Bite This: Westboro Food Kiosk

I'm sure most of you have driven by the food kiosk Bite This in Westboro, and wondered what they sold there. Curiosity finally got the best of me and today I stopped in there for lunch. Bite This is located across from Trailhead at the corner of Scott and Tweedsmuir and looks like a chip wagon - but with a twist. They carry healthier take out options but still offer hamburgers, hot dogs and french fries for those wanting their "grease fix".

Some of their unique options include a Pad Thai dish called "Thai-One-On", a curry dish named "Curry it up" and some freshly prepared sandwiches and a Greek style wrap called "Zorba". They also offer a wide variety of pop and other drink choices such as San Pallegrino. If you do order a hamburger or sausage they have a great selection of toppings for you.

I tried the "Thai-One-On" and had mine with with tofu rather than chicken - it was tasty and I enjoyed it. My son had a hot dog and he was one happy kid - so I'm assuming he liked it.

In terms of seating, it's all outdoors - they have a few Muskoka chairs for you to relax and eat your food in. If you're not a princess, then you can always sit on the curb if all the chairs are taken.

If you are in the area for lunch and want to get a quick bite, try Bite This and I think you will be happy with the selection of healthy and not so healthy options.

Check out their hours below:

 

Solea: John Fluevog Trunk Show

Come out to Solea for the John Fluevog Autumn/Winter 2011/12 collection Trunk Show on Saturday, April 16th, 2011.

There will also be an informal fashion show with Barrett Palmer models from 2-4 pm and a special guest Michael Belgue - Global Sales Director of John Fluevog Shoes.

Solea

943 Carling Avenue at Sherwood Drive, Ottawa

613-728-6905
www.solea.ca

Monday - Wednesday:  9-6

Thursday - Friday:   9-8

Saturday:  9-6

Sunday: 12-5

Dress For Success: Looking for interview-appropriate clothing

Spring is here and I know most of you are cleaning out your closets to make room for your new spring and summer clothes. Here is a perfect opportunity to clean out your closet and donate your clothes to make a difference and help disadvantaged women in our community.

Dress For Success is hosting a Closet Clean Out – Spring/Summer Clothing Drive at their boutique at 1339 Wellington Avenue (corner of Ross - entrance is at the back of the building - by Capital Luggage Store) on:

Friday, April 15, 2011: 3:00 pm to 8:00 pm

Saturday, April 16, 2011: 10:00 am to 2:00 pm

Dress for Success is an international not-for-profit organization offering services designed to help disadvantaged women in our community find jobs and remain employed. Each Dress for Success client receives one suit when she has a job interview and can return for a second suit or separates when she finds work.

Dress for Success currently accepts new or nearly-new and cleaned, modern spring/summer interview-appropriate clothing in sizes 00 -28+ and office-suitable maternity wear. They also take shoes and accessories, unopened personal hygiene products, such as shampoo, body wash and unopened cosmetics.

Here are some examples of the type of clothing they accept:

• Coordinated, contemporary, interview-appropriate skirt and pant suits
• Beautiful, crisp blouses
• Gorgeous blazers and jackets
• Professional shoes
• Larger-size suits and apparal

When preparing your donation of clothing, take a moment to ask yourself:

“Would I wear this to a professional interview in a corporate, government or business office?”

If the answer is “yes”, please bring it to them clean, pressed and on a hanger. No garbage bags please.

Sorry, they cannot use: 

• Suits and dresses that are not interview-appropriate
• Sportswear or casual clothes
• Evening wear
• Jewelry
• Belts
• Used cosmetics
• Used pantyhose
• Men's clothing

Dress For Success
1339 Wellington Avenue, Ottawa, Ontario
ottawa@dressforsuccess.org
www.dressforsuccess.org/ottawa

Art-Is-In Boulangerie

I was excited to find out the Art-Is-In Boulangerie's new home was located in the famous City Center building. Most call this the ugliest building in Ottawa but I have always been fascinated by it and was happy to go check it out.

