Positive Thoughts

I have been absent for awhile, I know. This has been for a few reasons but two I'll share with you.

One~ my computer has up and died on me. I was on my two year old Mac laptop one night as per usual, doing nothing offensive or particularly high risk (unless you consider surfing for fab spring clothes high risk, which I suppose it could be, but only to a credit card!). The pesky little coloured wheel wouldn't let me do a thing and so I shut the darn thing off. Lo and behold, when I turned it back on I was staring at a blue screen and nothing else. Everything was gone in a few, mere seconds. Beyond frustrating. It's being looked at now but I have no idea if anything can be salvaged.

Two~ I have been feeling blah lately. And not just a tiny little blah, but seriously uninspired. Do I keep going with this with no determined game plan? How much can I possibly blog about things to buy or what to wear? I love these posts on other girls' blogs as much as the next person but it's not terribly meaningful or affecting anyone.

I started this blog because I had something to say and things to share and somewhere along the way I lost my love for it. It became competitive and I hate that. I'm not interested in competing with anyone. I do this for me, even if three people read it (one of which is my mother). So I will continue to share things I love on Ally Redhead, be it a happening in my life, a story, an anecdote or a pretty dress. I need to return to what I felt when I started this little thing almost a year ago. So keep posted for new things, new inspirations and a new me.

So here are a few of the wonderful, happy and thrilling (or even just good) things that have happened to me lately. Let's take a moment for positivity...

My friend Kristen had a gorgeous baby girl, Anabelle

My best friend Nicole had a fabulous birthday celebration

I've told off someone it felt damn good to tell off

I got a new bed (the most blissful, cozy thing in the world)

I let go of someone who treated me badly

I've made some incredible new friends
(quite thrilling at 30 to still meet amazing, cool, generous and warm girlfriends)

I decided to not let bad feelings keep me from doing things I love~ including this!

Thank you for visiting, sweet readers, and I'll be back on top form, blogging away soon!
xoxo Ally

ps- Love this cute little floral dress and denim jacket for spring!

Dear You

Dear you,

You know who you are. And I love you so much. I know right now is a hard time. You are so strong and you put on a tough front, but it has nonetheless been a difficult few weeks. It is so okay to admit that. You are so lovable. You are so loved. Do not doubt that for a second.

You are everything that is good in life~ caring, passionate, thoughtful, funny as heck and unfathomably beautiful, inside and out. I feel so fortunate to know you and know you well. I wish I could take any pain you feel away. I can't. It is human to go through it, to feel it. And in time it will start to dissipate and then one day it will be gone altogether. You will wake up and it won't be the first thing you think of. It will be gone and you will feel free. And happy. I promise.

You don't have to be so strong all the time. It is okay to admit you are vulnerable. Hell, you know how I bother you all the time! Every thought, every detail. You can come to me, with anything and at any time. Never forget what a truly incredible person you are. Hold onto that and know that the future holds every happiness for you. Without a doubt, it is out there for you and soon enough, it will be yours.
I love you.

Love, me
xoxoxo

Is it still a Christmas Party if it's in January?

Last week we finally had our staff Christmas party and let me tell you, we seriously let loose! December is one of, if not the, busiest months of the year for us so we simply can't have our party before the holiday itself. Still, it was quite lovely to be able to get together and celebrate knowing that the chaotic nuttiness of the season was well behind us! 

We were taken to blue water cafe in Yaletown, where we feasted on their unbelievable sushi, oysters, prawns and sashimi, not to mention three additional courses. Did I mention there was an open bar?! I won't go into the details but suffice it to say I have a new resolution for 2010~ no more unlimited cocktails for me! I am lucky enough to work with some amazing people, including three of my best friends and two incredible bosses, so it is always (mostly always) a joy to go there. In fact, after 5 days off already after my knee surgery I'm more than ready to go back! Here are a few candid shots from our fantastic evening...

My BFF, Leah, and I got ready together and started the evening with a few Cosmos! 

Leah shows off her stunning Birks engagement ring! Greg did GOOD! Nah, he did great! 

All ready in our party gear! My dress is BCBG, my pale pink heels a steal from Aldo. 

