Mexico is of course a memorable destination, but not many may know that it’s a magical one as well. The word magic isn’t being used as hyperbole here; the Mexican government has created a special designation for “Pueblos Mágicos,” that goes beyond just a mystical or supernatural quality. These towns are recognized for their cultural, historical, and symbolic significance, as well as their exceptional beauty and unique identity. In order to receive the official designation as a “Pueblo Mágico” (Magical Town) by Mexico’s Secretariat of Tourism (SECTUR), qualifying towns must meet a series of criteria that evolve and change over…
Author: Nadia Elkharadly
Valentine’s Day may be for lovers, but Galentine’s Day is for love – love of friendship, love of life, and love of self. So we’re celebrating this day that’s all about us with a Galentine’s Day Giveaway with our friends at B. Beautiful Salon. B. Beautiful is a beauty and lifestyle studio providing a variety of luxurious beauty treatments for eyebrows, lashes, and more. Located on Eglinton Avenue West in Toronto, B. Beautiful is in a fantastic midtown spot with easy access from across the GTA. The studio had a modern, lofty feel while still being warm and welcoming, due in…
Coffee is seen by many as fuel for creativity. This magical bean brews into warm, sippable energy that helps keeps the wheels in our brains turning and our fingers or hands typing or writing. I’ve become more and more of a coffee lover over the years, and recently I’ve discovered a true writer’s brand of brew with Balzac’s Coffee. Inspired by the Grand Cafes of Paris, Balzac’s brought traditional French coffee culture to Canada in 1993, getting its start as a humble coffee cart at Ontario Place. Being a brand that is anchored in the notion of creativity and the…
Valentine’s Day is all about love, and you know we LOVE giving away great experiences here at ADDICTED, so what better way to celebrate Valentine’s Day than by doing just that, with our new friends at Aman Spa. Aman Spa is a new luxury boutique spa that just opened in Toronto this past summer. Aman Spa leads with the mission of offering purposeful treatment to all who enter and achieving tranquility by reducing stress, promoting relaxation, and improving skin. Located in the beating heart of downtown Toronto, the space is peaceful and welcoming, providing services that improve guests’ quality of…
Simplify your holiday routine by allowing the younger members of your family to take the lead in the kitchen. While they create lasting memories and adopt environmentally friendly practices, you can focus on the main event. Canadian high school student and sustainability advocate Lacia-Paige Cummings curated a holiday menu that encourages kids to join in the kitchen amid the holiday hustle and bustle. Lacia’s holiday menu highlights locally sourced and seasonal ingredients, and creative ways to repurpose holiday leftovers into delicious meals that the whole family will enjoy. Lacia’s dedication to sustainability earned her recognition from Tre Stelle’s Cheese4Change sustainable…
Be the star of the season and elevate your cheesecake game with this year’s top holiday cheesecakes that are Anna Olson-approved! Olson was the judge of Tre Stelle’s first Cheesecake Showdown, selecting the top cheesecake recipe of the holiday season! And stealing the title for the cleanest and creamiest cream cheese for holiday baking was Tre Stelle for its four all-natural ingredients, and no fillers or ingredients you can’t pronounce. Just ask the pros like Maggie Frith from The Magpie Cakery whose Triple Gingerbread Cheesecake with crystalized ginger was awarded best of the season by Olson! To get full recipes…
Make this holiday season memorable with cocktails that celebrate the most popular spirit of the season! Destined to be the star of your holiday bar cart, Flor de Caña rum is masterfully aged and sustainably crafted for the refined rum lover. With notes of warm baking spices, buttery toffee, and vanilla, this liquid luxury will elevate any holiday occasion. It’s also the world’s first carbon-neutral and fair trade certified rum so your holiday cocktail hour will be as tasteful as it is sustainable! Enjoy neat, on the rocks, or test out your at-home bartending skills with one of these signature…
