There are two sports I have always wanted to try: boxing and rowing. I didn’t get a chance to row this summer but last week I got the chance to box at Powerclub.

This AWESOME new gym in Forest Hill is owned by a school yard mom who I have known for several years. Rachelle, had extended a generous invitation to book an hour with one of their trainers and I accepted. I just had to find the HOUR. (easier said than done).

I walked into the beautiful space, proceeded to get changed and didn’t want to leave the change room coz I was in love with the red sink.

Sorry, I just had to talk about the sink!!

Back to boxing.

I then met my trainer, Erez, who is beyond fit, beyond knowledgeable and made me feel completely at ease.

I warmed up and then..THE GLOVES WENT ON! (I was pumped the minute the gloves went on)

He put me thru a series of drills and I WAS LOVING IT.

Erez had me boxing!! He also put me thru some other key exercises (core, abs, balance etc). Just like a good trainer!

Words that kept going thru my mind as I boxed: empowered, strong, capable, determined and more empowerment.

After the workout, Erez put me thru some stretches so I wouldn’t feel sore the next day. Guess what? NOT SORE THE NEXT DAY. Awesome.

Then, Rochelle and I chatted while I sipped a protein shake in their gorgeous fireside lounge.

There is nothing not to like about this gym: the atmosphere, the trainers, or the facilities. I urge you to click on this link for powerclub, so that you can learn more about this hot, new gym and all the wonderful services that they offer.

Happy Training!!

It was a busy week!! As you know I went to the Canadian Health Food Expo on Sunday. Then on Monday morning, I was checking twiiter (for a change) and noticed a tweet from @savvari “Anyone else going to Grocery Innovations today”?. Had I not seen her tweet..I would have missed the show!! I had no idea it was taking place.

Several hours later…I was at the Canadian Congress Centre, strolling (happily) thru the aisles looking at new product. I was in my element, once again.

Here’s a few products that caught my interest:

Sadly I did not get the chance to taste it. However it certainly caught my attention. What do you think?…

The next item makes me VERY VERY happy. Dempster’s has come out with a KOSHER bread. This is HUGE news for those who keep a kosher kitchen and have to go to a kosher bakery to get bread. Now you can find kosher bread in your local grocery store. Dempster’s has made my day!!  All you have to do is preheat the oven to 400 degrees, put the bread on the rack, and 8 minutes later….warm delicious bread. How awesome is that?

Im also a huge fan of butter  so when I noticed a new butter from Cows Creamery…I was ecstatic. It not only has a higher butter fat ratio but it has the addition of sea salt to it. Heaven.

This product caught my attention too…SEXY dressing. I tweeted about this product and the name certainly got peoples attention.

I love clever marketing and packaging.

Next shows that I will be (happily) visiting: The Gourmet Food & Wine Expo and The Canadian Restaurant and Foodservices Association.

Stay Tuned.

This photo might explain more about the Shes Connected Conference I recently attended:

Ok..I will be serious for a minute. The conference looked like this:

You are probably asking..what’s Shes Connected? It was a conference that connected brands with digitally connected woman. We all had blogs, we were all on Linkedin, we all used facebook, we all loved twitter…basically we all embraced Social Media with open arms.

I did not have to shell out hundreds of dollars, like other conferences. We were all selected i.e we had to apply. I was positively thrilled to get an email that I was selected.

So that day, I got dressed in “business attire” and headed downtown for 8 a.m…armed with my camera, my iPhone, my laptop, a hundred business cards and of course, my beloved chargers. (see above photo).

I felt empowered by 8 a.m.. It felt very different than my usual day of visiting grocery stores. (I’m a food sales rep).

In the morning we listened to a variety of speakers talk about Social Media and in the afternoon we listened to a variety of brands.

Did I connect with the brands? Well I certainly took the opporttunity to talk to John Placko from Maple Leaf Foods coz he was easy to recognize (wearing chef whites and one of the few men there). I also approached a PR rep who works with Kraft Foods. I clearly wanted to connect with other foodies.

Did I connect with other women?  Absolutely. I came home with two dozen business cards, inputed the email addys into my address book …and sent a few people a quick email saying how much I enjoyed connecting with them at the conference.

Did the brands connect with the participants? I’m hoping that at the round tables they learned more about how as bloggers we can help them and how they can help us!!  They all listened, took notes, and asked questions.

The day certainly went by quickly and before I knew it, it was 6 p.m.

I went home feeling even more connected and have already scheduled the dates of ShesConnected 2011 into my calendar.

Happy Connecting!!!

I wanted to be at the opening of Pusateri’s today at Bayview Village Shopping Centre. I soon found out that there were 100’s of others who wanted to be at the opening of Pusateri’s too!

It was kinda exciting to stand outside the store, waiting for security to open the doors and watch everyone pour in to this BEAUTIFUL store.

I walked by the beautiful cheese section, passed the gorgeous desserts, strolled by the meats/fish, and couldnt help but notice the stunning fruit and vegetables. (grapes the size of my eyeballs – no joke)

When I saw the check out counter I thought to myself “hey, this looks like a boutique hotel”.

The whole store is black, and grey with a lot of light, and gorgeous marble. (atleast I think thats marble).

Its a sexy, sleek grocery store and I’m sure that the neighborhood is delighted.

