Material Archive

Nice little video about Wayne Thiebaud

 

Love this man.

I took a pottery class

I post about ceramic artists I admire all the time on this blog, so it's likely no surprise that I finally decided to take a class in it myself!

Well, as would be expected, I loved it and found it to be much harder than I anticipcated. If you ever go to the pre-made pottery shops to paint existing pieces, that is not a real indicator of how much work goes into making something from start to finish. I truly have a whole new level of appreciation for the craft and definitely am more interested in it than ever. It was deeply gratifying to work with my hands in a new way and to make something with no input from anyone else.

The class I took was at Clay Design on Harbord. Over a period of several weeks, I learned how to wedge clay, make a number of pinch pots, dishes and bowls, and of course throw on the wheel, as well as tool and glaze.

Above are some examples of pieces I made. The first photo is of a nubby pot and a series of bowls drying upside down on molds and the second is a collection of items after they've been fired and glazed.

The black stripe bowl was one I was ready to pitch in the garbage intially because I warped it so badly on the wheel. But after glazing, it's easily one of my favourites. Glad I didn't give up on 'im! ;)

Below is a dark, moody plate I went to town on with little impressions and scratches. 

Going to see this film tomorrow: Jiro Dreams of Sushi

 

Excited!

Dinner at Chantecler

When I told people I was moving to Parkdale two years ago, I got a lot of sideways glances that irked me. Happy to say, as I predicted when I moved to Queen West 10 years before, the hood is awesome. Every week, some fabulous new place opens that reaffirms it.

This past Friday, @itbitme and I had dinner at newly opened Chantecler and are excited to report that it was really great.

We tried 6 different items from the menu and not only were they all good, but refreshingly different from anything else we had seen recently.

The potato gnocchi made with a creamy potato sauce accented with cured cod roe and dusted with seaweed powder was delicious and very comforting.

The pork neck, lightly dusted with white tumeric and served with braised lettuce and poached oysters and topped off with a house-made xo sauce, was very tasty and @itbitme's fav. He also really liked a torched mackerel dish served with slaw and toasts.

I loved the melt-in-your-mouth braised beef cheek served on a bed of parsley root and marrow mash, with sweet beet sauce.

The cocktails were also something quite special. We sat at the bar and watched them being made and they were as delicious as they were complex! An old-fashioned was finished with lavender smoke and the ice-cubes were like long sticks of butter.

I already know we're going to be fixtures here. And yes, thankfully they will be taking reservations!

Smörgåstårta Recipe (Sandwich Layer Cake)

How much fun does this look?
Check out the recipe here and here. 

Reminds me that @itbitme and I still have to try making a Timpano!!! 

1 year later & still my favourite pair of shoes

I can't recommend these enough. They are pure awesome. Buying them in black tomorrow. Get 'em.

Finally got my dream bag: Hermes Constance

People, I have reached handbag nirvana. May I present to you, Miss Constance. Iconic perfection!

Marni for H&M: What I got

I was lucky enough to attend a Marni for H&M Preview shopping event last night but just barely survived it! As the fourth person in line, I had no idea what fury was behind me. No sooner was I finished looking through the first rack when a crowd decended and cleared the place out in mere moments.These particular VIP fashionistas were bloodthirsty! 

Luckily, I managed to get through with a few choice items unscathed physically. Unlike my dear friend "Janice" that was scratched and berated at an Hermes sale some years back by a fellow shopper. Women on a shopping mission are bananas.
 

The Importance of Being Morrissey: The Documentary

 


From 2002 but still good! 

Part 2  x  Part 3  x  Part 4  x  Part 5

Part 6   x  Part 7

Tom Ford: The Documentary

 

Karl interviews himself

Hello Argentina!

Having a nice time so far... Buenos Aires is such a great city

A Philosophy for Life:

Today I bought: Zoe Chicco Diamond Pave Necklaces

 

Buy them here and here.

Sh*t Fashion Girls Say

 

Wes Anderson's New Movie: Moonrise Kingdom

Excited to see this!

For the love of Goyard, I must have this:

 

 

 

 

Original 1980's gold Rolex "Day-Date" with enamel lacquered face in a rare pink. Perfection.

