Shop Toronto!

So, if you are like me, its time to grow up.  Time to put aside the university wardrobe for a more professional, sophisticated look. 

I thought I had already done this, but three very different jobs requiring very different wardrobes have happened since I first graduated in 2005.  When I first graduated, I took off for Japan to teach ESL.  This required very formal attire consisting of collared shirts, dresspants, knee-length or longer skirts, blazers and (ugh) nylons.  I rebelled against the nylons, despite my supervisor’s constant reminders.  The next year brought slightly more freedom in some areas, but was completly stifiling in others.  I worked at the Gap, which was all about wearing what you want, as long as it was from the Gap or “Gap-like”.  This was ok, I could work with the Gap.  The clothes were half-price, reasonably priced and went on sale every time I turned around.  A shopper’s dream it would seem.  However, the low wage and lack of regular full-time hours quickly sent me looking for another job to supplement my income.  Chapters came around just in time to save me from complete and utter financial dependence on my boyfriend and parents.  I took the two jobs, worked 50-60 hours a week and was stylish, financially independent, well-read and miserable.  I went home and cried myself to sleep many a night.  All my years of school weren’t paying off (literally).  So when Chapters offered me full-time, Monday to Friday hours, I jumped on the chance.  Before I started working full-time, I hadn’t really noticed the stifling wardrobe, but 5 days of black, grey or brown dresspants combined with white, navy or black tops with collars was rough.  There was no room for a stripe or even a logo.  Even on the shoes.  Seriously, if you had white on your sneakers, you were expected to cover over it with black marker.  No kidding. People did this.  And I’m not even getting into the vest.  Just because its from Roots, doesnt mean its classic.  When I finally packed it in at Chapters, I made a goal to never be so stifiled in a wardrobe again.  Luckly my summer job teaching esl gave me the freedom to go back to my pseudo surfer-girl/trendy/classic look that I worked so hard to develop in university.

Back to my current situation.  I am done another year of school and ready to start a professional path that hopefully leads me to the job of my dreams where I hopefully go to work feeling challenged and happy.  But what to wear?  I am interning at a mid-range educational publisher in Toronto starting next week.  I am very excited and thrilled for the opportunity.  When I went for my interview, after checking out the building, I started to look at what people were wearing.  It was a mix of business casual and classic looks, which I think I can fit right into without feeling like I am being stifled.

Back to Shopping: 

If you are reading this and looking for some internship clothing, I have some advice.  As anyone who knows me knows, I love to shop.  It’s my favorite thing to do, possibly in life.  And I love a deal.  So here are my pics this week for shops with sales on things you can wear for the transition to the professional world.  Remember, dress for the job you want!

1. Sterling Shoes, The Eaton Center - Sterling has all of their sale shoes marked down at 1/2 off the sale price.  This sale is not well advertised, so there are lots of shoes and sizes left.  They had everything from hot red pumps to beautiful flats and a pair of white leather flat boots that I may be going back for.  The sale prices are between $25-$50 and are marked down from $70-$200 and are from a variety of great name brands like Steve Madden, Guess, Jessica Simpson (I don’t actually hate her shoes as much as her music!), Puma, Nine West and many more.

2. The Gap, Bloor, Eaton Center and Queen West - The Gap has put the first of their spring line on sale.  There are lots of button-down shirts in a multitude of colours, lots of cute dresses, some dress pants, skirts, sweaters and many other essentials that are great for starting that professional wardrobe.  There are lots of basics that can be mixed with fun pieces to create a look thats all your own.  I am very partial to this dress http://www.gap.com/browse/product.do?cid=7870&pid=498502&scid=498502002 (unfortunatly not on sale).  I think it could go to work with a cardigan and flats to an evening out on a patio with friends after work. The print is so cute.

3. Esprit, Eaton Center - Esprit has some great stuff and is also a great place for basics, especially suiting.  They also have lots of great things on sale right now including lots of light sweaters and shirts.

