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Roxymandy September 1, 2014

Patterned Knits for Fall

Pattern play is a big fall trend, and there are sweaters launched this fall that not only serve the purpose of keeping you warm, but keeping you looking trendy as well. I’ve been known to sacrifice practicality for a good looking outfit, and that includes being freezing cold for the sake of a cuteness. Luckily I won’t need to sacrifice much when it comes to cozy sweaters – they can’t help but be practical.

Since I sort of hate the whole dressing practically side to fashion, when I’m dressed for a casual lunch or play date, it’s important to avoid wearing comfortable workout gear all the time and opting for something like one of these patterned sweaters. I’m guilty of it all the time – wearing Lululemon’s or Nike workout gear when not planning to work out at all and instead to do errands or hang out. Sometimes I look around and see everyone wearing the same thing – Lycra, running shoes, and more Lycra. It’s easy to get comfortable (literally) with wearing workout gear for everyday life minus actually working out, so wearing this easy and comfortable trend in the fall substitutes fashion and comfort into the place of just comfort period.

Nordstrom Woven Heart Print Open Cardigan

Victoria’s Secret Bateau Sweater

Aritzia Gambler Sweater

Aritzia Sea to Sky Sweater

Ralph Lauren American Flag Cardigan

Forever 21 Shredded Star Sweater

Zara Jacquard Sweater

Billabong Sea Voyage Sweater

Billabong Late for Luv Sweater

Billabong Loosen Up Sweater

American Eagle Star Sweater

Aritzia Alpert Sweater

Victoria’s Secret One Button Cardigan Sweater

Nordstrom Woven Heart Geo Pattern Cardigan

Nordstrom Print Tassel Trim Poncho

Roxymandy August 26, 2014

Cupcake Junkie Bakery & Cafe

Who doesn’t love a good cupcake? No seriously – who? Because if you don’t, you may want to skip this post.

The Cupcake Junkie Bakery & Café is located in Whitby, and they serve all kinds of desserts – ice cream, cookies, squares, cinnamon buns, and most importantly, cupcakes!

Every day of the week there are 12 or more flavours of cupcakes available, and they range from Sticky Toffee, Maple Bacon, and Kit Kat to name a few. Cupcakes are $3.00 each, and $3.50 for cupcakes with filling. They start their baking at 5am (that is dedication!) so their cupcakes are as fresh as possible.

Chocolate Chip Cupcakes

Salted Caramel Cupcakes

Bow Tie Cookies

Kit Kat Cupcakes

Kit Kat Cupcake

I couldn’t decide which cupcake I wanted to try, and I ended up settling on a vanilla cupcake. I shouldn’t’t say settle – it was so good! Like the next time I have a party I’m ordering a dozen – that is how good it was. To be totally honest I was surprised because they had so many options for cupcakes, and to me when there are a lot of choices there may not have been a lot of care going into the creation of each one. My cupcake tasted like it was made with a lot of care, and did I mention how tasty it was? I think it was a smart move to have the word “junkie” in their name, because this place could become slightly addictive.

My tasty vanilla cupcake, which I finished in an embarrassing little amount of time!

They specialize in custom cakes as well, and they had a few on display to showcase some of their work with fondant. They take special orders, and they advertise that if you are looking for something specific, just ask because they can probably make it happen!

They have lots of gluten free options, which I think is hard to find when it comes to cupcakes and cakes. They are also a nut free kitchen as well.

The Cupcake Junkie Bakery & Café have a lot to offer besides cupcakes. The space to eat at the café is quite large so it would be great for a lunch with friends, and they boast their own home-smoked salmon, their meats are roasted on site, their coffee is locally roasted and environmentally friendly, they even pickle their own jalapenos. I don’t do or offer any of those things, so I was pretty impressed!

Even though it’s in a downtown location they have lots of parking. If you have any sort of cupcake emergency (surprise baby shower, a large birthday party, or a break-up where you need sugar to make you feel better) you can call their cupcake hotline at 905-430-3200.

