Thanks for all of you who’ve followed us through the year! We’ve moved to a different domain, so if you’re interested in learning more about Noor & Melissa’s adventures, check us out at http://2girls2views2ronto.blogspot.com/
Have a lovely day!
Hello again!
Mel here. So, I’m back into rage running again…in full force. I’ve decided that the best way to end a day no matter how late I’m at work is with a rage run on the tready or the elliptical. I’m totally the girl who blasts music and sings along as I run…even sometimes dancing like a fool during the cool down (trying my best not to fall off the tready, of course). Today I realized that my rage run playlist has been the same for the past year. I literally listen to the same ten songs everyday during the run. I find it so interesting because, obviously, the type of music you listen to regardless of what you do, but especially during a work out is what motivates you to move and be active. That said, one would think that listening to the exact same music every single day for a whole year would make a run seem more like a boring routine, and potentially less fun. Yet, for me, my playlist still pushes me to run that next kilometre.
So you’re probably wondering what my rage run playlist is, right? Drum roll, please… I listen to the ‘No Apologies’ cd from Trapt. Let me tell you, rock and roll gets you pumped like no other!
My fave song? Get Up. Give it a listen here. (tip: you may want to turn down your volume for the first few beats)
So, what type of music motivates you to get your fitness on? Any tips for a new playlist?
-Mel
Hello hello, Melissa here…
For those of you who know me, it’s no secret that I am a big fan of shopping. I blame my family for that — growing up, whenever any of my friends went on vacation, their families would end up hiking or camping or rafting down the Chattahoochee. What did my family do? We definitely visited a number of fun cities…but instead of being adventurous, we chose to spend our vacays at the nearest malls and stores, shopping the day away. I’m not certain if this is a cultural thing or if it’s just my insane family, but I do know that the Philippines has some of the most amazing malls. These malls are MASSIVE with stores galore, not to mention ice rinks and other crazy things in them. Just a hunch, but I believe that because it’s so utterly hot in the homeland, building massive malls with stores upon stores was a great way to keep everyone cool (hello central air) but also help the local economy. Those are my own theories though, but I’m pretty sure most Filipino families end up shopping on their vacations. Next time you’re in a different city and find yourself at the mall, look around and see if the people crazily shopping for deals around you are Filipino…cuz I’m thinking they will be 95% of the time. And if you’re anywhere near Atlanta, Laguna Beach or Brooklyn — chances are you’re encountering my crazy family shopping. I choose to believe that I’m just contributing to the local economy wherever I visit. I’m utterly altruistic that way!
Anyway, for me, shopping isn’t just retail therapy, it basically also feeds my obsession. I have a mild case of dress obsession. Sad but true. In any given week, I feel like at least 2-3 dress purchases are made. I’m not even kidding. I literally bought 4 dresses last week alone — and I only went to stores on 2 days of last week. EEEK! One of the major downfalls of living so close to all the amazing stores on Bloor Street means that I have to walk by them twice a day — luckily my early morning walk to work means that most of the stores are still closed, but you best believe the night time walk yields some major goodies! Just take a look at just the DRESS side of my closet.
If you’ll notice, all of the dresses are crammed together in an utter state of disarray — and many of the dresses still have their tags on them because I simply don’t have enough occasions to wear all of my purchases. Not that I won’t find a perfect time and place for each of these fabulous finds, but I may just need to be a little patient.
Of my most recent purchases, I’m super proud that two of them were under $30 each. Take a look at this sparkle sensation dress that I recently acquired from Express, which I found at Square One in Mississauga. Who knew that Express was even open in Canada? It looks much less exciting on the hanger, but trust me it’s so much fun on! It has a deep v in the back, and you just can’t go wrong with sequins! Oh, also…this dress was on sale for $20 from $100. Thank you!
My most favourite fashion find in the past couple of weeks is this gorgeous French Connection dress that I found at…GASP…Winners! I’m not really a big fan of digging through racks and racks of clothes, but I just happened upon this one and fell in love at first sight. 
