I got my tea cozy! Saltbox house cozy from Nonia.
Piles of Newfoundland goodies from back home.
Cat-in-the-box
Spice Girls tribute concert
A vintage mini-lumberjack jacket for my favourite three year old (from Penny Arcade)
A vineyard walk in Niagara
Delicious antipasti from Black Skirt
I don’t keep a great home bar. Aside from a few bottles of wine and some Jameson (obvi), I’m more of a buy-as-I-drink type. But after taking some cocktail classes at BYOB Cocktail Emporium and enjoying classically made concoctions at the Toronto Temperance Society and Bar Chef, I decided to expand my home drinking options.
Enter The Old Fashioned.
My new favourite cocktail is so easy to make and delicious to drink. Instead of classic Angostura bitters, I used Orange Angostura – a trick I learned from expert mixologist Trevor Burnett.
Now to decide how best to drink the Aperol I bought…
Sources: ohbeautifulpaper, ohgo, eldoradobar, onthefourthfloor
Dinner at Grand Electric
Fitzroy Boutique pop-up shop
Furry decorations at BYOB
Feist at Massey Hall
Sick-bed buddy
Friendship bracelet making at my work holiday party.
Breakfast at Morning Glory
Brunch at the Bellevue
Shopping at Lavish and Squalor
White kitten iPhone case from Durumi & Chocolate
Vintage at Mrs. Huizenga
Crafty at the One Of A Kind show
Sometimes life takes precedent to blogging. Especially when you have a new job and a birthday and a lot to think about, which I do.
Funny thing about turning a year older when you’re, you know, older, is time weighs more. You waste less. You wish there was more of it.
Deep, right?
So, Grande Prairie, Alberta:
Fact: I sent this Archie comic to my sister and then got to read it when I visited. We were obsessed with Archie when we were kids. Best bathtub reading next to Anais Nin – umm, moving on.
The mountain view from Grande Cache: Stop. Look.
I’m like “Cool, are we going into the mountains?” Apparently not. We drove two hours to take a picture. Okay! I’m so game for anything when on vacation. Also, my sister has her eyes closed in every picture. Every. Picture. It’s her “thing”.
I spent my days with Leah while my sister and her husband were at work. We got lost in the weird suburbia that is GP a few times together. Hurricane Katrina rescue dog – looks like a demon but she is the sweetest.
She makes people noises though. Kind of creepy when dogs try to talk.
Special Guest You’re Welcome. This bar was a bust. I honestly thought that being a “city” girl would be a huge cowboy draw – not so. Had to ask for a dance lesson. ASK. Then we went to a “Newfie” bar where the entertainment refused to play songs from the east coast and the bar manager (maybe the only hipster in GP) wouldn’t leave us alone. Bust #2. I ate a whopper the next day.
Eventually it was time to go but before I boarded the air-pickup truck (sorry I know this all sounds negative but this town and me just didn’t mesh, k?) we visited the Grande Prairie SPCA to pet the kittens and walk some dogs. It’s an incredible facility – better than the one we have back home in St. John’s. A lot of pit bulls. Here’s a story: A BC woman recently adopted a dog from the GPSPCA website and hired someone to drive it to her. On the way, the driver got into a bad accident and the dog pulled the driver to safety. An abandoned stray nobody wanted pulled a stranger away from danger. Enough to make you want to donate to your local SPCA, right?
And then home.
This trip reminded me of two things: 1) Not having my sister around me all the time is the pits and 2) I belong in Toronto (for now).
Sometimes to find the perfect image, all you gotta do is Google
It’s that time of year again (if you live in Toronto) – TIFF or, for out-of-towners, the Toronto International Film Festival. My Twitter feed is jammed with celebrity sightings and party bragging. Working at the back-end of events like these can be exhausting. Luckily, I’m only volunteering my time over the next six days to hang with media on a few red carpets. Sure for about 15 minutes it’s mayhem but mostly it’s shooting the shit with photographers and joking with entertainment show hosts. While I don’t always (nevah) buy into the hype, I do love films and it’s exciting that I live in a city where some of the best movies make their debut.
But stars aside, I’ll always and forever raise my glass to the people who put in all the work. So if you’re schmoozing at a premiere or guzzling bubbly at an after party, don’t forget to be especially nice to everyone with a headset, camera, microphone or volunteer t-shirt.
Because if you’re not, Ryan Gosling’s probably going to step in and straighten you out. (See you Saturday boo)
Remember how bad I wanted an apartment makeover? Then it flooded and all I really wanted were walls and floors (you don’t know what you’ve got til it’s gone). Now that the major necessities are back in place, I’ve put a bit of effort into updating the space and I wanted to show you how it’s going so far!
Living Room before:
I loved the clean, lean look of this room but after a while it felt too modern. I wanted to make the room feel a bit more feminine and comfortable.
After:
A new sectional (reminiscent of my grandparents couch when I was little) gives the room some colour and creates a cozy nook for reading, blogging and watching movies (from Design Republic). Sheer curtains give the illusion of privacy and antique wall hangings bring it all together. I felt like before I was making a home other people could be comfortable in. This time around, I’m making it for me.
My favourite dumpster salvage item of all time – the flamingo mirror. On the other side is a framed painting of Paris’ Left Bank.
Antique framed paintings from Lia’s secret antique market.
