Wishful Wednesday: Vintage Halloween

On this Wishful Wednesday, I wish you happy memories of your favorite Halloween costume. Some of my fav vintage costumes were; when I dressed up like a deck of cards, dyed my hair pink and orange and became Cyndi Lauper and when I was older I dressed up as a pink genie and walked Castro Street. Trust me the men looked better in a dress then I did.

What's a Halloween without some candy corn? Well, a Canadian Halloween. I honestly do not remember seeing candy corn until we moved to the States. We so knew Reddi Wip though!

There was one house in our neighborhood that the children didn't like trick or treating at because the owner was a dentist. And instead of candy, we would receive an apple and a toothbrush. Don't you think it's time I got over this?



Work it, work it...Own it, own it!

Oh yum! Is this is cake? Hold on as I go and get a fork.

And our vintage Halloween wouldn't be complete without the mention of Elvira, Mistress of the Dark. She was a character from my childhood. Yes, I know this explains so much!

Ah, I'm feeling so nostalgic. And even though I've lived in America for, gosh, 19 years I still wonder how I will stay warm in my Halloween costume. You see, I have to remind myself that I no longer live in Toronto and snow is not coming to San Francisco. What was your favorite Halloween costume?

Travel: should you ride a Cable Car in the rain?

For the last four years, my childhood friend R and his wife O have talked to me about coming to California for a coast-to-coast trip. R and I grew up together in Toronto and his lovely wife O used to live in L.A. for several years before deciding to return to Toronto to be closer to her family.

I got the call last week, that they’ve decided on a whim to come and visit. I was so excited and helped plan their trip. They would fly into San Francisco and then drive to Carmel, L.A., Laguna Nigel and end up in Vegas. Perfect!

What we didn’t plan for was the rain… (So glad I straightened my hair yesterday.)

I have a day a half with them in San Francisco. My plan was to take them on a cable car ride to Ghirardelli Square to see the Chocolate Festival. (I’m sure O and I could really make a dent there.) And then we would walk down to see the OUTDOOR the Ferry Plaza Farmers Market. Maybe we could then get some lunch on outside Union Street and coffee in mostly outside North Beach. Our dinner reservations are at a Sushi place that specializes in Japanese artistry mixed with California cuisine. Plus the ambiance is an orange color with great acid jazz music plays in the background. Can you get anymore San Francisco?

And then it happened. I woke up this morning to hear thunder and rain. Uh rain? Thank you local weatherman. I had no idea. Yesterday the city was 78 degrees and we had our windows open to try and feel the San Francisco Bay air.

When I had first moved to San Francisco from Los Angeles, I had been warned about the cool San Francisco summer weather. I remember a city heat wave of 90 degrees. The city was hot, still and sticky. When I asked a friend if she could turn on her air conditioning in her apartment she laughed. “Do you see the Bay?” she asked me. “That’s our only air conditioning!”

I digress. After all of these years, my Canadian friends will land today to hear their flight attendant say, “ Don’t forget to bring your umbrella.” While showing around tourists, where do you go in a city with rain and without a car? Do you think their trip will be a wash? (Sorry that one was too easy!)

Eye opener: Dove real beauty and parody

This Dove real beauty video was done on a shoestring budget in Toronto. The concept? Show the inner workings of how even the model featured, doesn't look like the finished product on the billboards.

I love this video! To me its a great reminder, to accept ourselves inside and out. Dove and its Campaign for real beauty worldwide shines as a product that is clean, simple and understanding of realistic beauty.

I'm pretty sure I knew this guy in college! Wait wasn't he on our High School water polo team? Water polo you may be asking? Remember I went to High School in Newport Beach, Ca. Do you think this video could be a cautionary tale to men and women everywhere?

Wishful Wednesday: summer blog pictures

On this Wishful Wednesday, it seems I've been traveling a lot over the last couple of weeks. So much so, when I wake up in the mornings, I have to remind myself of the city I'm in. Some of the cities I've been to are: San Francisco, Toronto, New York, Buffalo, Houston, Atlanta and Charlotte, NC. Here are some fun blog pictures, if you haven't been able to travel this summer. ~ Shhh I won't tell if you don't...

I saw this storefront walking down the street in Toronto. SO, even dogs ask each other this question? And for the record, no doggie, I think your butt looks fab in that dress.

Yes they do!

We saw this truck on our way to Fenway Park. Bostonians have pride in their city and so they should. I think Boston is a great city with great people.

How cool is this storefront. What do you think they're advertising? Purses or their blog.









This display was in a storefront in Charlotte, NC. BTW the Charlotte airport looks like a shopping mall which can be very scary if you have a long layover. Don't worry, I behaved.



Let me know by commenting below which travel blog picture is your favorite?

How did the Brady Bunch all get through customs?

Phew… Late last night I made it safely back to San Francisco. I’m pretty sure that over the past 2 weeks, I’ve traveled on all forms of transportation and today feel completely knackered (exhausted). I felt like I was in the movie Planes Trains and Automobiles. (BTW one of the best movies. Have you seen it?) So forgive me as I rest a little today and write to you something small about my travels.

