Wednesday, August 31, 2016

Mondor Leggings




Leggings: Mondor || Tank: LOFT || Bag: Aldo || Sneakers: Nike || Sunglasses: Ray-Ban ||

Words can't describe how obsessed I am with these leggings from Mondor. I'm absolutely in love with the mesh inserts, but I'm equally in love with the quality and comfort of these leggings. Which isn't exactly surprising considering Mondor is known for their high performance tights and competitive apparel for athletes. If you're an athlete or simply want to run around town in stylish, flattering leggings...these are for you!! I even want to treat you guys to 30% off!!! Use the promo code BLOG30 at www.mondor.com on all leggings until September 30th!!

-Sydney Hoffman

Tuesday, August 23, 2016

Get Invited to a Special Nike Shopping Experience


As some of you may already know, I have been training with Nike and Faze Magazine the past few months. A couple amazing girls and I have been training for the Scotiabank Marathon in October. In addition to training weekly, we are hosting a special Nike event this Friday at the Nike store in Eaton Centre. Check out all the details below!!


If you have a body, you are an athlete.
On Friday, August 26th, Faze Magazine invites all the ladies to an exclusive event at the Nike Running Store in the Toronto Eaton Centre to experience the best of Nike+ services and newly released innovations.
As a part of your shopping experience, you’ll get treated to expert advice from Nike Master Trainer Eva Redpathmeet the stars of the Faze Running Teamreceive Nike expert assistance with footwear trialing and bra fittings and enjoy some energizing snacks and refreshments to refuel. Faze is also very excited to offer its attendees an additional 20% discount on any purchases during this event.
Make sure to sign up (HERE) and join us for an athlete-inspired shopping event!

Don't forget to sign up (here) I can't wait to see you guys there!!

-Sydney Hoffman

Thursday, August 18, 2016

Outdoor Summer Concerts at The Molson Canadian Amphitheatre with Amex Access

I was so excited when I had the chance to head to The Molson Canadian Amphitheatre for the Gwen Stefani concert. My absolute favourite place to enjoy music is at the Amp because it's outdoors. Nothing beats a warm summer night, listening to great music outdoors! 

My sister and I were so excited to see Gwen Stefani. She is such a phenomenal performer, not to mention drop dead gorgeous. It was such a memorable moment for both of us to experience the concert, because she was a huge fan of Gwen during her No Doubt years and I was beyond obsessed with her Harajuku album a couple years back. 

I had the privilege to experience the Amp with Amex Front Of The Line! It was my first time experiencing Amex Access and all I can say is it's a game changer...


Not only can you get Front Of The Line advanced access to tickets and reserved seating, but you feel like a VIP with Amex Access at the Amp during the concert. It felt pretty amazing bypassing the general admissions line and getting into the concert with ease via the dedicated American Express entrance. Not to mention hanging out at the Amex Lounge before the opening act started. If you are aAmerican Express Cardmember you can stroll right into the lounge when you flash your Amex Card.


My sister and I attended the show and we were having a full blown girls night, so the Amex Lounge was our best friend! We loved being able to head in with no line and grab some food and drinks. We were having so much fun in the Amex Lounge we almost missed the opening act.  




What made the performance for us so special were our amazing seats. We couldn't get over how close we were and that was all thanks to Amex Canada Front of The Line. It was a game changer and made this whole experience even better. I always enjoy concerts at The Molson Amp because they are outdoors, but being able to have some of the best seats in the house was the icing on the cake. Even when Gwen Stefani was singing her new album about her breakup, you could see her facial expressions and energy...it gave us chills watching her perform.


If you want to feel like a king or queen at your next live show experience at the Molson Amp and elsewhere (from Roy Thomson Hall, Princess of Wales Theatre, the list goes on) make sure to visit www.AmexInvites.ca or sign up to receive Front of The Line entertainment updates - so you can be the first to know about upcoming events. There really is something so blissful about outdoor concerts and this was made better with Amex Canada. 
  
-Sydney Hoffman 

*This post was sponsored by Amex Canada. The views and opinions expressed in this blog, however, are purely my own* 
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Sunday, August 7, 2016

Amalfi Coast Travel Guide - Positano


Positano is a magical place. I had high expectations going into Amalfi and they were beyond exceeded. Everywhere you look you are literally saying WOW. Amalfi Coast is truly unlike anything I've ever seen. Along the coast, is the ever popular Positano town, with rainbow coloured homes perched on cliffs, overlooking the Tyrrhenian Sea. I know many of you have asked questions about Positano, so I thought I would put together a little travel guide. I've listed below some of my favourite places and activities to enjoy in Positano.

