I can barely contain my excitement. It is Friday evening, there is 5cm of fresh snow on the ground and the weekend holds great promise. Well I shouldn’t say “great” but definitely the promise of a good time. There are new places to experience, food to be ate and drinks to be drank all over the next 48 hours. Hopefully accompanied by a few more medals for the Canadian Olympic team.
Here a is song to start your weekend – this one always gets me going. CM
Filed under Things I Love
Following CM’s post about the pictures above her couch….we actually came across the crazy streamer restaurant in NYC by accident!! We were walking in the East Village not paying attention, and all of a sudden Christine stops in her tracks, points to the wonderful tackiness of xmas lights, tinsel, and streamers, and immediately we ran inside. We were so excited, we didn’t even know what kind of cuisine it was. The menu read Royal Bangladesh – delicious Indian!
The food was really good and our bill came to a whopping $15 total! cra-zy.
We were convinced this was the restaurant that Carrie and Miranda went to for New Years Even in SATC the Movie, but it wasn’t. We were thrilled by our dinner and the tacky decor, but then it got even better - the waiters started playing a techno Happy Birthday song for the table beside us while clapping and turning the lights off and on…I’ll let the video explain….
Filed under Places To Go
I have mentioned in a previous post that my apartment came equipped with a wood burning fire-place. When I saw the retro, floral tiles I wasn’t sure what to think but I think they fit in just perfectly in my shabby chic living room. It has been snowing non-stop in Toronto so curled up on my couch with the fire burning is where I have been all week.
Lanterns were visual display props from the retailer I work for.
Painting was a gift from my last Birthday. Frames from Ikea and Target.
Vase was $1.99 from VV Boutique. I think this green glass may become a collector’s item for me. Candle holders are $6 from Kitchen Stuff Plus.
Blue pillow from HomeSense. Throw is actually a shawl from Bedo that I wear from time to time but it spends most of its time on my furniture. Three white picture frames are from Kitchen Stuff Plus and photography is by my friends Jaime & Janelle Barash. Below are the three prints on my wall. Photos were taken in New York City. CM
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Ice Fest took place in the Bloor-Yorkville neighbourhood Feb. 20-21
I came dressed for the occasion in a Grandma Chic sweater that I bought years ago from a store called Neat Stuff - all you Niagara readers know what I’m talking about. My aviator hat is by Parkhurst; scarf is from Suzy Shier; legging pants are from Mendocino; boots are Steve Madden, and my belt was from a clothing swap party.
Grandma sweaters are the best. Comfy. Cozy. JD
Filed under Places To Go, Style
Christine and I ventured to newbie Mexican resto Chimichanga. The vibe was good, food was delish, and let me tell you the margaritas were SO STRONG! I almost died. This was by far the strongest drink I’ve ever had (see below for my reaction). JD
The lack of snow in Toronto this year has been great for our leather shoes. Julie and I both wore our own version of oxfords to work on casual Friday. Julie wore her black woven oxfords with grey argyle socks and her jeans cuffed. My jazz shoes were worn with bright blue plaid socks and stovepipe skinny jeans. Both pairs were purchased at Century 21 in New York City. Coincidentally, the last time I wore the jazz shoes I went out for Mexican and accidentally spilled my leftovers all over them. My shoe repair man was not impressed with that cleaning :( I was more careful this time around. CM
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This just made my night. LOL – I broke out laughing at the video, but I seriously love this song. Aren’t the 80′s ridiculously amazing and weird all at once? I’m still at work and wanting someone to drive me home because it’s a blizzard out there. JD
Filed under Things I Love
On the weekend we ventured to Marben for our friend’s birthday bash. Instead of a traditional cake he had a mountain of Krispy Kreme doughnuts! We thought this was so great that we couldn’t help ourselves from eating one or two. Oh the donut guilt!
Considering the birthday party carried a 1983 theme I decided to rock my most 80′s inspired top. This white shirt purchased recently at Urban Outfitters for $38 worn with a Forever 21 necklace, $12.95 (from Spring 2009) and a hounds tooth mini from the Gap, $14.99 (purchased 4 years ago). My lipstick is my current pink favorite by Mac named Lustrous.
JD & CM
Filed under Places To Go, Things I Love
I am taking it easy and staying in this Saturday night. Making dins for two of my favorite people. The cannelloni is in the oven and the vegan Caesar salad dressing is ready to go. I have been listening to Beach House while preparing dinner. Julie and I have tickets to their sold out show and I can’t wait. Happy Saturday night!