The blissful, newly engaged couple! 

Girl time in the ladies room, of course! Leah, Jenny, Nic and myself. 

Smooching time at dinner! 

The boys hanging at the (open!) bar! 

Bestie time! 

Hamming it up for the camera! It was such a fun night! 

Soon to Be Mr. & Mrs. Reid!

Christmas this year may have brought the loveliest gift of all~ my beautiful best friend has gotten engaged! Yes, Santa brought her a fiance and a gorgeous diamond ring! Leah and Greg have been madly in love for four years and will marry in September of 2011. I can't wait to be by my best friend's side along the way as she prepares to wed her soulmate. I couldn't be happier for two of the most generous, thoughtful and loving people I have ever met. 

Congratulations, my loves! 

Holiday Brunch

A lovely moment of relaxation amidst the chaos of the holiday season~ my lovely friend and co-worker Jennifer had myself and Nicole (the third of our work trio) over for an incredible Christmas brunch this past Saturday. We literally feasted (and I do mean feasted) on both cinnamon chocolate chip or rum and egg nog pancakes (or both!!), goat cheese frittata and bacon off of Jen's Vera Wang wedding china and drank sparkling rose wine out of crystal flutes. It was amazing and I ate until I could eat no more! On top of Jen's amazing skills in the kitchen~ she hand made the gorgeous beaded initial Christmas ornaments (above), inspired by the goddess of Christmas herself, 

Martha Stewart of course. 

It was a wonderful day and one I hope to repeat many times in the future~ both for the fantastic feast and, mostly, the friendship.

Best Friend Christmas Day

enjoying girl's day 

with our festive head gear and Lulu in front of the tree!

embracing our tiny first fall of snow! 

my beautiful best friends

This Much I Know For Sure

I'm in a questioning phase of life right now. Questioning my present, my future, my very near future. Questioning choices I've made and choices I have to make soon. There are so many things up in the air right now that I feel pulled in a hundred different directions. Despite all the unknowns in life at the moment this much I know for sure.....

1. French toast with maple syrup in a groovy 1950's-esque diner with my BFF solves pretty much anything.

2. Taking a veritable "cat nap" with Lulu solves anything else that #1 didn't solve.

3. I have the best ringtone in the world~ Alison by Elvis Costello.

4. I am really really excited that Christmas is coming and in another month I get to start decorating for it!

5. I really love rainy days, good parking spaces, days I have more than one coffee, days my bangs behave, wearing something new, Red Vines licorice, days when someone cute tells me I'm cute and days when I don't have to make any decisions. 

I also know this much for sure....

I want this dress from Shopbop. I also wish I looked like her, or even could just master the come hither look she's got going on. I think when I try to look like this people just think I'm about to sneeze. Plus, I love her booties. 

These tights from J.Crew are the prettiest ones I've seen all season. I visit them online every few days, they are that pretty. The shoes are pretty outstanding too. And the clutch. And the skirt. Come to think of it, I worship this whole look. But especially the tights. Sigh. 

I passed on these ridiculously beautiful stockings last year at Pottery Barn and I refuse to do that again this year. They are really too lovely to pass up. Plus, I have a mantle crying out for stockings. I'm not sure my (male) roommate will appreciate a white, bejewelled stocking, but too bad for him. He's getting one. 

I also love this eclectic, fun garland from Anthropologie. If I decide to forgo the stockings, this would be the alternative to hang from the mantle. I adore the cheery, bright colours and handmade feel to it. 

One day when I get married I will wear brightly coloured shoes like this bride. Isn't the yellow surprisingly pretty? 

Every time I see a picture of the Eiffel Tower I am happy. This one is no exception. This I know for sure.... next year I will make it back to Paris. I promise myself this. 

If I were to have one fantasy purchase this season it would be these super sexy booties from Christian Louboutin. What can I say? Swoon. And mine for only $1200. No problem (cough, cough). 

If the Louboutins were my splurge, this little number would be my save. My new obsession with Forever 21 has brought me to this hot piece for only $24. Astounding, how much style you can get for so few dollars! It's all about the high/low mix for this girl. 

This much I know for sure.....

