The Girlfriend Tips

Some of Amelia's girlfriends tips:

1. Buy your shampoos, lotions and soaps at Winners. You can buy salon products at half the price.

2. Wear a shower cap when you’re showering and you don’t want to wash your hair. You can really get in there and enjoy yourself!

3. Invest in a good dry shampoo like Oscar Blandi that works for your hair so you can wash your hair as little as possible. Better yet, buy it at Winners!

4. Every manicure should be a shellac polish.

5.  Use a small makeup bag to keep your purse organized.  Things like a Tide-To-Go stick, bandaids, purell, needle and thread, tampons etc. can go in this pouch.  You will always be prepared for any situation.  You only have to fill it once, and it’s easy to change purses.

6. Only show one part of your body at a time. If you show cleavage cover your knees. If you're showing a lot of leg, cover your shoulders. Be classy!

7. Buy a short, nude coloured slip with a thick waist band. On a hot day, it will absorb the sweat and you won’t get any marks on your dress. Plus its pretty sexy.

8. A hair foundation (chignon mesh) under your bun will make it look much bigger.

9. Use open ended bobby pins for buns, or corkscrew bins. You don’t need hair elastics that will leave a line in your hair!

10. It's better to be single, than to be in a miserable relationship.

The Best Socks for People Who Hate Socks

I have always been very particular about what materials I would allow on my feet in legs. For a refresher about my experience with ballet tights click here. 

Finding a great pair of comfortable socks has been a life long battle. My first memory of trying to make my socks scratch my legs the less began on the reading carpet in Grade 3. Our teacher Mrs. Bolton used to read us stories from her wooden rocking while we all sat on the carpet. I used to play with the suede on her pumps and somehow during this time myself and the other girls started rolling down our socks. Picture knee high socks being carefully rolled down to create a large roll at the tops of our ankles. This was my solution to create what I would now call ankle socks. We would spend a lot of time and effort rolling them down and afterwords the roll would be so large that it would prevent our  jeans sweatpants from reaching our shoes. I might add that this was also the time in my life that I started wearing Hawaiian shirts to school on Wednesdays. 

Anyways, the point that I am getting at is that I hated socks creeping up my shins, and even more so if they were so tight they created a line in my calf. I also hated scratchy polyester socks that made me feet sweat. Unfortunately at 10 years old I didn't know this is why I didn't like my socks, and I just assumed all socks were made equal. Boy was I wrong! (this is also why I didn't eat pizza until I was 19 since I thought all pizza tasted like the cheesy, greasy stuff my parents ordered every Friday night.)

I've struggled to buy comfortable socks that look good but also do not restrict my raging calf muscles. I currently have one pair of striped socks from Simons in Montreal that meet this requirement and I started handwashing them at night so that I could re-wear them the next day. I was avoiding every other sock I owned. I will also add that almost every pair of socks I own have been a gift from my Mother. It's not her fault though...I never took the time to tell her my sock issues.

Recently, I got to the point where I hated all of socks so much that I just stopped wearing them all together. I would declare in the mornings, "I HATE ALL OF MY SOCKS!!" then throw my bare foot into a leather boot. This new style generally worked for me. I am lucky that I am not someone with "foot odor"(or at least I don't think that I do).

Unfortunately, if I went anywhere where I had to remove my shoes in public, such as the doctors or dentist office, I would be stuck walking barefoot on freezing cold floors or getting salt and gravel over my precious peeps. The 'no sock' solution wasn't ideal. I needed to find socks I wanted to wear!!

One night this past winter I hit up the mall trying to find the perfect pair of black pants (which I am still searching for) and found myself in the Gap looking at socks. I knew I needed to make this purchase count! These were my prerequistes for purchasing new socks:

1. Did they look nice on the foot section? (who cares about the ankle part, no one sees it anyways)

2. Were they made from cotton? (polyester would not do...too scratchy)

3. Was there the left-over threads from the design pattern on the inside of the sock? (If so, then no...this gets caught on my toenails and again feels scratchy)

4. How tight was the top of the sock? 

I've made the mistake of ignoring one of the four criteria on prior purchases, then I get home, try them on, hate them, and immediately need to give them away. It's a major waste of money but great for my Mom. 