Backstage by Michael Carson

Clare Vivier Weekender Bag

This lovely bag was my secret weapon during my vaca. I rolled it up like a cigar enroute to Paris and then stuffed it later with all my purchases for the remainder of the trip. It was a perfect carry-on size and because of the glazed finish, every additional scratch and mark just added to it's buttery worn-in patina.

 

Rings (the sparkly kind for your fingers) by Thames & Hudson

 

If you love antique jewelry as much as do, I highly recommend picking up this great Thames & Hudson book by Diana Scarisbrick.

The styles they span are comprehensive and the photography is nice and detailed. It kills any desire to buy a generic, assembly line Tiffany ring again!

European Tour: Le Comptoir – the hardest reservation to get in Paris

Le Comptoir was the first restaurant we ate at when we arrived in Paris and all I can say is that it was a fantastic way to kick off our European Tour!

There wasn't anything we didn't love about it – the food , the service, the location and the price.

 

Skip ahead to 0.56 sec to see where Bourdain talks about Le Comptoir

If you keep watching the video - you'll arrive at Bourdain's visit to Joel Robuchon's L'Atelier – which we also had the amazing fortune of getting a reservation at. More on that later...



Photographing food with an iPhone is tricky – it really doesn't do the dishes justice, so I'll only post a couple images and simply say, please do yourself a favour and go here – you'll love it!

 

European Tour: Ladurée, Paris & London

If it's not wildly obvious already, I am obsessed with Ladurée. Why? Where to begin... it represents everything I love: amazing pasteries & chocolates, beautiful branding & packaging and an authentic legacy of doing it exceptionally well for 150 years.

While In London and Paris – I sought out almost every location to sample something new I hadn't tried before. My new favourite item is pictured above with the rose petal – it's called the rose & raspberry Ladurée Saint-Honorés and is every bit as delicious as it is pretty.

Of course, I shipped home all of my empty boxes so that they could assume their rightful positions on my packaging wall.

 

European Tour: First stop – Paris!

I've lost count of how many times I've visited Paris – the number is in the teens now, but even so, every visit is like my first. I never lose my sense of awe and delight. The city is just a huge advent calendar to me – every door opens to some wonderful new gift.

Coming up, I'll review four restaurants I tried there… Le Comptoir, L'Atelier de Joel Robuchon, Les Cocottes and Chez Robert et Louise, as well as some stores and other fun stuff.

 

My 3 week European Tour: Paris, London, Berlin & Rome

Wow – so much to share it's almost daunting. Four cities in 3 weeks and 3000 photos later – I have some sorting to do!

The next couple of months will showcase posts about all the things I ate, bought and saw from these wonderful places... stay tuned!

 

Woody:

Ceramic tile never looked so cool

Designed by Yiğit Özer and Kütahya Seramik

Still one of my all-time fav music videos

 

See all your Instagram Photos on Instagrid

Login into Instagrid to access your whole Instragram library in one spot. You can also subscribe to users' feeds and get a weekly email summary of what they have posted. See mine here!

Happy NYE!

Running around – shopping, cooking, assembling party favors, etc.

Excited for tonight – will drink many pink bubbles... :-)

Off to Europe! Happy Holidays to you & yours!

I'm off to Paris, London, Berlin & Rome for the holidays – see you back for New Year's Eve!

(In the meantime, find me tweeting and Instagram-ing my little heart out!) 

x

My week in pictures & other random stuff I like:

Today I bought: Lytton Clutch from DVF

 

 

 

Pretty cute eh? Comes in a bunch of great colours.

Great dresses from Hatch Collection

Recently, I ripped the hell out of my favourite black silk Joie dress and haven't been able to find anything comparable on the whole interwebs, and believe me - I have looked! To my surprise, even though I am not expecting, the perfect dress for me was from The Hatch Collection. Finally a brand that can pull double duty for expectant moms and those who just like a loose fit! Nice job Hatch!