I am lucky in many respects. Sometimes things are tough but they always get easier in time. I will decide what to do "when I grow up". Things will become clear. I am lucky for my amazing BFF and my other wonderful, supportive friends. I am lucky for my extraordinary parents. I am lucky for a pretty home and a current job I like to do. I am lucky to have an animal with such fantastic toe hair. I am lucky, this much I know for sure. 

What I Miss Dearly About Childhood on My Favourite Things

My lovely friend Chloe of My Favourite Things has been revisiting her childhood this week in the most wonderful way. She has been reminiscing about her favourite things when she was a little girl and asking her friends to do the same. I was happy to regress a few years and think of what I missed most about being a child. There were so many happy memories swirling in my brain but I managed to narrow my list down enough to post. 

Here is my list...

10 Things I Miss Dearly About Childhood

1. Barbies. My Little Ponies. Gem and the Holograms. Care Bears.

2. Gymnastic "competitions" with two of my neighbours; two of us would compete and one would judge but I could do a back walkover so I basically always won. Oh, the good old days.

3. Elaborate and sweet birthday parties thrown by my amazing mother. 

4. Patent leather Mary Janes with white knee socks. The love of fashion started early.

5. Eating all my trick or treating candy in a week flat. I was (and still am) a sugar fiend!

6. Decorating the Christmas tree with Bing Crosby on the tape deck (yes, tape deck) and drinking egg nog while my Dad swore as he untangled the lights and my mother soothed him and then basically did everything herself. Sigh.

7. Cabbage Patch Dolls. I had two. I rocked.

8. Sticker collecting, for sure. I was beyond obsessed.

9. Splashing in puddles with my gumboots and playing in the rain endlessly. I still love rainy weather.

10. What I miss most~ looking at the world with child's eyes. Everything was so big, endless, possible, easy, simple. I miss that childhood innocence most of all.

Thank you, Chloe, for asking me to take part on your wonderful blog! It is an honour. Please read My Favourite Things for more of these charming lists!

Scenes of a Restaurant

Scenes of a restaurant: 

Last night. 

Two fabulous gay men are leaving for the night after their dinner. 

"Giiiiiiiiirl, you have a strut on you! 

You are like a European supermodel! 

Pow. Pow. Pow." 

(The "pow" is in demonstration of hips moving side to side, 

thrusting suggestively as they imitate me in the lobby)

I beam, thank them, giggle to myself. One compliment made my night.... or my week! 

(Photo via This is Glamorous)

The Best Things on Earth

Okay, I couldn't wait for Monday for the second installation of 

The Best Things on Earth. 

This Saturday needs an injection of happy! 

The Best Things on Earth Part 2

Midnight phone calls that last for hours

Running through sprinklers

Laughing for absolutely no reason at all

Laughing at an inside joke

Waking up and realizing you still have a few hours left to sleep

Your first kiss (either your very first or your first with someone new)

Playing with a puppy

Sweet dreams

Hot chocolate on a winter night

Road trips with friends

Swinging on swings

The smell of cinnamon buns or cookies

Running into an old friend and realizing that some things never change

Watching the first snowfall of winter

Watching the sunrise

Getting a hug from someone you care deeply about

The Christmas spirit

Looking at old photos that bring back sweet memories

Knowing that somebody misses you

Thank you again, Kayli! 

The Best Things on Earth

My good friend Kayli sent me this last night~ a long list of the absolute best things on Earth. I think these loves are wildly universal and that everyone can relate to nearly everything on this beautiful list. It's a wonderful way to start the weekend! 

This is half now.... the other half I'll post Monday! 

The Best Things on Earth

Falling in love

Laughing so hard your face hurts

A hot shower

A special glance

Getting mail

Taking a drive on a pretty road

Hearing your favourite song on the radio

Lying in bed listening to the rain outside

Hot towels fresh out of the dryer

A bubble bath

A good conversation

The beach

Finding a $20 bill in your coat from last winter

Laughing at yourself

Having someone tell you that you're beautiful

Have a wonderful weekend everyone and thank you, my lovely Kayli! 