On this particular day I spotted something I never knew existed. There was a black ankle sports sock! It was 1. plain black, 2. cotton, 3. had no threads inside and 4. only hit my ankle! I had been wearing my white sports socks as a treat on days that I knew no one would see my socks and I needed a little extra warmth. These new black socks would allow me to wear them in public and every day my feet would get treated with nice tight arch support. 

I bought a couple of pairs and loved them so much that I soon found myself doing the same thing that I did with my striped socks. I was saving them for important days, and washing them in the sink to have them the next day again. While at the new Joe Fresh store, I discovered something amazing...three pairs of black sports ankle socks for $6!!!!
I bought two packs and I haven't turned back since.

I currently have 9 pairs of socks which I love, and I can easily go back and buy more if I really want them. Everyday I enjoying selecting my socks and never feel like I am settling for something that I am going to want to rip off my feet by 2pm. Stop the sock at my ankle saves my calf from ever being restricted, and again that nice tight arch feels so good all day long. Why didn't I discover these sooner!?!!


(P.S. I ate two pogos while writing this post)

How To Have The Perfect Nap

I've never been a good sleeper on the move. Each year my parents and three brothers would pack into our station wagon and head off for a two day car ride to P.E.I. I was often crammed in the backseat of our Safari wagon between a car seat, the door and a seat belt that slowly constricted into my stomach. These are not my favourite memories of my childhood. Ideally, if I had been able to sleep in a moving car, I could have bypassed hours of our trip in a soft slumber. If only!

This problem has haunted me for life. Every plane ride, train ride and car ride I've ever taken has ended with me wishing I could just close my eyes and sleep off the duration of trip. I was never entirely sure why I wasn't capable of sleeping on the go, but since my Mother also didn't sleep in the car I've assumed it was genetics. 

Last year, my friend Sarah told me that she never goes to bed without wearing an eye mask. The thought of totally blacking out the world seemed a little intense to me, and I didn't like the idea of having something touching my eye lashes as I slept. Never-the-less, I added an eye mask to my Christmas list and my Mom bought me one which read, "Sleep-In Beauty" on it. I thought the line was pretty perfect considering that my favourite Disney movie as a child was Sleeping Beauty. The mask was meant for me!

Within one use, I knew what she was talking about. I'll be totally frank: Everyone needs a sleeping mask. Night-to-night I don't always use it, but the second I want to have a good sleep-in on the weekend, I have my mask on. It's amazing how not having any direct light on your closed eyes can be so soothing and make sleeping during the day or late morning feel like it's the middle of the night. 

When you go sleep at someone's house, you never know what the blind situation will be or whether you'll be sleeping in a sunroom or living room. With my eye mask it doesn't matter! I can throw it on, and even if the sun starts shining in at 6 a.m. I can blissfully sleep unaware in the dark cave under the mask. It's also perfect if your partner wants to read or watch t.v. after you've gone to bed. Lights out = sleepy time!

I prefer a very light, silk eye mask lined with fleece which can apparently be purchased at the Dollar Store (who knew!) over an official vinyl travel mask from Walmart. There are many fancy kinds of masks that look like padded bras as well. These are for people who really hate the feeling of anything on their eyes, but seem a tad intense for me. 

With my new mask I was able to sleep almost the entire flight from Montreal to Rome (with the help of some Gravol). This was a HUGE obstacle for me to overcome. I am now usually the driver on long car rides, but there is no doubt in my mind that blocking out the sunshine, and curling up in the backseat would do the trick for me. 

The holidays are soon to be here, and with it comes lots of eating and drinking, visiting with relatives and sleeping too little. Do yourself a favour and treat yourself to an eye mask for the holidays. It doesn't matter where you are sleeping, or what time a day, you'll be able to have a restful sleep with your eye mask on!

Want Cheap Shipping? Try Kinek!

As Christmas approaches, I am very busy online ordering all of the amazing gifts I am going to give my friends and family. Don't get me wrong, I love a good mall visit, but there is something about ordering a book from Amazon.ca at 10pm at night from my bed that is addicting!