So drop by Pusateri’s on your next visit to Bayview Village Shopping Centre. You won’t be disappointed.

Happy Grocery Shopping!!

It’s true. I am a grown women with a massive crush on an actor who is also a drummer in a band called The Honey Brothers.  I didn’t realize I had such a crush on him till I was invited to a SVEDKA vodka event at the Tattoo Rock Parlour the other night.

Naturally I started the evening with two shots of SVEDKA vodka. I had never heard of SVEDKA before, but found out that it’s the 4th largest vodka in the United Sates and it’s now available in Canada.

However I did not induldge in anymore shots of vodka (I know my limits) as I wanted to have  CLEAR VISION so I could stare at the drummer…who is ADRIAN GRENIER!! (swoon)

I’m not kidding, I was two feet away from him as he was drumming away.

I stood there, two feet away from him, at the edge of the stage..waiting for him to smile. Eventually, there was a break and I said “come on…you have to smile” and he replied “I dont have to..I’m on stage”.

He was right. He was working and he was focused.  Man was he focused.

I got a chance to go downstairs to hang out with the band while they were on break. However I did NOT talk to the band..I just stood from a distance and stared some more. He must have thought I was a stalker. Poor guy!!

I loved what they had available for the band members downstairs.

My twitter friend, @Shawn_Rusich said to me,  “wow, you are so star struck”.

It wasn’t that I was star struck..it was more like, ADRIAN IS GORGEOUS and how often do I get that close to someone with those looks?

All in all…a great evening with great food, at a great venue, listening to a great band and staring at a great actor (who is also gorgeous).

Enough Said.

What makes you happy?

Like really really happy?

Is it a blue sky? ? playing board games with your children? sleeping in? staying in your pyjamas for a whole day? or a good cup of coffee with latte art? (see photo)

If I had to answer that question…it would have to be flowers. If I could afford to have fresh flowers every single week I would do it. I get a great amount of happiness from SELECTING the flowers and from arranging the flowers.

When I visit my  favorite flower stores that are lined up on Avenue Road, south of Davenport…I walk around, I think, I gather, I consider…there is a whole thought process going on. It’s unlike any other purchase.

You must think I’m strange. OK I admit it – it is a bit odd. However it makes me happy and being happy is a good thing!!

So tell me what makes you happy?

Being happy and being in the moment..is great.

Happy Flower Shopping.

I like doing research…weather it’s finding the perfect recipe or getting advice on HOW TO START A BLOG.

When I realized that I was going to start my own blog…I  went directly into research mode.

I made a list of bloggers that I had met or connected with thru twitter and either set up phone calls with them or had coffee with them.

They were all too happy to answer my questions and they were all a huge inspiration to me.

Seeing as it’s Thanskgiving, I thought that this would be an ideal time to say THANK YOU to the following people:

www.itallstartswithbutter.com

www.luckypennydaily.com

www.parentclub.ca

www.quietfish.com

www.howdoesshedoitmom.com

www.foodieprints.com

www.communityfoodist.com

www.mommyx.ca

Plus I want to thank www.nwdesignsit.com for the adorable illustration and www.thebuzzclinic.com for actually designing the website. It was awesome to work with both of these professionals.

Thanks again  to all the bloggers mentioned above  who assisted me, and to my fabulous friends and readers too.

It’s been an exciting month.

A big thanks to my family too!!

Hugs,

Vicky

Last week, I had the opportunity to visit the new Longos near the Air Canada Centre. That’s right, a 45,000 square foot grocery store is right in the smack of downtown Toronto.

The first thing that you notice is that the place is buzzing with staff, with customers, with suppliers, with head office  “suits”, etc. The second thing you notice is that there is prepared foods EVERYWHERE.

If I worked near by, I would be buying my salad there everyday.

I would hang out by the fire, on the leather couches, enjoying free wi-fi and a coffee.

I would even consider having a beer or a glass of wine at the bar.

They have thought of everything!! I was so impressed.

Naturally I bought some beautiful kumquats and some other items so I could take advantage of the free parking if you purchase $30 0r more. Hey Longos…my pleasure to buy some groceries there. The produce was beautiful.

I will end this blog entry by saying “congratulations” to Longos for building a grocery store that will really appeal to the residents who live in condos nearby and to those office workers who work downtown.

Not to mention the fans who go to the ACC for hockey games or to concerts will also love Longos.

You won’t be disappointed.

Happy Grocery Shopping.

Many (many) years ago, I was a marketing director at Yorkdale Shopping Centre. It was during that contract that I was introduced to Mexx.

Fast forward many years:  they have just opened a GORGEOUS flagship store on Yonge Street.

We are talking …a gorgeous space. Mexx did it right. High ceilings, lots of light, and the best part is that the whole family can shop in this store. There’s  menswear and womenswear on the first floor, and on the second floor you can find the childrens’ section. Plus, they have a maternity line. Did you know that?

I also discovered that the flagship store will be offering Personal Shoppers to assist busy moms and dads who might need help finding that perfect outfit, accessory etc.

I had a lovely chat with Lisa, who told me that all you have to do is call to book an appointment with her and she will happily assist with no obligation. Sweet!

I hope you get a chance to visit this store soon! This “mom who runs” will be stopping by again.

Mexx can be found at 2529 Yonge Street .

Happy Shopping.