Modern Mix Monday – Lickerish Restaurant and Lounge

Looking for something to do? Every Monday morning, we present to you “Modern Mix Monday”, a brief but link-filled one-liner review of our past weekend loaded with suggestions to inspire you for your next!

I went to Lickerish Restaurant and Lounge (903 Davie Street) not once, but twice, this past weekend. It’s a small, two-floor restaurant with a tasty selection of contemporary tapas and drinks. When I went on Saturday afternoon, the patio seating was great for people-watching along Davie Street. Beer on tap and highballs were on special for less than $5. I also ordered a small dish of crunchy spring rolls with a creamy mashed potatoes with a red pepper and spinach filling for $8. I would recommend Lickerish as a convenient predrinking location, for an afternoon beer or an evening snack. Regardless, they need to step up on their marketing efforts as they “just ran out” of business cards when I went on Friday night, their website is still under construction…and there were only four people in the entire restaurant when we went on Saturday afternoon. Perhaps this would be a good time to check out Lickerish before it gets too mainstream and busy.

SPEND ON TREND – on this weekend (Sept. 5th to 7th)

This entry is co-authored by Miranda Sam of Style By Fire and Vanessa Choot, Editor-in-Chief, of Modern Mix Vancouver with photographs by Grace Lau

Leather-bound notebooks by Fiveleft Leather

Spend on Trend is a fashion and jewelry trade show featuring Canadian designers. The show is run by Jody Phillips, who wore a kimono style meets Vancouver asymmetrical pattern top by TOGS. Like Jody, you too can support local designers! Spend on Trend runs until Sunday, September the 7th. Some of the stand out designer booths include:

• Catalyst Reaction – Leather cuffs and belts imprinted with silkscreened designs, co-owner Kate Bachmeier describes her accessories as an eclectic mix of nature and urban street.
• Fiveleft Leather – Beautiful leather bags, wallets, and more by Lincoln Heller. Clasps are made from reclaimed hood ornaments and bike spokes.
• Shi – Stained glass Chinese & Indian silk pendants, hand made in Victoria. Designer Cory Judge describes them as pieces, “encased in a moment in time.”
• Tala – Delicate gold jewelry designs by Bahar Taheri that’s classic enough to be worn through the day but stylish enough to transition into the night.
• Toodlebunny – You can expect only the best from designer Trudy Wynans. She’s so meticulous, she bubble wraps each piece in individual containers, and packs them “Jenga style”.

Pendants by Shi Studio

There’s still time for you to meet the designers of these great Canadian brands and check out their goodies at Spend on Trend this weekend from September 5th to 7th at Scotiabank Dance Centre (677 Davie Street). Times are as follows:

September 6th: 10am to 9pm
September 7th: 11am to 6pm

Stay tuned until next week for a full review of Spend on Trend and lots more photos from the event!

Blubird – new boutique on Alberni and Burrard

Blubird, the contemporary boutique of Boboli, is having its grand opening weekend!  Located on 1055 Alberni Street in downtown, Vancouver, on the same block as Betsey Johnson, it was very convenient for me to check it out on grand opening day Friday August 15th on my way home from work.  

I was originally drawn to this store because of its name.  I absolutely adore anything to do with bird silhouettes and I was pleased to discover several items of Blubird branded in-house clothing lines.  (They even had branded pens, waterbottles and bottled water splashed with their logo).

In terms of clothing, I had my eye on a very staple, cotton zip-up hoodie (think TNA) with a contrasting hood lining. Dark grey with fuchsia, light grey with lime…all with Blubird scribbled on on hood and a birdie logo on the sleeve.  Other young, hip, fresh but not outrageous items included neon colored pashminas – light enough for late summer, but colorful enough to stand out in the fall.  Other brands included Vince, Juicy, Earnest Sewn and an assortment of Hello Kitty motifs on handbags and other clothing and accessories.  

Below are some photos of the store I took:

 

 

I would almost describe Blubird’s store design as a mini Holt Renfrew; with its white furniture, neatly hung clothing, stylish mannequins, uniquely geometric shelves and even a Stila cosmetics counter!

Absolut Vodka – Mango

I bought a bottle of Absolut Vodka (actually my friend from Belgium bought it, but that’s another story) last month without realizing how new the flavor was to Canada until I read a short blurb about it in Vancouver Magazine.

Canadians love vodka – as long as it’s mixed.  So the way is paved for Absolut Mango.  Already a hit in Brazil, it arrive[d] here in May, bringing the tropics north just in time for summer.  No need for a degree in mixology; just combine with pineapple, lime, or even apple juice.