Some webpages are great to order from, and often have free shipping to Canada. My favourites sites are Banana Republic, Amazon.ca, Chapters and Indigo, Kiwi Sheepskins, and Locale Shoes. I have never paid for shipping from any of these sites, and they seen to arrive in a matter of days.  I often have packages shipped to my work so that someone is there to sign for them (if necessary), and for some reason they just seem to arrive there faster than shipping them to my house. 

Recently Pottery Barn decided to ship some of their items to Canada. This is a VERY exciting development, but it comes with one hitch: The shipping costs are ridiculous. A friend of mine recently tried to order a few items and the shipping was listed at over $400! This is absolutely insane in my opinion and is basically robbery. 

Then I remembered that my girlfriend Rochelle had almost all of the goodies for her wedding (including tuxedos, and her wedding dress) shipped to Ogdensburg, New York for a fraction of the cost of having them shipped to Canada. The great thing is that Ogdenburg (if you can remember how to spell it), is only 45 minutes from Ottawa and an easy drive on Hwy. 416 towards Prescott. 

How does this work? Just set up an account with Kinek, and you'll be given an American address in Ogdensburg, NY!

1. Register for a free Kinek account at www.kinek.com

2.Complete your profile

3. Select NAC Logistics in Ogdensburg (or any other border city) as your KinekPoint

4. You will now be presented with your new KinekPoint shipping address. Use this address when ordering online. That is all!!! 

5. Go online and shop to your hearts content! When the package arrives you'll receive a call or text to come and pick it up. You then have 15 days to collect it. 

Pottery Barn only charges $40 to ship to the US. That's a $360 difference from shipping it to Canada!!! Always check to see what the shipping costs directly to your front door, and if it's insane then see how much it would cost to ship to Ogdensburg. If you're saving a lot of cash, then they 45 minute drive will be totally worth it. 

While you're in the States you can pick up a turkey, a case of beer, and some sugary cereal to make the trip that all more memorable. Sometime it really pays off to do a little shopping around (even for shipping costs!). 

Is Your Passport Expired? No? Then Book with Tripcentral.ca

As the weather begins to chill, I am already dreaming about walking down a warm beach down south. Last year my trip down south started out a little rough. My boyfriend Erik and I booked a really cheap trip to Cayo Largo, Cuba from Sunday to Sunday during the March Break. We woke up Sunday morning, recovered one of our cars from the night before, and proceeded to pack in the one hour we had left before we had to drive to Montreal to catch our flight later than night. 

Just as we were about to walk out the door, Erik opened up both of our passports to make sure that he had the correct ones, and not our old expired passports. He opened mine and asked, "Where is your new passport?", to which I replied, "That is my new passport". 
He promptly let me know that my passport has expired two months before. 

My immediate reaction was to cry and scream repeatedly "What do I do?!". After a few calls to the travel agent we discovered that there were only flights to our resort on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, and if I didn't get on the flight that night, then I would have to wait until the following Friday (therefore spending only two nights in Cuba). I couldn't get on the flight that night. Eeek!

Erik and I made the quick decision for him to drive to Montreal and grab the flight, and I would do everything I could the next day to get a passport and try to join him in a night or two. We didn't know how much this oversight was going to cost me, and figured it was better to only have to buy one new ticket instead of two. 

Erik's loving, caring and thoughtful parents took me in in his absence, drove me to Costco to get my passport picture, called friends to get more information about flights, gave me lots of wine, and finally a bed to sleep in that night at their house. The next morning (Monday), we got up and drove straight to the passport office. They issued me a passport in about 15 minutes (what what!), and from there I booked a flight to Havana, Cuba. We knew there was a flight to Cayo Largo Island, but not with any major airline and nothing we could book it over the phone with a credit card. 

I arrived in Havana late Monday night and tried my best to find some kind of confirmation on a flight to Cayo Largo, but all I got was a tip that there MAY be spaces on a plane at another airport the next morning at 7am. Erik's Mom Cindy booked me into a hotel in Havana for the night, so I ventured into a cab, and with no more cell phone reception travelled in the pitch black into the streets of Havana. Well, I saw the streets from the cab at least while the Beatles played over the radio. It felt like I was filming a scene for a movie. A very lonely, scary scene. 