The City Center building is located off of Scott Road and the Art-Is-In Boulangerie is in Bay 112-114 - important to know the Bay number because it's hard to find it amongst the other businesses.

When I entered the shop I was pleasantly surprised on how large it was - it was very spacious. They offer breakfast and light lunches ranging from croissants, morning pastries, breakfast sandwiches, a variety of delicious sandwiches, paninis and homemade soup - plus a wide range of bakery items. Of course they also carry all their lovely bread - which if you haven't had yet, it is a "must try".

 

For lunch, we sampled their paninis sandwiches and some of their pastries and coffee - it was very good. I would highly recommend this place for a quick lunch or a coffee break. There isn't a lot of seating but if you are lucky you can have a seat along the window or a seat on the couch. If you are in a hurry, just take it to go. Don't forget to get a loaf of bread while you're there.

 

www.artisinbakery.com

250 City Center Avenue Bay 112-114 (from Scott Road)

613-695-1226

Tues - Fri: 7:00 am - 6:00 pm

Saturday: 8:00 am - 4:00 pm

Sunday: 10:00 am - 3:00 pm   

Flock & Victoire Flyer

Check your mail, there is a 10% off coupon at West Wellington Village's Victoire Boutique and Flock Boutique.

Victoire Boutique:1282 Unit B. Wellington St. West

"Victoire offers a well-edited mix of ideas and trends - mixing edgy wares with more classic pieces. Focusing primarily on Canadian designers, mixing in a select few American designers, the store’s aesthetic point can only be described as a “Rock ’n’ Roll tea party”. Loved by rebel girls with good manners everywhere, Victoire is a shop obsessed with anything made-in-Canada, supercute, gold or embroidered. "

Flock Boutique:  1275. Wellington St. West    

Carries a wide selection of unique handmade goods, clothing, accessories, housewares, gifts and jewellery from up and coming Canadian designers. I have received a few jewelry items from this store for my birthday and they were real cool pieces. Lots of people have been raving about this store, so I'm sure you would be able to find great items here.

Petit Bill's Bistro: Indulgence



Petit Bill's Bistro



Once in a while you have to indulge into something sinful and delicious. If you decide it's time to put your diet aside and reward yourself with something so incredibly good, then go to Petit Bill's Bistro and order the Lobster Poutine. This Lobster Poutine takes poutine to another level - nothing like tasty french fries topped with pieces of lobster and smothered in a shellfish and mascarpone butter sauce. I'm drooling just thinking about it - it is was so creamy and delicious that when you are done, you want to lick the plate.

Lobster Poutine

After sharing a plate of Lobster Poutine with my sister for lunch, we were both very disappointed we weren't there for dinner to try some of the other dishes. The food sounds so good like the seafood chowder, steak frites and the pheasant breast wrapped in house smoked bacon, red wine braised pheasant leg and mushroom ragout.

Petit Bill's Bistro is a very comfortable, friendly restaurant which has a bit of a "Newfy" charm about it. When you go in, you will surely be greeted by the owner which makes you feel at home. The menu offers contemporary French cuisine mixed with East Coast "down home" comfort food. The next time I go out for dinner, I'm surely going back to Petit Bill's Bistro - see you there.

Petit Bill's Bistro
1293 Wellington St W, Ottawa, ON K1Y 3B1
613-729-2500

Oresta Facial

I'm not one to get facials all the time but since I received an Oresta Facial gift certificate for Christmas - I just had to use it.  I was pleasantly surprised that getting a facial treatment at Oresta's included an added bonus of an arm, shoulder and foot massage, plus an eyebrow clean-up, on top of pampering your face. My favourite treatment was the nice hot towels on your face.

Oresta customizes your facial treatment to your individual skin type needs. Therefore you won't have any type of reaction, instead you will leave the spa looking lovely and glowing.

