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new specs

1 Feb

The first time I had my eyes examined I squinted painfully at the letter chart, getting each letter wrong while my Mom sat by, horrified that her daughter was clearly going blind and she never noticed. When finished, the doctor had me leave the room and explained to my Mom that I was a filthy little liar – OK not in those terms but I was totally faking my poor eyesight. I just really really wanted glasses.

Payback is a bitch because cut to twenty years later and I’m practically blind. A -7.0 in both eyes. I’d be the first one eaten on a desert island because, like Piggy, I’m screwed without my glasses.

So when ClearlyContacts.ca asked me to try out their Virtual Mirror to test out some frames, I was totally game. Can’t have too many backup pairs of glasses!

But then…then I got lost in the virtual mirror. I tried on pair after pair and just couldn’t make up my mind. Was the mirror accurate? Could I trust that the image of me in the glasses was how I’d look in the frames themselves? The answer was, pretty much.

Yep. Looking totally dorky in all of these. 

Some of the things I learned when testing out this feature on the ClearlyContacts.ca site:

  • Make sure you take the picture in good lighting – the quality of light will affect how the frames appear on your face
  • Get an accurate PD reading – you won’t know how the glasses will sit on your face without this
  • Look at the frame width in millimeters. Objects in mirror may be bigger than they appear.

I finally decided on a pair of frames from Vancouver designer Derek Cardigan:

I placed my order on a Sunday and got the glasses in the  mail on Wednesday  - easily the fastest services I’ve ever had for glasses, or even contacts!

Mad glare but you get the idea

I will say that they were a lot thicker than I had anticipated, which is why I suggest you take those measurements into consideration before placing an order. Of course, now I’m addicted and want to order a bunch more. Thanks for the nerd glasses ClearlyContacts!  Loves em.

perfect fit

4 Jan

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This is a topic very close to my heart (literally). As a woman who is very, ahem, blessed (which is a stupid euphemism because we’re all #blessed), I have had a rough time fitting into bras. Being the biggest chested of all my girlfriends meant I looked to them for the “right” bra to wear. For a while it was the Calvin Klein sports bra (grades 8-10) and then it was whatever super dainty, comfy contraption I could find. Forget strapless! They were forever creeping down my ribcage and causing me anxiety. For years I wore the most ill-fitting ridiculous bras and knew no better.

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Then I was introduced to the breast professionals. My first fitting (which was about 20 lbs heavier ago) I was told I was an F30 (at the time, I was wearing a C36). (Note: The letter is the cup size, the number is the band size). I spent about $150 on an extermely tight-fitting French brassiere and proceeded to get wasted and rant at anyone within earshot about how ridiculously huge my boobs were (“I mean, imagine how big Pamela Anderson really is? She’s gotta be like a double V!”).

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Now I’m a lot less smaller but I still go to a professional for my bra purchases. I can’t shop at the mall stores because they don’t go as big as my size, but I know a lot of girls who are bigger than me and do. Consider this post a primer to get you thinking about giving up your current cup and letting a professional strap you in from now on! Here are some starting out tips to consider:

1. The back strap of your bra should sit straight across your back, no higher than your shoulder blades

2. The centre of your bra should sit firmly against your chest (you should have to struggle to fit a finger between the bra and your skin)

3. The cup should fit snugly, but not pinch into you, or bunch up in any way

4. If you’re larger, go for a soft cup bra as opposed to a moulded cup – they will fit better and you’ll get less “spillage”

4. Bring or ask for a fitted t-shirt to try over the bra to get a sense of how it will look day-to-day

5. A properly fitted bra should feel amazing – not uncomfortable in any way. If you’re fitted and feel uncomfortable, try a different place – there’s no science to this, sometimes it just takes time to find the perfect bra.

I now have some beautiful bras (specifically Freya) strapped and strapless, that fit me just right. Invest in your ladies, girls, they’re worth it!

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gifted

4 Dec

Santa doesn’t really come to my house anymore. Still, his name ends up on a few of my gifts and, while I love my comic books (Dad) and novelty socks (Mom), maybe it’s time I start making lists again, or take Santa-ing into my own hands. Here are some of the things I’ve got my eye on this year.

A juicer! This is the Omega Mega Mouth Juicer ($269) and from what I’ve read, it’s one of the best. I’m big on fruit and greens juices and I feel like if I owned this baby, I’d be mad nutritious.

