How to Score a Free Ride on the Subway!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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!

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

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!

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

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

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!

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?

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

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

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

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!

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.

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!

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...

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

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!

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

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

Matt Damon Does Mathew McConaughey

Ahh... one hunk imitating another. Perfect.

Holiday Tipping in NYC

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

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

This is so ridiculous I had to share it.

MissChickie Attempts to "Vlog"

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.

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!

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...

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!

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!

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!

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?

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

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!

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

"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

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

Britney Spears Files for Divorce from K-Fed

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!

The contest expires Wed November 15th.

Pssst! The odds of winning here are really good!

Enter away, my lovelys!

NOW Lounge Fails the Latté Factor

Café hopping is one of the few pleasures I have left in life since I became a workaholic. I love the music, the fact that my frothy beverage messes up someone else's hard to clean cappuccino maker instead of my own, and I get to observe people who have a life.

However, if the music is bad or worse, the coffee is bad I start to feel resentful. Like today for instance. I first went to the Bulldog Coffee near campus, which was recommended to me by a fellow student who shared my love of good coffee, but the tiny little place was quite crowded and I didn't want to take up a seat for the 1 1/2 hours I needed. So I went down the street several blocks to NOW Lounge.

At first it all looked good. Lots of space, comfortable seating, nice lighting, but my latté was terrible so I promptly wrote a review about it on C.A, "While I salute NOW Lounge for the free Internet access and comfortable environment/funky music, I spit upon your lattes. For starters, no Lactose-free milk, 2nd, this is the yuckiest latte I've ever had and the barista made it so overflowing, I've already spilled on my jeans. I've been here a few times before but never ordered coffee. I won't order coffee here again..." And so on, and so forth.

I just feel mislead. If you're going to have a cappuccino machine of that caliber behind the counter, the drinks d@mn well better be good!

I knew I should have gone to B Espresso Bar. I'm sorry I strayed!

It won't happen again.

Exam Skin

Exams are just bad for so many reasons...
You eat more, you sleep and excercise less, you rest your chin on your hand and voila! Up pops a new crop of zits you never saw coming. You look like a teenager again, and not in a good way.

Even though this has happened to me without fail every November and April, I still binge on chocolate icecream and sit for hours at my computer with my jaw in hand creating the perfect breeding ground for embarrasing ugly pimples.

I have yet to figure out a solution I can live with. I'm not prepared to give up the chocolate icecream (it's survival ok???) and I've tried to keep my hands off my face but when I'm that tired, it's just not possible.

On the bright side, I plan to go for an oxygen facial at Elixir later in the month (50% off!!) Let's hope that helps!

Anyone have any other suggestions on how to clear up exam skin?

Oh, and BTW, as I'm typing this Cat Woman is playing in the background and I'm so embarrassed for Halle. No wonder she got a Raspberry for that. I blush on her behalf!

How to Stay Chirpy While Raising Funding

1. Pretend those outstanding bills are really fan mail!

2. Ask the staff if you can start paying them in chocolate chip cookies!

3. Imagine every investor who turns you down twirling around in his or her underpants!

4. Offer to write up a really swell review for your landlord in lieu of this month's rent!

5. Spend a little time each day perusing travel sites for exotic places you'll visit when you hit it big.

6. As a Christmas gift to your co-founder, cuddle up 'round the computer and read the blog posts you wrote for each other!

7. Pretend you're famous on the subway. Wear dark sunglasses and try to look important. Who knows? That person staring at you across the car could be one of your unique visitors!

8. Prepare an acceptance speech in front of the mirror. This will come in mighty handy when your site becomes wildly successful and you're getting awards out of the wazoo, but remember to practice pausing in between sentences for the thunderous applause.