sparkleshinylove - A lifestyle blog for girls who love a little sparkle!

Roxymandy November 25, 2015

Dressing for the Holiday’s with Toronto’s Room 29

Not only are most of us stressed about what holiday gifts to buy, but we are also battling with what can be an even larger holiday problem – what the heck are we going to wear to that all-important holiday party we have coming up?

Toronto’s Room 29 is a fashion boutique that has a curated collection of designer wear that is a bit of a dream come true for someone looking for something from either an established designer, or an emerging one. Finding something to wear to a holiday party is beyond easy with their selection! I almost couldn’t decide what to choose when they let me stop by to choose an outfit for a live taping with Social Common on Tuesday night!

The store itself is located at 454 Eglinton Avenue West in Toronto, but they also offer online shopping and shipping. I visited the store myself and had an amazing time trying on all kinds of dresses and sweaters that I hadn’t set my eyes on before. It’s so much more fun to shop at a boutique rather than the mall because the odds of someone else wearing the same dress as you are significantly lowered.

The dress I am wearing in this post is called A Thousand Sacraments Dress from Sass & Bide .

This fitted dress is knit and is very warm! It’s perfect for cold and snowy nights when you still want to wear a dress, but don’t want to freeze to death. The bodycon style is very flattering because of the pattern on the dress. It’s a very slimming pattern, and the dress was beyond comfortable.

Room 29 has a great selection of dresses for the holiday season, along with some on-trend sweaters and tops that had me thinking all about how I could incorporate them into my party style. They carry all kinds of brands including Mackage, Alice McCall, Wildfox.

For more information about Room 29 and to shop the store please visit them here.

Roxymandy November 24, 2015

The Oshawa Centre’s New Santa’s Snowy Valley Holiday Experience + $100 Gift Card Giveaway!

I live in Whitby, so the Oshawa Centre has always been my hometown mall. I have been so excited for the expansion and redevelopment that’s been happening over the last few months! Expected to be completed in Fall 2016, there will be 60 new stores, a new 1000-seat food court and two new restaurants.

Last weekend I was able to get a sneak peak at Santa’s Snowy Valley, the new holiday experience at all the mall.

First up, valet parking! Valet parking is my jam. I love leaving my warm car to head straight into the mall, leaving my heavy jacket behind so I can shop. Why fight for a parking space when someone can park your car for you? This new service runs until December 24th, 2015 and I am going to enjoy every minute of it. You can drop your car off at the Town Shoes entrance, and you can’t miss the valet parking booth with the attendants in their branded outfits ready to make your day a whole lot easier. Did I mention valet parking was free as well? If you opt-in to the text messaging service then all you need to do is text “CAR”, and the valet will have your car ready when you are.

Also new to the Oshawa Centre is the OC Holiday Nook. If you read the blog on the regular (which obviously you do because you are known for making awesome decisions, right?) then you know I am a lover of all things exclusive. The OC Holiday Nook is reminiscent of a VIP lounge in the middle of the holiday madness. Customers can enjoy a comfy place to relax in between shopping, and it includes complimentary hot chocolate on select weekends and a custom marshmallow bar for those who choose to enter to win the weekly contests they have running. An iPad station is set up where you can enter to win one of the fabulous holiday contests running this season, and there will also be gift-wrapping available with proceeds benefitting the United Way. It’s a great spot to pick up an OC gift card as well if you don’t win my gift card giveaway below!

Santa’s Snowy Valley is an amazing new experience at the mall where your little one’s can meet one of the most impressive Santa’s I’ve seen. This Santa was the real deal – he was absolutely lovely to my son, and he really looked the part. Snowy Valley is a gorgeous display, and it was really pretty to walk through the setup. Every child who visit’s Santa (while quantities last) will receive a treat from Purdy’s and a free plush mini polar bear.

We stopped by on the day Santa arrived so there were some extra fun activities like cookie decorating!

The winter wonderland that has been created in centre court at the Oshawa Centre made our Santa visit a little more magical. It really was an impressive display.

The Toronto Zoo is also on-site beside the Santa set on November 22, November 27th, December 12th and December 19th with activities including Zoo Keeper talks, Adopt-An-Animal special polar bear package opportunities, and other educational interactive activities.