This next one is also for the mornings: the Tivoli Audio Model One Radio ($179.99). Growing up, I’d wake up to the hourly chime of CBC Radio coming from the kitchen. It’s comforting to have the radio going in the morning, but it cannot be the alarm clock radio. I’d rather stick needles in my ears than listen to radio from an alarm clock. Traumatized, clearly.

As much as I try, I can’t go digital with my appointments. It’s so much better to have everything laid out, right in front of me. Nobody does organization better than Moleskin ($7).

I only just found out that Fieldguided designed a new tote for Summerland featuring lyrics from Stevie Nick’s Wild Heart (you know how much I love). This is coming my way, Santa or no Santa. Must. Have. (And pretty much everything else from the Summerland shop).

 

Books for Christmas are always welcome under my tree, although I usually get comics from my Pops (sweet). Diane Keaton is kind of the coolest and I want to read about her. Simps. ($30)

I’ve been on the hunt for a tea cozy ever since Kristen gave me my beautiful new teapot. Nothing beats a homemade knit, now I just need to find someone to make one for me (or a sweet vintage shop that sells them!). (Image via The Selby)

A new 2012 calendar from The Wild Unknown featuring KITTENS. Obviously. $30 from Catbird.

A Modern Friendship Bracelet from Biko ($85) would really add to my arm party, not to mention I’ve met the designer a couple of times now and she’s delightful. I love supporting local talent!

Is that too much? Am I super greedy?

I wasn’t joking about the comics.

the switch

12 Nov

There were two reasons:

1) I got sick of people commenting on how beat up my Blackberry was

2) I actually need it for work.

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The guy at the Apple store told me to get the white one I was like “Whichever.” Clearly the most apathetic iPhone owner on the planet. I feel like Miranda when people were all jazzed that she was having a boy and she was like, “—– boy oh boy it’s a boy!”

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But at the same time, when I want to google something, it doesn’t take 15 minutes, it takes a good picture and I can delete original text in forwarded emails. I feel like I’m writing a post on the obvious here but yeah, good job iPhone you’re pretty OK.

RIP shitty Blackberry.

joe face

4 Oct

I’m probably late to the party on this one but Joe Fresh Makeup – WOW!

Not only is it inexpensive (I mean, you won’t even flinch, inexpensive) but the products are pretty exceptional. I’m particularly obsessed with the nail polish ($4), cheek tint ($4) and their tinted lip balm ($8).

I couldn’t find any ingredient details so the Paraben Police are still out but until then, I’m stocking up. Too fun!

This in Peach – my new favourite

Cherry. Amazing.

Have you guys tried this stuff??

oil slick

29 Aug

Slowly but surely, natural oils are becoming a key ingredient in some of my favourite beauty products. I love the way they make my hair and skin look and I’m especially sold on oil for my face (I still can’t get over that after years of using astringents, I’m now voluntarily putting oil ON my face).

Here are a few oils I’m swearing by:

Alba’s Kukui Nut body oil is organic, affordable, smells amazing and is multi-purpose. I use it all over at night before bed or I’ll put about 1/2 oz in the bath to moisturize. I’ll also use it after blow drying on my ends to tame the feathering lightened hair tends to do.  (Hint: Don’t towel-off completely before applying the oil to your body. Leaving skin a little damp helps the product spread)

I trust Josie Maran because she’s beautiful. And because she is a stickler for quality product that is completely free of harmful ingredients. Argan oil became hugely popular and accessible with the Moroccan Oil line of hair products. I’m not a huge fan of that line in particular so I use Maran’s concentrated Argan Oil instead. It’s fantastic for cuticles and on the ends of my hair. Plus the travel-size bottle is super convenient.

I went for a facial at Pure + Simple about six weeks ago (I’m saving the blog post when I return for my follow-up) and was informed that my facial redness, while absolutely to do with surface capillaries and a bit of rosacea, is a direct result of a Pitta Dosha imbalance. The oil contains Neem, Bringraj + German Chamomile – all anti-inflammatory (I believe the base is jojoba). I apply the oil every night after cleansing and I use the opportunity to really massage it into my skin.  I’ve seen a big difference in the overall ‘plumpness’ of my skin as well as a decrease in redness. Thumbs up!

I love love love this product for my hair. Unlike the other oils I’ve listed, this product isn’t organic or particularly great for me (I can’t pronounce the first four ingredients) but it’s one of those things I just have to have. It uses a mix of Palm and Shorea oils as well as silicone to tame frizz and smooth out my hair. I never use a straightening iron anymore. I don’t need to. I have Oleo.