Oresta uses primarily the Eminence Organic skin care line in all their facial treatments. This is a wonderful line of products because they are exactly what all of us want in a skin care product: it is be made of:  "handmade, organically grown herb, fruit and vegetable-based skin care products free of synthetic preservatives, fragrances and colours." When they apply Eminence products on your face you can smell the different fruits contained in it - they almost smell good enough to eat.

In the end of my facial treatment, I felt incredibly relaxed and truthfully my skin looked radiant and revitalized. I had a glow about my skin which I haven't had in a long time. The other great thing about Oresta's there is no pressure for you to buy their products, they will be a happy to inform you of any products you are interested in but with no pressure.

If you need a boost this winter, think about getting an Oresta Facial Treatment. Oresta has two locations, in Hintonburg and in the Glebe.

Target taking over Zellers

If you are a cross border shopper, you will be happy to hear that Target is moving to Canada from the US. Target will be taking over Zellers and plan to eventually open 200 to 250 outlets across Canada. Beginning in 2013, they will start off with opening 100 to 150 Target stores. For the Zeller locations that are not being converted to Target, they will be sold off.

I for one will be sad to see Zellers go, I have been a big supporter of Zellers in Huntsville. They always seemed to have something I wanted at a discount price. However, I am curious to see what Target has to offer. Target claims to be a "hipper version of Walmart" and more higher end.



Courtesy of The Financial Post

Target also plans to 'woo' Canadian customers with an offer of 5% off every shopping trip when you use the Target credit and debit card - not a bad incentive.



There has been no word yet if they will be opening any Target stores in Ottawa - I'm fairly certain there will be at least one.  And you can bet I will be checking it out for bargains and buying clothes there so I can be a "hipper version of Walmart".

 

Benefit - Confessions of a Concealaholic: Younger Looking Eyes

As I'm aging I'm looking for ways to make my eyes look younger without going under the knife or Botox. I'm under 40 and I'm sick of people saying that I look tired - I'd rather them say "hey you look good for 38" or "you're 38, I thought you were 28!". So I have been on a crusade to find products to make me look younger. I found one makeup product that I believe make my eyes look brighter and more youthful, it is called "Confessions of a Concealaholic" by Benefit Cosmetics.  This is a concealer and brightening kit that contains multiple products.

The Kit Contains

That Gal: Brightening face primer.
Erase Paste: Brightening camouflage for eyes and face 

Boi-ing Concealer 01 Light:  For concealing fair complexions.

Boi-ing Concealer 02 Medium: For concealing medium complexions.

Eye Bright: Pale pink instant eye brightener.

Lemon Aid: Sheer pale yellow color correcting eyelid primer
Brushes: Labelled for each product.
Booklet: Step-by-step lesson .

The two products I believe that made a difference were the Eye Bright and Lemon Aid products. The Eye Bright applied at the corners of your eye and below your eyebrow definitely perk up your eyes with a youthful pink hue. Lemon Aid, is a yellow tinted eyelid primer and when spread evenly over your eyelids make them look refreshed and not so tired.

The Boi-ing concealer products do their job, they conceal all of your imperfections and Erase Paste helps decrease the look of dark circles under the eyes. I was excited to use That Gal, the brightening face primer with a pink hue but it doesn't make me look as radiant as it claims. I believe if you have paler skin, it would work for you.

I have been using these products for about a week now and I noticed noone has said that I look tired. However, I'm still waiting for people to say I look younger - maybe Botox will be in my future.

You can find Confessions of a Concealaholic at Sephora, Shoppers Drug Mart, Murale or online at Benefit Cosmetics.

Murale: For Beautiful Eyebrows

I have heard the best place in town to get your eyebrows done was Murale located on Bank at the corner of Laurier in downtown Ottawa. Murale is part of Shoppers Drug Mart and you get the bonus of earning Shoppers Optimum Points when you purchase products or services at Murale. 

