The daily chronicle of a fashion-and-beauty obsessed, style-writing, pseudo-Angeleno who made her way from the Great White North to La-La Land -- otherwise known as Los Angeles, California -- and back again.
Till the next big city calls out her name, that is.
I'm a Vancouverite who moonlighted as an Angeleno. My momma is the best in the entire world, and I'll argue you hoarse on that one. I've been in love only once in my life. The East Coast calls me but the West Coast is in my blood. Social butterflies -- and party animals -- are a great species. Fashion and writing will be the death of me, but what a way to go. Carine Roitfeld is fabulous. I would die a painful death if art, design, photography, fashion, music and dancing did not exist. Always kind of wondered why Smurfette was the only girl in town. I can't draw. Absolutely believe everything happens for a reason. I feel so lucky to have the girlfriends that I do. I'm a total sun baby. Think I might be a workaholic. I may have slight road rage. Ice cream and hockey are religions. I buy too many glossy magazines. Nothing beats someone with a killer sense of humor. Chivalry is really not dead. I'm a victim of minor vertigo and a serious lead foot. Always up for meeting people from paths different than mine and crossing paths with old friends. At the very end of it all, I want to be able to look back and say: Yeah, I sure lived a damn good life.
So my Christmas Day fared MUCH better than Christmas Eve.
Saritz and I made it to her mom's for Christmas brunch (poached eggs soaked in red wine on a baguette with bacon and mushrooms!)
Then I drove over the K-Dawg's for the rest of the day, drinking more vino and being merry with my second familia (and the Willms familia, too).
Ever the rockin' best guy friend, K. got me a bottle of Narciso Rodriguez For Her eau de parfum, while Nadine got me Dolce & Gabbana The One, which comes in a chic, refillable gold travel-size bottle (the box came with three refills).
As Nads said to me last night, I'm going to be smelling good all 2009.
After stuffing our faces at dinner, we all broke open Christmas crackers (which I'd never done before, how fun!) and had a round of Secret Santa.
I ended up with the cutest white and blue apron with lace straight from Holland (thanks to Nadine, who calls Utrecht in the Netherlands home these days). Oh yeah, and it came with a matching spatula. Adorable. I'm actually afraid to get it dirty.
Apres pecan and pumpkin pie for desert, the night turned into the kids -- which is a completely relative term, since the eldest kid in the room was 30 -- indulging in a movie-watching session of the Wedding Crashers.
Ah, it was a very merry Christmas, indeed.
I'm Lovin' it: Vintage fur vests. Last night, one made an appearance as a Secret Santa gift. Ever the fashionistas, Nads and I fell in love with it. Then we found out Sue could get ones for us for $22 today. Yeeeeees. It's so Rachel Zoe.
I'm Over it: Hmmmm...more snow means possibly not making it to the 'burbs (again) for Aims' Boxing Day party...
Track of the Day: The Bloc Party remix of "Needy Girl" by Chromeo. Love when the lone chime rings in at a little after three minutes. That's when the remix gets gooooooood.
* Photos property of Haute Hippie, cfs9.tistory.com, and are used solely for commentary purposes
I decided not to fly home for Christmas this year, which was a good decision considering the airports were a mess in this city, thanks to the huge dumping of la neige (translation: snow).
Instead, my plan was to spend Christmas Eve with Saritz and Tom Tom at Saritz's mom's place in the 'burbs, spend Christmas Day at my best guy friend's parent's place in the 'burbs and then Boxing Day at Aims' parent's place in the 'burbs.
Then Wednesday happened, ie. tons of snow, which meant no driving and instead taking the train out to the 'burbs for Christmas Eve. Until Tom Tom and I got to the train station. Yikes.
The line was six-person deep to get through, plus a few trees that had fallen on the tracks were causing major delays. Major. And this city is not prepared for snow causing such delays of such majority status.
Our plan was for Saritz to get in on the stop before us (since it was closer for her), then she'd hop off at the next station to meet us so we could all board the following train as a trio. After seeing that horrific crush of people, Tom Tom and I knew that wasn't happening. At all.