Living Their Dream

Yesterday was a completely lovely day. A happy reunion sort of day. A year ago my beautiful and kind friend Erin and her utterly adorable husband Dan packed their belongings and headed down to live in Los Angeles. Both E and D are actors and Hollywood is there waiting for them. The last year has proven many acting jobs, classes and successes for these two amazing people and I loved hearing about their new life down south. Erin and Dan are and will continue to conquer their dreams and they inspire me to do the same in the very near future. They are truly doing what they love everyday~ not many people can say that. They fly back to LA today and our short visit is on hiatus... until I go to see them in May! I can't wait for another reunion~ and a sunnier, warmer one at that! 

I love you two! Visit Dan and Erin's lovely blog and read all about their life in LA here. 

ps- E- Can you believe all the Coldplay songs we heard yesterday?! Talk about meant to be! xo

Dan and Erin onstage in Room Service

Lasting Distraction~ Out Now!

Lasting Distraction is the new album from Vancouver band Elias and it is my heartfelt recommendation that you buy it. Immediately. You see, this is my brother's band, but aside from that these are three guys that are passionate about their music and inordinately talented to boot. The new album was released today and you can find it on iTunes as of right this moment. Do yourself a favour and buy it. My faves? It is a toss up between Dropouts (sorrowful and angst-y), Thousand Pieces (if only boys wouldn't break my heart into so many pieces) or Awake Tonight (sexy as hell). Buy now!

 

(Band photo via Cohene.com)

New York, I Love You

One of my favourite films of the last few years was Paris, Je T'aime (I saw it three times in the theatres), a movie comprised of upwards of a dozen shorts dedicated to different areas and stories throughout the city of lights. It is a love story to Paris, highlighting its beauty and history while inviting the viewer into the lives of dozens of characters, but only for a few minutes at a time. It made me both laugh and cry, but more importantly, it made me fall in love with Paris over and over again. 

This month another film will be released in the same vein. New York, I Love You is also a series of short films, starring the likes of Natalie Portman, Bradley Cooper, James Caan, Orlando Bloom, Robin Wright Penn, Chris Cooper, Julie Christie, Shia La Boeuf, Rachel Bilson, Hayden Christianson, Andy Garcia, Ethan Hawke and Eli Wallach, as well as many others. The shorts, directed by such talent as Shekhar Kapur (Elizabeth), Brett Ratner (Rush Hour, X Men) and Joshua Marston (Maria Full of Grace), weave tales of friendship, romance and heartbreak in the dynamic and iconic city, 

from Brooklyn to Central Park. 

I can't wait to see this. Watch the newly released trailer here. 

Thanksgiving

Over a chilly Thanksgiving long weekend all I want to do is this: 

Eat pumpkin pie. Lots of it. Or pumpkin cheesecake. I'm down with that too.

Be cozy. Spend time with my family. Wear fuzzy socks and an oversized sweater. Lose myself in a good book. Relax. Hole up in front of the fireplace above (sadly not mine, but the one in my dreams). 

Turkey turkey turkey. But more importantly, stuffing. 

Sleep in. Wrestle with my purr monster. Have late brunch. 

Bake something fall-ish. Maybe something with apples and cinnamon. Then eat it. 

Best of all, give thanks for all the wonderful people and things in my life. I am truly grateful this year. 

Happy Thanksgiving! 

(Photo via This Is Glamorous)

Elias Back Onstage at The Biltmore

My gorgeous friend Chloe and I hit up The Biltmore last night to see my brother's band, Elias, as they opened for Pilot Speed (read previous posts here and here). The boys had just returned from a quick tour hop in Alberta to play Vancouver and are already back on the road as of this morning. Having not played together live in a year (I last saw them last October at the now defunct Richards on Richards for an Oxfam benefit), I was both excited and nervous for the show, especially as there is new material I hadn't yet heard live. Suffice it to say, the night kicked ass. I know, not very eloquent, but nonetheless true. It was a fantastic comeback show and the boys sounded tighter than ever. The new songs are beyond amazing and I can't wait to get my hands on their new album Lasting Distraction next Tuesday, October 13! Although one would think a sister could get an advanced copy..... hmmmmph. 

Congratulations, boys! Have a great tour! 

