NYC Photo shoot

Hope you had a wonderful Christmas. I’m actually enjoying catching up on old TV episodes and sleeping. I have finally finished the Lili St. Cyr biography I have been reading as well (read all about it in a future post).

Back in NYC, I teamed up with my friends from Flytographer to shoot in the streets of Soho. This time, the fabulous Mayleen was behind the camera and we had a lot of fun. She schooled me all about Miami, shooting notable clients and how to be fearless in a “coat that looks like a shag bear that didn’t stand a chance.” Here are some shots with hair and makeup by Bianca and Anthony. As you can see, I’m a fan of the profile shot;)

ELENA:)

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NYC in December

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I can’t believe that there is 5 days until Christmas!!!

I used the last of my vacation time to venture off to NYC in early December and I thought you might want to know a little about my adventures. This is a short summary with more details to follow!

TUESDAY: Checked into The Renwick, (a cool new boutique hotel on east 40th in between Park and Lex) and went to visit my friend Nizim from Labeling Men and had dinner at Bill’s Food & Drink on 54th. Bill’s Food and Drink is one of Chef John Delucie’s restaurant. Bedford & Co is his latest venture at the Renwick which is slated to open very very soon! (Comment: Actually it’s not going to open until spring 2016) Things to note – my room had a lovely floral arrangement from Uprooted Flower Truck (NYC’s first flower truck) to brighten my stay and I got to snack on some yummy ginger people made by Sweets by Olivia (which only lasted a night!).IMG_8612IMG_8602

WEDNESDAY: Hair and makeup with Anthony and Bianca for a Flytographer shoot in Soho. I got to wear my new Christmas/Birthday present to myself, a Proenza Schouler cashmere coat which I love. (More photos in a future post). Uber was crashed when I needed to rush to an important meeting at the Surrey Hotel but I managed to get there eventually after walking 20 blocks in heels and paying $30 for car service. Sheesh. Dinner at Marta with a friend from BluBird Vancouver.

THURSDAY: A breakfast meeting at Le Pain Quotidien followed by an amazing tour of Ciner manufacturing (future post coming up) was on the schedule. In the evening, I surprised the creative fashion illustrator Elaine Biss at her French Connection event. After, I got to meet Alexis Bittar at his holiday meet and greet. Then finally, to my trainers delight, I got to eat a chicken burger at Fuku.

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FRIDAY: A breakfast meeting at The Smith (I totally recommend) and a stop in with Editor-In -Chief, Courtenay C. Hall from Bella New York Magazine. I made a pit stop at Century 21 of course and had a few moments uptown to take some photos of beautiful Bergdorf window displays before heading downtown to dinner at Hundred Acres.

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SATURDAY: A stop into Creeds Collective Pop Up Shop which was conveniently located across the street from the brunch spot Santina under the High Line.  I managed to pick up some salt water taffy from Salty Road from Brooklyn. With an hour to spare to leave to airport, I went to & Other Stories new 5th avenue spot and bought a pair of booties.

ELENA:)

LFW (Sept 21-22) and MFW (Sept 23-Sept 28)

Tomorrow starts Paris Fashion Week! Here is my final two days of coverage of London Fashion Week with the entire Milan Fashion Week. Again, calendar for reference….

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London Fashion Week….

Erdem

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Burberry Porsum

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Peter Pilotto

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Milan Fashion Week…

Stella Jean

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Fendi

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Dolce & Gabbana

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Giamba

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Giorgio Armani

 

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ELENA:)

 

 

 

 

L’Oreal Paris Canada Photo Shoot for LouLou Magazine

I won a chance to be in LouLou Magazine and model my new blue black hair courtesy of L’Oreal Paris Canada. So, before Paris – I took a side trip to Toronto for the shoot for the weekend. Hair, makeup, wardrobe. I had so much fun and was happy to be part of the spread. For a person who travels a lot – this was the first time I actually spent some time in Toronto.  I did it in style and stayed at the Shangri-la. I had dinner at Momofuku, which was also amazing. What an awesome way to start my vacation.

ELENA:)

FRIDAY/VENDREDI

FRIDAY/VENDREDI

I went to Montmartre to climb the steps to the Sacre Coeur. With all this butter and sugar I was ingesting – it was the least I could do.

At night, I went with my friend to the Fondation Louis Vuitton. A wonderful Frank Gehry designed museum filled with all the classics from the 20th century. Le Frank (the restaurant) had this school of fish floating in the air.

ELENA:)

THURSDAY/JEUDI

THURSDAY/JEUDI

5am hair and makeup. 7 am Eiffel Tower photo shoot with Pierre Torset. I couldn’t believe how warm it was at 7 am. The Trocadero is amazing. Besides the few runners – it was like the city was still asleep (and probably was!). We then went over to Marais to take photos at the restaurant.

