misschickie

Clock Punchers

2009-08-24T20:27:00.004-04:00

The thing I enjoy the least about my job is managing people. When I was little, I envisioned myself a top boss at some lucrative company smartly swinging my briefcase, wearing an immaculate designer suit, latte in hand, striding confidently into work to manage my people. I thought being in charge of people would be the best thing about being a boss. Everyone would love working for me because I'd be so kind and generous. I would be the best possible boss, having learned from all the bad ones I had in past jobs from being a server to direct marketing (approaching people in the mall to switch long distance companies - the horror!) to being hit on every work party by my drunk/high insurance boss.

It turns out, being a nice person does not make you a good boss and certainly does not earn you the respect of your employees. What it does, is make you a target for Clock Punchers everywhere. Though we've been pretty lucky with some of the great talent we've worked with, there have been a number of clock punchers who have applied and even a couple who made it past the gate keepers to get a job.

Now, Clock Punchers are hard to spot at first because they look good on paper and are usually quite charming in person. Of course this is how they've gotten by rather than on their productivity. It's only when you see them in action/start receiving their bills that you realize you have hired a Clock Puncher.

This is what a Clock Puncher's invoice looks like:

Aug 1: Meeting - 3 hours (only it was with you, and it was actually less than 2 hours)
Aug 2: Receive and reply to email - 1 hour (really? A whole hour to read and reply to a few short sentences?)
Aug 3: Receive and reply to emails - 3 hours
Aug 4: Meeting - 1 hour (again with you, and it was a 15 minute phone call)
Aug 5: Review website/surf the Internet - 5 hours
Aug 6: Various emails - 4 hours

Total: 17 hours

Great! Now what did we get for 17 hours? A whole bunch of nothing. That's a pretty lousy ROI.

Approach a Clock Puncher about said invoice and the response will be indignation, because of course you are the first person to ever complain about their services. All of their other clients are thrilled to pay for nothing more than the pleasure of their name on the payroll. That's probably true. Clock Punchers do very well in large organizations that are bulging at the seams with overhires. Warm bums in seats can get by for quite some time before they are found out.

Another thing to consider is that Clock Punchers charge a minimum of one hour for everything:

Aug 8: Thought about project in the elevator - 1 hour
Aug 9: Had a dream about the project and mentioned it to a friend - 2 hours

So you've gone and hired a Clock Puncher, now what do you do? Fire quickly. The worst thing you can do is keep the person on for another month thinking, "Oh, maybe it's my fault because I didn't specifically say that I needed them to actually complete their work," or, "Maybe he/she is having a rough month because of the economy and they really need the money." Even worse, "Maybe I can teach him/her how to be more productive." Unless you are a retired philanthropist with a pet project to make humanity better at their jobs one Clock Puncher at a time, this is a wasted effort that will cost more than you can imagine in time and effort.

Finding the right people often just boils down to your gut. Every time you ignore your instincts you are making a mistake. We once interviewed a developer who wouldn't look me in the eye the entire interview. I would ask him a question and he would turn to Alex direct his answer to him. 5 minutes into the meeting I announced we had to go to another appointment and that was the end of that. I'm not sure why this individual applied to a company called "Chick"Advisor if he couldn't even look upon me, but then again maybe I do. He was a Clock Puncher looking for a little extra cash on the side.

I'm glad we dodged that bullet. How do you spot (and handle) Clock Punchers?

Blast from the Past

2009-03-11T11:56:00.008-04:00

Today I bumped into one of my old friends, Theo from my Insurance days. Wow, it feels like a lifetime ago! It's amazing how much can happen in 5 years. In that career I was really unfulfilled and didn't enjoy my work. However, I loved my coworkers and the branch manager who were such a pleasure to work with. That was probably part of the reason I was there as long as I was. Isn't it funny how looking back on certain periods in life can feel like a totally separate lifetime?

Theo is still with the same company but has been promoted several times and is in a good place in his career. When we met he was starting out. It's so exciting to see people I knew 5 years ago and how they have progressed in life. It's also thrilling for me to see how much my life has been totally changed in 5 years:

With Candace Bushnell, Author of Sex & the City

* I now have my degree (Radio & Television Arts from Ryerson University) - not having my degree was a chip on my shoulder for a long time. I'm so happy to have accomplished this.

With a ChickAdvisor member at an event

* Instead of being in an unfulfilling job scraping by with bad pay I'm my own boss and I LOVE what I do. Just today I interviewed the founder of H20+. What an amazing woman. It was an inspiration to meet her and she loaded me with products to try. Then I swung by the Intercontinental hotel to pick up my media passes for Fashion Week. Yup, this is my life now. When I think about all of the experiences I get to have in this new role it's mind blowing. I'd probably hate me if I wasn't me. ;)

Two geeks on vacation. Our first non-family trip since we launched the company.

* I have an amazing husband who is also my business partner. I dated my share of beasts before I met my Prince, Alex and he's the most supportive man I've ever met. Not only did he convince me to quit Insurance and go back to school, we launched the company together and he has been 100% behind my many wacky ideas for the business. He's also a really good cook and romantic too. I'd continue but I don't want ya'll to hate ;)

* I own a beautiful little condo in a great location. It's so nice to know that our monthly payments are making it more ours every day instead of going into a bottomless pit of rent. There is huge satisfaction in that.

At our Sex and the City event

* I'm surrounded by amazing people. In the last 5 years I've made some new friends who are absolutely incredible human beings. One of my sisters, Claire (wacky blonde in photo) works with me and has done an amazing job. Another sister and her husband also moved to Ontario so I have family here now. That means a lot. I also have wonderful In-laws who love to cook. Hello!

Interviewing designers Dean&Dan for ChickChat TV

There were times in my past when situations were so bad I couldn't imagine a way out of it. It just goes to show that if you keep trying and keep you head up, you can come through anything and dramatically change your life. Faith is a big part of that. Don't ever stop believing!

I can't wait to see how the next 5 years will pan out.

Anthony Hopkins Does My Wallpaper

2008-10-08T22:42:00.005-04:00

Does this not look like Anthony Hopkins?

Maybe this would help?

Nice of him to humour me with his best Hannibal Lecter, no?

We've recently had our place redone and Sir Hopkins installed our wallpaper. It's not easy finding someone for this job. It's quite expensive and installers are hard to find. Who knew? When Alex (ok fine, his real name) came to our place to do the quote, he came armed with an impressive portfolio and a British accent. Do you think they are brothers? Perhaps Hopkins is prepping for a new role and this is just research?

He did a great job and the results will be revealed in a future episode of ChickChat TV!

The ChickAdvisor Shop Crawl Part 4!

2008-09-09T10:45:00.001-04:00

Ciao, Bella! This round of our popular signature event takes us to Little Italy. Though College Street is better known for the food than the shopping, it does have a tidy collection of beautiful boutiques that make it a perfect destination for our night out!

On Thursday October 9th, Join us for a night of exclusive shopping followed by an after party!

Part 1: Shopping 6-9pm. We will be taking College Street by storm. Get exclusive discounts from the following boutiques:

Girl Friday - 20% Off
Designer/Owner Rebecca tells us she'll have her new fall/winter coat collections in just in time for the crawl in addition to her signature dresses, Dish Denim, shoes, bags and accessories. Girl Friday was a big hit from our last Shop Crawl.

Balisi - 20% off
Balisi was also a major hit on our last Shop Crawl. Their College Street location is all about SHOES! They carry bags and a few clothes as well, but here you'll want to snap up a pair (or two) from their colourful collection.

