EVENT | Arianna Huffington in TO

Arianna Huffington is one inspirational woman. I had the pleasure of attending an event held at Chapters Indigo a couple weeks ago where The Huffington Post creator graced us with her presence. She spoke about her book, Thrive, which runs smoothly along the concept of fellow female businesswoman Sheryl Sandberg's Lean In.

For young women going after their dreams, Arianna is a figure who is a great example and role model of sticking with a vision and following through. Her determination and passion are just a couple admirable qualities of this media visionary.

In her book, she emphasizes the importance of taking care of yourself. She says, "burnout is the disease of our civilization" and I think she's right. I've definitely found myself so tired that I wasn't able to produce the quality of work that I would've liked.

She also touched on how crucial it is to surround yourself with the right people. "Get rid of the toxic people, the negative," she says. "And don't hold grudges." That hit home for me because I think that's so true. I personally have become so much happier after cutting out the people who really don't add anything positive. Do what you have to do, no regrets.

She includes the idea of "wonder" in her concept of three metrics and I love how she keeps the sense of curiosity alive. She says, "We love coincidences because it makes us believe that what happens in the world is not meaningless." Again, I totally agree—heck, I'm such a huge fan of coincidences.

Sigh, such I had such a fan-girl moment listening to her speak that day....

- Christina
Follow my adventures on Twitter: @christinaaa28

INTERVIEW WITH: Christina Perri

Photo via Facebook

Christina Perri describes her start in the music industry as a Cinderella moment. I had the chance to sit down with the American songstress and she told me what it was like going from a waitress on June 29, 2010 to having an instant launch into stardom after her song 'Jar of Hearts' debuted on So You Think You Can Dance.

"I remember I came home and just cried for like three days," she says. "I had to process what had just happened."

Another one of her ballads, 'A Thousand Years' made it to the big screen. Her fan base continued to grow after being part of the incredibly popular Twilight franchise.

"I might not have ever pushed my comfort zone had I not been pushed out into it," she says. "I was very afraid of this, which makes me believe in the concept of doing the thing you're afraid of."

--> Most recently, she released her second album, Head or Heart, and has been touring and sharing it with the world. "I think I love this album so much emotionally because I loved making it," she says.

INTERVIEW WITH: Fefe Dobson

Photo via Facebook

Last week, I had the pleasure of sitting down with Canadian pop-rock singer Fefe Dobson. I'll admit, I spent a majority of my teenage years belting out Fefe Dobson songs—this one in particular, despite the lack of ever even having a boyfriend to say "bye bye" to....

So I was really looking forward to getting to chat with her, since she's been in the industry for quite some time now, and naturally she's grown as a person and artist.  She even fell in love along the way, sighhhh. (She's engaged to American rapper YelaWolf FYI)

GIVEAWAY | Happy Easter! [CLOSED]

Hope you all are having a fantastic Easter Sunday! I thought I'd put together a last-minute prize pack for all you lovely peeps.

Here's what's up for grabs:

EVENT | Harlem Globetrotters take over TO

Photo via Facebook

I don't usually cover any sports related events, but when I was invited to check out the Harlem Globetrotters here in Toronto, I couldn't say no. They brought their 'Fans Rule' tour to Ricoh Coliseum last weekend and I had the pleasure of snapping the action courtside.

Take a look:

FASHION | Stashd

I always find myself surrounded by entrepreneurs and fashion folks, and often a combination of the two. Last fall, I attended Techweek NYC, where I had the pleasure of meeting Jess Wilson, a lovely and talented fashion tech enthusiast from Australia. I remember her telling me about a project she'd been working on and a few months later, she showed me what she'd been up to. Stashd, an app for iPhones, is a fashion destination to discover, share and purchase those lust-worthy products.

MY LIFE | Vegas 2014

I haven't been to a wedding since I was a little tot in a pouffy flower girl dress so I was feeling pretty rusty when getting prepared for attending a wedding at 22. I was already pretty excited when I found out my aunt was getting married, but as a bonus, she was getting hitched in fabulous Las Vegas. I've been to Vegas before when I was younger, but there's only so much you can do as an underage tween.

In addition to my aunt putting a ring on it in Vegas last weekend, there were also tons of other big-time events going down at the same time (Academy of Country Music Awards and Michael Jordan's Celebrity Invitational, aka hello celebs!).

So I got to escape Toronto for a much-needed weekend vacation. I couldn't wait to see my family and take a break from school. Check out my Vegas experience:

We stayed at The Cosmopolitan hotel, which was more fabulous than I imagined. I went into the room to this view, so naturally, I felt like I was in heaven:

FASHION | Mass Exodus 2014

Ryerson University is known for its kick-ass fashion program. I always admire the fashion students because they are so incredibly talented and passionate for their craft. They put a lot of hard work into making it to the end, which takes form in Mass Exodus.

Mass Exodus is the showcase of the graduating fashion design and communications students, with a fashion show and exhibit. Mass Exodus has become the world's largest student-run fashion show, which is pretty darn cool.

I was at last year's event and was excited to be in the audience once again on April 3 (last year's coverage HERE and HERE).

Take a look into Mass Exodus 2014:

Fun with Fifth Harmony

Photo via Facebook

The cutest girl group Fifth Harmony made a visit to Toronto on tour with Demi Lovato and I was fortunate enough to hang out with them for a Faze Magazine cover shoot (they'll be our summer issue cover girls). Ally, Lauren, Dinah, Camila and Normani are all so incredibly sweet. It was so much fun, with lots of energy and impromptu dance moves.

Of course, Faze brought them cupcakes:

The Ryersonian RAPS Up + Hump Day Heroes #4

It's been an time at The Ryersonian and it feels weird to say that it's officially over! I spent six weeks as the live managing editor and it was a great experience. I worked with an awesome team and I'm pretty proud of what we were able to produce during our Sonian stint. We became like a little j-school family and we often wore coordinated outfits....

EVENT | Faze Magazine's Glow Girl 2014

It's been a super busy time, so I know this post is a little late.....

Faze Magazine hosted its Glow Girl prom prep event last month and it was such a fun time. Lots of awesome performances, special guests, and fab makeup and hair stations. I was the videographer lead at the event, so stay tuned for the video to come! Degrassi's Luke Bilyk was our charming host and we had performances by:

Jordan McIntosh 

Mandia