The next morning I awoke at 4am, called a cab and headed for this mysterious airport. Upon arrival there was a huge line-up from a tour group, so I butted to the front and in frantic Spanish attempted to buy myself a ticket. They said they had space, and to my excitement40 hrs after I was supposed to leave, I was only a 45 minute flight away! There was just one catch. They only accepted cash (hence why we couldn't book over the phone), and I was 20 CUC (Cuban convertible pesos) short! I could have cried, well I actually did cry. Then this amazing Spanish woman stepped up and traded me $20 Canadian for 20 CUC.  I cried some more, shook her hand, and thanked her over and over again. I am still soooo grateful to this wonderful stranger. 

I boarded the plane, and finally relaxed for the first time in two days. When I arrived at the island, I had no cash, but a van was waiting for me, and when we pulled up to the resort Erik was sitting on the front steps of the hotel. It was the most beautiful sight I've ever seen. 

In the end, the two extra flights and a night of accommodations in Havana cost more than the entire initial trip. The only redeeming factor in all of this, is that the initial trip was super cheap and that I still got a good tan. I also had a sweet, purple Bubba with me (stayed tuned for the Bubba Adventure on Friday). 

What I learned:
1. Always check the expiring date on your passport when you book your trip
2. When booking an All Inclusive, book a hotel that has flights every day of the week. If something should happen, you can make it out there any day you choose.
3. Get an emergency passport where they actually print the passports. 
4. Book your vacations through Tripcentral.ca

Tripcentral.ca is the only good site I have ever found for booking an All Inclusive. Once you pick your departure destination, all of the other information is laid out on a grid. You can search by month if you have a specific time in mind, or you can search by destination to see when you can get the lowest price. Every location can be divided into weeks, then by hotel. It is so easy to search and to compare prices. It also has a link to tripadvisor so that you can get the real story on the resorts. 

I'm already in the process of booking for this year, and know my passport is good until 2017!

Those Easy, Breezy, Lauren's Every Day Waves!

One afternoon I was searching online for an avocado mask recipe to put on my hair to cure some dry ends. My girlfriend Alyssa told me that she used to make one with avocado and olive oil when she lived in Africa, and that it made her hair really soft. 

During my research I came across another blog called the Beauty Department. I must have spent a good hour going through the different entries, looking at the brilliant pictures and I finally ended up on their youtube page. 

There was a video called Lauren's Every Day Waves. If you don't know who Lauren is, she's LC from Laguna Beach, or Lauren from The Hills. I used to watch the Hills before Lauren left the show, and I will admit, I always wondered how she got those loose waves in her hair. I'll also add  that the last season of the Hills was so fake I couldn't stand it, and there wasn't enough Spidi madness going on to make it worth my while. The show was in its prime when LC yelled over and over again at Heidi in the club, "You know what you did!!". I'm still even sure I even knew what she did, but moving on...

Back in 2008, I would always curl the ends of my hair with a big curling iron, but they never looked like Lauren's. I would look more like a 18-year-old prom-queen on a good day, or an 8 year-old beauty-queen on a bad day. The curls never quite framed by face right, and went in all of the wrong directions. Why was this so hard to do?!

Up until three weeks ago, I had given up on the waves, and was just curling out my ends with the round brush on blow-dry days. After watching this simple 1:37 video, I ran straight for the bedroom, turned on my curling iron and about 8 minutes later had the look I've been trying to achieve for years!!! I already had a big curling iron, so I didn't need any curling wand or extra tools. I just didn't know the right location to start the curls from, or that a good run of the brush through at the end was essential. It was that simple.

The next day one of my fav student's said my hair looked pretty. At dinner that week Avocado Alyssa said she liked my waves. At dinner on Saturday another girlfriend asked how I got my look. It was really working. I had every day waves and people were noticing!

I was at a conference earlier this week, and a professional photographer was talking candid pictures throughout the day. When my picture went up on the big screen, I loved the way my hair looked. Let me tell you this is a huge revelation. I have always thought my hair looked decent when I walked out the door, but I was always let down when I saw it later in a picture. It just never had the look I was going for. Now that I know what I am doing I am addicted. I don't know if I can ever leave my ends natural again. 

