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Style Blog Travels: #FordConnections at Langdon Hall

18 June, 2017 Nelia Leave a Comment

A few days ago le bf and I set off on a mini Ford Positive Connections road trip in a brand new 2017 Ford Edge Titanium to celebrate my birthday and Best Friends Day. First stop? Toronto Premium Outlets, because what’s a birthday weekend without a little #treatyoself?! With a few purchases from Saks Off 5th, J.Crew and Nike outlets piled up in the trunk, we jumped back into the car, and took the scenic route to Cambridge, Ontario. We drove by parks, farms, and fields, while the cooled leather seats kept us nice and comfortable, and the SYNC 3 system played my fave road trip playlist (mostly BSB, because I obviously have a great taste in music). Before we knew it, we were pulling into the picturesque Langdon Hall.

Since this was le bf’s first time at Langdon Hall, we did a quick tour of the property before settling into some comfy patio chairs with celebratory cocktails. With conversation flowing, the view of Langdon Hall’s main house in front of us, and the soft afternoon light in our faces, it was exactly what we needed after a few hectic weeks of all work and no play in the city. The next day, after a leisurely country table breakfast and a little R&R time by the pool, we packed our bags, checked out of our beautiful room and headed to Downtown Cambridge.

Back in town, we discovered that Cambridge was one of the filming locations for the Hulu show The Handmaid’s Tale (a current fave!). The bridge where the protest scene was filmed, the infamous hanging wall – both are super recognizable and we were so excited to have unexpectedly stumbled upon it. Needless to say, we were totally geeking out. After taking a million photos, we walked over to the nearby auto show, drooling over the vintage Ford Mustangs from the 60s and 70s (next year’s birthday present, perhaps?). We grabbed a couple of delicious Portuguese donuts from Malasada World, and hit the road.

The ride back to Toronto felt quick and easy, and since we had our Ford SUV for the weekend, we drove it from the house to Bar Isabel for yet another birthday celebration. It handled beautifully in the city, just like it did in the countryside. Le bf especially loved the car’s Personal Safety System that alerted us whenever another car was moving nearby unsafely, which came in handy a few times in the busy downtown Toronto. My favourite Ford Edge feature was definitely the cooled front seats – perfect if you like to drive with windows down, while keeping the rest of your body nice and cool.

Once the weekend came to an end and it was time to say good-bye to “our” Ford, I felt a little sad but very thankful for a lovely weekend of re-connecting with le bf and exploring new places together. I guess it’s never too soon to start planning our next road trip this summer!

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Style Blog Travels: 5 Things To Do in Vegas

3 April, 2017 Nelia 1 Comment

Going to Vegas but not sure what to do other than gamble and walk the strip? Here are some of my fave things to do and see in Las Vegas from my March trip with Expedia Canada as part of the #BigWorldExplorer program.

1. Get Down at the Backstreet Boys Concert

Let me get to the chase…if you were relatively young (or perhaps young at heart) back in the 90’s, then you MUST GO TO THE BACKSTREET BOYS CONCERT IN LAS VEGAS while you still can…or be forever incomplete. Sorry (not sorry) for yelling, but as someone who was obsessed with this iconic boyband back in the day, I have to say that this concert will be in the highlight reel of the best days of my life…and probably more than that.

My equally BSB-obsessed friend Karen and I were super lucky to score front spots in the GA pit (thanks to the Amex pre-sale Platinum “Beat the Line” tickets!) at their concert in March, and it was LARGER THAN LIFE. They sang (really well), they danced (dad moves aplenty), they wore silver boots and sparkly jackets, they brought Lance Bass up on stage to serenade him…and they gave it their all (they had to give). Kevin sang to me for a full minute, making me super uncomfortable (yet excited at the same time)…I got to touch Brian’s hand twice and AJ’s once…and it will all be forever seared into my brain (and the shape of my heart?). Yes, I am a thirty-something who lined up for a few hours to ensure that I had a front and centre spot, squealed like a teenager when the “boys” were near our side of the pit, and sang every lyric to every song (except for one) at the top of my lungs…and I just want you to know that I regret NOTHING. Forget about other Vegas performances and go see BSB at Planet Hollywood…your inner 90’s teen wants it that way.

2. Visit The Neon Museum

I’ve been to Vegas a couple of times before, but for whatever reason I haven’t visited The Neon Museum until this year…and I highly recommend you make the trek. Full of cool signs and marquees, and with a knowledgeable guide at our side, this tour was fun, educational, and perfect for Instagram. Buy your tickets online (spots tend to sell out quickly), wear sunscreen and a hat as you’ll be in full sun for most of the tour, and pay a few extra bucks to visit the Neon Boneyard North Gallery at your own pace and see even more rescued signs.

3. Drive Out to Seven Magic Mountains

Ugo Rondinone’s Seven Magic Mountains has become one of Vegas’ most-instagrammed locations, and with good reason – seven towers of (highly-photogenic) colourful boulders in the middle of the desert, surrounded by mountains, and open to the public free of charge – I ended up going twice! The installation is located 30 minutes outside of Las Vegas and will be on view until 2018, so if you’d like to visit Nevada’s own Stonehenge, then you have a year to do so. Word of advice – if you don’t want a bunch of strangers in the background of every photo you take, then going at the crack of dawn Mon-Thurs is your best bet. Any other time, expect crowds.