American Apparel - 10% off, plus $5 gift card when you spend $50 or more
Leggings, T's, Uber stretchy tube dresses, athletic wear, underwear and every day staples for the Hipster wardrobe. You shop there anyway. Why not get a discount?

Lilliput Hats - 20% off
These coveted one of a kind hats are famous all over the world. They are made in-shop and have an unbeatable selection. Hats are a popular trend this fall. Snap one up at an unheard of discount.

Red Pegasus - 25% off
This little gem of a store has everything from Lug bags to greeting cards, candles, earrings and even a few really funny gag gifts. Pick up a necklace, a birthday gift or a mullet shampoo...

Ziggy's at Home - Discount TBA
Home decor, scented soaps and candles, lighting, house warming gifts, and much more. The only problem with this store is you might not want to leave.

We are expecting up to two more boutiques to be added to this list. :)

Part 2: The After Party at Vecchio Frak (9:15pm - 11ish- whenever you go home-ish)

Vecchio Frak makes some of the best thin crust pizzas in the city! Enjoy complimentary food and beverage, a goodie bag from our sponsors, prizes and someone will win a cash prize for the best outfit purchased the night of the Shop Crawl.

Sponsored in part by: Maybelline New York
If you didn't get a chance to try their popular Colossal Volum' Express mascaras from the recent Product Review Club offer, don't worry. You'll be getting one at the Shop Crawl... in addition to some other loot!

Tickets are $25 and must be purchased online in advance here:
http://chickadvisorshopcrawl4.eventbrite.com/

We sell out every time so don't wait or you will be disappointed!

Hope to see you there!

Check out our video from Shop Crawl #2

Read more about past Shop Crawls

Pet Peeve: Blog recaps

2008-04-08T10:55:00.004-04:00

A lot of blog networks require their bloggers to publish weekly blog round-ups of each other's posts, titled after their network. How clever. They then require their bloggers to publish a short recap for each participating blogger's recent postings, which is painful to read and reeks of spam. Not only does it clutter an otherwise pleasant blog with unnecessary verbal diarrhea, it makes the poster sound as dull as the blogs they are touting:

Link Whore's Publishing Weekly Blog Round-Up

Whoo hoo! Look what fellow Link Whore Publishing members are talking about this week!

Dolly from Dolly's Ramblings is raving about those new pants she bought last week. LOL!

Sarah from I Love Makeup just tried out a brand new eyeliner... and she loves it!

Jessica admitted on Donuts for Life that she's gained 5 pounds.

TotalLoser.com just posted a new how to video on applying mascara. Can't wait to check that out!!

Betty from ThisIsMyLife is visiting her Aunt Bee in Detroit. Sounds like fun!

Blah, blah, blah, mundane, blah, blah, blah.

You get the point.

The objective of this is of course, to collect links for the publishing network and their bloggers. The traffic goes up for the Network and the bloggers who join these ridiculous rolls get more links and therefore a higher technorati score. But at what cost?

P.S. I do not blame the bloggers who are forced to publish this nonsense, it is the networks that are to blame.

To the Bloggers: Just say no!

How I Met My Husband

2008-02-04T22:02:00.000-05:00

Ali and Alex ~ honeymoon in Spain May 2005

I have been a very naughty blogger.

The truth is, writing is not the easiest thing for me so posting on the ChickAdvisor blog as often as I do is already quite an accomplishment. With the amazing coverage the company has been getting Alex and I have been invited to speak at a number of events and I have another coming up on Feb 20th. I'm not complaining, we're thrilled. Just doin' a little 'splainin' for my absence is all.

A really interesting speaker that came into one of my classes last week said you should always keep up with your blog and write about the things you are learning and what is happening in your industry. So... I will attempt to write here more than once every 4 months ;)

I'm finally finishing my degree in April so I expect to have a more reasonable schedule shortly. In the mean time I'll leave you with this story that few people know but is quite unbelievable: How I met my husband... and business partner, Alex.

Alex and Ali at the Founders and Funders Dinner in Toronto photo credit: Istoica

Part 1: Kicked off Campus

I am originally from Winnipeg. About 8 years ago I was studying at the University of Manitoba and took on a part time job doing field marketing for a company with several clients including a new online textbook retailer for university students called ProfessorJones (now defunct). I promoted ProfessorJones on campus together with a small team I hired, and we handed out cd roms, put up posters and encouraged fellow students to buy their textbooks online instead of paying through the nose at the University bookstore. After a couple of weeks of intense promotion, we were kicked off campus because the university bookstore was upset about the competition and pulled out an old contract that said they had exclusive rights to sell text books on campus. The university paper wrote up a nice little ditty on the brouhaha here. They quoted me for it.

I didn't think anything more about that job until several years later...

Part 2: Living in T.O With The Roommate That Wouldn't Share

Shortly after my stint with ProfessorJones, I moved to Toronto by myself. I was working in the insurance industry as a claims adjuster, which I hated. I was very young, unconnected and underpaid. I knew I had much more to offer than assessing the value of a torn asshole from a slip and fall in a grocery store - yes, this was one of my files. One of the last. Despite the fact that I could hardly pay my bills, I put away 10% of my income every paycheque. After 3 years I had just enough to quit but didn't have the guts. I decided to downsize from living in my own jr 1 bedroom to sharing a 2 bedroom with a roommate. I found a beautiful apartment in Bloor West Village but didn't know anyone I could share it with. I told the landlord that I loved the unit but needed to find a roommate first. He mentioned that another tenant had a friend who was also looking for a roommate. We met later that week and realized we could stand to live together.

Part 3: Love at Second Sight

New Roommate had two guy friends help her move in. One of those guys was a somewhat grumpy but athletic looking guy named Alex. Our apartment had no air conditioning, we lived on the top floor with no elevator and it was 30 degrees outside that day, so understandably, Alex was no fun. We were equally unenthralled with each other.

Two months later we all joined a beach volleyball team and it turns out, Alex was not only the best player of the bunch, he was also a lot nicer than our first meeting. We found we had a lot in common. I didn't know much about him, but there were definitely mutual sparks. The Roommate saw the sparks. The Roommate didn't like the sparks. The Roommate said she didn't want her Roommate and her good friend to date. And so we didn't.

Part 4: Love Over a Bowl of Paella

Six months later, Alex threw a Paella night where he invited a bunch of friends over to share this traditional Spanish dish. He invited Roomie.... and me! By this time I realized Roomie was selfish in many ways and no longer cared if she was offended by me getting to know someone she had no intention of dating herself. He invited for 7. I came at 7. Everyone else came at 8. ... The Paella was delicious.

Part 5: Destiny

Two months later in casual conversation, Alex said, "well at my first company, ProfessorJones, we blah blah blah..." I nearly lost my lid. I said, "WHAT?! ProfessorJones?? I worked for you!!!" We immediately went online where he showed me his articles on ProfessorJones and I showed him my notorious affiliation.

He convinced me to quit my job and go back to school. We got engaged 5 months later and married 9 months after that. This May, we celebrate our 3 year wedding anniversary. Our anniversary as business partners follows shortly after.

Do you believe in God - Fate - Destiny now?

Where did I go?

2007-10-12T21:05:00.001-04:00

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

2007-07-07T15:06:00.000-04:00

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

2007-06-26T16:32:00.000-04:00

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!!

2007-06-22T13:36:00.000-04:00

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

2007-06-21T12:46:00.000-04:00

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

2007-06-09T18:51:00.000-04:00

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

2007-05-25T22:13:00.001-04:00

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"

2007-05-23T11:47:00.000-04:00

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

2007-05-15T16:26:00.000-04:00

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

2007-05-15T15:43:00.000-04:00

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

2007-05-14T12:46:00.000-04:00

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

2007-05-12T18:35:00.000-04:00

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!

