What Are Your Travel Plans For 2012?

Hiking through the Rainforest in Costa Rica

A sponsored hip + urban girl post.

What are your travel plans for 2012?

2011 was a big year of travel for Wendy and I. The two of us were rotating through a different destination every other month, ending up here and here.

It’s now a brand new year with a whole lot of possibility. The BEST thing you can do for yourself is to pull out your calendar and plan now. List all the places you REALLY want to travel to. Don’t book a trip to a place you only sort of want to visit because it’s cheap. Aim high and think big. Slot the potential time into your calendar and start planning trip-by-trip so you can vacation instead of having a default staycation.

Postcards from the Bahamas Baby!

Last week I introduced a new series on our site called The Before Baby Project which will document my LAST YEAR of being baby-free and the journey to becoming a hip + urban mom. I'm almost finished making my list of all the things I hope to do before starting a family and I can't wait to share my experiences with you!

On the top of my list is going on a family vacation to the Bahamas with my In-Laws... no, I haven't gone crazy and yes, not only did I endure it but I thoroughly enjoyed it! They all live in the West Coast and I don't see them very often so seriously, this was a real treat.

#hugTO in Bahamas baby!

Heard it's snowing back in TO... here's a dose of sunshine to brighten up your day.

Home sweet home!  Now this is a true haven of tranquility - villas with perfectly manicured gardens and your own pool!

Vegan pizza cooked in a wood-burning oven right on the beach.

Square Tacos @ Amigos - Key West, Florida

Amigos Tortilla Bar is home of the square taco and the next stop in our travel series to Key West, Florida. Now I've never met a tortilla - round or square that I didn't like OR eat. The corn tortillas here are made from scratch at the front of the restaurant behind a glass wall. I ordered a Three Taco Platter ($10.99) served with rice and beans (above). They let you mix up the combination so you can try all the different meats.

The food itself is fast, fresh and delicious. The portions are huge - so be prepared to share. Amigos is open until midnight or later everyday, so it's the perfect stop after the bar with its location right off Duval Street. Have serious munchies? Start with an order of their Guacamole & Chips ($4.99) which also come with a side of pico de gallo. Amigos serves imported Mexican Coke ($2.25) that's made with cane sugar and not corn syrup and it tastes completely different. Almost fizzier and less sweet.

Activity-A-Week: Go Zumba!

I'm usually in a bad mood when I know I have to exercise. I walked into City Dance Corps last week expecting to take a hip hop class. As fate would have it, hip hop was sold out and my only other choice at that time was Zumba.

Zum-wha?

All I know is that I committed to trying a different activity-a-week for one whole year and I'm sure I would have to face Zumba eventually.

So Zumba it was.

So what happened? I couldn't stop smiling through the one hour class and it's because of the energy radiating from Zumba instructor, Jessica Bowman (right). She makes the class with her sense of humour and passion that pushes us outside of our comfort zone.

Yelling at us over the music, "Is you hair in a ponytail? Take it out ladies!' says Jessica as she proceeds to whip her hair back and forth getting us to let loose with a mix of latin, Bollywood, salsa, soca dance moves. Expect a lot of booty shakes that you'll laugh through.

Book Review: My Little Paris

If this is the year you take your dream trip to Paris, then you'll want to pick up this gem of a guide book. My Little Paris shares the secrets of real Parisian woman and lucky for us, it has been translated into English.

The website of the same name was started by two sisters and evolved into a robust little guide for the hip + urban girl living in Paris. The site has now become a book full of insider addresses and tips that are useful to any visitor.

This non-typical guide book shares fun and often hilarious insight on where to aqua bike, get a fish pedicure, eat fresh made noodles and  even shares the best top secret shopping outlets in the city of lights.

We also love the adorable illustrations throughout the book, done by Japanese artist, Kanako Kuno.

My Little Paris

Authors: Fany Péchiodat, Amandine Péchiodat, Anne-Flore Brunet, Catherine Taret, Kanako Kuno, Mademoiselle Lilly, Ana Webanck & Céline Orjubin ($19.95) retail, available on Amazon. 

Peep These! Extensions from Flirt Custom Lash

Owner, Sommer, (at centre) with Flirt Custom Lash lovers

I am absolutely a lash lover. Yes, my natural lashes are definitely satisfactory, but I still I have a tendency to collect mascaras of all brands to create the perfect length, volume, and thickness and have gladly sported fake lashes for special occasions.

My wedding falsies, for example, had me more doe-eyed than Bambi. Unfortunately, I'm a hopeless case when it comes to applying those myself, and truthfully, mascara and contact lenses are total frenemies.

