J. Crew wish list

Finally flipped through the latest J. Crew catalog and fell for the Tretorn Flannel kicks below, which led me to the website with the though of buying them. Unfortunately, only 11s are left. 
This didn't stop me from browsing though and now I've got my eye on this gorgeous necklace and the luscious leather Brompton purse.  Lovely as they are, they're not nearly as compelling as the sneaks.

 

Tretorn Wool Flannel Sneakers, Tassel Stoneset Necklace, Brompton Purse

One Day

I finished David Nicholls' One Day this afternoon.  This was another recommendation by Lainey - you can read her review here - and it's really that good.

If you've already read the book, you'll understand why I was all "WTF?!?" at the end of Part Four and frustrated and crying through Part Five.

Actually, much of this book was frustrating, not because of the writing - no - the writing was beyond solid, but because the characters were so real.  There were various times that I wished I could step into the book, grab hold of Emma and Dexter's shoulders and just shake them and tell them: "Snap out of it! Why are you doing this? Can't you see what's right in front of your faces?!?"  Dexter especially!

I've said enough because if I say anymore, it may just spoil the story for you.  Go. Read it.   

~~~

From the wesbite:

‘I can imagine you at forty,’ she said, a hint of malice in her voice. ‘I can picture it right now.’

He smiled without opening his eyes. ‘Go on then.’

15th July 1988. Emma Morley and Dexter Mayhew meet for the first time on the night of their graduation. Tomorrow they must go their separate ways.

So where will they be on this one day next year? And the year after that? And every year which follows?

One Day is a funny/sad love story spanning twenty years, a book about growing up – how we change, how we stay the same.

~~~

The movie version starring Anne Hathaway and Jim Sturgess is currently in production and there's a part of me that's really, really scared that it's going to pale in comparison to the book...but the screenplay is also written by David Nicholls so perhaps not...

Everything Is Illuminated

I finally finished Jonathan Safran Foer's Everything Is Illuminated today as I began it over a month ago - out in the sun on my balcony.

I remember how amused and excited I was by the language of the novel when I first started: the story unfolds in the broken English of Sasha, the Ukranian who accompanies Jonathan on his "premium" but "rigid" quest to find Augustine, the woman who saved his grandfather from the Nazis. 

But as time progressed, I began to find it rather gimmicky and contrived - OK, and maybe a little annoying, because of my general impatience with poorly written English.

Not for me this one, but I persevered and finished it given all the rave reviews.  On to the next novel...which I think will be One Day, another Lainey reco.  I need a break from WWII-era novels.

Life on a Refrigerator Door

I first took notice of Alice Kuipers' Life on a Refrigerator Door  after reading Lainey's review 3(!) years ago.  I finally picked it up in my last Chapters/Indigo order and it really was a super-fast read.  You could most certainly finish it in one sitting, although I spread it out over 2.

It was good, although I found myself rather annoyed with the daughter because of how self-absorbed she seemed.  When my father was home sick, I made sure I was home to spend time with him - granted I was 9 and not 15 like the daughter, so didn't have a social life to speak of.

I also found the notes to be a bit contrived as the very short book neared its end...not exactly a good thing considering its brevity.

iPhone 4 vs. Galaxy S

I thought I wanted the iPhone 4 but then my brother opened my eyes to the Galaxy S by directing me to this YouTube hands-on face-off and now I'm second-guessing myself. 

Home is where the heart is

It's funny that while I technically have my own home - I've been making mortgage payments for the last 2 years(!) to prove it - I still refer to my childhood home, the house my mom's lived in for the last 25 years and the one where I lived in for 23, give or take the 4 years I was away at Waterloo, as my home. 

When people ask me what I'm doing for the weekend, I sometimes say "I'm going home," with the implication being my mom's house and even my mom gets confused because we'll be on the phone and she'll ask me where I am, or what I'm up to, and depending on the context, I may say, "I'm on my way home," and she'll have to ask for clarification.  Anyway - all this to say that I'm still very much invested in my childhood home.

My mom recently had an energy audit done of our house and one of the things identified for improvement was the front door...so we're getting a new front door!  My mom has no real interest in decor and design so I can't begin to tell you how much fun I've had in picking a style and finish let alone the options available for handlesets and levers!

After going back and forth a few times, I finally decided on the Rockland style to the left here by Masonite which will be flanked by matching side lites.  The door to the left isn't the exact style since I've chosen a 2-panel door, i.e the the main lite or decorative panel is one and the 2 panels at the bottom would be one.