2007-05-06T15:32:00.000-04:00

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NYC: Here we come!

2007-04-27T17:01:00.000-04:00

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

2007-04-26T14:11:00.000-04:00

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

2007-04-24T17:08:00.000-04:00

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?

2007-04-19T21:02:00.000-04:00

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

2007-04-18T01:39:00.000-04:00

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

2007-04-12T22:08:00.000-04:00

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

2007-04-10T11:30:00.000-04:00

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"

2007-04-05T13:04:00.000-04:00

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

2007-04-05T10:40:00.000-04:00

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

2007-04-02T15:10:00.000-04:00

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

2007-03-30T01:07:00.000-04:00

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?

2007-03-29T22:49:00.000-04:00

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

2007-03-29T15:56:00.000-04:00

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

2007-03-25T18:36:00.000-04:00

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

2007-03-23T17:51:00.000-04:00

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!!

2007-03-21T17:56:00.001-04:00

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!

2007-03-18T21:39:00.000-04:00

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

2007-03-17T15:34:00.000-04:00

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

2007-03-09T14:01:00.000-05:00

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

2007-03-06T11:59:00.000-05:00

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

2007-03-04T14:38:00.000-05:00

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

2007-02-26T12:53:00.000-05:00

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

2007-02-25T13:15:00.000-05:00

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

2007-02-25T12:32:00.000-05:00

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...

2007-02-21T15:44:00.000-05:00

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...

2007-02-20T12:48:00.000-05:00

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!

2007-02-17T23:58:00.000-05:00

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!

2007-02-12T23:02:00.000-05:00

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!

2007-02-08T13:56:00.000-05:00

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...

2007-02-07T23:28:00.000-05:00

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!

2007-02-04T00:28:00.001-05:00

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

2007-02-04T00:20:00.000-05:00

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

What Was She Thinking?

2007-02-03T20:25:00.000-05:00

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

2007-02-03T13:24:00.000-05:00

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

2007-02-01T13:30:00.000-05:00

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!

2007-01-29T21:22:00.000-05:00

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

2007-01-24T21:53:00.000-05:00

Best birth control ever...

Thanks for the video link, mamaluv!

Just Exactly What Is The Problem Here?

2007-01-23T16:26:00.000-05:00

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.

How to Score a Free Ride on the Subway!

2007-01-23T14:59:00.000-05:00

This morning I discovered the most brilliant trick! I was running a little behind (funny how often that happens), and picked up a croissant and latte to go before hurrying out to wait for the streetcar. There was an unusually long line up this time and I waited patiently with breakfast in hand - hands that were freezing at this point - for the squeeky old street car to pick us up.

I could see in the distance that it looked packed full and doubted seriously if it would have room for all of us. However, one by one the people ahead of me crammed themselves in full up to the stairs like human sardines. Though there really wasn't room for me, I got on anyway and found my forhead inches away from someone's butt with one hand holding on to my precious breakfast and the other up under someone else's elbow holding onto the bar near the token collector. Since my feet were on the second last step I couldn't even reach to put my fare in, so I simply didn't!

I couldn't help smiling a bit as I thought about the free ride I'd scored, until the old car pulled away and around the corner and butts and elbows stumbled into me and nearly pushed me out the door. I held on for dear life until we rounded the corner wondering if the doors would have opened had I leaned on them a little harder.

At the next stop just before Union station the street car stopped again (why do they always stop when there clearly isn't room for any more??) and I was humped from behind by 2 more winter coats who'd forced themselves on by some miracle.

I nearly fell out the door when we arrived at Union Station. But I saved $2.75!

70% off Sale at Mango

2007-01-22T19:26:00.000-05:00

The sermon on Sunday said we should all try to live with less and avoid the consuming grip materialism has on our lives.

While I agreed whole heartedly with everything that was said, I couldn’t stop thinking about this gorgeous bag I spotted on a fashionable girl at the coffee stand that morning. I’d even asked her where she bought it and how much it was. “$50 on sale at Club Monaco”, she said. I nearly spilled my coffee in joy. What a bargain for such a gorgeous versatile piece!

I decided I’d have to check it out, but as the message went on, I started to feel a little guilty. While I don’t have a lot of clothes, I certainly think about having more of them every day. After all, it’s my job, no?

It doesn’t help that my school is across the street from one of the biggest shopping malls in Canada. Generally I’m pretty good at controlling myself, but today I found myself (somehow!) walking through the mall on my way home from school. Since I went ahead and did that I might as well tell you that there is a HUGE sale going on at Mango. I didn’t mean to go in there - or Sephora, or Club Monaco (bag was gone, dammit!), but when I saw the sale tables as I was attempting to leave the mall empty handed, I had no choice but to briefly pop in for a minute or 30.

If you need to stock up, go now! Cute tank tops for $6.99, gorgeous sweaters for $30.99, dresses, belts, jeans boots and bags galore. The whole friggin’ store is on sale. I behaved and only bought a couple of tank tops and a wool sweater vest I’d been looking for since fall ($25!).

When I got home I checked out their website and it turns out this sale is happening in all of their stores around the world as well as online. The store staff told me they are clearing everything out to make room for more European styles. Finally!

Just thought you might want to know…

Smelly Cheap Nail Bars

2007-01-19T17:04:00.000-05:00

Have you ever been to one of those cheap nail salons where you get a manicure/pedicure combo for $30-$40? They usually have a cheesy name like "Classic Nails" or "Look Nails" and have 80's style posters in the windows. I've been to a few of these when I'm desperate for a little maintenance. It's a nice cheap way to get your nails done but why does it always stink like poison in there?

I went with one of my friends a couple of days ago and the smell nearly knocked me over. I felt like I was about to start hallucinating or pass out. Between the stench and the woman pulling the skin off my toes (she created a hang nail and then went to town on it), I felt more like I was being punished than pampered.

This is just one of a few bad experiences I've had. Another time at a different shop, the woman used a razor on my foot and sliced my toe. It bled all day and they still charged me full price.

In most of these places English isn't even a second language, it simply isn't spoken. I thought "ouch!" was universal but apparently it isn't.

There's a new place that's opened up down the street from me that looks neat and clean. I plan to check it out next month and see if I have better luck. But if it stinks in there I'm not going.

Does anyone else know what that horrid smell is? Is it just the nail polish itself, or is it from those horrid fake nail things? I'm sure it's hazardous to our health.

Frills and Toilet Paper

2007-01-15T21:18:00.000-05:00

Here I am innocently watching the Golden Globes when my eyes are accosted by Cameron Diaz' horrifying toilet paper dress. I know I shouldn't pick on someone who's getting over a breakup, but this frilly looking thing reminds me way too much of the like Cashmere toilet paper woman...

FREEBIE ALERT: SeaVital

2007-01-15T20:51:00.000-05:00

Hi everyone, while I promised to stop speaking in the 3rd person here, I thought it only fair if I pass on our lastest two FREEBIES so you guys can get a crack at it too...

SeaVital is a luxurious brand of skincare from Israel, which is based on minerals from the Dead Sea. The Dead Sea is the lowest place on earth and has long been touted for its healing properties.

We were first introduced to SeaVital last summer when MissChickie sampled their Aloe Vera gel to treat a pesky patch of psoriasis. A few applications of the lightly scented gel later, and her skin improved quickly. We've been believers of the restorative nourishing powers of SeaVital ever since.

So, when they approached us to tell you all about SeaVital, we said, "Sure! But give us some freebies for our members to try so they can see for themselves how it works!" And that brings us to our newest contest.... (drum roll please!)

