Tasty Tuesday: M Thompson Chocolates

Image Source: M Thompson Chocolates Facebook Page

Hi, guys!

In this week’s edition of Tasty Tuesday, I’m taking you all back to Canada. I still have a lot of material to write about on Madrid and Barcelona, but I very recently had this experience, and my eyes quite literally rolled back in my head from the overwhelming deliciousness, so I had to tell you all about it right away.

She Was Stunning | Holiday Giveaway!

The giveaway is now closed. Thanks to everyone who participated!

I think that womanhood is universal. No matter where we’re from, what our backgrounds or beliefs are, we’re connected by a sisterhood based on our similar experiences, especially the challenges we face. We can all relate. That’s why I firmly believe that we should all support each other – and also why I love my friend Sarah’s artwork, which she has transformed into a business of magnets, greeting cards, luggage tags, and most recently, desk calendars.

she was stunning offers these products featuring beautiful black & white photographs of women depicting the stories underneath. The inspiration for SWS came from an assignment Sarah was given when she was studying photography at the Alberta College of Art and Design, where she had to produce a series of ten images that pertained to a theme. The original portfolio was made of metal, with magnetic poetry spelling out the captions. It was awarded “Most Outstanding Portfolio” by her peers. That was four years ago, and she was stunning was born soon after. Now, there are also lines of products featuring just the inspirational phrases, artistically arranged in the company’s signature colours.

The stories were inspired by Sarah’s own experiences and those of her friends. She wanted to portray women just as we are, with our strengths and insecurities, our ups and downs. I think she’s done a very good job of it, because it’s the relatability of the stories that caught my eye in the first place.

I remember I was helping my mum out at a trade show, when I started exploring the venue on a break. Sarah’s booth caught my eye because it was decorated in my favourite colour combination – hot pink, black and white. I sauntered over to have a look, and when I saw a picture of a girl’s legs rocking killer d’Orsay stilettos with the caption, “The night was hers. All hers. She could feel it right down to her three-inch heels.” I thought, That’s me! That’s exactly what goes through my head every time I make myself pretty and go out. I read over all the other stories, identified with them too, and proceeded to gush to Sarah in the most embarrassing way about how much I liked her work. She was so sweet, and since then, we’ve kept in touch.

I loved her magnets first, but I also adore the desk calendars, which is her newest line. They’re so chic, and the magnet-letters, apart from looking cute, are a neat little homage to Sarah’s original idea, and what got the SWS ball rolling in the first place.

Her business has been doing really well; in just a few short years, she’s signed on with a national distributor and her products can be found in over 100 retailers from all over Canada – and counting. You can also find her products online at Orangefish, Ravensara and Two Wolves Trading Company.

And because Sarah loves The Soap Heiress, she will be giving out a desk calendar and a couple magnets (pictured below) to a lucky reader for this holiday season! To enter, send me an e-mail at thesoapheiress(at)gmail.com with “SWS Giveaway” as the subject. Entries must be received by 12:00 AM (Eastern Time) December 14th. The winner will be notified by e-mail and announced here on Monday, December 15th’s post.

For more information and to see the product catalogue, visit http://shewasstunning.com.

One of A Kind: Golden Goose Natural Products Co

Today is a day for shameless self-plugs - forgive?

My last pick for my One of A Kind series is, of course the one that's closest to my heart - my mom's all-natural, handmade toiletries business, Golden Goose Natural Products Co.

Shortly after emigrating to Canada, when I was just a baby, I developed this really uncomfortable and unsightly skin condition called eczema. We suspected that this was probably due to a combination of genetics, the sudden change of environment, and the dry Canadian weather. The doctors assured us that I would eventually grow out of it, just like most people.

But when I showed no signs of doing so, even after going to every kind of doctor imaginable, my mom started doing a lot of research to see if there was anything that might make me feel better, since the products out there on the market clearly weren't helping me. In fact, I developed an allergy to oatmeal because over the years, all the dermatologists I'd seen made me use the full range of Aveeno products, and I guess my body had had enough. I can't eat or use any products with oatmeal in it anymore.

