Centro Garden in Burlington is open!

Grand Opening Weekend is here for Btown's newest and coolest shop!  Centro Garden has finally opened on Brant Street and all I can say after having seen it for myself is: WOW!  You can see from the photos it is a feast for the senses and a wonderful addition to the unique boutiques that make downtown Burlington so fabulous!  Congrats to owner Jason Pepetone (of the Terra gardening dynasty), Store Manager Jennifer Klassen and their whole team for putting together some truly breathtaking displays throughout the store.  Centro Garden brings a lot of the inspiration and beauty of the outdoors inside to the cozy interiors of your home.  You'll find a wide variety of seasonal items (I'm already in the mood for Christmas now that I've been there!), along with great gifts like candles & beautiful home accents.  Buona fortuna Centro!

MAC holiday products are here!

I love when MAC comes out with their holiday palettes and collections!  This year's treasure trove is ready for pre-ordering and then (2 short months from now) stuffing into the Christmas stockings of all your best girlfriends! 

Check out this adorable teddy ornament with Viva Glam 1 lipglass!  $22.00 and every cent goes to the MAC AIDS fund! 

Bay Days Highlights for October 2011

It's freezing out, you're bored, and you know you want to hit the mall for a latté and a window-shopping stroll, right?   Well if you're going anyway, I'll just point out some of the highlights from the current Bay Days sale happening at The Bay.  Just a reminder that Bay Days only happen two times a year, unlike previous decades where they happened too often to count, so the sales are really significant and worth waiting for.  How cute is this knit dress for $62.24!  Just imagine it with some opaque tights and tall brown boots.  It's not Missoni but it sure looks like it.  Shop online and get free shipping over $99 too! 

• 30% off brands like Dex, Material Girl and INC. (great sweaters + sparkley tops!)
• 40% off dresses (upcoming holiday parties girls!)
• 40% off outerwear (you know you need a new coat, am I right?)
• 20-30% off shoes depending on how many you buy (1=20%,2=25%,3=30%)
• 50% off select men's dress shirts (Ben Sherman, Tommy Hilfiger and more!)
• 30% off bedding (I'm already cozy in my flannel sheets this month)

Friday Fetish...

Loving this bootie so much from Via Spiga that I just had to share. 

Am I the only one who thinks footwear is an absolutely glorious artistic expression? 

Cheers to anyone who has plans tonight where this gorgeous foot ornament would be appropriate!  I sure wish I did!

Happy Friday all!

Old Navy 30% off today - In Stores and Online

Just a reminder that your entire purchase is 30% off today at Old Navy.  Great time to grab jeans, fleece hoodies and pajamas for the kids if you ask me!  This boys polar fleece is already on sale for $15, so with today's discount it's only $10.50!  Just use code "ONHARVEST" online, or go to the website and print out a coupon to use in the Store. 

As a follow up...here are my new shoes!

My short-lived saga on what shoes to wear now that the chilly weather is here has come to an abruptly pleasant end!

On sale for less than $40 at Mapleview Mall in Burlington, comfortable, and exactly as I was hoping for: a wedge loafer.  It's not real leather (you're welcome cows) which is fine by me, and the sole is a non-slip rubber (my fave).  It also comes in a lovely cognac colour.  It was a tough choice.  Thanks "Call It Spring" for an excellent deal!  I'm not sure I understand the deal with the name of the Store (Spring?  Call It Spring?  Which is it?) but since I now realize you're part of the Aldo family, I'm fine with it.  While I was at it, I couldn't resist these faux patent penny loafers (also on sale for under $40), since I'm in the mood to pull off a retro 80's look and I don't have my Bass Weejuns anymore.  I'll skip the baggy jeans and hairspray, but I may throw some New Order on the ipod :)

What shoes are we supposed to wear in this weather???