I've always been super curious about lash extensions and was pretty stoked when my pal Sommer Dunsmuir of Flirt Custom Lash asked me to play "model" while she applied them for a crowd during a demo at L.A. Fitness earlier this week. 

Before Lash Extensions

Prior to the application, Sommer took a good look at my eyes asked me about my expectations including how I thought my lashes would look when applied and lifestyle such as whether or not I wear a lot of make-up. With that info she created a custom look for me. I was so impressed by that part of the session since I kind of thought everybody got lashed the same. 

Everybody's falsies are the same, right? It turns out a certified professional is taught to assess the size and shape of your eye and add length based on your physical features and preferences.

I learned that there are a lot of things that Sommer does differently because she has been certified by Xtreme Lashes including lashing only adult lashes so you don't damage new lashes, using hypo allergenic, medical grade adhesive to eliminate reactions and speaking truthfully about the difference between silk and mink extensions.

The latter are often a rip-off. I completely value my eye sight and bank account and so should you! Please make sure you do your homework if you're considering an application.

The Hip + Urban Girl's Guide To Key West, Florida

If you're looking for a dreamy beach getaway, look no further than Key West, Florida. It's the sort of place where roosters run wild (no seriously, they do) and where you can park your car for the weekend and roam this cute little beach town by bike. Our rental car never moved from its parking spot and we scored bike rentals for around $18/day. 

Getting Around - I felt like I was 12 again, locking my bike up every time we stopped in front of a village of shops, to lookout at the ocean, for tacos or to stop in at a bar (ok that I didn't do when I was 12). It's hilarious yelling back, "Right...er...left!" while we navigated the streets on a breezy summer night. It's the best way to explore this town. Roads are generally flat and the speed limit for cars is 40 km/h, so you'll feel safe. Colourful Key West is full of charming shops (above) and a laid-back island attitude. You won't run out of things to do.

Happy Hour - is practically a religion here and best paired with Peel 'n Eat Florida Pink Shrimp. We had good luck with the food and drinks at Alonzo Berlin's Lobster House right by the water.

Raising Our Eyebrows @ The Chella Brow Bar

Celebrity make up artist, DeeDee Marcelli stopped by The Bay, Yonge & Bloor last week as the new spokesperson for brow and lash line, Chella.

The collection will be exclusive to the Canadian retailer and includes brow stencils, conditioning treatments, lash gels, eye masks and brow tools ($15-95).

DeeDee had a good look at my sparse brows and filled them in with two different pencils ($18) and a stencil ($15). A clean up came via a mini razor (it didn't hurt), tweezers and scissors. I emerged with dark, bold eyebrows which was very exciting because it was not something I would normally choose.

The counter does not currently offer brow waxing, but plans to in the future. In the meantime you can stop by for a brow consultation and have a look through the products in the collection.

Getting my brow make over from Ms. DeeDee. We spoke about our mutual love for California, where she is visiting from. Cheryl Hickey from ET Canada even stopped by to chat brows. So why are brows so important for a make up artist like DeeDee? She talked about how having beautifully groomed brows can make your face look 'done' without having to go into a whole make up routine. It can give your face an effortless lift.

Make This! Better Microwave Popcorn

If you're still blowing $4 on three bags of microwave popcorn, you can save bit of cash and DIY yourself a healthy snack without the artificial flavouring and chemicals like diacetyl or PFA.

Get yourself a brown paper lunch bag

Add 2-3 tablespoons of popcorn kernels and scrunch/fold over the top

Microwave for 2-3 minutes and listen for when the kernels stop popping rapidly

Add your own butter and salt for easy, natural microwave popcorn

Loved this? Look for more of our easy Make This! recipes

Winter Reads To Keep You Warm

As the season of shorter days and self-imposed hibernation, winter is the perfect time to catch up on your reading list. For those nights of staying in with nothing good on TV, put on your lulu’s and curl up on the couch with one of these great reads.

The Company We Keep - By: Robert and Dayna Baer

Rife with exotic countries and foreign languages, secret ops and clandestine training camps; this book is chick-lit incognito. This is the true-life story of how CIA spies Robert and Dayna Baer met, fell in love and tackled the obstacle of doing recognizance on suspected terrorists while trying to plan a date.


Orange is the New Black - By: Piper Kerman

What I’ve come to call “Eat, Pray Love goes to Prison,” author Piper Kerman tells the story of how she was convicted 10 years after committing an international drug smuggling crime. Sentenced to 14 months in a federal penitentiary, Kerman’s insights about her time inside and the women she meets are razor sharp and at times downright hilarious.