In partnership with Autism Durham, the Oshawa Centre will host 2 silent Santa mornings where children with Autism and special needs can meet Santa in a friendly atmosphere on November 29th and December 6th. You must RSVP directly to Autism Durham to participate, and families who have an appointment will receive a free 6 x 8 photo, and can purchase additional photo packages. You can reach Autism Durham at 905-432-5092.

Now that I have filled you in on all of the new holiday changes made to the Oshawa Centre, how about a gift card to spend for your own visit to the mall?

I am giving away a $100 gift card for the Oshawa Centre to one lucky reader. Entering is easy – just use the Rafflecopter widget below! The contest runs until Monday, November 30th, 2015 at midnight. The winner will be randomly selected via the Rafflecopter App, and this contest is open to Canadian residents only.

Good luck to everyone who enters!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Roxymandy November 23, 2015

The VIP Treatment at the RBC Avion Holiday Boutique

Holiday shopping can be exhausting! It’s only November and already it seems like there are no parking spaces left at the mall, and it’s difficult to maneuver past shoppers carrying huge purchases.

Not only am I stressed out about the fact that I’ve hardly started my holiday shopping, but the idea of fighting the crowds at the mall can be daunting.

Last week I was lucky enough to attend the launch of the RBC Avion Holiday Boutique at Yorkdale Shopping Centre, and my visit was enough to calm my shopping nerves!

The RBC Avion Holiday Boutique is an exclusive private space in the mall just for RBC Avion cardholders available until December 31st.

My night as an Avioner began with complimentary valet parking. Oh, how I love valet parking! It was a rainy night so it was lovely to walk a couple dry steps from my car to the mall.

The RBC Avion Holiday Boutique is easy to spot, and upon entrance I was greeted warmly and provided a tour of the space. My first stop was the coat and parcel check. I loved that I could drop my coat off so I could relax while I shopped and hung out in the lounge. The parcel check is a great idea as well with the size of my shopping list this year!

Next I headed over to the bar and cafe for some festive snacks and drinks. They had everything from specialty coffee’s to champagne! The snacks weren’t too shabby either.

For all in-mall purchases at the Yorkdale Shopping Centre location, there is a free gift wrapping service in the lounge. There was a rather large area for gift wrapping so I doubt a person would need to wait at all to have their purchases wrapped. What an awesome service – I would love to leave the mall with my gifts already wrapped!

There were plenty of comfy chairs to relax in, there were magazines, and even a Concierge to help ensure you had a great stay in the lounge. They had a flat screen TV to take a break with, and even children’s books on the shelves!

As I ventured around the space eating a rather tasty gingerbread man, I thought to myself, wow that guy really looks like Kardinal Offishall

Soon the music started, and suddenly Kardinal Offishall was performing a private concert just for this intimate crowd! He sang some holiday songs with Choir! Choir! Choir! and it was a pretty awesome surprise.

Next up at the launch we watched a gift wrapping competition between the holiday gift wrapping team from the lounge versus three Canadian Olympians. It was a really fun competition, and it topped off a great night.

I can’t tell you how much I loved the RBC Avion Holiday Boutique. It was such a great experience, and I cannot wait to go back. Being an Avioner has some serious perks! I love the idea of free valet parking to avoid fighting for a parking spot.

Coat check and parcel check are incredibly convenient! It’s so much easier to shop when you aren’t sweating in your jacket or lugging around heavy bags.

I can’t wait to head back to the lounge to relax for a bit and have a drink and a snack in between shopping! It all makes for a pretty refined shopping experience that I could totally get used to.

The RBC Avion Holiday Boutique will also be available in Burnaby, BC in Metropolis at Metrotown, and RBC Avion Experiences will be open in Halifax at the Halifax Shopping Centre and in Ottawa at the St. Laurent Centre. The RBC Avion Experiences include a gift wrapping voucher for an in-mall gift wrap centre, snacks and beverages, and a festive holiday gift.

For more information visit www.rbc.com/avionvip.

