11.25.2011

SEGOVIA




Well I'm celebrating my birthday this weekend. Earlier in the week I went to my favourite restaurant with some of my favourite girls and drank some of my favourite wine. Who am I kidding- all wine is my favourite wine.

I went to Segovia on the corner of Osborne and Stradbrooke. If you've never been, it's a tapas style restaurant with fabulous cuisine, wine and atmosphere. At Segovia, they are passionate about fine ingredients and creating an unparalleled experience. Love that this place is mere blocks from my place.

I'll apologize in advance for the shizzy photos, my iphone is bull in low light. Just wanted to update you guys with a quick post! 

xo & have a great weekend,

Monique

11.21.2011

5 THINGS BLOGGERS CAN LEARN FROM DON DRAPER

I wanted to share a post from International Fashion Bloggers that I absolutely loved.
 You can read the original post here.

  • Being the best and brightest means generating new ideas and providing something others can’t.  Draper makes Sterling Cooper one of the most successful ad firms in New York- enough so that he becomes a partner.  His insight, intelligence and quick mind are an asset to the company.  Provide your readers with something they can’t get anything else– your unique insight & perspective.

  • Share what you need to and nothing more.  Don’s a man with many skeletons in his closet–including not even being Don Draper! As bloggers, our personal touch is what makes us stand out against other sites.  Be careful not to overshare, and remember it’s okay to keep parts of your life private if they aren’t pertinent to your blog.

  • Great copy can sell the world.  Are you a great writer? No? Well, then work on it.  As a blogger words are your primary tool and in each post we’re trying to sell something–whether it’s the great sunglasses of the season, how to love ourselves better, or our own style.  You’re going to need words beyond awesome, stunning, sparkly, genius, and fab to sell each post.  Invest in yourself, your thesaurus, and a handful of great writing resources.  Don has a magical way of coming up with beautiful catchphrases and expressions for each client, and when he can’t do it– Peggy can.

  • Surround yourself with talented people.  Don recognized Peggy had an ability beyond a simple secretary, and she worked her way up to copywriter.  Don recognizes that Pete Campbell’s an excellent Account Executive, despite his dislike for Campbell.  We can’t do all of the work by our self, but we can find amazing and capable people to help us out.

  • Know your market, or “what women want.”  What makes Don the best Creative Director is his ability to get in the minds of consumers.  Whether it’s a woman entertaining guests, a man trying to seduce women, selling the idea of family or the fantasy of luxury hotels, he has insight in to what people want.  How well do you know your readers? What do your readers want? Can you anticipate the types of posts they’ll respond to and be interested in, anticipate their needs and desires?                   
  • 11.14.2011

    CROATIA TO WINNIPEG

    Over the weekend I had the amazing opportunity to interview "Ivana Katic" - I've changed her name at her request. In 1991, Katic was sixteen years old and in the middle of a horrific civil war in former Yugolsavia. For four years, Katic lived in unimaginable fear and chaos. Although this was an assignment for my journalism class, I really wanted to share her powerful story with you. 
    ___________________________________________

    “My mother would sit at her sewing machine, weeping as she stitched military uniforms, her tears falling into the material. She told me that men were going to die in those uniforms,” said Ivana Katic, who was sixteen when the civil war began in former Yugoslavia in 1991.

    Katic's family owned a boutique and were commissioned by Croatian forces to produce uniforms for soldiers.

    “It eventually bankrupted our family's business because inflation was so high. By the time the government would pay us, say thirty or sixty days later, there would be no money to pay our workers- no money for our family.”

    At the age of sixteen, Katic's world changed and remembers the moment vividly. “I was playing chess outside on a bench, wearing shorts and these clog shoes. All of a sudden a plane flew by, so low and so loud. I ran home, I remember ditching my clogs I was in such a panic. It was human instinct. That was the day that Serbia invaded us.” said Katic.

