Make a Statement

I'm a sucker for big pieces of jewellery--everything from statement necklaces to chunky cocktail rings. So, this spring, why not join me and layer on the bling?

{I am mad for this clutch, too!}

Photos: Garance Doré, Jak and Jill, Stockholm Street Style,


And a big thank you to Dawn of The Alternative Wife. I just received my prize from her Mario Badescu giveaway. Can't wait to try all the goodies!

Lost Wednesdays: The Package

WARNING: POST CONTAINS EPISODE SPOILERS

"Some people just aren't meant to be together." Hmmm...could Keamy's words be prophetic? Let's hope not. I've waited long enough for a Jin-Sun reunion, I don't need one of them to go and croak or blow up again. Somehow they need to get home to their daughter. How sweet was Jin when he was looking at those photos? (And yay to the Dharma shout out, bringing Jin to the brainwashing room where Carl was held).

I think this episode was solid. I liked seeing a little backbone from Sun, spoke more to the woman she had become off the island (the one doing deals with Widmore) than the one she was when she originally arrived. I liked the little surprises in the flash sideways--Jin and Sun not being married, Mikhail getting shot in the eye (!), Sun being pregnant, Jin and Sun still being in love when landing at LAX. I wonder what it can all mean and how these two realities will eventually tie together.

On island I think things could be moving faster. I don't need heartwarming scenes with Jack and Sun and a tomato. Sun seemed to have so much animosity for Jack off island I'm surprised she's pledged to trust him now. Does she not remember how Jack and Kate promised to get Jin off the freighter and then left him there?! Stop making promises you can't keep Jack! Anyway, the Widmore-NotLocke showdown was interesting, although I wanted to SCREAM when the Man In Black asked if Widmore knew his name and all Widmore said was, "Well, you're obviously not John Locke."  UGH. You are killing me, people. Just killing me. Slowly.

Awwww!

I. Love. Miles. When Sun lost her ability to speak English and he was all like, "And we're supposed to buy that?" I almost died. Love. Love. Love. It was also great when Sawyer asked NotLocke if he couldn't just pouf and fly over to the next island. No? Yeah, because that'd be ridiculous. (It does make sense that the MiB would need all the candidates to leave the island with him--and Kate's not one of them!)

He is not on anyone's side. Okay?

"A wise man once said that a war was coming to this island, and I think it just got here." Woohoo. The Smoke Monster is mad. Charlie Widmore it is ON.

Desmond!

And it was Desmond locked up on the sub!  Ha! I knew it. (At least I called one thing on this crazy show.) Poor Penny. I don't think this is going to end well. Thoughts?

Skulls and Crowns: Philip Barlow for Bradley Hughes

How great are artist Philip Barlow's fabrics for his debut collection for Bradley Hughes? I love how Barlow mixes classic designs and colours with a rock 'n roll edge. The fabrics are available by the yard and in pillows.

I am also so happy for one of my best friends who just got engaged. I know she's been wanting this for awhile and she is just so incredibly happy, its wonderful to see. Another wedding to add to the list -- this one will surely be a total pleasure!

Book of the Week: Everything Here Is the Best Thing Ever

"The most affecting stories in Everything Here Is the Best Thing Ever are as unpredictable as a careening drunk. They leave us with the heavy residue of an unsettling strangeness, and a new voice that readers - and writers, too - might be seeking out for decades to come.” This is what The New York Times Book Review said about Justin Taylor's collection of short stories. Lately I've been hearing a lot of praise for this book so I was super excited when I was sent a copy to review. Short stories aren't usually my deal, but I was excited to read the much buzzed about book for myself.

"We move to the living room, sit in the ambient glow from the kitchen.

'Its almost not enough anymore,' she says, breaking the silence.

Should I ask what 'it' is? No, that's clear enough...

 'Typical,' she says, meaning my not answering,

so I say, 'I have to kill my uncle's cat tomorrow.'

Neither of us is saying what the other wants to hear."

-In My Heart I Am Already Gone [p. 12]

There are anarchists, a Tetris player so obsessed with beating the high score he keeps playing while the world outside his window ends, and a fast food worker obsessed with Abu Ghraib and rough sex. A teenager who turns to black magic as an answer to unrequited love and a prodigal son returning home. Relationships--familial, romantic and otherwise--play a large role in all the stories as does religion and politics. I found it interesting to read stories written by someone my own age about our generation. There is weariness, ennui and nostalgia from these painfully ordinary characters, many of whom are reaching adulthood and can now see their youth in the rearview mirror. Not all the stories are perfect, but I think Everything Here Is the Best Thing Ever is a worthwhile read.

