The Queen Street Shop Crawl

On Thursday August 9th from 6-9pm, join us for an evening of shopping, exclusive discounts & freebies on Queen Street followed by an afterparty at Milestones!

What’s in it for you:

*A FREE full sized product from Kiehl’s (value of $20.50), free samples and a consultation.

*A FREE swag bag including full sized hair care products from Sunsilk and other goodies.

*Exclusive discounts and after hours shopping at the stores listed below.

*FREE food and drinks at Milestones at the after party.

*Over $500 of prizes to be won from our sponsors


Participating Boutiques:
- Five on Spadina
- Fraiche
- Fashion Crimes
- Kazuo
- RK

Prizes from our sponsors:

Lipstick Powder 'N Paint ($200 beauty basket with your favorite products)
Spa Boutique (Skeyndor Natural Defense Skin Care kit, $80)
The 10 Spot Nail Bar (Brazilian bikini wax, $50)
Love Handles Handbags (Custom bag and T, $75)
Milestone's Grill & Bar Gift cards (They're giving away a couple of $25 GC's)

PLUS
Whoever buys the best outfit under $100 from the participating boutiques that night will win back the cash value!

The best part of course will be meeting each others' fabulousness in person!

Special thanks to RedFlagDeals & Lipstick Powder 'N Paint for helping to spread the word!




For more information and to buy tickets visit: http://www.chickadvisor.com/shopcrawl/

All Natural Never Smelled This Good

Can Coffee Make You Sick?

We've all read articles touting the health benefits of coffee and used that information to justify our morning java addiction. I do it all the time, joking with the Starbucks Barista that I'm "getting my anti-oxidant fix" or whatever newly discovered health benefit I've recently read has been linked to coffee. I can be seen holding an iced latte in summer more often than an icecream cone and I love nothing more than having one with a croissant for breakfast.

While what I wrote above may sound like a confession for coffeeaholics anonymous, I never have more than 1 espresso based beverage per day and half the time I don't finish the whole thing. Why? Because my stomach can't handle it. Coffee makes me sick. Stomach pains, heart racing/pounding, insomnia, and an urgent need to send some time with John.

You're probably wondering why I keep drinking it despite the reaction I get? It's yummy and I'll want another one tomorrow.

I couldn't sleep tonight thanks to the wee bit of espresso I had at 3pm and decided to spend some time researching my symptoms. Unfortunately all I could find were forum posts from other people with the same problems but no real answers. So I have decided to diagnose myself with a coffee allergy and I'm going to try and go without for the next two weeks and see what happens.

This is going to be very hard for me so if anyone else is willing to go caffeine free with me for 2 weeks we can support each other. I hear it's bad for cellulite too so there's some added motivation to stop.

Are you willing to kick caffeine to the curb?

Leo Loves Me

2 nights ago I had a dream about Leonardo DiCaprio. Nothing raunchy, we were just chillin' ;) The next morning, I told Alex about it over breakfast. He laughed at me and said, "Oh, he's not your type."

Riiiiight!

Today, no joke in my personal email I received an email from "Leonardo DiCaprio". I assumed it was spam but opened it anyway just because I thought it was a funny coincidence. It was an invite to view the trailer for his latest environmental flick online. It was obviously a mass email and I have no idea how my address got in there, but all links were legit and here is the trailer. It looks like something everyone should watch.

See, I knew Leo loved me ;)

ChickAdvisor Shopping Party!

Hey everyone! We are in the throws of planning a night of fabulousness and shopping for our lovely Toronto members (and your friends!)

This is will be a limited space event and will be first come, first served. We've posted more details about it in the forums here as well as on our official facebook group here.

We can't wait!!

Summer Sweets

With summer in full swing, grocery stores are packed with some of the best produce you'll find all year. Eating those fruits and veggies in season provide the maximum benefit in nutrition and taste compared to imported or canned goods.