CM
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Spring 2010′s biggest trend is said to be floral prints. I wanted to get ahead of the game so I pulled this Zara dress from the back of my closet. Purchased over 3 years ago, the pink and grey print never fails to lift my mood in the dead of winter. Necklace is from Forever 21; black cardigan is H&M and tights are by Silks.
Last night Julie and I tested out Yorkville’s newest addition, Ciao Wine Bar. Liberty Entertainment Group holds the Thursday night events where guests are invited to try out their extensive wine menu and sample the menu. Julie and I always questioned why Toronto could never make a pizza that could stand up to a New York slice but we thought that Ciao did a good job and we will go back for seconds.
CM
Filed under Places To Go, Style
Just wanted to give a shout out to my BFF and her Vancouver cronies for an awesome job on The Staff Room. A hilarious and raunchy web series about teachers in a high school staff room. This is Episode 12, but go back and watch all of them from the beginning for some chuckles to your day. Pass it on to someone with good humour. JD
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This is my lay-lady-lay look of the day. I feel very Joan Harris wearing this to the office. Even though I don’t have red hair or a giant rack, this is definitely something Joan would wear. My punch of pink top is from H&M but I actually got it from a clothing swap party. Necklace is a current fave from Aldo Accessories; skirt with leather patch was found at Vintage Mix 1 on Ossington Avenue (amazing vintage store in the city!). Tights are from Aldo Accessories, and shoes are from Payless. JD
P.S – this is Vintage Mix 1
I love it! JD
Filed under Style
As much as I would love to walk around the office wearing Etro, sadly I cannot. Yet, when I find something that resembles the respected Italian label my eyes widen like a kid’s walking into a candy store. This red, paisley skirt was just purchased at Anthropologie at 80% off the $100 dollar price tag – there are still a handful on the racks. The tights byHue were also found at Anthropologie $4.95. The necklace was a summer find at a flea market in Owen Sound for a mere $3. I love the necklace but with this skirt, next time I will go bigger!
(And yes I did style my hair before going to work but the darn weather….)
CM
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I had an all American long weekend snowboarding at Holimont in the town of Ellicottville, NY. I also squeezed in a power shop at Walden Galleria and did some more snowboarding.
This is Ellicottville, NY
This is the chalet I stayed in. Kidding! Imagine though? I would’ve thrown a party with a 70′s ski theme. I actually stayed at The Edelweiss Lodge. It was cute, and just steps away from the main strip. I’d recommend it for a short getaway. By the way this amazing chalet can be yours for only $1.4 Million – it’s up for sale.
Side street
Main street. Lots of ski shops, taverns, buffalo chicken wings, and bars. The sight of old people rocking out in ski sweaters at The Gin Mill was inspiring.
Words to live by
Gearing up
Vintage inspired sweater from Aritzia, vest from Winners, ski pins from my Dad’s collection.
I put these pins on my vest to make it look more legit. Plus my dad has this random ski pin collection from all the ski resorts he’s been to over the years and they were just sitting in a box doing nothing, so why not? I picked Tremblant, Whistler, and Lake Louise - go Canada!
Here’s the rest of the collection! JD
Filed under Places To Go, Style
Saturday night started in Yorkville’s Park Hyatt’s 18th floor bar, The Roof Lounge. It was a good place to sit and catch up with friends however I don’t think I will head back there until 20 years has gone by and I have had a considerable amount of plastic surgery. I wanted to remain in Canadian Olympic fashion so I decided to wear this Zara jacket. It was purchased 3 years ago from their sale rack and I still get a ton of compliments when I wear it out. Definitely one of my favorite pieces.
After our $15 drinks (ouch!) we headed to the Reservoir Lounge on the Esplanade. I love this place and it is always a good Saturday night alternative to the west side bars. Situated right beside Pravda and down a handful of stairs, the Reservoir Lounge aways has great live jazz bands to dance to and comfy booths to sip drinks in. Last night I had their signature cucumber infused martini that they rim with salt and serve with a side of fresh cucumber. My blouse and skirt are both from H&M and the belt is a Club Monaco oldie from my Western days. Boots are a recent Winners purchase for $39.99.
Filed under Places To Go, Style
Last night I attended the screening of Valentine’s Day at AMC theaters, Yonge and Dundas square. Hosted by Tribute Magazine, the cocktail party prior to the event was packed with 20-something girls and a handful of lucky guys who work in P.R. and marketing within the downtown core. Once nestled in our seats, all warm and toasty from the 2-3 glasses of wine (or Bellini’s), we watched the most anticipated chick-flick of the season. By the time the credits rolled I could not figure out what was more entertaining: the movie or the exaggerated “ooohs”, “aaahs” and “oh no he didn’ts” of 600 women with a couple drinks in them. Go see the movie with your girlfriends.
