just a kid from canada

Irina Lazareanu in Another Magazine.

Just a kid from Canada... with really good hair.

Perhaps it's time for a (much needed) chop.

jan lemitz

Jan Lemitz, Rooftops, Seoul, 2009

I was flipping through the latest issue of IANN today when I came across Jan Lemitz's spread. I like this series of photographs a lot - with Korean culture becoming more and more contemporary, it's nice to see a slightly different take on the city.

food basics

I was thrilled to find the new Apartamento this weekend in my favourite stationery store in Hongdae. I really like the cooking section of Apartamento, and this issue's was no exception - recipes for jam and chocolate mousse (and rulltarta, but I couldn't get a proper scan) paired with playful illustrations by Emily Roberston.

it is a long day, a day without bread

So true.

boutique in bloom

I just finished reading about a lovely little flower shop in H&H and thought I should share my floral findings with all of you. Coriander Girl, an adorable botanical boutique in the heart of Parkdale, offers up whimsical bouquets in vintage vases alongside sweet smelling soaps, lotions and candles. Alison Westlake, the coriander girl herself, opened the shabby-chic flower and gift shop last September after forgoing her acting career in favour of her green thumb. The charming little shop is right at home amongst the increasing number of antique shops, cute cafes and vintage clothiers that seem to be popping up along the Queen (seriously) West strip. Westlake (who blogs about her fleurs here) promises that she'll create fresh and unique floral arrangements to suit any budget. So even us penny-pinching flower fanatics can walk away with a petite bouquet of artfully arranged foliage.

Visit Coriander Girl at 1537 Queen St. W. Afterward, stop by the nearby and newly opened Belljar cafe in Roncesvalles.

the dilemma of foreignness

Beware, then: however well you carry it off, however much you enjoy it, there is a dangerous undertow to being a foreigner, even a genteel foreigner. Somewhere at the back of it all lurks homesickness, which metastasises over time into its incurable variant, nostalgia. And nostalgia has much in common with the Freudian idea of melancholia—a continuing, debilitating sense of loss, somewhere within which lies anger at the thing lost. It is not the possibility of returning home which feeds nostalgia, but the impossibility of it.

But we cannot expect to have it all ways. Life is full of choices, and to choose one thing is to forgo another. The dilemma of foreignness comes down to one of liberty versus fraternity—the pleasures of freedom versus the pleasures of belonging. The homebody chooses the pleasures of belonging. The foreigner chooses the pleasures of freedom, and the pains that go with them.

-Being Foreign, The Economist via M. Dash

postcards

Have you missed me? I've been losing myself on the streets (and in the stores) of London for the past week. Today, somewhere in between cobblestoned markets and Sunday roast, I picked up these lovely little postcards to send home. Although I love them so much I think I might just have to save them for myself.

in china

British Vogue, 1979
(via)

I'm off to Shanghai early tomorrow morning to celebrate the Year of the Tiger and I really can't believe it (as it usually takes until I'm in the air for these things to sink in). Armed with a most reliable travel companion (and a handsome boy), I'm looking forward to visiting here, to shopping and eating in the French Concession, and to taking lots and lots of pictures. Happy New Year!

rapunzel, rapunzel

Locked in a palace far far away, Hanne Gaby Odiele plays a modern day Rapunzel in the February cover shoot of Numéro Korea. Photographed by Lina Scheynius and styled by Jeon Hyo-Jin, Hanne spends her days reading and slumbering, waiting for her Prince Charming to return.
-Fashion Gone Rogue

Wouldn't it be nice...

when Tommy met Tavi

Mr Jak and Jil shot little miss fashion blogger of the moment for Paris Vogue this month.

