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.