What to Do – Valentine’s Day Ideas

 

Valentine’s Day is only a couple weeks away, and if you haven’t planned something you should probably start brainstorming!  I made my own reservations a couple days ago, and it wasn’t easy because my first restaurant choice was completely booked.  Don’t be like me – book now!   Instead of the standard flowers, chocolate and dinner plans, here are a crew other creative ideas to spend your night.

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At the Toronto Zoo they are having their First Comes Love Adult Dinner Event.

They are having a romantically inspired dinner with a special animal visitor, an interactive group presentation and a tour of the Zoo’s Reproductive Labs led by their Reproductive Specialist Team.  Couples will learn information about parenthood amongst different species, and more.

A portion of ticket prices will go directly to support Toronto Zoo reproduction and conservation efforts.

This is a 19 + event, and runs on both February 14th and February 15th from 6:30pm until 9:00pm.

The cost is $65 per person for a zoo member, or $120 for zoo member couples, and $75 for non-members or $140 for non- member couples.

 

 

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At Ripley’s Aquarium in Toronto they are having a Valentine’s Day date night.  For $250 per couple they are offering an appetizer, entree, dessert, a bottle of wine, live entertainment, a lounge area to relax in, and a cash bar.  Patrons will be seated either in the Dangerous Lagoon tunnel, or just outside of it.  There is also a 10% discount for annual pass members.  Seatings are at 6:30 and 8:30pm on Valentine’s Day, and everyone leaves with a complementary souvenir photo.
To book, email valentines@ripleysaquariumofcanada.com
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Le Dolci is having a Valentine’s Day Truffle-Making Class on February 13th from 7pm to 9pm.  The cost is $140 per couple, and each pair will learn to make hand rolled truffles.
1006 Dundas Street West, Toronto
www.ledolci.com
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Murder at the Rom – Meet your Match Special Edition
A murder mystery at the Rom with a twist – singles will be placed into teams, and the hunt lasts two hours.  Tickets can be purchased at www.urbacapers.com

Where to Shop – Saks Fifth Avenue to open at Sherway Gardens

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When Sears vacates Sherway Gardens in February, 2014 Saks Fifth Avenue will be taking it’s place.  Competitor Nordstrom already announced it’s plans to open at Sherway as well, but have delayed their opening until 2017.  Saks Fifth Avenue will likely open first in 2016.  The store will be approximately 130,000 square feet, and could possibly feature a 25,000 square foot food hall as well.

I shop at both stores in both the US and online.  I think this is great news because not only does Saks have an amazing selection of brands for women and kids, but Nordstrom tends to be more competitive in price, so the fact they will be launching at the same mall on a similar timeline will hopefully mean competitive pricing and greater selection for all of us!  I love the Burberry boys line but its hard to purchase in-store in Canada because I am always finding their product is out of stock.  Saks and Nordstrom both carry the line, and always seem to have everything in stock (and sometimes on sale!) so I and I’m sure many others will be saving on cross-border shipping and duty!
 Photo Courtesy of Sherwaygardens.ca

What to Do – Events Coming Up!

 

eluxe2014

 

 

eLUXE Warehouse Sale – January 22nd and 23rd, 2014

Up to 75% off designers including DVF, J Brand, Rebecca Taylor, Mackage, Michael Kors, Red Valentino, Zac Posen and 7 For All Mankind.

The sale runs 12-8pm.

355 Adelaide Street West, Toronto

http://www.eluxe.ca/

 

January ROM Kids PD Day Camp – January 24th, 2014

 

ROM 2014

At the Royal Ontario Museum there will be an all day camp for kids with a PD day.  It runs from 9am to 4pm, and the schedule is as follows:

Drop off:8-9am

Morning Session: 9-12pm

Supervised Lunch: 12-1pm

Afternoon Session: 4-6pm

Cost is $60-$69, for ages 5-14

The day includes hands-on educational activities, art projects, science experiments, and more!

www.rom.on.ca/en/activities-programs/kids-events/rom-kids-days

 

Steam Whistle UNSIGNED – January 24th, 2014

 

Steamwhistle 2014

On January 24th, Steam Whistle will host Unsigned #28, celebrating Canadian indie music. The show will be hosted in the Toronto Brewery’s Beer Hall and will feature Bravestation, Ark Analog, and Doom Squad. Doors open at 8pm and admission is only $5 at the door with all proceeds from ticket sales going back to the community through the Artists Health Alliance.

