Girls' Night Out - The Keg, Sephora and Yaletown

Vancity Girlfriends had a little hiatus with the busyness of life!  Thought it would be nice to share with our readers what we've been up to including our Girl's Night Out dates.  

I had a gift card for the Keg so we decided to meet at The Keg on Alberni Street downtown Vancouver which Carolyn also describes as the Shangrila Keg.  This was the first time I went to this location and I loved the atmosphere.  First we met at the bottom of staircase that led up to the front doors of the restaurant.  The staircase was lined with bamboo on both sides creating a natural and beautiful entrance.  I had made Open Table reservations for 5pm and that's also when the dining room and outdoor patio opened.  It was a beautiful sunny evening so we asked to sit in the elegant patio and dine outdoors.  

Happy Hour was from 3-6pm so we had time to indulge in $6 glasses of wine.  I had the white on tap and Carolyn had the red on tap.  Both were lovely blends that I would return to have again.  It was worth going for an early dinner just to be able to have $6 glass of wine.  

For our meals, we didn't order from the Happy Hour menu but instead had the Keg classic dinners which start with a caesar salad and the steak of your choice comes with grilled vegetables and a side of your choice.  I chose the Top Sirloin (8oz) steak with bernaise sauce and a twice baked potato.  The Keg Classic dinners did not disappoint.  We were both completely satisfied with our meals and the ambiance at The Keg on Alberni in Vancouver.  

After our meal, we walked down Robson Street and stopped at our favorite beauty store, Sephora.  I was looking for a new cleanser and moisturizer and found the Ole Henriksen A Brighter Truth skincare kit with the cleaner, serum, and moisturizer.  The brighter truth has vitamin c to help with the sun spots and age spots which I need so I bought the reasonably priced kit at $42.  It has a light fruity scent that is refreshing so we'll see how I feel after I test it for a month.

Then we continued our journey down Robson Street past the Vancouver Art Gallery where there was a busker playing music on the street.  We were both completely full from dinner so the evening stroll downtown was a way to walk off our dinner.  Since Carolyn needed to travel by the Canada Skytrain Line, we decided to walk to the Roundhouse Yaletown skytrain station.  Just outside the skytrain station we were pleasantly surprised with the Underbrella art exhibit.  Umbrellas in the sky.  It was the perfect way to end our girl's night out.  

Throwback Thursday - River Rock Casino Resort in Richmond, BC

Throwback Thursday to the Girls Weekend at the River Rock Casino Resort in Richmond, BC.  

What is girl's weekend?  Every year a few girlfriends and I go on a girls weekend away instead of celebrating our birthdays with dinners and presents.  We save our money and treat ourselves to a weekend away from our regular daily life and instead take a much needed girls weekend away.

How do we choose our destinations?  It's never easy for the three of us to decide on a place.  It has to be during the weekend from Friday night to Sunday and close enough to return to Vancouver on Sunday.  It needs to have shopping, eating, drinking, spa-ing (luxuriating at the spa), or more drinking.

In 2016 we decided to go to the River Rock Casino in Richmond.  They had Trattoria (highly rated restaurant), the Buffet (which actually was our favorite), casino, Spa Utopia with hot tub and pool access, and shopping at Richmond Center.  It met all of our requirements for a girls weekend away.  

What was our least favorite part of this trip?  Well, I have to admit that I upgraded our room from two queen beds to a suite.  I thought the idea of a suite would be great!  Of course even though no one was smart enough to tell me that this was a bad idea and we should change our room, instead the other girls banned me from ever being in charge of the hotel room for the girls weekend because I would get enough bed.  At least this is one trip we will remember.

What was our favorite part of this trip?  Spa Utopia and the male Registered Massage Therapists who were excellent and after the treatment I had wished that I chose the longer one.  45 minutes was too short.  And The Buffet at the River Rock Casino.  Our timing was perfect so we didn't have to wait long for dinner and were so impressed we returned the next day for the breakfast buffet.  

Take a look at our suite in the Vancity Girlfriends video and you can decide if this is enough space for three?

Our 2017 Girls Weekend away will be in Kelowna, BC coming up in October!  Subscribe to Vancity Girlfriends on YouTube to see what we do in Kelowna.  

