Yorkdale Is Me

Yorkdale is Me: Outtakes

5 August, 2010 Nelia

Woohoo! I have finally updated my About page! It’s been 15 or so months and I just couldn’t get around to doing it. I’m still not completely happy with the final result, but it’ll do for now. Why it’s so hard to write things about yourself, I’ll never know.

And in the spirit of sharing things that are overdue, here are some of the outtake photos from my Chris Nicholls Yorkdale is Me photoshoot. I still can’t believe my luck sometimes…not only did Chris Nicholls, the same guy that shoots for Holt Renfrew and Flare Magazine took my pictures…but they also appeared on a billboard! Crazy talk.

Here’s what I wore:

Outfit 1: Striped Mens Shirt, Pants, Shoes – H&M; Lip Bracelet – Aldo

Outfit 2: Top – Aritzia; Leopard Print Cardigan, Necklace, Shoes – H&M; Jeans – Gap

Photos courtesy of Yorkdale Shopping Centre

What I Wore: Bad Day

29 June, 2010 Nelia

Last weekend, amid the G20 craziness, le boyfriend and I finally made a trek to Yonge and Sheppard to see my “Yorkdale Is Me” billboard! After a few minutes of silly picture-taking and attempting to climb up on the roof of the building in heels (me, not le boyfriend), which was unfortunately locked, we ended up spending the day wandering aimlessly around the Lawrence Park area, stopping by Sporting Life to check out their sale, and finally sampling Capocaccia (foodie post coming soon).

All in all a great day…especially compared to the day before that, when I hit a parking lot pillar, almost killed myself while hanging wallpaper and shopping at IKEA (hint to self: don’t attempt to drag a super heavy shelving unit across the driveway – it will inevitably result in busted up toes and scratched up, yet brand new piece of furniture).

Thankfully, there were kind souls that helped me along the way, and made my day a bit brighter. Like the guys at the auto shop, who instead of taking advantage of clueless me, helped me with the dent, offered advice and manual labor…all without any monetary expectations (I still paid them, of course). Also, huge thanks goes out to the random guy at the IKEA parking lot, who after seeing me wheel a huge shelving unit over to my car, did not hesitate to offer his help, which was hugely appreciated. And last, but not least, I am really thankful for the assitance of my almost-neighbor, who helped me get the aforementioned piece of furniture into my house, after seeing me helplessly fighting with and flailing around the careening shelf, which clearly was out for blood (ouch!).

What last weekend taught me (other than not to go furniture shopping alone, and to watch out for parking lot pillars), is that the world isn’t such a hostile place afterall…there are still people out there who will lend a helping hand to a stranger in need, without expecting anything in return. And that’s a pretty awesome thing to realize.

What I Wore: Shirt – Forever21; Shorts, Men’s Bracelet, Belt, Sunglasses, Nail Polish – H&M; Earrings – Chanel; Bag – Longchamp; Shoes – Zara

Almost Famous

26 May, 2010 Nelia

I still haven’t seen my billboard up close and personal…well, mostly because it’s at Yonge and Sheppard…and I am never at Yonge and Sheppard. It’ll be moved to Eglinton West in June, and I’ll be definitely seeing that one…a lot! In the meantime, huge thanks to Ed for the photos!

Now that my mug is on a billboard, should I get an agent to sort through the many beauty and fashion campaign offers that are bound to pour in? Just kidding about that…being one of the ten faces representing the best mall in Toronto should do for now. Thanks for your support, lovelies!

Yorkdale Is Me: Websites and Billboards and Yorkdale, Oh My!

6 May, 2010 Nelia

And so it’s up! What’s up? Photos of the 10 finalists in the Yorkdale Is Me contest! Woohoo!

The shoot was coordinated by the amazing Concrete Design team and shot by the very talented Chris Nicholls. It was a huge pleasure and a privilege to have worked with such a fabulous group of people, and I am sure all of the winners will remember this experience forever!

So, if you want to see the finished results of Yorkdale’s Spring 2010 campaign, go to www.yorkdale.com to check out the rest of the photos! They are all so beautiful!

You may also see my billboard (OMFG, my face is on a friggin billboard!!!) at 4664 Yonge St. (near Sheppard Ave) until the end of May, and at 544 Eglinton Ave West (near Yonge St.) until the end of June! I haven’t actually seen it myself yet, so it hasn’t really sunk in…If you do see one, make sure to take a photo and send it my way.

And once again a HUGE thanks to all of you for your support! This is all because of my friends and readers! Would not be possible without you! Thank you, thank you, thank you!

Photo Credits: www.yorkdale.com

Yorkdale Is Me: People’s Choice Winner

16 April, 2010 Nelia

Back in November, around 50 contestants vied to become People’s Choice Winner in a Yorkdale Is Me contest. Ann Dao and her beautiful son Grant won by a landslide, and are now featured front and center on Yorkdale’s new revamped website! The full Yorkdale Is Me campaign will be launched in May, and I cannot wait to see everyone’s photos! This one in particular makes me smile, especially since I recently became an auntie to a gorgeous baby boy. Congrats, Ann Dao and Grant!

Photo Credits: www.yorkdale.com

Yorkdale is Me: Photoshoot Day!

