Snaps of Christmas past

Happy Hols to one and all! Below you'll see a few shots from a Holiday feature I did a few years back with Donna Griffith for Flare Magazine. I still love the mix of vintage and new pieces and thought it would be a nice send off before all the festivities begin. Looking through the shots reminded me that the silver angel's wing, in the pic with the chair, was a flimsy piece of a Halloween costume that I found sitting forlornly on a shelf at Value Village and saved to use one day (wish I knew where it was now!). Oh, and to see more of Donna's beautiful work, click here.

It takes a sledgehammer

First thing this morning a skip showed up at the new place for the beginning of de-construction. Graham Kaye (our intrepid real estate guy) showed up to help - so much nicer than a bottle of plonk - and he and David went at the back deck with hammer and tong, well, actually sledgehammer and chainsaw. Then the gas powered weed whacker was put to work, with David at the helm, to clear cut the urban jungle of a yard. Honestly, I couldn't be there for the bulk of the work (deadlines) and showed up to lug the remains into the now full skip. I'll post pics tomorrow.

I was re-visiting a bunch of favourite online resources to come up with cool products to feature in the National Post for an upcoming Post Homes Magazine and re-discovered Christpher Jagmin. I like his gear, I've featured his dishware in Flare before, but the graphically etched glasses below are a snappy new addition to his line.

House work

Buying and selling a house takes alot of time. Add in my crazy schedule, that this week included a NY press trip for Samsung, and then deadlines for Flare for October, Canadian House & Home for November, and the National Post for next weekend as well as August, and well, it's a wonder I know what day it is. So, thanks mostly to David's tenacity, we now have the keys to the new place (yay!) and have already popped a cork in celebration with friends. Now the work can begin...

After flying in yesterday from NY I managed to make it to the Holt Renfrew Holday /08 preview. There was, as usual, lots of fabulous things that ranged from blow-the-budget glam (like an Alexander McQueen gold skull and leather tassel keychain) to the affordable (organic spreads from Brit brand Daylesford Organic), and lots of fashionable must-haves in between. And then there was something I was extra happy to find - MOR Cosmetics. Now, before you get in a kerfuffle, no, this isn't turning into a beaty blog. Nope, the MOR line is, hands down, the most beautifully packaged collection I've seen in ages - the creators, an Australian couple, obviously have an eye for intense pattern, inspiring colourways and odd historical references. Love it.