Don't Trick Me, I'll Treat You!

Designer Dress: Courtesy of Yola Couture.

While I download the hundreds and hundreds of photographs E took at the Ottawa Fashion Week, I thought I'd give you a little bit of preview of the front row at the runway. The location of this prestigious fashion event is magically fantastic, the National Art Gallery is an absolutely awe-inspiring architecture and its magnificence lends additional style cred to OFW!

What's a girl to do on a night of style, glamour and fashion? You drag your poor boyfriend, hand him the camera (J is out of town, I know eh? The nerve.) and gather your best girlfriends (and the dapper Rodney, of course!) for a beautiful night to remember!

I also want to greet you a spooky Happy Halloween! Although I did not have an official Halloween-themed post here at Twenty York Street, I did publish a post at the Billings Bridge Blog. I would love for you to check out my favourite picks of what I think would be this year's Top 7 Halloween Costumes and please tell me what's yours!

Me, pointing out 'professional' instructions to E! Let's just hope he doesn't read 20 York Street!

Happy Halloween my lovelies!

The Happiness File

Outfit details

Watercolour dress - Banana Republic
School-boy blazer - Gap
Bow leather belt - Banana Republic
Leopard print scarf - Jacob
Grey pumps - Spring Shoes
Granite ring - BR, gift from EM

What and Where

These photos were shot outside our home when J came over about a week or so ago. I know they're not the best of me but I suppose we all have those kind of days. I just really wanted to publish a post for a couple of reasons.

One, to let you know I've been away for work and that's the reason why I haven't stopped by to say hello! But I will very soon so please keep sharin' the love!

Two, I just want to share with you some personal instant happy pills whenever life puts you on the fast and crazy lane:

1. Write a Thank you card!
Being humble and grateful are two things that will never go out of style, no matter the season!

2. Take a hike! (Or walk/run/dance!)
It keeps you moving, it keeps you fit!

3. Go ahead, take a big bite! (Chocolate, cheese, croissant, etc.)
Deprivation does not equate to happiness! It just doesn't!

4. Hug it up!
A warm, huge embrace can rid you of any doubts, insecurities and sadness! Go make someone else happy today and give 'em a giant loving bear hug!

5. Yaya Yoga!
It's not because I'm a Yoga Teacher and I'd want you to go all the way to Canada (although you should!) and join me in class... It's because I know, taking the time for your personal practice will instantly put a smile in your face, that's why I say, Yoga? Let's!

There you have it, Twenty York Street's the happiness file! Oh, one more reason I want to publish a post today: I want to tell you I luv yah!



OFW: More Than Just Fashion

Oh yes, there will be fashion. There will be fashion and spice and all things nice! In fact, there will be a myriad of designers, both local and international, established and up and coming talents from the avant-garde to the eco-friendly ones as there are 21 incredible designers on the line up for one of the most prestigious event in the city: the Ottawa Fashion Week!

But of course there is more to life than just fashion! Not only that the OFW Spring/Summer 2011 Collections  will present an array of  visually stunning runway show against the magnificent backdrop of the National Gallery of Canada, it will also feature an incredible showroom that will house the following fantastic vendors:

A beauty company that specializes in Spa treatments, Personalized skin care and Advanced Anti-products (SPA), BeautiControl offers a unique at-home spa experience with the best and most innovative products in the market.

Stylish and classy, Lilac Lingerie Boutique provides a personal and intimate experience to help you find the perfect fit lingerie for everyday practical use or that very special occasion! 

If you want your special event or wedding to be seamless, perfect and incredibly unique, Beyond Events can make that dream a memorable reality! An Ottawa wedding and event company, it prides itself in providing the utmost attention to each of their clients to help design that unforgettable occasion their hearts desire. 

Gorgeous collection of jewelry that captures beauty and whimsy, tradition and legacy with the use of crystals, pewters, Czech glass and vintage coins - these are the pieces from Ottawa's Karen & Wynne Jewelry that will completely take your breathe away!

For beautiful and exquisite flowers to exceptional customer service, look no further than Ottawa Flowers! A family owned and operated floral business that has served the city with stress-free delivery of extraordinary flower arrangements for over ten years.

Want to vamp up that Little Black Dress, put a little sexy edge on your usual denim and shirt or take your blah outfit to a total wow? Dress it up by NZ can make you look fabulous at every age with a huge selection of great and affordable accessories that can transform your look to urban chic, rocker cool or timeless classic!

With these fabulous displays and non-stop groovy music provided by a live DJ, the OFW is guaranteed to be a feast on all the senses! OFW fashion lovers will also have the opportunity to browse through the extensive Canadian art collection of the National Gallery of Canada:

The city has been feeling the buzz of excitement for this most anticipated fashion event of the season! With this spectacular line up of sought-after designers and amazing vendors, you are guaranteed to have one of the best times of your life!

Photos courtesy of: the National Art Gallery of Canada.

Purple Reigns

 

Dear Twenty Yorkers,

This weekend marks the 5th year  Anniversary of E and me! He is apparently whisking me away to a secret getaway to celebrate our (mis)adventures together.

But I do want to leave you with these two fabuluos give-aways:

     *Win a pair of tickets to the Ottawa Fashion Week (OFW):

http://twentyyork.blogspot.com/2010/10/save-dates-ottawa-fashion-week.html

      **Win a gorgeous Designer Dress: The Callie from Yola Couture:

http://twentyyork.blogspot.com/2010/10/yola-couture-rtw-and-fabulous-give-away.html

So, don't forget to enter mes amis! Good luck and have a fantastic weekend!