Our door is currently a clear-stained wood door - possibly oak - and I had wanted to go with a coloured door but I finally settled on white after driving around our neighbourhood and noticing that white doors really stand out.  Our house is a reddish-brown brick and because we have a storm door enclosure, the main entrance is relatively dark - particularly at night.  My thought is that the white will be the bright beacon and the glass insert the decorative sparkle. 

While I've followed the trend of a white door, I opted to go with a glass insert that was more Art Deco than Art Nouveau-Victorian in style like the ones below.  These would have been perfectly fine, except that they're rather ubiquitous in our neighbourhood.  

For the handleset and lever, I initially chose Camelot (left) because I liked how the curved detail of the lock and handle echoed that in the glass insert, but then I changed my mind because I didn't like the bump where the lever of the handle sits.  So I set my sights on Paris (middle) for the same reasons as Camelot, minus the bump but on second thought, decided that the handle lever looked wimpy and probably wouldn't feel comfortable to touch. I finally settled on Barcelona (right) because it has the clean, smooth face of  Paris and a more substantial lever similar to Camelot. 

 

What do you think?

Next on my list of to-dos is a visit to Olympia Tile to choose a tile for our storm enclosure...can't wait! 

Repossi Cuff

Can we please all just pause in wonder at the beauty that is this gorgeous cuff by Repossi??

OK.

I'm done.

Sunpan Imports

Have I mentioned how much I love Sunpan Imports? If not, I do.  I paired my Ikea Tulip knock-off with their Vintage dining chairs in linen and have their now discontinued Zoey occasional chair in my living area.

And even though I'm done furnishing my place and have no reason to really stop by, I can't help myself.  A girl can daydream and they've got some fantastic new additions to their catalogue.  Seriously - check these out!

How many of you love Crate and Barrel's Colette bed?  Doesn't SI's San Carlos bed look strangely familiar?

This modern wing-back chair, along with the height of this wing-back upholstered bed makes me giddy!

This glamorous bench would be perfect at the end of a bed or in a dressing room and I love the clean lines and shiny chrome of this desk.

 

Nail-head trim is ubiquitous but I don't care - I love the subtle metallic gleam it gives off particularly when applied to furniture that's feminine as in the curvy arms and skirt of the Cameron sofa on the left, or luxe as in the velvet-y cushiness of the Cathedral sofa on the right.

 

Finally, for storage, there's the Carvaggio Audio/Video stand with it's wavy facade and the mod/retro feel of their Snake bookcase.

All these gorgeous goodies make me wish I could move and start all over again!

Serendipity

ser-en-dip-i-ty [ser-uh n-dip-i-tee] – noun

1. an aptitude for making desirable discoveries by accident.

2. good fortune; luck: the serendipity of getting the first job she applied for.

I walked home after work today through Chinatown today to pick up faux cherry blossoms as part of the wedding centrepiece.  The original orchid theme tweaked to include cherry blossoms because M had his heart set on this wedding cake.

I'd spied them last Friday in a store on Dundas and went back for them but the shop owner was on vacation which was fine, except they didn't have enough in stock - I needed about 40 - and the shop girls couldn't help me so I'd have to wait until Friday when the shop owner was back.

Mildly disappointed, I headed on home....except I didn't go straight home.  I was searching for pretty chopsticks to give away as bombonieres and stumbled onto an even better option for the cherry blossoms then the first!  And they were cheaper!!  While they were twice as expensive a branch, they were fuller so I needed only 11.  Ooh, and the great thing about Chinatown is oftentimes, if you pay cash, they'll give you a discount, aka, no tax.  

Everything's all coming together!  My sister just confirmed the cake design and order and I've got my quotes for the fresh bridal flowers to review and we're well on our way! 

Girly Friday

I took the day off for an extra long weekend and spent the day at the spa and shopping with my best gal pal.  We met at Anthropologie where I ended up buying the 2 dresses at left plus a tank top that was on sale.  The LBD is a jersey material that's super-flattering and the Audrey Hepburn-esque polka dot number is sweet and classic. 

I wouldn't normally go out and buy 2 dresses all at once but I've got 2 weddings coming up so that's my justification for the splurge.

I spent the rest of the afternoon being pampered at Novo Spa where I indulged in an hour-long massage and mani-pedi - the last of which was the best part because you sit in a multi-functional massage chair while getting your toes done.  HEAVEN!  Oh, and the mint-y chocolate mousse foot mask which smelled yummy and made me hungry!  Everything smelled yummy, actually...there was an algae mint foot scrub, a vanilla-coconut oil sugar hand scrub and a mango-coconut hand lotion that left me smelling like a pina colada.  S and I have decided to go back on the regular just for the pedi!