I never did end up doing that avocado mask, but I did buy some Aragan Oil to rub into the ends of my hair. But, that's a story for another day...

The Blow-dryer Diaries: Part 2

Where did I leave off? I was in my last year of university and had just started using a new red, Revlon blow-dryer. I also would supplement my blow-drys with some big curls in a 1 1/2 inch curling iron. When I went to Space Camp in 2008 (a story for another post) my nickname was Barbie. I was finally getting the look that I wanted. 

Enter January 2009. I was in Toronto visiting my friend Lindsay again in her new apartment. This is the very same Lindsay that originally told me that I needed to get a stronger blow-dryer four years earlier. Normally when I go away for a weekend, I arrange my hair washing during the week so that I do not need to do any blow-drying while I am out of town. I just pack my dry shampoo, and I know I can be ready in under 20 minutes. This particular weekend I wasn't properly organized and needed to complete a full Saturday hair washing (I also hadn't discovered dry shampoo yet). Lindsay graciously offered me the use of her blow-dryer and I proceeded to make her apartment into a sweat-box for the following 25 minutes. Remember how hot that apartment was, Linds? Wait, only 25 minutes? I had just shaved 10 minutes off of my previous best time with my Revlon!! How was this blow-dryer so good? Lindsay had done it again!

What was the difference you ask? Well, when using a round brush I dry my hair in sections. With a really hot blow-dryer each section of hair dries faster, and I was able to move on to the next piece with unsurpassed speed. I loved the blow-dry so much from that day, that I have used a picture from that party in all of my online profiles. I'm sure all of my friends are familiar with this picture. 

My friend Lauren also had a similar story when she would visit our friend Phyllis. Phyllis' blow-dryer just seemed to do a better job in less time then her own blow-dryer at home. Lauren told me that the wattage really made a big difference. This time I didn't mess around. I went to Sally Beauty supplies and picked up an IQ blow-dryer for $80. The price seemed steep at the time, but I knew what 18750W could do! 

I started sharing my story with anyone who would listen. I just couldn't get over how fast I was able to dry my hair. It's hard to believe that I once went to bed with soaking wet hair and would just hope for the best in the morning. Don't get me wrong, my blow-drys were still far from perfect, but I could get ready for work on the days I washed my hair in about an hour. This was life changing to someone who loves to sleep. 

My IQ and I had three good years together until it blew out during a trip to Cuba. In its replacement I bought a light-weight Tool Science dryer also from Sally's. I have to say that I didn't realize how heavy my dryer was until I used this new one. Wow! What a difference on my weak, weak arms in the morning. 

I'll finish this story with a funny little tale. This past January I was back in Toronto visiting Lindsay for another birthday celebration (10 birthdays together now!). I didn't even think to pack my blow-dryer since I knew she would have the best of the best. Well I sadly mistaken. Linds, I am sorry to throw you under the bus here, but the blow-dryer was terrible! It took me over an hour to dry my hair and we were starving for brunch by the time I was done. When we got together in August she was still using this same weak blow-dryer, and has promised me that she will buy a better one. I'm still waiting for that email and am hoping this post will remind you how good you used to have it. 

There is no time like the present. If there is only one tip that you ever take from Amelia, please let this be the one!!! Don't get stuck under that hot hair for any longer than half an hour. Life is for living, not for blow-drying. 

A Little Baking Tip To Help Cure Your OCD

I'm not a super neat freak, but nothing bothers me more than a messy counter-top. Coffee grinds are my official pet peeve of counter top messiness, but coffee stains, red wine stains, and toast crumbles all really get my blood boiling. Did I mention that I don't even drink coffee? 

I first discovered my adversion to a messy counter while in second year university. I moved into a house with 6 other lovely students, and although we had three bathrooms, we only had one kitchen. No matter how much I pestered my roommates to clean up, the kitchen mess just didn't seem to bother anyone else as much as it bothered me. In the process I was granted the nickname of "Mom". I was soon making phone calls to my own Mother asking her how she managed to keep a kitchen clean with four kids, a husband, and a dog running around. Her advice: clean it yourself. She was right. 

