My Sunny Day with Marie

Today was a really great day! Although in the morning, the weather wasn’t too nice (grey and a little bit of rain), it did eventually clear up by 1ish. Marie and I had booked appointments together to get our nails done. She needed a gel fill on her nails and I needed a pedicure. There is a new nail salon down the block and we thought we would check it out. Also, it’s a great excuse to get together and spend the afternoon together. Our appointments were at 11 and I have to say, Kathy, the girl who gave me a pedicure did a fantastic job! I haven’t been taking care of my feet lately and they looked pretty bad. But she did an amazing job. I can’t wait to wear open toes : ) My pedicure came up to $37.00 including her tip, not too bad. Marie’s came up to $45 including tip and she was not too happy with her fill. I have to agree, I don’t wear gel nails but I could tell by looking at it that he did a really crappy job.

After our appointments, we headed over to Main Street because I wanted to check out a little furniture store on Main to get a quote on my design. I want a 60” x 60” cubed storage/bookcase unit and I am looking all over the city for someone to build it for me. I went to a place on Grandview a couple of weeks ago and I thought I would have them build it for me but I’ve decided I better get a few different quotes. This little place have some amazing furniture pieces in their store front and on their website. I gave him my idea and my measurements, he told me he’d get back to me in a few days. But he didn’t really ask me for any more details and I wasn’t too impressed with that. Also when I asked him about a simple unfinished platform bed, just a frame with legs, he quoted me around $500. WOW, is he CRAZY? For a simple UNFINISHED frame and legs?? I don’t think so….. the guy on Grandview quoted me $248 and that is with a dark finish! After that, I decided I would probably not be going back to him. As we were walking back to the car, we stopped at a local art gallery and checked out some of the local artist pieces. A little bit on the more expensive side and nothing really impressed me in there.

On to Broadway Street for lunch and another furniture quote at Shilo Living. We decided to make our first stop a lunch stop at the Congee & Noodle House. Congee is always yummy on a day like today. Def. warmed up our tummies :) After our lunch, we started to head over to Shilo Living but noticed J&M Coin and Jewellery Ltd right next to the congee house. The beautiful soltaire in the display window lured us in. We looked at the engagement rings and I didn’t think it would ever happen but I found 2 engagement rings that I am in love with. I have been in many jewellery stores but can never seem to find one that I wanted or loved. The SA was very helpful in explaining the details on each ring. Apparently, they do not work on commission and J&M own the property the building is on, therefore lowering the mark ups and costs to the consumer. I could not believe that both rings were under $950.00. Now I just have to decide on which engagement ring I want. Ring No. 1 - diamonds .34 cts in total weight, 3 or 4 rows of diamonds, a cathedral setting above the rows, this design can only hold a princess cut diamond solatire, in 18k white gold. Ring No. 2 - .24 cts total weight, a thinner cathedral style with engravings accented with diamond baguettes also in 18K white gold, this one can hold either a round or princess cut diamond. I will most def. get R to see these rings so he can give me his opinion even though I am pretty sure he will go with Ring No. 2 because of the delicate features on the ring. After trying on all the lovely engagement rings, we headed over to Shilo Living. The SA at Shilo was FANTASTIC! She spent a good 20 – 25 minutes with me, going over my design and idea of what I am looking for. She drew up a sketch and gave me plenty of options. I think I will be making my purchase at Shilo. At first, I was a bit skeptical about getting them to quote me a piece because their style is very country. I’m looking for something modern, clean and simple. No little drawers or ornaments or mouldings. But she really understood what I wanted and has given me a few options on how to go about this piece. I am looking forward in hearing from her!

After my errands (getting quotes on my future furniture piece), it was Marie’s turn so we headed over to West Granville Street. Marie was looking for a pair of black pumps to go with her dresses/skirts and business attire. She had done some shopping downtown and picked up a pair of brown pumps but the were too small and she really could not walk in them. She did find a pair of black pumps in a store downtown but they did not have her size so they told her to check out their West Granville store. When she showed me the pumps she picked out, I had to tell her in my opinion, those were not the PERFECT little black pumps. The ones she picked up were BCBG shoes and yes, they were black and with a little heel but they had a silver buckle across the front and stiching all around the shoe. I told her she needed to go with a simple, cleanline, black pumps with no buckes or stitching. The shoes she picked out were cute but too casual for business or dress attire. I gave her a pair of little black pumps also made by BCBG and told her she should buy something like that. She wanted something with a buckle because she figures a plain black shoe was boring but I told her if she was looking in purchasing only one pair of black pumps, she has to consider the following: a pointed toe, at least ½ or 1” heel, simple, cleanlined, no buckles or stitching. This is a girl who works as a courier so she never dresses up during the work week, she is limited in her wardrobe and shoes. She also does not want to buy more than one pair of black shoes. So I finally broke her and she agreed to pick up the pair I choose. They are very cute. After walking around West Granville, we decided to have a tea break and stopped by T on Broadway. We chit chatted for a bit and after overhearing a lady mention her parking meter, we realized our parking was about to expire! We rushed back to the car, luckily no parking ticket and decided to call it a day of shopping (for Kay and I anyways). Marie was going to head downtown to meet her friend, S for dinner and some more shopping! What a day! Marie is def. my sunshine on my grey cloudy rainy day! She is way too much fun and our conversations are so funny. She is my feel good friend and I hope that everyone has one of her because of her, I’ve forgotten all about the awful week I had……