Shop The Deals at Chris James’ Princess Pop Up

Chris James
Calling all Kingston shoppers! If you love a deal as much as I do you’ll love what I am about to share with you. Fashion boutique, Chris James, currently located on Ontario street has opened up a Pop Up shop on Princess street.

If you’re unfamiliar with Chris James, it is locally owned by Christine Ray-Bratt and Jim Adams who opened their boutique with the intention of creating a tailored shopping experience for all customers. They carry high end brands like Ted Baker, Tiger of Sweden, Paige, Iris and more so it’s rare to see some of these designers priced so low – lucky for us!

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Marked down to $96 from $160.

The stock is currently comprised of women’s clothing and ranges from summer items to blouses and button ups that can be worked into your fall wardrobe as well. Since it’s been unseasonably warm – some of the finds can still be rocked in this weather. Plus, they will be restocking weekly so fresh goodies will be appearing regularly.

After a browse around the shop I spot a few incredible deals: denim marked down from $205 to $48, button ups from $135 to $58, dresses for the office or nights out marked down from $375 to $187 and a beautiful Bandolera overcoat that I fell in love with marked down from $232 to $48.

Note to bring cash or credit for purchases as they do not accept debit.

Boss Ladies of the Limestone City: Jess and Cade of NORTHSIDE Espresso and Kitchen

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It’s been six months since the beautiful NORTHSIDE espresso and kitchen opened its doors on the north side of princess just east of clergy. It has been such an incredible addition to Princess street, with it’s beautiful, plant-filled, insta-worthy space, delicious food and amazing coffee they acquired admirers from the very start. Owners Jess and Cade moved from Melbourne, Australia to be closer to Jess’s family and brought their passion for their regions’ coffee cafe culture to Kingston. I’ve found a few common traits that run through these boss lady interviews: passion, the courage to dive into something new and the appreciation for support that the Kingston community offers. And Jess and Cade are no different. They clearly love the new life they’ve built with NORTHSIDE and it’s clear in the vibe that is felt whenever I stop in for a drink or a bite.

Below, they reflect on the last six months and explain how they got their start and what they love about being small business owners in Kingston.

KUWK: When did you start to think about NORTHSIDE and this concept?

Jess: I think the seed of the idea was always floating around in our minds, particularly because I grew up in Sydenham/Kingston. Whenever we would come home for a visit or something we felt like we were missing something. There was a gap for us in terms of getting that cafe culture. I know there are lots of coffee shops here which are great but we also wanted to have a breakfast with great coffee. Continue reading

Join the Next Full Moon Party with SimplyWell and Holistic Rain

What makes Kingston such an incredible community to be a part of is the amount of synergy between businesses. Our local businesses are so great at collaborating and creating amazing opportunities for us Kingstonians!

I’ve mentioned how much I enjoy outdoor yoga and I’ve talked about how much I enjoy all of the efforts of Limestone City Boss Lady, Jehna Duncan with her holistic nutrition and healing shop, SimplyWell. So I am excited to share details about a project that has brought two of Kingston’s local holistic health businesses together. Continue reading

Kindness by the Spoonful

Besides sleeping and breathing, the need for a good meal is something we all share.

Unfortunately, not all foods are accessible. And the cheaper the food, the less nutritious, resulting in a large portion of our population lacking what they need to live nutritionally balanced lives.

Enter: Loving Spoonful – and its 250 volunteers – that give the less fortunate in Kingston what they need.

Loving
Spoonful‘s Executive Director Mara Shaw reflects on the  positive impact on the community. “Last year we provided 70,000 pounds of food to the community and that’s equivalent to about 70,000 meals. That’s about 7000 people that are being fed through the food that we deliver, then there’s another 250 kids in schools through the grow programs. Last year there were about 140 people who took our cooking classes.”

It’s clear Loving Spoonful does more than just deliver food. Teaching is how they make sure their initiatives making nutritious foods accessible do not go to waste.

