I miss you New York!!!!

Hello Friends,

I'm back from my crazy whirlwind of a vacation from New York City. As expected, it was filled with tons of fun, lots of sightseeing and maybe a tad bit of shopping (really, me, shopping in New York city, that's unheard of). So what am I waiting for? Here are some highlights of our trip:

1) The New York Palace

I chose this hotel based on the rave reviews on tripadvisor. Okay, that's the semi-truth. I also chose it because scenes of Gossip Girl were shot here and based on the pics it looked like a really glamorous and fun hotel (and not that expensive, we got our room for about $200 a night):

The service in this hotel is incredible. The room is huge with a marble bathroom and felt incredibly homey. I love how they sent up truffles up to my room in honor of my birthday and the little package that they sent up when I told them that I forgot my toothbrush:

And check out the view from our room (it's of St.Pauls (?) Cathedral) and I could actually see Saks Fifth Avenue from my room. The night view was spectacular:

2) Hush Hip Hop Tour:

My friends all laughed when I told them that I was going on a New York City Hip Hop tour. They all kept asking what a hip hop tour was, I don't blame them. I had no idea either. Basically it was a 4 hour tour with a 'celebrity' rap guide who takes tourists out to Harlem and the Bronx to teach them about the culture of hip hop. The tour is exactly how you picture it, a bus full of white people curious about hip hop. It was super fun, our guide (Grandmaster Caz) was wildly energetic and and kept us all entertained with stories of 'the hood' and had us all busting out to rap music on the bus. We had a breakdancing lesson in a basketball courtyard in Harlem, a lesson in the art of Graffiti and a walk down the bronx hall of fame (where our guide proudly displayed the street sign with his name on it):

I didn't take a lot of pics on the tour as I was very lazy, however, to find more about the tour check out their website: www.hushtours.com. This tour was definitely one of the most memorable parts of the trip!

3) Hell's Kitchen Flea Market


Okay, not a lot of pics here as the vendors had signs everywhere not to take pics but as I am such a rebellious person I couldn't help but take this one shot below:

Now, isn't just a beautiful Kodak moment? Everyone should have in their home this status, of a woman pleasuring herself in the bath. I begged hubby to let me buy this but sadly he said NO. Just as well, I guess it would be kind of awkward to explain it to customs on my way back home.

4) Shopping


So I saved the best for last. The shopping in New York City is insane. Our hotel was literally minutes from all the big players: Saks Fifth Avenue, Bloomingdales, Bergdorf Goodman, Barneys. So for fun, I enlisted the help of a personal shopper at Saks Fifth Avenue. It was a free service so I decided to make an appt. with Charlene, who walked around the store with me looking at accessories and I couldn't help but stop by Chanel:

And later, I made my way to the YSL store to have a look at their Arty Ring collection (God, I wanted them all!!!!!):

And, oh dear, just a few things had to follow me back home:

Investment shopping anyone?????

So that's all for now. Will post more reveals this week. Have a great night, and thank you so much for reading!

How I spent my 35th birthday.

Hello Friends,

So yesterday was my 35th birthday:

I'm not one to lie about my age yet as I am saving that for when I turn forty. I had huge plans for my birthday, I was going to work from home  go to the spa, go shopping and have a great birthday dinner with my family at Red Lobster. But, as luck would have it, little son got sick so mommy had to cancel all of her plans to stay home with him:

Poor thing, but crap, let's be honest. That's really not the best way to spend your birthday. (I'm not a bad mom for thinking that, right, RIGHT?)

Luckily, I was able to re-book my spa appointment at the Elmwood Spa for today, and 24 hours later, voila, I.AM.IN.HEAVEN. The Elmwood Spa is in a what is considered a very busy and vibrant area of Toronto. Although there is a strip club down the road (Zanzibar is a Toronto landmark, you know) don't let that deter you from what lies ahead in this absolutely gorgeous haven:

I have actually made it a tradition to come to this spa every year on my birthday. Why you ask? Because they offer their spa patrons a free birthday lunch during the week of your birthday. There is a catch though, and that is that you have to come in between Monday-Thursday the week of your birthday and you have to order any service that totals more that $100.00. My cheap ass likes anything free, so this is a big bonus for me. The lunch is a 3 course meal, and it was really, really good:

Arugula salad with mangoes, apples, celery and vinegrette, Steaks and Sweet Potato Fries, Apple/Cranberry cobbler with Vanilla ice cream

The restaurant is gorgeous, and they encourage everyone to eat in their robes. How awesome is that? After eating myself into a food coma I somehow managed to drag my butt to the massage room where my favorite masseuse in the world Lester was waiting for me. Seriously, if you are in Toronto and looking for an awesome masseuse then Lester is your man. He specializes in deep tissue massage and is always so hard to book with because he is just so damn popular (and he didn't laugh when i asked him to take this picture of me):

Yes, under the 3 layers of blankets and mess of hair, that is me, in a puddle of relaxation

I highly, highly recommend that you too, should always go to the spa on your birthday. I know it ain't cheap but it's so nice to spoil yourself, and to remind everyone that today is the day that you graced the world with your presence (haha!). For more information about the Elmwood spa, please visit their website www.elmwoodspa.ca.

