Quote of the Day

"Everything was beautiful and nothing hurt."
-Kurt Vonnegut

(Photo courtesy of Paper Tissue)

Wish List- Tiffany & Co.

Every week I intend to reveal something on my Wish List (trust me, it's a long list!) and share with you things to covet in our wildest dreams! This week I'm lusting after Tiffany & Co.'s new Key Collection necklaces. Designed after antique hardware, Tiffany has reinvented an everyday item into something incredibly beautiful, delicate and fashion forward. These necklaces are inventive and charming~ a very fresh take on an everyday accessory. The keys are offered in gold, platinum, sterling silver and the pulse-racing diamond collection, with several different chains to pick and choose from. The diamond key above is truly a Wish List only item at a spine tingling $15,000 (yeah, in my dreams), but the more modest silver crown key is a more manageable $295. The Key Collection can be found at the Tiffany & Co. store on Burrard and Alberni Streets, where I intend to go very soon and have (what else?) breakfast. Audrey, I think, would be proud. 

Visit Tiffany & Co. here. 

Smile of the Day

On a day when I don't feel really right with the world these brought a smile to my face. The adorable puppy is Kupo (a mini American Eskimo), my friend Kayli's little guy. I'm totally in love with him!

(Photos courtesy of Kayli A)

Chivalry~ Dead or Alive?

Don't get me wrong. I love men. LOVE 'em. However, lately I've been wondering this~ is chivalry dead? I sincerely hope not but it seems incredibly hard to find chivalrous behaviour in the average man these days. Perhaps this is a ridiculous generalization and yet I spend my days being cut in front of by men (definitely no ladies first any longer), ignored when a friendly smile is offered (um hello, it's a smile, I'm not asking for a marriage proposal!) and I don't even remember the last time a door was held open for me (if ever). I often wonder how it was being a woman 50 years ago~ what was "courting" like? How did men truly treat women? Did they buy flowers (without being ordered to!)? Has chivalry gone out with the times as women have become men's equals in the professional world?

I had all but given up hope when something restored my faith a few weeks ago. I was helping a man at the store, giving him inane advice on what to buy friends as a wedding gift (he took my brilliant advice) and as his gift was being wrapped he went to have breakfast at a dive I recommended. Later when he returned to pick up his purchase he came to thank me and gave me a truly lovely bouquet of flowers. I was completely moved. There was no ulterior motive, no phone number left or requested. It was simply a gesture, a thoughtful kindness. This stranger made my day and weeks later I still think of that sweet and generous man out there and how lucky one lady will be to have him one day. So, boys, if you're reading this you may think about holding open a door even once in awhile, or buying your girl a bunch of tulips or running her a bath after a long day (or even better, a back rub!). A friend recently reminded me that chivalry isn't dead, it's just hiding a little more these days. Look hard enough, girls, and it's bound to reveal itself. Or it will if the guy is worth it!

What do you think? Is chivalry dead?

(Photo courtesy of Paper Tissue)

This Apple is Not To Be Eaten!

I fell head over heels in love with this decal I found yesterday on Etsy! Isn't it adorable? Yes, decals used to be only of the peel and stick variety for storefronts but in the last year they've transitioned into home decor and can be found everywhere, from high end stores to Ikea to art supply stores like De Serres. This Snow White decal sticks right onto the front of your Macbook and I absolutely love how it looks like she's cradling the apple! For $20US I had to have this personal touch for my laptop! Visit seller Back Glass on Etsy to find the same Snow White or other fun decals! 

A Place to Call Home

Anyone who knows me knows how passionately I love home decor. I am lucky enough to live in my dream apartment in a 90-year-old heritage building with pretty architectural details (beautiful hardwood! old fashioned fireplace! wainscoting!) in the South Granville neighbourhood of Vancouver. Sure, it's not perfect (24/7 noise, colourful dumpster divers in the back alley) but it's worth it to have a space I love so much and am so inspired by. Renting in the city always presents somewhat of a conundrum~ how much do you put into your place and how much do you spend when you have no idea how long you'll stay? Having been happily ensconced in our place for nearly 6 months the urge has overcome me to plant firmer roots and make the apartment a little more like home. This means pulling out the paintbrush, hunting for curtains and and finally getting my bed off the floor and in front of a pretty headboard (or a four poster bed....sigh).

As a girl who lives in front of HGTV and consumes numerous monthly decorating magazines the perfect bedroom has always been my ultimate goal. The bedroom is one's sanctuary, a space that can be highly personalized and luxurious in a way a family room or kitchen perhaps cannot (or just in a different way). I am on the hunt to make my bedroom as pretty as possible. Any volunteers to help me paint?! On the list to find is an upholstered headboard, two matching lamps for the bedside tables, pretty drapes to cover the unsightly privacy blinds and other decadent accessories. This doesn't have to cost a lot! One of my favourite places in the city to hunt for finds is Home Sense and I often come away with steals that look far more elegant than their humble discount store origins! I also scour pricier places like The Cross or Chintz & Company for smaller decor items, resulting in big style at a smaller price point. I love the hits of yellow in the bedroom above. I think this bedroom would be cheerful even on the grayest of days. Hmmm.....I think I'll put a yellow accessory on my list! Now who wants to go shopping with me?!

(Photos courtesy of Sarah Richardson's Design Inc. website)

Rain Rain Go Away!