One thing led to another

I started thinking about getting a passport cover early this year. Why? Maybe boredom. I don't know. But I started thinking about it again to distract myself from thinking about a vacation destination. 

Here's my dilemma: I have 4 weeks of vacation still to be booked and more than enough miles for a free flight somewhere, except that there are no flights available to be booked.  Plus I want to spend as little cash as possible on the travel. So what to do?  I distract myself with travel-related accessories, beginning with Smythson of Bond St, where I found the brilliant red passport holder below and the happy yellow slim travel wallet from their Mimosa Collection.  I love the idea that the passport cover is removable.

The drawback?  The slim travel wallet is GBP 315!  A very pretty penny!

A quick google search served up Aspinal of London where I found the Lindberg Travel Wallet. It's similar in style to the yellow Smythson with the addition of a pen loop which would be very handy since the last time I was in Brazil, I found myself without a pen to fill out the obligatory entry paperwork.  Oh, and it's about half the price at $225!

Something to think about.

Monkey!

Doesn't this image make you wanna smile?

via

24%!!

I trained tonight but in advance of that, I had a body composition reading and a fitness assessment, all part of a status check.

The awesome news is that I'm down 11% in total body fat from when I started training just over 11 months ago!  Yippee-ki-yay!  All those protein days during my burn phase totally paid off because it was during this phase that I dropped 7% to the 23.8% that I am today.  Now, I haven't lost a ton of weight - less than 10lbs - but I'm OK with that because lean muscle is denser than fat and I can feel the difference in my clothes. 

Plus I'm so much stronger than I once was!  I had 3 personal bests yesterday: I deadlifted 135lbs, the leg extension machine was loaded up with 170lbs and K brought back the hateful farmer's walk which I did with much glaring and silent cursing lugging 75lbs dumbbells - up 15lbs from my first and last walk.

So, what's next in terms of goals?  According to the chart to the right, I was "At Risk" when I first started but I've since dropped down to "Fitness."  The goal now is to cycle through another build and burn phase to sculpt myself into an "Athlete" with ~ 17% body fat. 

Now, if you knew me at all, you'd know that I am no Athlete.  My hand-eye co-ordination sucks eggs.  I was a flute soloist in my high school band and yearbook editor-in-chief for goodness sake!  How stereotypically non-Athlete could I be?  But that's the goal.  And I'm rather looking forward to it! :)

Wedding Flowers

My sister's wedding is just over a month away and she has no idea what she wants to do when it comes to flowers. She has a vague idea of tossing flower petals over a mirrored glass top on her dining table with a few scattered tealights and calling it a day on the centrepiece. Now, I know it's not a big wedding - just 20 people maybe - but still. It's just too spare and, um, sad. I want my sister to look back on her wedding pictures and remember it as beautiful. So we browsed online yesterday for flower ideas.

My brainstorm today, sparked by this image here on Martha Stewart Weddings led to this:

Sis' wedding centrepiece I by phoenixc on Polyvore.com

PHALAENOPSIS
$20 - ikea.com

IKEA | Decorative objects, bowls & dishes | Decorative objects |...
$1.49 - ikea.com

Egg Candles
$40 - momastore.org

Bridal Bouquets and more inspiring wedding dresses, bouquets, cakes,...
marthastewart.com
More dresses »

Orchid Bouquets
marthastewartweddings.com

Orchid Bouquets
marthastewartweddings.com

Susan and James: Nassau, Bahamas
marthastewartweddings.com

What do you think?

Sleek & Cozy

I love the look of Danish designer Finn Juhl's Poet Sofa - it's sleek and cozy at the same time with it's clean, spare lines and arms that seem to hug you:

Bright Chair Company's Lorae sofa seems to have been inspired by a similar aesthetic:

Both make me want to curl up with a book and a throw, if only it wasn't so warm out!

MAN UP!

I worked out at the gym this morning with my trainer who told me about one of his male clients who cried - cried! - at the end of their session yesterday.

Said client's been lazy with the cardio which K makes all his clients do on their own after the 1-hr session.  I don't think 20 minutes is much to ask post-session, even though I skip it sometimes when I've got a pile of work waiting for me at home.  Back to sissy-boy though - K cut their regular session short by 15 minutes and walked him over to the treadmill for some cardio and sissy-boy came up with every excuse in the book, finally resorting to tears.  TEARS!  Seriously?!?

I'd get mad first before I cried at the gym, but that's just me.

Sadness

I was scanning the headlines when this one caught my eye: Reference books slowly being phased out of libraries, and this makes me sad. 

I realize that times, they are a'changin', and electronic copies are more cost-effective and a greener alternative to printed copies and maybe I'm a bit of a luddite having written papers in university using hard copies of, among other references, the Canadian Periodical Index but it's just not the same - at least not for me.  (How's that for a run-on sentence?)

