"Funny Girls and Dynamic Divas" Get your tickets now - May 26th!

Hello my fellow readers,

Last year I helped volunteer for this event when I got laid off and this year I'm sitting on the event committee. It is such a fun and amazing event but more importantly, for a great cause. It is the Gala Fundraiser Funny Girls and Dynamic Diva's. Our annual host Elvira Kurt is phenomenal (Google her if you are not familiar with her) and the rest of the talent are always awesome, local Toronto Diva's.

You will nibble on delicious hor's d'oevres, you will laugh, there is a fabulous silent auction and really the best spent $75 around.
Best of all, you will be supporting and raising money for Sistering and directly supporting the 1000's of homeless, under housed, and socially isolated women who attend our Drop-In's.

Please come and bring a friend!!
Looking forward to seeing you there.

You can get tickets directly through me. If you're interested, please let me know.

You can also get tickets by ordering through the St. Lawrence Centre box office at (416) 366-7723, www.stlc.com or at the Sistering office
(416)926-9762 ext. 243.

A tribute, the gaga icon of style: Alexander McQueen will live on.

It makes me so sad whenever I hear about a suicide. A life is precious, no matter whose it is.  Most recently the fashion icon and designer Alexander McQueen found hanging in his apartment in London, February 11th, 2010.

I was first acquainted with such a horrible (first hand) experience when I was sixteen. One of my summer camp friends, the sweetest funniest guy in the world, decided to take his own life. An experience I don't care to recollect and the largest funeral I have ever been to in my life, to date.  It is something that stays with you forever.  I can only imagine how all of Alexander's friends, family, and the many people whose lives he touched during his own short lived one.

It is difficult to see the positive in such a dreary situation as this, however I will at least make mention to the fact that the McQueen did leave a legend behind him and a huge fan base that will long remember and love him. As we all know Sarah Jessica Parker was a massive fan.

along with Victoria Beckham, Rihanna, Nicole Kidman, Drew Barrymore and of course Lady Gaga.

  Sarah was often seen in his lovely fantastical creations as perhaps Lady Gaga was his personal muse and recently used his work in her latest video "Bad Romance".

He is as synonymous as Louboutin & Manolo Blanik was to Sex and the City.  I hope the latest movie this summer pays a tribute to his work.  He will be missed.

Back to the classics... thanks for the inspiration Audrey!

I'm not sure what it is but I wouldn't call it the "February Blues" just yet. That usually comes towards the end of the month right around the time of my birthday and the really bitchin bad ass weather! I shouldn't really complain since we have barely seen snow and there have been some lovely sunny days in between the grey. But it's still winter and let's face it we eat heavier comfort foods, feel the need to sleep much more and generally dread having to go most places when we don't have to. (Or at least that's how I've often feel about winter).  At the end of the day, I just haven't been banging out my posts like I thought I would.  I have been super busy  preoccupied as of late with quite a few projects (not to mention going back to the classics Audrey Hepburn & Jane Eyre who have provided a litte inspiration of their own) and just haven't felt the pressing need to say anything to the world blogosphere (just yet).  I do however have in my possession many lovely pictures of the food I've been cooking over the last couple months.  So! I do have material that I have been working on... and let me tell you, that part was quite exciting (as well as the eating). Somehow I know the next step isn't just to 'load them up on the wagon' so-to-speak, but to put some thought in to what the hell it was all about (the gluttony).  So, perhaps it's not that I've "lost that lovin' feelin'" but rather that I've neglected my little blog-wagon just long enough for it to be "out of sight, out of mind".  I will make a special effort to get my ass in gear and keep on, keepin on. Hope the neglect is not a sign of the times, no matter how busy I am. The world of blogging, still has a place near to my heart... even if it echo's back only to me. :) I just need a little boost to reclaim myself.  "People, even more than things, have to be restored, renewed, revived, reclaimed, and redeemed; never throw out anyone". Audrey Hepburn

Peace, of Art.

Lately I've been inspired to paint again. It's something that comes and go's and I can never put myself  'in the mood' when I really want to do it, so it's a bit frustrating. So now I just do it when it comes to me (and hopefully I'm in a place that allows me to do that).  I never really know what's going to come out of it - much like when I'm cooking. I start off with an idea or feel of what I want and then it turns into it's own creation. This happens mostly when I'm working on an abstract. My style and process is constantly evolving.  It's a healing experience for me, so I just let whatever it is come out. This is my peace, the art.

Anyway, this last one was actually quick and fun.  I was inspired by a photograph I took on a trip to the dreamy Dominican. When I look at it, I feel a sense of peace. I wanted to capture that feeling. 
I wanted it to be slightly surreal and yet maintaining the overall feel of the photo.  All my last few paintings have been abstract and more about texture and color so this was a stretch but also a look back into my past style of painting years ago.
This trip was a needed vacation and so it stands out in my mind as a healing place. It was the perfect combination of chilling out surrounded by gorgeous beaches and the excitement of exploration in all things new.
The setting was idyllic, breathtaking and out of this world.  It also reminds me that there is beauty all around.  When I'm having a dark day, sometimes the reminder of this, even a photograph or painting is enough for me.  And sometimes I just want to be there.  When that happens I try to remember that happiness often comes peace, which has to come from within.

There's something so relaxing and magical about the natural beauty there.

It's hard to imagine that just on the other side of the same Island, poor Haiti has suffered for so long and now with the horrendous earthquake is suffering even more bitterly. It puts things in perspective when I listen to myself complain or others about such petty things.  However, there is so much hope.  Hope is important and thanks to many organizations, governments and supportive people around the world, hope and help is on the way.  (To inquire about one of the ways you can help, click on the link above where it says "Haiti").

I particularly like this saying by John Hayward-  "Many hands make light work".

I'm going to dedicate this piece of work in spirit to those who are suffering.
That is my peace, of art and may they find their peace soon.

2010: Cool & Strong. CHEERS to the power of that!

Ah, yes another year has come and gone.
So, CHEERS to all of you!

Last year was the most TIPSY, mind blowing combination of events, revelations, up and downs and a quest for all things *me* (which I seemed to have forgotten along the way somehow) not just what I "should" be doing (whatever that meant).
I went from moving out on my own for the first time (despite the fact that we were in the middle of a recession), to ending up in the hospital on my birthday of all times, to a magical vacation in Brazil, to getting laid off, dealing with many matters of the heart (including finding out who my friends really are), to getting up the courage to start my own blog about my passions, which in turn triggered a series of events and a mental awareness that has led me to where I am NOW. Where am I? ...On my tippy toes, reaching for the sky! So CHEERS again to that and ALL the good things I know it will bring!

*tipsy toes* something else to toast to -

keep it cool, don't water it down folks!

Check out these new "Tipsy Toes" I found and fell in love with last year.
You can get them online for only 6 bucks. It's a blast from the past, but a welcome blast.
Martinis stay cool and strong, the way they should.
Yes people, cool and strong. Just the way I like it.
This is my motto for 2010.

I am happy it's a new year and I'm ready to start it with a different perspective, even if it isn't new. I mean, why not?

It's all in the power of now. For me anyway. lol

Even though I've had this book for a couple years, sometimes it just takes time for something under your nose to mean anything at all to you.

I suppose that is true of many things in life.

The sky is the limit!