Murale has this very cool and specialized "Benefit Brow Bar" and claim that your brows will "look groomed and gorgeous" once they are finished with you. Be prepared if you are getting your brows done, this is a professional job and they take their time doing your eyebrows.

First, they recommend that you don't tweeze your eyebrows at least three weeks prior to your visit; this will allow your hair to be at a more even growth pattern and provide easier maintenance between appointments.

Your treatment starts off with a consultation of your eyebrows with the aesthetician. The aesthetician examines your eyebrows, does some measurements and discusses with you the desired shape that you want and then gives you their recommendations. 

Then once you agree to the shape, the aesthetician will begin waxing most of the undesired hairs and then tweeze other stray hairs. They may even trim any long hairs so the brows look neat and tidy. In the end your eyebrows will have some shape and look defined.

The final step the aesthetician will use the Benefit Brow filler called "Brow Zing" to fill in any sparse areas that were over plucked or to add a slight arch and definition to your brow for an instant eye lift.

Once the aesthetician is finished she will recommend that you come back in the next three to four weeks and that you don't pluck them in between visits.

From all the different spas I have been to in Ottawa, Murale is definitely the best place to get your eyebrows done - I highly recommend them. Let me know what you think of them and what your experience was.

Neighbourhood Valentine's Gift Ideas

Valentine's Day is fast approaching and don't be caught without a present or plan.  I have composed a list of helpful ideas for gifts and suggested some romantic places to eat in Wellington Village and Westboro.

Flowers: A beautiful bouquet of flowers always makes a woman feel special check out Westboro's Trivoli or West Wellington's Flowers Talk.

Chocolate or Candy: Sweeten your sweethearts heart with some delicious truffles from Westboro's Truffle Treasures or some red candy hearts from The Candy Store.

Alcohol: Visit our local LCBO and select a premium bottle of Scotch or Vintage Wine for that special man in your life.

Underwear: Lululemon's men or woman's underwear, or a gift certificate to one of our local lingerie stores BraChic or  Lilac Lingerie. I highly recommend buying a gift certificate for that special woman because if you don't know her size and you guess...you are just asking for trouble.

Heart or Love Themed Gifts: A heart key chain, or diamond ring napkin holders are just a few of the items you can find at West Wellington's Thyme & Again. You can also check out Swiss Pastries for other edible gifts.


Dinner Out: Nothing is more romantic then a Valentine's themed dinner at one of our neighbourhood restaurants. I have listed a few of the more romantic type restaurants on Wellington and Richmond Road: Bella's Bistro Italiano, Canvas, Wellington Gastropub, Village Cafe, Juniper, Fratelli, Allium and Absinthe. Remember to give them a call ASAP, they book up fast for Valentine's Day.


Dinner In: Why not romance your special someone with catered dinner at home. This is also ideal if you have kids and no babysitter. Check out Thyme & Again or Dish Catering for take home meals or call one of the restaurants listed below.


Jewellery: Girls love trinkets. The staff at Bija Bijoux and Magpie (opening soon) will be happy to help you pick out something to "woo" your woman.

Contact Details:

Absinthe: 1208 Wellington Street, 613-761-1138

Allium: 87 Holland Avenue, 613-792-1313

Bella's Bistro Italiano:1445 Wellington Street West, 613-724-6439
Bija Bijoux: 1307 Wellington Street, 613-728-7371
BraChic: 433 Richmond Road, 613-321-0401
Canvas: 65 Holland Avenue, 613-729-1991

Dish Catering:119 Ross Avenue: 613-761-1302

Flowers Talk: 1305 Wellington Street West, 613-321-0592

Fratelli: 309 Richmond Road, 613-722-6772

Juniper: 245 Richmond Road, 613-728-0220

LCBO: 222 Richmond Road, 613-729-1735

Lilac Lingerie: 307B Richmond Road, 613-688-0321

Lululemon: 340 Richmond Road, 613-761-1839

Magpie: 430 Richmond Road

Swiss Pastries: 205 Richmond Road, 613-761-6551

The Candy Store: 350 Richmond Road, 613-728-7500
Thyme & Again: 1255 Wellington Street West, 613-722-6277

