Bicycle Wine Rack

The perfect gift for the eco-conscience oenophile is finally here and just in time for Summer! This handmade leather bicycle rack makes it easy to buy wine on your way home from work without worrying about it breaking in your basket or bag.

Perfect for a romantic ride to the park, followed by a picnic in the grass, watching the sunset with your unscathed bottle of wine. Just make sure that you're not wobbly when you get back on your bike for the journey home!

The Bicycle Wine Rack is made in Montreal from recycled oil-treated vegetable tanned leather that gets better with age; hopefully the same can be said about the wine its holding. Available to puchase on Etsy.com for $30.

French Colours at The French Open

Raphael Nadal (shown in blue) and Roger Federer (shown in red) were both clad in Nike tennis attire during the French Open Finals yesterday. Although red, blue and white are the colours of the French flag, I was surprised that Nike chose to dress Nadal in blue and Federer in red.

Nadal is outgrowing his wild and brutish personality and playing style, but is still not as calm or graceful as his rival, Federer. Thus, I would've have chosen red for Nadal, as red is a colour of aggression, while blue is a cooler colour, suitable for Federer's smooth persona.

Furthermore, Federer wore blue at the Internazionale BNL d'Italia, only three weeks prior. (See picture above). Sure it was a slightly darker hue than Nadal's blue outfit during the French Open, but it's still part of the same family. To confuse fans even more, he wore baby blue at last year's French Open, which was pretty much the same colour as Nadal's shirt this year.

Nike, what is going on with your colour choices? Why not use some consistancy and make it easier for fans to quickly recognize the players. This is especially important when they both happen to be tall, dark and handsome.

Boot Camp

Today marks the first day of June and the weather is finally heating up. Summer is around the corner which means it's time to get ready for bikini season! My friend and I attended our first boot camp class of the month this morning and can already feel the results, or shall I say, muscle soreness.

The one hour class was comprised of variuos short, intense, repetitive motions that targeted our arms, legs, tummy and butt. Squats, push-ups and boxing punches were just a few examples of the rigorous routines we were subjected to. Although there was a lot of pain, there was also a lot of gain!

I was surprised to learn how much of a workout I got without using weights. By simply using my own body's resistance and motivation from the drill sergeant instructor, I was dripping with sweat and getting toned pretty quickly!

I highly recommend boot camp for those that want to get in shape fast and don't mind being yelled at.

Image taken from www.workoutaustin.com

Customizable Golf Shoes

When spending the day at The Golf Club, it's important to look stylish and feel good. FootJoy is a brand that's known as having the #1 shoe and glove in golf so when I heard about MyJoys, their line of customizable golf shoes, I was pretty excited to create my own unique pair.

Golf, as most people know, has a history of being a conservative and preppy sport and most of the golf shoes that I looked at were pretty boring. My customized FootJoy's on the other hand, have bright green & yellow stripes, along with an adorable looking penguin, for those hot and sticky humid days, when you really wish you could take a short trip to the Arctic.

Note: Photo taken using the Instagram App for the iPhone

Happy Holidays

To all those celebrating the holidays, merry Christmas and happy Chanukah!

I don't believe in gift giving, but if someone would like to buy me the mini Strida in bright blue, please do so!

I could fold it up and take it with me to Arizona where I will be spending the next few weeks. Although the Strida is not suitable for mountain biking, it's definitely a stylish way to get around. Like the ipod, the Strida is clean, compact, comes in varying sizes, vibrant colours and makes travelling more fun!

If you live in Toronto, you can purchase a Strida for me at Curbside Cycles or Ministry of the Interior. Thanks & happy New Year!

Stylish Protection

Love biking, blading, skateboarding and other dangerous sports? Hate wearing a helmet because it doesn't look cool? Thanks to Les Ateliers Ruby, helmets have become fashionable accessories that make extreme sports that much more enjoyable and SAFE!

Made with carbon fibers for ultimate protection and a lightweight feel, Ruby helmets are also kind to the hair, with burgundy nappa lambskin caressing your locks while absorbing sweat.

With an assortment of stylish colours and patterns that appeal to both sexes, it's tempting to buy more than one. Too bad they retail for 500 pounds! High quality fashion does not come cheap. Yes, but according to the Ateliers Ruby Helmets website, "Life is the most precious thing you have."

What about creating life?

In keeping with the theme of safety being fun & original, check out these new condoms from One Condoms. Like Les Ateliers Ruby helmets, which derive their designs from graffiti and urban artists, One Condoms incorporate pop culture into their packaging to help ingrain the idea of wearing a condom into our society.

Each condom comes in a round wrapper and has a unique design on it. Fans of the brand can submit their own designs or vote for the ones they like the best. The condoms also come in a silver tin that can be re-used for other fun small items.

My favourites from the condom collage above include:

Rubber ducky, you're the ONE

Twenty ONE (with the King & Ace of clubs)

ONE Love (with the tennis ball motif, naturally)

Like the fashionable Les Ateliers Ruby helmets, by making condoms fun and creative, there's more incentive to be safe!

A New Tennis Champion?

Today marks the final day of the U.S. Open in New York and tennis fans around the world can hardly contain their excitement for the championship match.

Nadal is out of the picture for once and Federer is back where he belongs, taking on the UK's Andy Murray, ranked #6 in the world.