We frantically kept on trying to call/text Saritz to stay on the train and keep going and that it was too much hassle so we'd stay downtown for Christmas Eve, but lack of reception underground forced Tom Tom and I to take turns going back up escalators and stairs to the ground level to make calls, which didn't get through to Saritz because she was underground, too.
So Tom Tom and I eventually decided to eff it and hotfoot over to the station Saritz was at, since no trains were moving and we could probably catch her.
We got there to witness the train's doors shutting and taking off. Hot damn.
Saritz got one of our texts once her train got out from underground and replied, saying she understood and that she'd keep going.
Tom Tom and I then proceeded to have our Christmas Eve dinner at The Keg (closest restaurant we could find to the station), ordering double jack and cokes (for T) and Keg-sized white vino (for me).
My dinner? Prime rib, 8 oz, medium-rare (more on the rare side), garlic mashed potatoes and a side of three cheese butter. Yeah, you better believe it.
Then an hour and a half later, we got a call from Saritz, saying she'd been stuck on the train going between the two stations for an hour and a half. She was getting off and meeting us.
Saritz ordered a double gin and tonic, plus prime rib, the minute she sat down.
In the end, we all tramped through the snow across to the other side of downtown to spend the rest of the evening at Tang's, where we drank more vino, played a few rounds of Rock Band very tipsy, watched Wanted, had good laughs and felt very merry.
It was our version of National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation, but you know what?
I wouldn't have had it any other way.
* And yes, those are my pom pom slippers.
** Photos are property of Haute Hippie and are used solely for commentary purposes
*Note to my readers: COAFF has been a little more personal and a little less "fashion-y" in the past few posts, but I'm in holiday mode and having a pretty fun time documenting my Christmas '08 shenanigans for y'all via iPhone photos. I promise to be back to tons of fashion and the like in '09!!
So our beloved friend, Oli, gets two major thumbs-up for being -- what Khaleel has dubbed -- "Captain Organization".
The big Team 1059 ski trip up is coming up, and Oli took it upon himself to put together the meal itinerary for three days.
But the best thing about said email is that nowhere does it indicate that any of the girls would be doing any cooking.
Merry, merry Christmas, ladies.
Here's what O-Dawg had to say. A little comprehensive? I guess most lawyers, as Oli is, are pretty detail-oriented. Had to post it all so you could get the scope and give kudos for his effort.
Read, in particular, his drinking schedule at the bottom.
As Borat would say, very niiiiice.
"Team,
After quick discussion, we cobbled together a list of meals that we will be eating while in Sun Peaks. The consensus was Luke and Mack would pick up all of the bulk items from Costco and Mikey and I would take care of fruit and veggies. We will cook for nine people for each meal below, with the exception of Wednesday dinner when Will, Amber, Brad and Tynaya will also be joining us. Luke and I will cook Monday night, Mack on Tuesday night, and Mike on Wednesday night. With that in mind, the meals are as follows:
Meals Monday dinner- Spaghetti bolognese, garlic bread, salad Tuesday breakfast- Porridge, fruit, coffee, oj Tuesday lunch- (to be eaten on the hill) Tuesday dinner- Chicken fajitas, fresh salsa and guacamole Wednesday breakfast- Bacon, eggs, sausage, toast, fruit, coffee, oj Wednesday lunch- Sandwiches and soup (for people to eat at their leisure if they do not ski or if they want to come back for lunch during the day) Wednesday dinner- Steak, asparagus, mushrooms, roasted potatoes, caesar salad
Ingredients for Luke and Mack to pick up: - Spaghetti - Ground beef - Garlic bread - Bulk organic greens (for 2 night's worth of salads, as well as sandwiches) - Chicken breasts - Whole wheat wraps and bread (for both toast and sandwiches) - Sour cream - Bacon and sausage - Eggs - Coffee (for 3 mornings) - Sandwich meat (turkey breast, ham, chicken breast etc.) - Cheddar cheese slices and grated cheddar cheese (for fajitas) - Soup (chicken noodle, tomato, etc.) - Steak (13 fillets) - Small yellow nugget potatoes (for 13) - Croutons - Caesar salad dressing and a balsamic vinaigrette dressing - Yellow and blue corn tortilla chips (for dinner and for snacks) - Granola bars (for eating on the hill) - Porridge mixture - Milk and cream - OJ (lots) - Soda water (lots) - Red bull (lots) - Ketchup and hot sauce - Any other snacks you can think of
Ingredients for Oli and Mikey to pick up: - Oranges, apples, bananas, melons (for 2 mornings) - Tomatoes (for sandwiches, salads and salsa) - Onions (for pasta and salsa) - Limes and lemons (for booze and salsa) - Cucumbers - Red and green peppers (for pasta and fajitas) - Asparagus - Mushrooms (for pasta and steaks) - Avocados - Garlic - Basil, rosemary and oregano - Fresh cracked pepper
If anyone has any ideas for food or certain things that they like or dislike, or if I forgot anything, feel free to offer up your thoughts.