Shaw elaborates, “We have cooking classes and figure out how to fund them so that people have more than enough. People can take home that butternut squash macaroni and cheese to their families and they can try butternut squash which they otherwise wouldn’t have tried. The next time we bring butternut squash to a pantry, people will take it home because they know what to do with it.” Continue reading

Boss Ladies of the Limestone City: SimplyWell Owner, Jehna Duncan

[UPDATE: SimplyWell is no longer in business. It is missed! I keep this interview up to honour the important message of women support each other and community spirit]

When I first discovered SimplyWell’s beautiful space, I fell in love with the concept and loved that Kingston finally had a delicious juice spot. When I found out the owner was an ambitious young woman, I was so impressed and interested to know how she got her start. In two years, owner Jehna Duncan – with the help of her team – has turned SimplyWell into a holistic one-stop shop catered to helping people with digestive health issues.

After sitting down with Jehna, I learned that her journey to business owner is filled with girl power because of the encouragement of other Kingston Boss Ladies. Learn how this Boss Lady went from selling her juices in the market to her light-filled storefront on Princess street.  Continue reading

Top Ten Tips to Detox Your Home

Detox Home Tips

Spring feels like the perfect time to reevaluate things in life like ditching old clothes or furniture and starting fresh! I figured while getting full swing into spring cleaning, I might as well reconsider some of the things I use to clean my space and try to go a greener route. I spoke to local expert, Julie Boucher of Own Your Happy about ways to go green when cleaning.

Julie, who started making her own laundry detergent 20 years ago, started the website Own Your Happy in 2013 to share as many DIY holistic recipes as possible, “I was always sharing random recipes with people. So instead of emailing a bunch of people, I decided to start Own Your Happy,” she says. She’s now on a mission to detox 1000 homes in 2017 with her tips and tricks! She is full of insight on how to approach a greener life and she’s compiled her own list right here to help you detox your home! Continue reading

Kingston’s Most Instagrammable Destinations

Kingston YGK INstagram

There is a reason Kingston’s staple hashtag (#ygk) has more than 195,385 posts (and counting) on Instagram. It’s because this town is filled with eye candy! Between our parks, cafes, architecture and waterfront – the photo opportunities are endless. I might be a little bias, but I like to think we live in one of the most photogenic cities. If you’re looking for the best places to capture Kingston’s good side(s) (there are many!) look no further than my list below,  #ygk’s most Instagrammable spots.

Battery Park

https://instagram.com/p/BQ0h3pCgbIA/

Continue reading

Boss Ladies of the Limestone City: Wendy Huot, Owner of The Screening Room

fullsizerender-13If you’re a fan of films then you’ve most likely been to Kingston’s locally owned movie theatre, The Screening Room, a space to indulge in popcorn and experience the thrill of re-watching a classic film on the big screen or a cult classic at a good price. I met with the owner, Wendy Huot, over pints and tacos at Stone City Ales to learn what brought her to Kingston, how she ended up taking ownership of The Screening Room and get the scoop on the upcoming Kingston Canadian Film Festival. What I learned is that Wendy is a kind and ambitious woman who is most certainly a Boss Lady. Learn her story and more in our interview below.  Continue reading

Boss Ladies of the Limestone City: Melissa Eapen, Co-Founder of Improbable Escapes and The Kingston Collective

melissaeapenIf you’ve put your puzzle-solving skills to the test at one of Kingston’s Improbable Escape rooms or indulged in a little shopping at Kingston’s new locally-curated makers shop, The Kingston Collective, then you can thank the brilliant millennial mind of Melissa Eapen. Melissa was born in Brampton and grew up in the Caledon area but saw something special in Kingston. After one visit she decided to move here with her businesses partner and launch Improbable Escapes. She’s not only incredibly smart and kind, after just under two years of living in Kingston she’s created a number of new job opportunities and embodies what it means to be a Kingstonian. She’s taking limestone city by storm and is more than deserving of the title, “Boss Lady.”  Continue reading

Keep up with Kingston’s Top Six Posts of 2016

screen-shot-2016-12-30-at-11-51-47-amI can’t believe 2016 is almost over! Like many, I take these last few days of the year to reflect on my highs and lows and set goals for the year ahead. It’s been a great year to be a Kingstonian with so many amazing local establishments knocking our socks off. Take a trip down memory lane with me as I highlight my most successful posts of 2016. Thank you to all who have been following along with my little blog! ❤ Continue reading