All-Natural and All-Canadian: Consonant Skincare

Beauty brand Consonant Skincare recently opened its flagship store in Toronto. It’s 100% Canadian and 100% natural soaps, moisturizers and lotions. I stopped by the shop on behalf of Hipurbangirls.com to learn more about the brand created by Bill Baker, and try some organic skincare products for the first time. Verdict: Works just as well as the mainstream chemical-laden products you’re used to, minus all the irritating and potentially dangerous properties. And the packaging is super cute (huge bonus). Find out more about the store and the brand here.

For Auld Lang Syne

December 31st. Last day of the month, last day of the year. Change your desk calendar, crack open a fresh agenda, create a new folder on your Mac. Store away the remnants of 2011 and make room for the new thoughts, adventures and lessons the next 12 months will bring. Dare I mention it? That word buzzing around at insane speeds the time of year? You know the one. Resolutions. Do you have any? Will you be making them? How hard will you work to keep them?

Sometimes it helps to hear what others are hoping to do for a little insight and inspiration. Us ladies at The Hip & Urban Girl’s Guide put together our own lst to share. Check it out and tell us what’s on your list. As the clock ticks closer to midnight I hope you’ll be excited to start another year, no matter where you are and how you’re celebrating. Cheers!

Happy Holidays from the Sunshine State

I’ve traded in the Monday to Friday routine for sun, sand and reading by the pool until the New
Year. Vitamin D straight from the source, no need for a watch and family dinners with the grandparents. Hope your holidays have been enjoyable no matter what you celebrate. Oh, and I’m writing this from my new iPad.

Holiday Traditions and a Trip to the Ballet

After all my complaining I finally found a date to the ballet- make that two!

This past weekend two of my former University roommates and I went to the opening performance of The National Ballet of Canada‘s Nutcracker performance at The Four Seasons Centre for The Performing Arts.

You remember the story of The Nutcracker from childhood, don’t you? As a kid I remember going to see The Nutcracker ballet during the holiday season as part of a field trip with my dance school, and one year we even put on our own rendition at our year-end performance (I was a sugar plum fairy).

It’s probably been well over 10 years since I last saw the show, and the music, the costumes and the story were just as wonderful as I remembered. To our surprise everyone’s favourite Mayor, Rob Ford, made a cameo appearance in the performance as a Cannon Doll. The children in the audience didn’t seem to notice, but I’m sure many of the parents were amused.

Keith Beaty/Toronto Star

But my favourite part of the performance was getting the chance to watch Heather Ogden dance the role of The Sugar Plum Fairy. It’s evident that she loves her job.

Photo By National Ballet

I’ve decided to reinstate the old holiday tradition of The Nutcracker Ballet. Who wants to come with next year?

I found these “Did You Know” facts on the National Ballet’s website:

• Number of people who have attended The Nutcracker since its premiere on December 21, 1995: 814,635
• Cost to build The Nutcracker in 1995: $2.7 million
• Box office revenue from The Nutcracker since 1995: $38 million
• Number of performers in each performance: 214 (70 dancers; 60 students; 60 musicians; 24 singers)
• Number of costumes in each performance of The Nutcracker: 187
• Number of layers of tulle in the Sugar Plum Fairy’s tutu: 15
• Total cost of pointe shoes for each run of The Nutcracker: $150,000
• Number of animals in The Nutcracker: 56 (1 rat, 1 horse, 2 bears, 6 baby mice, 18 cats and dogs, 8 cossack mice, 1 Tsar mouse, 1 ram, 1 rooster, 6 unicorns, 1 fox, 1 sheep, 9 lambs and 1 bee)
• Number of celebrity Cannon Dolls who have fired the cannon to begin the battle scene including Mats Sundin, Margaret Atwood, Kurt Browning, Doug Gilmore, Rick Mercer and many more: 504
• Number of performances cancelled due to snow: 0

The Nutcracker will be runing until January 3rd, 2012.

‘Tis Better to Give Than to Receive

I’m having a hard time thinking about what I want for Christmas. I’ve spend the past few weeks reading dozens of holiday press releases and compiling gift guides about the newest and greatest gifts to give this season, but I still can’t think of anything that I’m dying to get on December 25.

Call it gift overload if you will, but its probably because the things I want can’t be purchased at Yorkdale and wrapped up in a red and green papered box. I’d like to have some time to relax, read some books, watch some movies, eat some good food and just hang out with some of my favourite people in a place where the temperature will be in the double digits. And that’s exactly what I’m going to be getting this year and that’s good enough for me.

Here's to Christmas at the beach. Better than any other gift.

But still you’ll want to buy something for those special people in your life, and you might want them to buy you something too. I’ve found some lovely things to get and give which are featured here in Whatever Magazine, and small indulgences to add to the stockings on Christmas morning here on Hipurbangirls.com and here on styleninetofive.com

And if you really insist you have to get me something, then I guess I take an iPad 2 please and thank you. What? I can use it to read, watch movies, and look up recipes to make meals while I’m on my family vacation!

