LeXXy

On today’s blog I wanna school you on a couple DOPE blogs that I like to visit. The first is “2 Bitches Deep”. BIG shouts to you guys – ya’ll ARE SOME BADDDD ASS BITCHES! I love this blog!!

CHeck it:

http://2bitchezdeep.blogspot.com/

They feature some of the most amazing fashion out there! I always get inspired by them. And these two bitches are homegrown from Toronto.

The second is a new blog I found:

http://www.astrowifey.com/

This one features ART, FASHION, MUSIC.

And this girl is a DOPE nail artist.

BIIIG Shouts to both of your blogs! GO HARD! Keep doin what your doin and…

STAY FLY

XoXo

This is what I’m on right now. This song gets me in the MOOD to keep up my ambitious mentality. This song is so hype, and the video is slick. I love Jay Z’s facial expressions. You can see his passion and drive when you watch this artistic video.

“I move onward/The only direction/Can’t be scared to fail/In search of perfection”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WM1RChZk1EU \”On to the Next One\” – Jay Z

Stay Fly,

I gotta million ways to get it – Chose ONE!

OWWW!

XOXOXO

I know this video came out a while ago, but I’m feeling it so much that I need to shine the spotlight on it today.

\”Rude Boy\” – Rihanna

Although the video is pretty primitive and looks a bit low budget, it’s a  WICKED throwback… it makes me reminisce of the early music styles of the 90’s… especially some of those moves she’s busting. I LOVE IT. She’s such a bad bitch.

ENJOY!

And…Stay Fly

XoXo

Look at this SICK mani:

These gorgeous perfect nails are  Rihanna’s Grammy Nails. When I saw this pic I KNEW it was a job for only one person…Kimmie Kyees. She does DOPE nails for all the celebrities…and if you can afford it or are patient enough for her long waiting list, yours too.

Here’s a prime example:

These are Kay Perry’s.

Check out her stuff if your a nail fanatic like me!

http://www.kimmieknails.com

Stay Fly

XoXo

Alexander McQeen has been one of my long time fashion icons. His innovative and avant-garde designs truly encompassed the ART in fashion. And his inventive fashion shows inspired and entertained his audiences.

In the wake of his unforeseeable death, I wanted to tribute him in this Favorite THANGS Friday.

Alexander McQueen come from humble beginnings. He was born and raised in London to a family of 6 children. He was the baby of the family. He left school at the age of 16 and was immediately offered an apprenticeship at the traditional Saville Row tailors Anderson and Shephard and then at neighbouring Gieves and Hawkes, both masters in the technical construction of clothing.

In less than 10 years McQueen became one of the most respected fashion designers in the world.

You can read his full biography here http://www.alexandermcqueen.com/int/en/servicePages/aboutMcQueen.aspx

Rest in Peace Alexander McQueen. The fashion world took a huge hit.

“Atelier” is a french word that lossly translates to - an artists’ studio. It’s also a boutique restaurant here in Ottawa that encompasses just that – it is an ART studio which features Food. I LOVE this concept and although I am a little ashamed that I have not been there yet (my reservation is made!!) I am EXTREMELY intrigued….

This young, unique and one of a kind restaurant has already received some fantastic reviews in a few publications as well as the all important STREET BUZZ that every restaurant hopes to capture.

The ever changing menu features a 12 course meal for each and every guest, every night. It’s important to know that for vegetarians and vegans, there are meat-less options.

I think that after I finally make my appearance at this place, I will be able to rave about my experience, but until then, here are some dishes that I can look forward to:

“Charred olive” dish:

Arctic char cooked medium rare with a citrus foam, black olive tapenade triangle with dots of sunflower seed aioli, whitefish caviar, pea shoots, red bell peppers and a dot of red pepper juice).

“Pork  Belly” dish:

Cooked sous vide seared with caramel sauce! Unique combination of pork and caramel flavors.  Blue potato, green apple slaw round out the dish with that coolness flavor working with the heat of the meat.

“Venison terderloin” dish:

 Cooked sous vide medium rare then seared and resting on truffle oil pancakes. Served with a caramelized onion punch card, cremini mushrooms (underneath the punch card), popcorn spiked with truffle oil, corn sprout, “corn OFF-the cob”, corn gel, egg yolk gel and dotted with millstreet tank house ale gel.

“Seared scallop” dish:

From Qualicum beach in Vancouver on a black truffle bread pudding with discs of red grapes. Served with various sauces to sample and combine: vanilla brown butter, red grape suace, and i believe a tangy vinaigrette. Interesting dish combining an experiment of sea and land offerings.

CSI or “who killed mister strawberry?”

This is a murder scene investigation courtesy of michael holland. This is a strawberry theme going on here – blood splattering of strawberry puree, strawberry dots. the murdered body was covered with a chocolate blanket. A police tape of yellow corn, sour cream ice cream, cornbread streuzel, and cornbread puddled.