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Travel: 5 Things To Do in Lisbon

4 January, 2017 Nelia Leave a Comment

As I am starting to plan my travels for 2017, I look back on our most memorable trip of 2016 to Portugal. To tell you the truth, I went with low expectations, but at the end of the day, I ended up falling in love with the beautiful country, its people, food, and crafts. Compared to a lot of other European countries, Portugal is still very affordable, so if you are looking for a new place to visit this year, I suggest you add Portugal to your itinerary. Today’s post is about beautiful Lisbon and some of the places you can visit while there. A post about my Algarve faves is coming soon.

1. Eat

Lisbon’s foodie scene was definitely a pleasant surprise. Nearly every single meal we had during our trip was a smash hit. There’s a plethora of delicious options at the admittedly touristy Time Out Market; the Piri Piri chicken from the Miguel Laffan stall was my personal favourite, but other restaurants were great too according to my friends and fellow travellers (just watch out for aggressive table stealers).

For a fresh take on ceviche, A Cevicheria is a must-visit. You won’t be impressed with the quantity of food at this tiny resto, but you will certainly love every bite.

For creative sushi, make sure to stop by Sushic (original or at Palacio Chiado). We ate there twice, trying various chef’s platters, gorging on buttery tuna tataki, and other delicious seafood. Just make sure to avoid the Tom Yum soup – it’s overpriced and totally not worth it. There are other options to try at Palacio Chiado (more hit and miss), but I’d recommend it for a quick casual lunchtime stop.

Fabulas is another great lunch spot with a charming patio, and a menu full of freshly-prepared Portuguese specialties like the super delicate codfish cakes. Despite its central location, this place is definitely not a tourist trap. Also, once they run out of a certain dish, they won’t make more, so go early.

As much as we wanted to make it to Pasteis de Belem to try their iconic pastries, we weren’t able to make it there this time, but we did make up for it at Manteigaria. Obviously, we can’t compare the two, but out of all the pasteis de nata that we’ve tried on this trip, the flaky, freshly baked custard tarts from Manteigaria were by far the yummiest.

If you’re craving a sweet cold treat, whatever you do, do not go to Amorino – it’s just not worth the calories. Go to Mu or Santini instead – their gelato is so much better! Also, paletas from PizPireto are incredible! We randomly found their amazing paletas at a gourmet store near A Cevicheria, but apparently they also have a shop just outside of central Lisbon.

For traditional Portuguese steak and chips, a couple of locals highly recommended Solar Dos Presuntos. And while I loved my steak, this place got mixed reviews from the rest of our group (they found it too pricey and not particularly memorable), so read other reviews before you go. Honestly though, I don’t think we had a bad food experience in Lisbon (apart from terrible gelato at Amorino and mediocre pastries at A Padaria Portuguesa).
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What I Wore: South Beach

13 January, 2015 Nelia 2 Comments

south-beach-miami-clover-canyon-3
It feels like -27 outside, and I am questioning all of my life choices that brought me here, to Toronto where the air hurts my face on a daily basis. So if you need me, I’ll be here, daydreaming about Miami, and the South Beach, and sunshine, and warm sand, and anything but snow and extreme cold alerts. Stay warm out there, Toronto.

south-beach-miami-clover-canyon

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Style Blog Travels: 5 Things To Do in Miami

9 January, 2015 Nelia 4 Comments

A couple of months ago, le bf and I packed our bags and took off on a week-long Miami vacay. We were set to arrive on the last day of Art Basel, and had very little idea as to what we would actually do in Miami once we land. I had no time for research, and so we set off with no preconceived notions about the city, with that Will Smith song stuck in my head. Now that we got to experience a bit of what Miami has to offer, I thought I’d share my newfound wisdom…aka the top 5 things we loved about Miami, and you may too. Feel free to let us know which places are on your must-do list!

Wynwood Walls
I’ll be honest, I learned about Wynwood Walls from Instagram, and all of those photogenic outfit pics of various bloggers, posing in front of the coolest graffiti I’ve ever seen. So, being a fashion blogger, I knew I had to make the trip to see (and pose in front of) those beautiful walls. And so we went, we saw, we posed, we photographed, and we loved it. Honestly, whether you’re a blogger or not, you’ll love Wynwood Walls. It’s a grungy area to be sure, but it’s inspiring all the same. Once you’re done admiring the pretty walls and doors, you can take a short cab ride over to Miami’s Design District, where you can do some high-end shopping, before grabbing a table on Mandolin’s lovely sun-soaked patio. Their kefte and saganaki are delicious, while the unsweetened iced-tea is super refreshing.

Versace Mansion aka The Villa by Barton G.
As a fashion lover, I knew I had to check out the infamous Versace Mansion while in Miami. There’s obviously a sad backstory to the mansion and those infamous front steps, but it’s basically a historic sight and a must-visit while in Miami. We made a dinner reservation, and arrived without high expectations. Mostly, we just wanted to check out the mansion itself, so the dinner part was just an aside. But when our meals arrived, we were pleasantly surprised by how much we loved the food. There are mixed reviews online, but everything we ordered was delicious. And as a bonus, we got to sit facing the beautiful courtyard, with that magnificent pool and infamous tiled floor as our view. We also had an unexpected dinner companion running around our feet – a Versace cat. We were told that on the day Gianni was shot, a cat arrived at the steps of the mansion, and since Gianni believed in reincarnation, the cat was allowed to stay, with its offsprings now enjoying the privilege of being Versace Mansion inhabitants.