Last week I was invited to an ‘Exclusive VIP Invitation’ for the launch of McCain Ultra Thin Crust Pizza. The event was held at the swanky Thompson Hotel Rooftop Patio and the reason that I decided to make the trip from Ottawa to Toronto wasn’t just to taste this new pizza – but it was because of who was hosting the event – Tori Spelling.
Now I am not a huge Tori Spelling fan – but I am a huge Beverly Hills 90210 fan and the thought of being in the same room with Donna Martin had me giddy dammit! After all, you only need to read my blogger bio where it says ‘Her love of all things celebrity began sometime around the introduction of Beverly Hills 90210 when her desire to become the next Kelly Taylor and attend West Beverly High was born’ to understand that I would travel any amount of distance to be near anyone who was a member of that cast!
Of course after I decided to attend the event came the most dreaded task of 'what do I wear?'! As a woman who works mostly from home and has a vast wardrobe containing mostly Lululemon, I immediately asked my friend Marilou Moles who writes the fabulous fashion blog Twenty York Street for help! Well, that was the best thing I could have done since Marilou promptly organized an outfit and accessories for me! She brought me to Ottawa’s Kania Couture, a little boutique in the heart of downtown Ottawa owned by designer Stacey Bafi-Yeboa and gave me the celebrity treatment. Marilou and Stacey brought out several different outfits for me to try on before we decided I would wear Stacey’s brand new design, the ‘Sweet Pea’, which was a one piece strapless jumpsuit that I fell in love with!
So now that I had my outfit it was on to accessories – where another Ottawa designer, Isobel Walker of FrAsh provided me with a stunning turquoise and coral necklace (this part is important) as well as a bracelet to give to Tori if I had the chance.
So there I am all decked out in this gorgeous outfit and I fly into Toronto for the day to attend this McCain event. I’m lucky enough to meet up with a group of my blogger friends and we sit on the rooftop patio and enjoy champagne and McCain hors d’ouevres while we chat, when out of the corner of my eye I spot this yellow dress and realize Tori has arrived! We all quickly gather inside to get a good spot to get a look. Tori (who is very pregnant) is sitting on a chair in a lovely yellow dress while she is being introduced by the president of McCain.
Tori takes to the podium which just happens to be right.beside.me. Like – I could have touched her if I wanted to. Tori gives her speech about the product and how she loves it because its low cal and her kids actually like it and I kind of feel bad for her because really – there’s a room full of women just staring at her, because – well, she’s Tori Spelling! So she finishes her short spiel and is looking a bit awkward because everyone is still just staring at her so I decide to lean over and say ‘You look really fabulous’ – because she does. She’s easily 7 months pregnant and she looks great and I thought it would be nice if someone actually spoke to her instead of just staring at her like she’s on show. This was a pretty good idea since she seemed thrilled that someone actually did speak and let out a big breath followed by ‘thank you!’ She then looked right at my FrAsh necklace and said ‘I love your necklace!’ So I tell her that the designer actually sent a gift for her and I asked if I could give it to her and she seemed genuinely surprised and flattered. But then she’s whisked away to do some press so I ran to my purse to get the jewellery.
The event was pretty short and Tori was definitely the draw. After she gave her speech she went to the photo wall for pictures and servers began to bring around trays of the McCain Ultra Thin Crust Pizza that, while tasty, I couldn’t help note seemed to be a little overdone. But – it was pretty good and definitely something I think I would buy to have in my freezer. It was thin and crispy and something I would serve on those nights where life just gets busy or even as appetizers during a party. And not something that would be on my radar had I not gone to an event with Tori Spelling hosting.
So – did I give Tori the bracelet that FrAsh had sent for her? Of course I did, and I even took off the necklace and gave that to her too, since she really seemed to love it and I figured that designer would want Tori to have it. She was very thankful and posed for pictures but the event was very quick and she had a lot of press to cover. I managed to tell her how much Beverly Hills 90210 meant to me as a child of the late 80’s and I think she either thought I was crazy or she was flattered – hard to tell. Either way it was kind of surreal to come face to face with Donna Martin.
Scene and Heard
Confessions of a Pop Culture Mummy
A few months ago I was lucky enough to get to interview Jordan Knight of NKOTB. A definite highlight for me given that I was fully obsessed with New Kids in my youth. So when my friend Eric Alper told me that he would try to get me a meet and greet with Jordan when NKOTBSB came to town, needless to say I thought I would die, just a little bit.