We were not so classy with this pineapple, lime and apple juice business. We bought a carton of Five Alive and Sugar Free 7-up/Sprite from the aforementioned open-until-midnight IGA (Ten Things About Living in Downtown, Vancouver) and mixed it the carton and a waterbottle.  Then we went for dinner at Lucy Mae Brown (862 Richards Street) with patio seating but not much of a view and then headed for a Wednesday night out at the popular Irish pub/club/bar Celli’s (670 Smite Street).

There you go.  A new drink, a late-night groccery store, a restaurant and a nightlife venue all mentioned in one entry.  Happy Weekend!

Plen+y – online summer sale starts Thursday July 31st

One of my favorite stores, Plen+y, is having an online sale on their spring and summer merchandise with free shipping on orders over $150. Your discount will automatically appear in the cart. My favorite is their in-house brand Propaganda with stylish but not too flashy and not overly expensive clothing items. It’s a really good store to get clothing basics at – yet there’s always something different/special/unique about their items. For example, I received a brown Propaganda tank top for Christmas one year – but it had lacy straps and pearl buttons on the front. And this other time, I bought a very plain dark blue Propaganda winter coat (strangely, they gave me a 10% discount off it because I liked it so much…) but what made it special was the gorgeous mint green lining on the inside. Anyway, check out the online sale – maybe you’ll find a good deal.

For other Plen+y store locations, check out Robson Street, Richmond Centre or the corner of Broadway and Mcdonald.

**Enter MMV’s first contest SHEAR GENIUS. Application deadline August 3rd.

TEN things about living in Downtown, Vancouver

For the past month, I have been subleasing my friend’s apartment on Robson and Thurlow. The recently-renovated, small but open-spaced one bedroom + den apartment with hardwood floors and ikea furniture is the perfect Young Urban Professional housing quarters. Now that my month is almost over, below is a tribute to 10 great things I would like to say about living in downtown, Vancouver:

1. I love how I can conveniently sit on the Vancouver Art Gallery steps without going out of my way
2. Fireworks are more impressive with a top notch, front row view from English Bay (which is within walking distance)
3. When you walk to work, there is no hassle in dealing with rush hour traffic and morning parking
4. I love the “wow” reaction you get when telling people you live on Robson Street
5. Take advantage of the IGA on Burrard and Smithe for late-night grocery runs (open until midnight)
6. I like having the ability to be spontaneous and drop by unexpectedly to say hi – because I was “just in the neighbourhood” 
7. The money saved on cab rides home is worth the downtown rent
8. Its insightful making friends with street magicians and being there regularly for his moral support
9. Living next to two Starbucks means I’ll be one of the first to know about new drinks and promotions – information which will ultimately be passed on to YOU, my readers ;)
10.  As rainy as people say Vancouver is, I haven’t used my umbrella the whole month of July…until today

**Enter MMV’s first contest SHEAR GENIUS.  Application deadline August 3rd.

LUSH Cosmetics – Retro Party (July 5th & 6th)

Lush Cosmetics, known for its fresh handmade bath products and commitment to animal-free testing, is having a “Retro Party” at various Vancouver locations (Metrotown, Robson and West 4th Avenue) this weekend featuring their most popular discontinued products, giveaways and cocktail hour. It’s free to drop by and the event is from 12 noon to 5pm. 

Liz Chapman, the PR person at Lush sent me additional information on this event:

Have you ever had a LUSH product you loved and lost?  Celebrate the return of your favourite discontinued LUSH products with Retro LUSH!  Get in on the action on July 5 and 6 when your LUSH store will be hosting a fun 1930’s themed soiree, complete with giveaways, cocktail hour, the unveiling of LUSH’s Retro Mystery Box, and a chance to win a “Soap City” valued at $500. 

**CONTEST: In addition, you can also watch a fun film noir in celebrating of the launch of LUSH retro at www.lushtown.com and enter an online contest for your chance to win prizes.

**EDIT: I went to Lush Robson today and there is a contest there where you have to guess the weight of the soap and at the end of the month, the closest guess wins it all!

SUGARLIME – Jewelry Show (June 11th)

The Sugarlime Summer Sparkles & Sangrias Jewerly Show is on Wednesday June 11th at the Fairmont Waterfront Hotel (900 Canada Place Way, 2nd Floor Princess Louisa Suite). This is a FREE event, but by invitation only. However – by reading Modern Mix Vancouver, this is your invitation from me : ). All you need to do is RSVP at events@sugarlime.com and it wouldn’t hurt to mention Modern Mix Vancouver in your email too!  First 25 people in line will receive 15% off their purchases and all guests arriving before 6pm will be entered to win one of three $50 Sugarlime gift certificates!