Anyway, so my mum read somewhere that handmade soaps are much better for you, especially for people with eczema and psoriasis, so she set out to make her own soaps. Using family and friends as guinea pigs, she got a lot of positive response. Best of all, it was the first soap I'd ever used that didn't make my skin feel tightly stretched and dry. That's because she doesn't skimp on her ingredients - all of our soaps are genuine castile soaps, made of 100% vegetable oils, with the main ingredient being olive oil. Thus, the idea for her company was born.

She did her first craft show in 1997. Over a decade later, we're still going strong, and my mom is a proud vendor at the One of A Kind, the biggest and most presitigious craft show in Canada. Now, she's expanded the company's lines to bath bombs, bath salts, soy wax candles, and more.

By the way, I adore our candles - they're probably my favourite product. They're very environmentally-friendly because they are made of soy wax, which is a renewable resource, and natural, lead-free cotton wick. They also burn clean, so they won't soot up your ceilings and walls. They're scented with essential oils, and because the burning temperature of soy wax is lower than, say, beeswax and paraffin, the scent of the essential oils don't burn away as easily and can gently permeate a closed room quite nicely. Besides all that, they are aromatherapeutic and they are super chic, since they are uncoloured and are only decorated with a kiss of botanicals at the top. And each of the big ones shown here can burn at least 35 hours.

If you go to my school, please keep an eye out for my article on eco-friendly soaps in the Spring/Summer 2009 issue of The Style Review, our campus fashion magazine. I'll also have a cultural profile in there on the city of Nice from a student's perspective!

And of course, don't forget to go see my mum and smell our products at Booth E-38 at the One of A Kind, which opens tomorrow!

One of A Kind: Domistyle

I'm going to come home a slammin' cook - not so much because I'm so inspired by all the gourmet French cuisine I get to sample all the time, but more because I'm dirt poor living in glamorous poverty and can't afford to go out, like, ever, which necessitates excerising my culinary muscles chez moi. My brother was complaining that I have no pictures of food in my photo albums (he thinks I'm eating like Jeffrey Steingarten or something just because I'm living in France now), but I told him that he'll have to content himself with pictures of my cooking, because it's way too expensive to eat at restaurants.

However, I have this charming habit of cooking in my jammies, which I find dramatically increases the frequency of my having to do laundry, so I finally decided to look for an apron - and, my goodness, how I wish I could get a Domistyle apron here! They're the cutest. I think every woman should have two - one to cook in, and one to entertain in. My top choices are the ones in the pictures above (the one on the left says "will cook for shoes" - hee!).

Domistyle was founded by Jessica and Vanessa (Jess and Ness!), a pair of childhood friends who wanted to don cute aprons at a get-together they were hosting together. When they couldn’t find anything, they decided to start their own business, and they’ve become the rock stars of chic-apron-dom. The pictures are hand-drawn and silk-screened onto their products, which are made of a poly-cotton twill. These aprons make the perfect gifts, because they're gorgeous, they are low maintenance since they're machine-washable, and they're one-size-fits-all, so you can't go wrong. Their designs also range from elegant to funky, so there's a lot to choose from, no matter who you're shopping for. They also have an adorable children’s line that caters to both boys and girls and is as chic as their grown-up counterpart.

Domistyle aprons can be found in stores all over North America and at a number of online retailers. To see a store list, pictures of other designs, or just for more information, visit http://www.domistylegifts.com/. Also, remember to go check them out at Booth C-10 at the One of A Kind!

And below is a photo of my famous white wine seafood pasta in tomato cream sauce, which I'm really proud of, because it's better than a lot of pastas I've had at restaurants! Trust me, if you could only taste it, it would totally rock your world.