And, my birthday fun does not end there. My hubby is treating me to a trip to New York city and we leave TOMORROW!!! So I'll be back next week with new posts and maybe some new purchases???

See you next week!!! Thanks so much for reading!!

OOTD- My favorite summer dress

Dress: H & M
Shoes: Geox
Bag: Louis Vuitton
Necklace: Tiffany's

This outfit post is upon request for my good friend Vicky. This dress has been getting a lot of love lately- I've been wearing it recently to work, to my son's SK graduation and out to dinner with the ladies. It's the perfect summer dress, light enough for those sweltering muggy days (which Toronto has had 0 of lately) and loose enough to fit in a few buffet meals. For those of you that don't know me, I live love to eat.  An important criteria for me when shopping for clothes is whether or not I could still breathe in it after eating the ultimate feast at Red Lobster. 

Yes, I am playing catch with my Louis Vuitton. Clearly I am running out of posing ideas.

Another great thing about this dress was the price- it was $39!!! Can you believe it??? And what about the shoes? I.LOVE.THOSE.SHOES. Even though the heel is a little higher then I normally wear they are surprisingly comfortable and very lightweight. Geox is known for comfortable footwear but I never thought that I would find a pair this stylish:

And.... this is completely off topic but last night I had the pleasure of seeing the one and only LIONEL RITCHIE in concert here in Toronto. We were dancing ALL NIGHT LONG (hehe) as Lionel certainly knew how to work the crowd! And thanks to bucket loads of botox he looked awesome as well. If you ever get the opportunty to see him in concert go check it out (and don't worry if the crowd looks like a Depends convention, you'll still have a blast!).


Thanks for reading!

OOTD- Wild Pink

Top: Zara
Skirt: BCBG
Bag: Marc by Marc Jacobs
Shoes: Steve Madden
Necklace: Tiffany's

So one of my goals for the summer was to stay away from black, and to try to populate my color-deprived closet of some nice bright colors. When I saw this top from Zara I knew that it had to be mine. Don't you just love the how vibrant this shade of pink is? 


And just to do something a little unexpected, I decided to pair this outfit with these really adorable shoes (that I got on sale, which makes them even more super adorable):

And here's the outfit all together:

And I thought that I would add a nice grey bag to the mix for work:

Anyways... that's all folks! By the way, what unexpected combinations have you been wearing lately? Would love to hear!


Have a great weekend!

How to make Chocolate Covered Strawberries

****Warning****- this post will make you drool, so keep a bib nearby :)


So, today was my son's graduation from Senior Kindergarden and of course the parents were asked to bring some goodies for the kids. I literally pondered for hours what I was going to make, searched the net for extremely creative ideas that would go above and beyond the generic rice krispie square (but damn, those things are so good) and wanted something healthy but decadent at the same time. So brilliant me came up with Chocolate Covered Strawberries and they were so freakin' easy to make that I just had to share the recipe with you.

What you will need:

A bag of Semi Sweet Chocolate chips
White chocolate (Baker's square are what I used and they rock)
Waxed or Parchment paper
Fresh Strawberries

PREP TIME: 1 hour total (about 30 minutes to prepare chocolate, dipping, decorating, etc) and 30 minutes in the fridge. Best if made the day of serving.

STEP 1:

Wash and dry strawberries (and leave the hulls attached)

STEP 2:

Take a cup or two of chocolate chips:

STEP 3:

Melt chocolate in the microwave (for a few minutes on half power- stopping halfway to stir):

STEP 4:

Dip strawberries in chocolate and let the excess drip off (in your mouth, if you prefer- hehe) and place on parchment paper:

STEP 5:

To make them look extra fancy, microwave some white chocolate until melted, let cool for about 10 minutes or so and then scoop into ziploc bag like so:

STEP 6:

Cut the tinest little hole at the end of the ziploc bag and drizzle over the chocolate covered strawberries:

STEP 7:

Marvel in the fact that you just created a masterpiece:

STEP 8:

Put them in the fridge for about 30 minutes and you're good to go!!!

Seriously, making these is sooooooooo easy, even for a goofball baker like myself. I made almost 50 strawberries today and they were all gone within 15 minutes. Every child and adult face that I saw covered in chocolate today was because they ate one of my treats. I was so proud :) So, if you want to be a hit at your next gathering, I highly recommend trying these bad boys out. The only con is that you might be asked to bring them EVERY SINGLE TIME.

Let me know if try this recipe! Happy dipping :)