I went to one of Sugarlime’s jewelry shows two weeks ago at the Metropolitan Hotel in Downtown Vancouver. It consisted of a hotel showroom with tables set up against the walls and each table had a different color theme of jewelry: turquoise, amethyst and quartz beads on gold or silver jewelry available to purchase. Guests were given trays to put their potential jewelry purchaces on. It was quite busy – not overly crowded, but comfortably busy enough to know that Sugarlime has found a niche in the Vancouver fashion scene. In fact, they are expanding to Toronto this year!

This is taken from the media brief I was sent from Sugarlime:

“Some of Sugarlime’s accomplishments include being voted as one of BC’s most successful businesses on a special CTV News segment, designing jewelry for the Presenters’ Gift Bags for the Emmy, Gemini and Leo Awards, and spotting Sugarlime on Sarah McLachlan on an episode of Oprah.”

Drop by anytime from 5pm to 8pm. Complimentary sangria upon arrival. Don’t forget to RSVP and check out their website: http://www.sugarlime.com.

STEVE NASH Sports Club

 

 
Today, I took a tour of the STEVE NASH SPORTS CLUB located at 610 Granville Street in downtown Vancouver. Definitely a state of the art gym with three floors, personal TVs attached on each treadmill, towel service, code-access lockers…it’s open, clean, spacious, modern and just opened its downtown location a year ago.  Its location is so central to the downtown Vancouver businesses – right across the street from Holt Renfrew and Pacific Center.  Lots of corporate members getting in an after-work workout.  As upscale as the Steve Nash Sports Club is, I’m more of a Gold’s Gym girl : )  

So how about prices?  That’s something they don’t list on websites in fear of scaring potential members away.  I was told it’s $150 start-up and $95/month.  STEEP.  I personally don’t think it’s worth it unless: a) you work in downtown and your workplace heavily subsidizes your fitness membership or b) you’re $$loaded$$.  But of course, gym memberships are always negotiable – waive the start-up fee, get a corporate discount, half price start-up if you sign-up with a friend, bonus fitness sessions, etc.

There’s a Jugo Juice on the main floor and they were handing out smoothie samples and free drink coupons too!  Speaking of “free stuff”, I have an extra 7-day trial pass to the Steve Nash Sports Club if anyone wants to pick it up from me in downtown.  Just email me at modernmixvancouver@gmail.com.

**Edit: Okay, so side note.  A trainer at my gym tonight told me that when you’re running on a treadmill, be sure the inclination is at least 1.6% to be at par with running outdoors to take into account the friction of your body weight. 

Republic – 2 Year Anniversary Playlist

, located at 958 Granville Street and an initiative of Donnelly Nightclubs, celebrated their two-year anniversary last night on Tuesday May 27th.  As a celebratory memento, CDs were given out to attendees as a souvenir for the night.  Here is the playlist:

1. Kanye West – Stronger
2. 50 Cen vs. Bob Sinclair – Ayo Hold On
3. Enur ft Natasja – Calabria 08
4. Commodores – Easy Like Sunday Morning (Tittsworth remix)
5. Axwell – Feel The Vibe
6. Kylie Minogue – Wow
7. Tom Novy – Your Body
8. David Guetta – Love Has Gone
9. Discotech – Sweet Apoloize
10. Eric Prydz – Pjanoo
11. Digitalism – Pogo
12. Whitest Boy Alive – Golden Cage (Fred Falke remix)
13. Holy Ghost! – Hold On
14. Estelle ft Kanye West – American Boy
15. Snoop vs The Jets – Sensual Crush
16. M.I.A. – Paper Planes 

Coincidentally, tonight, I was also at  for a networking event through Company of Young Professionals (CYP) and Leaders of Tomorrow (LOT).  I had the pleasure of meeting Paul Stoilen, who is an operating parter of Republic. At the end of the night, we were given promotional bags with a media folder full of information on Donnelly Hospitality Management which is the “creative management company overseeing the marketing and operation of leading edge pubs and nightclubs in downtown Vancouver”.

Just some cool facts about the group from the media folder and press release I was given:
+ DHM owns and operates 9 venues – four clubs, four pubs and a cocktail lounge
+  Wallpaper, an architecture/design magazine, mentions Bar None as one of the best bars to have a drink
+ The Modern was voted as the best new venue in the Clubvibes 2008 nightlife awards
+ Granville Room and Republic were voted in the Westender’s Reader Choice Awards (2008 ) as the place for the best drinks 

Impressive achievements!