Heart Shaped Box

Spring's romantic movement in ruffles, lace, and frills has me on the lookout for antique-y, super detailed jewelry. Anything that looks victorian, with motifs such as crosses, fleur de lis, hearts, and animals, or anything my grandma or pa might have worn, is catching my eye right now.

Like the pieces created by Vancouver's own Pyrrha. The rings, necklaces, and bracelets have an aged look which are cast using from 19th century wax seals. Each piece has a meaning behind it: the above Lion and Stag ring has a crest which reads "Neither be fearful nor wanting". The Horse Cameo below signifies courage, intelligence and grace.

I spotted this cute dove in a cage piece on Mod Cloth. I would get rid of the pink bow but other than that, it's a lovely accessory at about $20.


Something else to keep my eyes out for is a vintage locket. I love the idea of a romantic story behind an old one - perhaps it was a gift from a first love. LOL, how very Edward/Bella-esque of me.

Below: Square locket and Cross locket from Heart Smith


This cute red heart locket isn't vintage, but another great find from Mod Cloth.

When I was ten, I had this silver ladybug watch necklace. It was in the shape of a ladybug and you flipped the wings open to reveal the watch. I really regret letting that one go into the bin.

Luckily, watch necklaces are cropping up everywhere, I'm guessing due to the Alice in Wonderland influence. Quirky yet practical, a watch necklace would look great with a tank or a rufflely blouse.

Below: Watch necklace from Mod Cloth.


Hope you all have a great week! I'm looking forward to meeting some of you at JK Model's anniversary party at Leone's this week. Please drop by and say hi if you see me!

Hump Day Hunks: Football Edition

Football. Aka soccer in North America. The sport that gave us Becks, Henry, Iker, and Ronaldo. With World Cup of Soccer fast approaching, we naturally turn our attention towards South Africa for inspiration. Ladies, I present to you Hump Day Hunks: Football Edition!

Above and Below: Yoann Gourcuff of Bordeaux, France. According to France Travel Guide, he loves to "strip at games and run around in his underwear".

I've got to say that I've got a major crush on Brazilian Kaká; he'll be the player my eyes will be on during the World Cup. Apparently Armani agrees because he's the star of many of their ads. RAWR...



I found this hunk, Lukas Podolski, on a top 10 hottest soccer players list. He seems to like celebrating without his shirt. Good on ya, Lukas, good on ya.


OMS = Oh My Sweden. Freddie Ljungberg in one of many, many Calvin Klein ads. With all due respect to all the hot Swedish hockey players who have played on my Canucks (Matty Ohlund, Alex Edler), I think Freddie takes top honours.

There's just something incredibly foxy about France's Thierry Henry. And the man knows how to dress.

And lastly, Vanity Fair sent Annie Leibovitz to shoot some of the world's most gorgeous footballers, and they've kindly released this behind-the-scenes video for your Wednesday viewing pleasure. Make sure you watch til the end as the boys do some amazing things with their balls...



Now I know I don't have any Italians in this group today but that's because they deserve a whole edition all to themselves. Watch for them to come...

59 Bottles, Bday, and Bikinis

Hello loves! I know it's been a while since I've written. In between watching hockey and planning my Europe trip, I haven't found the time. I really wanted to take some outfit pics over the weekend but the weather wasn't cooperating.

Last week, I came into about 60 bottles of vintage wine. FOR FREE. Someone we knew (immensely wealthy, multimillionaire) just sold his mansion which had a stocked wine cellar. He doesn't actually live here, and he wanted us to get rid of his goods. So away we went and carted out boxes after boxes of wine, some dating back to the mid 80's. I'm not sure how much of it is still "good", since half of it was white wines, but I know there's definitely a bottle or two that might be worth something. I will be documenting my journey through these mystery bottles over at The Unreserved, a wine, foodie, and lifestyle publication and community (I'm one of the editors). So come check it out if you're interested. I should be posting the first bottle over the weekend.

Above: Me marveling at all those cases of wine at a winery in South Africa.

I also had a great bday celebration on the town with my closest besties. We headed to Judas Goat, a small Spanish tapas bar with a great wine list on the recommendations from my friends at Noshwell (review here) and Senses and Style. It didn't disappoint, and we were fully stuffed. I didn't take very good pictures but here's a sampling of what we ate: mini bruschettas (mushrooms and melted cheese, chorizo and onion, roasted pepper), brisket meatballs with tomato sauce, slow cooked sablefish with Israeli couscous, and cured salmon pastrami.

Now something completely off-topic - my new Reef bikinis arrived! Although it hasn't exactly been beach weather here, I can't help but be excited about the two mix-and-match tops and bottoms I got (especially when I could be wearing them in the South of France...).

I got this above top but in dark purple and black so the reef label isn't quite so loud. Then the matching bottoms below but in black. In "cheeky" fit too =D.

I couldn't resist this beautiful multi-coloured triangle top - love the hippie vibe.


The detailed braiding on the sides of this pair was so unique so I picked that up too.

I bought everything from Spyder Surf and they were great about the order. I was a bit apprehensive about ordering swimwear online but everything turned out great! I can't wait to test them out, even if I have to wear them underneath my thick "seal suit" (aka wetsuit) when I'm in Tofino in a couple of weeks.

I'll be your girl....

...your Style Spy Girl of the Week, that is. Thanks to Nicole, whose blog I adore from Le Mode Du Jour, for asking me. They chose my clashing floral pattern outfit I posted from Hong Kong. You can check out the full Q+A article here, which talk about my style inspirations and pet peeves.