Also, everyone is responsible for bringing up their own booze. If you were curious, my plan was to drink Baileys between 8am and 9am, Fireball between 2pm and 4pm, beer between 4pm and 10pm, and vodka thereafter. Each to their own I guess.
love, oli"
In the middle and on the right, two of the chefs!
I'm Lovin' it: OMG. OMG. OMG. For some reason, j'adore the outfit on this Club Monaco mannequin. Plaid. Skinny vest. Fingerless gloves. New Year's outfit?!
I'm Over it: Berry and I baked soft ginger cookies with cream cheese filling on this past snowy Sunday afternoon. Then Berry made another batch today, of which I ate one with tea and then took two home. I need to stop eating them if I know what's good for me. And my hips.
Track of the Day: One of the best tracks of 2008. Bon Iver. Skinny Love.
* Photos property of Haute Hippie and are used solely for commentary purposes
It's unbelievably nice to have K-Dizzle and Oli back in the fold again. Team 1059 is back.
First order of business: A night of VRBF and hookah on Friday (that's melon tobacco packed in the pipe, yummy!).
Second order of business: Two Christmas shakers in one night yesterday, complete with some of the boys showing up to the second soiree as the striped shirt brigade. Or in button-up shirts under sweaters. Fellas don't have much choice when it comes to fashion sometimes, do they?
Third order of business: Scored those fabulous boots I saw on that post from Betty Autier of Le Blog de Betty (in Paris) at Zara yesterday. Remember me obsessing over them and not knowing where they were from? Lady Luck was on my side yesterday when I walked into the second floor of the store (where the better choices are, in my opinion). And said boots were on sale for $69.95, way down from the original price tag. Merry Christmas to me!!
* Photos property of Haute Hippie and are used solely for commentary purposes
It's been a very, very, VERY busy day for me, sitting in front of my Mac writing from 8 am to right now.
Much needed to get done, so all I really have to say at the moment is TGIF, my friends, TGIF.
My day started off in light and ended in darkness (yep, that's my shadow in the window below).
Happy Friday, y'all.
I'm hitting the gymnase for a run and then gearing up for some Alfa Sushi with the crew.
But not without leaving you with a wicked track called Dream Keepa by Roger Robinson (side #1, track #3), courtesy of DJ Nina Mendoza, who played it at the (212) store event last night and was sweet enough to email it me. Thanks, Nina!
xo Haute Hippie
* Photo property of Haute Hippie and is used solely for commentary purposes
I'm feigning to get my hands on a perfectly perfect waistcoat for my closet.
And I'm thinking these ones from Boy by Band Of Outsiders -- designed by Scott Sternberg -- just might fit the bill.
By the way, isn't Michelle Williams adorable posing in the polaroid look book shots??
Click through on the link above to see them pretty pictures.