Love love,

ML



Simple is Beautiful

Outfit details

Black silk maxi dress - Banana Republic

Gold chain necklaces - Banana Republic

Wooden bangles - Gap

Stud earrings - Gift from E

What and Where

Can you believe Twenty York Street now has a 120 wonderful friends? I know, I can't believe it either and I'm so ecstatic that y'all take your time to visit, read, view, support our sponsors, re-blog and post comments in our humble little blog. Thank you so much. You inspire us to keep going and we are loving every minute of it, merci a vous.

I have been a terribly busy bee these days but I have been keeping up with your respective blogs. If you haven't seen me around, please let me know and I shall hop my way to your fabulous posts! If you remember a couple week ago, I've announced a very exciting news -winning the Billings Bridge Mall's Blogger Competition! It has been a bit of a frightening experience as you just never know if you're submitted stuff is good enough and I was beyond happy and excited when I received the news!

And now, our profiles are up and our very first post are going live anytime now. I would love for you to check out my blog post for Billings Bridge here and my profile, which for the record, was not written by me. I've had many failed attempts in writing my own biography that I had to finally ask E to write it for me. I was actually kidding as while he is a fantastic writer in French, English is still not his first language and I wasn't sure if he'll add the flair I was hoping to reflect in my bio. I think I owe him an apology and a huge chocolate bar of thank you! 

Would you be so kind to check it out and let me know what you think?

Photographer's Pick of the Day



Winner Winner Chicken Dinner!

You cannot believe how many times we've uttered this phrase when we were in Vegas and even though we tried stopping, that's not exactly an easy feat to do when you're dazzled by the city's million lights and a little tipsy by the casino's free-flowing champagne! Even more so, you cannot believe how many countless others were screaming (or mumbling at 4:00 in the morning) that phrase in every roulette table, every shuffle of a new deck of cards and every poker tournament! I told myself I shall not sing that phrase and pump my fists ever again but tonight, I just had to!

We finally picked out the very lucky winner of Twenty York Street's First Ever Give-away! We (all to the amusement of E of course, not knowing what the whole brouhaha is all about), as in my sister Nimau, who patiently wrote over 107 names in a li'l piece of recycled paper; my Tita Eirren, who carefully ripped each entry and our little princess Erica, who had the honour to pick out our new owner of the BR Statement Necklace! As you can see, we decided to do this old-school - a good old raffle draw:

And now, the winner is...

Frances Joy of Mad Dress Game!

Congratulations querida!

Yola Couture RTW and Fabulous Give-Away!

Feminine and sweet yet modern and edgy is what best describes Yola Couture's very first venture into Ready-to-Wear collection. Its nothing that you would expect from a haute couture line that produces such masterpieces of colours and silhouettes fit for parades in prestigious runways, it is more and it is absolutely wearable!

Following the tremendous success of her 2010 Fall Collection, which showcased the signature feature of the Yola design: the unique application of quirky and anything but boring embellishments like her hand embroidered appliques, the unexpected touch of lace or the un-traditional take on classic hemlines: comes her Mini Ready-to-Wear collection, the Lexie!

These figure enhancing skirts are all made in dupioni silk and are all lined with cotton, 100% in the case of Caramel and a combination of 65% cotton and 35% polyester for the Raspberry and Licorice. Dupioni silk is a shimmering fabric that is creating by weaving silk threads of two different colours into a weave that seems to change colours as the silk moves in different lights. This luxurious fabric has advantages over certain types of silks as it tends to crease very well, giving the skirts its crisp and formal appearance and its ability to resist wrinkles helps guarantees the enhanced usability of the finished fabric.

The Raspberry and the Licorice feature a beautifully-cut hem a few inches above the knee and have modular pockets on the front with scalloped edges. The Caramel has a slightly shorter hem and though it has no pockets, it has the elegance of two strips of lace going down the front of the skirt. These sharply tailored skirts all feature a visible black front zipper and 2-inch black elastic waistband with "faux" snaps. 

Lexie - Licorice

Lexie - Raspberry

Lexie - Caramel

"The inspiration behind these skirts was to offer something luxurious like silk, with an edgy sexy vibe. The idea is that these skirts are still classy without being boring. In keeping with my desire to create versatile fashion, I feel that a Lexie skirt could be part of an edgy business look, a quirky dinner party look, a Friday night on the town look, the list is really endless. It's not something that you buy for a specific event and can never wear again since it really can transition from one life event to the next!" 

- Yolande Deschenes, Founder and Designer, Yola Couture

The Lexies are available in sizes 2-14.

I know I've had you on edge about a very exciting collaboration between Twenty York Street and Yola Couture so without further ado, I am thrilled to announce this incredible give-away! Yola Couture would like to give one of Twenty York's fabulous readers, The Callie:

The Callie

This perfectly constructed dress is form fitting yet comfortable which, leaves your body room  to breathe rather than restrict movement. This absolutely versatile piece is made of 97% polyester and 3% spandex and can be dressed up or down:

"Aside from being one of my favorite pieces, I chose this dress for the give away because I think it's a pretty good representation of Yola Couture. Something that I think really sets Yola Couture apart from other clothing brands are the little added details like the ruffle off-center on the front of this dress, it is this kind of "flair" for which people recognize a Yola Couture dress. I wish many crazy fun parties, romantic dates and fun nights out with the girls for Callie and the woman who will get to wear her!"

To enter, please do the following mandatory entries:
* Be a friend, share some love and follow Twenty York Street. 
* Please visit Yola Couture and leave her a message of your favourite piece from her collection. 


For extra entries, please:

* Tweet or announce the Callie on Facebook. (1 entry)
* Blog about this special Yola Couture Give-away! (2 entries)
* Spread the love and place Yola's Callie on your sidebar! (3 entries)

Please leave a comment to let me know which of these you've done. I am very excited about this give-away (I know I want to win it myself!) and I can't wait to see y'all join in on the fun!

Photos Courtesy of: Christine Leblanc and Marc Lavoie Photography.