The Frocktail Party

Inspired by fashion and compassion, the second annual Frocktail Party returns this year to auction off an all new collection of fabulous dresses on Friday November 12th, 2010. All the money raised will go to support the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. Last year was the first ever Frocktail event and it garnered great success raising over $23,000 for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.

This year Frocktail is going to be even bigger and better then last year. It is one hot party you don't want to miss as Canadian designers such as Greta Constantine, Jeremy Laing, Jay Godfrey, Ashley Rowe, Alex & Eli are all donating dresses to support this wonderful cause. Please check out the Flickr site from last year for a sampling of the type of dresses they collected and auctioned off (http://www.flickr.com/photos/44466552@N02/). They were also featured on Entertainment tonight http://www.youtube.com/user/charlemangsta.

For anyone who has a passion for fashion and is interested in attending this posh event it is $50 and tickets go on sale next week at www.thefrocktailparty.com Or if your interested in donating a dress to this great cause please message me and I will send you a procurement form. Remember what you give you get back ten times more!

Girls Night Out and Balmshell

Hey Ladies,

My two favourite things wine and lip gloss have paired up for a very fun promotion. Go out to any LCBO location and get a bottle of Girls' Night Out Merlot which comes with a FREE Balmshell Mini Lip Gloss while supplies last! BALMSHELL’s high-end conditioning formula contains lanolin oil, jojoba oil and no artificial preservatives. Perfume-free, BALMSHELL is slightly flavored with a hint of natural fruity vanilla. This unique formula creates a smooth high gloss finish to enhance and give the appearance of full supple lips. It's a great lip gloss that I highly recommend so try it and if you love it go out and buy one! They can be found at any Shoppers Drug Mart location.

The History of Riverdale

Riverdale was a small rural community until the Grand Trunk Railway began steaming through here in the 1850's. The railway brought industry and employment opportunities to Riverdale. It also attracted a pool of labourers who built the first homes in Riverdale, south of the railway tracks.

North of Queen Street Riverdale remained largely undeveloped until 1884 when it was annexed by the City of Toronto. At that time Riverdale was called Riverside. The name was probably changed to Riverdale as a reference to the city park of the same name, that has long been a landmark in this area.

Riverdale's development was accelerated in 1918 with the building of Toronto's largest bridge, the Prince Edward Viaduct. The Viaduct provided Riverdale with an important link to the City of Toronto, west of the Don River, and marked a coming of age for this popular Toronto neighbourhood.

My Love For Tea

As a lover of tea and an avid tea drinker since the age of 5 my friend Katie suggested I try the hot spot for tea David's Tea.

David Segal is the brains behind this popular growing chain, he opened his first store in Montreal in 2008 after years of wondering why there wasn't a place you could go for a decent cup of tea. Today David, has a permanent collection of over 100 teas and has stores going up all over the country.

On my first visit to the store I was mesmerized by the collection of teas. I didn't even know where to begin. So I asked the lovely ladies behind the desk to pull some of their favourites for me. The people who work at David's Tea are phenomenal they are very knowledgeable about all the teas and the health benefits they can provide for you.

I decided to go for the Forever Nuts an herbal tea that is a nutty jumble of almonds, apple bits. cinnamon and beetroot. At David's Tea they allow you to smell all the tea's from the canister before you choose one so you can visualize the taste. The heavenly aroma alone from Forever Nuts had me salivating and once it cooled down enough to try it, it was amazing.

Last night I went there again as I just love it and decided to try one of the fall favourites Cocoa paradiso. I had it as a latte and it was again very tasty. I even bought a bunch of it so I can drink it every day as I think its the best tasting thing since chocolate milk. It also has great health benefits as all the teas do. This one in particular has been used to control weight, lower cholesterol and aid digestion. How can you go wrong?

I am glad to see that tea is becoming so popular and can't wait to continue trying all the different tea's David's Tea has to offer. Let the tea revolution begin!

My First Open House

Facts about the Market

If you were walking down a street in Paris, France and a stranger stopped and said, “I’ll bet you’re from Los Angeles!” You would typically respond in a polite Canadian fashion and inform them correctly that you, in fact, may look like an American but are indeed from Canada. Whereupon, the stranger would exclaim, “Congratulations, your country is certainly a world leader in fiscal restraint and banking legislation.”

