What I Wore Book Giveaway (Reposted from www.whatiwore.tumblr.com)

WhatIWore: With just two weeks until the What I Wore book hits shelves, I’m reaching out to you to help me spread the word.
I’ll be giving away 10 signed copies of What I Wore: Four Seasons, One Closet, Endless Recipes for Personal Style plus a personalized illustration (of you!) to one extra special reader!

A Few Pics from the Wedding

My Dad made a balloon bride and groom!

What a good-looking family! Take a look at my awesome Kate Middleton-replica ring!

Here's my brother and his lovely girlfriend, Rebecca

I always flare my nostrils when I sing… can't help it

The rings!

My cousin Peter married his love, Mallory, on Saturday! Congrats, you guys! I don't have too many photos from the wedding, but here are a few good ones of my family and I.

Another killer summer tune.

Hard-fi: Good for Nothing

Toronto-London-Istanbul (Day 5)

Today was a LONG day.

We woke up early, not because we had big plans or anything, but because the sun rose at about 3:00 and the noise from the street and the nearby train track was much too loud to sleep through. We enjoyed another delicious Turkish breakfast and made a quick plan for our day. We decided to take the 'City Sightseeing' bus tour to different sights around the city and then spend the evening in Taksim, which is the centre of modern Istanbul.

We got over to the Hagia Sophia around 10:00, after picking up some new batteries for my camera and some band-aids for Aussie's feet. We bought a couple of tickets for the bus, but it looked pretty full, so we decided to hang out and wait for the next one. It seemed like we waited quite a while for the next bus, but we filled the time by taking some photos of the Blue Mosque. When the next bus showed up, there was a mad rush for the doors— a huge crowd tried to squeeze up the steps. Luckily, we were able to get a seat on the open top.

We listened to the recorded tour guide talk about the Hagia Sophia, the Istanbul train station (which was the last stop for the Orient Express and the Galata Bridge. The Galata Bridge was really cool! There are restaurants underneath the roadway on the bridge. We crossed over to the modern side of Istanbul, passing many fishermen on the bridge. We drove by the Istanbul University Faculty of Fine Arts, the gardens full of sculptures. Some female Muslim students were working with plaster outside, their scarves wound around their heads like beehives. We drove by the Dolmabahce Palace, an Ottoman construction, back across the bridge and along the Golden Horn to Eyup.

Eyup is up on top of a very high hill which overlooks the Golden Horn and the city. We got off the bus at the bottom of the hill (not an official drop-off point), and boarded a cable car. At the top of the hill, we strolled by the Pierre Loti cafe. Pierre Loti was a French writer in the 1870's. He once lived in Eyup, where he fell in love with a Turkish girl, named Aziyade. The coolest part about Eyup is that the hillsides are covered in a cemetary! The graves are built up like flowerbeds, surrounded by white marble. Paths wind through the grave-garden, up and down the hill. We wandered around the top of the hill and settled at a table with a beautiful view of the Golden Horn. We tried some apple tea and these sesame seed bagel things.

Our plan was to walk to the next HOHO point (Hop-On Hop-Off) and catch the next bus. The next stop seemed to be not too far away from Eyup and it seemed as though it was clearly marked on the map. We went back down on the cable car and started to make our way. We walked along the water, where we saw 'Feshane', a small amusement park. The park seemed pretty empty, I guess that's because the children were all in the many schools we passed. We walked by some municipal buildings and saw lots of locals going about their daily bureaucratic business. We even saw a little boy dressed up like a Sultan, on the way to his circumcision. There is an election happening this week, so we saw about three campaign vans, blaring music and speeches, promoting the different party leaders.

As we continued to walk, we got a real glimpse of tourist-free Istanbul. As we walked, women with uncovered hair became less frequent. We saw signs directing traffic towards "Edirnekapi", which was our next HOHO point. We passed the large bridge and reached the ancient city walls, where we had to race across to the sidewalk on the other side of the motorway. Our moods became less positive and a little more annoyed as we trudged along the highway. At one point, we stood on the side of the road, trying to cross over, for about 15 minutes, only to find that we needn't have crossed at all!. We asked a couple of locals for directions, but it was difficult, as nobody spoke English outside of the touristy centre. Eventually, one man told us that we were in "Edirnekapi", which is, apparently, a neighborhood, not any kind of tourist attraction. Aussie and I wished that the map was a bit more specific about where we had to catch the bus.

