Hip Hop Yoga lured Toronto yogis to the Thompson Hotel last Thursday night for upward dogs and upbeat tunes. The free event, hosted by lululemon, is just your typical Friday night for Calgary's yoga set. Its popularity is no surprise - the unlikely combo of heavy-hitting tracks and graceful poses is a match befitting an eHarmony success story. So I wonder, what took Toronto so long to catch on?

The Best pilates studios in Toronto challenge inventor Joseph Pilates' vision by reinventing the practice with a contemporary twist and fusing it with yogic and martial arts inspired movements. While true to the traditional strength and flexibility building exercises, our city's studios take their own spin, making pilates accessible to our diverse masses.

A busy two-stylist salon at Harbord and Ossington has been pumping out ahead-of-fashion cuts, expert colour correction, and party up-dos for three years. Clients come for the cuts, but come back for the conversation. The vintage-y casual space buzzes with hair dryers and celeb gossip five days a week.

Check out my profile of The Saloon in the fashion section.

Today marks the last day of my quest to find some of the best gifts in Toronto. My final pick: Samba Days experiences. My dad has a knack for waiting until Christmas Eve before doing any holiday shopping, usually duping some poor suspecting offspring (namely me) into acting as mall co-pilot during the excruciating experience. To his relief, my parents put a stop to gifts a few years ago. For the not-so-lucky who still have gifting obligations (and liken shopping to swallowing thumbtacks), you can actually find incredibly thoughtful gifts outside of the mall. On Christmas Eve. And if you're really pathetic, on Christmas Day.

It's getting down to the wire but today marks day number 22 of my quest to find some of the best gifts in Toronto. Today's Pick: The Mighty Wallet. For a wallet that lasts, I usually opt for leather. My inner conflict over leather is a touchy one, though - should I be wearing leather if I'm not eating meat? But I'm also sensitive to my landfill contribution, and faux-leather options will undoubtedly end up as garbage in a few months. There is a happy compromise, though. The Mighty Wallet is free of animal ingredients and it's also 100% recyclable. Win-win.

It's day number 21 of my quest to find some of the best gifts in Toronto. Today's Pick: Sula Paint and Peel nail colour. I'm a picker. I have this knack for turning a barely visible red spot into a raging zit, a minor worry into an ulcer, and an innocent hangnail into a mutilation, merely by meddling. These things are better left alone, but I'll never learn. This is probably the appeal of Sula's Paint & Peel polishes. They're meant to be picked!