Category Archives: Must Have

Fall Essentials: Sweaters

a Fall/Winter staple if ever there was one, but one I seemed to have ignored growing up to my father’s chagrin. We lived in Canada, and you can imagine the winters - he used to say: “you go out there like that and you’re going to catch a cold,” and I’d just laugh. Now I know better...

Sweaters are one of those few items the fashionable masses go gaga for that are just as functional as they can be indulgent. Whether it’s cashmere or wool, sweaters offer that cozy hug that keeps you warm when you’d otherwise be stuck in the teeth chattering cold (and a jacket of course).

From top left to bottom right:
Pullover Bow Sweater, $29.95; Gap.com |  Royal Blue Bat-Wing Sweater, $53.99; Romwe.com | Colorlane Pullover, $59.99; Madwell.com | Tanya Taylor – Dorothy Sweater, $795.00; FarFetch.com

Recipe: French Onion Grilled Cheese

I love french onion soup and I love grilled cheese, combine the two and I don’t know what to do with myself except eat!

French Onion Grilled Cheese

I adapted the original recipe I found on Chatelaine’s website here.

Prep: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 30 minutes
Makes 4 Servings

Ingredients
1 tbsp olive oil
3 medium onions, sliced thinly (about 3 1/2 cups)
1/2 900 mL carton low-sodium beef broth
1 thyme sprig
8 slices rye bread
4 slices gruyére or swiss cheese (about 120 g)

Directions
Heat a large non-stick frying pan over high. Add 1 tsp oil, then onions, broth and thyme.
Cook, uncovered, stirring often, until liquid is reduced, about 15 min.
Remove thyme.
Top each slice with about 1/3 cup onion mixture and 1 cheese slice.
Top with remaining bread.
Wipe pan clean.
Heat over medium. Brush pan with 1 tsp oil.
Cook 2 sandwiches at a time, about 2 min per side.
Repeat with remaining oil and sandwiches.

Enjoy!

Spoils of Style: $23.99 – DKNY Coat

I come from a long line of women who can shop, and when I say shop, I mean shop on a budget. My mother trained me well, so much so she says I shop better than her because I get bigger labels for less than she ever did.  These are the real spoils of style, the things you discover that are simply too good to be true, but true nonetheless. I got my Chloe sunglasses for less than a fraction (quarter) of the suggested retail price and I’m very proud of that.

The DKNY Coat - $23.99

My latest find was a $23.99 DKNY Coat. I’m sad Daffy’s is going out of business, but I’m not the type to pass up a major sale – because you just can’t beat a $24 coat! I rifled through all the racks with my usual precision and found the DKNY tweed coat, moved my fingers down the sleeve to the price tag, calculated the additional discount and quickly tried it on. It fit, but there was one little hitch, there was a small rip in the seam. Long story short, I bought the coat and another one (golden camel, Tommy Hilfiger ‘duffle’ coat for $72). Being the grand-daughter of a seamstress meant that instead of putting it down, I decided I’d do a quick loop stitch to fix it when I got home (see below). Lesson: You don’t pass up a $24 DKNY Coat…DKNY Coat

Lacy Little Things: Bras

madewell: honeydew® intimates flower lace bralette - $32.00 agent provocateur - mercy bra stella mccartney stella lace underwired plunge bra: $65 wonderbra ultimate strapless lace bra

“Where are the bras for the women that don’t want to minimize or look like an old lady?”

If it’s one thing I love it’s a lace bra. I’ve got DD boobs, so I’m used getting to my size in department stores and seeing ‘minimizer’ and grandma bras. Where are the bras for the women that don’t want to minimize or look like an old lady?

The truth is: I love my boobs, despite the fact that it may be difficult to find clothes that fit me properly. My high-school drama teacher told me she’d never met anyone in her life that loved their boobs as much as I do (I was a C then). Even as a C cup, finding a bra that has coverage, support, and just the right amount of padding (virtually none) can sometimes be the hardest thing in the world. The right bra is one of those mystery things, a cousin of mine who’s got a B cup hates her bras so much she calls them torture devices. Needless to say, she understands the prolific burning of the bras. When it comes down to it, a lace bra is one of those things that makes me feel ultra sexy.

To all my fellow busty ladies, embrace those big beautiful breasts, people go under knife to get them!

Lucky Mag Goes Digital, but…


Lucky Mag October Issue Stickers

[Why the print issue's still better:] “I miss the sitckers!”

I love Lucky Magazine. I don’t read any other magazine religiously. What I love about Lucky is that it’s all about shopping, there are no outmoded social conventions about dating, relationships or anything else. I’ll never find tips for a horrible sex life masquerading as ‘how to impress him,’ instead while flipping through the pages of Lucky I’ll find clothes, accessories, and beauty products (and lots of them), style tips, top blogger spots, and stickers to tag all the content that I love/like/have-to-have.

So when Lucky Magazine launched their digital edition with their September Issue, I couldn’t wait to download it. That being said, I reserved my judgment for the second issue to give them a little chance to iron out the kinks. Never mind the fact that I haven’t thrown an issue of Lucky away in the last four years and I probably still won’t, I am really excited about the digital issue. There are some things that don’t translate from print to digital, but there are a few things that are better:

1. I miss the stickers!
Yes, I realize you can’t have actual stickers, but virtual stickers would make Lucky‘s digital edition infinitely cooler. Tagging favorite content in a way that allows me to fast forward to it would be awesome, right?

2. I want ads that don’t ask me to scratch and sniff knowing I can’t
It was a little odd, and I admittedly kind of wished that iPads had that function, but seeing an ad for Olay Reginerist that asks me to scratch and sniff is a tease with no follow through.