I'm sincere in my quest for advice here ladies.  We are now at the point where every day in Ontario can be considered "chilly".  The rest of Canada as well, no doubt.  I thoroughly enjoy a good pair of skinny jeans tucked in to my riding boots...my running shoes are great when I'm headed to a workout class...and when I go out on the town (which you all know is, sadly, almost never these days), I gladly grab a pair of heels from my closet and show them a long-overdue good time.  It's the other days that I have major issues with.  The days I feel like wearing bootcut jeans or slightly cropped boyfriend jeans or those comfy flared khakis.  WHAT SHOES AM I SUPPOSED TO WEAR???  Honestly...it's just too cold for barefooting it in ballet flats any longer, and those bootcut jeans are hemmed too long for flats anyway.   Riding boots look downright matronly under a full-length pant since they don't have a heel worth mentioning and the toe is just a plain round bulb.  I don't really want to wear dressed-up heels to the grocery store - I mean, this isn't L.A., there are no paparazzi following me, and I am certain I will not be showing up in the pages of US Weekly so I'd just look like I'm trying way too hard.  So what is left that looks girlie and appropriate?  Trust me, I have scoured the pages of Piperlime, Aldo, Nine West, Zappos, Cole Haan, Sperry, Keds, Nordstrom...and I am just running out of ideas people.  I love this black Coach option but do I really need to spend almost $200 just so I can leave the house to go buy bread?  Is it too much to ask for a decent wedge loafer to run errands in that won't break the bank?  Anyone with ideas, please please please leave a comment!  Otherwise, it's skinny jeans and riding boots every single day and I just don't think I can survive that much repetition!

Blackberry...now my least favourite fruit.

Allow me just one blog post to share my disappointment in Blackberry this week, since mobile devices are one of retail's biggest ticket items, and make all our blogging, surfing, shopping, and social networking so easy & such an integral part of our lives.  I have long been a Blackberry user and a loyal one at that.  Working for Rogers for 5 years in the recent past, I could have had any device I wanted...and after trying iPhones and Androids and Motorolas and more, I never loved anything as much as my Blackberry.  Unlike a fragile iPhone, I could throw it in my giant purse and never worry about the screen cracking.  My kids could knock it on the floor - multiple times to my dismay - and it always kept on ticking.  Also, unlike the iPhone, I could type faster than a speeding bullet, never worrying about pressing the wrong letter or ridiculous auto-complete features skewing my words into utter gibberish.  With the volume of email I send, the fast qwerty keyboard that didn't require the "heat" from my fingers to work (I have fingernails Apple...do you know how hard it is for women with long nails to type on an iPhone?) made life an efficient breeze.  As for Android...the first Android device I had got so hot in my hand that it felt like I was getting burned.  Plus, it never let me do all the little time-saving things I loved about Blackberry like hold down a key to make it capitalized, or easily call highlighted conference call numbers from right in my calendar.  Until this week, I would have stood behind RIM and sung their praises to anyone & everyone asking for advice on what their next smartphone should be.  But no longer.  RIM is a Canadian company.  And Canadian companies should behave like Canadians do.  Take responsibility when you mess up.  Own up.  Man up.  Apologize - and do it loud and quickly so that everyone can hear you.  Don't be a coward and hide behind PR departments or avoid reporters.  RIM...I never expected perfection.  None of us should, especially where technology is concerned.  But I do expect empathy and accountability.  And waiting days before issuing a statement - and a YouTube one at that where no one can ask questions - is just gutless.  I expected better from a brand I loved.  Note the past-tense RIM.  Loved, not love.

Banana Republic grand re-opening today at Yorkdale!

Just have to send a little bit of props out to my old alma mater as Banana Republic is having their grand re-opening tonight at Yorkdale Mall in Toronto complete with cocktails (and free umbrellas when you spend over $100)!  I guarantee the stunning expansion and renovation will blow your minds!  Gorgeous finishes, glamorous lighting, double the square footage, and a new exterior entrance on the north side.  As a retail vet, I have to tell you that few things in the working world (life-saving jobs aside) are as stressful and exhausting as helming a high volume store going through a full renovation.  I've watched many a competent colleague die a slow professional death this way and it's never pretty.  So allow me to offer some serious props to the lovely and talented Store Manager of Yorkdale's BR...Miss Katharine Barthel.  Somehow she survived this very lengthy months-long process, kept her staff in tact and her registers ringing, and I think she even did it without having to spend any nights sleeping on the floor with a sleeping bag!  Congrats team KB!

