Umbra's 'Facepapers' Winner - Me, Once Again!

Very happy to share that once again, not one but TWO of my photos were chosen as Umbra's 'Facepapers'. I said once again, because two of my photos were winners when Umbra had the contest the first time. You can read about it here.

This will be the second time Umbra had run this 'Facepapers' contest. In Umbra-speak 'facepapers' refers to the photo inserts. In the past, what was placed in all Umbra's frames have always been of staff's, their kids, dogs and parents. They had never used professional shots. Umbra then thought of letting us fans/community to participant. What a great idea!

After sifting through hundreds of great photos, they've selected 13 winners - and yep, TWO of them (below) were mine!! FYI, each winning photo get $50 to shop on umbra.com. Thank you Umbra!! : )

I took this while I was on vacation at a Punta Cana resort.

My brother-in-law and nephew.

Umbra frames are sold in over 35,000 stores all over the world - how cool?! The winning photos will be placed in Umbra's frames and displays due to come out this January.

Check out all the winning 'Facepaper' photos below, who's your fav? I love taking pics and using instagram. If you want to see some fun, great & interesting pics, please follow me @stardchiu thanks! : )

One of a Kind Spring Show & Sale 2013

If you're looking for a feeling of Spring or something do to this long weekend - The One of a Kind Spring Show & Sale is the place to be! It's happening at the Direct Energy Centre, Exhibition Place in Toronto from March 27 - 30, 2013. More info here. Also, you can check out my last posting here - where I also gave away 10 pairs of tickets to the show.

I was invited this past Wednesday morning to a Media preview breakfast. Avery yummy and great looking food provided from Toben - food by design. After that, I got to walk around and checked out the show.

Lots to do, see, and buy. Check out some of the items that caught my eyes: from my favourite things, great packaging, cool/fun ideas, yummy food, great looking booth/presentation, and overall - inspiring artisans. I included the artisans' link. All photos below taken by me. Enjoy!

Nugs and Tricia O

 Marmalade and Whiteout Workshop

Cedar Mountain and Wilk Watchworks

Greg Voisin Pottery and Electrik Kidz

Tealish and Monkey Butter

For those who love one of a kind stuff - it's definitely worth checking out! Meet 450 Artisans, shop local and buy handmades! It's also a great place to be inspire - being a designer, I was! Happy shopping!

New to the show this year, Etsy section! and Nesslee Illustrations

Creation Li

Umbra - Facepaper Contest Winner: Me!

I'm a big fan of umbra stuff. They're cool, modern, original, and affordable product for the home. I'm pretty sure you like me own something from umbra. Maybe a frame or two?

Well, umbra had a Facepaper Contest back in January where we can submit photos for a chance to be in an umbra frame sold worldwide. If that's not enough, the chosen ones also get a $50 umbra gift code to shop online. How cool, right? And guess who won? ME!!! lol

This was my kind of contest. People who knows me know that I LOVE taking pics and sharing them on instagram : ) Check out all of them here and please follow me.

I'm so happy! Umbra chose not just one but TWO of my photos!! That's right, look out for my winning photos in frames this fall! I'm super excited!

I was told that they sorted through hundreds of photos and picked a total of 10 winning shots. Check them out below - all very nice images! Congrats to all the winners!

My winning photo taken at the Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institue.

My second winning photo taken at this year's Interior Design Show.

Can't believe it, my photo will be 

in an umbra frame like these!

Here are the other winning photos.

Happy Movember!

If you have instagram - please help me win the Movember Photo Contest (courtest of blogto and PKG) by liking this photo. The photos with the most likes at the end of the month wins. Simply follow me @stardchiu, find this photo and like it. You can also search for #blogTOmovemeber. Thank you!!!

For more info about Movember - check out their website here.

Summerlicious - Toula Restaurant

The last restaurant I tried out during this past Summerlicious was the Toula Restaurant at Westin Harbour Castle. Yep - the one high atop Toronto's financial district, on the 38th floor. For more info and what was on the menu, click here. We went for their $20 lunch.

It was a nice summer day that day, so the view overlooking Lake Ontario was beautiful! The environment, speaking mainly of the decor was ok. I wasn't a big fan of it - good thing the view made up for it. The service was friendly and the Italian food was very tasty. It's definitely worth checking out. From the 38th floor = a one-of-a-kind dining experience!

 

 

“Burano” 
in-house smoked salmon with caramelized red onion, caper and berries, drizzled with lemon and extra virgin olive oil

Cortina’s wild mushroom “Alessandro”
mushrooms lightly sautéed in rosemary and pinot grigio, on a bed of handmade polenta, topped with castel magno cheese fondue

“La Torre” 
eggplant mozzarella di buffala tower, oven baked & finished with fresh tomato and basil sauce

Stone pressed “arturo” grilled Cornish Hen
stone pressed, mustard crusted grilled cornish hen, served with sautéed spinach alla milanese with raisins and pine nuts

Veal Medallion “Serrenisimma”
slowly cooked veal medallion with fresh herb and pinot grigio, topped with asiago cheese fondue and sliced black truffle from Norcia, served with garlic and rosemary roasted potatoes

Toula classic homemade vanilla gelato “affogato” topped with espresso coffee

Toula classic tiramisu

Summerlicious - Trio Restaurant

Trio Restaurant was located in Toronto's North York and was part of the Novotel Toronto North York Hotel. For more info and the menu, click here. We went there for a $15 lunch during the Summerlicious period.

It had a nice environment with sleek modern furnishings and style decor which I really liked however I find the layout of the space a bit too open concept. The service and food was good. Worth checking out if you're in the area.

 

 

Wild Mushroom Arancini
Wild mushroom risotto balls breaded with Panko and fried, served with fire roasted tomato sauce, pesto and parmesan cheese

Chicken Meatloaf
Ground Herbed Chicken meatloaf, sautéed green Cabbage & Rapini, drizzled with Soy Plum Glaze

Tartufo
Rich Creamy Milanese Vanilla Ice Cream centered with Crème Caramel and rolled with Home made cookies

Apple Blossom
Flakey pastry with an apple filling and topped with crumble served with vanilla sauce and walnuts