The Green Giant goes to Toronto - Part 1!

As promised I'm finally over my hair + city hangover and sore back from walking around in heels and/or soleless Vans all day shopping so here are the details of my awesome day and night out last Saturday!

First, I am about 2 hours away from Toronto, so this trip involved careful planning on what to bring, what I was going to wear and how I was going to get around. I love doing all that planning beforehand and then having all my plans go right out the window....don't you? LOL

I left at 8:30 a.m. (just a little excited) and got to Laura's about 10:30. Said a very quick hello to her newly-minted hubby of 2 months and grabbed Laura by the hair. After about 20 minutes we were pulling into the carpark at Eaton Centre. I could feel my Mastercard quivering in my purse :)

We were out of the mall, onto the bustling street and on our way to Chinatown in 10 minutes to hunt down a bamboo steamer for my sister who has lamented the loss of hers since she moved here from Vancouver. No really, lamented, as in Canadian for "brings it up contantly". This was a "mission of mercy" y'all.

The beautiful Laura!

Now who knew a bamboo steamer is harder to find in Chinatown than kosher dills? Really! We walked and walked, poked into a ton of food marts and import/export and tradewares shops and then finally HALLELUIAH.... I found a woman who knew what I was talking about. I thought. After much yelling in Cantonese, wheeling through acres of aisles after a tiny man only to be let down by a contraption that I still have no idea how you could ever make rice in. I was bumming and then, by a miracle of fate, Laura spied it. There it was, all round, bamboo and cheep :) Bought and sold. However, we did see some amazing kitchenwares and some cool sights on our quest.

Mmmmmm fish dinner anyone? No? Not adventurous at all are you?

Onward we made our way back to the Eaton Centre, in the back of a hailed cab. Laura was very impressed with my cab-hailing prowess. This was not my first rodeo, I reminded her. I lived downtown Vancouver for years and made it home almost always clothed, before 5 am and in the back of some very strange smelling cabs. But I always hailed them first when the clubs let out :) I have cab mojo and I am loved by the Parking God.

By this time we're starving so off to the Food Court. No A&W or weird purple sweet & sour pork for us. We go straight for the deadly stuff. Indian food....

Laura had Bami. No, I didn't know what it was but it smelled good.....

I had the Nasi Goreng (google it, you'll be so grateful)





















Now that we were burping tumeric and full to the gills with fresh lemonade, onto one of the main events - SHOPPING! See, I don't get out much, when I do there are particular stores that I hit. First up LUSH. Handmade, organic soaps, bathbombs and *my* face cream "Sympathy for the Skin".....loaded up on lots of everything and left smelling like a flower infused bathbomb myself.

Next up at 2:00 PM the hair appointment I had won. WE found L'attitudes in the mall and Laura managed to snag an opening herself for her own do! I met Linda from Simply Seductive and we were off to the hair unknown. A keratin treatment provided by GKHair.

You all have got to do this treatment when you're a bit flush, I tell you. If you have curly hair, it will be loose and gorgeous, if you have frizzy hair, you wont have it any more and if you have straight, fine, limp, sad *Barbie got a bad haircut from a 4 year old* hair like me........the heavens will have sent down hair magic to save you!

Meet my support network a.k.a Laura

See the before MOM-BOB

Meet the experts....cause you just saw the BOB, we need experts. STAT!

Seriously, look at these beauties! That's my stylist Laurie on the right. If your ever in Toronto,
go see Laurie. She's cute. :)

OK, I was pretty sure I came in with Laura.....who are YOU Gorgeous?

Wanna know the best part? It looks like this TODAY! As in wash, blow dry and voila!
No straight iron, soft as butter....holy hell. It's like all these years the Hair God was just taunting me, keeping this secret. Yah, well secret's out buddy!

After weeping allover poor Laurie and having her seal the deal of having my love forever, she handed me a goodie bag from GKHair that the rep had left for each of us winners full of swageroo. The shampoo, conditioner, a brush and the satiny serum.....I love you Celeste! (we'll meet Celeste in Part 2).

So...what to do until 7pm......oh yeah. SHOPPING!

And now what does a girl do in a big city with no hotel room, a van in a parkade and nowhere to be for 30 minutes prior to her event? Why, she tries on all her new outfits in the van of course. Did you know (for future reference) that window tint is not *tinted* in an overlit parkade? Neither did I. You're welcome my two Lebanese gentlemen friends parked 3 cars down....you're welcome.

Part 2 to come my pets. The actual event!