As part of a recent mother and daughter day which included a delicious meal at The Wellington Gastropub, a divine, hour-long massage at Renu Spa and a mouth-watering maple bacon donut (among, ahem, several others), courtesy of Suzy Q, the mum and I stumbled upon what I now consider my favourite boutique in Ottawa: Victoire.
Located on Wellington Street in the trendy Westboro/Hintonburg area, the shop is a virtual incarnation of the kind of store I would open if I were ever to open another store (R.I.P. one-eleven). Full of unique, one-of-a-kind clothing, jewellery and accessories, the boutique is a vintage lover's dream.
From the incredible, flower-patterned wallpaper to the cozy, old school-house style dressing rooms, the shop is as much a work of art as it is a great place to find an incredible dress, ring or even a bow-tie.
And now, for another donut...
Before a good friend left Ottawa for parts unknown (also known as London) for an undetermined amount of time, we decided to paint the town red (or something similar) and send her off in style. Being huge fans of dim sum (generally) and pork buns (specifically), we started our long kiss goodbye with a well deserved trip to Chinatown.
The reason the meal was so well deserved was that the trip to Ottawa was the first that I made on my own, in my very own car (insert applause here)! I graciously picked up my muchacha and impressed her with my driving skills (or not) while she skillfully (or not) guided the way to crispy, fried goodness.
After a satisfying meal of dumplings, rolls and more tea you could shake a stick it, we made our way to Westboro, and then Hintonburg, where we perused hilarious greeting cards at Heavens to Betsy (a, in their own words, nic nac bonanza), bought vintage champagne glasses at the Society of Saint Vincent de Paul thrift shop and stumbled upon one of the coolest record stores I've ever visited, Legend Records.
While on our recon mission, we also came across a seemingly very cute, very delicious restaurant, Burnt Butter and a quaint (ahem) tavern to celebrate my friend's final farewell the following night; The Elmdale House Tavern.
While my friend is now gone, living a new and exciting life on the other side of the pond, I know we'll always have Ottawa.
Cheers mate!