I'm Lovin' it: Oh my god. This Alexis Bittar Vermeil Sculpted Ring...I have no words...
I'm Lovin' it, Part Deux: The massive snowball fight that occurred walking with the crew from Uva Wine Bar to Section (3) last night. A big thanks to Luker (the guy pointing at you below) for picking me up and sitting me down on a newspaper dispenser topped with snow, which made my clothes massively wet. I get it, so I face washed you first. But I also face washed you last post-newspaper dispenser, so there. Said face washing should be allowed on my part, since unceremoniously I got hit in the face by Will-ber (accidentally, so he claims) with a massive ball. Of snow, people, of snow!
I'm Over it: Sitting on the fence about one thing or the other (there I go again!) is not the best position to put yourself in. And that happens to be my current position. What to do?
Yesterday at Chill Winston, our new bartender pal, Graham, asked Alexandra and I what he should put in his girlfriend's stocking for Christmas.
He had the big gift all bought and ready, but not the little fun ones.
That made me think of the things I wouldn't mind getting in mine.
In fact, I saw a few choice ideas this weekend while Christmas shopping with Steph A. last Sunday:
These awesome card-slash-ciggie cases. I can't remember who the artist is, but they really, really remind me of that art I saw and fell in love with at the Ayden Gallery last month.
This Cole Haan skinny clutch, but I'd use it as a wallet. It's purple and gold, which is apparently the color combination I've been gravitating toward of late. Oh, and check out the fancy tassel. Yeeeees. Tassels.
I'm Lovin' it: Scott Morrison of Earnest Sewn has been busy designing a whiskey lounge at Milk Studios in New York. It's basically a little haven for all the photographers and creative types that use the venue, like Terry Richardson and company. Anyway, it serves two types of beer on tap (Pabst and Newcastle Ale), as well as some whiskey. Plus there are plenty of internet hookups for writers and bloggers clacking away on their Macs. Wish I was pals with Terry so he could hook up the sweet Wi-Fi for me.
I'm Lovin' it, Part Deux: Me new ring!
I'm Lovin' it, Part Three: When someone says something unexpected, random and genuine to you that somehow brings everything back into perspective and personal equilibrium -- and don't even know they did it. Grazie, Graham. You're awesome, m' friend.
I'm Over it: My Scion, slipping and sliding away in the snow today.
Track of the Day: Here's a gem from Woxy: "Motiveless Crime" by South. From their "With The Tides" album. Love the transition at 2:43 minutes.
* Photos property of Haute Hippie, amazon.com and are used solely for commentary purposes
So what happens when you don't eat dinner, hit up a jewelry trunk show, have a Pursuit drink at Chill Winston with your girlfriend Alexandra (thanks to our new pal, Graham, the man behind the bar tonight...thanks for the Christmas cocktail, darlin'!) and arrive home hungry?
You scarf down two cupcakes in two minutes.
Yikes...times two.
Guess who's waking up at 6 am tomorrow to hit the treadmill.
* Photo property of Haute Hippie and is used solely for commentary purposes
My girl Seems recently shared a little fashion secret with me that I'd like to pay forward you all. It's a good one.
Marc Jacobs apparently has a store in New York's Soho neighourhood called Marc Jacobs Stuff, which is pretty much his under-the-radar third line. It's all much cheaper in price point -- think of it as the Target of Marc Jacobs.
It's a definitely a New York thing, so only NY natives and a few very informed really know about it.
Anyway, Seema's friend brought two Stuff leather tote bags back from the Big Apple recently, and I just bought the second one off Seema for $69 because she doesn't need it. It's perfect for my laptop!
The inside tag is just hilarious, too. It reads: "Jacobs by Marc Jacobs for Marc by Marc Jacobs in collaboration with Marc Jacobs for Marc by Marc Jacobs" as a cheeky joke.
Oh Marc Jacobs, you're so clever.
PS. I posted a picture of the tag for your chuckling pleasure.