You might be surprised how valuable a single serving of certain summer fruits are, for example:
-1 cup of strawberries has 3 grams of fibre and more Vitamin C and iron than an orange;
-1 medium wedge of cantaloupe has about half your recommended daily dose of Vitamin A;
-most dark berries are excellent sources of antioxidants and anti-cancer phytochemicals, while containing less than 100 calories per serving.
(Read up more on other favorite fruits and vegetables here)

One of our family favorites is a fruit and yogurt dessert-style dish. I love it because I can sneak dairy and fruit in under the radar and everyone thinks it's a treat.

Cut up a quantity of mixed fruits into bite-size pieces. I choose by category, for example: one part stone fruit (nectarine, pear, plum, etc.), one part exotic fruit (mango, banana, etc.), and one part berry. I always use soft textured and intensely flavored varieties, but rarely citrus because it does not go as well with yogurt.

In a separate bowl measure ½ to ¾ cup per person of lowfat plain yogurt (I never use nonfat; it's too tasteless), or less if you want it to be more like fruit salad. Add ¼ to ½ tsp per serving of vanilla sugar or use vanilla extract and sugar/Splenda, to taste. Whisk this together until smooth and creamy. If available you can use vanilla-flavored yogurt instead, although I find it often too sweet.

Toss the yogurt together with the fruit and dust with a little cinnamon sugar on top right before serving. You can really dress this up by spooning it into martini glasses or glass bowls and garnishing with mint leaves, biscotti, or chocolate mint sticks.

For a more decadent version (and wildly popular in my home!), use full-fat yogurt and substitute up to half with real whipped cream.


Mamaluv is a ChickAdvisor writer and mother of 3. She strives to satisfy her sweet tooth with fruit and other healthy alternatives whenever she can, but isn't one to snub a good piece of cake.

Read Mamaluv's blog!

Episode #3 Style Secrets is live!!

They are the people we love to hate. They throw together perfect outfits for every occasion with seemingly little effort while the rest of us struggle to look reasonably pulled together. Well, we're not going to let them hoard their style secrets any longer. We ask well-dressed women on the street to share a few of their secrets with the rest of us.

Check it out!

Esprit Fall/Winter 2007 Sneak Peak!

Today we had the pleasure of attending the sneak peak for Esprit's fall 2007 collection, which will hit stores November 2007!

We always knew Esprit was fabulous, having shopped there for years, but knew nothing about their various lines or the fact that they recently launched lingerie!

The collection is nice quality, well priced and sexy...Bra: $39.50

This fall get ready for a drool worthy selection of plush sweaters, cropped jackets and houndstooth. The Jewel tones from spring and summer will carry though to the fall and satins, sheens and dark neutrals will be everywhere.

And of course what is fall without denim? We were pleasantly surprised at how good the jeans look on the tush! Properly placed pockets make all the difference between a nice butt and a ginormous looking one. For under $80, it's an easy sell. There's no embarrassing panty action with these either as they sit perfectly below the belly button...
Jeans: $79.50

Our favorite collection is the Esprit EDC. The Twiggy inspired contemporary pieces are perfect for weekends and dinner with friends. A-line jackets, coats, denim knits, tweeds and gorgeous silk tops and dresses made us thankful we'd left the visa at home - or we would have been in trouble.

Esprit sent us on our merry way with a few key pieces from the new collection, which made the illegal parking job we'd done to get there on time totally worth it.

We'll be giving a lucky Toronto member one of their newest tops ($69.50) at our upcoming first ever ChickAdvisor bash coming up in August.

Details soon...

www.esprit.com

My Dearly Departed MacBook

Peacefully, on Sunday July 15th, at the age of 13 months, after a short struggle with a firmware update, my dear MacBook passed away of total hard drive failure. This came after a long string of health issues including complete battery failure, faulty dirty casing, and a dysfunctional power cable. MacBook is survived by her owner, Ali, and her uncle, MacBook Pro, who resides with Alex.

