The shopaholic in me - Vero Moda

I've read about the opening of a VERO MODA store in Toronto about 2 months ago. But never had the chance to head down to it to check it out! This past weekend, while taking a stroll down Queen west, I came across a store called MODA (632 Queen St. West). Tucked away amidst other fashionable stores on Queen west I finally stumbled upon the store dedicated to one of my favourite designer labels. VERO MODA is one of Europe's biggest fashion brands, meshing the styles and trends of the runway with urban and fresh looks. I suppose I was especially attracted to this brand because of their unbelievable prices, chic and versatile pieces. For the style and quality of their garments the prices start from around $29.99, depending on what merchandise you are looking at, it can go up to around $200 or more. Up until now, I had been buying VERO MODA pieces from the Bay Fairview, which of course has a limited selection. But with the new MODA store downtown... this is so exciting and means more frequent visits to shopping central, Queen west.

Random thought - Winter is here!

As my garage door opened this morning and I backed my car out unto the driveway, I came to terms with my lack of excitement for winter's arrival. Covering the grounds and every surface possible was a thin layer of SNOW. For me, aside from looking forward to which pair of boots to wear that will make my outfit for the day, there isn't much to look forward to during winter but the bitter cold, the snow, and the extended drive to work and pretty much any where else you have to go... BUT, I learned today, while listening to FLOW 93.5 on my long commute to work, that there is such a thing as biodegradable anti-freeze. Who knew?!? I had no idea that eco-friendly anti-freeze existed, apparently its hard to find in Ontario, I'm going to keep an eye out for it, but if you do know where to get some in Ontario, let me know! Any way to save the environment is always good.

TFBB 13 - Toronto's Fashion Bloggers Brunch... It's that time of the month again!

Come and join the fashion blogger's community for brunch! I went to my first TFBB event last month and had an enjoyable time, will definitely be there again!

Many thanks to the wonderful organizers Anita and Henna for making an event like this possible and Danielle for her lovely poster! RSVP at http://tfbb.eventbrite.com/ .

Talk is cheap - A social media unconference

It was great seeing so many familiar faces this past Thursday at the Talk is Cheap conference organized by Gary Schlee, the co-ordinator of the Centennial College Corporate Communications program. Over 150 industry professionals and PR enthusiasts showed up for an evening of insightful presentations about current trends in social media. Out of the 4 sessions I attended, I especially enjoyed Joseph Thornley's "pitching to bloggers" and Shachin Ghelani's "building brand equity leveraging social media". Whether you were an experienced professional already in the industry or a recent grad entering the industry, the conference or "unconference" I should say like this one was extremely educational and beneficial. For a first time event, I would say that this was a huge success... maybe Gary will be hosting these annually?

Random thought - Divorcing your mobile service provider

The more I learn about the landscapes of our public spectrum in terms of mobile service providers, the more I find myself gravitating towards the words MONOPOLY and lack of choice. Where I live, in Toronto, the number of different cell phone service providers are limited. In fact the companies providing cellular services are predominantly divided into 2 major players, Rogers and Bell. If you ever were unsatisfied with their service your other company choices would be Telus or Fido with the unfortunate fact that you'd have to fork out an arm and a leg to buy out your, more then likely, 3 year contract. This has happened to me twice already and I find myself bouncing between companies for a lack of better options. I'm sure many can relate.

I was driving an insanely long drive to visit a friend of mine today, who lives in Oswego, NY, when I tuned into a very interesting American radio program that was talking about Google's recent activities in hopes to enter the telecommunications industry. Listening to this radio talk show sparked my interest in the issue, it reminded me of the grueling year long course I took in my final year of university called communication and the Internet. I managed to take notes with one hand and keep my eyes on the road (don't ask... apparently I can really multi-task and am passionate about consumer choice). Google has developed a new platform called Android which brings the Internet to mobile phones with usability like never before. On that same note, Google also intends on bidding an exceptionally high amount at the public spectrum bids to advocate for consumer choice when it comes to carriers for telecom services.

I am thrilled!!!!!! You can always count on Google... Google search, Google maps, Google scholar, etc. Google has been my answer to almost everything and now possibly even Google phone services. But I have to be realistic this activity is just buzzing in the States for now and even if it does move to Canada and other countries, it will probably be awhile before their service and technologies are perfected. So for now... i'm still stuck with Rogers.

**side note - although this post is extremely irregular compared to what I normally write about, I feel that this is worth sharing because it actually ties into a bigger issue which is "net neutrality", something we should all advocate for.

Target Model-less Fashion Show

As controversy continues to arise over weight issues, or the lack of around models that are obviously and severely underweight, the American retailer Target, may have boldly taken the first steps to end this growing concern. Through creativity and using the limitless creations of technology, they launched the first ever model-less fashion show earlier this month. This was a “live, 3D-virtual fashion show created with high definition holograms, allowing the clothes and accessories to walk, dance, and interact” without a human model showcasing them. It honestly amazes me the advances this world is able to make using technology. It would be a drastic change if all models were human looking holograms for fashion shows; although it could save many young girls from longing to be thin knowing that models with perfect bodies are computer generated. I must say, hologram models do put a twist on your traditional fashion show… but I don’t see this concept staying mainstream for long, I think people would appreciate the garments more being showcased on real models.

Newstand magazine now available as E-zine - Rolling Stone

For the first time ever, Rolling Stone unveiled the online edition of their famous music and entertainment magazine. The entire magazine page to page and cover to cover is digitally available, what an innovative concept to keep up with the ever changing world of technology.

Elegant and original - Thomaso Designs Jewelry

Shopping around at the National Women's Show, I wandered by many jewelry booths which sold gold and silver necklaces, rings etc that were either over priced or just typical . But there was one booth that succeeded in catching my eye. I was especially captivated by the creative designs and uniqueness of Thomaso Designs Jewelry that I had to write a post about them to share this wonderful find. Entirely hand made and European inspired, head designer, Jeniffer Moon tells me that all her collections are made using "semi precious stones, sterling silver, magnetic hematite, glass beads, and crystals by Swarovski and Preciosa". I was especially drawn to their necklaces and purchased a beautiful silver, long hanging chain accented with white, black, and grey semi precious stones. Simple, exquisite, and at an affordable price, I promise that their necklaces will complete and make any outfit. For more information check out http://www.thomasodesigns.com/ , there online store is coming soon!

The National Women's Show - Nov 2rd, 3rd, & 4th

The Women’s Show was definitely the highlight of my weekend, my best friend Cath and I went to the National Women’s Show at the Metro Convention centre for the first time ever this year and we had such a good time! Perfect for a girls outing of all ages, there was tons of shopping, sampling, free stuff (hair products, food, magazines, etc), and coupons. The best part of it was, a lot of the merchandise was available for lowered prices special to the attendees of the show. Here are my favourites from the show:

LARA BAR’S so delicious and healthy (also found in the purses of many celebs that are keen on eating healthy). Some flavours available are cherry, cashew cookie, and apple.

Terra Chips - another great tasting and healthy snack. Given away in the visitors gift bags, exotic vegetable chips with a "seasonal mix of Taro, Sweet Potato, Yuca, Batata, Parsnip, and
Ruby Taro".

They should make more belts like this practical and trendy with the added bonus of button pockets and inside zippers. Made of real leather also from http://www.dubarrycanada.ca/

Jewelry from Thomaso Designs, absolutely beautiful necklaces.

Who says that boots made for hunting, gardening, and the outdoors can’t be fashionably stylish (I'd pick these boots over the UGG boots any day) and durable … made of real leather and COMPLETELY WATER RESISTANT. http://www.dubarrycanada.ca/