Doggone dogs…..

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dogs.  All I ever end up writing about is dogs.  I guess its probably because I have a dog and I ended up doing a major part of my work this semester about dogs.  Not that I’m complaining, dogs are great.  Especially mine.  She does great things and my boyfriend and are are very proud parents.  She does some tricks that we taught her, goes to the bathroom outside most of the time (usually when shes upset, when we rock her world in some way like taking her on vacation we may end up with a mistake), and is generally quite chill.  We both love the fact that she has taken on our laid back lifestyle in a way we never imagined.  She gangsta-leans (see attached picture), plays with her friends, loves to eat all the things we do and even shares my love of clothes (but thankfully not shoes).  She does things that really let us know how smart she is, like hiding her toys when her BFF Ellie come to visit so she wont ruin her bones,  snuggles under the blankets when its cold, slowly edges Matt out of the bed when hes too tired to force her to the end of the bed, and brings us her sweater when shes chilly.  Recently she met Charlie Ewart, a tiny black and white pekinese/shitzu mix.  They played and played and it made me a little sad because Sushi has grown up so quickly.  She tried to show Charlie how to play fetch, didn’t snap when she playfully nipped at her face and calmed down when she got tired.  Part of me would like to get another dog to keep her company, but I worry that we wouldn’t be so lucky the next time around.  Sushi, you are a pretty good dog.

Spice up your life!

Last night I had the honor and privilege of attending the LAST SPICE GIRLS CONCERT EVER!!! It was a great show. Here are a couple of videos of the concert I found on Youtube since I didn’t take any of my own videos!

Girl Power!

Your Danforth

A little over a week ago, Ellen, Jen and I embarked on a walk around the Danforth looking for some impressions of the local area.  We talked to store employees and a few shoppers.  It was interesting to see how willing people were to talk to us, even after they found out they were going to be on the internet.  Here is is, our video of Your Danforth.

Kudos to Ellen for the amazing editing job and camera work!

Sarah Silverman vs. Jimmy Kimmel

 In case people have missed this great moment in Youtube history, here it is….possibly my favorite clips of the year.

Web 2.0 assignment - Dogs on the Web

       

Toronto Dogs on the Web

Whether you are looking for a dog or looking to enrich the life of one you already have, the internet is a great resource to find dogs, information, or connect with other dog lovers in your local area.

http://www.torontodogs.com/ - is a forum that discusses all things dog in Toronto.  Looking for a groomer or a vet?  Perhaps you want to visit a dog park? Torontodogs.com has links to dog walkers, groomers, pet stores and much, much more.  It’s a great first stop in researching how dog friendly your community is.

http://www.torontohumanesociety.com/ - The Toronto Humane Society is a good starting point for anyone looking for a dog.  There are pictures of the dogs, as well as a color coded system that advises potential adopters of the risks associated with particular dogs.

http://www.toronto.ca/animal_services/centres.htm - This is the City of Toronto’s animal services site.  There are pets for adoption and information on licensing.

http://www.dogsx3.com/ - This is the online version of Dogs Dogs Dogs, a magazine dedicated to canines in Toronto.  It also features links to rescue organizations across Canada; groups of people who are dedicated to saving specific breeds of dogs from pounds across the country.

 http://toronto.kijiji.ca/ - Kijiji has listing for dogs, cats and a variety of other miscellaneous items.  The dogs are searchable by breed and there are many new dogs posted daily.  This service is free and accessible to anyone.

http://www.torontobarks.com/ - A forum for pet owners and people in the pet business (vets, pet store owners, trainers, walkers, ect).

http://www.4leggedlove.com/ - A dog placement and adoption agency located in Etobicoke.

http://www.petfinder.com/ - Petfinder features dogs from all over North America.  You can search by breed, age and area code to find the perfect dog for you.  All of these dogs are in humane societies, rescue groups or shelters and are desperate to find their forever family.

