Chop Chop See You Later!

In the most recent issue of FLARE, assistant fashion news editor, Emily Ramshaw chronicles the week before lopping off 15 inches of her precious, precious hair.

I wasn't working at FLARE when Emily had long hair, so seeing her with the short hair wasn't a big deal, but reading the her article and seeing how stylish and chic she looks every day has totally inspired me to do my own long goodbye.

My Inspiration:

It's ok, I'm a limo driver.

I saw this picture of Olivia Wilde and I was sold. I had been turning it over in my mind for weeks to chop off my mane, but Olivia sealed the deal for me. I showed the pic to my boyfriend and his response was, "That looks great! But then again, it's Olivia Wilde, she could have a Lloyd Christmas haircut and still be hot." I'll take that as a vote of confidence!

The Stylist:

I only trust the best, and I'm lucky because I happen to be related to her. My cousin Stacy works at Synergy Spa in Orleans, which you should totes check out. It's a really great spa, totally worth the trip to Orleans!

Before:

I used to have this free for all spirit about my hair. "It's just hair!" I would say, "It'll grow back!" But after growing it for a few years and having it to shield me when I was at my most self conscious, the thought of chopping it all off is not only scary, it's actually anxiety-inducing

After:

So it's been about a week since I had it all cut off, and what a week it's been. Literally a roller-coaster, I went from loving it, to hating it, and thinking I looked like an ugly boy. Don't get me wrong, the cut is fantastic, it was my face that seemed to be the problem. It was mostly when I was around pretty girls with long hair that I felt left out. I can't be in the pony tail club anymore. Unless they're accepting girls with David Beckham-esque teeny half buns. But once I've got my outfit on, and my makeup did, I decided that I really like it. Like REALLY like it. In fact as I'm writing this out, I'm even thinking about going shorter...

Success!

Differences and the journey so far

Having been in Toronto for a little under three weeks now I feel it's safe for me to make my observations public. I'm past the first impressions, but I'm not yet jaded by the lights and the sirens and the easily accessible brands that we have to scour the countryside to find in Ottawa.

Packing for the big "move" was tough, especially with a fatso cat sitting in my bag.

That being said, Toronto is a bit overwhelming. Meeting new people and telling them that you're from Ottawa usually results in them treating you like a Make a Wish kid at Disneyland; "Oh wow, how does it FEEL to be in Toronto? Are you having trouble adjusting?"

Really?

For the uninformed, Toronto is about five hours away from Ottawa. It's in the same time zone, has the same climate and is just as culturally diverse as Ottawa.

My first day called for a totally spring outfit, I even co-ordinated my nail polish to my sweater. When I got to the office I was immediately given a new issue and then found this lonely shopping bag under my desk, what was in it you ask? No it wasn't a Birkin, just a bunch of booklets and papers...*sigh*

The only thing I need to adjust to in Toronto is the fact that in Toronto all the girls wear Rudsak winter jackets paired with Rebecca Minkoff M.A.C clutches instead of TNA jackets with the Marc by Marc Jacobs pouches that every girl in Ottawa has. They wear Tory Burch boots instead of Michael Kors and the taxi service here makes me want to hug and kiss an Ottawa taxi until I'm banned from Blue Line service altogether.

I've also probably seen more Audi R8's in my 2.5 weeks in Toronto than I have watching every season of Top Gear on Netflix.

My second week was disastrous/awesome all at the same time, Monday morning I discovered I left all of my makeup in Ottawa, so I had to rush to Shoppers and buy all new stuff. I also got a taste of the "rich" life, the Winners on Bloor carries YSL, Dolce & Gabbana and more (INSANE RIGHT?) I tried GlamGlow for the first time (TOTALLY RECOMMEND) and I got to check out some cool beauty products.

From what I can tell, having spent a little time in Toronto, it seems nice. I do like it. I think if I ever lived in Toronto, I would need to be very wealthy because the temptation of shopping would be out of this world. But I also am not sure if I could ever get used to sour sewer smell that lingers at random street corners, in Ottawa that kind of smell is usually reserved for the sewer pipes pumping sewage into the Ottawa River behind the Parliament Buildings.

At the same time, the excitement in Toronto is kind of a lot to bear. I've been staying there for over two weeks and I still haven't got over the fact that every day I want to do something. Sitting at home and watching TV doesn't seem to be an option, even though I don't do much of that in Ottawa, everything in Toronto is NEW and EXCITING.

The second weekend was my favourite. Charles came up and we walked all around Toronto all day long and went to a Supercross race, then topped it off with a midnight snack in Dundas Square. 

I think my ambivalence towards the newly minted fourth largest city in North America, is that I'm there, essentially alone. I mean, not alone ALONE, but you know what I mean. My boyfriend, cats, closet and king size bed are all in Ottawa. Despite being in this arguably great city, I'm always going to focus on the things I don't like just because my life isn't really in TO...it's in Ottawa, no matter what I'm still just a guest.