See, the thing about reference books I like is that the information is there to be found all in one place and it's not going to change - or at least it'll be the same until the next edition comes out.  And let's not forget easy cross-referencing.  On the internet though, you take your chances that your search will serve up just the right results. Information is pushed out rather than pulled by you and maybe, at the end of the day, I'm just old.  Or tired. 

So, good night.

Piglet!

My sister arrived late yesterday afternoon with my Piglet.  As usual, Piglet was shy when I first arrived home today but she warmed up to me as the night wore on.  My sister spent the evening out with her girlfriends so I was head babysitter, which made me a little nervous since my brother was up until 1:30 this morning watching a Dora marathon because Piglet wouldn't go to bed until her mom came home.

I'm happy to report that taking care of her was a breeze.  Granted, there was a lot of Dora and dinner was a little later than normal but she still ate, we had fun at bath time and though she's a bit of a Goldilocks when it comes to her bedtime bottle - my brother's first try was too cold, my redux was too hot and finally, it was just right - she settled into bed with no crying for her mommy. I turned the light off, closed the door and the only sound from the baby monitor minutes later is deep breathing.

I ROCK!

About Alice

I picked up About Alice by Calvin Trillin on sale.  I had a $50 gift card from Chapters that I wanted to use online and was searching for sale books at the right price to make up the transaction balance.

Anyway, I had never heard of Calvin Trillin having never read The New Yorker where he's a staff writer.  About Alice is a short volume that reads like a funny, anecdotal love letter he wrote in memory of his wife Alice, who he adored.  She died in 2001 waiting for a heart transplant after 25 years of battling lung cancer.

This is a lovely story that can be read in one sitting.  I was so inspired by how Trillin recounts their relationship that I'm rather curious to search out some of his previous efforts to learn more, including Alice, Let's Eat.

The photo to the left of Alice and Calvin Trillin is from the book's back cover.  From the dust jacket:

In Calvin Trillin's antic tales of family life, Alice was portrayed as the wife who had "a weird predilection for limiting our family to three meals a day" and the mother who thought that if you didn't go to every performance of your child's school play, "the county will come and take the child." Now, five years after her death, her husband offers this loving portrait of Alice Trillin off the page - an educator who was equally at home teaching at a university or a drug treatment center, a gifted writer, a stunningly beautiful and thoroughly engaged woman who, in the words of a friend, managed to "navigate the tricky waters between living a life you could be proud of and sill delighting in the many things there are to take pleasure in."
Though it deals with devestating loss, About Alice is a love story, chronicaling a romance that began at a Manhattan party when Calvin Trillin desperately tried to impress a young woman who "seemed to glow."
"You have never again been as funny as you were that night," Alice would say, twenty or thirty years later.
"You mean I picked in December of 1963?"
"I'm afraid so."

Kitchen Chinese

I picked up Ann Mah's Kitchen Chinese over the long weekend and read it in a day - mostly on my balcony yesterday while I was giving my pasty legs some sun.

It was an easy read with a main character that, in hindsight, I completely identified with because she was so very insecure about herself when it came to her professional life.  The romantic ending was a bit of a stretch for me but it was nevertheless good.

I read the interview with the author at the end of the book, and that's when I learned that Ann Mah is the daughter of Adeline Yen Mah, who's autobiography, Falling Leaves, I first read in university.  Her story, along with Wild Swans by Jung Chang, which I read for a History class, was what got me hooked into non/fiction about the Chinese experience. On the one hand, I want to learn about my cultural history, but on the other, I really appreciate reading stories about characters that I can relate to and even identify with on a very personal level.  A quick check of my bookcase for Falling Leaves reminds me that I lent it out to I don't remember who, who never returned it!  Grrr!  Same thing happened with Accidental Asian, which I lent to my friend WL, who had it forever, and possibly gave it to SA who was waiting to read it, and that's when I lost track of it. So annoying!  

From the back cover:
Isabelle Lee thinks she knows everything about Chinese cuisine.  After all, during her Chinese-American childhood, she ate it every day.  Isabelle ma speak only "kitchen Chinese" - the familial chatter learned at her mother's knee - but she understands the language of food.  Now, in the wake of a career-ending catastrophe, she's ready for a change - so she takes off for Beijing to stay with her older sister, Claire, whom she's never really known, and finds a job writing restaurant reviews for an expat magazine.  In the midst of her extreme culture shock, and the more she comes to learn about her sister's own secrets, Isabelle can't help but wonder whether coming to China was a mistake...or an extraordinary chance to find out who she really is.