Hot Salsa in Cold December

Hello darlings!

You may not know this but I dance. I love dancing! And I try to come out and dance as often as possible. Unfortunately, that "often" happens very seldom. But last Saturday I attended the 3d Annual Winter Ball hosted by Steps Dance Studio where I take my Latin dance classes. It was a joyous event in a gorgeous venue spiced up by a delicious food menu and hot Latin vibes. On top of that, me and my fiance, along with our group mates, performed our salsa routine at this ball. We performed the same routine as we did at the Canada Salsa and Bachata Congress 2013 earlier in October. Canada Salsa and Bachata Congress 2013 is the biggest festival of Latin dance in Canada so it felt very special to be able to perform on that stage. Here is the video of our dance routine from the Congress: 

I enjoy performing a lot! So I was only happy to perform our salsa dance at the last weekend's Winter Ball. After long months of tedious practice it feels very gratifying to showcase what you have learned. Here are some photos from the Ball's performance:

 

 

Besides my performance costume (which is quite revealing to say the least), I wore this champagne lacy dress I made for the past New Year's Party. 

Me and my fiance social dancing

Its shiny material and lacy outer shell are still more than relevant. Besides, its flare and cut out back are very appropriate for social dancing. And believe me I did plenty of the latter! So it worked out that I greeted 2013 and bid my farewell to 2013 in the same dress. It served me well! 

To new dresses in 2014!

My Engagement Trip to Winter Wonderland

Hello darlings!

I have very happy news to share with you. I got engaged to the most wonderful man on the planet!!! It all happened in an intimate and romantic fashion at home under the Christmas Tree! Here is the gorgeous evidence of that fairy tale moment!

As a way to celebrate our engagement my man took me on a trip to a Winter Wonderland. We first went to Ste-Adele where we stayed at Hotel Le Chantecler. 

Hotel Le Chantecler

My fiance was determined to teach me to like downhill skiing (after a previous unpleasant experience) which is what we did for the whole day at Le Chantecler Ski Resort. I must admit he accomplished his mission as the resort had a very nice bunny hill and non-stop flurries ensured fresh powdered surface perfect for beginners like me.

This is our "Aliens" look

On the second day of our stay, we decided to literally go off the beaten path - in snow shoes. Spoiled by mild and snowless winter in Toronto I had no idea what I was up against in the Montreal area. The amount of snow in the region definitely called for warmer and sturdier shoes than what I had packed with me. Yet, I was so determined to go on this snowy adventure that my heeled boots did not stop me. My fiance insisted that he take a picture of my snowshoeing gear. 

Snowshoeing in style in Ste-Adele

My determination payed off: the virgin white fields and snow-clad trees were a magical sight to see.

Downtown Montreal was our next stop. Here we went to the Musee des Beaux-Arts, saw Luminotherapie installations in the Quartier des spectacles, watched Cirque du Soleil's last performance of SaltimBanco and just walked the streets of this lively city. All of the above activities deserve their own posts. I will limit myself to showing you a few pictures from this unforgettable trip!

Luminotherapie installation at Place des Festivals

Inside Place des Arts

Montreal definitely looks more glamorous in winter than during any other season! So there was no better way to celebrate this amazing event!