Presents and Cocktails

What’s a Christmas party without perfectly wrapped presents under the tree, and what’s the fun in opening said gifts if not accompanied by a festive cocktail? These are the injustices that will haunt us throughout the holidays….

But anyways, you’re probably running out of unique ways to wrap presents for your family, friends and co-workers, and they’re probably sick of collecting those gift bags from the dollar store. Solution: follow some advice from gift-wrapper extraordinaire Corinna vanGerwen for gifts that will look almost too good to be opened.

And to make sure no one goes thirsty as they unwrap their beautiful packages, be sure to keep the ingredients ready to make these festive holiday beverages which, perfectly enough, are just as pretty looking as those gifts you’ll have. Aren’t you just the perfect hostess. Happy Holidays!

Hip + Urban Girl Guide’s Cookies & Champagne Party 2011 GIVEAWAY

Remember when I was telling you about that awesome Holiday party where the lovely ladies of Toronto bake their favourite cookies and share them with one another? Well, I’m giving you the chance to come join this cookie eating fest for FREE!

HUG describes their Cookies & Champagne party as:

“a champagne-infused all-girl networking sesh + modern cookie swap”

Interested in going?  I’m giving away TWO tickets which include:

♥ A complimentary glass of Barefoot sparkling wine

♥ Access to the cookie exchange, networking party and mini Christmas market

♥ Delectable sandwiches & refreshment from Yes to Fresh and FIJI Water

♥ Interactive Photo Booth & Red Carpet Arrivals from Olympus Canada

To enter, simply leave a comment below and tell me your favourite cookie. I will draw the two winners on Friday November 25th (Hip + Urban Girls ONLY please).

GOOD LUCK!

The Joy of Reading

“You’re the same today as you’ll be in five years except for the people you meet and the books you read.” ^{- Charlie “Tremendous” Jones}

Some of the best writers will tell you that they are constantly reading, whether it be books, magazines, newspapers or poetry. It’s a great way to refresh your imagination, learn new words and perhaps gain some inspiration for your own work.  I’ve always loved to read, and I can spend hours contently roaming a bookstore. I just have to make sure I don’t walk out of there with a paychecks’ worth of books.

Since I’ve been out of University I’ve had much more time for pleasure reading, and I’ve been making it a point to make a dent in the ‘To Read’ list I’ve been compiling for the last few years from recommendations and top reading lists.

This past summer I was approached by a friend who was interested in starting a book club, and I immediately jumped at the opportunity. We called together some of our biggest book-loving girl friends and are now known as The Dog Ears Book Club (dog ears as in the flaps one makes on a page of a book when they are holding their spot). Our seven members meet once each month in Toronto to discuss the book of the month and chat about life over brunch or dinner.

One of our members' boss designed bookmarks for us. Aren't they the best?

So far we’ve read The Paris Wife by Paula McLain, and White Oleander by Janet Fitch.

This month we’ve chosen The Marriage Plot by Jeffrey Eugenides.

So far the club has been a great success and I’ve been able to read every book before the meeting. I’ve come to look forward to our monthly meetings to chat about the books, how they relate to our lives, what we would do if we were in the characters’ shoes and just catch up with friends about what’s new. Are you in a book club? Do you have any favourite book club reads you’d like to share?

This is how our club works:

• Each member is responsible for one month where they choose the book and the location of the meeting, and leading the discussion.
• We meet once a month and go around talking about what we liked/disliked about the plot, writing style, characters and general idea of the novel.

If you’re thinking of starting your own club, here’s some advice from the woman who has inspired millions to read, Oprah Winfrey. Happy Reading!

A Day in the Life of a Prima Ballerina

Growing up, some of my favourite films were about dancing; Save the Last Dance, Centre Stage, Dirty Dancing Havana Nights, Honey and even You Got Served. What can I say, the early 2000s were full of dance-themed films targeting teenage girls and I was a frequent movie-goer.

Now that I’m (somewhat) grown up I’ve decided I should start enjoying cultural performances, such as the ballet, more often. Problem is it’s sometimes hard to find anyone who wants to tag along. Until I find myself a dedicated ballet-watching partner I’ll have to keep using my klout as a writer to interview the dancers themselves.

Heather Ogden in The Sleeping Beauty. Photo by Bruce Zinger.

Here is a recent Q&A I did with principal dancer at The National Ballet of Canada, Heather Ogden. What’s your favourite dance movie or live performance?

HUG Cookies & Champagne Holiday Party

It’s that time of year again when the Holiday party invites are starting to pile up, and your iCal is cluttered with events. I know you have lots of swanky parties to choose from in the few weeks leading up to the holidays, but ladies may I suggest one where you get to sample hundreds of delicious cookies made with love by 200 of your closest soon-to-be friends?

The second annual Hip + Urban Girl Cookies and Champagne Holiday Party is happening soon and you should come. You know how much fun I had last year so dont miss out! Get your ticket and then we can start brainstorming yummy cookie ideas together.

Save the date!