I woke up this morning to the sound of rain hitting my windowpane and cars on wet pavement on our street. After days of beautiful and warm weather I was beginning to feel spoiled! No jacket? No problem! Open toed sandals? Of course! Sunglasses? Can't leave home without them! But this is Vancouver after all and rain is a very present reality (ALL the time)! However, if it has to rain isn't this umbrella the cutest thing to brighten such a day? The clear plastic means you can actually see where you're going (a novelty when you're normally hidden under the protective shield) and the bubble shape is oh so elementary school! Pull on your cutest rain boots and go splash in the rain with this adorable find, only $16.99US on Target.com! A small price to pay for such a stylish and whimsical accessory! 

Watch This Now!

If you haven't heard any buzz about The Curious Case of Benjamin Button in the last year then perhaps you've been living in a bubble (or under a rock). If you haven't yet seen it then please, for me, watch it now. Starring the horribly unattractive pairing of Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett (cue obvious eye roll here~ clearly a stunning duo if ever there was one, and playing lovers for the second time after 2006's Babel) the movie is based on the short story by amazing American writer F. Scott Fitzgerald (also of The Great Gatsby fame). The film is centred around Benjamin, born old and growing younger as time passes, but more importantly is a story about kindred spirits and true soulmates who can only be together for a very short moment in time, when their ages meet in the middle. A truly remarkable, visibly stunning and emotionally moving film about how true love prevails, even if it is not meant to be forever. And coming from a natural one, Cate Blanchett makes a truly lovely redhead! 

ps- The photograph above of Benjamin and Daisy in bed is one of my favourite cinema images of all time. The intimacy between them feels so real, so palpable, I can honestly imagine that is how true love and real intimacy should look and feel like. It's also my favourite scene in the movie. Please reward yourself and watch this now! 

If I Were Going on a Date This Week....

...then I would wear this! J.Crew's embossed cotton ombre Lorelei dress is right on trend for summer with it's pale blue bodice fading into a perfectly knee length white hem. The strapless neckline is always pretty and feminine but the flat, gold sandals makes the outfit a little more casual, not too fussy. The pockets are an added bonus! So cute, plus a place to hide your lip gloss! Add a cute cardigan for night time or a light shawl for your shoulders and a choice gold accessory, like this model's chunky bracelet, and the look is flawlessly pulled together. It's a perfect second date choice~ you're trying but not too hard! Drool worthy, I think. Visit J.Crew.com for more perfectly sweet dresses and other summery outfits.  Another added bonus~ they ship to Canada! Hooray! 

Everything Old is New Again....With Vintage!

If you haven't yet visited or shopped on Etsy.com you are sadly behind the times, people! I discovered the website just over a year ago through a friend and fell instantly and thoroughly in love. Etsy is a site that allows individual designers and artists to sell their own wares to the public, and for them it is a way to enhance sales and access widespread exposure that normally eludes such small business owners. Etsy is a treasure trove of anything you could ever want to buy~ from stunning photography and original art to baby onesies, from heartbreakingly beautiful wedding gowns to personalized stationery. Etsy is also a hotbed for vintage finds. As a girl who is constantly on the lookout for something different and charming, to me Vancouver's vintage scene seems seriously and disappointingly lacking. So I turn to Etsy when I'm craving something new....yet old! On Friday I had to have the vintage rhinestone feather pin above, estimated to be from the middle of last century and that I picked up for only $10US plus $4 in shipping. In just a few days I'll find this beautiful and original piece in my mailbox! A few other vintage finds I thought I'd share are the 1930's beaded sunburst evening bag ($20US!!!!) and the lust-worthy Art Deco diamond ring (a slightly more extravagant $500US, but hey, it's genuine 1920's and diamonds!). If you haven't been to Etsy.com I recommend a visit. Happy shopping! 

A girl can dream, can't she?

Erika and I went ring shopping tonight. For her, obviously! With her wedding in August fast approaching she was in search of the perfect wedding band to pair with her beautiful engagement ring from her honey, David. While there I couldn't help but play. And play I did! With an oval cut solitaire surrounded with diamonds on a pave diamond band. Le sigh! It was torture to take it off my finger. Dream ring, check! But a single girl can dream, can't she? Erika ended up picking a stunning white gold band dotted with diamonds~ a beautiful choice. Diamond shopping followed by dinner and gelato~ talk about a perfect evening!

A New Beginning!

To blog or not to blog.... an ever present question in our modern day 2009. It seems like everyone is doing it, from pseudo celebs on myspace, to Gwyneth's GOOP (yes, I read it and love it). In my 2009 strangers and friends alike are blogging about their days and inviting people into the inner sanctums of their lives, divulging charming anecdotes to all who are there to listen. So here I find myself with a desire to "blog" (when did that even become a verb?!). It comes from a place inside needing to express some sort of creativity within my life~ with my English Literature degree all but finished my term paper writing days are happily (joyously! ecstatically!) over, but I'm not ready to put the theoretical pen down. When I was little I used to start story after story, trying to get something on paper before I got bored and abandoned my (scintillating, I'm sure) characters to a life unfinished. My mother still has dozens of one page stories started by yours truly. Here is something I can start and finish, a way to share little short stories of my life and the lives of the people I love all around me. Welcome to Ally Redhead!