Trivoli: 282 Richmond Road, 613-729-6911

Truffle Treasures: 314 Richmond Road, 613-230-3859

Village Cafe: 295 Richmond Road, 613-728-2162

Wellington Gastropub:1325 Wellington Street West, 613-729-1315

The Champlain Park Winter Carnival

The Champlain Park Winter Carnival is tomorrow Saturday, January 29, 2011 from 11 to 3pm.

Enjoy the horse-drawn sleigh ride, outdoor skating games, wishing well and live fiddle music.  There will also be a chili cook-off - ideal meal idea for those cold winter nights.  Food and drinks will  be available at great prices. Wonderful winter fun for the whole family.

Admission is free!

Directions: At the Champlain Park Rink and Fieldhouse, bordered by Clearview, Carleton, Cowley and Pontiac Avenue in the St George School neighborhood.

Wellington Wholesale Seafood

We finally have a great place to buy fish and seafood, it's located in Hintonburg just west of Giant Tiger on Wellington called  Wellington Wholesale Seafood: 1105 Wellington St. West.  They describe themselves as "Providing fresh, white table cloth quality seafood to the greater Ottawa region at wholesale prices."

They have fresh and frozen fish and seafood. Of course there is a live lobster and mussel tank to entertain the kids while you shop. With competitive prices and very kind and professional service - they are a pleasure to buy from. One of three owners was the manager of Lapointe in the Market - so he knows his fish. For further information you can check them out on Facebook.

Next time you need to buy fish or seafood, support the little guy and give Wellington Wholesale Seafood a try. Their winter hours are 9 to 5, Tuesday to Saturdays.

Tel: 613-759-4141

Google Maps: Unusual Advice

Google Maps is a very useful online tool for helping you navigate around the country. It has been noted that the programmers of Google Maps got a little creative with specific directions on the GET DIRECTIONS page for navigating across open water.

The first example are directions for the United States to Japan:

On the GET DIRECTIONS page just type in the directions FROM: United States and TO: Japan. Then scroll down to DRIVING DIRECTION #31 and you will be informed of some unusual advice how to cross the ocean to Japan.

The second example are directions for Japan to China:
On the GET DIRECTIONS page just type in the directions FROM: Japan and TO: China. Then scroll down to DRIVING DIRECTION #41 and you will be informed of some strange advice how to navigate to China.

Note: This will also work on your iPhone Google Maps App.

Westfest is moving

Westfest, the annual Westboro Village festival of music, art and life has announced their 2011 dates: June 10th to June 12th.  This family friendly event closes down Richmond Rd to cars from the Real Canadian Superstore to just past Golden Ave for the three day festival. They "feature the best in Canadian and Local Ottawa multidisciplinary arts, including music, performance art, literature, spoken word, media art, Aboriginal art, children's entertainment and much more."

Real Canadian Super Store parking lot.

We are also very excited to hear that they have moved their main stage from Byron and Golden to the parking lot area directly behind the Real Canadian Superstore at Byron and Kirkwood. The audience area will quadruple in size (15,000 capacity) in comparison to past years and be fully licensed (that's what I'm excited about). No more parents sitting in the fenced in beer area while their kids wait for them outside the fence to finish their beer. I only did that once and never again. My husband is happy to hear that the beer sponsor will be our local microbrewery Beau's.

Westfest has not announced their headliners yet, but I am confident they will be spectacular.

Are you excited about the new main stage location or do you think this will cause some problems? Let us know your thoughts.

Watch Live with Regis and Kelly today!