19 February, 2010 Nelia

I am off to the Yorkdale photoshoot with the amazing Chris Nicholls! So excited! Hopefully will share photos with you all soon! Thank you once again for supporting me in this contest! Means a whole of a lot!

Update: Back from the shoot and what an amazing time it was! From the moment I walked into Chris Nicholls’ studio, full of beautiful photographs, magazines, and photo equipment, to the moment I sadly went home, it was nothing short of fantastic. And though I ended up looking a lot like Snooki mid-way through the prep, both, the beautiful make-up artist Anna Nenoiu and funny-guy-hairstylist Greg Wencel, fixed that little problem and made sure I looked and felt great! I was super nervous right before the shoot, but the team was so encouraging and easy-going that it was impossible to stay nervous. I haven’t actually seen any of the photos yet, so it’ll be a nice surprise to see them when the campaign launches in May. Can’t wait.

A super stylish stylist/designer Rita Liefhebber, moi, make-up artist Anna, and hairstylist Greg after the shoot. They were in charge of the beautification process! I think they did a swell job.

With Chris Nicholls himself! Woot!

Concrete Design team and I! Diti, myself, Louise, and Mel! What a pleasure and honor it was to have been able to work with one of the most amazing creative teams in Canada! Thank you all so much!

Photo Credits: 1st photo – Chris Nicholls Photography

Yorkdale is Me: And the Winners Are…

2 December, 2009 Nelia

Did I make it into the top 10? Find out after the jump!

[Read more…]

Yorkdale is Me: The Final Stretch

26 November, 2009 Nelia

Only 3 days of voting left. Only 1 person wins People’s Choice! So what are you waiting for? Vote! Vote for Nelia, dammit! And here’s a little incentive to sweeten all the clicking! With each text message (113 to #22333) you send, you are entered to win one of 10 $100 Yorkdale Gift Cards! Another incentive is…if you buy anything from H&M Yorkdale this weekend, make sure to stop by the customer service desk, show your receipt, mention my name and get a Timothy’s gift card. Easy, right? You know what else is easy? Voting for Nelia! See what I did there?

So anyway, if you could vote a lot this weekend, I would definitely appreciate it. In these last 3 days, every single vote counts!

Vote here: www.yorkdaleisme.com/profile/nelia/

Text your votes here: 113 to #22333 (free if you have unlimited texting)

Watch and rate my lame video here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=GdWWrrTPc5U and www.youtube.com/watch?v=X6YF-2QQFWQ

Join my Facebook group: www.facebook.com/#/group.php?gid=167045579726&ref=ts

Thanks for everyone’s support and votes! We’ll find out how I did on Monday! Keep your fingers crossed for me and remember…Nelia is Yorkdale!

Yorkdale Is Me: YouTube Video

20 November, 2009 Nelia

Wednesday was a fantastic day! Thursday not so much. Friday? Hoping for a golden middle. There’s only 10 days of voting left and I am sure a lot of you are burnt out by now. Tired of voting, tired of seeing my mug shot every time you come to visit Style Blog, tired of my constant self-promotion? Sorry and thank you all endlessly! The efforts are most certainly appreciated, every single one of you that is voting…I am thankful!

Well, I’ve been #1, #2, and now #3 over the weeks, and the competition is most definitely fierce! I think everyone really, really wants to win this! And why wouldn’t they? VIP passes to fashion week??? $1000 to spend at Yorkdale Mall??? Parking spot??? YES, PLEASE! So I’m still holding out hope that I’ll pull through in the last week with some solid help from you all!

The above video is the latest effort to make this a fun and funny experience not only for the contestants, but for everyone that’s voting! You know what Haka is, right? And seriously, every time you see “Nelia” in the subtitles, if you listen closely, you’ll hear those New Zealanders saying my name.

So guys, don’t forget to vote for me when you’re bored, when you’ve got nothing better to do, when you’re in the bathroom playing with your phone, when you’re waiting for a bus, when you’re on the Internet reading gossip blogs (you know you do), and when you’re on the couch watching TV. Vote online: http://yorkdaleisme.com/profile/nelia/ or via your mobile phone 113 to #22333 (free if you have unlimited texting). Voting is unlimited, so vote as many times as you possibly can. Another way to show your support is by viewing my eyesore of a video and commenting on it and rating it (5*s will do). Also, don’t forget to stop by Yorkdale Mall and say “hello” to my poster. I really do appreciate all of your support! Thank you so much!

Yorkdale Is Me: The Video

14 November, 2009 Nelia

Oh great, the dreaded video is out. And with it comes a list of excuses for the excessive eye-rolling and sounding like a valley girl. First of all, the primal fear in my eyes, is a result of being nervous as hell. Second of all, even though I had a few minutes to prepare what I was going to say, the words escaped me at the last second, and I was left scrambling to remember the witticisms. I also completely forgot to include “world peace” in the list of things I like. If it was on everyone’s list, the world would be a better place. And lastly, just in case you were confused, the “Chinese-Japanese” and the “Confucius” comments are not proof that I was drunk or crazy (though Mark, the cameraman certainly thought so), they were “borrowed” from the little gem below. So all in all, here’s my Yorkdale Is Me video. You are allowed to make fun of me, but only if you vote at least a 100 times. Vote for Nelia!