How to pick a snowboard...

... always by its looks, of course! I know the hard core riders out there are shaking their heads at this, but you cant take the priss out of a priss. Seriously though, my technical preferences are quite simple but the graphics have to appeal to me. I am in the market for a new board- after nearly a decade together, my Burton Feather and I are going our separate ways. Besides, I have a wellness spending account to blow and I can't think of a better idea to use it!

I found five boards online that made my short list. Here they are in the order of most to least favored:

1) GNU B-Street BTX in the French graphics series. By the same makers of top of the line Lib Tech snowboards, GNU can "borrow" the same technology for their products. This all mountain freestyle board won the Snowboarders Best of Test Awards 2012. The reason it's at the top of my list is because it's good for intermediate riders. So there is hope that I can maybe progress with it? :) Besides, I love the purple leapard print!

www.gnu.com

2) Never Summer Pandora. Handbuilt in Denver, Colorado, these boards are known to be light. The Pandora is a good beginner's board and has the high flex meant for the half pipe and snowpark. Not that I spend much time there, anyways... every landing is more painful than the next :)

www.neversummer.com

3) Burton Restricted Nugget. You can never go wrong with a Burton, and this is board is agile and easy to handle (so the specs say). Unfortunately, it is only available at Restricted dealers and that requires effort to find.

www.burton.com

4) Burton Social. Now, you can't get any more frilly than flowers on a snowboard! This is another super flexible board from Burton and apparently has won awards.

www.burton.com

5) Rossignol Zena. This is another beginner's board that is an older season model. Despite being quite pretty, I may not be able to find this in a 140 cm.

www.rossignol.com

So wish me luck on my hunt! Everyone knows the thrill is in the search... Have a great new year's and happy snowboarding!

(If any petite gal out there wants my ol' Burton Feather or anyone with a kid who can ride a 139 cm, please let me know!)

Update: This is what I ended up bringing home...



Inadvertent Boxing week find

www.joefresh.com

Ha, just when I thought I resisted the temptation to shop on Boxing Day.. the boxing day deals found me! Yesterday while we were grocery shopping at Superstore, I wandered into the Joe Fresh clothing section. Normally I rubberneck as we go by but never seriously look. Dear hubby ran out to get something from the vehicle so I had a few mins to kill. Then voila, I found this merino wool dolman sleeve top hanging in the clearance aisle for.... $2.94!

Think of all the things that cost more on a grocery bill:

1) 2L of soy milk - $3.97
2) box of Mini Wheats - $5.98
3) large pineapple - $3.98
4) bag of instant miso soup - $4.49
5) bag of romaine lettuce - $2.99


You get the idea? Only the insane would not throw it in the shopping cart... and its pretty darn cute on! :)

Happy Holidays 2011!

I just wanted to take a minute out of the holiday sessions of gluttony and visiting to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and, of course, a wonderful and prosperous start to 2012!

Fitting for the occasion, our niece Sophie was Vogue-ing it in a ridiculously cute red tweed dress that we found. It was very Chanel-like, we had to get it for her!

(I've asked her my sister in law for it back as a hand-me-down if we ever have a daughter :)

Yes, I will admit I am that lame!

More lame-ness to come in the near year - I promise!!

Model weddings of 2011

If your job allows you to wear clothes by some of the greatest designers in the world, what would you wear for your wedding day? And if your job takes you to some of the most exotic locations in the world for photoshoots, where would you chose to say "I do"?

I was just reading Style.com's 2011 year in numbers recap and it listed the weddings of some well-known models that took place. And here I've expanded this list for you with the exception of Josephine de la Baume & Mark Ronson's wedding in Aix-en-Provence, France and Snejana Onopka's wedding in Kiev, Ukraine. Simply because both brides aren't big household names.. yet! :)

1) Kate Moss in custom John Galliano, England - I adored the flower girls!

Photo: Mario Testino, www.vogue.com
This dress was for the magazine shoot and not her actual dress, but I love this photo.

2) Anja Rubik wore a short Pucci dress in Mallorca, Spain.

Photo: Fashionologie.com

3) Natasha Poly in a long-sleeved Givenchy gown, St Tropez, France.

Photo: Stylefrizz.com

4) Victoria Secret's Lily Aldridge wore a simple , strapless Vera Wang for her day in Montecito, California.

Photo: Joe Buissink per USMagazine.com

Perfect polka dots!

I was perusing other blogs and came across this wickedly cool outfit on Atlantic-Pacific :

Photo: http://atlantic-pacific.blogspot.com/

Talk about a crazy cool head-to-toe ensemble. I love the polka dot on polka dot - totally inspiring!
(According to the blogger, the sweater is from Madewell and the blouse is from Equipment)

Signature scents

There are some people who totally know what their "signature scent" is. What does that mean, really? All I know is that the scents I like have changed over the years. The one that I'm most proud of is the L'Eau par Kenzo before it became available in North America. My first bottle was the remnants of my friend's hand me down that she brought from Europe and my second bottle was a souvenir from another friend's trip to Taiwan. I must still like Kenzo since I do have "L'Eau par Ete" and "7:15 am in Bali" - both purchased abroad. (Sorry I haven't mastered accent "aigues"on my US English keyboard.)\

Nowadays, there are more  and more new fragrances every day from the luxury houses and any celebrity who thinks their "Eau de Themselves" is worth marketing. No vat of coffee beans can help my disenchanted olfactory bulbs recover and gain interest in any new scents. I seriously have not purchased any new perfume in years. So does that mean my signature scent will have to come from my small collection? Here are the few I still use regularly:

- Hermes Kelly Caleche - such a uniuqe, cashmere like scent
- Hermes Hermessence Collection:
   - Rose Ikebana - light and airy roses
   - Vetiver Tonka - like a musky tobacco
- Chanel Mademoiselle - cant describe this one on my own
- Marc Jacobs "Original" - florally?
- Kenzo "7:15 am in Bali"- like vanilla in someplace tropical
- Creed Virgin Island Water- coconut and lime.. yum!

Hopefully we are allowed more than one signature scent because I sure cannot pick just one!

Sunday sewing project

Final product coming soon...

Today I pulled out a pink Marc Jacobs trench coat from my closet. I got it years ago and it has been collecting record-breaking hanger time. That's probably because it is knee length on a normal person so on my petite frame, I can only wear it with heels. In flats, I was the dwarf going out to rob a bank. I thought of selling it since it's in perfect condition, but I thought maybe I can tinker with my own alterations.

Being the risk taker today, I hacked off 9" off the hem to make it a mid-thigh length on me. I even copied the best I can the detailing on the original hem. It is only 3/4 of the way done because I did not have pink thread- silly me. I did the mock up with different coloured thread but so far so good. I will have to run to Fabricland another day to find the correct colour. For now I'll leave you with a "before" shot.. lets cross our fingers and hope the "after" works out! If it works out, then the Burberry trench wish can wait a few more years. ;)

I can live in my new coat

My dear husband did allow me my wishlist Moncler S Sarina coat for my birthday this year. It also counts as my Christmas gift and probably every other occasion gift for the next few years... but we just won't bring up reminders when that time comes. :)

I was only able to find it in a Sz 2 (medium) as my size was sold out worldwide, but that's ok. I like a lot of room. With the bigger size I came up with 4 different ways to do it up. I love how it feels like I'm in a cozy cocoon...  The merino wool is lovely, which means I don't "swish" as much as other puffer coat wearers. The inevitable swish is there but its quiet since there's a nylon skirt. The skirt detail is totally quirky- that's probably why I was drawn to it!

Probably was a bad day to take a photo (make up free), but its all about the coat. :)