We now present the "Refer a Friend" contest. You guys have been unbelievable with your support, excitement and many wonderful reviews. Now we want you to tell your friends! We're constantly working to get you guys as many free goodies as possible. But in order for that to work, we have to keep growing. So here's how it works:

10 of you will receive a FREE full sized 100ml product from SeaVital to slather, indulge and REVIEW (pretty please!), courtesy of SeaVital's Authorized Agent in Canada, Marina Glibitski.

There are 2 available of each of the following and you can state your preference for what you want to try:

Hair Nourishing MudMask (150ml) retails for: $19.50

Based on Dead Sea Minerals and enriched with natural herbal extracts of sage, lavender, seeweed and rosemary. Contains soybean and wheat germ oils. Stimulates metabolism in the hair bulbs, activating their natural energy. Strengthens hair enhancing its natural shine and enhances active growth of new hair.

Seaweed Facial Mask for dry skin (100ml) retails for $21.80

Based on the Dead Sea Minerals, natural herbal extracts and vitamins. Contains liposome complex. Improves the skin's ability to absorb moisture, activates metabolic processes, enriches the skin with micro and macro elements.

Foot Cream (150ml) retails for $17.50

Based on Dead Sea minerals enriched with natural herbal extracts and vitamins. Contains liposome complex. Improves blood circulation. Takes off the weariness and serves as an antiperspirant while moisturizing and nourishing the skin to protect it from over drying and roughening. It also accelerates the healing of chapping and microraumas.

Exfoliating Facial Wash for all skin types (100ml) retails for $17.80

Based on the Dead Sea minerals, natural herbal extracts and vitamins. Throroughly and deeply cleans your face, revitalizing your skin and improving it's resilience. Facilitates cell regeneration and contains gently abraiding apricot seed powder also having a slight whitening effect.

Alojodo Rich Cream for normal to dry skin (100ml) retails for $17.80

Based on the Dead Sea minerals, natural herbal extracts and vitamins. Contains liposome complex. Nourishes and moistens the skin favoring its regeneration and rejuvenation.

To win, refer your friends to ChickAdvisor using our Tell A Friend link on the homepage (under add a review). The 10 members who refer the most friends who become active members (i.e they create profiles, add reviews, etc), will get their choice of the above listed freebies.

We will contact the 10 winners after February 15th when the contest closes.

If you have any questions, feel free to post them here in the comments.

FREEBIE ALERT: Wild Sage Botanicals

2007-01-15T20:50:00.001-05:00

Choke Cherries, Strawberry Leaves, Rosemary, and Mint are just a few of the delicious natural ingredients herbalist Garima uses to concoct her wildly popular organic skincare line, Wild Sage Botanicals.

We discovered her fabulous products in Toronto at Elixir Organic Spa and couldn’t get enough of them. So we decided to look up Garmia to find out more about her line and see if we couldn’t swing an exclusive deal for ChickAdvisor members. She agreed! But more on that later…

ChickAdvisor:

How did Wild Sage begin?

Wild Sage:

I had just turned 40 and decided I should start doing something about my skin, but couldn’t find anything as good as what I was eating. I had a huge garden full of herbs, which were just billowing and blossoming. I knew about the powers of various herbs and wanted to create something natural for my skin. So I started experimenting and making stuff. Eventually people started asking me what I was using for my skin and then they wanted their own. Then they started asking for toners, heavier moisturizers and other products and I started to expand my collection.

ChickAdvisor:

Where do your ingredients come from?

Wild Sage:

Most of the ingredients are from here in Colorado. In fact, I grow most of them but the Shea butter comes from a women’s farming operation in Uganda. They don’t use any chemicals in the process of making it and the program is set up to help women’s education and benefit the land. I try to find companies I really like where I can help people. The Sunflower Oil is from France because that’s where you can get the best quality. They’ve been pressing oils there for generations.

ChickAdvisor:

So give us a run down on which products to use for oily, dry or combination skin.

Wild Sage:

For Oily Skin I recommend the Almond Face Cleanser, which is good for all skin types. It helps balance the skin and has nice exfoliants in it. It’s kind of a cookie dough consistency.

The Rose Hazel Toner closes your pores and really helps with skin problems as well as dehydration after you wash.

Then follow it up with the Lavender Rose Moisturizer. It’s light and less oily than the other moisturizers. You skin naturally wants a little oil so stripping it away is actually a bad idea. Just having a tiny bit helps your oil glands balance.

For Combination skin, again use the Almond Face Cleanser, then follow with the Lavender Mint Toner and the Rose Geranium Face Lotion. The Rose Geranium is a little bit richer and includes Shea Butter, which is a natural sunscreen that helps fight against wrinkles, dry skin and also helps with arthritis! It lets your skin breathe and doesn’t clog your pores or oil glands.

For Dry Skin, I recommend the same procedure as for combination skin, but follow with Brilliance Face Cream instead of the Rose Geranium. The Brilliance Cream has Shea Butter, is deeply moisturizing and a nice citricy and bergamot scent that men really like, actually.

ChickAdvisor:

Speaking of men, do you have anything for the guys?

Wild Sage:

For Men, I’ve created Slap It On Aftershave, which is essentially a Toner + Aftershave. Men have thicker skin and don’t show problems or wrinkles quite as easily.

Wild Sage is offering a FREE Papaya Honey Mask exclusively to the first 15 ChickAdvisor Members who purchase an order of $20 or more of Wild Sage products on Apothena.com.

See the Deals section for more information.

Happy Organic Shopping!

Organic Skincare online from Apothena.com

2007-01-15T18:30:00.000-05:00

I've recently had the pleasure of doing some business with family owned apothena.com, a website that specialises in selling organic skincare products online.

I was so thrilled to hear about them from Wild Sage. They have wonderful selection, give free samples with every order, and the service is phenominal! Before Christmas I ordered approximately $100 worth of goodies from them (some were gifts, some for myself). The shipping was free and I received my order in about 3 business days. My order also came with a personalized note thanking me for my purchase.

Who says you can't still get amazing customer service? I know where I'll be shopping from now on.

Introducing the "Official" ChickAdvisor Blog

2007-01-14T17:50:00.000-05:00

We finally got our acts together and started an official ChickAdvisor blog here.

My MissChickie blog will be the same as before. The point of the ChickAdvisor blog is to allow people to comment on articles we post on ChickAdvisor and stuff.

It also means I'm under no obligation whatsoever to attempt to sound interesting or (uggggh) speak in 3rd person here on MissChickie when I'm cross posting. I always feel foolish saying "we" when it's clearly me.

MissChickie will continue to be me and my opinion and whatever I feel like talking about.

Check it out! www.blog.chickadvisor.com

C.A Featured on She Finds!

2007-01-12T15:56:00.000-05:00

Michelle over at SheFinds scours the web for the latest and greatest for her readers and we are so humbled that she wrote about us!

SheFinds has an informative weekly newsletter, which is a great resource for the busy career woman who, in her own words, "doesn't have time to shop. She doesn't even have time to browse the web much less paw through endless piles of cashmere sweaters at the mall. But she still wants to look good and stay on top of the trends."

Thank you, Michelle!

Fashion Week Spring 2007 Footage

2007-01-11T23:59:00.000-05:00

Here's a video we made with the help of our friends from eyeseetv of the spring 2007 collections from Bustle and Andy The-Anh. There were a lot of other shows, some of which we saw, but unfortunately most of them conflicted with my pesky midterms.

