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Swanking It Up at Lululemon Lab with Emme

July 26, 2010 By Brie 4 Comments

The last time Emme called me out for a real mission, it was to head up Grouse Mountain in the middle of the night to catch an early morning sunrise while snowshoeing uphill.  I have to say, she more than made up for that by inviting me to check out the line of clothes at Lululemon Lab.  I didn’t even know this place existed! I am a lover of lulu and think their clothes feel so great that I feel uncomfortable when I take them off.  I have been dreaming about everyday clothes making me this happy and Emme brought me to just the place.  On this special evening we were allowed to shop with a glass of wine (thinking of starting a petition to make this acceptable in stores all the time), and with my first item I proclaimed myself a Beverly Hills girl.

Beverley Hills or Lululemon Lab Vancouver?

Swanky lululemon means I can look like a diva when I leave the house instead of a mom who made sure her kids looked good, but ran out of time for herself.  The designers, who work on site, made us feel pretty great about ourselves as we headed into the fitting rooms to create some new looks.  This is more than I can say for my friend Emme, who told me I remind her of an elf!  In her defense, she claims she meant an elf of the sexy variety, so I suppose I will let her off the hook.  She also discovered my belly piercing for the first time and got quite distracted.  After much bumbling around, we put something together.

Our new backs, lulu style

Of course, Emme and I kept everyone late because we just had to try everything.  I realized we were in trouble when we found out they design new items every two weeks.  Guess who will be seeing more of us?!

Playing Dress-up at Lulu

We didn’t overstay our welcome though, because we still got our goodie bags on the way out!  Little did I know, more adventure was in store.  There was a piece of fabric in our bags that we had no idea what to do with.

A Curious Gift

I spent quite some creative thinking time when I got home and….this is what I did with mine Emme!  What did you do with yours?

Lulu Wrap Designs

Filed Under: All the Gossip, Brie Mason, Events, Fashionably Yours, Just for Kicks, My Buds, Vancouver Events Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Who’s Watching?

February 28, 2010 By Brie 3 Comments

I spent nearly an hour with a huge crowd watching a man on a strange unicycle, waiting for something really big to happen.  There was so much build up going on that it was like watching a bad movie where you feel you have to stick it out to the end.  Meanwhile, I realized we were all missing the Olympics.  Was this really more interesting?

The engaging power of a unicycle

We decided to leave and never saw the big finish.  As we walked around, I started to think about all the things people are doing other than watching the games.  Myself included, they are spending hours standing in line.  The day before, I spent nearly 3 hours waiting to get into the Atlantic Canada House for their Kitchen Party.  It was well worth it and I did make some new friends whom I’ll never see again, but it was 3 hours spent waiting, rather than watching.

Standing in Line-The new Olympic sport

There were hundreds of people that unicycle night drinking hot chocolate and ice skating at Robson Square.  Even more were just sitting on the steps watching dancers perform.  There were crowds waiting for balloon animals and my favourite all time non-game watching activity….the rice cracker maker!  This machine would twirl around and shoot rice crackers out like fire works.

A delicious distraction

Wow

There were so many people just roaming the streets trying to be a part of the action.  As I’ve had a chance to reflect on this revelation, I’ve realized that I have watched less of the Olympic games than ever before in my life because I live in the city that is hosting them.  I have wanted to be with all the other excited people from Canada and all around the world and that has led me to downtown or surrounding areas where I have been nowhere near a television, but captivated by spirit.  I have to admit, that as thrilled as I am for the amount of medals Canada is winning, I am most proud of the fact that I got picked up while filling up with gas the other day and invited out to party with some out of town boys!  Of course, as a mom and wife I had to pretend I was unfortunately busy, but knowing you’ve still got what it takes is worth gold.  I do enjoy watching our athletes, but given the chance, I can see how some might  pick this alien dance party instead.
Alien dance party

Filed Under: All the Gossip, Brie Mason, Olympics, Vancouver Events Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , ,

Vancouver Is Waking Up!

February 22, 2010 By Brie Leave a Comment

Ok, so I may have just slept the entire day away, but my thoughts today are centered on the unusually lively spirits of Vancouver locals.  When I responded to the ‘Team Head Up Grouse In The Middle Of The Night Outing’ call from Emme, I thought we would be struggling to find anyone interested in having fun with us.  That was not the case!  At 3:00am, there were close to 100 people at the base of the mountain waiting in a long line, and despite the fact that the coffee shop was closed, none of them were grumpy!  People were even smiling and cheering loudly for the drunk party mountaineers as they watched them unload from the gondola.  Usually, I can’t even get a smile from Vancouverites when I say hello on the street!  I was amused by the different outfits I saw that would normally be considered too silly to wear in public.

Loving the Outfits!

