5 minutes 5 questions: Vancouver Candle Co.

 

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I first met Nick and his partner Farouk, when I co hosted the Summer St. Soirée at the end of June with Modern Fort. I was immediately drawn to the design of the packaging and liked how the communities of Vancouver were incorporated into the candle scent names. Perfect for travel – the candles also come in tins too (thank goodness because my bag already weighs a ton!)

Here is 5 minutes 5 questions with talented candle maker, Nick from Vancouver Candle Co.:

1) How long have you lived in Vancouver?

I permanently settled in Vancouver in 2012 from San Diego, California. I went to UBC, and after I met Farouk, settled here.
2) How did you start Vancouver Candle Co.?

I started Vancouver Candle Co. to share my love of candles. I purchased an expensive candle from an interior design store that burned poorly. After researching why, I discovered a lot of candle companies use nasty, potentially harmful ingredients in the candles. I decided to make my own.
3) What is your favourite neighbourhood in Vancouver and why?

My favourite neighbourhood is Strathcona. We just bought a cute heritage home there and can’t wait to move (Sept 4 and counting down the days). We love the old-meets-new and friendly mix of people. The neighbourhood is so magical!
4) Describe your favourite scent in a sentence.

My favourite scent is Point Grey. I love the earthiness of it.

5) What are the top three characteristics on your Love List (characteristics or qualities you are looking for in a potential mate or current mate)?

Sense of humour, generosity, integrity.

Don’t forget to follow Vancouver Candle Co. on IG: @VancouverCandleCo. Twitter: VanCandleCo. and ‘Like’ them on FB!

ELENA:)

Maison Du Soir Review

Have you ever wanted to roll out of bed and go out for dinner without changing your outfit? With Maison du Soir, now you can! Former ballerina turned fashion designer, Courtney is the creative designer behind this SoCal line of loungewear which can double as a day to night outfit.

Pure genius!

I purchased my own silk black shorts with a cute pink trim and it arrived with two surprises! An eye mask and handwritten note from Courtney herself! Very classy and sweet considering the line has already been featured on the Zoe Report! I was going to take a picture of me wearing the shorts – but now I want the top as well so you’ll have to wait until those arrive;)

PS: If silk isn’t your thing (I’m converted now!) the line carries loungewear in cotton as well!

Get your own regular priced sleepwear from Maison Du Soir at 15% with the discount code: NEWFRIENDS15

Don’t forget to follow Courtney on twitter and instagram: @Maison_Du_Soir and ‘Like’ her page on Facebook

ELENA:)

Chicago (March 30-April 2)

I love Chicago. Chicago is like the cousin of NYC. You can walk around. Not get lost. People are friendly. Interesting architecture (Frank Loyd Wright) and great food. Last spring, I went with a bunch of guys. But this time it was all about doing things i wanted to do.

Where did i stay? The Trump Tower. Yup. I have a letter from Donald himself. OK, so it might be a form letter… but i don’t care. The room was incredible and it was the size of people’s condos in Vancouver (600 sq ft) complete with a kitchen and a TV in the bathroom mirror (fantastic).

My first nights’ dinner was at Graham Elliot. So fantastic. I need to go back and try the tasting menu for sure. The popcorn sample at the beginning of the meal was so scrumptous i think that i totally ate our tables’ portion. I think that i had the crab cake. It was amazing. Bravo.

The next few days were spent eating (some more) a lot of drinking and shopping. I heart Potbelly’s sandwiches and WowBao’s hot Asian buns. They definitely take the fast casual (someone taught this terminology and I’m giving you credit) to another level. My favorite breakfast in Chicago has to be at the Old Fashioned Pancake House. The sweet pecan pancakes are spectaular. I totally recommend it.

Enough about food, more importantly I got to test out my shopping skills on a coworker. Although she wears scrubs most of the time, she managed to pick up a few things to enhance her wardrobe at JCrew (I love JCrew!) . It’s tragic that she can’t wear normal street clothes more often, she has the body type that 90% of girls would kill for. Not only does she have a great body, but she is the sweetest resident ever so you can’t even secretly hate her!

Of course, bought a few things from Anthropologie. A long blue dress, a pair of jeans and this cute equestrian hip bag thing. I can’t wait until they open here. Maybe I’ll apply for a job.

I fell in love with these butterscotch patent leather pumps (Prada) at Nordstrom’s, but a lady bought my size and they were sold out nationwide. They are the perfect height and shade. I looked everywhere for them, but there was none to be found. (A little update is that i found them online and they are making their way to Vancouver shortly. Thanks Neiman Marcus!)

One night after dinner we all went bowling (10Pin Chicago) which was interesting to see who was a closet bowler. I believe we actually got flashed at one point.

On Friday night after this wrap up dinner, we checked out the Crimson Lounge, where we found out that not everyone knows how to play spin the bottle. After the lounge we found our way Mother Hubbard’s where we made nice with a guy named John who claimed he was moving from San Fransisco but he had a Midwest accent. I don’t know how that worked out. But he managed to get us inside and bought us a round of shots. Which was not a good idea considering i needed to be sober enough to catch a flight to London later that afternoon.

Next up… why Elena should not drink alcohol and text/email.

ELENA:)