and forgo the "weathered skin" look. It's sooo passé.

I'm sorry that's all I've had to say in about a week, but as you can see, I find winter truly uninspiring.*

*with the exception of skiing and skating in reasonable tempuratures for limited periods of time, circumstances permitting - including but not limited to: having an appropriate stylishly warm outfit so I look chic rather than "snowbeast"; that the sun is present at all times - I hate cloudy grey skies; that I am mere steps away from a cozy chalet or cafe that serves high quality lattes and hot chocolate with the option of lactose-free milk; and, that my nose or mascara do not run at any time, avoiding looking like a snot-nosed kid or as though I've been crying. Some conditions apply.

Win FREE Organic Facials For a Year!

This deal is too good not to mention.

Elixir Organic Spa here in Toronto is offering FREE facials for a year to 1 lucky ChickAdvisor member.

The winner will be randomly selected from members who redeem one of their specially priced facials from our deals section between now and March 17, 2007.

The specially priced facials are as follows:

Youthful Radiance Facial
Microdermabrasion + Oxygen combo. This is an amazing facial that I tried in December and loved! This facial normally goes for $145, but they're offering it to ChickAdvisor members for $99 PLUS you get a free eyebrow wax. They're great at eyebrows too. In fact Elixir and Roza are the only ones I trust for this.

Beauty Express Facial
Like a normal facial but no extractions and 30 min instead of 60 minutes. This is great for students or the busy chick who wants a pick-me-up before a night out. The regular price is $55, but you get it for $44.

I highly recommed you take advantage if you live in the Toronto area. The odds are REALLY good here (we're still new).

You have to be logged in to view the exclusive deals. You will be asked to provide your user name when you go in for your appointment so we can track you for the draw.

Read Elixir reviews here. OR Read the Forum discussion here

I'm jealous of you in advance...

Sweet Lingerie for Cheap!

I've always been a huge fan of H&M Bras since I discovered them on a trip to Germany years ago. They are equivalent in quality to anything you'd find at Victoria's Secret, La Senza or similar stores, they fit amazingly well, and best of all, are a fraction of the price you'd find anywhere else.

They also come in hard to find sizes like 32 B, C, etc - which I can rarely find anywhere these days. I've started quite a collection since H&M came to Toronto.

I recently bought this set, which looks amazing on. The undies also come as a thong, which I usually prefer, but the fancier bottoms are perfect for something different for Valentine's Day. The bra was $16.90 and the panties were $9.90.

While I was there, I couldn't help but pick up a couple of their new swimsuits.

I have several H&M suits because they're cute, colourful and at $29.80 a pop, cheap enough to have a new one for every day by the pool. They're durable and make me feel very Veronika Lodge-ish (Oopsies, did I just give away my age?)

This polka dot one is classic and so girly. I love the brown with pink dots. Looks really nice with my skin tone. I realize the bottoms look big here but they are actually a smaller size than the top (first time in LIFE that's ever happened to me).








I picked this one up for playing beach volleyball this year. I realize it's February and minus bajillion outside, but how cute is this? Trying swimsuits on in Winter is a great way to cheer yourself up and also a grave reminder to get one's booty back in the gym.



If you don't have an H&M in your area, stock up on your next visit to a city that does. It's well worth it.

I've Been Shopping Again...

I hate to admit this but most of my shopping inspiration lately comes from Y&R. Yes, that would be the Young & The Restless - I realize I'm a freak. But it is the one break I regularly allow myself during the day if I'm not at school and the clothes and accessories are just too fabulous to miss. Sometimes I notice that more than the plot.

I saw a few earrings recently, that I really liked and looked for them everywhere but couldn't find them. So I emailed Krafty Kameleon to see if they could make them for me and they did!

They're so new, they aren't even on their website yet, but I couldn't resist sharing them with you. Keep in mind these are my amateur pictures...

The ones above are Stirling Silver Loops with Fresh Water Pearls. They're cute and fun! I think they might look even better with white pearls. They're really light though, so I wear them with a backing.


These hoops are stirling silver with a silver bead, which I think dresses them up a little. You can also slide the bead off to wear the hoops solo.











These ones are my absolute favorites! They were created by owner, Paulo and I have no idea where he got the idea from but I think they are the best ones. Again, it's stirling silver and the stone is smoke quartz. I got a lot of compliments the first day I wore these.

They are $55 CAD and available on their website.








Now if only they would start using diamonds...

New Cities, New Stuff!

It's Saturday night and we're on our computers. How cool are we?? But we're doing some new and exciting stuff.

We've added a blog page, combined health and fitness into 'Wellness', allowed people to post anonymously in the forums, added some new ChickAdvisor Exclusives deals.

Aaaaand...

Turned on Vancouver, New York & Ottawa. Some of the categories are still pretty sparse, but we'll leave it to you to fill them up! Please do!

Rick Mercer's Tax Time Spoof

This spoof from the "Hand in my pocket" commercials is so hilarious. Enjoy!

What Was She Thinking?

I saw these "pants" on Pop Sugar. Hello, Camel Toe!

Gross!!! I 'm sorry but just because you're famous doesn't mean you have the right to wear this!

Taking A Day Off

This week I've been reminded more than ever why we should all take a day off every week.

The concept of a 6 day work week with the 7th being the day of rest is as old as time, yet most of us don't do that anymore. We're too busy, we have too much on the go to take a break. I'm the worst offender. Yet that's how our bodies were designed and we're much more productive, healthy and most importantly, happy when we do that.

A favorite highschool teacher of mine just lost his wife last week. She was a sweet gentle person who volunteered at church, worked full time at a high-school and also kept a part time job at a local grocery store. She was working extra hours to make it possible for the family to take a few vacations. Last week at 49 she dropped dead at work.

I don't know that working hard was what killed her, but I do think it's an important reminder to take a day of down time every week to slow down, enjoy life or just veg!

This week practice doing nothing for 1 day and see if you're really missing out or not.

Bride Has Massive Hair Wig Out

I'm sure many of you have seen this. Apparently it's a hoax. Whatever, it's so funny, you've gotta see it!

Shame On You!

My friend forwarded this link to me. It's about a radio show that catches people cheating by tricking them into revealing things on the radio. Pretty sad. It's called Desi Wife Catches Husband.

Banned Commercial

Best birth control ever...


Thanks for the video link, mamaluv!

Just Exactly What Is The Problem Here?

I just came across this on Pop Sugar. Ryan Seacrest has been lashing out at Angelina Jolie in the press for the interview he recently did with her and Brad at the Golden Globes. He's said a bunch of nasty things about it and here's what he said on E!

“I asked her four questions and she didn’t even answer me,” he complained. “I literally stood there and tried to ask a couple of questions. At one point I just kind of let the E! microphone sit in front of her for a second to see if she was going to acknowledge it, and she clearly wanted nothing to do with me or my question or my answer or any of it.”

I'm sorry but after watching this, I don't see what the big deal is.