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Shopping: Valentine’s Day Gift Guide 2019


I’ve always had a soft spot for Valentine’s Day, despite it being a “made up Hallmark holiday”. A day to celebrate love (whether it’s romantic love, friendship, or self-love) by consuming copious amounts of chocolate and other yummy treats, while treating yourself or your loved ones to cute presents that signify how much they mean to you? What’s not to love?!

Perhaps your mom has been asking about the benefits of face rollers (this one’s rose quartz and so pretty), or your significant other loves to cook (this heart-shaped Staub cocotte is delightful), maybe your friend is in search of a new perfume (this limited-edition CHANEL N°5 is a showstopper), or perhaps you’re a sucker for a good heart print (this Hermès scarf is for you!)…whoever makes your heart happy deserves to be treated to something that will make them smile.

Do you love Valentine’s Day and everything that comes with it? Share in the comments.

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Style Guide to a Smooth Valentine’s Day


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It’s no secret that Valentine’s Day is one of my favourite days of the year. I live for the cutesy boxes of candy and chocolates, can never say no to a cheesy teddy bear or two, and want to buy (and wear) heart prints all day every day during the month of February. Regardless of whether I’m coupled up or blissfully single, Valentine’s Day has always been my jam. Needless to say, I don’t mess around when it comes to planning my Valentine’s Day outfit and activities. Below are some of my personal Valentine’s Day tips, in case you need a few ideas.


1. #ChooseToSmooth
While I don’t generally encourage people to go out bare-legged in February, Valentine’s Day is certainly an exception to the rule. Wintertime can be quite rough on skin in general, and while some people use this time to let their leg hair grow wild, I find that shaving my legs regularly helps keep my skin nice and smooth, especially when I use Gillette Venus Swirl razor and shave gel. Venus razors are specifically designed for women’s curves with 5 individually adjusting Contour blades, and give me a quick (but long-lasting) shave, while gently exfoliating the skin all at the same time. And even when I’m too lazy to use the shaving gel, the water-activated MoistureGlide serum provides enough glide for a smooth and comfortable shave. As a result, my legs look and feel great during those rough winter months whether I’m grinning and baring it for Valentine’s Day, doing Barre on weekends, or just lounging around the house with le bf.


2. Plan Ahead
If you plan to go out on Valentine’s Day, then making a reservation ahead of time is key. Most restaurants will have various Valentine’s Day specials, but if you take too long, your options may be quite limited. If you’d like to try something new, Lavelle (where these photos were taken) is one of the city’s most beautiful new restaurants, with super romantic views of the city and a Valentine’s Day menu to drool for. Pre-buy your tickets online, and enjoy a (stress-free) romantic Valentine’s Day dinner.


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Valentine’s Day 2017: Gift Guide


We are less than a month away from Valentine’s Day, and I honestly can’t wait! What’s not to love about a holiday that celebrates love and encourages people to eat copious amounts of chocolate? I am a sucker for heart-shaped and heart-printed clothing, accessories, and knick-knacks, so this year’s gift guide is for people just like me, so take note. If your partner’s idea of a perfect gift is not a heart-shaped neon light, then you should probably skip this post altogether…but otherwise, check out my fave Valentine’s Day-themed gifts from those beautiful and yummy Chocolates x Brandon Olsen to retro-adorable Love Is coin purse from Anya Hindmarch. 
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What are you giving your partner this Valentine’s Day? Share in the comments!

Valentine’s Day: Yorkdale Love Stories Giveaway

It may be frigid and snowy outside, but love is in the air! With Valentine’s Day just around the corner, my fellow Yorkdale Style Council member Julio and I are sharing our personal love stories with you. And we want you to do the same!

Because here at Yorkdale we are so in love with love, we are excited to announce an amazing giveaway for all the lovebirds out there! Share your love story on Yorkdale.com (comment section of THIS post), and you’ll be entered to win TWO $250 Yorkdale gift cards – one for you and one for your love! Sounds good? Don’t forget to enter before February 13th!

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Nelia and Rob

How we met
Nelia: The way Rob and I met is a little crazy, and really made me believe in destiny (STOP ROLLING YOUR EYES!). Fresh out of university, I turned down an interview with one financial institution as I had already accepted an offer elsewhere. But after a couple of weeks of training, I realized that the type of work they had to offer just wasn’t for me, so I called the HR person at the company I turned down, who was very understanding and booked me in for an interview. Rob was the person who interviewed me. It’s going to sound crazy, but for me, it was love at first sight…or maybe attraction at first sight, but I just felt that spark. After the interview, I considered asking Rob out and declining the job offer, but at the end of the day, I ended up accepting it and chickening out on the whole “ask him out” thing. Within the first week at my new job, I got transferred out of Rob’s team and he was no longer my boss…phew! We became friends and nearly a year after that interview he asked me out, and we’ve been together ever since. If I hadn’t changed my mind about that job, and stayed at the first company, we may have never even met. Feels like it was meant to be.