This is an awesome sign letting everyone know who gets the priority seating!

We walked further and further and eventually, we gave up. Aussie spotted a metro station, so we decided to take the metro back to the centre. Thankfully, the station was supervised by a very helpful young security guard. He didn't speak much English, but he drew a route out on a metro map for us and made sure, using hand gestures, that we knew exactly where we were going. We rode the tramway back to our starting point, grabbed some icecreams to cool us down and clambered aboard that stupid "City Sightseeing" bus to get back over to Taksim.

We arrive in Taksim Square and headed straight to 'Istiklal Caddesi', which is a pedestrian-only shopping street. It was so busy down there! We poked around in the shops, did some people watching. Aussie bought some Turkish-made leather sandals and we both bought maxi-dresses (all the rage in London at the moment).

We stopped to try some Turkish pizza (which I'm not sure I liked all that much as mine had sausage and egg on top instead of tomato sauce and cheese). We looked in at some of the live music in the bars, where we heard bits and pieces of different acoustic guitarists singing folk-inspired pop tunes. All of the bars and restaurants seem to employ people who's only job is to stand outside and get customers to come in. They say "Yes, please!", just like in the bazaar and hand out compliments left and right.

Anyway, around 20:00, we started looking at menus for dinner. At first, all we could find was beer and burgers, but soon, a restaurant host somehow scooped us up and we were soon sitting on the 3rd floor terrace above a lively street. The view was pretty cool, as we could see many levels of dining rooms below us, and we could hear music coming from every window. Our server ordered us some drinks and then… disappeared. All of a sudden, we were presented with a large tray of appetizers and they took our orders for some fish and eggplant dishes. Then, it was almost an hour before they took our orders for our main course (and we had to flag down another server for that). the meal took ages to arrive! It was almost 22:30 by the time we finally ate. I suppose Aussie and I just aren't used to this laid-back dining, with our Western ways.

It was pretty late by the time we got on the metro to go back to our hostel.

*yawn* What a day. I promise tomorrow's entry will be less whiny.

Toronto-London-Istanbul (Day 4)

OMG Today was interesting.

I barely slept last night for the room's changing temperature and the variety of night noises. The near-by train track provided a shocking amount of sound to keep me awake, along with the late-night calls to prayer.

We got up pretty early and headed upstairs to the terrace for our complimentary Turkish breakfast: tomatoes, cucumbers, eggs, olives (but those stayed on my plate as I never eat olives), fresh bread with cream cheese, cherry jam, tea and…cake!

Next, we wandered up to the Hagia Sophia. Hagia Sophia, which means 'God's great wisdom', was originally built by the Emperor Justinian in 532 AD on the site of an earlier church built in the reign of Constantine. It is cavernous. It's roof is made up of a large dome supported by four more half-domes. It was decorated in beautiful mosaics and gold-leafed paintings of religious icons. But when it was conquered by Sultan Mehmed in 1453, the Hagia Sophia was converted into a mosque. In order for it to function as a mosque, some renovations had to be made. Over the years, the prayer niche (which faced Jerusalem) was moved slightly so that it faced Mecca. The religious icons were covered in plaster and minarets were added to the exterior. It remained a mosque until 1935, when Mustafa Kemal Ataturk (the father of modern Turkey) changed it into a museum. He uncovered the original mosaics and today, the cathedral/mosque/museum displays both Christian and Islamic artifacts.

The Hagia Sophia is a beautiful building-- mostly because of it's size. It's actually immense. The old orthodox mosaics are really beautiful. The remind me of all the medieval triptych paintings I saw in Italy-- I love the graphic quality of the flat plains and bold colours.

