Tea with Joe

Wednesday was all about deadlines. I was literally glued to my laptop, banging away to get a gift guide done for the National Post (look for it mid-Nov) so, by the time I was done, I was desperately in need of a cuppa. I was in luck; Dammann Freres, a storied French tea company that's been around since 1692 - honestly - is making it's debut at Pusateri's glam Flower & Gift store up on Avenue Road in Toronto. The store is well worth a visit (I don't wanna hear from any whiners about needing passports to head north of Eglinton), and the tea? Delish. My fave was L'Oriental, a flavoured black tea with citrus-y notes, but there's quite the range to choose from, and at $18 for a pretty tin they'd make an easy-peasy hostess gift. Oh, and the rest of the store is jam-packed with beautiful flowers and scads of vases and accessories, many of which were exclusively hunted down for the store.

Next stop was the Joe Fresh Style fashion show for Spring/Summer '09 down at the tents for L'Oreal Fashion Week. I sat with the Flare crew and thoroughly enjoyed the looks tripping down the runway, but for me it was so all about the colours. Navy, grey, white, grey/blue, a buttery ecru, acid yellow and hits of sorbet brights. All I could think about is what a fresh and modern colour palette that could be for a space!

Take a look at the snaps below for a feel of Pusateri's store, the tea, and the Dammann Freres swish patterned teacups and teapots, as well as one sneak peek from the runway.

    

    

  

Daytripper

Over the long weekend we jumped in the car and headed east, after getting a bit cabin crazy in the teensy apartment. Port Hope was the final destination, since we were on the hunt for Fall colours as well as cute town to wander round in. Well, check and check.

Of course we ended up shopping, how could we not; there are scads of antique and vintage stores along Walton Street and on a couple of the side streets too. The best store by far, and well worth the drive, is Michael Thomas Antiques where Michael, the owner, presents a well edited selection of furniture and accessories. The store is only 2 months old yet already has a very sophisticated vibe and yes, we bought something - A giant round brass tray cocktail table that'll look simply smashing in our new place. Take a look below to get a feel of the place (I think I might be going back for that set of chairs).

Make mine red

I accidentally came across the work of Avril Loreti yesterday while I was wading through resources and trying to tie up a gazillion loose ends on features I'm working on (yes, I'll e-mail Australia to see if I can get a larger image of a teacup...). Honestly, checking out her witty line on Etsy was quite the welcome treat (click here to visit her Etsy store).

Anyhoo, of course I found a favourite, and while it was a toss-up between the Mustache Handkerchiefs and her Wine Ring Cocktail Napkins it was the napkins that won out. I think they'd make a brill hostess gift , plus they make me fondly remember back to when a guest managed to throw a glass of red across a freshly painted white wall. Nice.