In some photos you can really see the blue black semi gloss that was put in my hair for the L’Oreal shoot. What do you think?

After a nap, I explored around the Arc di Triomphe. I had to take a picture of the metro station sign, I kept thinking of the word Poisson.

ELENA:)

WEDNESDAY/MERCREDI

WEDNESDAY/MERCREDI

I was up for the challenge
– both getting up early on vacation and to make croissants and Pain du
Chocolat. I attended a baking class at La Cuisine Paris
and understood why the flaky pastry tasted SO good. It has something to
do with the 5 pounds of butter.

That was my salmon and
broccoli quiche I had for lunch too.

I managed to walk it off
later in the day when I went to the Louvre and signed up for a treasure hunt
with THATLou. Let me tell you – it was tricky
but I never learned so much about the artifacts and paintings in such a clever
and unique way (sadly I lost – next time I would do this as a team of two at
least!)

ELENA:)

TUESDAY/MARDI con’t

TUESDAY/MARDI con’t

We stopped at this place called Aux Merveilleux de Fred which specializes in flavourful meringues and brioche. (Note: they have a shop in NY!). They are amazing.

I took a photo of the Karl Lagerfeld store, but alas it was closed when we went back to check it out.

Let me explain about the radish sandwich. It was delicious. Butter bread, butter, sea salt and a radish shaped like a cocktail sausages rather than the round ones we get in the North America.

ELENA:)

TUESDAY/MARDI

TUESDAY/MARDI

Roaming the streets to pick up some freshly baked croissants was a great idea. From Bastille, I walked to the Hotel de Ville in the Marais. I read somewhere that designer Giambattista Valli’s headquarters are actually in the Hotel de Ville (which is the building in the first photo)!

Later in the day, I went on a food tour of Marais organized by La Cuisine Paris. It was interesting to learn about area and have a taste of the different specialities I wouldn’t normally go after.

We walked along the Quai De L’Hotel De Ville, across La Seine to the Ile St-Louis which was so small it only had three streets. Then we looped around to the oldest street in Paris – Rue de Rosiers.

ELENA:)

MONDAY/LUNDI

MONDAY/LUNDI

The great apartment in
Bastille served as my home for the week thanks to Airbnb! I have never
been in that area before and lucky for us it was close to the Metro and along
the Port de L’Arsenal. The weather was fantastic. It was unseasonably warm for
springtime in Paris which was great for any photos taken (no filter).

ELENA:)

Orox Leather Co. Review

When I finished grad school, I vowed to
upgrade certain well-utilized belongings that screamed undergrad/high school
student. My laptop sleeve was one of these items. Months passed as I searched
for something that was C-suite worthy and combined both fashion and function.
Alas, I could not find anything that I loved without breaking the bank (Chanel
came out with a great notepad holder which I thought could serve dual purpose –
but the price tag made me feel queasy).

 

As an avid traveller, I find myself appreciating
the dual function of items; like a laptop sleeve that could also serve as a
clutch. If you’re a shopper like myself, you know that having extra room in
your luggage for new purchases is key. In the case of my Paris trip – this
meant my new jacket, shoes, sunglasses and gifts for colleagues/friends could
easily fit in my luggage and I did not have to say a small prayer when my
luggage was placed on the scale at Charles de Gaulle.

 

Orox Leather Co., owned and operated
by the Martinez family in Portland, Oregon handcrafts beautiful leather goods. The
name Orox, is derived from the fusion of the Martinez family’s origin from
Oaxaca, Mexico to Oregon. I had the opportunity to take an Orox laptop sleeve
and a couple cord minders on my recent trip to test out the quality
craftsmanship first hand.

 

When the products arrived at
my house pre trip, I was blown away at the oil tanned tan leather. To say it is
beautiful is definitely an understatement and like most things, I expect it to
get better with age.  There is something
to be said when your flight neighbour in 14C asks you, “Where did you get
that?!?”

 

Classic and elegant, the
style of the laptop sleeve is so timeless and clean – I couldn’t help but to
double it as my clutch as I roamed the streets of Montmartre. It served well,
both protecting my laptop throughout the trip and giving my shoulders a rest
from my cross body bag. I was so impressed that when I got home, I immediately
checked out the belts and other fabulous accessories.

 

Speaking of accessories, the
cord minders proved to have multiple uses as well.  A solution for those unruly computer/phone
chargers; the cord minders are so strong you can even secure a dress or pants
to hanger (using the clothing straps) after a steam. Brilliant.

 

It’s safe to say the Orox
Leather Co
. offers something rare in the mass production of leather goods –
quality products perfected with rich traditional techniques, which will, just
like the Martinez family last for generations to come.

 

Be sure to follow Orox Leather Co. on Instagram/Twitter/Tumblr: oroxleatherco and ‘Like’ them on Facebook.