************

Luckily I'm typing this from my new MacBook, which I got by the skin of my teeth. See, I did not purchase the applecare extended warranty. Why? I thought, what the heck for? My last computer, a refurbished IBM, which cost me $400 was still ticking after 10 years of use and I thought surely these fabulous (and mighty expensive) new machines would far surpass that old clunker. Besides, the applecare warranty only lasts for 3-4 years during which time I naively anticipated approximately zero problems. I figured the $300 for the insurance would be best spent on shoes.

Anyhoo, after losing my entire life and business on that laptop and fighting with the geniuses at the Apple Store, who eventually helped me out and saved my bacon, I'm back in business, though sadly, sans almost all of my files. At least I get that new computer smell and it is cleaner and more gorgeous than ever.

Now I just have to break myself of the habit of eating in front of it and messing it up.

Check, Mate! Who should pay for the first date?

This is an ongoing debate for the single set that probably won't end any time soon. We recently came across a blog post on this issue and it prompted us to write our own response. Luckily for you, we think we have it figured out. We’ll make it really simple:

LET THE DUDE PAY
It is in a man’s nature to enjoy the whole pursue and conquer thing. They like to woo you and eventually win you over. Having scored a date with your fabulousness, most men will also expect to pay for the date unless they are not that interested in you, or they are cheap. This has nothing to do with how much money you have or how you can support yourself, it is about basic pursue and conquer and making sure he realizes you know your worth.

The moment you whip out your wallet you risk sending the following messages:

I don’t think you can afford me.

I always pay my own way so if you’re cheap, I’m your lady!

You are the only date I’ve had recently and I don’t want you to feel obligated to pay for me. (i.e I don’t value myself that much)

It also automatically takes the romance out of the moment and makes the whole date feel very plutonic when either of you goes, “ok, so your half is $42.76…”

Having dated both men who pay and cheapskates who split the bill, or worse, made us pay for the whole thing, we’ve learned a few valuable lessons about this. Without fail, any guy that didn’t pay turned out to be a cheapskate to the core. On a second date, one guy invited me over to dinner, then proceeded to ask me to pay for 50% of the grocery bill. (!!!) And he was a Dentist. Imagine marrying that guy? “Honey, out of the 10 toilet paper rolls I bought this month, you used 6 of them so you owe me approximately…”

If he can’t afford to pay your way, he should arrange something like a romantic walk in the park with ice cream, a day at the beach or some other cheap or free activity. That kind of date can be very sweet and is far more romantic than taking you somewhere fancy where you have to foot the bill.

On the other hand, if YOU asked HIM out, it would make more sense for him not to feel obligated to shell out for the whole thing, and you should be prepared to pay.

The bill is on the table. Now what??
We realize not everyone feels comfortable sitting there expectantly when the check arrives, so here is how you handle it in the future.

If you are on your first or second date (or possibly the 3rd), just before the bill comes, excuse yourself to go to the bathroom. If it is still there when you return don’t even look at it. If he pushes the bill towards you, pay for yourself and then lose his number. If the bill comes while you are sitting there, just continue the discussion like normal, let him reach for it and deal with it, then sweetly say thank you (Guys HATE it when they pay and you don’t thank them for it) and trust that your company is enough for him to leave the date happy and hopefully ask you out again. Trust us, he won’t resent you because he paid for you. As the relationship progresses past the first couple of dates, you can start to chip in and pay for things where appropriate so he doesn't feel taken for granted.

One final note: Don’t even think about putting out just because he took you out. That is never a good reason and it will make him think you are cheap and lose respect for you. He will wonder if you sleep with every guy who buys you a burger. The longer you hold out, the more he will appreciate it when he finally gets it and the more he will value you.

What do you guys think?