For lunch, we grabbed some fast food- Donair meat and a coke. The sun had come out from behind the clouds, so we decided to take a leisurely stroll over to the Grand Bazaar. It was pretty cool. There were leather shoes, tea sets, lamps, harem pants, carpets, jewellery and all kinds of stuff. At almost every stall, a young man would step forward and say "Yes, please", "Hello, please" or "Can I sell you something you don't need?" We were constantly asked "Where are you from?" It was like being in that scene in Disney's Aladdin, when Princess Jasmine steps out into the marketplace for the first time. I bought some Turkish tea cups and saucers.

We dropped my tea set off at the hostel and the owner of the hostel booked a Turkish bath at one of the baths the locals use. We got pretty lost on the way there. Eventually, a young man helped us find it (before asking us for our phone numbers). From the outside, it looked a bit rustic. When we stepped inside… we looked out into a dark, murky room, where we saw dingy walls and dirty floors. It smelled very musty. Looking back, I suppose it wasn't much worse than hanging out at camp… but at the time, it just seemed gross. Aussie and I turned right around and left.

We found an internet café and googled "Turkish baths" to locate something a but more appealing to our clean-freak Western sensibilities. We found one in a hotel back in the tourist area. We undressed completely and wrapped ourselves in some towels. WARNING: Turkish baths are naked. For some naive reason, Aussie and I did not know this. We headed into the bath and a lady attendant got us to strip right down so she could shower us. Then, we went to relax in the sauna (wrapped in our towels again). We were in there for about 15 minutes, laughing and joking about how awkward we felt. We both said that we would refuse to have a naked massage. Little did we know…

I made Aussie go first. Through the sauna window, I glimpsed Aussie's towel on the raised marble slab in the centre of the room— then, she laid down on her back in the buff! I moved to another seat in the sauna so my view was obstructed. As Aussie's treatment continued, I stayed in the sauna. My sticky arms quickly became more and more moist and eventually, I began to drip as if I'd just stepped out of the shower. My face was soaked and my hair became damp. My heart race began to increase in speed and my breathing became heavy and hard. All of a sudden, I just couldn't take it any more— I had to have been in there for over forty minutes! I stood up and burst out into the other room. I turned away from Aussie and sat down to catch my breath in a much cooler area. I felt light-headed, but the cooler room was a huge relief.

Soon, Aussie was done and it was my turn. I laid down on m back, completely nude, trying to keep my nervous smile hidden by pressing my lips between my teeth. I tried to relax, but I am never naked infront of anyone, so I felt a bit tense. The attendant rubbed my arms, legs, stomach and chest with an exfoliating glove. I kept reminding myself "she's seen a thousand naked ladies, so this is perfectly normal for her", but coming from North America, I was just not used to it. I flipped over and the attendant exfoliated my back as well. Next, she lathered up some soap and and covered me in the suds, like I was laying in a bubble bath. She gave me a light massage, front and back and rinsed me off with hot and cold water. She even washed my hair for me. In the end, I felt very relaxed and soothed. (But I wish I had searched 'Turkish Bath' on Wikipedia so I had known what to expect!)

When I came out of the bath, Aussie was having her massage. Before I went in for mine, she warned me that it was pretty full-on. I soon learned what she meant. The masseuse (a dude), was very good. He massaged my feet, legs, back, arms, chest, shoulders and neck. But I started to feel very uncomfortable when he massaged my upper thigh and groin area. He really got into the muscles there and his hands were very close and sometimes touching my… ummm… bathing suit areas. So, if you are thinking of having a Turkish bath and massage, be warned that it can feel a bit intimate.

I felt very relaxed after my massage, and neither Aussie or I wanted do much walking. So instead, we found a restaurant with a great outdoor patio. It was called 'Medusa House' and there were live musicians playing all night. I ordered an 'Efes', which is Turkish beer and we shared some vine leaves. We had some kebab for dinner, with rice and vegetables. The food in Turkey is quite similar to Greek food, but it also reminds me of some Persian food I have tried before. There is certainly a lot of meat!

Today, Aussie and I started this game where we see who can count the most cats. Istanbul has a lot of stray cats wandering around. Some of them look skinny and sick and others look very well-fed. They are all friendly little animals and, surprisingly, they aren't easily scared off like cats at home. Today, I saw 33 cats and Aussie saw 30! That's a lot of cats.

Well, off to bed!