However, we were able to glean some very important information about what will be hot this spring. It's all about legs. Short skirts, high heels and an eyefull of your gorgeous gams. Tone them, wax them, cover 'em with self tanner and stock up on flirty skirts, dresses and belts.

As you can see from the end of Andy's Show, belts are big now but they're going to be even bigger. They look great worn with a dress, over a sweater and well, pretty much anything. Have fun with it!

Bustle's collections are available in select boutiques in Toronto, Montreal, Calgary and Vancouver. Visit www.bustleclothing.com for a list of stores.

Andy The-Anh is available across Canada and USA. Visit www.andytheanh.com for a boutique listing or to see the whole collection on video!

Dear Endless, I'm in Love!

2007-01-11T12:54:00.000-05:00

I've recently learned about endless.com, which is an amazon.com affiliate that has a huge selection of shoes and bags for women, men and kids. The best part is, they give you 6 views of the products you like so you can see it from all angles and they also have a zoom feature so you can look closely at the details & workmanship.

I'm embarrased to admit that as I type this I'm still in my pajamas as I can hardly tear myself away! The selection and prices put the malls to shame and there are so many things I love here I don't know where to begin!

Here are a few of the gorgeous things I've found there: This BCBG Girls Bleeker Hobo ($198) will go with everything and last for years to come. I lust it.

I've always admired the sophistication of Adrienne Vittadini's clothes and bags and I absolutely love this one.

These are my dream booties. They are Charles by Charles David Tidy Boots for $149. I haven't been able to find anything even close to this in the malls. How cute are these!

And then there's this one, another Adrienne Vittadini bag, which is the most expensive at $328, but it's my favorite. I should probably stop now before I get in trouble, but I think this bag will work with everything.

Now, It's time for me to slowly step away from the computer and have a cold shower.

Men: What You Should Do For Us On Valentine's Day

2007-01-10T13:03:00.000-05:00

Valentine's Day can be tricky. Yes, it is a mass marketing effort to sell cards, flowers and chocolate. Yes, it can be overpriced and ridiculous, and yes it can make single people feel bad. But, it's coming nonetheless and we all need to deal with it.

Guys, if you do your job properly on this day you can score big points and very possibly, get it on! If you ignore the day entirely - even if we excuse you from it - we'll still feel a little bad that you did nothing for us. You don't need to spend a lot of money, it's your effort that will mean the most.

Here's a short list of do's and dont's to help you out:

Don't:

- Buy a box of cheap chocolates (especially in a heart shaped box). Most of us don't want the extra lard and the heart shapped box is pure cheeseball. If your girl is a chocoholic, buy her the real deal. A small box of Godiva or Fauchon chocolates will be much more appreciated than a big box of crapola from the drug store.

- Buy us a teddy bear. We're not 12.

- Buy the typical dozen red roses. Not imaginative at all. If you want to buy flowers, pick another color or get a few colours. A bouquet of peach, pink and red or pure white can be gorgeous.

- Take us to an expensive restaurant. Restaurants are rammed on the 14th, the prices are usually out of whack and it ends up feeling rushed and like a rip off. Also, it's not original.

Do:

- Cook us a candle light dinner. The effort you invest here will not go unnoticed. Even if you screw up a bit, we'll think you're adorable for trying.

- Take us somewhere you've heard we wanted to go. For example, if she's been talking about wanting to learn Salsa, take her to a salsa club that starts off with a lesson.

- Be original. Sometimes the best surprises are the ones we don't see coming. One of our members, Mamaluv, mentioned that her husband surprised her by taking her to see Sense and Sensibility on year. Her husband is the sort who hates that kind of movie but he did because he knew she'd love it. BIG points there.

We've started chatting about this in the forums and there have been some great tips so far. Check it out!

Suggestions? Please feel free to add them!

I'd Like To Speak to a Human Being Please

2007-01-08T10:18:00.000-05:00

I absolutely loathe automated telephone services. Especially the ones with a false sounding overly friendly psuedo human barking instructions in your ear followed by, "I'm sorry you're having difficulty!! Please tell me what you're looking for!!"

This bastardisation of customer service is the bane of my existence every time I am forced to use it. Giving these computer generated piss-offs a name just further insults my intelligence. "Hi, I'm Emily!!!"

Today, I had the misfortune of having to speak to another one of these stupid things. I stood in line at Ryerson to pay my tuition, came to the counter and whipped out my banking card.

"Hmmm, the transaction didn't go through." The tuition man said at me over his glasses.

I looked at the keypad in disbelief and it said I had reached my maximum limit. I was unaware my bank had me on a daily allowance. What am I, 12? Annoyed, I called the 1800 number on my bank card.

"Hi! I'm @sshole!! Welcome to blah blah blah bank!! Please tell me what you're looking for!"

"Customer Service"

"I'm sorry! I did not recognise your response!! Please choose one of the following 10 options!!

I pressed "0" about 12 times, my usual trick to get past these monkeys.

"I'm sorry! I did not recognise your response!! Please tell me what you're looking for!"

"Customer Service"

"I heard you say you'd like to speak to a representative! Is this correct? Please answer yes or no!"

"Yes"

"In order for me to further assist you, please tell me what this is for! Choose one of the following 10 op --"

"I want to speak to a human being!!!!"

"I'm sorry you're having difficulty! Please choose --"

"Human being!" I hollered, "Homo Sapien!!! Now!!"

"I heard you say you'd like to speak to a representative! Is this correct? Please answer yes or no!"

The tuition man looked at me uncomfortably.

I pressed "0" another 34 times. There was a very long pause. At least 30 seconds. For a second I thought the computer monkey hung up on me. Finally the phone rung about 20 times and I got an irritible representative on the phone. Perhaps he was angry at me for shouting at the monkey.

Thankfully, several minutes later the human banking representative sorted everything out for me and I paid my tuition.

"Sorry 'bout that!" I smiled sweetly at Ryerson tuition man.

I'm sure he thinks I'm a psycho.

Congratulations to BubbleShare!

2007-01-05T15:26:00.000-05:00

BubbleShare is my absolute favorite photo sharing tool, and it's just been bought by Toronto company, Kaboose for a nice chunk of change.

The company was founded by a friend of ours, Albert Lai. Alex also consulted for BubbleShare around the time we got married. There's an article in the Globe and Mail here.

Way to go, Albert! Enjoy your success.

Which Super Villain Are You?

2007-01-05T13:16:00.000-05:00

I've been spending some time on ChickAdvisor member, geekigirl's blog and she took this quiz that I just had to try. Here are my Super Villain results:

Your results:
You are Poison Ivy

You would go to almost any length for the protection of the environment including manipulation and elimination.

Click here to take the Supervillain Personality Quiz

Here are my Super Hero results:

Your results:
You are Wonder Woman

You are a beautiful princess
with great strength of character.

Click here to take the Superhero Personality Test

Geekigirl's blog is a great resource for sample sales and fashion news written in a funny/quirky tone.
iwantigot.geekigirl.com

Insomnia Due To Snoring

2007-01-05T01:43:00.000-05:00

A bullfrog is being strangled in my husband's throat. It's nearly 2am and once again I can't sleep due to his infernal snoring. I don't remember when it all began, but he never used to snore this much and I never used to have under eye bags each and every day.

The gentle prodding and/or jabbing of my pointy little elbows into his side is no longer an effective way to make him roll over or close his yap. I shudder to think of how many spiders he's eaten over the last several months.

To add injury to insult, he never believes me when I tell him about his ferocious snoring. I've even resorted to recording it and playing it back to him, which just makes him laugh. I've tried waking him up in the midst of it all but then he mutters some dream jibberish or says (his favorite), " I was just trying to think."