My Christmas Wish List

Truth be told, we don't do gift exchange in our family anymore – unless you happen to be under the age of 18. Instead, we travel or buy one another fun food items – like great chocolate or wine. So this list above is not a not-so-subtle hint for my beloved – I wouldn't dream of asking for these things (beyond vulgar!). Rather, it's a wish list for the things I hope go on sale Boxing Day...so I can buy them myself, if I have any fun money left after 3 weeks in Europe! ;-)

 Starting from the top, left to right:

1. Dries Van Noten Snake Boot from MyTheresa

2. Gold heart drop earrings from St Kilda

3. Sparkle needle point pillow from Jonathan Adler

4. Hipster heads from Jonathan Adler

5. Red plexi clutch by Charlotte Olympia

6. Gold snake Sang A Pop bag from Kirna Zabete

7. Multi-wrap watch from Burberry

8. Camel coat with fur collar from Philosophy di Alberta Ferretti

9. Creme de Rose lipbalm from Christian Dior

10. Soap on a roap from Diptyque at Barneys

11. Pave diamond earrings by Janis Provisor at Kirna Zabete

12. Gold devil pencil sharpener from Jonathan Adler

13. Blue satin ribboned heels by Liam Fahy

14. Constance H bag from Hermes

15. Green star earrings from Bochic

16. Glitter ankle boot from Barneys Co-Op

17. Nail lacquer in Scarlet Chinois by Tom Ford

18. Pink enamle bracelet from St Kilda

19. Yellow drop earring by Tom Binns

20. H Ring, little square dishes and collier de chien, Hermes

21. Bag by Sofia Coppola for Louis Vuitton

22. Needle point sunglasses sleeve by Jonathan Adler

x

Abigail Ahern Lamps

So fun. From here.

Look at what my cleaning lady recycled by accident:

Had this on my shelf since the 80s. Boo.

Two Weeks in New York City: Dinner at Lucali

Lucali is succinct in it's vision and offerring. It is a small, humble venue that has one hell of a brick oven that pumps out delicious pizza pies by the minute. As per usual with many small places in New York, they don't take reservations – so you come by, put your name on a list and wait 2 hours in a nearby pub.

The wait does suck, but, on the upside, you can bring your own wine, spot JayZ and Beyonce, and get a second pie really quickly after you've gobbled up the first yummy one you waited 2 hours for.

Lucali 575 Henry St., Brooklyn, New York

Olgoj Chorchoj‘s Princess Vanity

Love the look of this vanity. Found here.

Two weeks in New York City: Dinner at Beauty & Essex

 

WHERE: Beauty & Essex 146 Essex Street, New York

MOOD: Cool / fun / nostalgic / clubby. The facade is a faux-ish (you can actually buy stuff) pawn shop that you pass through to get to the restaurant.

PRICE: Mains are between $16-29

WHEN WE WENT: Tuesday night dinner and it was hopping! Packed to the gills as though it was a Thursday night.

WHAT: We ordered almost one of everything on the menu.

TRY: Honestly – it was all reasonably good. The Lobster Tacos stood out for me.

SKIP: Butterscotch Pot de Creme – sounds more impressive than it tastes

SERVICE: Fine. I never expect much in a club atmosphere.

REPEAT?: Sure! It's a novelty that can be fun. The environment is aiming for something in-between fine dining and club so the result is naturally a bit mixed-up but fun nonetheless. Go with a group of friends.

MOST NOTABLE: The scene. If you want to see pretty / hip people, listen to music and eat dinner at the same time – B&E has it all.

ANYTHING ELSE?: You can get a box of donuts to go for when you have the munchies later.

Addicted to this song:

 

Tape Artist Aakash Nihalani

Everytime I see this work, it makes me sooo happy. Love it. 

Two Weeks In New York City: Dinner at Corton

 

 

Knowing the backstory behind anything always makes it a richer experience, so it was a special thrill to eat at Corton so soon after enjoying A Matter of Taste at TIFF. You can see my previous post about Paul here.

WHERE: Corton at 239 West Broadway, New York

MOOD: The look of the room is cool and dark – bit cave like at night with the lack of windows. Vibe in the room is quiet, intimate, yet friendly – not stuffy at all.

PRICE: The 9 course tasting menu is $155

WHEN WE WENT: Saturday dinner

WHAT: MB and I both had the 9 course tasting menu.

TRY: Whatever they put in front of you.

SKIP: Maybe only the chocolates, jellies and macaroons at the end because you might be ill from consuming so much. I indulged so excessively that by the end, I felt positively intoxicated with food. But, to be fair, I must disclose, that I did eat at Jean Georges earlier that very same day – so not entirely this menu's fault! I am a piglet! ;)

SERVICE: Consistent and pleasant but hard to understand the food descriptions at times given some softspoken staff.