Shoppers Beauty Boutique - Favorite Drugstore Products

I've had a Shoppers Optimum card (which is free) for many years now and the points have added up.  Then I discovered that there are special "Spend Your Points" weekends where they give you extra money for your points but it only applies to beauty.  This is when you have to find a Shoppers Beauty Boutique that has all of the different name brand items.  

I had enough points for $100 worth of beauty products so take a look at some of my drugstore favourites that caught my eye and the freebies that came with them since it was bonus time.  

1.  Shiseido Extra Creamy Cleansing Foam - This is a nice gentle cleanser that I like to keep in the shower for my daily cleansing routine.  I love that you only need a small bit to have a nice clean lather.  

The bonus bag came with a cosmetic bag and inside included 5 trial size Shiseido products.  

*Shiseido Glow Enhancing Make Up Primer (10ml)
*Shiseido Ibuki Gentle Cleanser (30ml)
*Shiseido Ibuki Refining Moisturizer (15ml)
*Shiseido Ultimune Power Infusing Concentrate (10ml)
*Shiseido Ultimune Eye Infusing Concentrate (5ml)

2.  Biotherm Aquasource Moisturizer for Dry Skin - I like this daily moisturizer because even though it is for dry skin, it is very light.  

The bonus bag came with a Biotherm blue cosmetics bag with 3 sample products inside.

*Biotherm Aquasource Cocoon 48 hour Hydration Gel (for normal to dry skin and is supposed to keep your skin moisturized even if you break out a sweat) (15ml)
*Biotherm Aquasource Total Eye Revitalizer (3ml)
*Biotherm Life Planton Essence (30ml) - tried a sample of this before which was nice.  I find the full sized Planton products are too expensive.  

Those are two of my favorite drugstore skincare essentials and I love how I only need a little bit for each of them to last a long time, however, that was not enough for my points.  I still had $5 to spend so I decided to splurge and get a new eyeshadow pallette from Smashbox.  Yes, you can buy Smashbox at the Shoppers Beauty Boutique and get Shoppers Optimum points for doing so.

3.  Smashbox Cherry Smoke Eyeshadow Pallette - I love the colours that make your eyes pop and most importantly stay on for the day.  Loving this beauty treat so far.  Here's a Cherry Smoke Tutorial:  https://www.smashbox.com/video/index.tmpl?video=cherrysmokepalette

I've used up all of my Shoppers Optimum points so I'm sure it'll take me a year or two to get enough points for a "Spend Your Points" weekend but maybe I'll get some tips from Vancity Girlfriend Carolyn who says she buys almost everything at Shoppers Drug Mart just for the optimum points.  Even without the free points, it was lots of fun to shop at the beauty boutique.  

Metropolis at Metrotown - 50% Off Sale Items at Banana Republic

Dear Vancity Girlfriends,

This year my theme of the year is "Health & Fitness" so it's quite often that I'll find myself at Metrotown where it is dry and you can walk inside the mall and do window shopping at the same time.  When walked by Banana Republic and looked at the sales signs I was in disbelief.  50% off the already marked down sale price.  Then I went inside to take a look and tried on three different tops.  There's not much left in medium but a LOT of stock if you are a large or xtra large.  From my three tops that I tried on, I fell in love with one.  The last marked price on the top was $30 but when I got to the register to pay for it, the price dropped to $15 because they take 50% off on the sale items.

WOW!  What a steal!  I love the quality of Banana Republic but usually can't afford their regular priced items and their sale items are my "normal" so this SALE is worth window shopping for.  Remember it's "Final Sale" which means no refunds or exchanges.  

Hurry before all the good stuff gets sold!

http://metropolisatmetrotown.com/stores/banana-republic

Surrey Morgan Crossing Restaurant: Famoso Neopolitan Pizzeria

Hello Vancity Girlfriends!

On our summer shopping day, we decided to venture out to South Surrey at Morgan Crossing.  Before an afternoon of shopping you have to get ready with a good meal.  Since Vancity Girlfriend Carolyn LOVES pizza, it's not a surprise that we went to Famoso Neopolitan Pizzeria.

