A Note of Warning...

Found this in the window of a vintage store on Ossington I walked past after dinner at Delux.

Of Course You Know I Bought Stuff...

But first, here's what I didn't buy:

• Skinny leather belt painted gold. So disco meets euro chic. ($49.00)
  
• Insanely comfortable, beautiful, appealing elbow-length cashmere gloves in grey. ($79.00)
  

Yes, I loved them both. Yes, I could envision 12 outfits for each piece. But, alas, one is being "thoughtful" about consumption lately. And about paying off the bathroom reno in this decade.

Which is why I am sheepish to report that I did not leave without:

• Amazing merino wool harlequin pattern v-neck sweater. (on sale! $59.00) Pls. note, despite the weird colour scheme in the photo, it is a perfect combo of burgundy and cherry red, great length, shows off cleavage very well (but respectably) and has that super merino ability to be durably slim and sleek.

• 

• Warm, cozy, fine, navy blue cashmere sweater (honestly, well-priced at $99.00). I believe that navy blue looks as chic, if not better, than black on 85% of women. It doesn't zap the colour from one's natural complexion. And it goes so well with every other colour in the universe. I must disclose that this is not my first cashmere scarf. I do have another in steel grey, very fine (from Portugal), that is truthfully more of a shawl than a scarf. It is so dear that I feel it is for indoor use only. Not to mention that, given it's dimensions, while very slim, it's too bulky to wear around the neck under a coat. My mother calls this shawl my "blankie". You can see why I need one for outdoor use. And this new navy scarf is perfect in every way.

You Bet Your Ass We Can...

Last night I felt like I was watching the most riveting, heartwarming, well-written (least Sorkinism-laden), optimistic episode of the West Wing.

Only it was real, thank you.

Comments Feature Fixed

Hey all: My experiement with embedded commenting has come to an end - at least until they figure out how to fix the bugs.

If you haven't commented because you haven't been able to, problem should be fixed because I went back to the comment dialogue box method.

My apologies to anyone who was negatively impacted by this. I really LOVE your comments. So please don't stop speaking your mind...

To Me, It Looks Like A Rollercoaster

The Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO) in downtown TO, has been undergoing a pretty sizable renovation for the past few months. I mean, it hasn't taken as long as my bathroom did but, still :-)

The other day I took a few snaps of this lauded, still under-construction, Frank Gehry design:





Mr. Gehry, for all his outstanding international clout, has the dubious honour of being a TO native who has never actually designed anything in Canada before.

I am trying to keep an open mind, but I gotta say, I've seen this thing go up and I don't like it yet. I mean, it isn't the monstrosity that is the Chin Crystal (I won't even link to this piece of crap - sorry to offend you if you like it...), but its glassy, unidimensional modernism doesn't thrill me in any way. Of course, I welcome your opinions!

Exciting News! The AGO is offering free admission for 3 days (November 14 - 16 2008). How on earth it's going to be ready to open, given snaps above, is beyond me. So check the website (see link above) for more details before trooping out.

Addicted

Some people are just not appetite-driven. (You know, the ones that can do a little cocaine recreationally? The ones who eat a single, slim potato chip and stop? Those who pass by a Baskin Robbins, like, completely unphased?)

Well, apparently, I'm not one of those people. At least not when it comes to Club Monaco. Apparently, at CM I have a problem.

Here's the thing. Everything in the entire fucking store is beautifully displayed, deliciously tactile and it looks great! I could seriously spend 3K in 10 minutes on some crazy shopping blitz. (Not that I have done, or would do, this. Of course.) I have this absurd and bourgeois perspective that, if something fits gorgeously, then it's only right that you should own it. I mean, not at Chanel... But at Club Monaco, this seems reasonable. And, naturally, this absurd, consumptive, relatively affluent perspective is offensive. Not to mention insane. So I apologize. But just in that temporal, guilty way that addicts (stopping in at the local 12-step prior to meeting the dealer 'round the corner at Starbucks) do.

May I also say that, if you were one of those people who needs to look chic but couldn't care less about the creativity and eclecticism inherent in building a wardrobe slowly, with love, over time - not this demographic, obvs - then you could drop into CM one Wednesday evening (preferably at the beginning of a sale) and buy every staple you require, plus a little bit of bling, no problem. And people would stop you to tell you how much they love your ____.

I seem to be the only one who writes about this place. Is it just me who loves it to bits???

Please stay tuned for tomorrow, when I continue to harp on about this - but throw a couple of photos in for good measure.

Santa Baby!

Oh, this is good. So, gift-giving good!

Today, on a whim, though the guy at Rudsak advised that there were no more of the fab wallet I snagged on mega-sale a few days ago, I decided to return in the slim hopes that the SA could search another store for any spares floating in the system.

Turns out, the guy was looking in the wrong spot and there were actually 3 left (with boxes no less) languishing in a fancy stock drawer! And, since I put it out there to the Xmas giftie gods to send me a spare to give away over the hols, I felt it would be ungracious not to buy them all. Sometimes I am so hideous western consumer. But generous. :-)

So, if your name is Sandra, Allison or Mummy (mine only, sorry) - do not buy a wallet before Christmas.