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Ditto
Nelia: While on vacation in San Francisco, we spent a beautiful day exploring the city. Spring flowers were blooming, the sun was shining and I still remember that feeling of pure joy all day long. We’ve been together for nearly a year at that point, and during dinner, Rob looked at me and said “I love you”…I was so nervous, I mumbled “ditto” in return, but could obviously tell that it wasn’t the answer he was hoping for. Truth is, I’ve never actually said “I love you” to a boyfriend before Rob, so it felt like a huge deal to me at the time. The next day, as we were getting ready for another day of fun, I finally got up the courage to say “I love you” properly. To this day, “ditto” is the way I tell Rob that I love him too.

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Julio and Daniel

How we met
Daniel: Julio and I are a testament to romance in the age of social media. We actually met on Instagram via a mutual friend. I asked him out via Twitter DM. We always laugh when we tell people our story because no one believes us at first!
Julio: We just celebrated our 2 year anniversary on February 1st. Daniel likes to argue that our anniversary is earlier, but February 1st stuck with some encouragement aka my decision.

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Instagram Engagement
Daniel: Well, being that I am the biggest hopeless romantic it had to be epic. I planned out the perfect day for Julio to make sure he got the engagement he deserved. I bought his favourite Tiffany’s Ring that he had always wanted, brought our photographer down to Toronto. Since we met on Instagram, I decided that I would propose via the platform as well at the first place we ever met in person. So at 11:27am (1 year to the minute from when I first asked him out) via Instagram (how we met), at Dupont Subway Station (the first place we saw each other face to face) I asked him to marry me. And lucky for me, he said yes!

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Valentine’s Day: Gift Guide 2014

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Be still my hopeless-romantic heart, Valentine’s Day is mere days away! And in case your significant other is stumped and doesn’t know what to get you, how about these lovely items? Chocolate and flowers are so banal, why not get her a fragrant diptyque candle, or a heart-shaped Le Creuset casserole?! I repeat…HEART-SHAPED Le Creuset! I mean if that doesn’t say true love, then I really don’t know what love is. Also, in case you didn’t know, Holt Renfrew now stocks Agent Provocateur lingerie! You’re welcome, and happy Valentine’s Day shopping!

1. Heart-Shaped Casserole – Le Creuset
2. Be Mine Heart Bag – ALDO
3. Lips Perspex Clutch – Lulu Guinness
4. Bonjour Bag – Zara
5. For Keeps Perspex Clutch – Charlotte Olympia (The Room)
6. Rosamundi Candle – diptyque
7. Fancy Lingerie – Agent Provocateur (Holt Renfrew)

Valentine’s Day: The Men Behind The Bloggers

Happy Valentine’s Day, lovelies! To celebrate, I have a very special post featuring some of my favourite Toronto bloggers…and their men! To say that this blog wouldn’t be the same without le bf and his encouragement is an understatement. He truly is my #1 fan, my tech support, my photographer, my rock. And such is the case for many other bloggers out there, whose boyfriends/fiancés/husbands become an integral part of their girlfriends’/wives’ blogs. And even if they remain largely unseen, their impact certainly isn’t. They take our photos, offer emotional and tech support, provide an arm to grab on to when the heels we wear become impossible to walk in, they carry our heavy cameras, get excited about fun collabs we partake in, and read only one blog – the one that matters.  So let’s get to know a few men behind the bloggers, shall we?

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Blog: Beckerman Bite Plate
Blogger: Chloe Beckerman
Other Half: Justin ‘J-Dawg’ Hardt
Together For: Spiritually – forever.
Status: Engaged

The Beckerman sisters have long been my dream blogging trio. Their style is crazy fun, their photoshoots are equal parts inspirational and silly, their family seems close-knit and bananas-up-for-anything…even their dogs are stylish! And while Sam and Caillianne are both in Toronto and have each other to rely on, Chloe, who resides in LA, has her fiancé to help her with her photoshoots. So what’s it like to be a man behind one third of Beckerman Bite Plate? Here’s what J-Dawg had to say.

What were your thoughts when she first started her blog? Did you think it would become a big deal? I thought, what’s a fashion blog?! When I found out I was very excited for her. Of course, I thought it would be a big deal.

What are your blog duties? To get the fucking shot, come hell or high water!