Wood burning oven, fast casual pizzas, fun atmosphere, what more can you ask for.  Now they have over the top service, you will have to ask them to stop serving you ;)  First you have a seat and then you order your pizza and drinks and write them down on a notepad, and then bring up your order to the counter when you're ready.  You don't have to pay at this point.  After you bring up your initial order, then you have servers who bring drinks, food, and can add anything else that you might have missed.

Famoso Trimosa Heaven

Now they have amazing drinks specials!  On Saturday it was $1 off mimosas so we decided to try one of each mimosas - they call this the trimosa.  You get 3 small servings of each of their different mimosas.  You have original with orange juice, raspberry, and blackberry.  WOW!  I discovered that I'm still an original gal so I gave my cassis mimosa to Vancity Girlfriend Carolyn.  

We shared a salad and two pizzas!  They were GREAT!  I loved the service, fun light atmosphere, and fast service.  Couldn't really ask for anything more!  I got my fix of being a server by being able to write on the notepad and even though I almost ran into one of the Famoso servers, she always had a smile on her face and friendly service.  Enough said!  We loved Famoso Neopolitan Pizzeria!  

Famoso White Pizza

Famoso Red Pizza

Famoso Salad

Vancouver Event: Sephora VIB Rouge Event at Pacific Centre

Dear Vancity Girlfriends,

As you know, Carolyn is an avid beauty shopper and she is my go-to person for beauty tips.  We are both members of Sephora's Beauty Insider as it is a free program and they give you freebies on your birthday!  I like that.  

Now when you shop and use your Sephora Beauty Insider card, you get points and if you spend $350 or more in a calendar year, you are a VIB (Very Important Beauty) Rouge member who gets invited to special events.  As a VIB Rouge member, Carolyn invited me a special event at Sephora in Pacific Center, downtown Vancouver.

We went in and signed up, got our names tags and then shopped at Sephora.  It was also the 4x points event and there were cupcakes, snacks, tea and coffee.  Sephora was busier than usual for a Wednesday night because of the event but that's the fun of shopping with others and a different buzzing feeling.  

Of course, we both didn't leave empty handed, in addition to our cosmetic bag freebies, we left with a few new products to try.  That of course is not a surprise!  It was a fun night and I'd go back to another VIB Rouge event.



The free cosmetic bag included the following samples:  
1.  Escada Born in Paradise Eau du Toilette
2.  Buxom Lash Mascara
3.  Make Up Forever HD Blush
4.  Algenist Eye Renewal Balm
5.  Living proof Perfect hair Day styling cream
6.  Clinique high impact mascara
7.  Philosophy Hope in a Jar moisurizer
8.  Benefit Watt's Up highlighter
9.  Black Sephora cosmetic bag








Carolyn's Sephora Buy:  "My go to hydrating primer that I love!  (Good for combination dry skin) and trying out the new instant revitalizing mask from Radical Skincare."  

Maria's Sephora Buy:  "Trying out the Shiseido Ibuki Gentle Cleanser for daily skincare and Two Faced Chocolate Bar eye shadow kit."

Bite Agave Lip Mask

Dear Vancity Girlfriends,

I stopped by Sephora on my way home for my belated birthday present and ended up buying myself a treat on a winter's day.  

I roamed around the store browsing through the aisles and contemplating if I needed to buy anything.  Then in the center of the room were the latest beauty products.  There I spotted Bite's Agave lip mask  It promised smooth and repaired lips.  

This winter my lips have been dry and chapped.  So, I couldn't resist Bite Agave Lip mask to test out the theory that agave can make my chapped lips disappear for the rest of the winter.  Now at $30 a tube, you know it's going to be better than the ordinary dollar chapstick.  It glides on smooth and has a natural feel.  

Til next time,
Vancity Girlfriend Maria

Social Shopper Coupon: Make It! Vancouver The Handmade Revolution

Hello Vancity Girlfriends,
This is a merry time of year with lots of Christmas Craft fairs in Vancouver to choose from.  It's hard to determine which craft fair will give you best bang for your buck so to speak.  It's an event to check out local crafts that may be suitable for your Christmas list but also as something to do with your girlfriends.  I'm a holiday craft fair browser myself.  I like browsing and getting ideas and sometimes if something catches my eye, I may buy.  For the hesitant shopper like myself, the Make It! Vancouver (The Handmade Revolution) is a good craft fair because the ticket is good for the whole weekend.