Our experience on the top was even better.  Spontaneous kisses for Emme, stories from unknown great athletes, Canadian flag cape-wearing skaters, and free expert snow tips for our own novice Mario were some of our most pleasant surprises. We even got our snowshoe guide to do ridiculous yoga poses on top of the mountain (Well, our ‘top’ was only half way since Emme kept slipping and giggling, my water bottle kept falling out of my pocket and rolling way back down, and Mario was just trying to breath.)  Everyone we met was more than willing to participate in our shenanigans and held back nothing in the quest for a good time.

An Unexpected Kiss

I’ve noticed this new Vancouver spirit spilling over to my regular daily interactions at the kids’ school, stores, banks and the lines I’ve been standing in to party at the different Olympic houses.  I’ve made more instant friends this week than in my entire time living here.  Perhaps  it’s the infectious attitudes of our international visitors, or maybe it’s because we all feel united as Canadians fired up to win, but whatever it is, I hope it lasts.  Please keep the love alive Vancouver, and don’t go back to sleep!

Namaste

Filed Under: All the Gossip, Brie Mason, Olympics, Vancouver Events Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Hockey Night in Canada

February 14, 2010 By Brie 3 Comments

Living in Vancouver, I am determined to make the most of the Olympic experience.  My first attempt failed as I was going to explore the venues with a girlfriend and her husband said she couldn’t go.  He pretended to be worried about her and all the crowds, but then admitted to just being jealous that he would have to stay at home.  I am so glad that my relationship is not like that!

Last night I did up the Olympics family style with tickets to Team Canada women’s hockey!  The kids started by colouring our windows (thanks to Crayola Window Writers), and progressed to their faces with left over Halloween make-up.  I was worried when I found out they were in front of the mirror doing this themselves, but they looked amazing and their spirit was contagious! My husband and I put a few Canada tattoos on our faces and got all decked up in red and white.  Olympic Spirit-Crayola Window Writers

As we headed out on the sea bus we got a lot of looks, smiles and cheers. When we arrived at Canada Hockey Place, we blended in with the thousands of other people.  Even though we were such obedient spectators and arrived at our event two and a half hours early, we still had to endure a long security line up.  Once inside, we were rewarded for being early with freedom to walk right down to the ice and take photos.  We could walk around, explore and shop without big line ups.  I was really impressed that our kids realized the magnitude of their experience.  They kept everything, even snack receipts to “save for forever.”
Olympic security line ups

I was really moved by the energy of the crowd.  I was really looking forward to singing the National Anthem because I knew it would be the loudest most passionate rendition of my life, but to my dismay, the game started without it!  I was sad for a few minutes and had to get over myself so I could get into the game.  Wow, what a game it was!  Team Canada kept scoring and scoring and scoring!  Of course, I was impressed with stick handling, shots on goal and what not, but I was mainly caught up in the emotions of the whole night.  There are a few moments that I will never forget.  Every time the Slovakian team goalie would make a big save, the crowd of Canadians would applaud.  Only in Canada would we cheer for the other team.  They did a jumbotron interview with the 5 SVK fans in the whole building and the crowd went wild!  I have never been so proud to be Canadian. As the team Slovakia players left the ice, they raised their hands to clap for the crowd and we all stood up and gave them a huge send off-screaming, clanging our cowbells, waving our flags, and jumping up and down like they were our own.  I have to admit….I did shed a tear or two.

After the game we decided to explore downtown instead of going straight home.  We hit up the Live City Vancouver opening night and walked blocks and blocks to see the Olympic flame.  My conclusion to all of this?  A night out with the kids can be just as rewarding and fun as a night out with friends.  Actually, their amazement at everything probably made this an even better experience.

Filed Under: All the Gossip, Brie Mason, Olympics, Vancouver Events Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Hi! I’m Brie!

February 13, 2010 By Brie 1 Comment

My name is Brie Mason and I am just getting to know VanCity.  I am in love with the beauty of the land.  I have two children who have never been happier, given the woods, the water, and mountains.  In the heart of the city though, we have found the locals to be a little stingy with their outward joy.  Emme Rogers was the first truly genuinely smiling face I saw in Vancouver.  To me, her smile was jumping off her face and she was actually glowing.  Now that I know her even better, I am an advocate for everyone to have her sense of humour and joy for life.

I am a mom of two, trying to have the fun I wasn’t allowed to have when I was the child.  When we were young all we wanted to do was go out, be with our friends, have sleepovers, go to the mall and have fun.  What happens when we become adults who can make those decisions for ourselves…?  We become stuffy prudish people who say, “Oh…I can’t possibly do that…I’m grown up now.”  Or how about this one, “A sleepover with the girls? Maybe I’ll come over but then I should really go home and not spend the night.”  One of my girlfriends recently had a poker night for her birthday and my husband and I got into character and dressed up.  A different friend of mine looking at our pictures the next day said, “Oh my!  You dressed up for a poker night?!  You are so silly!” Seriously, can’t a family oriented, loving dedicated mom still have a little fun?

Poker Night

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