Click here to listen to new Elias. I highly highly recommend Awake Tonight. I've listened to it about twelve times today already. Amazing.

(Band photo by Mark Cohene)

Niceness

Trust

Despite being the big 3-0 I am about as naive as they come about many things in this life. I've never grown a thick outer shell over the years to protect me. I trust implicitly and let people into my life and into my heart without fear or hesitation or doubt. This has caused me to get hurt (and feel wildly stupid), many many times. Platonic girlfriends and bad boyfriends alike have been welcomed into my heart only for me to pay the price weeks, months, years later when things go wrong. 

I never wanted to be the kind of person who put up walls, who judged others or who didn't take a chance on someone. However, sometimes I don't listen to my instincts either. Should that change? Do I have to become the sort of person who lets no one in? Do I have to maintain my close circle and never take a chance on anyone else? Sometimes I think this would be okay (I have amazing people in my life) if it meant I avoided pain and disappointment. This reminds me of my favourite quote, "Everything was beautiful and nothing hurt." Oh, Kurt Vonnegut, you got it right. That is the life I want to lead. 

Today is a new day. While I woke up with a heavy heart I know that it is for the best that it is so. I tried. I opened myself to something I believed in and I'm proud of myself for that. Should I have nipped it in the bud at the start? Rejected this event in my life? Maybe. But I didn't. I refused to put up those walls and despite the aforementioned heavy heart, I'm glad I was open to what life had to offer me. I'm trusting, I'm loving and it gets me into trouble. But I wouldn't have it any other way. 

I'm open to love and open to life. 

This is the greatest adventure of all. 

Reconnection

The most amazing thing happened to me today. I am giddy with it. I woke up to a typical Sunday morning. My roommate/brother is touring so the apartment was mine alone. I was blissfully lazy, laying in bed while on my laptop. Facebook. Oh, Facebook. Such a love/hate relationship. Today I am grateful for it. 

I had a friend request, intriguing in itself. The name was so familiar. Unfathomable. I blinked in shock, genuinely stunned. My childhood best friend. A friend I only knew for a year in grade 4 before she moved away and I was left behind, devastated and heartbroken in the way you can only be when you are a kid of nine. This was long before the advent of computers in every household, email addresses and convenience. It was not like it is now, where people can maintain daily friendships from across the world. I never saw Sarah again. I think there was one letter and one phone call in the ensuing twenty years. Until today. 

We have been reunited after two decades and while in reality we are utter strangers, we have a hazy past that binds us, fuzzy memories that connect us across this continent, from Vancouver to Florida. I have one photo stored away in a box where I keep special things. It is her birthday party and we are doing a dance routine in poodle skirts (was it a dress up party? I guess so). I am doing the splits. The photo is fuzzy, in the way all photos were then. I must find it. Life has sent us in completely different directions but I don't think that matters. We are still those little girls somewhere inside us. The gift of technology has given us the chance to be friends again and I am beyond thrilled at the amazing opportunity. Hi, Sarah! 

Take that, Facebook doubters. 

Alone

Sometimes it is okay to feel really alone in this life. It's kind of true. We are, in fact, alone. Before you think I'm crazy, I need to say this isn't as depressing a thought as it sounds. We can fill our lives with people and places, but at the end of the day we are alone in our own minds. We are the only one who understands us. We are the only one who knows what goes on in our heads. We are the only ones it is safe to tell everything and anything to. It is okay. At times in this life I have felt really alone, in the worst sense, like maybe no one would ever understand me on a profound level or want to know me on that level. There are still days I am frustrated by how surface life can seem, how nothing seems to be real. Why are some things so fake? 

It's hard to learn these lessons sometimes but they are also incredibly valuable. Friends and family are wonderful but I am getting to be okay with myself. I don't particularly like feeling alone (despite loving and needing "me" time), but I'm getting to be more and more okay with it. As I grow (up? scary thought) I'm getting to like the person in this head more and more and that makes it easier to be solitary in these thoughts. Alone. Why is it such a scary concept? Why does it freak people (me) out? It doesn't have to be such a depressing concept. We are our own person. We need to like who we are, first and foremost. Get to know who you are when you are alone sometime. Be comfortable with yourself. It's not so bad.