    From that day forward, Katic spent the next four years living in fear. She remembers the chaos and mayhem. Women were hunted, gathered in gymnasiums and raped. This was Katic's reality, and every time the siren blared, she would run desperately to the nearest place to hide in a bunker for hours -sometimes days. An instinct that would stay with her, even after moving to Canada, after the war had ended.

    “For years, and still sometimes now, whenever I hear loud noises or planes, I'll scan the area to find the nearest safe place.” said Katic.

    Katic's father became increasingly violent towards her throughout the years of the war. The last experience left Katic severely concussed and put her in the hospital. “It was his way of coping with what was happening.” said Katic.

    Depressed and desperate to escape, that last experience with her father pushed Katic to move to Canada. With seven hundred dollars and two suitcases, one filled with clothes, the other packed with photos and memories, Katic spent the day after her twentieth birthday on a plane to Winnipeg. She hardly spoke a word of english.

    “It was a struggle, you know. I couldn't call a friend up and say that I needed to borrow money- because I had no one to call. I would go to Subway and steal soda crackers to make ketchup sandwiches. I was in survival mode.” said Katic.

    Katic still struggles with the scars of war. Since coming to Canada, Katic has had roller coaster years of depression, substance abuse and rehab. For several years, she dated and lived with a Canadian soldier in Shilo, Manitoba. Remembrance Day has always made Katic incredibly grateful for her freedom as a Canadian.

    Today, Katic works two jobs and attends weekly addiction and therapy meetings to keep herself in check. She is happy, sober and considers the friends she has made in Canada to be her family.

    “One of the happiest days of my life was when I became a Canadian. Out of 150 people, the judge picked my story to share with everyone. It was a really proud moment for me.” said Katic.

    It has been nearly nine years since Katic has returned to her city of Zagreb. She has long forgiven her father and on Christmas day Katic will board a plane to reconnect with her family, friends and the place she calls home.

    LØV x VANESSA BRUNO x KATE BOSWORTH


    LØV from Vanessa Bruno on Vimeo.

    Kate Bosworth and everything else that I love. So Narnia it hurts.

    Via Leotie Rose.

    11.09.2011

    STILES & PORCHON-LYNCH: 2 YOGA GENERATIONS



    Lately, I've been delving back into the healing, holistic, happy world of yoga. I've had a serious lack of balance in my life since September trying to juggle my demanding school work and a new job. I've had the pleasure of interviewing several yoga instructors from around the city over the past few weeks for an article I'm writing for Prairie Yogi Magazine. They've reminded me why I love practicing yoga.

    While doing some research for my article I scrolled through my "go-to" yoga websites. My favourite being Tara Stiles. The coolest, down to earth, even keel, beautiful little soul you'll ever come across on You-Tube. She is an absolute yoga sensation, yet so completely grounded. Stiles is my yoga guru - we hang out in my living room and do sun salutations together. And, yes it still counts even if she is on my Mac Book screen. Technically she is there, otherwise I would be lost!

    Stiles owns Strala Yoga Studio in NYC. She has used social media in such a powerful way and now reaches thousands of people everyday, no matter where she is in the world. Stiles has developed an app with Deepak Chopra (Stiles is Chopra's personal yoga teacher), partnered with Jane Fonda and Brooklyn Decker on yoga DVDs and has written best selling books.

    Now I'd like to introduce you to my newest yoga guru. Imagine being 93 and having the ability to still touch your toes, not to mention keep up with a yoga class full of 20-somethings? This is Tao Ponchon-Lynch's reality. She is a yoga master and has been practicing yoga since she was a child - before women practiced yoga.

    Porchon-Lynch has produced documentary films, worked as an actor in the 40's & 50's, written screenplays, and has over 45 years of experience teaching yoga all over the world. She's also marched with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr and Ghandi. Actually.

    So here are my two favourite faces of yoga: Tara Stiles and Tao Porchon-Lynch. Both amazing women brought together by the love and practice of yoga.