Would anyone who parlez francais like to translate this for me?

makeup colour

images from we heart it, the cherry blossom girl, jak & jil, turned out, style.com

Occasionally, I break down and buy the Korean version of magazines I liked to read back home, as they are substantially cheaper than acquiring foreign copies. It's cruel, really, how expensive English magazines are over here. It's hard to complain though, as the content of Korean magazines is spectacular - minus the whole not-being-able-to-read-the-articles part. However, the titles of said articles are always in English, and are quite amusing. In Nylon Korea's February 2010 issue, they give a little S/S trend report, regaling the reader with upcoming trends such as lolita fantasy (read: ruffles), like scuba (read: body-con), and my absolute favourite, makeup colour (read: nudes, beiges, creams - you know, the colour of your MAC Studio-Fix). Anyway, I am always delighted with these little (albeit, slightly off) headlines, and wanted to share some of my favourite makeup coloured looks with you.

wes and the gang

Speaking of collages, here's a delightful one that Nylon Korea put together for their February 2010 issue (it's a shame I couldn't read any of the accompanying article, but I'm pretty sure they were saying that Wes Anderson is awesome). I recently watched Fantastic Mr. Fox (finally!) and it was all that I hoped it would be and more - plus the soundtrack is incredible.

seoul love

some of my favourite Seoul snaps

The New York Times has released a list of the 31 places to go in 2010. Luckily, I'm already living near #3 on the list - Seoul, South Korea. While I'm not surprised that this fantastic, design savvy city scored so highly, Korea is considered to be Asia's best kept secret (or so it says on the souvenir t-shirts sold at the airport), so I thought I'd share this little piece with you:

Forget Tokyo. Design aficionados are now heading to Seoul.

They have been drawn by the Korean capital’s glammed-up cafes and restaurants, immaculate art galleries and monumental fashion palaces like the sprawling outpost of Milan’s 10 Corso Como and the widely noted Ann Demeulemeester store — an avant-garde Chia Pet covered in vegetation.

And now Seoul, under its design-obsessed mayor, Oh Se-hoon, is the 2010 World Design Capital. The title, bestowed by a prominent council of industrial designers, means a year’s worth of design parties, exhibitions, conferences and other revelries. Most are still being planned (go to wdc2010.seoul.go.kr for updates). A highlight will no doubt be the third annual Seoul Design Fair (Sept. 17 to Oct. 7), the city’s answer to the design weeks in Milan and New York, which last year drew 2.5 million people and featured a cavalcade of events under two enormous inflatable structures set up at the city’s Olympic stadium.

Is this enough incentive to come for a visit?

Really?

Okay so I'll admit it, I do kind of love Lauren Conrad and yes The Hills hasn't been the same without her but really LC...you're going to publish a Style Guide? If the book is anything like her clothing line it's sure to be bland and overpriced.

Like an egyptian

Having never been the type to get too excited over ancient artifacts (I generally prefer paintings to pots and porcelain) I'm not really that jazzed about the upcoming King Tut exhibit at the AGO. And I am certainly not as eager as the entertainment editors over at the Toronto Star who have been painfully stretching their week-long Tut coverage to include recipes for Egyptian cuisine and today's feature on Sodom nightclub's (yes that's right) upcoming dance party featuring a nearly nude male model in pharo-like body paint. But I can't help but think that the photo above is kind of cool. The larger-than-life and then some Pharo statue (or wait..is it a rabbit?) is currently looming large over Dundas St. in order to promote the much-hyped exhibit that will be opening in the city in just a few days. And since I'm kind of important now (ahem...okay not at all) I will be tagging along to the media preview event at the gallery tomorrow morning. I assume I'll get a glimpse of some of Tut's treasures, including what I'm sure will be some pretty sweet gladiator sandals, and hopefully some complimentary finger foods. I guess it's time to make like The Bangles and Walk Like an Egyptian.

Side note: I just noticed that the 'hot topics' toolbar on the Toronto Star's website includes breaking news categories like H1N1, Maple Leafs and Vampires?! I'm so glad I subscribe to a newspaper with my kind of priorities.

sneak peak.

A quick glimpse at the first issue of 31 Rue Cambon, the first foray into the magazine world for fashion giant Chanel. A joint collabo between Purple Magazine's Olivier Zahm and oh yeah, Karl Lagerfeld. The glossy mag, named for the legendary address of fashion icon Coco Chanel, will soon be distributed in Chanel stores around the globe. I need to get my hands on this.

sweet tooth

I'm trying to quit sweets for a bit, but this delightful, Marie-Antoinette-inspired spread is making it hard!
Vogue Girl Korea really does have the best photo shoots.