I already know this is the best song of the summer.

Foster the People: Pumped-Up Kicks

Toronto-London-Istanbul (Day 3)

Today was a travel day!

Aussie and I got up around 8:30 and put the finishing touches on our packing before piling into our cab to Heathrow. We arrived at the airport in good time, so we wandered through the duty free and had some lunch. I have not been eating my greens on this trip so far, so I had a nice big salad. I've been craving vitamins!

On board our flight, we listened to a few 'Rick Steve's' podcasts about Istanbul. (I had already listened to them, but I wanted a little reminder of the sights and sounds of the city.) The gentleman infront of me, who had a large head covered in very dark curly hair, leaned back in his seat, only to discover that the seat was broken and that it would not adjusted back into the upright position. Great. I didn't mind too much… except for when I tried to eat my dinner and my face was centimetres from the seat back. They played 'Scooby-Doo' as the 'in-flight' movie, but I decided to read instead (my book, 'The Help', is getting really good!)

The flight took almost 5 hours. We arrived at 19:50 local time. We weren't really sure about the best way to get to our hostel, so we consulted one of the many car-rental/travel agencies in the airport. We met Mustafa, who booked us a shuttle cab to our hostel. He also gave us advice on which tours to take and which sites to see. He even offered to be our 'guide' after hours, as we explored the trendy club district… we politely declined.

Our cab driver was very friendly— he pointed out some fresh fish restaurants right on the water. He was round and jolly and had a great sense of humour… but not very much English!

When we arrived at the hostel, a young man… who didn't speak any English… showed us our room. It's slightly shabby and small, but we are one floor below the rooftop terrace and breakfast is provided daily!

Well, I'm off to get some shut-eye! Tomorrow's going to be exciting!

Toronto-London-Turkey (Day 2)

This morning, Aussie and I had a bit of a lie-in. I woke her up around 9:00 and we took our time getting ready for the day.

Around 10:30, we headed out to Highgate, an area not too far from where Aussie lives in Finchley. Highgate is a very posh area— apparently a lot of footballers live there. We took a stroll down the High St and found a park. Not just any park, but probably the most beautiful park I've ever seen… except for maybe Versailles.  We walked down the paved path, passing many wooden benches, tennis courts and playing, laughing children. Past a few bushes and trees, our path opened up on a green hollow with rolling hills. There were large trees, fenced-in play areas, a pond (home to some coots and their chicks) and, at the top of the hill, a lovely manicured garden, surrounding an old house. We had fun watching some toddlers playing on their scooters, their scruffy cocker spaniel chasing balls behind them.

We continued down the steep street to a bridge which provided a road over the train tracks. From the bridge, we could see all the way down to 'The Gherkin' in Central London.

We then made our way back up the hill to a shop called 'High Tea of Highgate'. To my surprise and great disappointment, they didn't actually serve 'high tea'. High tea consists of foods that are more like a meal (usually sandwiches) along with scones, jam, etc. This tea shop only served sweet things. Aussie and I both ordered cream tea— tea with scones, clotted cream and jam. It was delicious, but not quite the filling meal we were looking for. It was a very nice little tea shop, with pastel colours everywhere. They had creamers that resembled cows and they sold all kinds of tea paraphernalia. I tried the 'Assam' tea.

As I do, I began to daydream about what it would be like to run my own little English tea shop (complete with actual high tea). I'll just add that to my list of half-dreams. I've been feeling a little anxious about my half-dreams lately… becoming a teacher, working in radio… I feel kind of directionless and unfocused. What am I actually good at? What do I actually like to do?

Anyway, after our tea, we caught the tube to Chalk Farm, where Aussie goes to church. It was so nice to be back in a church where people are really welcoming and interested. The worship at this church really felt like reaching out to God instead of just singing a nice song. The message that Sunday was about mercy. The pastor spoke about mercy— in a way that really got me thinking about my own nature. He said that being merciful is not just being 'easy-going'. He said that being easy-going has been elevated to an admirable status in our society, just being able to let things slide. I would say I'm pretty easy-going… but it's not always a good thing. Being easy-going has made me stop caring. Maybe it's my easy-goingness that has helped me slide into my distracted, directionless state. I gotta focus.

