Monday, May 31, 2010

Before, before, before, and after

So I'm picking up lots of tidbits of knowledge from watching too much Mad Men. One thing we know is that "women love before-and-afters". In that spirit, here are some befores for current projects.
Karl is fixing up my bike for me! He's a handy sort, and we got all the bits and pieces we need, so hopefully soon I'll be hitting the road. I even bought a helmet today. Not so enthusiastic about that.
Now these silk patterned Alfred Sung shorts don't look like much now, but I think making them about six inches shorter will improve them greatly. And ironing them.

Last but not least, dinner. Eggplant Parmesan. It was soooo good, and although it took more work than the usual quick dinner, it was so satisfying: almost lasagna-like. Even Karl, who's often wary of my eggplant adventures, devoured most of the pan.

Sunday, May 30, 2010

Salad Rolls

I know my presentation leaves something to be desired, but they were really good and really easy. Unlike ones I've made before, they had mint inside, and the sauce was cooked and had garlic in it. I was hoping for lots of leftovers, but only ended up with a couple for lunch tomorrow!

Saturday, May 29, 2010

What's for dinner?

A new pursuit has added hours to my online time: food blogs! Did we know about these? There are zillions of them; every type imaginable. The baking ones are especially mouth-watering, but they're not my real focus. I've been getting pretty bored (and boring) in the kitchen lately, and there's plenty of inspiration for a weary cook. In the last few years I've been getting better at planning meals: one big grocery shopping, no nights of staring into the fridge dumbfounded. Well, sometimes I leave one night out, like tonight, but make sure that there's stuff - tuna melts, miso soup and leftover chickpea salad seemed to work.

So on a dreary, lazy Saturday night with nothing more to do than watch Mad Men, I'm browsing food blogs, drooling over the pictures, and planning some dinners that will break the monotony. Under consideration: pad thai, blue cheese coleslaw, roasted red pepper and feta rice, Vietnamese spring rolls, eggplant Parmesan, layered vegetable torta, and citrus pork with egg noodles...

Last week's favorite new recipe was shakshuka, a middle Eastern dish that's basically eggs poached in spicy tomato sauce with feta cheese. Sounds simple, well, it is simple, but it's great. And pretty.


Friday, May 28, 2010

...all of the little details...





such as who had a word and who had a rock,
and who had you through the mails...

Wednesday, May 26, 2010

Double Dots



I find it interesting when fashion bloggers give themselves challenges. Recently the Glamourai did a full week of polka-dot madness, and encouraged readers to send in pictures of themselves in at least three spotted pieces. I don't even think I own three polka-dotted garments. I do however, own two, and after I got dressed this morning I realized maybe this was my subconscious tribute... Please excuse the post-gym hair and face.

Tuesday, May 25, 2010

In Season






Despite what feels like kind of a damp, cool May, there are a few pretty faces in my garden.

Monday, May 24, 2010

Dapper Denizens of the Interwebs





Colours, prints, proportions, summer hair...

Sunday, May 23, 2010

How To Spend It Magazine


featuring Alek Wek

Thursday, May 20, 2010

The Blues


Tie-dyed tights apparently draw a few stares on the streets, but that's OK. At first I thought it was that my skirt was blowing up in the wind. That's one of the good things about pockets in skirts. Got this one at the Value Village 50% off sale. I also got the shoes there and I know you can't really see them but they are aggressively ugly, trust me. Le Chateau circa 1999: so plastic and chunky. But I figure that when I find something simultaneously totally attractive and repulsive, well, I'm intrigued, and if they're only a couple of dollars... lets see where this goes, shall we? I'll get a better picture of them soon.

Tuesday, May 18, 2010

Coffee Table Envy

I love this black lacquered burl coffee table. It was posted the excellent blog Nubby Twiglet; apparently her brother made it, so I guess I can't run out to Ikea to buy one. We do have the black globe though, so, yeah, getting there...