How much is too much for a t-shirt?

Can we talk about implementing a worldwide limit on how much designers can charge for a plain short-sleeve cotton t-shirt please?  I'm all for finding the "perfect tee" - the one that is fitted without being tight, drapes gently without being baggy, is long enough to layer but short enough to look polished under a blazer, soft and yet still hardy enough to survive the washing machine without losing its shape.  It's a tough find, we all know that.  But I really draw the line at any t-shirt that costs more than $50.  There's simply not enough fabric, not enough stitching, not enough design work to really warrant a higher price tag.  James Perse's white v-neck here on the left costs over $100.  The dark blue 100% cotton tee by Jil Sander on the right was $189!  It seems that despite a global recession, we still have designers making insanely priced goods for the 1% who can afford them.  I may need to get behind this whole "Occupy Wall Street" movement.  Can we get "overpriced t-shirts" on the agenda?  In all seriousness, I think everyone needs to rethink their pricing & profit strategies in times like these, no matter whose name is on the label.

Express now open in Canada at Fairview Mall

Another retailer has made its way into Canadian malls.  Express has opened their first store in Toronto at Fairview Mall.  I can't say I've ever shopped at that mall, as it's a little out of the way and never had a unique store to draw me away from the usual stomping grounds, but Express just may do the trick!  Fairview Mall is at Don Mills & Sheppard in Toronto...just a little north of the 401, and a little west of the DVP.  You can get there via subway now so why not?  (just take the Sheppard Line from Yonge and then get off at Don Mills station).  I like Express for a) the almost constant availability of items with sequins, and b) the trendy pieces with inexpensive price tags.  This is not a store for building long-term quality basics into your wardrobe.  This is the store you go to when you want something fun to wear out on Saturday night because you're sick of everything in your closet.   Check out their website here, or a little slideshow of in-store pieces here, courtesy of one of Toronto's original style mavens, Rita Zekas (Toronto Star).  Enjoy!

Online shopping safety starts with secure passwords!

There are many things I want to remind you all about when you're shopping online.  You have to always keep in mind that there are professionals out there - and they aren't very nice - whose entire career is based on stealing the identities and financial information of others.  It's a lucrative business my friends, but there are many things you can do to help.  It starts with secure browsing, meaning if you use a Wi-Fi network at home when you're surfing, you need to make sure you've got yourself a great firewall to prevent others from using that network too.  If you're not at home, I highly discourage ever making online purchases on a public computer for that very reason.  Secondly, please be sure the passwords you create with online shopping sites are complex!  Here are some great tips on password creation and more from the Government of Canada's cybersafety website!  

Designer keys? Why not?

If you love personalizing things, then why not your grab some custom designer keys from Stat Key Company?  I think they're adorable, & would love a little house at the top of my house key!  Or imagine your boyfriend (in a romantic comedy of course, not real life) giving you a key to his apartment with a heart on it?  Lots of cute designs, clear instructions on what keys they're compatible with, then once they arrive at your door you can just pop on over to the hardware store to get yours duplicated!  Buy 2, get 1 free!

Where to find Ballet Flats in Canada: prettyballerinas.ca

As per their website,Pretty Ballerinas is a division of MASCARÓ, a family based company founded in Ferreries, Menorca, in 1918. The MASCARÓ family has been a manufacturer of fine footwear and ballerina shoes for four generations and in 2008, the company celebrated its 90th anniversary.  Still to this day, the footwear is ethically sourced and hand-made on the Island of Menorca, Spain.

So if you're in the market for ballerina flats and you don't know where to find an excellent selection online in Canada - just head to prettyballerinas.ca and you're all set!