Fashion's Night Out!

I've teamed up with Raul from Hummingbird604, Niki from A Haute Mess, and Ashley from Close up Rewind to bring you Fashion's Night Out!

Fashion's Night Out! is a charity event and fashion show with 100% of the proceeds going to Out in Schools, who educate youth in British Columbia on bullying, tolerance, and acceptance.

Please support this great cause by buying a ticket or donating online.

Winner of CSN Stores Gift Certificate

Congrats Liz! You're the winner of the gift certificate to CSN Stores!

Lady Orchids Day Spa

When Sandra from Middle Child Marketing emailed me to see if I wanted to visit her new client, Lady Orchids Rejuvenating Day Spa, for a facial, how could I say no?



I chose the Up5 Facial Lift - an hour and a half of bliss. Sounded like the perfect addition to a weekend. But what attracted me to this particular facial was how Sandra explained it, "[it uses] the state of the art Up5 machine from Korea." Uh, what? Koreans do have fabulous skin - is this why?? I had to satisfy my curiosity.



Lady Orchid's site describes the Up5 Facial:

Promote collagen, firming, and lifting of the epidermis with our state-of-the art Up5 machine as it restores a youthful glow and vitality, feeding your skin nutrients through our cellular repairing deluxe facial, complete with European massage techniques to revitalize tired-looking skin.

While I'm still young enough to not have wrinkles, we can all use some revitalizing, especially during these dreary winter months.

While I didn't notice any significant results from the Up5 machine, I'm not sure that I expected to, just because of my age. If you've used this technology and experienced results, let me know!

The Up5 was used 3 times during my facial, and it also included cleansing and massage. The products used were all natural and at the end, in the words of the GM, Danielle Reyes, my "skin was glowing". It actually was. My skin gets quite dry during the winter months, so I left Lady Orchid's dewy and glowing.

The facilities are very clean and the space is huge. Danielle also showed me the WAVE Body Vibration machine, which helps tone your muscles in 15 minutes, a couple times a week. Perfect for the week before your Spring Break vacation.



I did find that the spa was a bit clinical (in the back) looking for me, not very "serene" compared to other spas. But Lady Orchid's will also be home to a Beauty School, so I suppose it can't be too comfortable.

Also, I thought that my facial would be a bit more personalized. Maybe it was, but I'm used to the facialist discussing my skin problems with me and explaining to me what the action plan is prior to the facial. There was no discussion of my skin, just what seemed to be a generic facial. If it was personalize, I would recommend some discussion with the client.

Thanks Sandra!
(Photos courtesy of Middle Child Marketing)


Lady Orchid's Day Spa
117 W. Broadway (@ Manitoba)
Vancouver BC
604-569-0813

Contest: Win $35 gift certificate from CSN Stores

Thanks to my friends at CSN Stores, I have another giveaway!

Enter to win a $35 give certificate to any of their 200+ online stores! You could buy swing sets, cookware, or linens!

To enter, just leave a comment on this post.

Contest open to North American residents only.


Contest ends Sunday February 13, 2011.

Not Just For the Boys

The Big Brothers of Greater Vancouver are looking to find 100 Women in 100 Days.

What? I know, I was confused too at first.

Big Brothers is Not Just For The Boys anymore. At the end of November 2010, they launched the 100 Women in 100 Days campaign, a search to find 100 women mentors and "big buddies" to school aged children. Their search ends March 8, 2011, the 100th Anniversary of International Women's Day.

If you're able to give up an hour of your week between 8:30am-3:30pm Monday to Friday, then apply to become a Big Buddy to a kid in need.

5 Things That Freak Me Out

1) Clowns. They're so creepy.
2) Needles. The kind for shots, not for tattoos.
3) Salt. I imagine having salt poured on our tongue in a pile and that image makes me want to vomit.
4) Some chenille blankets/scarves/socks. Heebee-geebees. *Shudder*
5) Cough Medicine. It's like I'm 5, I hate it that much. The taste makes me want to throw-up.

Macaron Mania

If you follow me on Twitter then you may already know that last Friday, my Mom and I took a macaron making class. It was so awesome. And if you've been reading my blog for awhile, you already know that I love macarons and have made them before (twice).

We took the course at the Pastry Training Center of Vancouver. The school is owned and run by Pastry Chef Marco Ropke. Ropke has over 20 years of industry experience and has worked all over the world. The macaron course is offered monthly, but there are so many other wonderful classes offered - I can't wait to take more - especially the bread and fondant classes.

We learned to make 3 different macarons in the class - French, Italian & American.

The French macaron recipe that we used used an Italian meringue, as opposed to a Swiss or French (who knew??), because it retains more air.

Chef piping out his lemon macarons

Before you bake the cookies, macarons have to 'rest' to form a skin

Using a mortar & pestle to crush coffee beans for our macarons

Infusing the coffee in cream to flavour the filling

Chef piping the lavender chocolate filling onto his lemon cookies

Our finished coffee macarons

Chef's finish products

Italian macarons

American macarons

The bread in the pic above prompted this tweet

French macarons

During class we snacked on salad, brie & fresh homemade sourdough multigrain bread

I love the organization of the kitchen

Love these guys!

The front case showcasing goodies from the classes

Sample from the fondant class!!

I definitely recommend taking a class. It was super fun and really easy to follow along. And don't forget to follow Chef Ropke on Twitter: @pastrytraining

For Sale: Aldo 'Garlanda'

Black sequin Aldo pumps for sale

"Showing off a standout dégradé effect, this high-heeled, peep-toe pump's a total must."

 

Size 38 (runs small, fits like a 7)
Bought in April 2009 ($100+tax)
Worn once in May 2009

Approx heel height's 4.4" (11.2 cm)

Like new
$60

Please email me if you're interested or for shipping. If you are local, we can arrange a pickup.

Winner of Mobilicity HTC Smartphone

I've selected the winner for the contest using random.org.

Going from the oldest comment to the newest comment...

...the winner of the Mobilicity HTC Smartphone + 3 months of unlimited talk/text is...

Wendy!

Her favourite part about elementary school was being able to play games, like chess, once they had finished their work.

Congratulations Wendy - enjoy your new phone!

Thanks to Mobilicity for sponsoring this awesome giveaway! Remember to 'Like' them on Facebook to donate $1 to the S'cool Life Fund!

The Corner Suite: A PR Fiasco

Vancouverites,

I take to my blog because 140 characters on Twitter is not enough.

I'm sure that many of you are aware that The Corner Suite Bistro has abruptly closed their doors.

I recently purchased a gift certificate for the restaurant for my parents for Christmas. Upon hearing of their closure (and apparently full voice mail inbox), I decided to call Visa, to get them to remove the charge.

After speaking with Visa, and telling them that I heard the information via Twitter, I was told that in order to get the charge waived, we must attempt to contact them directly by whatever means - phone, email, Facebook, Twitter (the Visa guy actually said that - I laughed inside) to see if they will refund us the money.

If after a reasonable amount of time you do not hear back from The Corner Suite, contact Visa again and they will launch an investigation to have the charges removed.

Hope you are all able to get your money back!