I’ve gotta say it again…I CANNOT wait to dig into this 12 course experience! I hear that it takes about 3-4 hours to properly enjoy all the dished. This is definately going to be a night to remember! BIG shout outs to OttawaFoodies.com for their colorful reviews of this restaurant.

Atelier Restaurant
540 ROCHESTER ST.
OTTAWA  ONTARIO K1S 4M1
T: 613.321.3537

Book online here: http://www.atelierrestaurant.ca/reservations/

I wanted to do a new special feature for my Friday blogs.
Here, I’ll be featuring cute, amazing, helpful, sexy, comfortable and useful COOL stuff that I have, that I want and  that I spot when I’ out.

The first FAVORITE THANG that I wanna shed light on is this to-go mug. It’s a ceramic coffee mug that’s impersonating a Starbucks or Second Cup (or whatever coffee shop you like) to go cup! The lid and cup holder are silicone so it’s all super easy to care for!

Now you can travel with your hot beverages in style and best of all – if you fill this mug up when getting a coffee to go at your favorite spot, you’ll be sending  love to the environment by not using up another cardboard cup!  

In case your wondering, I picked it up at a Loblaws Superstore (It’s a President’s Choice product)

Stay Fly
XoXo

I’ve been meaning to visit this place for quite a while now, and finally got the chance! STeaK is a new modern steak house/lounge that opened in Ottawa about a month ago. I actually heard a few negative reviews about this place – but being a strong advocate of judging a restaurant based on your OWN experience, I went in with confidence.

 Appearance

When you walk into this place you will notice a significantly different look and feel than anywhere else (that I know of) in this city. The first thing that grabbed my attention was a huge wine cooler on the left wall of the restaurant – that lies between the floor and the ceiling full of wines from all regions.

The seating a comfortable and intimate with modern lighting everywhere.

I felt like they made sure to pay close attention to all the small details to coincide with the ultra modern theme that they have chosen…I noticed it in all aspects of the appearance.

The lighting is soft and dim with predominately red bulbs that light up the interior. Red lights are supposed to actually relax the eye more than any other color (that’s why most alarm clocks are lit with red).

There’s also a full bar stocked with any kind of liquor and spirits you can imagine…a wide range of beer as well. I got the sense that I’ll be returning here regularly for after-work martinis.

Menu

Here’s what we started with:

- Beef tartar – tenderloin, capers, tabouli, beet, rocket

- Steak Platter – short rib spring rolls, steak sushi, shrimp cakes, wild mushroom flat bread

Both appetizers where to die for! A special shout out goes to the wild mushroom flatbread and tartar. The food is so flavorful that your mouth waters while your eating! The portions were just right and we didn’t wait long!

Main:

- Tenderloin green bean salad – tenderloin, green beans, Asian slaw, sesame seeds

- 18oz bone-in rib eye

 The steak was PERFECT for both our main dishes. I have ordered streak before that didn’t satisfy me in size – you WONT have a problem with that here! The meal portions are perfect! The food is absolutely fresh and the service is attentive and thoughtful. This place is more upscale then say, The Keg but it’s definately not pretentious.

At the end of our meal, we ordered a few drinks (mine was a special coffee) but no dessert. The waitress came out with our drinks as well as a plate with some thinly sliced dark chocolate. She winked and told us – “You have to have something sweet after dinner, it’s the rules”.

That gesture put the cherry on top of our already great experience.

 I recommend this place to anyone who appreciates modern gourmet food and a relaxing but upscale environment.

TWO THUMBS UP!

87 Clarence Street
613 695-8787
The restaurant is open Tuesday – Sunday (until midnight on most nights)

Of all the Pho places in Ottawa that I have visited (I’ve tried most of the Pho joints in and around China Town) this place sticks out to me. The atmosphere is homey and the owners of this place seem to really care about food and the happiness of their customers. I won’t get into all the dishes because I want to stick to my soup subject, so lets get to it!

This place offers a REALLY UNIQUE chicken soup. I guess I can still classify it as a PHO but its REALLY different. These are the ingredients: Chicken, a couple of cubed tomatoes, pho noodles and a few slices of celery….the special ingredient is PINEAPPLE. This soup is AMAZING. It’s really light and it has a tang that opens up your whole palette. There are a few slices of pineapple in there, but you can mostly taste the zing in the infused broth…MMMMM!!!!

The prices at this place are pretty well the same as any Pho joint – a large bowl of this mouth watering pineapple soup runs you about $8.00.

I recommend it!!

Pho Vietnam
1187 St Laurent Boulevard

This Little Bar-B Bitch is TAKING OVER! I love this girl – she’s FIERCE and she’s doing her thing! I like her sound and I like that she’s feminine but a bit rough around the edges.

\”Your Love\” Nicki Minaj

Stay Fly,

XoXo