 Do you have any information on dogs on the web in Toronto? Do you belong to a dog group or work in a canine field? Please feel free to discuss dogs in your world below. 

Dogs in the News

So, I was reading my google newsfeed earlier and came across an interesting story about a man who offered a $15,000 dollar reward for the safe return of his dog, who had been dognapped outside a Toronto cafe.  The dog was with his walker at the time, who had gone to pick up a snack.  Anyway, to make a long story short, he offered the reward and the dognappers took the bait.  The poor guy had to pay out $15,000 to a couple of punks who store his pet.  Here is the link to the Toronto Star story:

http://www.thestar.com/News/GTA/article/304502

Happily, Huckleberry and his owner are reunited and no one is reporting on if he actually paid out the money.  I’m hoping the police became involved and arrested these jerks.  I can’t imagine being in his situation.  It got me thinking that I am glad that no one walks my dog besides me and that I never leave her outside anywhere.  I heard a story about a Danforth store (and dog) owner who had his prized pomerian stolen from outside a store.  Does this happen often? There was a lot of backlash about him offering to pay such a huge reward.  The two sides of the debate seemed to focus on dogs as children and how much would you pay to get your child back? I’m guessing in that case, $15,000 would be small peanuts.  Who knows….All I know is that I don’t want to be in that situation ever. 

On a brighter note, while researching dogs to create a web component for this blog for class, I came across Petfinder (http://www.petfinder.com/).  Petfinder is a fantastic site to look at if you are looking for a dog. You can search a huge database of shelters across Canada and the US to find the dog thats perfect for you.  Petfinder allows you to choose the age, size and location of your new pet, as well as gives a rating of things that a future owner should know before they consider getting a particular dog, including if the dog likes cats, dogs or children (because a lot of shelter dogs don’t like certain things).  I think that this is an amazing service and should be everyones first stop when they decide to bring a dog into their lives.

Kicking and screaming into web 2.0

I feel as thought I am being dragged kicking and screaming into web 2.0.  That or I feel like my Mom when she discovered email and never had to mail a letter again.

WEB 2.0

Web 2.0 Assignment

Caroline Starr
300450113

www.People.com

People.com, carries content similar to the print edition, except it is updated frequently (Heath Ledger died today and they updated within minutes of CNN.com). People.com is an example of a web 2.0 site because it features surveys, polls, rss feeds, podcasts, places for comment, and streaming video. This site creates an opportunity for those who advertise with People’s print edition the opportunity to advertise to the same type of audience that enjoys the print magazine, but does not perhaps purchase the magazine weekly. People.com also allows people to sign up for their print magazine online.

For existing readers, People.com allows its viewers to stay up to date on entertainment and celebrity gossip. It explores the daily life of celebrities and allows readers to comment on their fashion. The website also allows People to see what online viewers are looking at and they present a ranked list of the hottest stories that updates regularly.

www.Guardian.co.uk

Guardian.co.uk’s web 2.0 material features RSS feeds, email alerts and updates, digital versions of the popular print version and the capability to view back issues digitally. The web version also features an online store and job postings. Guardian online allows for more material than the print edition and also opens their market. The Guardian’s print version is a UK publication, but the Guardian online appeals to an international audience. Different advertisers would utilize the Guardian’s website, as the audience is larger and more global. Guardian online is not very ad heavy and most of the ads are created for Guardian products and services.

www.Nationalgeographic.com

National Geographic features XML and RSS feeds, photo of the day emails, updates, a newsletter, igoogle compatibility, podcasts, an online store, subscription services, 15 top stories (as selected by site viewers I believe), and information on their television station and upcoming movies. Viewers can check television schedules, see previews of shows and movies, and read more information on their favorite stories. The website also has links to National Geographic TV’s international sites. National Geographic online only features advertising from National Geographic for their various products and services. This allows the site to promote their vast array of products in an environmental way that fits their mandate of saving the environment.

Its business time

Lalalala