Steam Whistle Brewing

255 Bremner Blvd, Toronto

http://www.steamwhistle..ca/unsigned

 

Q&A with Flare’s Fashion Director Tiyana Grulovic – January 28th, 2014

 

Flare 2014

 

Meet fashion director at FLARE, for a Q&A about style and career opportunities in fashion/media at the Toronto Fashion Incubator.  The event starts at 5:30pm for coffee and networking, and the Q&A starts at 6pm.

285 Manitoba Drive, Toronto

To register, visit: www.fashionincubator.com/shop

 

The Drake’s Guilty Pleasures Brunch + Designer Sale – February 1st, 2014

 

The Drake 2014

It is the 10th anniversary for this event!  Brunch seating’s are from 11:00am – 1:00pm and from 2-4:30pm there is a designer sale open to the public.

There will be free mini manicures, styling tips and beauty touch ups.

The Drake Hotel, 1150 Queen Street West, Toronto

http://www.thedrakehotel.ca/happenings/2014/2/1/guilty-pleasures-2014/

 

 

Photo #1 courtesy of eluxe.ca, #2 courtesy of rom.on.ca, #3 steamwhistle.ca, #4 flare.com, #5 thedrakehotel.ca

 

 

 

 

 

Valentines Day Fun with Pottery Barn Kids

Valentines Day Pottery Barn Kids 1

 

The one thing I miss the most about being in school is decorating a little mail box for all of the valentines I would receive on Valentines Day.  I loved waiting until the end of the day and seeing how many valentines I received from my classmates. Although it’s nice to get flowers and candy, I still miss getting valentines from my friends.  I remember it being such a big deal to see who sent me a valentine, and how excited I was to see which boys included me!

Now that those days are over, I luckily have a child to live vicariously through for this holiday!  I have a boy so it really won’t be the same (I can just see myself forcing him to write his friend’s names on valentines, or maybe by then they will be Valentine’s Day text messages?), but at least while he is little I can indulge in this holiday until he is too cool for it.

 

 

Valentines Day Pottery Barn Kids 2

 

 

Pottery Barn Kids takes every holiday pretty seriously, which is perfect for a holiday-addict like myself.  They even have a great section right now on their web page which includes how to host an awesome Valentines Day kids party, which includes crafts and recipes.  Check out the link here:

http://www.potterybarnkids.com/design-studio/celebration/valentines_day.html

They also have a great selection of Valentines, mailboxes (I LOVED making my Valentines Day mail box – why don’t we do this anymore?), party décor and other cute adorable valentine-themed items that I’m crazy about.

 

Here are a few of my favourite items below!

 

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Mailbox Chairbackers $26.38

 

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Envelope Chair Backer $26.38

 

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Heart Mailbox Chair Backer $26.38

 

 

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Heart Stamp Set $18.05

 

 

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Valentine Pencil Set $26.38

 

 

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Heart Apron Set $33.32

 

 

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Valentine Vehicle Card Set $24.99

 

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Treat Container Set $19.43

 

 

 

All photos courtesy of www.potterybarnkids.com

 

 

 

 

 

Our Review of a Wine Tour with Crush on Niagara

 

Colaneri Estate Winery

Colaneri Estate Winery

I used to be more of a wine-hater than a wine-lover.  I would drink it at parties and events, but would find a way to somehow lose the glass so no one would notice I didn’t finish it!

I didn’t really find my love for wine until I went on my first wine tour.  Each winery I visited would ask me questions like, what was my regular drink of choice?  Or, what did I like better – something fruity or something very dry?  By the time I was finished the day I knew exactly what wines I liked, and which wines I should stay away from because they weren’t for me.