Mauler Top Left



Jeff Mauler the radio DJ from Ottawa's Hot 89.9 will be co-hosting with Kelly Ripa on Live with Regis and Kelly today at 9:00. Check it out on channel 7 on CTVOT. Proud moment for Ottawa!

Westboro Shoe Rebuilders

Do you have shoes that are looking a little tired and needs some TLC; or desperately need repair? Well you are in luck! We have an amazing shoe repair store right in the 'hood' called Westboro Shoe Rebuilders (613-725-1012)‎. Located at 411 Roosevelt Avenue, the corner of Richmond Rd. and Roosevelt Ave on the ground level in the Eiffel Building.

The gentleman who repairs the shoes is so sweet and nice. He does excellent workmanship and will save you from buying a new pair shoes. The other bonus, he is inexpensive!

I took in my husbands well used Blundstones to get repaired, he stitched them up and renewed the life into them with a superior shoe shine. He fixed my Sorel boots from giving me blisters, by shaving off some of the inner liner that was sticking out. Now I can wear them without complaining of the pain.

I highly recommend Westboro Shoe Rebuilders; your shoes will be in good hands and will come back looking like new!

Welcome Magpie Jewellery to Westboro

Magpie Jewellery is opening a store in Westboro! Magpie is a really great store that carries unique and affordable jewellery. They have been recognized as one of Ottawa's favorite jewellery stores and awarded "Best Jewellery Store" over ten times. They carry jewellery from across Canada and from around the world. Compared to large-scale chain jewellery stores Magpie takes a more alternative approach.

Currently they have locations in the Glebe and Rideau Centre and we look forward to having them in Westboro. Their new location will be at 430 Richmond Road; right near the corner of Golden Avenue by Bridgehead. They aim to have their opening around February 14th, 2011 - just in time for Valentine's Day.

Adams Apple Cafe: Dovercourt

Just the other day I had lunch with my son at Adams Apple Cafe located upstairs, inside Dovercourt Recreation Centre. The cafe serves freshly prepared, healthy foods for breakfast, lunch and lots of great snacks. They also have take-home dinners and offer catering services.

It has been awhile since I've been there and I forgot how awesome this place is to have lunch with your young children. First off they serve healthy food for you and your child. (I had a wonderful homemade tomato, vegetable soup and it was delicious.) Second, if your children need to run around, they have an small indoor play structure for your kids to play on while you chat with your friends or finish your own lunch. This is a perfect place on those rainy/snowy/cold days when you just need to get out of the house and you don't want to go to the indoor play-structures at McDonald's and eat their processed foods. Check out their menu below and also notice their affordable prices.

In case you need another reason to go to Adam's Apple Cafe, they just received the first Eat Smart Recreation Centre Award. To receive this award 'the facility must offer healthier food choices'. The facility’s venue 'must have an excellent track record in food safety' and of course be a 100% smoke-free environment.

Dovercourt Recreation Centre is located at 411 Dovercourt Ave. in the Westboro neighbourhood near the intersection of Churchill Ave and Carling Ave.

Adams Apple Cafe contact details:
613-913-7815
adamsapplecafe@rogers.com
www.facebook.com/adamsapplecafe

Check them out and let me know what you think.

Westboro Gossip: New Shoppers Drug Mart

Word on the street is that Westboro Village is getting a new Shoppers Drug Mart in the new building Westboro Station across from Starbucks on Richmond Road. Also located in Westboro Station I heard will be a pub of some sort and some type of retail store.

We look forward to new businesses developing in that neighbourhood however I do have one big concern - it's parking! In that one block area over the last couple of years I found it's becoming impossible to find a parking spot. I guess it's a good sign that this area is so busy because of the great stores and services, but it would be nice not to have to walk several blocks so you can go grab a coffee, buy a bra or go to a yoga class. I'm hoping with the new businesses being created, that more parking spots will be added.

Do you have concerns about the parking in the area?  Let us know your thoughts and concerns - add a comment.