New York (Dec 3-7 2016)

February 24, 2017

I can’t believe that I am so behind on all my posts. That’s ok. This one will be short as this was a brief trip to NY and I actually did not stay in any new hotels.

The first two nights I stayed over with the founder of LifeTold in Queens. A bit of a trek from the city, but still a great visit. After spending a leisurely weekend getting nails done (PaintBox), brunch at Balthazar and shopping, I stacked up my meetings (as per usual) for Monday and headed over to my other friends apartment in the city.

After making a crucial trip to Caravan Stylist studio I was ready to meet and greet! Later in the night I attended three fun holiday parties: RESIDENT Magazine, Fairmont Gold party (possibly this best party I have ever attended in my entire life!) and this real estate broker party (which definitely showed a different side to New York).

The next day, after a interview shoot with T’Zikal (see the interview on my News & Events page) I went to the BELLA NY holiday party which was also very fun.

I headed home to spend the rest of Dec. working away (clearly too busy to post this! Ha!).

ELENA:)

NYC in December

December 20, 2015

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!).

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.

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.

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:)

Old Joy Gift Box Review

November 2, 2014

I travel a fair bit and when I meet someone new they always ask me, “What’s Vancouver like anyway?” I never struggle in saying it’s calm and clean. I mention the trees, the mountains, the ocean and the rain. All things environmental. Now, thanks to Old Joy Gift Boxes – I have an answer that captures both the atmosphere and the flavor of Vancouver.

Melissa Mills has taken the best of the best of Vancouver artisans (Woodlot, Vancouver Olive Oil Company, Lissu Linen and Minimocs to name just a few!) and thoughtfully curated her gift boxes with an accent of an old joy – a vintage item that ties whole box together. She painstakingly handpicks her products to align with the interest of the recipient (like a cool vintage camera for my friends at Flytographer).

Melissa has a keen eye for aesthetic and design and don’t even get me started on the ribbon she uses! I lust after this classic black and white grosgrain ribbon that I feel Coco Chanel would use in the early days making her hats (Note to Melissa: Find more of that ribbon!).

The boxes themselves are made out of reclaimed wood and lined with an OLFCO flower arrangement (dried flowers in shipped boxes) which make the boxes very west coast.

After ordering a number of boxes, I began to realize that the real secret behind the boxes – is actually Melissa herself. Mother of a beautiful girl, she is always with a smile and a sunny disposition. Melissa is the true definition of joy and the passion she has for her craft radiates like the sun in every box she delivers – much like a glorious day in city of Vancouver.

ELENA:)