Being at Aussie's church it was so refreshing and humbling to be around people who really are a family to one another. They are open about their problems, concerns and happiness and they are completely comfortable praying and praising God together. It made me really miss my church family at Oasis in Birmingham.

After church, we headed to Covent Garden for dinner… and because the two of us are often so indecisive, we ended up ordering and eating a very rushed dinner at a French café. We were late to 'The Comedy Store', where we had tickets to improv night.  The place was packed, so we had to sit on opposite sides of the aisle.

The show was pretty funny. It was very similar to 'Who's Line is it Anyway?'. They took a lot of audience suggestions, which was hilarious. They made up their own musical Bible parable: "He who procrastinates loseth".

Tomorrow, we head to Istanbul! I am really liking being on vacation. I wish I could just do this all the time instead of working a regular job. Don't we all?

Toronto- London- Turkey (Day 1)

My parents dropped me at Lester B. Pearson around 6:30 pm and I quickly checked in. My flight started boarding quite late, but the pilot said we had a tail wind, so we'd arrive on time. I had an aisle seat next to Maxime, a young doctor from Montréal. He had recently graduated med school and decided to celebrate with a 3-week couch-surfing adventure with his buddy from school. He was a pretty cool guy— into triathlons and cycling. He had taken three of his Mom's sleeping pills prior to boarding, so about an hour into the flight, he was out cold— I even tried to wake him up for dinner, but no dice.

I took the train from Gatwick Airport to Victoria Station — and I found myself getting a bit emotional… it all felt so familiar. I looked out the window and saw all my favourite things about the English countryside: oddly-shaped fields surrounded by low hedges, Tudor-era, Jacobian and Industrial Revolution-era homes and, closest to the city, back gardens squished together like sliced bread. I was reminded of all the train journeys and road-trips I had the pleasure of enjoying last year when I lived in the UK.

I met Aussie at Victoria Station with a big hug. We chatted non-stop all the way back to her flat in North Finchley, where I cleaned myself up a bit. Then we headed down to Camden— somewhere I have never been— which is surprising, as it is definitely my kind of place!

Camden is, pretty much, awesome.

It is a sprawling neighborhood full of amaing markets that sell everything from cheesy tourist souvenirs to expensive boutique home-furnishings to vintage clothes and shoes to an astonishing array of ethinic foods. Some of my favourite things in the markets were a towering display of old suitcases and trunks and a cart full of home-baked gourmet doughnuts. I tried a doughnut covered in icing sugar and filled with vanilla custard.

I also liked the rows of stools that resembled the seats of scooters-- it made a plain counter-top a fun place to enjoy some rice or Thai noodles.

Aussie took me to a fantastic/incredibly weird space-age store called 'Cyberdog'. Techno music filled the many rooms, which were all lit with ultra-violet bulbs, making all the products glow in a rainbow of neon colours. The entrance was flanked by two giant robots and inside, customers were entertained with scantily-clad, glowing dancers in cages. We explored room after room full of the wardrobe from 'The Jetsons' and inspected shelves of make-up and hair-dye that glowed in the dark. I have never been anywhere like 'Cyberdog'!

After a quick cuppa, I hopped on the tube to head South for dinner with two of my Canadian friends who are living and studying abroad: Mel and Stef!

We had a great time catching up, telling stories and updating eachother on the recent happenings of our lives. We shared some news about our friends and laughed about the latest episode of Glee and internet sensation Rebecca Black. We ate at an Indian restuarant-- finally, some proper curry! I really miss English Indian food! Unfortunately, I didn't have much time with those speial ladies, but I'm sure I will see them again soon.

Oh yeah, I got an awesome 'Royal Wedding' Oyster card!

P.S. It's Dub Step Week

It's Dubstep Week on BBC Radio 1! Dubstep is a genre that comes from the UK dance scene. It's brilliant! Here are some of Dubstep's biggest stars of the moment:

James Blake


Katy B


Nero (One of my faves)-- Check out their Dubstep Symphony here


Chase and Status


Please enjoy!