Since that first time we have done many different trips to Niagara wineries either on our own by driving from winery to winery, or with a company named Crush on Niagara.

Crush has a list of tours they offer which include transportation, tours and tastings at a selection of wineries.  Some tours offer lunch as well.  We tried three different Crush tours and all of them were amazing!  The guides were always very knowledgeable, and at each winery we visited we were taken care of immediately like we were VIP’s.

The best part about taking a wine tour versus touring on your own is that you have a DD!  It’s no fun to have one person not be able to experience the tastings, so having someone drive you around for an afternoon and to make sure you are taken care of at each winery right away is very valuable.

After sampling a few tours we decided to book our own private tour for the first time, Crush offers the opportunity to book private tours by contacting the company directly to make arrangements.  Because we had done so many tours with Crush previously and have also visited many wineries on our own, we arranged to have a few wineries in mind to visit, and along the way we agreed to have the driver suggest a few we may want to visit.

The day of the tour we were picked up in one of the Crush Land Rovers which was great because it was a very comfortable ride!  Our guide actually ended up being a driver we had previously which was great because he was very knowledgeable about the regions wineries.

 

The Crush Land Rover

The Crush Land Rover

 

 

 

This tour was one of the best yet since we were able to do exactly what we wanted.  We visited some wineries we always wanted to, plus our driver took us to wineries we had no idea even existed.

We spent four hours traveling around Niagara on the Lake, Vineland and Beamsville and were safely picked up and dropped off at our hotel in Niagara Falls.  We also were able to spend our time at the wineries doing tastings and looking around on our own instead of doing introductory tours which are often included on a regularly-arranged wine tour.  On our first tour it was very interesting to learn about the wine making process, but it’s not as fun to go through the same lesson with each tour.  On the private tour we didn’t need to worry about who’s was a first timer on the tour and needed to hear that sort of information, which was nice.

 

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For an introduction to Niagara on the Lake wineries I would recommend contacting Crush to arrange a tour and get an idea of what sort of wines they have to offer.  Once you are a bit more familiar with the area, I would recommend booking a private tour like we did so you can go where you want, or you could venture out on your own to wineries you are interested in.  Here are a few of our favourites:

Megalomaniac is our favourite winery, not only because of the wines, but the winery itself.  It’s situated on a high hill with an amazing view of the lake.  The winey has a large set of gates that lead to a door that takes you inside the hill to this underground winery.  It’s really amazing to see, and it helps that their Riesling is amazing.

www.megalomaniacwine.com

Vineland Estates Winery is very picturesque and even has a market with cheeses and food to pair with your wine, plus a restaurant on site.  We have found the staff to be very nice here, and during our tastings they let us try a few wines that weren’t on the regular tasting menu.  They even have a special Girls Just Want to Have Fun deal where for $15 per person you will receive a wine and cocktail tasting, which finishes with some chocolate and a shot.  What’s not to love about that!

http://vineland.com

Between the Lines Winery is one of the smallest wineries in Niagara, but it is where we made the most purchases on our latest trip.  Normally we don’t like blended wine, but we made an exception and trusted them with a tasting, and we made sure we left with a bottle.

www.betweenthelineswinery.com

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A relatively new spot is Colaneri Winery.  It was built to look like it belongs in Italy instead of Niagara, and in the summer they have a wood-burning pizza oven outside with live music.  Although the winery itself is something to see, they have a large number of wines they produce and each label represents a family member and has a story behind it.

www.colaneriwines.com

Colaneri Estate Winery

Colaneri Estate Winery

Creekside Estate Winery is a place I will never forget because the person who hosted our tasting had me try practically every wine they had until I finally found the first wine I liked!  They take customer service pretty seriously there, and their Cabernet Rose was the big winner for me.

www.creeksidewine.com

For more information on booking a wine tour in Niagara and the surround area, contact Crush on Niagara.  www.crushtours.com

Crush on Niagara