Start Your Own Charity

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Transition Man + The Sob Story Game

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



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

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

A few pointers:

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

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

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

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

Blog or Website Badge Thingys

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

One More Reason to Love Le Gourmand...

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

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

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

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

A Tribute to Those Who Waste Our Money...

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

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

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

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

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

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

In fact, there isn't.

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

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

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

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

Winterlude, My @ss!

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

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

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

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

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

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

Win FREE Organic Facials For a Year!

This deal is too good not to mention.

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

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

The specially priced facials are as follows:

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

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

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

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

Read Elixir reviews here. OR Read the Forum discussion here

I'm jealous of you in advance...

Sweet Lingerie for Cheap!

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

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

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

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

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

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








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



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

I've Been Shopping Again...

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

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

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

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


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











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

They are $55 CAD and available on their website.








Now if only they would start using diamonds...

New Cities, New Stuff!

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

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

Aaaaand...

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

Rick Mercer's Tax Time Spoof

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

What Was She Thinking?

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

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

Taking A Day Off

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

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

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

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

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

Bride Has Massive Hair Wig Out

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

Shame On You!

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

Banned Commercial

Best birth control ever...


Thanks for the video link, mamaluv!

Just Exactly What Is The Problem Here?

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

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

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

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.