1. Variety Studio at Holt Renfrew with Moroccanoil
Once again, I was able to be a fly on the wall at the annual Variety Studio at Holt Renfrew on Bloor St, watching celebs in their natural habitat, as they sat on couches sipping Belmonte Raw juice, played pattycakes, and hung out with their publicists. This year was quite eventful and I wrote an entire post about it on Yorkdale.com, so if you’re into Kristen Stewart, Nicholas Hoult, Bryan Cranston, Idris Elba, Sandra Bullock, and more – you definitely want to check it out! Who asked for an extra Moroccanoil goodie bag for his wife? Who refused to make eye contact? Who was the loudest interviewee? Read all about it here!

2. Essentials Lounge
Each year the Essentials Lounge by EGPR is a much-needed haven, helping journalists and bloggers prep for extra-long TIFF days and nights by pampering us with the essentials (get it?) necessary to get through 2 weeks of parties, interviews, red carpets, and more, in style and in good health. As always, this lounge focused on handing out swag to the media, not the celebs…and this year I felt especially spoiled! Mainly, because…Krispy Kreme doughnuts! I don’t know about you, but I am OBSESSED with them. I know I shouldn’t have them all the time, but when life hands you a box of 6 glazed doughnuts, you take them and you eat them immediately. After my doughnut break, other notable stops at Essentials included Dior Beauty makeup touch-ups, cutest Saucony Original shoes for those long days on your feet, personalized bottles of Thierry Mugler Angel perfume from Clarins Canada, comfy Canadian-designed Knix Wear underwear, natural beauty goodies from Kosmea Australia, and did I mention the doughnuts?! Needless to say, I emerged from this lounge, loaded up like a mule, with complimentary Vitaminwater Zero in tow and doughnut glaze on my lips. Thanks, EGPR! I blame you for those extra 10 pounds of Krispy Kreme doughnuts I am going to eat this month.

3. Sky Afterparty with CHANEL
When CHANEL invited me to attend the TIFF afterparty for Diane Kruger’s latest movie Sky, I was ecstatic. As you all know, Diane is a huge style inspiration and I couldn’t believe I would get to “party” with her at Soho House in Toronto. So the night I flew back to the city from NYFW, I rushed home to change, then rushed back to the event in my best Diane-approved outfit, only to find myself staring at the back of Diane Kruger’s beautiful head for most of the night, too shy to approach her, making my dream of photoboothing with her (or even having a small chat) go up in smoke. Such is the life of a peasant civilian. Kruger, who was, of course, wearing an exquisite CHANEL Haute Couture frock, was hanging out with her co-stars, director, and friends in the corner of the patio, while the rest of us tried to mingle nearby as inconspicuously as possible. I have to say I was a bit sad that we didn’t become BFFs at this party…after all we have so much in common – we both love cats, CHANEL, and Joshua Jackson…but alas, this time, a meet-cute was not in the stars. Perhaps another time.

More after the jump!
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