My Philippe Starck for Kartell gnome is my prized possession. Kristen and I have matching ones.
A dedicated ‘work’ area. The wall alongside is bare but I’m working on an inspiration board to fill the space.
Lia, I need more flowers. Can we go back soon?
The enormous mirror that used to hang above my old couch goes vertical to open up the kitchen.
A shelf for holding scents and rings underneath my nudie girls
I’m still working on the front porch, kitchen and bedroom and there are a few more things I’d like to do with the living space, but I’m really happy with how it’s turned out so far.
Oh, one last thing:
I couldn’t part with the peacocks.
When I was younger (like teens/early 20s) I wished there was a Soundtrack to Life. Like at any given moment, the perfect song would just start playing out of nowhere and whatever situation you found yourself in would become so much more fun, or profound, or exciting – whatever. I was basically wishing there was something like an iPod (can I claim it was my idea first then?). And now there is! We pretty much all have our own little soundtrack to life. Music on – World off. There is nothing better when you’re on the subway or in a car or on the treadmill or waiting in line than the ability to listen to exactly what you feel like listening to. Do I sound like I’m stoned writing this? I’m not! It just really blows me away that we can do this. It’s one of my favourite things.
And then there’s someone like Ty Cullen, an NYC filmmaker, who has this genius idea to ask people on the street in NYC what song they’re listening to. His video has inspired other people to do the same thing in their own city – London, Melbourne, Denver and even Toronto. Check out some of the videos below.
It’s a small thing to do but there’s something about it that is so, so beautiful.
Dealing with the aftermath of the flood has been a huge ordeal for me this summer. Besides not having a place to live for 55 days, I have also been dealing with a difficult landlord who is out of the country most of the time. We struggle with a fairly substantial language barrier (Chinese/English) and the worst part is, he’s not even my “real” landlord. He’s the representative of his client who owns multiple condo units in Toronto and resides full-time in Hong Kong.
Anyway, I’m giving you this info in context. Because I have been difficult too. I’ve been pulling out my hair for months trying to get information about the apartment. I’ve tried crying, shouting, pleading and have even brought in the big guns (real estate lawyer friend for advice). I thought I had done everything right and yet even still, this person(s) isn’t budging.
So, a new approach. Kindness. And understanding. I have to shelve this anger because it’s toxic to my life and for what? Over a couple thousand dollars? Nope. Not worth it. I’ll still fight for my rights and all, but quietly, carefully and firmly. Because don’t you find that when you want something soooo bad it stays elusive and when you take away the ‘want’ it just appears?
Has happened before and I’m hopeful it will again.
The lesson: Renting is for suckers.
“You will not be punished for your anger.
You will be punished by your anger.”
Buddha
Hover for image source
Last weekend I had the awesome opportunity to visit SweetGrass Spa for Eyelash Extensions. I know. You’re dying right? Lash extensions, because I’m worth it. Anywho:
Located below the Verity Club and next to George restaurant on Queen Street East, SweetGrass is entirely underground. There’s something about the hidden-away cavernous space that’s extremely serene. Even the pool feels a bit like a grotto (chlorine-free!). The décor is up my ally too, with overstuffed arm chairs and big, wooden tables adorned with flickering candles. Guests who aren’t members of Verity (like me) are invited to use the amenities which include the aforementioned oxygenated pool, hot tub and infrared sauna. Or you can do like I did and just lay on a comfy chair and go zen until your appointment.
Dying for this chair. Pink fish! I’m not kidding, you come to this place and you just want to curl up in beauty heaven forever.
OK so I’ll stop gushing about how much I loved the spa styling and tell you guys about my treatment – Bambi Lashes!
Laura Hippensteel was my Eyelash Extension Artist. Artist really is the word for it. She looked at what I was working with, asked me about the kind of look I was hoping to achieve (natural, not too dramatic) and then explained how she was going to make it happen. The entire process takes roughly 90 minutes and you lay on your back with your eyes closed the entire time. I was told most people tend to fall asleep during the process and while I didn’t, I can totally see how that would be possible. Nothing hurts. It feels like someone gently touching the tips of your lashes so, essentially, you feel nothing.
Me before. Apologies for the super close-up.
The Application: Laura chose a mix of J and B lashes for my extensions. J being a straighter lash and B having a bit more curl. If you’re going for a big, dramatic lash, those would be the D lashes. She also did a mix of dark brown and black since my natural lashes aren’t as dark as most. Each lash is affixed, by hand, to an existing eyelash. It’s glued to the lash so at no point is anything coming in contact with your skin.
The Result:
Mascara-free!
Do you love it? I reeeeeally loved. Still am loving it. Every time a lash falls out it’s like a little death (our eyelashes fall out on the regular at different times which is why you need to go back for a fill as early as two weeks after the initial application).
The Verdict: Getting and maintaining the extensions isn’t cheap. It’s a delicate process and you want to make sure you go to a pro (like Laura) who applies lashes individually (if you ever go to a place that applies more than one lash at time – RUN). The result, however, is so worth it. I feel like I have a full face of makeup on when I wake up in the morning (in a good way not in a I-drank-too-much-and-didn’t-wash-my-face-last-night way) and my lashes look totally natural, not fake. Interested? For more information about the SweetGrass lash extension experience, click here.
So what do you think of my Bambi eyes? And would you ever consider getting lash extensions?