Disclosure: I am part of the RBC® Avion Holiday Boutique Influencer Campaign and I receive special perks as part of my affiliation with this group. The opinions on this blog are my own.

Roxymandy November 21, 2015

The Industrial Trend with Graham & Brown

As a Graham & Brown Ambassador, I’ve been challenged each month to take on a trend and show how I would style it. This month’s trend is Industrial.

Industrial is the stripped-back one, the one with character and edgy features. Unlike the other trends, this one takes things for what they really are and encourages us to strip things back, even if they are a little imperfect.” The Industrial trend

My challenge is to use the warming tones of the industrial trend to create a cosy space in in a home.

I’ve put together a mood board to lay out a fun bedroom using pieces that use the industrial trend, but add a softened touch.

For the Industrial trend, Graham & Brown have some great canvas prints with this theme in mind. I love all of the great black and white city shots they have.

The Cogsworth clock is perfect as well with all of the exposed gears – it definitely has an industrial look.

Adding many faux fur pieces to the room was my way of softening it up. Throw pillows, a cozy throw, and a comfy fur lined robe added a nice soft touch to the room. A white chair and a white furry stool were great ways to offset the dark prints and accessories in the room.

The Calico Stripe Cream wallpaper soften the industrial look of the room as well.

What do you think? Was there another way I could have softened the industrial look of this room?

To learn more about Graham & Brown, visit them here.

Roxymandy November 19, 2015

Creating the Perfect Holiday Cheese Board with Enigma Wines

I think one of the things that wow people the most at holiday parties is a great cheese board paired with some great wine.

It’s fun to be super creative when putting a cheese board together, and to me it’s fun to surprise people with what they find on it. The key is to make sure you pair the cheeses properly with the wines you are serving, and to make it as full and colourful as possible!

This week I tried out two new wines from Enigma – made in California and newly launched at the LCBO.

Both Enigma’s Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon are sold at the very affordable price of $13.95.

The Cabernet Sauvignon (or Cab Sav for me because I can pronounce Sauvignon!) had hints of black cherry and vanilla. I thought it almost had a coffee taste to it as well. It was very bold, which paired great with some of the aged cheeses I bought.

I am not a big red wine drinker, but my husband loved it with the cheeses on the board. I felt like I would love to drink it with a steak or a spicy Thai dinner.

The Chardonnay had a fruity flavour, and I could pick out pears, apple and lemon in each sip. It wasn’t as fruity and sweet as a Riesling, and was much dryer in comparison. It was sweet, but not so sweet that you would go into sugar shock. I really liked it!

A Chardonnay is best paired with brie which I included on my board, along with other soft, surface ripened cheeses. I chose goat cheese to pair with this wine as well, and it went perfectly.

As for the Cabernet Sauvignon, semi firm, aged hard cheeses pair best so I chose a smoked Gouda, and an aged cheddar.

I think cheese boards look best when they are overflowing. To compliment the cheeses I added grapes and sliced pairs to add some sweetness. I bought a few different kinds of firm crackers (don’t use anything flimsy like saltines), and I made my own grilled crostini’s as well.

I brushed each slice of Italian bread with olive oil, then grilled it for a few minutes and rubbed it with garlic. So yummy!

To go with the crostini’s I made a tomato and balsamic mix. I cut up cherry tomatoes, and fried them in a pan with olive oil, salt, and pepper for a few minutes. I topped it off with balsamic vinegar and voila!

I added ricotta cheese to my cheese board, and it tasted amazing when I spread it on a crostini, then added a pesto or roasted red pepper spread, and topped it all with the tomato mix. So good! I purchased the pesto and roasted red pepper spread, but I have made both before and they are actually not that hard to make. It all depends on how much time you have.

The arugula was also an option to add to the ricotta, plus it looked pretty with my cheese board. It sounds silly, but making your board colourful is an important part of making it look tasty.

I added calabrese, soppressata, and a salami to the board for the carnivores. I filled in the spaces with rosemary because it smells amazing, and because it’s a pretty herb.

That’s it! Paired with some great wine and fresh flowers, it’s the perfect cheese board for a holiday party!

For more information on Enigma wines, please visit their website here.