CM
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Dressing the part is something we know all women do and most know there are no boundaries for this; even when it comes to athletics. No…we’re serious. Here we are dressed in HBC Olympic hats gearing up for the Opening Ceremonies tonight! Both are found at The Bay for under $20. How do the hats and mittens fit into our budget? They were gifts from a friend who works for HBC within the Olympic sponsorship team. Gotta love free stuff!
CM
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It’s hard to dress up in the dead of winter when all you really want to do is stay in comfy clothes and hide in your snuggie….even if you don’t have a snuggie, you’re probably thinking that’s a brilliant idea right about now.
But that only adds to the winter blues. I try to dress up in this snowy weather a few times a week and here’s one attempt. Blush tone skirt from H&M, cardigan from the GAP, lace tights from Club Monaco, necklaces from my mom, and flower from H&M. JD
Speaking of Snuggies….is THIS for real??
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Dove white beauty bar, $3
Kiehl’s alcohol-free Cucumber-based toner, $18
Clinique Superdefense SPF 25 Age Defense Moisturizer, $42.50
Almay Smoothing Under- Eye Concealer, SPF 15, $10
MAC Sheertone Blush in Blushbaby, $18.50
Bonnebell Eyedefiner, $3 (Used for my brows since I dyed my hair.)
Annabelle Smoothliner, brownie, $6
Maybeline Great Lash BIG mascara, $6.99
Stella McCartney Rose Absolute perfume. Buy perfume on Yonge St – it is always cheaper.
For the past 14 years, I have searched high and low for the mascara that best suits me. For a while my go-to was Maybeline’s Full & Soft mascara, but it left me wanting more. I tried Voluminous – too clumpy; Diorshow irritated my eyes by the end of the day; Benefit Badgal fell down my face by the end of the day; and everything else was just “meh”. Then one day I came across the original Maybeline Great Lash, but with a new brush, and voila! A match made in heaven.
CM
Filed under Things I Love
So my cousin (pictured here) bought these yellow jeans at H&M and yes, they were $7.00! She told us while we were in the middle of a 90′s dance party at The Painted Lady and Christine and I instinctively started singing and doing the robot to “seven dollar pants.” The next day we were recapping the night and we both thought SDP would make a great blog name. Thank you cugina for inspiring our name ! xx JD
I LOVE boots of all kinds – cowboy boots, moto boots, tall boots, flat boots, short boots, even rain boots, I’m obsessed. My Technica Moon Boots are no exception. Some people think they’re ridiculous but I think they’re pretty awesome. The Moon Boot has been an icon of fashion and design since 1970! I got my first pair 10 years ago in the motherland and they only broke down on me last season. They’re hard to find but I scored this pair from Bigfoot on Queen Street (boxing week sale!). Down the road I’d like to buy them in red, blue, and purple too. JD
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Ok, so there isn’t that much snow is Toronto this year, and we may not see much of it over the next few months, but it’s still fun to dress the part. I wore this vest out to dinner with friends last Friday night. It may not have been the best choice as I worried that I might end up with grilled calamari stuck to the vest at some point in the night – at least it would have been camouflaged. Paired with a dress that was just purchased at H&M for $24.95 (regular price!) and lace-up boots that were on sale for $20.
The vest was a fantastic Christmas gift from my boyfriend. Although it was him who made the buy, he will still compare me to this handsome gentleman when I wear it.
CM
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When I have the time, my hunt for trendy treasures brings me outside the city. The thrift stores in Toronto are so picked over that I normally leave empty-handed yet, those in the suburbs have the promise of at least one great find. One occasion brought me to a Value Village in Scarborough where I made, quite possibly, the greatest thrift store find OF ALL TIME. As I walked through the shoe section last Saturday these Valentino’s, in the classic red colour, practically leapt off the shelf directly into my hands. To my despair, they were 1.5 sizes too small for my giant feet but they fit perfectly on the footsies of my good friend Jess – a true Cinderella story!
CM
I wore pink today to brighten up my day. I feel more alive with colour, even though I do love wearing black a lot. I got this top/dress from Forever 21, paired it with Vince riding pants, a basic black blazer from Suzy Shier ($20!), boots from Winners, and necklace from Aldo Accessories. I absolutely love accessories from Aldo. Tip: sew gold buttons to a basic blazer and voila! a new look. I got these buttons at Fabricland for just $4. JD
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SevenDollarPants