1. Boating - I highly suggest renting a boat in Positano. It's so ideal to take one out on your own and boat around for an hour. NOTHING beats this view! You can get a little motor boat for about 30 Euros an hour. Theres a little set up right in the middle of the public beach in Positano and its super easy to rent and head out on your own. Such a crazy experience.


It was so surreal to throw in an anchor and jump in the warm salt water of the Tyrrhenian Sea.


2. Beach - If you've ever looked up Positano you will see tons of photos of the famous umbrella lined beach. Most people will rent a chair for the day for about 12 Euros. If you know my boyfriend you will know he doesn't do anything basic (which is what I love about him). He somehow spotted this little booth where a man was advertising a private beach just around the corner (past the regular umbrella lined beach). If you walk all the way down the beach, past the orange umbrellas and around a little corner, you will see a small rock cliff with a bunch of blue umbrellas. This place was called La Scogliera Positano. 


 What also intrigued us was, it's also a restaurant. You can have food and drinks delivered right to your lounge chairs! However, the kicker with this place is they advertise getting your own chair, towel and water for 20 Euro. When we got there we realized its 20 Euro for a lounger in the back, 35 Euro for a lounger and a table (with umbrella) in the front or 50 Euro for loungers, table and a glass of prosecco if you want to be right on the edge of this cliff rock. Of course I was totally content with the 35 Euro price to be near the railing, however my boyfriend couldn't help himself and had to pick and pay for the very edge location. 


This was our spot right on the edge^^^

Let's just say the money was SO worth it. The view was fantastic it actually felt fake. I couldn't stop string out at the view, I didn't want to waste a second. We ended up getting our moneys worth because we spent all day there. We ordered a bottle of prosecco, paninis for lunch and gelato for dessert and of course swam in the little private beach just below. It was all so surreal.






3. Dinner Da Gabrisa - The first night we arrived in Amalfi was Shawn's birthday, so I made sure to plan and make a reservation for dinner. I had heard great things about Da Gabrisa, so I thought I would try it out. Da Gabrisa was actually just around from the main Positano area, but was equally as beautiful. It's definitely a more quiet area, and that made it more special. The staff was so welcoming and kind and the food was fantastic. The prices were reasonable and we ended up staying for four hours drinking champagne and celebrating. When I made the reservation I mentioned it was Shawn's birthday so we were greeted with a glass of prosecco and a surprise birthday treat for dessert.







4. Drinks Le Sirenuse - Le Sirenuse is definitely one of the most upscale restaurants/hotels in Positano. Prices (especially for drinks) are a bit pricer, but with the best views of Positano, its worth it. The drink menu is amazing and I highly recommend grabbing some drinks here before dinner, just make sure to make reservations. It's also a tad fancier then most. Shawn and I made the mistake of going there after sitting in the sun all day, in our beach gear. Shawn got his favourite-an Old Fashioned and I got a fun Bellini style drink. Shawn said it was probably one of the best drinks he's had. 




5. Hotel Grand Hotel Il Saraceno - We ended up staying about 30 minutes from Positano. We were actually closer to the town of Amalfi then Positano, but regardless of location our hotel was so cool!! I felt like I was in Game of Thrones. It was this magical looking castle built into a cliff. Walking down to the beach was a trek, but so worth it. The only thing I would change if I had to do it again is make sure the hotel was a little closer to Positano. We must have read it wrong, but we thought our hotel supplied us with a free shuttle to Positano and back. However, the shuttle they had was to Amalfi, not Positano. We did have a rental car, but if we were planning on drinking we had to take the crazy public bus. It would take about 30-40 minutes sometimes and was always packed! The bus times are sometimes all over the place, so one night the bus never came so we had to pay 75 Euro for a taxi back to our hotel...and that hurt!






6. Driving along the Amalfi Coast - We decided to rent a car and drive from Rome to Amalfi. We ended up getting the cutest convertible Fiat and it was so much fun driving along the crazy roads of Amalfi. The roads are so tiny, and everyone drives so fast I had to get use to it. Experiencing the drive on our own along the coast was again, just breathtaking. We had permanent smiles on our face as we turned every bend. Just when we thought we couldn't see anything more beautiful, we would round another corner to see even more!!





7. Path of the Gods Hike - We had heard amazing things about this Path of the Gods hike that leads you right above Positano. We decided to set out and find our way to the start of the path. I will admit, its quite hard to find the actual path, but we used this link to find our way (here). We also were lucky to have a rental car because it made our travel to this little town where the path starts, a lot less stressful. Although we only made it half way along the path, it was so beautiful! However, I think I had more fun laughing at my boyfriend the whole time because I found out just how afraid he is of heights. Worth the views and worth the embarrassing videos I got of Shawn freaking out.



Feel free to message me if you have anymore questions, but I hope this information helps. Like I said...I highly recommend Amalfi Coast and Positano!!

-Sydney Hoffman