One of A Kind: Rustichella

Last year at the One of A Kind, my best friend J told me that I “absolutely have to try something!!!” Prone as she is to the occasional passionate outburst, I wasn’t particularly excited, but I followed her insistent tugging on my arm, anyway. She took me to this simple, but elegant booth that featured bottles of brown and green stuff, where there was a mini gazebo-like structure at the front with a table full of tiny paper cups holding drops of brown liquid. She took one and shoved it in my hand, commanding me to sip it. I asked her what it was, and when she told me that it was balsamic vinegar – I won’t lie, I was skeptical. But being the fervent believer that I am of the One Bite Rule (meaning you’re not allowed to write new foods off without at least trying one bite of it), I tasted it, and oh, Cosmos...I was so gone. I was instantly, helplessly and irrevocably hooked to Rustichella’s infused balsamic vinegars.

Rustichella offers 12 flavours (and counting) of infused extra virgin olive oils as well as balsamic vinegars. I like the oils too, but I especially love the vinegars because they’re so delicious you can actually drink it – slowly, of course. Last year, they had a cranberry one, a fig one, a smoky-flavoured one, and maybe one or two others that I can’t remember. I convinced the best friend to get the smoky one, and I wanted to get the fig one because the flavours are really intricate and multi-layered, but I ended up getting the tangier, sweeter cranberry balsamic because my mum likes it better. Either way, all three are so, so good. I want a fig one this year though, and I’m putting in my order so someone at home can get me a bottle. The one inconvenience is that they don’t have any stores, retailers, or a web site and they do the One of A Kind exclusively, so there are only two opportunities a year to buy their products which means you have to stock up.

The kind gentleman who sold us our vinegars also gave us a hand-written brochure full of creative ways to use the product, besides the traditional salad dressing and bread-dipping. You can use it to marinate or cook meats, mix with fruits (I like to use strawberries, but I was told that Italians traditionally like to use watermelons), and even drizzle it over vanilla ice cream. That last one sounds iffy, but I promise it’s really tasty because the dairy in ice cream mellows out the tartness of the vinegar, and the infusions just bring a whole new dimension of flavour to the palate. And I find that it’s always a treat to use it on meat (especially pork chop!) because it just makes the dish taste a little more spectacular. I especially like how the sugars caramelize as the meat gets cooked – divine.

Be sure to try a sample at booth C-20!

One of A Kind: Barbie's Basement Jewellery

“I’m so gay, I sweat glitter,” says my favourite fashion blogger, the fabulous BryanBoy. As a gay man in a woman’s body, I can kind of relate. There’s just something about sparkly things that gets me right there, similar to the effect of the colour pink on me. That’s why every year, I’m inevitably drawn to the Barbie’s Basement Jewellery (BBJ) booth at the One of A Kind.

BBJ is run by this really nice couple, Robin and Ange, who’ve been together for absolutely ever; I remember seeing them at my very first One of A Kind Christmas show! Some years ago, Robin was facing a possible layoff at her really boring full-time job, so she decided to turn her hobby, jewellery-making, into a business. She sold beaded jewellery at first, but then she conceived the idea of making glass bubble rings with a piece of text underneath over a bed of glitter. Later, she came up with the idea of featuring pop culture images in her jewellery, and another line began. Then in 2000, her partner/future wife Ange hurt herself badly at her day job, and when she was recovering, she decided to join BBJ as Production Manager in 2001. Since then, they’ve expanded to making cufflinks, magnets, key chains, belt buckles and lots more. Their belt buckles are particularly popular and Jessica Alba wore one in the movie Honey. Robin and Ange’s work has also been featured in a bunch of magazines.