I'll also be the Canucks Girl of the Week any day. I've decided that wearing my jersey on game day is a curse as they've lost a few times when I've worn it. So I've come up with a more creative way to support our boys for tonight's game. A game day jersey outfit post! Thanks to my friend Melissa, the #1 Trevor Linden Fan, for taking these pics.

To glam it up, I couldn't resist these chained shoebooties. Just got a nude pedi too for spring.

One more thing: Happy Friday!! What are you lovelies doing for the weekend? I'll be watching the game tonight, doing some cycling, and some house and travel planning stuff.


Outfit:
Boys vintage Canucks jersey circa early 90's
Destroyed denim shorts, Ambient
Lace stirrup leggings, Hong Kong
Chained shoebooties, Belle
1960's vintage Submariner Rolex with Nato band, stolen from hubby

Hump Day Hunks: Sweet 16 Edition

It was Spring 1994. Vancouver Canucks magic was in the air as our team headed for the Stanley Cup playoffs final. Our team had done the impossible, playing the underdog and beating out all other teams in the Western Conference. I remember being at the series clinching Game 5 that put us into the finals - oh how sweet it was. And there was none sweeter than #16, captain of the Canucks, Trevor Linden.

I owe this Hump Day Hunks Sweet 16 edition to my good friend Melissa. I promised to do it for Trevor's birthday (a couple of weeks ago) but I was away so didn't get to it. She is his biggest fan. EVER. She still sleeps in a Linden night shirt, even after all these years. Even as his boyish cute looks have been chiseled away to a bearded, rugged handsomeness. He came to this city a boy, and we watched him grow into a man.

We used to see Trevor and current Canucks captain Roberto Luongo nearly every week at a sandwich shop the last year of Trevor's career. They would often say hello, smile at us, or say goodbye. One time I almost collided right into him with my pile of forks, straws, and napkins. I'm sure I would have been knocked down and out of breath, and I just about died of embarrassment.

Trevor's come a long way since donning this Canadian tuxedo. From the times I've seen him in person, I can say he's one of the best dressed Canucks. Slim cut cardigans and sweaters, dress shirts, or designer track jackets. His jeans fit him really nicely too =D.


So, as the Canucks play tonight against the LA Kings in a pivotal game, let us find inspiration from our Hump Day Hunk. Trevor's given us his heart and soul and let's hope the current Canucks can also find that in themselves tonight. GO CANUCKS GO!!!

ps - can you believe what a baby Henrik Sedin looks like here?

Love Like a Sunset

It's my last day in Hong Kong. The weather finally let up so I was able to sneak in a few photies of my finds. I've been very focused on ticking off the items I wanted off the Hit Lists - and then some =D.

Style wise, this trip has been inspiring. The people here really know how to dress and seamlessly blend the latest trends into something wearable. It's definitely going to push my personal sartorial boundaries. Some of my past fears, like harem pants, crazy prints, and bright colours, have been conquered.

I'm sad to leave but there's also so much to look forward to. The Canucks are starting the first round of the playoffs against the LA Kings, and I've got a surf weekend break soon. I can't wait to try out my new board!

And leaving Asia behind, I've got Europe to look ahead to. Official planning starts when I get home! Any advice please on shopping, eating, staying in Paris, Stockholm, Copenhagen, and Amsterdam is appreciated.

Wearing:
Blue floral baby doll tank, gift from mom
Abstract circle print zipper skirt, from Hong Kong
White textured rose pin cardigan, stolen from mom
Gucci handbag, circa mid 90's, stolen from mom
Platform strappy heels, Belle
Round "wood" shades, custom made
Coral with yellow and white diamonds ring, custom, remade vintage gift

Thoroughly Bred

I took some quick snaps yesterday before I headed out to watch horse racing at the Happy Valley Racetrack in Hong Kong. I forgot to show you my new mini purse, tiny like the one I posted about before. I found this Japanese label called Ambient, and I've been stocking up on some not-some-basic basics. *Warning* long post!

Like this pair of paneled, stretchy riding pants. And these cuffed platform Elizabeth and James-ish booties. Both by Ambient.

For such a simple outfit, normally I would play up the accessories. Since I'm away, I didn't bring much. I did spice things up with my custom made, perfectly round shades (kinda like these Lanvin sunnies that I coveted). If you look closely, the frame looks as though it was made from dark grained wood. My lovely friends at Fox Optical were kind enough to create this one-of-a-kind piece for me.

There's also a lovely story behind my new coral with yellow and white diamonds ring, from my mother. I'll have to save that for another post.

Now, on to the horse racing. We had the corporate box through my dad, and we enjoyed a full dinner buffet. Some of the dishes included tandoori salmon, curry lamb, roast pork loin, and coconut prawns. It was delicious.

We were taken down to the concourse level for one of the races. We got to watch the horses warm up; it was awesome to see them so up close. Then, we watched the race right next to the track at the finish line. As the horses thundered towards the finish line, the level of excitement from the crowd was deafening. I couldn't get any pictures of the horses as they were going so fast. All I know is I would give just about anything to have a go around the track full steam on a thoroughbred. I'll just have to imagine that the next time I ride around the track at Southlands.

We came home with our tummies full and pockets empty since none of us won on our bets. I took some videos of the race and warm-up below. Please excuse the crappy music - I don't have any music here with me.

Outfit:
Deconstructed grey tee, from Hong Kong
Stretchy skinny riding pants and cuffed boots, Ambient
Vest, mom's
Round black sunnies, custom creation using Mitsu Cairo frames