REPEAT?: Without question, I will be visiting Corton on every subsequent visit to New York. It is a must. Side note: MB and I were walking through Tribeca a day after eating at Corton and saw Paul Liebrandt walking right in front of us (see photo above). I loved our dinner so much that I wanted to grab him and thank him personally but knew it would come across crazy, so I kept my distance and just smiled.

MOST NOTABLE: Being consistently surprised with every dish and the wonderful sense of discovery you feel as you try to recognize and deconstruct your beautiful and at times, abstract food. Paul's unshakeable commitment to excellence and creativity is so deeply evident with every new course presented – you can literally taste the devotion and artistry. The man is a genius. Am I gushing or what?!

ANYTHING ELSE?: Pastry Chef Shawn Gawle created a dessert that was so spectacular that I almost felt like crying while eating it. I realize how absurd and pretentious that sounds, but it was that good!

Please note that my photographs do not do the food justice!

Two weeks in New York City: Dinner at Mario Batali's Del Posto

WHERE: Del Posto 85 10th Ave, New York

MOOD: Traditional and formal

PRICE: Five courses for $115

WHEN WE WENT: Thursday dinner

WHAT: MB and I both enjoyed the 5 course tasting menu. I had:

• Beef & Truffle Carpaccio with Sunchoke Spuma, Sage Grissini & Sunflowers: Buttery!
• Tortello Puzzone with Taleggio Dolce & Black Truffle Butter: one of the best dishes I have ever had
• Spaghetti with Dungeness Crab, Sliced Jalapeno & Minced Scallion: In a word: delicious! Watch a great little video of how they make it here.
• Cacciucco with Burrida & Sweet Shrimp alla Buzara: the only item that I didn't hands down love as it was too salty for me.

At the end of the meal, a cheese grater was brought to the table holding various sweets which consisted of: chocoloate covered lollipops made with olive oil gelato, bomboloni - which are small doughnuts filled with vanilla orange cream, polenta crostata and candied grapefruit. All were wonderful but the candied grapefruit was especially surprising and smile inducing.

TRY: Tortello Puzzone – it nearly melted my brain it was so good.

SKIP: The Cacciucco if you are sensitive to salt

SERVICE: Very formal. An army of servers waited on us. One even brought a small chair for my handbag.

REPEAT?: YES. There's a reason Del Posto is the first restaurant in New York City to get 4 stars from the New York Times in the last 36 years – because it's exceptional.

MOST NOTABLE: The complex and intense flavours.

 

Some images are from here and here.

Two Weeks In New York @ The Westin & The W Times Square

I don't generally post about things I don't like on this blog. I tend to focus on the positive. But, given that I was in New York for this length of time, I feel compelled to mention where I stayed (client mandated & paid for) and give some brief but hopefully helpful feedback.

Don't stay at a Westin/W Hotel in Times Square. They are expensive and completely unexceptional in every possibile way. The decor is dated and cheap, the service is lacking and bored and the rates are ridiculous for what you actually get. They are simply put, tourist traps for the clueless.

Homemade Oreos

Already receiving Christmas gifts and it isn't even December yet – lucky me!

Many thanks to Jaime for the amazingly delicious "Jaimeos"...

Two Weeks in New York City: Lunch at Jean Georges

WHERE: Jean Georges  at 1 Central Park West, New York

MOOD: The mood is calm and pretty – thanks in no small part to the lovely dining room – which is beautiful for a few very specific reasons: 1. The light quality during the day is great because the room has windows around 3 sides and when the sheers are drawn, what you see through them are lovely tree silhouettes dancing around in the breeze. This reason alone is enough for me to choose lunch service over dinner. 2. The seating and view is very comfortable in almost every spot in the room. The configuration and layout has been optimized for maximum comfort and view, resulting in almost no bad seats – which is pretty impressive! 3. The room is quiet even when it's full so you can really concentrate on your food and conversation.

PRICE: For the value and quality – I think this place is actually a steal. We had a 6 course tasting menu for $98.