PPS. The dollar store chocolate advent calendar on the left behind the MJ tote is mine. The swank Lindt chocolate one on the right is Steffie's, my super awesome roomie. Huh. Me, a recessionista much? Yikes.
I'm Lovin' it: My best guy friend, Khaleel, is coming home from Zurich tomorrow! Hooray!! And for Christmas, I've given him the choice of getting me Narciso Rodriguez For Her (eau de parfum, of course) as he comes through duty free or purchasing this purple and gold-studded wallet from Stephanie Shih. Both would be fantastical, but I'll settle for one or the other.
I'm Over it: Why, oh why, did I decide to take this plate of goodies?! Like I need to consume more calories over the holidays. Val, who co-owns Blo Hair Bar in the city, gave me and Seems this plate of sweets, which Seems twisted my rubber arm to take home. That empty vanilla cupcake wrapper? Yeah, that was me. Apparently Val baked the chocolate ones. He never really struck either one of us as the baking type, but hey, friends are full of surprises sometimes. (Note to V: Sorry for posting a pic of you, but this one was too hilarious not to!)
Track of the Day: It's Christmas. Which means cheesy holiday songs. Like this one. It's my favorite. Please don't laugh. I'm allowed musical guilty pleasures sometimes, especially around this time of the year.
* Photos property of Haute Hippie, Val Litwin, bluefly.com, amazon.com and are used solely for commentary purposes
No one's likes getting acne, unless it's that super-cool, uber-hip kind from Sweden.
I'm speaking of Acne, which stands for Ambition to Create Novel Expressions, not those horrific, bumps that show up on your face during times of stress and take you back into the worst aesthetic memories of adolescence.
Very recently, the Swedish brand teamed up with Alber Elbaz of Lanvin to help launch his first denim collection, which officially dropped to the fashion set and public last week.
See below.
It's the kind of jeans I'd like to find under the Christmas tree, all wrapped up in a luscious, gigantic Lanvin bow.
I'm Lovin' it: Hi, Prada watch phone.
I'm Over it: What is with me and technology today?! First, the treadmill at the gym doesn't work on me. Then my iPod Nano froze as I got onto the elliptical instead. And then, as a result of the Nano freezing, I decided to finally sync my iPhone with my iTunes library and -- excuse my French -- totally fucked it up. I was forced to come to the Mac store downtown to seek help getting my Apple gadgets back to equilibrium. So now I'm totally being a nerd at the Mac store, working away while waiting for my iPhone to restore and back up. Yay. Thanks to Mac dude, Camilo, who not only saved my Apple life, but also happens to be the cutest blonde-haired, green-eyed mix of Australian and Mexican with a hybrid accent that oddly sounds Norwegian or Dutch...
Album of the Day: As a musical gift to myself for being such a good girl lately (I think), I purchased myself The Teenagers album "Reality Check" yesterday. Good stuff. Especially track six, "Make It Happen".
Track of the Day: There's a track by Jurassic 5, from their "Feedback" album, that I heard it while perusing the WeSc stuff at Underworld yesterday. The chica there said it was from "Feedback", so let me do a little investigating and dig it up for y'alls.
* Photos property of nymag.com, amazon.com and are used solely for commentary purposes
Okay, obviously I'm a little tired and out of it from yesterday's Christmas party bonanaza, so don't mind my cheesy little shoe ditty (sung to the tune of "Ain't No Mountain High Enough", of course).
And I'm pretty sure more than half the city is hungover this morning, a la moi, because I'm pretty sure more than half the city had their Christmas soirees last night.
My toes are unbelievably numb this morning from wearing my Modern Vintage heels from 5 pm to 4 am, which made their debut appearance yesterday (did I mention they're GOLD on the inside?!).
Hope I'll be able to run through the numbness at the gym in t-minus 10 minutes.
But hey, my heels were a hit -- almost certain even Mikey wanted to try them on last night -- which makes this morning's pain so much more bearable.
* Photos property of Haute Hippie and are used solely for commentary purposes