Monday, May 17, 2010

The Colour of Beauty

Last night I went to see a short documentary called The Colour of Beauty at the Museum of Vancouver. It was about a black model's struggle in to make it in an industry that considers white girls the standard of beauty. The film was good, but I kept wondering why such a smart, articulate, engaging young woman cared so much about being a model. I guess it speaks to the brainwashing that young girls receive that says modelling is glamorous and something to aspire to.

The film was followed by a panel discussion featuring a fashion journalist, the owner of a modelling agency, a former model and a media educator. This being Vancouver, three of the four were Asian, and that breakdown was reflected in the audience as well. The journalist made a comment that the fashion industry is more diverse today than it was twenty years ago, but I'm not sure he's right. I think fashion goes through brief seasons where diversity is front and centre, usually as a response to a major outcry about whitewashed runways, and then quickly returns to the status quo. We've seen the same thing with plus size models in the last year or so. There's a token effort to offer up a few example of girls of colour, but it doesn't seem to create lasting change. And of course everyone can point fingers of blame at each other - magazines don't feature models of colour because agencies don't promote them because designers don't book them because consumers don't buy from them... And around and around we go.

The film featured some startling figures: in 2008, runways featured 6% black models, 6% Asian models, 1%(!) Latina models and 87% white models. Just looking through websites that feature magazine spreads, like fashiongonerogue.com, I think there appears to be a greater demand for Asian models due to the importance of the Asian markets and the fact that many magazines have Korean, Japanese, Chinese, etc. versions. But runways and major campaign advertising obviously have a long way to go before they represent the diverse public they claim to serve. For example, India is one of the biggest emerging economies, and how many Indian models can you name? I know decisions are driven by dollars and the argument is that everyone around the world wants to buy from white models, but how do we know that this is true if we never try anything else?

Anyway, if you want to check out the movie you can watch it on the NFB website through the link above.

Let me know what you think.

Sunday, May 16, 2010

Friday night tunes

I had a fun night out the other night with the ladies. We went to a performance of the Vancouver Bach Choir and the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra at the Orpheum. I made a dress for the soloist, so she gave me some tickets, which was really cool. It was so nice to do something different and a little higher-than-usual-brow.

Tuesday, May 11, 2010

Over the top


My first attempt with the over-the-knee socks: what do you think? Karl, predictably, took one look at them and said "Hockey socks?". Wore this out to a friend's birthday party this weekend. Notice the sunshine!

Monday, May 10, 2010

A Beautiful Occasion

This weekend I went to an engagement party for my dearest friend and her fiance, hosted by his parents at a beautiful Persian restaurant. It was so much fun. There was live music and belly dancing, awesome food, and lots of gorgeous ladies! That's the bride-to-be in the middle.





Sunday, May 9, 2010

Happy Mother's Day!

To all the moms, but most especially mine, because she's the best! Some women fear becoming their mothers, but I couldn't be happier when I see signs that I may be. I wish I could spend today with her, but maybe both of us spending time outside in the sunshine in our gardens is the next best thing. Love love love you!

Thursday, May 6, 2010

Adobe




I could totally live here. It's in Santa Fe, it's for sale... maybe it's time for a change of scenery.

Tuesday, May 4, 2010

What do I wear...

with over-the-knee socks? I bought a pair - not these ones; mine are lighter grey and more opaque - yesterday, as consolation after having to work on my day off. Just spend that extra money, right? Now I'm a little puzzled about how to wear them. There are certain rules: avoid making them look like thigh-highs by not pairing them with anything tight, inner-as-outerwear, or tunic-y. Shoe-wise, nothing spiky, nothing totally flat, maybe clogs? Also, what about wearing them over leggings? You know, to reduce actual skin showing.

I need advice. Any ideas?

What to wear with over-the-knee socks

Saturday, May 1, 2010

Saturday Light


I love this thrifted Bill Blass blouse. It just has a little pleat detail in the front, and it's ivory, so I do get food on it every time I wear it, but I always get compliments on it.