I have to work tomorrow but I've clearly given up trying to sleep or make him stop snoring seeing as I'm now on my computer.

Anyone have any suggestions how I can get him to stop before I put him out on the balcony?

Why Twister and Toddlers Don't Mix

2007-01-04T22:44:00.000-05:00

I took this video during the holidays. I heard my sister calling for help in the kitchen as it started and thought it was so funny I had to get it on film.

Luckily her digital camera was right there. Enjoy!

Bringin' Fanny Pack

2007-01-04T10:18:00.000-05:00

As new bloggers join ChickAdvisor I have the guilty pleasure of reading their blogs. Mostly it's for my own amusement but I'm also curious to know what sorts of people use our site.

I found the following on Karmacake's blog and I thought it was so funny, I had to share. Read it to Justin Timberlake's "Sexy Back":

We're bringin' Fanny pack...yahhhh....ya mutha fuckas it's a belted sack.....yahhhh....You gonna laugh and call our fanny whack? Yahhhhh....I'll whip it off and you'll get fanny smacked!

KC Says:
I HATE Fanny Packs!

P.S: Here's KarmaCake's Profile link

Happy New Year!

2006-12-31T19:04:00.000-05:00

I'm back!

I appologize to everyone for falling off the face of the earth for a bit, but I was on vacation!

I know that's the worst tradition ever and I'm not sure why it happens, but for some reason, since 2000 when I got severe mono on Christmas Eve, I get sick every year at Christmas. The whole fever, sniffly, sickly thing.

Since I almost always go home to Winnipeg for Christmas, I thought the weather and 8 family gatherings in 3 days were to blame. This year I swore not to get sick on Christmas and we packed up and drove down to North Carolina for a week to visit my Sister and her family. I thought avoiding the insanity and visiting a warmer climate would ensure my health this Christmas.

Well I was wrong. I woke up Christmas morning with a tickle in my throat and by nightfall I was achy, sniffly and sick. I felt worse on the 26th and even worse on the 27th. My dear sister pumped me full of cold medication and I did my best to stay positive and even headed out for a day of sight seeing.

Geeze, I look retarded here. Click on it for a closer look!

My sister took this picture. Generally I destroy this kind of evidence but we both look like such jerks here I had to leave it. It's just too funny.

We had a fantastic time and really enjoyed the vacation from our computers. I got my case replaced while I was gone so I no longer have a dirty little apple.

Now to nail down those pesky New Years resolutions.
Everyone, have a great time tonight! Happy New Year!

Laughed so hard I cried.

2006-12-30T00:00:00.000-05:00

I had to pass on this blog post because it is just so hilarious. It involves babies in a bathtub. I'll say no more as you must read it for yourself!

Merry Christmas!

2006-12-25T12:34:00.000-05:00

I hope you are all enjoying your holidays and that you've stuffed yourselves silly on all sorts of deliciously fattening food. We decided to do something different this year and drove down South to visit my niece and nephews.

I am currently surrounded by shreds of wrapping paper, ribbons, half opened toys and bits of pre-chewed food mashed into the carpet that were rejected by my two year old nephew with a loud, "Yuuuucky!"

We haven't seen much of the city yet but managed to squeeze in a little shopping. We're both impressed with how friendly everyone here is. We Canadians like to pride ourselves on our friendliness, but these N.C'give some serious competition. They are some of the nicest people we've ever met. You can cut them off in traffic (accidentally of course since we missed that last turn), ask silly questions at the cash register about your purchases with a mile long line up behind you and not one complaint. In Toronto we eat people alive for those kinds of offenses. Since this is my second visit here I know it's not just holiday cheer.

The only negative experience we had was one not so bright store clerk (S.B), who tried to tell us that a digital camera had to be at least 7 megapixels in order to be able to edit pictures.

S.B (southern belle): "Oh, Ah wouldn't ba anything less than 7 megapixels or it won't let you edit your pictures"

Me: "Um, yes you can. Whether it has 4 megapixels or 10, The editing is done on the computer not on the camera so, unless you plan on making giant posters that require that kind of resolution, a 5 mega pixel camera will be just fine."

S.B tittered patronizingly at me for a moment with a look on her face that said, wow you're stupid. Then said impatiently, "Ahm tellin' you if it's less than 7 megapixels you're hardly gonna be able to do anythin' at awl."

Right. Ok then. Alex led me out before I had a chance to educate her.

We're definitely enjoying our visit and plan on doing as little work as possible. Enjoy your time with your families and friends!

Ali + Alex

My First Attempt at Pole Dancing...

2006-12-19T11:18:00.000-05:00

I finally got on the pole.

I make a habit of checking out the deals we offer on ChickAdvisor for, um, quality control purposes. I felt it was my moral obligation to test out pole dancing (how can I promote it if I haven't tried it?). So, I brought 3 ChickAdvisor members to Flirty Girl Fitness to test out the free class they're offering on our deals page. Everyone loved it! They had us doing all sorts of cool spins on the pole and we even learned a choreographed routine.

What surprised me the most was what a great workout it was. We were all sweating and sore later on.

Definitely the most fun workout I've ever done and I love the gym. The staff and other members were all really friendly too, which helped because we were all nervous about trying this.

Now how to convince Alex to install a pole in the living room...

An African Christmas

2006-12-14T23:20:00.000-05:00

I just experienced the coolest corporate Christmas party I've ever been to. Alex works for a luxury travel company whose trips and parties are always unforgettable. Every year there is a new party theme and everyone comes out in full costume. Alex and I are always sadly under dressed because we don't have the same costume making skills his coworkers have, or frankly, the time. We were supposed to be Texan tourists but we failed badly...

Anyway, yesterday Alex comes home with 30 minutes to spare for the two of us to get ready. I asked him how we should dress. He said that some people were going as animals. Animals?? He wasn't kidding. There was an ape, a giraffe, a diamond miner (who slipped me a few "diamonds") and a dude wrapped in saran wrap. Can you guess what he was supposed to be? We were thinking maybe he was a condom but later he explained he was a mirage. Yep, that's the kind of creative characters Alex works with.

There were African dancers and the hotel ballroom was decked out magnificently. The owner came as a sheik and lounged on the pillows by the bar. It was a really fun night!

When Alex and I were about to leave, one of his coworkers sauntered over and attempted to prevent Alex from leaving.

"You know what I told my wife?" he slurred at both of us.

"I said. If yure gunna make me leave early from thissparty. I'm going by myshelf."

He stumbled back onto the dance floor. We got in the cab.

Introducing meebo!

2006-12-14T16:39:00.000-05:00

We've just partnered with chat site meebo.com so you can connect with your friends and other ChickAdvisor members while you surf! It's really easy to set up and you can hook it up to your existing accounts such as msn, yahoo, googletalk and aim.

To set it up, go to meebo.com and create a meebo account. Then go to their widgets section, get their code snippet and embed it in your ChickAdvisor profile under Widgets.

Enjoy!

Farty Cows

2006-12-12T21:51:00.000-05:00

Oooh, like this one too! How cow farts are bad for the environment.

Matt Damon Does Mathew McConaughey

2006-12-12T21:44:00.000-05:00

Ahh... one hunk imitating another. Perfect.

Holiday Tipping in NYC

2006-12-11T14:02:00.000-05:00

I found a great article on NYmag.com about holiday tipping that I just had to share. The following is based on a survey nymag did with 60 workers in New York's service sector to find out the average holiday tip. Here's the low down from nymag:

The Doorman
Average Holiday Tip: $98
Median Holiday Tip: $50
Average Forecast for 2006 Tips: $5,100
Percent of Clients Who Tip: 89%
Most Generous Tip or Gift: “$2,000 from one person.”