That's exactly why I'll go on opening day and then I will have until Sunday to decide whether or not to return to pick up any items.  This year the Make It! Vancouver has changed to a larger venue at the PNE Forum so this is quite exciting.  I'm not a big fan of crowds so the PNE will easily have enough space to browse leisurely at the 250 exhibitors.  I have my fingers crossed that they have some food options as well.  I'll let you know in my review after I attend on Thursday night.  

Best deal on tickets is to get the Social Shopper 2 for 1 coupon!  

It's $7 for two 4-day admission to Make It! Vancouver.

Click on "Today's Deal" and scroll down looking at the right hand side for the one for the Make It! fair.  

If that's too complicated you can always go to Make It Vancouver and buy the early bird ticket for $4 each.  You only have a few days left since the fair begins on Thursday!  Come back to see my review of Make It! Vancouver 2013.

 

Vancouver Vlog Night: Cocktails, Dinner and More!

Hello Vancity Girlfriends,
I wanted to share our Vancouver Vlog Night adventures downtown.  First, it started with vlogging and cocktails.  After a long day at work, it is great to sit down to have a drink with friends!  Even better when it's the "Carolyns" special!
Now with the "Carolyns" you have to be careful because it tastes so good you don't even know that there's alcohol in it!  My tastbuds must be a bit off the rockers cause ever guess I made was a wrong one.  So the "Carolyns" does NOT have tequila, vodka, or pineapple juice.  Keep checking our vlog to see when the "Carolyns" cocktail is revealed.  

Then there was a dinner surprise, a night out to Red Robins!  Red Robins is known for their burgers and unlimited fries.  But trust me, they bring enough fries for one.  (No refills needed).  I saw there was a Mediterranean Lamb Burger so I ordered that and Carolyn had her Clucks and Caesar Salad with buffalo sauce.  The burger was healthy with a greek salad inside and a ciabiatta bun but I think I'll stick with their regular hearty beef burgers next time or the clucks and salad.

After dinner, it was off to Pacific Center to go shopping at Sephora (or browsing).  Pacific Center can surprise you!  We walked in and met up with John Frieda who gave us great shampoo and conditioners to try!  WOW!  I heart freebies.  Look at my shocked and happy face! 

Catch our Vancity Girlfriends Vlogs on YouTube.  

Langley Shopping Afternoon and Montanas Cookhouse

Hello Vancity Girlfriends,

Want a quick escape from the city to shop in the big box stores?  Then head out to Langley!  That's what we did for a Sunday shopping spree in Langley, BC.

On Sunday mornings the shopping doesn't start until 11am but Walmart is always open early.  We went there first to get diapers and soap.  And I had my breakfast burrito and mocha to start my morning.  

Then we went off to find more exciting stores to browse in which included Payless Shoes (unfortunately the only winner was Toby with two pairs) and Old Navy.  Old Navy was having an extra 30% off their active wear so that was a good deal (workout shirts at $9 each)!  

Willowbrook Mall was the main attraction with Ricki's women's clothing store!  We both LOVE Rickis.  They were selling off their summer stock at an extra 50% off all of the clearance items.  In addition their fall line up was in full swing.  That means we both found lots that suited our needs and for a real steal of a deal. [I got black dress pants, sleeveless top, short sleeve sweater, short sleeve jacket, and green top for $101.54 including taxes].  



After all of that shopping, we were famished and headed over to Montanas Cookhouse.  It's an all American Cowboy and Cowgirl restaurant.  We decided to get appetizers to share which included deep fried pickles, kapow shrimp, chicken wings, and oven baked antojitos.  Antojitos were the all around favourite!

Oven baked antojitos

Kapow Shrimp

Deep fried pickles

Double dusted chicken wings

 

Can't get enough of our Sunday Shopping Afternoon?  Visit us on YouTube for Vancity Girlfriend Shopping Afternoon.