3. I like adaptable content
I spent a lot of time going through the magazine turning the iPad from landscape to portrait to see what the content would look like when it flips from side to side. BONUS, the ‘tap for tips’ and ‘tap for info’ plus signs transforms image layouts into real editorial content with one tap.

4. I love the digital deals
Lucky‘s probably the best mag for deals, and bonus deals in the digital issue are an added and convenient bonus.

5. You can shop virtually everything in the digital issue…
For every page I flip through there’s something I can buy. It’s good news for my love of shopping, bad news for my bank account.

Lucky Magazine October Issue Digital vs Print

Lucky Magazine October Issue - Digital Scratch and Sniff

Lucky Magazine October Issue Digital vs Print

*Another thing, because it’s the digital issue and a lot of the editors are on Twitter, the mag should at least list the handles beside the name on the Masthead…

Back to Basics: The T-Shirt

 

Back to Basics: The T-Shirt

(left to right: R13 – Vintage Rosie Tee: $210.00, LaGarconne.com;  Topshop – Cropped Tee: $16.00, Topshop.com;  Quiksilver – Nautical Stripe V-Neck Tee: was: $44.00 sale: $22.00, karmaloop.com)

It’s nothing new or ground-breaking… For the most part, the perfect outfit boils down to a t-shirt and jeans. Even Anna Wintour, reigning queen of Vogue said it one time or another. (I can’t remember where I read it now, but) Back in the day, before her editorship and all that, Anna’s wardrobe staples were cool vintage tees and jeans. The Olsen twins built an entire line around the concept of the perfect tee (The Row). So is it so wrong that I love my t-shirt and jeans? Pair them with flats, heels, boots, sandals, brogues and just about every other shoe in your arsenal and you’re ready to go.

My perfect combo of the moment is my white tee, my darkest wash jeans and a thin tan belt. Come fall, the most I’m likely to do is transition to a grey tee instead. It’s funny how something so simple is perfect for every season. For the record the tees I’m talking about are the scoop neck, cropped, and v-neck variations, not the kind crew neck kind you have stowed away for those trips to the gym.

Twenty-Four Hours in… Toronto

If I could have any super power, I’d want to be able to teleport. I’d go as far as to dive into a vat of toxic goo to get it…

Yes, that’s how much I love to travel. I fantasize about teleporting from one place to another constantly, so the question is – if you had twenty-four hours to spend anywhere, doing anything (minus the airplane rides and the jet lag) where would you go and what would you do?

If you’re teleporting to Toronto…


Niche Coffee Bar - Niche Benedict Nadege Toronto - My favorite patisserie! REDS Bistro Click to Enlarge Image Map

Start your morning off right with breakfast at Niche Espresso Bar. While I’d usually do this a little later and call it brunch, if we’re going to pack as many events into twenty-four hours as possible – this is where you start. I recommend the Niche Benedict. Yes it’s an espresso bar, but if it’s a choice between coffee and my eggs benny, I’m going for the latter. The signature eggs benedict plate at Niche is the picture of perfection with two poached eggs, pemeal bacon and hollandaise sauce piled on top of a generous portion of simply delicious cornbread. (BEST. COMBO. EVER.)

Ed Note: If you go in the summer – ask for a seat out back.

Now that you’re full, it’s time you walk it off. If you’re going to see a city properly you can’t stumble upon the best things in the city in your car – you just can’t! Since I was in high school, I’ve been walking down Queen St – finding jewelry, dresses, vintage shops and so much more – go ahead, window shop and browse. Here are my usual stops on the lane… Spoof, Get Outside, Style Garage, Black Market Vintage, The Beadery and whatever else catches my eye.

For the good stuff, make your way to Kensington Market for a mix of vintage shopping and yummy snacks. Whatever you do – you must try a spinach, feta and pesto scone from Cobs. If you’re interested in vintage scarves and buttons – head to Courage My Love. I’ve been known to sit on the floor and rifle through their scarf bin – each scarf goes for about $3.00 (CAD). On the subject of buttons, some people are content with whatever buttons a garment comes with, for the rest of us Courage My Love has the wall of buttons. I’ve probably spent $100 dollars here – which is saying something because these buttons aren’t that expensive. Peek into Flash Back and peruse the vintage shirt racks on the street, then make sure to take a long and leisurely stroll in Bungalow – my favorite vintage store of all time. Almost every vintage pencil skirt I own came from this place, and I’ve also scored quite a few blazers here too. Their stock is carefully curated to give you just about everything you could want when you walk through those doors.

Lunch Time: saunter back down to Queen St, heading further west to my favorite French patisserie – Nadege. Order up a croissant sandwich – whichever one your heart desires. I’m likely to grab the one with smoked salmon, cucumber, dill and cream cheese (but Fresh Figs and Goats Cheese on a Nadege croissant are equally as delectable). Grab some goodies to go, like mini madeleines and homemade marshmallows – chocolate covered, regular, or flavored (I’m still savoring my strawberry and basil marshmallows).

Walk around the city some more, sit in the park across from Nadege, or head up to Dundas and head east towards Yonge Street. You’ve still got time to pop into the Art Gallery of Ontario – so go. Or, make your way to the waterfront and take in the sunset over Lake Ontario before you head over to REDS… When Holly Golightly said that thing about the mean reds, these weren’t them. With the greatest wine selection in Toronto, this is a must stop for the visiting wino. Order the crab cakes and lap up the vino. And, in the event that you’d like to dance the night away – head to Wet bar on Peter St or Guvernment on Queen’s Quay down by the lake shore.

Ed Note: Full disclosure, I don’t think I could ever get everything I wanted to do crammed into 24 hours in Toronto. I grew up there, so having to see friends and family trumps this itinerary.