WHEN WE WENT: Saturday lunch

WHAT: MB and I both enjoyed the 6 course Autumn tasting menu. Our choices from the vast list consisted of: Scallop Sashmi, Sea Trout, Yellowfin Tuna Ribbons, Sea Scallops, Peekytoe Crab Dumplings, Comté Risotto, Sweetbreads, Beef Tenderloin and two desserts – chocolate cake and a chocolate peanut butter ganache, plus macaroons, chocolates and marshmallows.

TRY: The tasting menu. The experience of eating over 3 hours in that lovely setting is a wonderful experience. A few stand out items were the Yellowfin Ribbons, the Crab Dumplings, the Sweetbreads and the Tenderloin.

SKIP: Nothing. Order all of it!

SERVICE: Attentive and formal.

REPEAT?: Absolutely! This restaurant is now in my top 5.

MOST NOTABLE: The quality of the entire experience. Loved it!

 

Adieu Oddfellows, Hello County General

I was sad to see Oddfellows go – big fan of their witch's cauldron breakfast and banana split. Luckily, something equally as good has taken it's place. 

MB and I visited County General just before leaving for New York and liked it so much, we came back again the very next day, right before our flight.

To be fair – we've only tried a few things...But the stand out item that brought us back so soon was the fried buttermilk chicken thigh sandwich – delicious!

Select photos via County General

The beginning of a great tradition

This issue holds a special place in my heart. It was the first I ever bought myself with my allowance at the tender age of 12!

Two Weeks in New York City: Quickie Intro

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I recently spent 2 glorious weeks in New York shooting an upcoming campaign for a client. During my "free time" there, I took the opportunity to indulge in two of my favourite past times – shopping and eating – and what better city for it!

This post is just a little preview of some fun stops. In later posts, I'll get into more detail about the specifc restaurants I visited.

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I have literally seen Ghostbusters enough times to actually recite the majority of the film from memory. Heck, my Mr. Stay Puft action figure is watching over me right now as I compose this post! So, you can imagine the unique childlike thrill MB and I had when we randomly walked by the original fire station from the film, while strolling through Tribeca. :)

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The new Uniqlo flagship store on 5th Avenue is ridiculously big. So large, that I actually was overwhelmed and felt lost on more than one occasion. Despite that, I still managed to find several great items to bring home. One of particular note was a great wool and cashmere trench coat.

Their prices are so reasonable, I really had to calm myself to not buy a whole other suitcase's worth of clothing.

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Wow – the Christian Louboutin store on Madison Ave is intense! When I arrived at 5pm on a Friday after work, I was greeted by a line-up of other patrons and a massive body guard! According to Mr.Big, a wait time to get into the store is a normal daily occurence. I noted that no other luxury retailer on the street had the same traffic.

When I got inside shortly after, I was met with an unusal scene. Picture: upper crust ladies who lunch, sitting next to hardcore rapper type dudes (all trying on majorly tricked out sneakers I have never seen the likes of before) and then working girls like me. A very odd mix indeed!

Regardless, all were very happy – especially this girl! Why? I had called ahead and secured the last brown Simple Bootie in size 40 anywhere in the whole bloody world after weeks of looking, calling and visiting every retailer that carries CL  – major shopping victory!

The staff were really great too and recommended that I get my soles reclad in red rubber – see below. That's one of them holding his colleague's boot to show the non-slip red rubber add ons. It's a brilliant idea, as the signature red does wear off pretty quickly in my experience.

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I had a pretty productive visit at Prada as well. A new winter coat, bag and wallet were amongst my newly adopted cohorts. :)

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Some random snaps I took during breaks while working at the photography studio...

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A quick visit the to the MET on the weekend recharged my creative inspiration batteries!

...

Coming up over the next several posts: reviews and photos of Jean Georges, Corton, Del Posto, BLT, Gramercy Tavern, Nobu, Lucali – amongst others!

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My visit to Ladurée New York

Well, let's be honest, it's not like being in Paris. But, it is nice to be able to get a quick Ladurée fix while trapped in North America ;)

The store sadly does not carry any pastries, chocolates or Langues de Chat (which I expressly came for), but, it's packed to the gills with macaroons, tea, candies and even ice-cream.

I left with the most glorious oval box filled with everything I could get my greedy mitts on. :)

Stuffing my face with delicious caramels as I write this...