A fictional tale, yes, the people are false but the facts are true. Therefore, why do we continue to listen to Chicken Little? “The sky is falling!” “The Bubble is bursting!”

FACT: This summer real estate sales were down more than 30% compared to last summer, BUT PRICES CONTINUED TO RISE BY 6%.

FACT: Last summer reflected a pulling forward of sales that would normally happen later in the year as Buyers raced to beat the HST and capture the low mortgage rates.

FACT: Real Estate Bubbles happen when speculators are extremely active in the market. We are not seeing any evidence of this. The U.S. Real Estate bubble burst largely because of a speculative, loosely regulated mortgage market which created massive defaults. CANADA’S RATE OF DEFAULT IS .44%.

FACT: The quick rebound in the housing market has been the key to Canada’s recovery from the recession. The fundamentals of our economy remain sound. Contrary to the U.S., Canada’s labour market has also rebounded from last year’s recession.

FACT: Canada is on track to lead the Group of Seven this year in economic growth. The Organization of Economic Co-operation and Development is forecasting a growth of 3.5% in 2010 and 3% in 2011.

FACT: In February, the Government of Canada introduced further rules which made it harder to qualify for a variable rate mortgage and increased the down payments of investment properties.

FACT: IT WAS A BEAUTIFUL SUMMER! Real Estate is a seasonal market.

CONCLUSION: According to the August report from the C.D. Howe Institute, Canadian housing policies, which avoided the sharp decline in underwriting standards seen in the U.S., worked well in reducing the possibility of a housing bust in 2008-2009, AND CONTINUE TO MITIGATE THE RISKS OF MASSIVE DEFAULTS IN THE FUTURE.

The right Real Estate agent makes all the difference. You can count on Bosley Real Estate’s 82 years of experience as well as my expertise and service to help you sell or buy a home.

Vintage on the Danforth

There are two amazing vintage inspired clothing stores on the Danforth that I don't think enough people know about. Preloved and Tabula Rasa create gorgeous clothes from old pre-worn vintage fabrics.

Preloved has been very successful at its Queen Street West location and has now opened its first pop-up store here on the Danforth. This Toronto based label specializes in taking vintage pieces and reworking them to fit the modern styles of today. Every item of clothing is made to be one of a kind so you don't have to worry about someone else owning the same piece of clothing as you. I have to say although some of the items are a little pricey, going green never looked better.

Tabula Rasa is a great new addition to the Danforth area this shop hosts clothes and accessories that are vintage, reworked as well as new and upcoming labels. Jennifer Park the owner of Tabula Rasa was born and raised in the Riverdale area and opening this store in the area she has grown up in has been a dream come true for her.

All the clothes are hand picked by Park and categorized perfectly to catch your attention. Park has a great sense of style and I think she has done an exceptional job styling her store. I enjoy re-visiting this store time after time to see what new great things she will find and I have a hard time leaving without buying something. Again this is a great store to find one of a kind items that will set you a part from everyone else.

TIFF

The Toronto International Film Festival is one of the biggest and most celebrated film festivals of the year. This is one of Toronto's biggest events and brings people from all over the world to catch a glimpse of the Hollywood stars and to view some of the best movies of the year. Each year hundreds of films from across the world are showcased for the very first time at the festival and many of these films go on to win awards. TIFF is well known for featuring films that go on to win the most coveted award the OSCAR.

As you may know tickets went on sale this past Friday and I had a difficult time getting anything. The phone line was very busy and their site had so many people on at the same time it kept crashing. So unfortunately, I didn't get any red carpet tickets this year but I did get tickets to see the movie Never Let Me Go which stars Keira Knightley and looks like a very riveting film.

Last year my sister and I saw two films at the festival one which was called Get Low starring Robert Duvall, Bill Murray and Sissy Spacek. This movie was one of the best movies I have seen and I am still waiting for it to come out in theatres. It is one I think will get a lot of Oscar attention, so look out for it!

For those of you who haven't been to the film festival I highly recommend it there are some great films to see and there are still a few tickets available so check it out. If you

can't get tickets to the film you want to see try standing in the rush line. Sometimes people who are given free tickets to a screening don't show up so those seats do become available at the last second, however beware if you come with someone else you may be split up and have to sit on your own.

