There is something so charming about being in a place where you don’t understand the language very well. At least I think so. Between the incredible cuisine, the language and the stunning architecture, it felt like a little slice of Europe.

Last week Alex and I took a short road trip to meet with clients (to score you more awesome products of course!) and scout for locations for an upcoming episode of our new show.


Everyone has their own style of traveling and Alex and I are lucky that ours jive. We love to walk the city. We get a hotel located in the heart of the action and walk absolutely everywhere. We visited with some of my favorite beauty brands and clothing retailers in the mornings and spent the afternoons walking the city. That often meant at least 4 hours of walking a day, which was great for exercise and getting a feel for the city. We sat at outdoor cafés, enjoyed takeout lunches from Beniamino & co sitting on the grass at the waterfront or got rich cappuccinos to go from MBCo.




We carefully researched every restaurant we went to in advance to ensure we were trying the good spots. Le Cartet, Pane E Vino and Vallier did not disappoint. Salmon tartare infused with sesame oil, goat cheese encrusted with almonds and figs, lobster coleslaw or a veggie burger with a grilled Portobello mushroom in lieu of a patty served with brie arugula and a grilled beefstake tomato were some of my favorites.


One objective I had for our trip was to purchase one "must have" quality item from Montreal. Typically when I travel I get caught up in vacation logic. Vacation logic says “Oh you only live once. Buy it anyway!” or “This dress is soooo Italy/New York/London Ontario” which leads to a bunch of poor purchases I often regret before my bags are unpacked. This time was going to be different.


Originally I hoped to find a bag but after perusing Ogilvy and Holt Renfrew I realized my dream of finding the perfect bag for under $300 was completely unrealistic.


Not willing to settle for a shoe store special, I put that search on hold and hunted for a sweater wrap for the cooler evenings that I could wear into the fall. This may not seem like a very exciting “must have” item, but what I found in BCBG is without a doubt. It’s hard to find a stylish wrap that looks equally good with jeans or a dress. Pashminas are great but don’t really cover your arms. Wrap sweaters can look dowdy or old man-ish.


Made of silk and cashmere, this versatile cardi wrap sweater is excellent quality and can be worn in a number of ways. This would be what my stylist friend Giselle calls an “Investment Buy”, which is something you will wear often that is good quality and will last.

Another thing that really makes Montreal stand out is the impressive architecture. Modern bold shapes blend seamlessly with historic buildings. Interiors are sleek and polished, playing with space and light and contrasting textures. Le Locale is a restaurant that embodied the kind of high style restaurants that are commonplace in Montreal and was visually one of the best. It’s just too bad they forgot our food…


Since when I travel I review absolutely everything, I also decided to risk a haircut. I did this in San Diego and was pleased with the results. My last few Toronto haircuts have been disappointing and I’ve had more bad hair days than good so this was the perfect time to try something new. Some local friends recommended a cut from Pal over at Spa McGill. Pal took more hair off my head than I knew I had and yet I still walked out with long hair. I have received more compliments on my hair with this cut than in a long time and the best part is that styling is now a breeze. Official review here!



What will keep me coming back to Montreal is the joie de vivre. I have never met so many happy or helpful people. It is a big city vibe with a small town feel: no one is too busy or too important to smile or say hello and they all look damn good while doing it. Je suis en amour.

What are your favorite places in Montreal?