Heaven, thy name is Elmwood

Back in March when our frozen embryo transfer failed, my wonderful friends banded together and got me a lovely gift card to one of the swankiest spas Toronto has to offer...Elmwood. www.elmwoodspa.ca

Ah, Elmwood.

Say it with me, and you'll feel instant relaxation.

Elllllmmmmmmwooooooddddd.

Felt good, huh? Yeah. I know.

So yeah, got the gift card in March and decided it was time to put it to good use while I can really really enjoy it.

I roped SIL into joining me, and so yesterday at 2pm we arrived at our urban oasis and instantly were transported to a blissful state of mind that lasted a luxurious two and a half hours.


Huge fluffy robes, a fantastic whirlpool in mosaic tiles in every shade of blue, chandeliers everywhere, dressing tables with blow dryers, straighteners, every kind of cream imaginable, cranberry/orange flavoured water, peppermint green tea - and the most incredible massage a girl could ask for.

A hugely indulgent afternoon, well enjoyed.

Upon leaving we even managed to procure some incredible handmade soaps...one a cranberry and the other almond and buttermilk.

It's amazing that soap could make me that happy. Talk about the icing on the cake.

If you have the time and the resources, I highly recommend that you splurge and treat yourself to the wonders of Elmwood at least once in your life. Preferably more, much much more, if possible.

Thanks again to my fantastic girlfriends for making it all possible. I left there feeling relaxed and carefree. And these days - that's a pretty incredible feat.

And that's your daily dash. How's your diva doin?

Dash of Diva gets a makeover!

Yep, it's time. It really is. The daily dash was neither daily nor dashing anymore, so I decided to put her under the digital knife and up came what you see before you now. I hope you like it!

A little easier font to read (I hope), nice concise links to other blogs and followers, and a kick ass graphic at the top that the saver in me fell in love with - what more could you want?

I hope you like it just as much as I do. Or, well, even just a little bit. Liking it a little bit would suit me just fine.

I miss shopping - I really do - so I can now live vicariously through the sassiness of the exceedingly svelte diva in the upper right hand corner. Note her multiple pink bags, and the fact that they all say sale or 50/70/80% off. That's my kinda gal.

And her purse is kinda cute too.

So there you go. A new look for the daily dash. Me likey.

As always, if you'd like your blog added to my list, feel free to leave a comment with the addy or send me an email at jshtoronto@yahoo.ca.

Toodles!

And that's your new and improved daily dash. How's your diva doin'?

The gems of summer television

So here we are, smack dab in the middle of summer. These are the (supposed) days of sunshine, picnics, holidays, running in sprinklers, lemonade...and crap television. Because you're supposed to be on holidays, running in sprinklers and picnicking while drinking lemonade during the summer. Not stuck inside watching television.

But alas - this summer, the weather is what's crap and the television is actually not that bad. I thank two things - HBO and Big Brother.

First, I love Big Brother. Yep, I do. I'll admit it. Yet another one of my guilty pleasures. I love rooting for the underdogs and am always fascinated at how fickle I can be from week to week, my allegiances shifting from person to person faster than I ever would have thought possible. I try not to read the spoiler sites, but sometimes I can't help it.

And I find myself yelling at the television more than once a week.

Now THAT'S good tv.

Then there's HBO. Thanks to this brilliant network, I have not one, not two, but three incredible shows to enjoy each week. Top of the list would have to be True Blood. Sundays at 9 have never been the same.

We got hooked a bit slower than normal. After seeing something about the show somewhere online, I looked it up and Hubs and I were instantly addicted. And for Hubs, that's a huge flippin deal, 'cause that guy pretty much hates tv. But True Blood - that shit is golden for us both.

I love the whole vampire thing, the southern gentleman thing, the intrigue, the different characters, and the Eric. Har. He's just every kind of fine.

Then there's Nurse Jackie. Edie Falco as a drug addicted nurse having an affair while her hubby waits for her at home. Great characters, snappy dialogue, and some laugh out loud moments. Another reason to look forward to Monday nights.

And finally, there's Hung. How could you not love a show like this? Gotta dig the role reversals - female pimp and male ho - and all the family dynamics. You never know where it's going to go from one episode to the other. And through it all, you're just sitting there, kinda waiting for him to get caught. We shall see!

So if you have HBO or TMN On Demand, I highly recommend checking out these three shows. True Blood is in season two, but Hung and Nurse Jackie (which I think is actually a Showtime show, not HBO now that I think about it) are new this year so it doesn't take long to catch up.

Happy summer tv watching! Hope you're loving these shows as much as I am!!

And that's your daily dash. How's your diva doin'?

PS - as I mentioned in my last post, I've started a parallel blog for my IVF journey. If you're interested, here's the link. http://seedsininfertilesoil.blogspot.com