What They Really Think: “One resident gave me a stack of envelopes and asked me to divvy them up, but there wasn’t one for me. It was probably just an oversight.” “I’ve only declined a tip once, because it was $5 and I think they were trying to embarrass me.” “Renters tip less than owners.” “I don’t want wine or chocolate, just cash, only cash.” “We all know what the others get.” “And we like to lie about it and say we got more.”

The Garage Attendant
Average Holiday Tip: $48
Median Holiday Tip: $47.50
Average Forecast for 2006 Tips: $2,800
Percent of Clients Who Tip: 73%
Most Generous Tip or Gift: “$400 from one person.”

What They Really Think: “The more rich you are, the less you give.” “I have a guy with a Porsche. Last year, he gave $100 and I told him I deserved more. Right away he gave me $400.” “I use my tip money to go to my country, the Dominican Republic.” “I want to go to Las Vegas with mine.” “I’ll give people a car wash to get more.” “If I get too much, I have to tell the company.” “The tips are better on the Upper West Side than on the East Side.”

The Colorist and Hairdresser
Average Holiday Tip: $79
Median Holiday Tip: $77.50
Average Forecast for 2006 Tips: $7,000
Percent of Clients Who Tip: 80%
Most Generous Tip or Gift: “A plane ticket to London for New Year’s Eve.”

What They Really Think: “I call my clients on their birthdays. By the time the holiday comes around, they remember me.” “The ones that you are much more friendly with are the bigger tippers. It makes me wonder, Should I be tipping my therapist?” “I was tipped better when I cut hair uptown.” “One time, a really good client tipped me a check and it bounced. She was going through a divorce, and it was a joint account.” “Europeans don’t tip as well.”

The Dog Walker
Average Holiday Tip: $41
Median Holiday Tip: $37.50
Average Forecast for 2006 Tips: $255
Percent of Clients Who Tip: 63%
Most Generous Tip or Gift: “$300 plus a gourmet food basket.”

What They Really Think: “Sometimes people tip a very small amount; I’d rather get nothing.” “I’ll leave the dogs little gifts, pick up an extra bag of treats, put a ribbon on it for bigger tips.” “The wife will usually give me more than the husband.” “I’ll be a little extra-friendly to get bigger tips.” “My best tippers are not the wealthiest.”

The Personal Trainer
Average Holiday Tip: $188
Median Holiday Tip: $100
Average Forecast for 2006 Tips: $1,688
Percent of Clients Who Tip: 65%
Most Generous Tip or Gift: “$5,000 and a round-trip ticket for two to anywhere I wanted.”

What They Really Think: “Usually they give me the amount I charge for a session.” “There have been unsatisfying nonmoney gifts. Someone gave me a basket of candy. It was just silly.” “For me, it’s usually a handshake or a hug. Definitely eye contact to show appreciation.” “I’ve been known to give the next session for free as a thank-you.” “I give them jump ropes and free triathlon training.”

The Nanny
Average Holiday Tip: $349
Median Holiday Tip: $300
Average Forecast for 2006 Tips: $417
Percent of Clients Who Tip: 90%
Most Generous Tip or Gift: “A trip to the Bahamas.”

What They Really Think: “Any tip is a good tip.” “If I’m working on an actual holiday, I expect to be paid generously.” “Two weeks’ pay is typical, but $350 shows she doesn’t appreciate my work. I deserve $2,000.” “I get more money if the kids are difficult.” “I don’t really acknowledge a tip unless it’s unusually generous. Then I just say thank you.” “I definitely know rich people that stiff their nannies.”

Yikes! And we thought Christmas shopping for the family was expensive enough!
But as a friend of mine told me who used to live in New York, service industry workers in New York take their professions very seriously. They go the extra mile for you because it's a matter of pride. You tip them because they deserve it and worked hard for it.

Italy's Anorexia Summit

2006-12-10T22:24:00.000-05:00

It's called The National Manifesto of Self-Regulation, and it is a plan devised by the Italian state and luxury industry authorities to respond to growing concerns about eating disorders rampant with young models.

According to Fashion Wire Daily, the goal is to, "create a manifesto governing models' size that will be signed by designers, big brands, model agencies, photographers and make up artists " before the next season which begins January 14th. The Manifesto states that models must have a body mass index or BMI of at least 18. So for example, models who are 5 feet 9 inches tall must weigh a minimum of about 123 pounds or 56 kilos.

This comes on the heels of the deaths of models Ana Carolina Reston, 21 of Brazil and Luisel Ramos, 22 of Uroguay whose diets consisted of apples and tomatoes (Reston), and lettuce leaves and diet coke (Ramos). Reston died of liver failure and Ramos of a heart attack during Fashion Week in Montevideo, Uruguay.

Source

Kelly Video: Shoes

2006-12-08T13:48:00.000-05:00

This is so ridiculous I had to share it.

MissChickie Attempts to "Vlog"

2006-12-07T11:31:00.000-05:00

I sometimes find writing hard because it's not my #1 strength. So, in keeping with the new video reviews on the website I decided to do a video blog or "vlog" for those of you who do this on a regular basis.

Watch as I embarrass myself!

Get On The Pole. You Know You Want To.

2006-12-03T22:14:00.000-05:00

Well at least I certainly wanted to after going to Flirty Girl Fitness to meet with Co-Founder, Krista Knee and make this video. It's an amazing workout and I can't wait to try it though I envision myself garnering at least one bloody nose.

Who's coming with me?
Flirty Girl is offering 1 FREE first time class exclusively for ChickAdvisor members valued at $20. Print off the offer from our Deals section to redeem. (Should be up shortly)

More Stuff Coming Soon!!

Where'd You Get That? Is Alive!

2006-12-03T22:06:00.000-05:00

Here's our first attempt at street fashion with Where'd You Get That? We stop total strangers on the street and find out where they bought their clothes. Weee!

This particular episode was shot in November on campus at Ryerson University and is just a snippet of some of the cool stuff we found. We'd like to show more stylin' people in the future but for now we're just getting our feet wet and decided to keep it short and sweet.

We also went to private Toronto boutique Poa Studio and interviewed hip and fabulous owner Catherine Pacak on what's hot this spring.

We shot another episode of Where'd You Get That? in October at the Toronto Eaton Centre which I'm still trying to salvage but there were some technical difficulties so it may just resurface one day as a spoof episode where everything went wrong. We'll see...

Anyway, love it? hate it? I'm open to your feedback.

And The Award For Funniest Gift Goes To...

2006-11-30T20:24:00.000-05:00

What do you buy for the ambitious girl friend who has it all, the office gift exchange, or better yet, your demanding female boss?

How 'bout a little BALLBUSTER Cream?

While the witty packaging alone is reason enough to buy it with it's big nutcracker and inspirational quote from Art of War, “Hold out bait to entice the enemy. Feign disorder and crush him”, you’ve got a perfect quirky gift (read: gag gift) for that hard to shop for career woman, femme fatale or just keep it for yourself!

This all natural cream is packed with essential oils and Shea Butter and has a delicate citrusy scent. Though it's meant as a hand cream, I slathered it on my elbows and feet too.

Corner Office Beauty carries a number of humorous all natural beauty products to suit many occasions in a woman's life including Transition Man Soap to help you, "Move on already" and "wash away the regret" after a bad break up.

Soccermom and Career Bitch perfume, Whistle BlowerLip Armor and Trophy Husband Shower Gel are also great gift ideas, which will surely bring a smile to even the Scroogiest of faces.

ChickAdvisor FREEBIE ALERT!