Ok, so I know most people may be turned off by the fringe, but that’s what absolutely made me fall in love with it! Something about doing a little shimmy and all of the fringe dancing around too made me covet it even more. And you can imagine the fitting room experience where I was practically rocking out in front of the mirror to make the fringe shake. Sadly, when I first picked this puppy up there was no price tag except the original marking at $298. FAINT. Because they couldn’t find a similar dress, the folks at Winners used another French Connection dress to price it — marking it at $24.99. HOLLER!!!!!!! STEAL OF A DEAL.
I absolutely cannot wait until I can wear these two dresses out and about in the city. Hopefully the weather stays mild enough for some fabulous nights out!
Until then, I’m sure you can catch me trolling the stores on Bloor Street for my next dress purchase.
What do you think of my dress obsession?
-Mel
Tuesday Tunes from 2girls
Mel’s Tune: “Never Again” by Kelly Clarkson
…fuels the rage running for sureeeee
Tuesday Tunes from 2girls
Mel’s Tune: “Good to You” by Mariana’s Trench feat. Jessica Lee
…happy Valentine’s Day, lovers <3
Tuesday Tunes from 2girls
Noor’s Tune: “I Wanna Dance With Somebody” by Whitney Houston
Because this is the first tape our parents bought my sister and I when we first moved to Canada. We danced around our living room all day and night listening to Whitney. RIP <3
Hi y’all,
It’s been a while since I’ve posted, but what better way to get back into the swing of posting, than through writing about my recent trip to Montreal…and how my friend Stephanie and I ate our way through the weekend to celebrate her birthday.
Admittedly, upon arrival we dropped off all our belongings and began shopping on St. Catherine, however we did stumble upon a precious little place called the Deville Diner - best decor ever, with chandeliers and a hot pink and black colour palette.
Best of all, they had the most enormous burgers of all time. I literally had to knife and fork it, leaving behind probably 3/4 of the ginormousness.
Even Steph, who is a vegetarian, found a burger that she could enjoy….except it was clearly very shocking how big her burger ended up being. It even turned some heads as the waitress walked it over.
After lunch we decided to walk off the insanitory burgers we consumed and continue our shopping excursion. Our goal for the evening was to find a fun Italian restaurant and consulted a number of our friends as well as the concierge at our hotel. Best moment ever was my trying to make reservations for a restaurant, only having accidentally dialed the concierge…when I said “Hi, I’d like to make reservations…” it was answered with…”um….for the hotel??”. But, we finally figured out how to work the telephone and made reservations at a fun Italian place on Crescent Street called Weinstein & Gavinos.
Instead of just olive oil, they gave us the best pesto ever. It was hard not to lick the plate clean! You can select your own pasta and sauce choices, so I went for tortellini with a mushroom sauce….delish!
Our adventures took us away from Crescent Street the rest of the evening and we got a taste of the most delicious martinis at the Wunderbar in the W Hotel.
Our goal for Saturday was to find a delicious Montreal brunch spot and we happened upon Cafeteria on Saint Laurent. Such a fun atmosphere and the funniest waiter, but also some really tasty food.
After some boutique shopping up and down Saint Laurent, we found ourselves craving an afternoon snack — and of course being in Montreal, we had to nosh on some crepes. We headed back down to Juliette et Chocolat, which was highly recommended by my friend Riddhi and we were not disappointed! We had melt-in-your-mouth crepes, and I think I’m going to dream about them for weeks.
And finally, for dinner, we also decided to head somewhere on Saint Laurent because it was so close and convenient to our hotel. From the same owners of Cavalli, we decided upon Wood 35 for dinner. More like a club than a restaurant, it had club beats and sofa seats, but the food was to die for. I had the best braised short ribs EVER and Steph and I shared some calamari, which was so fresh you would swear they just jumped out of the ocean.
Our last day in Montreal, we quickly stopped for some brunch at Maurizio, however we didn’t take any photos.
All in all, a fabulous and successful eating tour of Montreal!
-Mel