It’s time to say farewell to conventional gingerbread houses and welcome the all-new Charcuterie Chalet – an imaginative twist on the classic charcuterie board! This new holiday house transforms the once rock-hard gingerbread houses into relics of Christmases past. Made by Canada’s only Cheesemaster, Afirm Pristine, it’s the newest holiday tradition that allows you to embrace your creativity with cheese! Afrim built walls of Castello’s crunchy Aged Havarti, a roof made of their nutty Vintage Gouda and pepperoni slices, snowbanks of mouth-watering Castello Danish Blue Cheese, hedges of Taste Mexico cream cheese rings and Tre Stelle’s ‘fluffier than freshly fallen…
For this next day of Giving, it’s all about experiences. We are giving one lucky reader the chance to enjoy one of the following theatre productions this holiday season, all of which take their inspiration from various eras of pop culture. Here are the 4 shows to choose from, all taking place in the heart of downtown Toronto. We’ve got something for everyone no matter what they enjoy. Buffy Revamped: Buffy Revamped is a ‘bloody’ good time for show aficionados and those who’ve never enrolled at Sunnydale High alike. Taking veteran and emerging slayers through all seven seasons of the popular TV…
When we think of travelling to Mexico, we likely envision sandy beaches, sparkling blue waters and all-inclusive hotels. And while a beach vacation is a beautiful experience, there is so much more that Mexico has to offer, like its beautiful, bustling cities, like Guadalajara. “Innovation is Our Tradition” Guadalajara is the capital of the state of Jalisco and is the second largest city in all of Mexico. GDL (as those in the know call it), is centrally located, sitting 350 miles west of Mexico City and 200 miles east from Puerto Vallarta. Rich in history and filled with spirit, Guadalajara…
SINES are a dynamic, political and endlessly cheeky synth pop project comprised of two artists living on opposite sides of the world: producer, composer, synth nut and DJ Jason Wann, who is based in Portland, and singer/songwriter, visual artist and director, Kitty Richardson, who lives in Leeds, in the North of England. Despite never actually meeting in person, Wann and Richardson just released their first full album together, called Gravity, in early September. Wann, has said that though the project has released two albums and a few singles prior to Gravity, this album it truly what SINES was meant to be. “The first…
This week continues with skincare celebrations. For today’s Days of Giving, we’re saying YES to Si Medi Spa. Si Medi Spa is an intimate cosmetic wellness destination that aims to inspire confidence through incredible skin. Located in the heart of Oakville, Ontario’s lakefront district, Si Medi Spa is owned and operated by Claudia Gonzalez, a certified medical esthetician, whose specialty is all things skincare. Claudia’s skin care concierge level service combines top-tier treatments with expert advice and aftercare treatments to help clients achieve the complexions of their dreams. Claudia’s work sits in the sweet spot between beauty, science and innovation. …
Brooklyn-and-Austria-based power indie rock band superWAV are back with aTypical, a heady, bluesy EP that’s for the rock fans. Coming of age in the 90s, broody, guitar driven rock was the fuel to my angsty teenage energy. Seattle grunge was all I listened to on my yellow Sony walkman, and life was simple even if the music I loved was ever so powerful and complex. Listening to superWAV brings me right back to those days. superWAV was formed back in 2020 by German-born siblings Anne and Volker Wichmann, multimedia powerhouse and indie guitar heavy-hitter respectively. The pair set out to…
Happy Holidays and welcome back to the DAYS OF GIVING! Today we are giving away a prize pack from Hero Cosmetics featuring The Mighty Patch! The Hero Mighty Patch is an award-winning hydrocolloid patch that helps calm pimples in 6-8 hours, reducing redness and swelling and pulling out “gunk” while shielding skin to help support a healing environment. Hero Cosmetics and its hero product the Mighty Patch began in 2017, “when I had yet another pimple emergency” said founder Ju Rhyu. “But my sensitive skin had reached a breaking point with the harsh acids of the world. So I went…