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!*