What’s the most challenging part about being in a relationship with a blogger? Every outing can turn into an impromptu photo session even getting coffee the morning after a night of heavy drinking (I’m the one usually ‘choking down on grandpa’s cough syrup’.)

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Are there perks of being with a blogger? Chloe constantly looks hot and owns an expensive camera.

What was your proudest blog moment? There are 2 proud moments. Moment 1 – when I was asked to photograph her the 2nd time – I was shocked. Moment 2 – when I got Chloe to pose in front of the Berlin Wall exhibit outside the Variety Building near LACMA.

Do you feel that her blog is successful in part because of your support? I think Chloe is able to have more posts because I can help out. But it’s the style and creative direction of the blog that makes it successful.

Do you have an all-time-favorite blog post? Yes and it’s the background of my cell phone.

Do you read other fashion blogs? No, the only time I see other blogs is when I am wrestling the computer away from Chloe.

Words of advice for other blog husbands/boyfriends out there? Its about her, let her Diva out.

And what did Chloe have to say about Justin’s support?

Is your fiancé supportive of your blog? 110%

How does he help? He makes all these funny jokes while taking my pictures and half of the photos are of me laughing my ass off!

Does he have strong opinions about your blog/blog posts? He has a great eye for detail and is always trying new artsy photos! He keeps it real!

Do you usually listen to his opinions, or do as you please? If Justin says go cray cray in front of the camera, I go cray cray! And those photos are always the BEST!

MORE after the jump!

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Valentine’s Day: Gift Guide 2013

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Valentine’s Day is almost here, and if you’ve known me long enough, you know that I’ve been enjoying all that leads up to the actual day – all of the heart-shaped candy, stupid/cute stuffed toys, and everything red and pink. But surprisingly, I still haven’t gotten a present for le bf just yet. It’s so unlike me to procrastinate on things like that, but now that we’re married, and house-hunting, Valentine’s Day gift shopping has taken a bit of a back seat.

Having said that, being a Valentine’s Day-obsessed freak that I am, I still felt that it was important to share my favourite gift picks with you. Either to inspire your loved ones to get you that something pretty, or to inspire you to spoil yourselves. Who says that you need to have a lover to enjoy Valentine’s Day?

Valentine’s Day Gift Ideas after the jump!

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Valentine’s Day: Last-Minute Gifts for Her

Okay, so truth be told…most of these gifts are not last-minute Valentine’s Day gifts for “her” per say, but mostly for me…Stuff that I like, find pretty/cute/adorbs, and wouldn’t mind getting this Valentine’s Day…*hints, nudges, and pokes all around* If you think your girlfriend/friend/wife/lovah might like the same things…well, more power to you…I think any of the above would make a sweet gift to the one you adore. Or just buy it all for yourself, because the relationship that you have with yourself is the most important one. Am I right, or am I right?

What do you want this Valentine’s Day? Aside from yummy chocolates, of course! Share in the comments. Or if you’re still undecided, click here for more Valentine’s Day gift ideas.

More after the jump!

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Wishlist: Proenza Schouler’s Valentine’s Day Collection

Isn’t it just the best when two awesome things combine to create something even better? Like peanut butter and chocolate, or ice-cream and apple pie? Well, the boys men of Proenza Schouler have just released a Valentine’s Day-inspired capsule collection…and it’s glorious! Better than any Reese’s cup you’ve ever tasted. 

Gorgeous bags, clutches, and wallets in red leather and chain straps – make my heart explode with WANT. Prices range from $785 for a PS1 wallet on a chain, to a whopping $6,825 for a lizard leather PS11. Pretty pricey, that’s for sure, but still super beautiful.

What do you think of Proenza Schouler’s Valentine’s Day collection? Share in the comments. 

Photo Credits: Purse Blog

What I Wore: Let Them Wear Cake

The very first time I laid my eyes on this Pepto-pink Zara dress, I was smitten. It wasn’t so much the color, but the promise of making any occasion, on which I chose to wear said dress, special and grand. The volume, the layers…and yes, the color, they all were reminiscent of a cake. And so, I had to have it.

For some reason, the only two times I’ve worn it was in Quebec. First time on a girls’ trip to Montreal, and this time in Mont Tremblant…wait for it…on Valentine’s Day. Appropriate, no? It’s like an insta-mood-enhancer. The moment I put it on, I feel…happier…lighter…poofier? Do you have an item like that in your wardrobe? Something that just makes you feel so good…What is it?

PS. Peep the Valentine’s card I got for le boyfriend. Isn’t it just the best?!

I Wore: Dress – Zara; Necklace – Forever21; Ring – YSL

WHAT I WORE

LET’S GET SOCIAL!

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