If you don't have tickets to any movies but want to try and catch a glimpse of some of the stars check out Toronto Life's Article on some of the hot spots in Toronto where the celebrities hang out when they are in town. http://www.torontolife.com/daily/tiff-2010-hot-spots-map/

Have fun celebrating the film festival everyone!

A Great Real Estate Article: Promises Matter in Real Estate Deals

By: Mark Weisleder

Buyers and sellers need to understand their legal rights and obligations when making or asking for promises in a real estate contract. Failing to understand could lead to damages and unnecessary legal proceedings.

A promise in a real estate agreement is classified as either a representation or a warranty. These

terms are used interchangeably yet they have different meanings and consequences. A representation is a statement about a state of affairs on a property. If the statement is false, then it is called a misrepresentation. A misrepresentation by a seller can in some cases permit a buyer to cancel a contract and, in other cases, sue for damages. If the buyer can prove that they would not have signed the contract without the representation, then they can cancel the deal.

For example, let’s say the seller told the buyer that there was going to be an elementary school built down the street in the next two years. The seller made an honest mistake. No matter. If the buyer can demonstrate that they would not have bought that home without that promise, then they can cancel the deal. If however, it was not that important to their purchase decision, then they cannot cancel.

A warranty is not fundamental to a contract but is a separate guarantee or promise as to a current or future state of affairs. If a seller breaks a warranty, the buyer cannot cancel a deal but can sue for damages.

The most common representation and warranty given in the real estate agreement is that the chattels and fixtures remaining on the property after closing will be in good working order. If thisis untrue, and something is not working after you move in, you cannot cancel the agreement but you will be able to sue for damages.

This warranty is not like the one-year warranty that you receive when you buy an electrical appliance. In real estate agreements, there is an expression that all warranties “merge,” which means that they expire on closing. Since most buyers cannot check whether everything is working on the actual day of closing, most real estate salespeople change the wording of the warranty slightly to indicate that the warranty survives and does not merge on closing but only applies to the state of the appliances on closing. This will permit a buyer an additional one or two days after closing to check for any problems.

There was a case when buyers purchased a cottage and did not physically go to the cottage for the first time until one month after closing. They found that the dishwasher was broken. The judge said that even though this may have been their first time checking the appliance, since it may have broken down during that month on its own, no damages were awarded.

The message for buyers is that they must include in any agreement a pre-closing visit to the property so that they can check everything just before closing. And then upon moving in, check everything again as quickly as possible. In addition, consider buying after-sale warranty protection for your appliances.

Some things cannot be checked. For example, if you buy a home with an in-ground pool in the winter. In those situations, it may be appropriate to give a warranty that will survive until May 1, to give time to open the pool and check it. If the seller is reluctant to provide this, a compromise would be for the buyer to ask for and be satisfied with a copy of the pool closing report which is usually prepared when you have your pool professionally maintained.

In rural communities, representations and warranties about the well and septic systems remain the top reasons for claims between buyers and sellers. It is best to make any rural property purchase conditional on your being satisfied with professional inspections of these systems before committing to any purchase.

Understand your rights before making or asking for any promises in real estate deals to avoid unpleasant surprises either before or after closing.

Let's Go To The Ex

Yesterday Emlie, Adrienne and I decided to re-live our youth at the good old CNE! We had a great time riding the rides, eating our Tiny Tom donuts and relaxing with a few beverages at the beer tent listening to some Latino band.

It was a nostalgic feeling being back at the EX. Every year as a kid my Mom and Aunt would take my sister and I and my two cousin's to the CNE. It was always our last adventure together before we headed back to school. We always had the time of our lives riding all the rides and getting high on sugar. As I walked around last night it brought back a lot of these fond memories.

For anyone who hasn't been to the EX this year I highly recommend it! It's a great place to unwind and be a kid again. The rides are always fun and I swear some date back over 20 years ago. The food is fattening and fabulous! The big thing everyone is talking about this year is the deep fried butter. I opted out of that one but I hear it's amazing. Other foods new this year deep fried mac and cheese and chocolate covered bacon. So check it out!