The Cupcake Junkie Bakery & Café is located at 404 Brock Street South, in Whitby. For more information visit their website – www.cupcakejunkiecafe.ca. You can also follow them on Facebook here.

Roxymandy August 25, 2014

Clinique High Impact Waterproof Mascara Review

To keep up my rep of being a total beauty junkie I picked up a new mascara last week that I totally didn’t need. Well, at the time I thought I might need it since it said it was High Impact mascara. Those couple of words reminded me that I totally needed some High Impact lashes in my life, and I thought I would give it a try.

At $19 it didn’t totally break the bank either, so I spent the week willing it to replace my favourite Benefit’s They’re Real Mascara. The mascara only comes in Black or Black/Brown, so it’s really all business and no fun (usually there are a few other colour options with mascara, but it’s not like I have bought a blue or a green one lately anyway).

The claims? Instant volume and length that resists flaking, clumping, smudging. They said it could stand up to heat, humidity, and an active day.

The first thing I noticed was how smooth it went on. The consistency is a little watery so it easily smoothed onto my lashes and was easy to apply. The tips Clinique gave for the mascara was to start at the base of my lashes and then wiggle the brush up to the tip of my lashes. It said to repeat this step, and to prevent clumping to let the mascara dry between coats. I am all about following instructions so I did exactly as told. I didn’t notice any clumping at all which was great, but what I did notice was that the consistency of the mascara was so watery I had to build over and over and over again to get any “Impact”. It went on so smoothly I didn’t really see a lot of volume, and to create the volume I wanted I had to put a lot of this stuff on.

I also found that it didn’t separate my lashes as nicely as I would have liked. I had to use another want to separate my lashes the way I like them to be. It seemed to clump them together, and I think it was all the brushes fault.

It really doesn’t like it when your lashes curl. It seemed to want to straighten my lashes out which was sort of annoying. The formula just didn’t seem to be thick enough to bend your lashes in the shape you want.

Towards the end of my day, the mascara would start to flake. I find I have this issue with all of my mascara’s (probably because I like to put it on very thick!) so I wasn’t overly surprised at this. I had a very hard time getting this mascara off! It is definitely waterproof. It was hard to even smudge it. Apply this mascara very carefully since you are going to be stuck with it for a while.

So the funny thing was that after I tried this mascara for a week, I found out Clinique not only has this mascara in a non-waterproof version (not surprising), but a lash curling version, and they have a mascara just for your lower lashes as well! So they really want you to buy two mascaras – one for your upper lashes and one for your lower lashes? It seems really wasteful to me. Wouldn’t it make sense for everything to be in one mascara? I guess that is why this mascara is a little cheaper than most of the mascara’s at Sephora – technically you need two of them.

Overall I think I am done with this mascara. I gave it a week and it didn’t really work for me, and I did not feel like it lived up to it’s “High Impact” claims. I thought it worked just fine on my lower lashes (I can’t imagine buying a mascara just for those few lashes, which says a lot because I buy useless stuff all the time), but other than it being waterproof it didn’t live up to it’s claims of being “High Impact” for me.

My favourite mascara continues to be Benefit’s They’re Real Mascara! If you have one that you absolutely love and thing I should try, let me know if the comments and I will add it to my arsenal!

Roxymandy August 22, 2014

Top Riding Boot Picks for Fall

The equestrian trend is going to be big this fall, and I think the easiest and most comfortable way to wear it is by having a great riding boot in your wardrobe. Not only are they extremely comfortable, but they go with basically everything. A great boot can make any outfit look a bit more polished, and so just adding them to your day to day wardrobe can dress things up a bit.

When I think of a great riding boot, images of a Tommy Hilfiger or Ralph Lauren campaign come to mind. Who doesn’t want to look like they just stepped off an upscale ranch looking impeccable for a lunch date with the girls? Well I think most people want to look as easily stylish as that, but while doing actual day-to-day errands like grabbing groceries or picking up the kids from school. It’s nice to look stylish, and feel comfortable at the same time.

Below are some of my favourite riding boots out for fall now!