Spotlight on MakeUp Junkie

You wouldn't guess it from looking at my makeup on, Where'd You Get That?, but the weather was hideously hot and muggy those days. Normally, my forehead shines up like an oil slick at the first sign of humidity. Heck, for that matter, 30 minutes within washing my face.

Luckily, I was superbly blessed to have makeup artist extraodinaire, Joy David-Tilberg aka MakeUp Junkie as my personal beauty maven. Not only does she write one of my favorite beauty blogs, she also happens to be uber talented at hiding bags, zits, shiny skin and every other unflattering skin condition brought on by extreme weather and lack of sleep.

Her expert application made me look fresh despite very long days of shooting, and it's the first time I've ever loved my makeup when someone else has applied it and haven't secretly run off to the bathroom to fix it.

Joy will appear in an upcoming episode so you can watch her fabulousness at work!

New Blog Badges!

Thanks a million to ChickAdvisor Member, Spotty, who gave us a jump start on getting our new smaller blog badges made!

We realize some of you prefer to spread the ChickAdvisor love using less pixels than our other badges. You will find the code for these on our blog page and can put them anywhere on your blog or website.

Every time you do that, it helps us grow and we love you for it!

Thanks again Spotty!

De-Bunking the Fish Myth

"Salmon is an excellent source of omega-3 fatty acids which helps protect you from heart disease."

"Limit your intake of seafood, farmed or otherwise, because of dangerous contamination."

Which statement is true? It's no wonder consumers are confused about what to eat, since the guidelines seem to change all the time. On one hand, environmental groups question food safety, and at the other end farmers and producers claim that problems are exaggerated and reports prejudicial. Government warnings seem to waffle between the two.

In fact, both statements are true. Salmon and other fatty fish are the best natural source of omega-3s, while also being low in saturated fats. Risks associated with heart disease, rheumatoid arthritis, and depression are positively impacted by a diet including omega-3 fatty acids.

Concerns about contamination need to be better understood. Our oceans are polluted with many chemicals that all sea creatures absorb. Certain compounds are stored in fat and can persist for many years. Ocean food chains are generally much more complex than land-based food chains, and the contaminated fats are passed up the chain to the highest level (this is called biomagnification). Top-end consumers, such as large fish, polar bears, and humans consume the accumulated contamination over the entire food chain and in turn store it in their own fats. These fats can generally be purged through fat loss (by weight loss or otherwise), but during weight loss the chemicals are released into the blood stream and can sicken the host until they are flushed out.

The top contaminants of concern are mercury, PCBs, and dioxins. Mercury exposure can cause a variety of mental and pscychological health problems, PCBs are endocrine disruptors, and dioxins are known to cause cancer. To some extent, these are found in many environments, not just seafood. Occupational exposure, drinking water, and contaminated air can be sources of some of these. Eliminating seafood from your diet entirely will not protect you from these chemicals, and will mean you miss out on other health benefits (such as omega-3 fats) that this food source offers.

The US FDA and Health Canada set a tolerance limit for PCBs in fish at 2 ppm (parts per million), and generally both farmed and wild seafood do not exceed this value. However, environmental groups claim this does not go far enough to protect consumers. Those in the seafood industry say their livelihood is being threatened by inflammatory publicity of this issue, since fish is only one source of many for the contaminants in question.

Experts agree on a few basic facts. First, you should eat a variety of fish and always in moderation. Certain fish such as king mackerel, shark and swordfish should not be eaten at all (these are at the top of their respective food chains and therefore have the maximum contamination). The American Heart Association recommends two 6-ounce servings of fish per week to obtain a helpful amount of omega-3s. Pregnant and nursing women and children

should limit their intake even more (these chemicals can cross the placenta and be excreted in breast milk fats, and children's small size make them more susceptible than adults) and avoid certain foods altogether.

The reason for concern about farmed fish is that their feed may be derived from food sources they would not consume in the wild, and may include higher trophic-level organisms. Many analyses have concluded that the levels of contamination are indeed higher than in wild fish, though not necessarily exceeding government-set tolerances (editorial comment: "for what it's worth".)