My favourites are the glittery pieces, of course, which I really wish I could find a picture of so that I could show you. I got my first one from them a few years ago, and I can’t even tell you what a hard time I had picking something out, because I always just want to bring their whole booth home every time I see it. I ended up choosing a bright red glittered ring with the word “rebel” in it. The following year, I began eyeing these two supercute necklaces – one that says “uptown” over light pink glitter and one that says “downtown” over hot pink – get it? At the last Christmas show, I decided that I was going to get one, and I decided to get “downtown”, despite the fact that I’m really an uptown girl, just because I liked the hot pink better. But there weren’t any more necklaces in the style I wanted, so Robin, who is super sweet, custom-made my necklace with exactly the shade of glitter I wanted, despite the fact that she was in the middle of the demanding show and was probably really busy. The next piece I’m aiming for is the charm bracelet, with five charms on it! I just have to decide exactly which charms I want, which will be a challenge...

Go check them out at the One of A Kind beginning next Thursday at booth N-48! You can also find BBJ products at retailers all over North America, at their secure online store, and at Snazzygirl.com. Best of all, they welcome custom orders if you’re looking for something specific!

For more information, visit their website at http://bbj.ca.

One of A Kind: Karen Wilson Hand Bags

Hello, friends! Please pardon my week-long hiatus – it’s been a tough one. A friend in my program just received some very bad news from the doctor and has to go home. I hope she gets well soon – and that she drinks a ton of Second Cup Green Tea Chillers (or Lattes) for me when she gets home. The last time I hung out with her, she was telling me how excited she was to read my One of A Kind series because she loves going to the show with her stepmom every season, so the following series of posts is dedicated to her. XOXOXO, girl!

You know how there was this air of finality when Anna Karenina threw her beloved red velvet handbag into the railroad tracks? A woman who throws away her favourite purse and banishes it to the dirty ground evidently has lost the will to live. This perfectly describes the sacred relationship between a woman and her handbag.

Unlike Anna, however, I don’t subscribe to the idea that there is The One. I’ve long since decided that a harem full of gorgeousness is much more suited to my depraved appetite for prettiness. And the bag I have my eye on for the next addition to my bag harem is a Karen Wilson original.

Every year, Fashion Girl and I make at least one trip over to Karen’s booth at the One of A Kind to stare admiringly at the newest collection. I can’t be there in person this year, but I’ve checked it out online, and let me tell you, Fall/Winter 2008 looks divine. Each season, Karen Wilson Hand Bags releases a new collection of beautiful purses in the 10 styles she’s known for, including functional market totes, elegant gathered frames, fun evening bags, and more. Her pieces are especially well-made and every design is made in limited edition, to keep them special and exclusive.

Go check out Karen’s work at Booth J-25 at the One of A Kind, opening next Thursday, November 27!

Sweet November!

With November always comes three happy occasions: post-Halloween chocolate sales, the birthday of my mom, who is my personal icon in every way (Happy Birthday, Mommy!) and the One of A Kind winter show.

I’m a great admirer of handcrafted things because behind every single unique piece, there is such creativity and care and time involved. I started getting into the craft circuit just over a decade ago, when my mum first began her business. Since then, working at and attending craft shows has become a way of life and it opened my eyes to a whole new side of the world, beyond the homogeneity of the McProducts that our commercial scene is so saturated with, especially in North America. Case in point: you can go to virtually any mall in the States or in Canada, and it’ll probably carry the same maybe 40 brands we see all the time. And it’s not restricted to low-end shopping, either, because if you think about it, Sunset Boulevard, Fifth Avenue, Bloor Street West, Las Ramblas, the Champs-Élysées, and so on and so forth all carry the same few stores with basically the same collections. It’s all the same everywhere – what happened to originality?

Don’t get me wrong – I love my Hermès. And I guess it’s convenient that, when I eventually come to be able to afford one of their pieces, I’ll be able to buy it in any major city (except perhaps the Birkin or the Kelly in more exclusive skins). But what happened to select shops? What happened to buyers going out, and even travelling around, to find special products to sell in their stores? Select shops have so much more personality than chains, and they’re some of my favourite places to shop in.