Six of us went to the concert last night – my friends Sarah, Tracy, Rhonda, Sophie and Jocelyne – and all of us were giddy like school girls at the thought of meeting Jordan Knight. I mean it’s Jordan Knight – all of us had his face plastered on our walls when we were teenagers. But all of us are mothers now and in our mid-to late thirties, so you would have thought that we would be a bit more cool about it. Yeah, nope.
Through some magical stroke of incredible luck the 6 of us actually managed to get a very private meeting with Jordan outside of the regular meet and greet that had happened just before. OK, so really, it was because of my Eric and he was so incredibly freaking amazing to arrange this for us and there’s no way I can ever repay him because it was so awesome!!
So there we are waiting in the back of Scotiabank Place when Jordan, in jeans and a plaid shirt comes walking towards us. Seriously – I think I squealed and then I dropped my camera on the floor. Classic. So much for being a cool thirty-something woman! I was immediately transported back to being a teenager, and I loved it!
After I got over my initial shock of looking at Jordan Knight live and in person, we had a quick chat with him. He was so awesome and so nice and he remembered me from our interview (I died, I did) and he took pictures with all my girlfriends and we chatted a little more and then quickly said ‘thank you’ and goodbye and took to our seats. (alright we went for cocktails first just to calm our nerves!) And I just have to say - when we took our picture together - he hugged me. Not just an awkward arm around each other pose - but like a hug where he 'squeezed' me. OMG I didn't want to let go. I totally get it! I totally get why women would pay thousands of dollars to go on a cruise with him. Sigh.
I want to thank Jordan Knight, Eric Alper, Kevin Duffy and Josh (who's last name I don't know but he was hot!) and the other fabulous men who made this meet and greet happen and for giving all of us one of the best nights of our lives! That quick meeting made our night. The concert was incredible and the after party was – well there are no words for the after party. That will be another blog coming soon, because it deserves its own blog. And right now I’m trying to figure out if I can make it Montreal for tonight’s concert!
Scene and Heard
Confessions of a Pop Culture Mummy
Hand hand fingers thumb. One thumb, one thumb, drumming on a drum. Dum ditty, dum ditty, dum dum dum.
This is a line from my favourite Dr. Seuss book, Hand Hand Fingers Thumb. I love Dr. Seuss, as do most parents I know. So when a movie adaptation of a Dr. Seuss book is announced I think we get just as excited as our kids. Because, secretly, I think we love Dr. Seuss books as much as they do.
Popular Dr. Seuss movies that have been adapted to the big screen include The Cat in the Hat, How The Grinch Stole Christmas, and the most recent and also most successful, Horton Hears a Who! All three of the movies featured stellar casts of some of Hollywood’s funniest actors, but I think Horton has the best cast of all.
Jim Carrey, who played the title role in the live action version of The Grinch also lent his voice to the title role in Horton. Joining Jim in the movie was equally funny Steve Carrell, and rounding out the cast was Amy Poehler, Carol Burnett, Seth Rogen and Isla Fisher to name a few. The movie is the story of an elephant named Horton who discovers the world of The Who’s who live in Whoville on a tiny speck of dust. Coincidentally this is Carrey’s second movie involving Who’s! Maybe he has a soft spot for Dr. Seuss books too!
Horton Hears A Who! has grossed more than $154 million and I think one of the main reasons for its success is that Dr. Seuss movies have almost more appeal to parents than they do to kids. Let’s face it – we all grew up reading these books, so when a movie is made we want to bring our kids to see it because we want to see it. Heck I can’t remember what I had for lunch yesterday but I can recite at least four different Dr. Seuss books at any given moment.
So what’s the big appeal? I think it’s pretty basic actually. Dr. Seuss movies, like the books, simply feature the ability to captivate the attention of all ages. They’re fun, they’re positive, and all the while those valuable little life lessons are scattered throughout. Who can forget that "After all, a person is a person, no matter how small."?
Tune in and catch Horton Hears A Who! this Saturday at 7pm to TELETOON’s Big Ticket Movie. Who knows, you might enjoy it more than your kids!
Scene and Heard
Confessions of a Pop Culture Mummy
More upcoming TELETOON Big Ticket Movies on
Saturdays at 7pm ET/PT:
- August 20: Scooby Doo!: Abra Cadabra Doo
- August 27: Dr. Dolittle
You can check out www.teletoon.com for more details.
This blog proudly sponsored by TELETOON Network
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