We're giving away a FREE BALLBUSTER (value of $22) courtesy of Corner Office Beauty just for adding a new video review on ChickAdvisor!*

*limit of 1 BALLBUSTER per member while supplies last. Shipping to Canada and USA only.

Winners of Our Latest Sephora Contest!

2006-11-29T22:57:00.000-05:00

Thanks to everyone who participated in our contest to win 1 of 5 $100 gift certificates to Sephora! Your reviews help grow our site into a more relevant resource for you and other "chicks"!

Congratulations to our winners, Amanda, StarTammy, ilikecitylights, Christina and hankscorpio!

All winners have been contacted by email. Stay tuned, we have lots of fun things planned!!

Diapers and Dolls and Toys, Oh My!

2006-11-28T07:53:00.000-05:00

For the past week our apartment has been taken over by something other than computers and programmers. Family!! To be exact, 7 family members, 3 of whom were under 7 years old. I had no idea my apartment could even get that messy or I could be that tired.

Barbies and toy cars everywhere and the smell of diapers in the air, I don't know how my sister does it and still looks so fabulous. I enjoy my auntie-hood very much and we had a lot of fun skating, swimming and seeing the sites but I had no idea how much work and how little sleep is involved with small children. I truly believe mothers have the toughest job of all.

Still, they've just left and I already miss hearing my toddler nephew pleading, "I tooo!" when he wanted to be included in something and the baby drooling and gurgling all over me with a huge grin on his chubby little face and my niece who has just learned to skate saying in her sweet tiny southern accent, "Ahm faahn" (I'm fine) every time she fell down and picked her self back up with a smile determined to become a better skater.

This morning I dropped my Mom off, the last of my cherished visitors. I'm exhausted but I can't wait to do it all over again.

Video Reviews!

2006-11-22T23:14:00.000-05:00

We've just launched video reviews with videoegg! You can now show us that bad haircut or that gorgeous new lipstick with a video review! You can either upload a video from your computer, camera or cell phone or record it with your webcam instantly. Try it!

*videoegg does not support firefox on Macs, so if you are a Mac user, please use safari. You may be required to install a plugin if you don't have one.

Where'd You Get That?

2006-11-19T22:42:00.000-05:00

We women check each other out all the time. C'mon admit it! You see a well dressed person walk by, give them the once over and wonder where they bought that gorgeous bag or those sexy shoes. Most of us don't have the guts to stop a stranger and ask them where they shop.

Well, I think it's time someone did.

We've been working on a show called Where'd You Get That? where we go out on the street with our cameras and find the well dressed, then find out where they shop and how much they spent. It was so much fun!

I shot it as part of a school project, but am considering making it a regular podcast if it works out (and when the weather is better in the spring).

We shot one episode in October which was unfortunately fraught with technical difficulties and probably won't see the light of day (sorry to the fashionably few who would have appeared on that episode). The episode we shot this month on campus at Ryerson was cleaner so we'll be putting that live later this week or next.

In the mean time, my Bubbleshare slider on the left is from both shoots to give you a sneak peak.

Fun, fun!

*Sasha gets her style from London England's Top Shop

What NOT to buy her for Christmas

2006-11-17T13:42:00.000-05:00

This is for the dude who runs into the mall on Christmas eve 30 min before the stores close and frantically buys the first thing he sees. I'd like to help you...

My brother is infamous in the family for his last minute Christmas shopping escapades. Though he's extremely smart and capable, he has never been able to conquer Christmas shopping and has on occasion, done a terrible job indeed.

One such occasion is now known in our family as simply, the "Safeway Incident". It was Christmas Eve at 4:45pm. All of the stores were closing at 5pm. We were at a family gathering when it suddenly dawned on my brother that he had yet to do any Christmas shopping. He quietly slipped out and drove to the nearest store. Any store would do, he thought as he pulled into the Safeway parking lot at 4:55pm. For those of you who don't have Safeway, that is a GROCERY STORE.

My brother thought he was very smart as he manically pushed the grocery cart around the store grabbing random cans of this, a bag of apples, a bag of that, trying to cover off everyone in his list before the store closed. Luckily they happened to have a few Christmas teddy bears on display so he grabbed a couple of those too.

Just in the nick of time, he had grocery store presents for everyone on his list. He was actually proud of himself.

We never let him live it down.

I've started a discussion of what not to buy her in our forums here. Please participate. Then make your man read it.

Call For Help TV and Me!

2006-11-16T17:44:00.000-05:00

I recently had the pleasure of meeting the lovely Amber MacArthur over a manicure. She's a true girl's girl and a rising star on the web and tv. Aside from her giving me some fantastic career advice, she hooked me up! And, as a result I was invited to appear on Call For Help as a guest to talk about ChickAdvisor today. Yay!

At first I was pretty nervous thinking they'd be asking me all of these difficult technical questions (being a techie show and all), but they didn't and it was actually fun! The producers and hosts were so fun - esp Leo LaPorte who was fascinated by my shoes. Sorry, Leo. I don't think they come in your size ;)

The show is airing December 26th.

Krafty Kameleon: It All Began at Beads on 5th

2006-11-13T23:15:00.000-05:00

"We were in New York for the weekend and my wife and I wandered into the bead stores because she loves this stuff and I started looking at all of the different beads, the glass, the wood, and the pearls. I started tinkering around thinking, I’ll make her a souvenir from New York.”

So Paolo Fietta set out to make his wife a necklace and so it began. “She started wearing the pieces to work and her coworkers kept asking her where she got her jewelry.”

Husband and wife team, Paolo and Pina Fietta turned their love of making jewelry into a business with newly launched www.kraftykameleon.com.

Krafty Kameleon carries a fabulous collection of high quality handmade rings, necklaces and bracelets with fresh water pearls, Swarovsky crystals, a range of semi-precious stones, shell, crystals and glass including fire jade, turquoise, coral, sponge coral, porcelain beads from Lisbon, citrine, peridot, walnut wood, poppy jasper, black onyx, sterling silver and murano glass.

Pina has always had a passion for jewelry, and both she and Paolo have family histories of Italian artisans working with stone, marble, wood and glass.

“I grew up working with stone and wood", says Paolo. "I also have a particular affinity for murano glass because I grew up close to the industry and I’d always seen the masters at work, I mean the stuff that they’d make out of glass was amazing. I have uncles and relatives who are artisans with wood and ceramics so you’re just inspired.”

Krafty Kameleon makes custom orders so if you see something you like but you’d prefer it in a different color or length or style, it’s no problem.

Now imagine getting one of these gems for 50% off! To celebrate the launch of their website this fall, Krafty Kameleon is offering 50% off of 10 selected items exclusively for ChickAdvisor members.

Simply click on the ChickAdvisor Exclusives link to see the selection.

*Discounted Items are first come first served. All prices are in Canadian dollars and they ship to Canada and U.S.A. Offer is limited to 1 discounted item per person.

www.kraftykameleon.com

Will Farrell is The Phantom of the Opera

2006-11-08T23:31:00.000-05:00

I think this is definitely my favorite version so far. Enjoy!

Britney Spears Files for Divorce from K-Fed

2006-11-07T21:29:00.000-05:00

Ok once again I break my own rule about not talking about celebrities, but I just read on Rogers, Daily Dish that Britney Spears has filed for divorce from Kevin Federline. They've been married since 2004 and have 2 kids.

I think a lot of people are very happy for her now.

Only 1 Week Left to Enter Sephora Contest!

2006-11-07T15:41:00.000-05:00

The contest expires Wed November 15th.

Pssst! The odds of winning here are really good!

Enter away, my lovelys!