Craft shows hold the same appeal to me, because most crafters own small businesses and their products really are original - you wouldn't be able to find it anywhere else. That's why every winter, I really look forward to the One of A Kind Toronto show - it's the largest craft show in Canada, featuring hundreds of artisans from all over North America. It's been around for over 30 years and as usual, it's taking place in the Direct Energy Centre of Exhibition Place in Toronto. This year it runs from November 27th to December 7th, from 11am-10pm on weekdays, 10am-9pm on Saturdays and 10pm-6pm on Sundays. It's the most intense, delightful shopping experience - this month, I will be introducing my favourite crafters, who I'd be visiting at the OoAK if I were home, like Brook of Brook's Delectable Chocolates. If you go, be sure to say hit to my mum in booth E-38!

A Weekend in Val-David

My bosom is burnt to a glowing crisp. So are my face, arms, back and feet. I also got a heat rash, which was gracious enough to manifest itself on my face.

But it was totally worth it because I had a great time this weekend at Val-David, Québec, and the annual 1001 Pots ceramics exposition (the largest of its kind in Canada) is a definite must-go for all pottery aficionados/as - or good daughters of of pottery aficionadas, who also happen to need a relaxing getaway! It featured over 100 pottery masters from all over the country, and the amount of ceramic pieces there was just mind-boggling.

But for a die-hard city girl who isn't a potter herself, what is there to occupy me in a little town an hour north of Montréal? All the free food, of course!

On Opening Night of the expo, there were a lot of hors d'oeuvres floating around, courtesy of local restaurant sponsors, as well as all-you-can-drink free wine. It was pretty good - as good as massified food can be anyway (by that I mean food made for a large group of people, like in cafeterias and even at weddings and banquets). I had seared tuna with caviar, crispy wonton shells with salmon sashimi salad, all sorts of canapés...I wanted to take pictures of everything I had, but I was too busy eating!

But what takes the cake in Val-David is their organic farmer's market (where I got fried). It takes place every Saturday/Sunday morning until noon on the main street, and there you can find a huge variety of excellent quality organic foods, like veggies, baked goods (mm...chocolate croissants!), waffles, meats, honey, jams, fair trade coffee, teas...and the best part is, there are samples for virtually everything!

We bought some pâté and baguettes to go with our 12-year single malt scotch whiskey later that night, when we roasted marshmallows. That was the life!

Enjoy the pictures!

Brook's Delectable Chocolates

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This chocolate is SO unbelievably delicious. I once told Brook that a person can buy my affection with her chocolate, and it's still true. If I were only allowed to eat one kind of chocolate for the rest of my life (God forbid!), this would be it.

Brook's chocolate almond brittle has been a huge favourite of mine since I began frequenting the craft show circuit when my mum first began her business in '97. Every year at the One of A Kind Toronto Christmas show, my mom buys me a small bag - then at a different aisle, I'd tell her I have to "go to the bathroom," then I'd buy the large $25 bag and sneak it in my purse, swearing Brook to secrecy. I can easily inhale the $5 bag, the smallest, in two seconds flat, so I need a more substantial size, you know?

It's rich, imported milk chocolate surrounding the most delicious buttery brittle you will ever taste, with a ton of almonds around and in the confection. The middle is something else because Brook doesn't scrimp on her ingredients (you can't mistake the scrumptious buttery and maple syrup flavours) and because it's got this lovely, slightly crunchy, super brittle texture. By that I mean it's crunchy, but it breaks apart cleanly with the slightest pressure from you teeth and it doesn't stick to your molars (unless you buy a bag and let it sit for a year and don't eat it until a lot later - I learned this when I delightedly found a forgotten bag somewhere in the black hole that is our pantry).

As of 2006, this candy is also available in dark chocolate for those who are health conscious, chocolate snobs or both. I think I should work out some sort of plan with Brook so that she will bill me and send me a bag every fixed period…

For more information or to order, visit http://www.brookschocolates.com/.