Two years later, I was down to only 5 other roommates, and I feel like I had chilled out a little bit on the whole cleaning front. I just wiped the counter tops myself when crumbs were left behind, tried not to yell at anyone, and therefore had time for more important things. My new obsessions were the t.v. show Lost and watching hours of cooking shows with my roommate Janette. If Ina Garten(aka the Barefoot Contessa) only knew how much we wanted to be invited to have dinner with her and Stephen. It was our dream to devour a meal made from 4 butter sticks. 

During one of these Food Network marathons, I picked up a tip that has stayed with me for life, and allows me not only to keep a clean counter top, but a clean muffin pan as well! Doesn't everyone hate scraping off those little burnt bits on the pan after the muffins come out of the oven? You can soak them, but then they turn soggy and never seem to totally lift off from the pan. Really, they are a waste of delicious muffin batter and have plagued me for years. 

The trick is simple. After you have made the batter, pour it from the bowl into a large measuring cup, or pitcher with a spout. The spout is key!! From there, pour the batter into the individual cups with ease (see picture above). There will be no batter leakage over the edge had you poured right from the bowl, or any splatter from a spoon. The amount of control you have will blow your mind. Your muffin pan will stay clean, your muffins will be fresh and moist, and your roommates will be happy! Just make sure you use LOTS of butter : )

Tip #3 - Don't Floss Your Teeth

Well, not quite. I have always hated flossing my teeth, and really I think I've only met a couple of odd balls out there who look forward to getting their hands wet in their mouth while they put a thin piece of wax thread through their teeth.

At my annual visit in August, my dental hygienist seem to be fairly certain that I wasn't flossing at all despite my usual lie that I flossed a couple times a week. If you have ever told your dentist, or hygienist that you were flossing or even brushing more than you really were to avoid persecution, then this tip is for you.


My lovely Mother, who had gum surgery a few years ago as a result of bad genes and little flossing has been searching for an easy flossing solution for years. One of her girlfriends, and my godmother, Pam had the solution. G.U.M Soft Picks!!

G.U.M Soft Picks have a, "flexible rubber bristle that slide between the teeth to help safely remove plaque and food particles". They stimulate the gum, help fight gingivitis, fit between your teeth and have a little handle to keep your fingers dry! What else could you ask for?

My Mom immediately went to Costco and bought a case for herself, then gave me a pack of 80 picks (with a travel case for $6.25). I can't stop using them now!! I use the picks in the car, in the shower, while watching t.v., and after drinking a glass (or three ) of merlot.

I shared the tip with my girlfriends, and now they are addicted too!! If you've ever lied, or been afraid to see your dentist, then G.U.M Soft Picks are for you!

Tip #2: The warm housecoat

Do you have an air vent in your bathroom? Do you have the heat set to come on when you wake up in the morning?


Throw your bathrobe, or towel over the vent before you get into the shower. 

When you get out, the robe will be nice and warm and will make waking up at 6:30am all that more enjoyable. 

Try it Dry: Tip #1

The dry shampoo I am currently using is Algemarin in the 
orange bottle (it also comes in a blue bottle). I came about discovering this shampoo after I left my Oscar Blandi at a friends over of the weekend. I've only ever seen Algemarin at pharmacies in Quebec for about $7, but it is well worth the trip! I have a very dry scalp (which is odd considering how little I wash my hair) and I was able to purchase this shampoo that is safe for a sensitive scalp! 

 I throw it on before I jump in the shower, cover my hair in a shower cap, let it emulsify with the oils in my hair, then blowdry my hair to re-style it. Bam! Gorgeous hair ready to go for another day, or 4. 

They also make a slightly cheaper line called Batiste. This is available at every Shoppers for only $5! Their webpage is awesome and give dares you to "try it dry". 

Note: Algemarin is actually a powder in a can and will cover everything in your room with a small film if you apply it with little direction. Obviously the first time you use it you'll be so excited that your glass of red wine on the counter will end up being covered with a white coating. This is a normal response and don't let it discourage you.