ELENA:)

NYFW 2015

My first NYFW I attended was coordinated by Amconyc at the Gansevoort Park Hotel was interesting. I didn’t expect to wait as long as we did for the show to start, but apparently fashion shows rarely start on time. After the show, we dashed off for a cupcake run for Tech Style. I was too lazy to change my Beautulleful skirt so I put on my toque and runners and away we went.

ELENA:)

TechStyleNYC Prep

NYC! You were so cold (weather wise) this visit. Photos from Bumble and Bumble studios in the Meatpacking district (site of TechStyle) where we dropped off Quick Candle decor pre event. After we took a little stroll down the Highline on Valentine’s Day before taking refuge indoors at Chelsea Market.

ELENA:)

NYC in December

NY during the holidays has an amazing atmosphere. The tree at Rockefeller is all lit up and people are in a festive mood (for the most part). I managed to take one picture before heading off to do more shopping.

The lovely ladies at Bleecker + Spring delivered rings to the Ace over the weekend, accompanied by yummy gingerbread men made by Sweets by Olivia. So incredibly kind!

Until next year NYC….

ELENA:)

NYC Trip

This was my fifth time this year to head over to NYC. And i definitely had fun but full schedule. I checked into the lovely Ace Hotel  and for all the places I have stayed this year, I would actually stay there again. Great Flatiron area, Stumptown coffee and the Breslin. Although I was unable to eat at the Breslin (it’s definitely on my list for a future – that actually is one criticism I have for they Ace – they need to have tables for people staying in the hotel!).

I managed to check a few holiday parties including one for the Centre for Social Innovation NYC and BellaNYC Magazine. Also some great new restaurants including Rosemary’s (where I had brunch with the funny,talented and sweet Alex of What’s Bakin’ NYC) and Chalk point Kitchen which was the most vegetable filled meal I have EVER had in NY. And it wasn’t the normal lame veggies either. I would definitely make sure to put them back on the list for a revisit.

ELENA:)

Fatty Sundays Review

Buyer beware! These are no ordinary pretzel snacks!

Fatty Sundays are scrumptious, delicious chocolate dipped pretzels created by two lovely sisters from Brooklyn (Ali and Lauren).

Great name aside – Fatty Sundays are flavourful, fun and are the perfect marriage between salty and sweet treats.

PS: There are so many great flavours to choose from but my vote is for the smooth mint!

Here is a 15% discount code (FS15XEM) for your next order (good until Oct 1, 2014). Yay!

Don’t forget to add them on twitter and instagram: @fattysundays and of course, ‘Like’ them on Facebook.

ELENA:)

A day in Paris

A Janelle Burger original.

I finally met up with my Parisian illustrator friend Janelle. She drew all the artwork, including the cover that you see in The Love List. And thankfully, she has agreed for an interview!

Our day started out the Le Bon Marche where we ate at the Rose bakery. Then we carried on through the store shopping and chatting away. We then made our way to the Madeline area on foot searching for this speciality mustard store (which we couldn’t find – it’s La Maison Maille).  We were so hungry by the end we settled on some random restaurant.  There are so many speciality stores – I can’t wait to go back to the Madeline area.

By the end of it, i had a giant Kenzo bag in my hand filled with other finds. Yay pour soldes (for sales)!

ELENA:)

Birthday in Paris

I’m in PARIS! Yay! Many adventures to be had and guess what? You’ll get to see the majority of my pics right here on my blog. Later today – it’s 5 am  right now – I’ll be meeting the illustrator of #thelovelist for the very first time! Whoohoo 🙂

Here is a pic from my walk yesterday right by the Louvre. So pretty.

Stay tuned…

ELENA:)

Barcelona Trip…

The day started with chocolate croissants. Yummy.

I like how after 5 or 6 years, some things don’t change. Case in point, the oldest shop in Barcelona, Cereria Subira is still there. It’s a candle shop (a little boring) – but the candles are amazing. Quebo… the fantastic sandwich place – not there…. now is some deadbeat corner store. Oh well.

Gaudi filled the rest of the afternoon, La Pedrera and Casa Batllo (one of my favourite buildings in the whole world!).

Chocolate break at Cacao Sampaka (Thanks Sara!)

And yes, FC Barcelona lost to Real Madrid and couldn’t get reservations for Dos Pallilos – so we checked out this other restaurant called Komomoto Taberna Japonesa Peruana instead, it had great lychee + cava drinks. So wonderful.

ELENA:)

Barcelona Day 0

Barcelona Day 0:

Got in after a long flight from London on British Airways. Watched The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and Twilight Breaking Dawn: Part One. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo… was so graphic (yikes!) but i can see why Rooney Mara ended up with an Oscar nod.

Wanted to go to Dos Palillos but it was too busy… settled on late night flat bread pizza and wine.

This picture was something we found in a dark alley.

ELENA:)