Ally: So, as we mentioned numerous times this week, our blog was lucky enough to be selected to take part in the Big Day Downtown, a new campaign from Downtown Halifax Business Commission.
Both of us received $100 to spend any way we wished in downtown Halifax. I was up first, and Spider Video via Extreme Group (the agency working with DHBC on the campaign), came along to record my trip.
Shot of tequila if you caught the sexual innuendo (there may be more than one…I tend to drop a lot of SI’s when I’m nervous).
The day was really fun. First off, L-A and I hardly ever get to hang out outside of The Internets. Secondly, El Jeffe was on vacation, so it was a perfect day to leave baby at home with his Dad while I did some very important “back-to-work” shopping. For those wondering whether a romper is appropriate work attire, I wore it to a business meeting recently. Sure, it was a meeting with two people who have known me for years, but we were talking business. That counts.
I spent the majority of my money at Biscuit General Store, one of my favourite places in all of the world. Second to like, Italy. I was dying to buy a romper, because I really felt I could work this trend. L-A and I had spent a great deal of time debating whether this look was doable or not, so I think she was impressed that I managed to pull it off. I think it all depends on the romper, and what you pair it with. They had the same debate over at Logical Harmony dot net. On the site they talk about the two kinds of romper; casual and dressy. Personally, I think the casual can be disastrous:
The casual romper makes Kate Hudson look like Lauren Conrad. This is not a good thing. I like LC, but only for her braids. Seriously, if she was my friend I would tell her to put her hair in braids or not to come over at all. Once again, Nicole Richie pulls off a trend. Can she do anything wrong? The answer is no. (Are we sure that isn’t LC? The photo says K-Hud…I’m not convinced). [L-A: I think it’s LC. Either way, the romper isn’t doing her any favours.]
I purchased a Quicksilver romper at Biscuit. It can be dressy, but I like to tone it down (words you don’t hear much from me) with a tank underneath. If you don’t wear a tank underneath, you’re working much more than a onesie…youknowwhaimmasayin’? Here’s a photo of the romper from their website:
Um, I look slightly different in the ol’ romp, but whatevs. We’ll see if the bitch above can still wear that at age 32 (shut up, I know she totally will).
I had also been visiting a pair of Seychelles Dos I Do booties that Biscuit had been carrying. By visiting, I mean I had been dropping in with baby once a week to contemplate whether I could really own such bizarre, but beautiful shoes. Turns out I could once given a super deal from Wendy, the owner of Biscuit, while out on my shopping excursion.
The site One Shoe Daily (where I obtained the above photo) describes these shoes as, “something out of “Mad Men.” They have a post-modern vintage feel. These could definitely be some daily-drivers. I’m thinking with red tights and a plaid skirt.” Hmm…never thought of pairing with tights and a plaid skirt. Perhaps with my new plaid Banana Republic mini purchased at Frenchys? [L-A: I like the shoes, but I disagree about the Mad Men description. They aren’t very Mad Men at all. They would, however, look crazy cute with tights and a plaid mini.]
To top things off, I got the most adorable headband at Boutique Joliette made by our friend Lyndsay at Lou Lou Bell. I’m debating whether or not to grow out my fringe, if so, this headband will become a must for day-to-day use. I’ve already put Lynds on standby informing her that I may need to custom order several more.
In between our retail visits, we stopped at Just Us to grab a coffee (I had been up the night before since 3am, this was the week I will refer to as The Week Insomnia Made me Ugly) and ended the day with a drink at the Argyle patio.
It was an amazing day. It felt great to get out of the suburbs and hit downtown, just trotting through shops and trying things on. The weather was beautiful, so that made things even better. If it was raining, on top of my insomnia issues, I would have been hella bitchy. So, L-A was lucky that the sun was shining and I had a hundred bucks burning in my jean shorts.
I can’t wait for L-A’s day to shop. I hope I will be as patient a friend as she was for my trip. She’s promised to buy me a sangria. Not sure if she remembers. She made this promise after her third sangria at the launch event the other night.
L-A: I have to phone this one in a little bit. I started my day by throwing myself off a curb and into the street. I have no idea what happened. One minute I was walking across the grass towards my bus stop, the next I was slamming into the asphalt. My knees look horrible, but the worst part is my right wrist. I’ve got it iced up and it feels like hell. No fun.
Ally’s Big Day Downtown was a lot of fun, and not just because someone else was footing the bill. For starters, we’ve always been fans of shopping downtown. We’d talk about downtown retailers for free.
One of the things we loved about our shopping trip, aside from the great finds, was getting to wander from shop to shop and talk to the store owners. At Boutique Joliette, Alexis was behind the counter of her store and could answer any question we threw at her about what she carried in the store. She could tell us about the item in question and about the artist who made it. Wendy and the Biscuits were fabulous when we got to her store. When Ally said romper, they were on it. And then we got to chat with Wendy about everything from why Ally’s shoes were so fantastic to why we love shopping downtown. Each of these stores had a personal touch to them. Sure you can get good service at The Gap, but it’s never quite the same, never quite as personal. Probably because you don’t get to see how much the owners love their stores. I’ll never get to chat with Mr. The Gap about his khakis and denim, but I can talk to the owners downtown.
We only skimmed the top of the shopping iceberg that is Downtown Halifax on Ally’s Big Day. I’ve still got a Visa card that is burning a hole in my pocket as Ally and I make plans and I’m looking for suggestions from the peanut gallery (that’s you). So far, I’m thinking I’ll check out Lady Luck, Foreign Affair, and Renaissance. If you have a favourite (clothing or shoe) store that I must visit on my Big Day Downtown, then let me know. And be sure to check out Downtown Halifax’s facebook page and twitter: they’re giving away another 100 clams and you don’t have to be a blogger to get them. As for Ally’s sangria claims, well, I don’t know what the sangria talk is about. I thought we settled on ice cream. But whatever. We can have sangria and ice cream. I am that awesome.
And now is the time on FPQT when we dance! Well, not really. I didn’t pick a dance song this week. Ally said I could pick this week’s song, but I completely drew a blank (I blame the pain killers. At least my wrist feels better!). So I went to facebook and twitter and our facebook friends had some great ones. I’m going to keep them in my back pocket for future weeks (a few came after I wrote most of this). I almost went with Lynn’s suggestion, because it meant making a Veronica Mars reference and therefore making both Jill and I happy girls. But I couldn’t find a good video. So Roisin “wins” by introducing me to Snowblink and their song Ambergris:
Have a happy Friday! And if you live somewhere that celebrates the random first Monday in August holiday (Natal Day in NS, the eloquently named Civic Holiday in most parts of Ontario, and maybe Regatta Day in St. John’s), happy long weekend! I’m going to suggest we all enjoy BBQ, sunshine, and vodka with lemonade and fresh mint.