Do your homework. Find an industry opinion here, an environmental scientist perspective here, and Health Canada's statement here.

Mamaluv is a ChickAdvisor writer, Mother of 3 and seafood addict. She also happens to have a background in environmental science.

Read Mamaluv's blog!

Schmoozing in the City

It was only a year ago that we lost the entire summer so we could launch ChickAdvisor. Our developers worked around the clock with us, watching the gorgeous summer weather through the window of our small apartment. This year, less than 1 year after launch, we're working hard once again to do bring you some cool new stuff.

The 2nd episode of our street fashion podcast, Summer Trends, aired on Friday, and we've been working for some time on some top secret exciting new stuff.

Toronto members, we are planning an event this summer so we can finally meet in person!

We've also been busily attending a number of events around the city, networking and schmoozing to get the word out.

We recently attended the Poa Studio shopping party at Verity, which made us wish all shopping experiences could be that much fun! There was a fantastic dj, a fashion show, sushi and other munchies, and of course fruity cocktails to sip on while perusing Catherine's latest imports. Unfortunately we had to bail early as we had double booked ourselves at a 2nd event that night.

Those of you who have been following the misschickie blog may recall our stylist friend, Giselle from Argentina. A business contact of hers told us about an event that was billed as a night of dinner and networking with local Toronto entrepreneurs. It was taking place in the posh neighborhood of Rosedale, so we thought it would be a reasonably swanky affair. We bought our tickets online arrived well stocked with business cards and smiles, anxious to make valuable contacts in the fashion and beauty space.

What we encountered could best be described as something of a Stars Hollow Town Meeting ala Gilmore Girls.

Though the event began at 6:30 we only arrived shortly after 8pm, since we had been at the Poa party. When we entered the dusty blue hued lobby (our first red flag), we were greeted by two elderly gentlemen:

"How can we help you, ladies?"

"We're here for the entrepreneur event. We bought our tickets online. I'm Giselle and this is Ali."

"Well where is your receipt?"

"Oh. We didn't know we were supposed to print it off. Do you have us on your list?"

"No. How could we possibly have a list? If you registered on the internet, everything is on the internet!"

"Ok, but you can access that information online. You didn't print off a list of who bought tickets?"

"No. Like I said, it all happened on the internet so how could we access that??"

"Usually, an organizer will print off a list of people who have rsvp'd and paid online."

"Well now, I don't know about that! Anyway, I guess we'll just have to trust that you two paid."

We put on our "Hello, My Name Is..." name tags, and walked down the blue hallway to the room where the event was taking place. We could hear a man's voice droning in the background. We took a seat at the back of the room, several feet away from the buffet table with crackers, veggies and dip (the dinner). Turns out, the key note speaker was an Historian. While he discussed the gargoyles that used to be on top of various buildings in the city complete with slideshow, Giselle and I looked at each other confused, wondering if we were at the right event. There were about 15 people there, many of whom, were senior citizens. There was a plastic shelf in the corner where everyone left a stack of business cards and we were strongly encouraged several times that evening to do the same.

After 30 minutes of Q & A with the Historian about why certain streets were named whatever there names were, it was time to mingle and network.

We were enthusiastically greeted by a variety of very genuine locals: the insurance broker, a couple of real estate agents, a chiropractor and so on, but not a single person from the beauty or fashion industries or anything even remotely connected to what we were doing or anyone who understood the internet.

As we were trying to figure out how to leave without offending anyone, I was approached by an adorable East Asian gentleman in his 60s. "I saw your name tag from across the room, and so I had to come over and introduce myself. You see, Ali is actually a man's name..." He then invited me to join their chapter.

Giselle said something about going to the bathroom and I said I had to go too. We got in the car and laughed all the way home. Next time we'll be doing a little more research.