Skin and hair oils are also easy to make – just make sure you have a base that is easily absorbed (like jojoba) so that whatever blend you do gets through the dermis and doesn’t clog your pores. I also love having coconut oil around – it makes a great skin moisturizer, hair masque and you can even cook with it.

If I had to pick one though, I’d choose this as the best oil there is:

Forever and always.

Am I missing anything?

get yo’ nails did

28 Aug

I’m in love with my new couch. I love the Kitten too. What’s I don’t really love is how much she likes to scratch up my furniture. I put scratch pads all over the place but it doesn’t matter – she’d almost always rather rip up furniture than corrugated cardboard. So what to do about my little Shredder and the new couch?

Enter Soft Paws, a completely safe and non-toxic alternative to de-clawing your cat. They are coloured (or clear) plastic claw covers. For about 20 bucks you get 40 nail caps in whatever colour you want. Fill them with a little glue and pop them on your cat’s claws. So simple! Of course, Kitten isn’t fussy about getting her nails clipped so that helped a lot. They last about 6 weeks and now she can’t scratch shit (including the couch and me).

I chose green to match her eyes.

amateur hour

28 Jul

Dear Best Buy – thank you for price matching this beauty with the Sears.ca sale and beating their price by an extra 20 bucks. I feel like a big girl blogger with my fancy new camera!

Love, TVB

no news is good news

5 Apr

Hello stranger

I have been MIA for the last little while but for good reason – BYOB opened!!!

The store looks incredible and I couldn’t be prouder of my BFF for  making her dream come true. When I haven’t been there, I’ve been thinking about being there. And trying to use my publicity skillz to help spread the word about this wicked awesome shop.

Your eyes are not deceiving you – that is a neon light straight outta Cocktail. Plus Emporium because  when you’re a big deal, you use big words.

If you live in Toronto you need to get down and check it out (972 Queen St. West – right at Queen and Ossington). Open 7 days a week because really, when you get to spend your time in a store as cool as this one, why would you wanna be anywhere else? People who love their jobs and are happy to being doing them, what an interesting concept.

Those are closing time G&Ts. BYOB isn’t about being proper, it’s about drinks from pretty glasses. Raising Toronto’s good looking quotient, one cocktail at a time.

See you in the store. Cheers!

BYOB on Facebook

BYOB on Twitter

swampy five

28 Mar

Brutal weekend. I mean there were high points but the low over shadowed them all.

First the good:

BYOB Cocktail Emporium opens in one week! My bff is opening a store on Queen St West and it has been so much fun hanging out in the space, watching it go from open and empty  and then morphing into her vision. There is also a pretty awesome dance floor so some late nights have been had.

Those are Molla Space animal shot glasses. They are super beautiful. The chandelier in the background in made entirely of wine glasses. No kidding, if you are anything like me you are going to drop a cash bomb in this store because everything she carries is damn cool. Especially the vintage glassware and mini bars.

Moose! Love the light blue honeycomb tiles. She had a 19-ft bar built for the store and did the tiling and grouting herself.

Yes, that is a wall of empty Pabst cans. Save your hipster jokes. They are placeholders for vintage inventory. We killed a 60 of vodka this night. Going into BYOB is like a vortex where the drinks are free pouring and the sound system is out of this world. My favourite bar on Queen St. I almost wish it would never open. This here where we’re laying is also the dance floor.

Can you please Like BYOB on Facebook?

Now to the downswing:

I woke up Sunday morning to the sound of a trickle. Not unlike that of a small brook. Opened one, groggy, hungover eye to a full-on flood in my apartment. Like, half an inch of water. It started in the bathroom I guess the toilet never stopped filling up so the water came out of the flusher? J could explain this better. I was hysterical. Thank god for boyfriends – he immediately got a shop vac and we spent 5 hours getting the water up. Luckily for us, we were able to get my floor dry (floor fans and a dehumidifier work awesome for drying up under floorboards FYI) and now my carpet is just a little damp (working on it). Still. Last thing anyone wants to happen to them on a lazy Sunday.

In the cheering up department, my sister moved to Australia and now has a pet kangaroo. They came across it after seeing a dead Momma kangaroo and they took it back to camp. When she gets sleepy, she crawls into a sack and they hang it from a door knob. Cuteness quotient for the week already reached and it’s only Monday.

Her name is Kirby. (the kangaroo, not my sister)

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