Our story begins last Sunday as we were passing through customs from Toronto to Buffalo…

My family and I flew on JetBlue to the Buffalo airport and then took a bus to Toronto and tried to do the reverse this weekend, but were caught in the horrible East Coast storms. Even though I was born and raised in Toronto, this was my first time not flying directly in. If you haven’t known the joy of entering another country via bus, then let me explain some of what you’ve been missing.

There was five of us traveling together; my father, stepmother, little brother P, little sister D and moi. We had five pieces of luggage and carry-on between us. As soon as we sat down on the bus and got situated, it was time to get off of the bus pick up our luggage and go through customs.

Even though we’re a blended family, we look a lot alike. My stepmother and I have been mistaken for sisters, as there’s ten years between us.

Could this be confusing to a customs official? It sure could.

We handed him our passports and I noticed that he was looking at me and then to my stepmother with a curious look. Finally my father said pointing to us, “This is my wife and this is my daughter. “ The customs official stared at me again and then I placed my hand on H’s shoulder and repeated, “This is my stepmother not my mother.”

“Oh,” the customs official stated with a smile on his face. “I understand now. I was trying to figure out how she had you, when she was only ten years old!”

We all laughed. What travel or border stories do you have? Am I the only one that these things happen to?

Top ten reasons you know you’ve been in Toronto for too long….

I’m having a great time visiting my family and friends and interviewing some great photographers and stylists for my lovely readers. I have had my fill of ketchup chips, been to a few brunches and have had several people hold the door open for me…. which leads me to want to write the top ten reasons you know you’ve been in Toronto for too long…

(Click here to read the top ten reasons you've lived in Los Angeles for too long...)

10) After getting asked out on a date, you check their facebook ‘friends’ before accepting their dinner invitation.

9) You have three sets of friends; Childhood, work and camp (from when you were 12)

8) Throughout the day, you tune into the weather channel and to keep up-to-date on the five-day forecast. A girl has to know the difference between a snowstorm and just flurries.

7) In your closet you have two sets of clothes, one for the winter and for summer.

6) During the winter, you know which pair of warm boots to wear just by looking at the sky (e.g., goulashes vs. ski boots vs. Uggs etc.).

5) You’ve seen only one fire engine and police car in six months. On the news it looks like there are shootouts on every corner.

4) When asked for directions from a tourist, you use different Bagel Worlds and Tim Horton’s as landmarks.

3) You joined a hockey league eh!

2) Every Sunday you only wear, or go shopping for, lululemon pants.

And the number 1 reason you know you’ve been in Toronto too long is: The smell of a Panzerotto reminds you of your childhood.

Insider: Toronto fashion and photography

When people find out that I'm from Toronto, they tend to ask me what the city is like. I've always explained it like 'A cleaner New York' bustling city. As I'm here for ten days with my family, I wanted to share with you some amazing fashion and photography that is happening in my hometown.

Starting with Babak (above photo) who takes raw and stunning pictures. He has such a great eye and seems to be able to do everything from rock 'n' roll to beauty shots. I plan to interview him while I'm in Toronto and share with you more of his story and pics in a future post.
Check out this Toronto street fashion photography blog. Mens wear never looked so good.

We go to the Toronto Eaton Centre which houses more than 230 stores, restaurants and services. If you are in need of some retail therapy, then this is the place to go. Just remember to wear very comfortable shoes.

If I walk around the Eaton Centre twice, can this be considered my exercise for the day?

La Mimi Style fabulous Toronto fashion stylist and blog (pic above). I love her flirty and fun style. Stay tuned for a post about La Mimi as well.

Past Project Runway Canada contestant and Toronto designer Shernett Swaby is now offering her handbag line. These bags are unique in the shape, fun to carry and owners of these fab bags get stopped all the time about where they got them.



Toronto retro picture by Andrew Fare. Comment below and tell me, are you surprised about the fashionistas coming out of Toronto?

Wishful Wednesday: I'm leaving on a Jet Plane

So, I'm leaving tonight on a Jet Plane. I'm off to Toronto to see my family and friends. On this wishful Wednesday, I wish for safe travels and that I remember all of the following items!

Maybe I'm not bringing these exact socks, but a girl can dream can't she?

My purse will be weighed down with one and two dollar coins, I'm coming loonies and toonies.

I love my red passport cover because it helps me find my passport in the deep, dark hole otherwise known as my carry-on bag.

Vitamins help me get through my flights with energy...well at least in my mind they do.


Would you take me seriously if I showed up with this carry-on? Wait, you wouldn't. Hold a sec, as I go and repack.



Ah, the life of a jet setter, although I honestly might just wear my lululemon pants tonight on the plane.

While I'm away, I am lucky to have some blogger friends write some guest posts and I promise to post as well. Thank you so much ladies.

Guest bloggers are:

Fifi Flowers (tomorrow & July 27th)

3BayBChicks (July 22nd)

Carrie Couture (July 20th & July 23rd)

Char from Ramblins (July 25th)