I saw Murray lose to Nadal last month at the Roger's Cup Semi-Finals in Toronto and I'm thrilled that Murray, who put up a great fight, was given a second chance to beat the brutish Spaniard. He's a gifted athlete with a lot more grace than the bum picking Nadal. He's much better looking too.

I"m also glad that Federer is out of his slump and back in the finals, where he rightly deserves to be. Even though I'd love to see the underdog win, I miss Federer's reign as tennis champion and I'd like him to continue to be seen as a threat to Nadal.

The Football Factory

Heads up soccer fans, The Football Factory is on its way to downtown Toronto.

What is The Football Factory? A google search indicated that it was a 2004 film based on an award winning novel. It is also the name of a bar/restaurant opening up down the street from where I live. The space is small and looks upscale with logos of a soccer ball dipped in a martini glass.

The interesting thing about this place is that there are no other bars located right near it. Sure you can walk north or south and be on either Queen or King Street but it is rare to see a nice looking bar on Bathurst sandwiched in between tiny houses and a homeless shelter.

Also, with a name like The Football Factory, it's hard to tell what image the bar is going for. They are still renovating the space but by peering through the window it appears to be an upscale lounge. Will The Football Factory be the first high end sports bar in Toronto? Is this the start of a new niche market? As an avid sports fan and martini drinker, I think that this combo is a wonderful idea and hope that it takes off.

I'll keep you posted on further developments when I return from my vacation in Montreal.

The Rogers Cup

This past weekend in Toronto, marked the end of a surprising tennis tournament, where stars like Federer (in the drawing below on the left) and Djokovic, were ousted in the early rounds. Conveniently situated inbetween Wimbledon and the U.S. Open, The Rogers Cup allows Canadians to cheer on their favourite tennis players with tournaments happening in both Toronto and Montreal.


This year I was privileged to attend both the semi-finals and final matches of the men's tournament in Toronto.


The semi-finals match was definitely the most interesting. In previous years, Federer or Nadal were always in the semi's and the finals was the match worth catching. This year, however, the first semi-finals match was between Gilles Simon, a young Frenchman and Nicolas Kiefer, who at the age of 31 has been playing some incredible tennis. The two were well paired to play against each other and the 3.5 hour match couldn't have been any closer. After countless deuce points and tie-breakers, Kiefer ended up victorious, only to lose quickly to Nadal in the finals. No surprise there. Below are some pictures I took of Nadal serving. Check out his form; no wonder he has so much power!






Nadal also beat Murray in two sets in the second semi-final match on Saturday evening. Murray, was the young Brit who beat Djokovic earlier on in the tournament. He is definitely a star on the rise, as the calibre of play between Nadal and Murray was on a much higher level than that of Kiefer and Simon. It was highly entertaining to watch Kiefer and Simon battle it out as they resemble normal athletes. Watching Nadal play, on the other hand, is like watching a superhero trained in tennis. A superhero, however, would not be caught picking his ass before every serve, which Nadal tends to do as the Nike shpants he is paid to wear are pretty tight in the butt.


Nike - please make pants for Nadal that are looser in the butt and more condusive to playing tennis in front of millions of spectators.

The French Open - Federer's Time to Shine

It's my favourite time of the year; the start of the tennis season! The only thing better than blue skies and sunny days to mark this occasion, is the 2008 French Open. Week One has almost come to an end and the Williams' sisters have already been eliminated! With the fashionistas out of play, the men are definitely the more interesting group to watch.

This is the only Grand Slam that Federer has yet to win. A self-made tennis prodigy, Federer has hired a coach to help him out this time around to make sure he beats Nadal. I'd love to see a Djokovic & Federer final with Federer coming out on top. As much as I love Djokovic, he is only 20 and has plenty of time to surpass Federer. He already beat him at last year's Rogers Cup, so why not let Federer win this Grand Slam and go down as one of the most remarkable athletes of our time? If this amazing feat were to be accomplished, let's hope that Federer stays in the game, unlike the recently retired, Justine Henin.

Hockey Heroes

In honour of tonight's Stanley Cup playoff game, I thought it would be appropriate to talk about one of my favourite hockey players, Mr. Gary Roberts. It was Robert's birthday several days ago and I think the perfect present would be if the Penguin's won the cup. Although Detroit has a one game advantage, Roberts has plenty of experience with playoff hockey. He's a veteran of the NHL, having played in the league for 19 years. He helped Calgary win the Stanley Cup in '89, back when current teammate, Sydney Crosby, was still wearing diapers. Roberts is the oldest player in the NHL to have scored multiple goals in a playoff game and I'd love to see him beat some more records while he's still playing hockey.

I am also biased towards the Penguins' winning due to my love for Super Mario, aka. Mr Lemieux (top picture). Ever since I stumbled upon his hockey card in 1991, back when I was an avid collector, I was slightly obsessed with this extremely talented hockey player from Montreal. It was no surprise to me that he chose to marry a woman named Natalie. I was also not surprised when he was diagnosed with cancer but continued to play hockey. Like Mr. Roberts, Super Mario has suffered many injuries and health related issues but still continued to try his hardest. He has always lived up to his name, which means "the best" in French and is an incredible role model to all athletes.

Let's go Penguins!