Le Chateau Leather Riding Boot

Tory Burch Marlene Riding Boot

Aldo Cadani Boots

Michael Michael Kors Hamilton Stretch Boot

Call it Spring Brosseau Boots

Zara Leather Riding Boots

Steve Madden Skippur Boots

Sam Edelman Penny Boots

Payless Women’s York Riding Boots

Roxymandy August 19, 2014

What To Do With The Rest Of Your Summer!

It feels like summer is ending fast! It’s been so cold this week and September is fast approaching, so I’ve been thinking about what I need to fit in before the end of the summer. I’m going to be having as many BBQ’s as possible, and trying to do everything outdoors, and I absolutely want to take advantage of all the fun events in and around Toronto at this time of year. There are a few on my list I want to make sure I fit in during these last couple weeks, and I have added them below for you to see as well!

Twilight Tuesday Mini Night Market – Tuesday’s in August from 5pm – 9pm

Held at the York Street parkette (Richmond Street and Adelaide Street), the event features summertime snacks and live entertainment.

Tickets are $5 and can be traded for one food item or one drink item from restaurants such as Momofuku, Drake One Fifty, Richmond Station and Gabaradine.

The Drake One Fifty

These restaurants will serving up snacks and street food with live music. More information on the event can be found here.

Scotiabank® presents Summer Cinema at Fort York – Tuesday’s in August & September

Starting at Dusk on Tuesday’s, Ford York is hosting a family friendly free outdoor movie for the month of August. This event is free, and all you need to bring is a blanket or lawnchair for seating. The first 300 people will receive free popcorn and the first 50 SCENE debit and VISA cardholders to show their cards will receive a VIP seat. Check out www.scotiabank.com/outdoormovies for more details.

August Movies: •August 19th – Ghostbusters (8:15pm)
•August 26th – The Amazing Spiderman 2 (8:05pm)

Chill Ice House – open year round!

The best time to visit a frozen bar and lounge is in the summer, right?

Located at King Street West and Bathurst Street, Chill Ice House is left at a temperature of -5 C. There is a $15 cover charge which includes your use of a made-in-Toronto cape (red or blue – your choice!) and gloves. You are also provided a wristband which tracks your purchases so you don’t need to worry about the money you can’t get out of your pocket because it is too cold.

Photo Courtesy of Chill Ice House

There is a 1200 square-foot chilled space, plus a 1500 square-foot speakeasy which is warmed in the back if you need a break. Every thing is frozen including the chandelier and cups, but the bathroom is not frozen luckily.

Photo Courtesy of Chill Ice House

At night it’s a bar, but during the day families and school trips visit and tour the Ice House.

More details at http://chillicehouse.com

Oshawa Centre Fashion Never Sleeps – Friday September 5th

Photo Courtesy of the Oshawa Centre

The mall will be open for extended hours on this night from 9pm until 11pm. There will be giveaways, live music, and the latest in fall fashions.

Photo Courtesty of The EX

The Canadian National Exhibition (CNE) – August 15th – September 1st

It’s one of North America’s largest annual fairs, and it signals the end of summer for Torontonians. There are 18 days of amusement park rides, parades, live entertainment, food and more.

Photo Courtesy of The Ex

The Canadian International Air Show will be on the last weekend of the summer, and there are lots of concerts and events which coincide with the fair. $16, Seniors: $12, Children (13 and under): $12, Children 4 and under: Free

www.theex.com

Photo Courtesy of Scotiabank Buskerfest

Toronto’s 2014 Scotiabank BuskerFest 2014 – August 21st – 24th

This festival takes over the Yonge Street from Queen to College and throughout the neighbourhood including Yonge-Dundas Square, Trinity Square Park and Gould St on the Ryerson Campus.

Street performers take over the city with appearances by magicians, circus acts, musicians, clowns, contortionists, acrobats aerialists, puppets, silent comedians and more.

Photo Courtesy of Scotiabank Buskerfest

There is no actual schedule for the performances – you just have to walk the streets of this festival and see what pops up. It’s the last major festival of the summer, and for more details check out http://www.torontobuskerfest.com/