"This game is designed to end, not to be beaten; I doubt they even programmed a graphic for the YOU WIN screen...It outlasts you...I enter my initials on the high-score screen, ranked number one. The list erases every time you shut the Nintendo off." - Tetris [p. 111]

Browse inside the book here.

Life Is For...

{via WeHeartIt}

May you have all these and more this weekend ~

hope you have a great one!

If you haven't had a chance yet, don't forget to enter

my Spring Giveaway for your chance to win

a necklace from Cherry and Violet.

Orange You Lovely

How great is this Hermès-inspired dining room/library? Designed by Bob Brown, the room features a beautiful orange lacquered Parsons table and floor-to-ceiling shelving used as both bar and bookshelf. This design is everything I look for in a room--comfortable, functional and super chic.

Photo via Atlanta Homes

Focus On: Greta Constantine

Seems that Greta Constantine's FW 2010 woman is a true femme fatale. The show, held in the basement of a Toronto Audi dealership, featured expert draping, noir-ish glamour and some very beaten up looking male models sporting the Ezra Constantine line. The design duo of Kirk Pickersgill and Stephen Wong didn't disappoint this season--beautiful clothes and how great are the shattered glass accessories?! I would die to get my hands on one of those pieces.

Photos: Toronto Life

Spring Has Sprung!

Photo

I'd like to thank the fabulous Bailey for asking me to participate in her Thank Buddha, It's Spring series. As spring is my fave time of year it was a perfect fit. Head over to Peppermint Bliss to check it out!

Lost Wednesdays: Ab Aeterno

WARNING: POST CONTAINS EPISODE SPOILERS

Dynamite episode, no Black Rock pun intended. My heart went out to Richard. Talk about bad luck. And what was with the priest not absolving him?! And poor Richard not ageing all these years and trying to redeem himself for what was essentially an accident. It was great getting a glimpse into the past of the island and we got one question answered—how the statue got destroyed—cool and all, but I would rather know how it got there in the first place.

I thought it was interesting that Jacob stopped Richard from killing him, but allowed Ben too—even goaded him into it. Perhaps Jacob knew the time had finally come for someone else to step into his shoes? Also wonder why the Man in Black gave Richard the same instructions about killing Jacob that Dogen gave Sayid about killing the MiB? Obviously its important to stab them before they talk—but Ben stabbed Jacob after he spoke. Maybe its just that both can be very convincing when they want to be?

Hard to know when anyone on this island is telling the truth. The Man in Black was obviously playing Richard like a fiddle—heaven, hell, visions of his dead wife; but I’m not sure Jacob can be entirely trusted either. When Jacob and Richard were talking Jacob really came across as God-like. Not wanting to interfere, wanting people to choose the right path of their own free will (thought it was great when Richard said if Jacob wouldn’t interfere the MiB would and then got offered a job.) But then Jacob couldn’t offer Richard absolution…? It seems clear to me, though, that they aren’t dead and that the island isn’t hell.

Assuming Jacob is telling the truth, I think its interesting that the island is the “cork” holding evil in (and according to Richard’s wife if the MiB gets off the island everyone will go to hell?!) I am assuming the Man in Black is the evil. If he gets off the island it’ll be very, very bad? So two new questions (arrrgh!): 1. If Jacob is dead why does the Man in Black still need help getting off the island? and 2. What does that mean for the sideways world when the island is under water? Am I correct in assuming that the sideways world is one where the Man in Black has escaped the island—or has died with it?

I also found it hard to believe that the MiB would ‘fess up to being the smoke monster, especially when he had to know that Richard would think he “killed” his wife or seemed to. Seems strange.

Love the touch with the stone—hello, scales in the cave.

This episode and the last have been my favourite episodes in…well, a long, long time. Wouldn't it be funny if Jack took over the Jacob role and Sawyer ended up in the MiB's place as the island's "security system"? You can totally see those two in 200 years sitting around eating fish and threatening to kill one another. Seems like things are gearing up for a great finish, I hope they don’t lose the momentum now. What did you think?