Playing Catch-Up 2

Earlier in May, I had the great pleasure of attending my very first clothing swap! Being a casual fashion blogger myself, as well as a dedicated reader of a host of personal style blogs, I am familiar with the concept of a clothing swap.

Here's how this one worked:

1) Each lady brought a basket of their previously-used, no-longer worn clothing and accessories.

2) The clothes were divided up into categories… skirts, jackets, jewellery and so on.

3) Our lovely hostess held up each piece, describing it's size, colour and other features.

4) If a lady wanted the item, she would raise her hand. If only one lady wanted it, it was hers, but if it caught the eye of more than one of us, the hostess would pick a number and we would each guess. Whoever guessed the closest to her number won the item.

I got some great items. Most notably, I collected a colourful woven purse with leather trim, a railroad-striped denim bag, as well as a cropped tan jacket with 3/4 sleeves. I also got this great brown, knee-length skirt!

Playing Catch-Up

May was such a busy month for me! I can't believe how much went on. It seems like I've had such a dull Winter of cuddling up with my beloved radio, avoiding the wind and rain. But with the lush green leaves and colourful blooms of spring came a series of wonderful events!

Wednesday, May 11

On May 11, my Dad and I woke up at about 2:30 am to help out at a very special event at Pearson International Airport: Dreams Take Flight. This organization puts together an annual one-day trip to Disney World in Orlando for socially, mentally and physically disadvantaged kids! As the children arrived at the airport, they were greeted with giant blow-up balloons of Disney characters, cheery music, tasty breakfast, free giveaways, the RCMP and clowns such as my Dad and I. We made balloons for the kids and it was so great to see them getting so excited about their trip!

It was exciting morning for me too! My Dad and I met Susan Hay from Global News as well as my childhood hero, Loonette the Clown from The Big Comfy Couch. We met some RCMP officers and picked up a pair of free Crocs each.

The coolest part of the morning was when they opened the airplane hangar door to reveal the airplane and a half-dozen SWAT team members descended on ropes from the ceiling. It was awesome!

If you want to find out more about how to support Dreams Take Flight, please click here!


Wednesday, May 18

The following Wednesday was a very exciting day for me indeed! I FINALLY got to see Adele in concert! I raced home after work to get dressed! I wore a very Adele-like ensemble: a black, 60's inspired shift dress, black ballerina flats and simple accessories. As always, I had awesome hair, too.

Anyway, I headed downtown right after work, but I didn't really have enough time to meet my friends Andrew, Ari and Hannah for dinner, so I wandered up and down Front St deciding where to eat. I randomly bumped in to Julie, one of my childhood neighbors and she invited me to eat with her and her boyfriend. It was really nice to swap stories and catch up!

I arrived at the ACC shortly after Adele's opener, 'The Civil Wars', had started their set. They were pretty good. They have beautiful harmonies and great voices... but a lot of their songs sounded very similar.

Adele was spectacular. As I have experienced from her live videos on YouTube, she is (if you can believe it) even better live than on her album. She sang many of the songs off '21', and also 'Make you Feel My Love' and some other covers. She was spectacular. For many of her numbers, her raw and powerful, yet heart-breakingly sensitive voice was accompanied only by soft piano or acoustic guitar, and that's all she needed. Talent like hers requires no auto-tune or production techniques to clean it up. One of my favourite moments was when she did 'Don't You Remember', which is my favourite song off her new album. Another was when she giggled about all of her 'sausage dog' printed belongings, such as her mug and stool.

My only criticisms of the show are in relation to the venue and the other concert-goers. First off, the ACC is far too big a venue for Adele, even when cut in half. She is much better suited to a more intimate space, where she can connect more closely with her audience. And Secondly, the people sitting in my section were LAME! We were right in front of the stage, less than 100 feet from Miss Adkins and they refused to stand up! I wanted to get up and sway to the music, and dance to her more upbeat numbers like 'Rumour Has It' and 'Rolling in the Deep'. I wanted to raise my hand in the air as I shouted along to 'Someone Like You'. But I felt quite out of place as the saddoes in my section remained with their bums on their hard, plastic stadium seats.

Stay tuned for more about the clothing swap I attended recently as well as my trip to Istanbul!