The Conversation Starts Again

In case you missed this post I did exactly one year ago (whoa, creepy!) about this wonderful web series, I'm telling you again to check out THE CONVERSATION with Amanda de Cadenet. 

Last season featured episodes with Amanda listening, sharing stories and lady life-lessons with Lady Gaga, Gwyneth Paltrow, Diane Von Furstenberg, Melissa McCarthy, Miley Cyrus, Jane Fonda, and many more. Season two has just started, with its premiere featuring the foul-mouthed and fearless Chelsea Handler.

Ladies here's the deal: you're in it.  Every day.  Darting your way through life, trying to do the right thing, be conscious and careful and sometimes it can feel like a solo mission.  Do yourself a favour - take in this series and the lessons you can learn from some women who've been there, and want to share the story. Careers, kids, being yourself, finances...and there's a lot of laughter too.

Stop and watch, you deserve it.

Here's Chelsea's episode below, and you can click through to the interview with Calgary girl turned Hollywood comedy writer Kelly Oxford (who I wrote about a while ago here), and there's all of season 1 on the website. 

Review: Ombre Kit from L'Oreal

OK...I've NEVER coloured my hair at home.  In fact, it's been at least 5 years since I have coloured it at all.  This is what happens while waiting for my holidays to start and spring to arrive: I get bored, buy colour at the drugstore, and go for it on a Thursday night.  

I'd seen commericials for this L'Oreal Wild Ombre Kit (just released in Canada last month) and thought - what's the worst that can happen?  If I totally screw it up, I can cut off the ends of my hair and forget it ever happened.

Here's the thing: it worked and I love the results!  I followed this tutorial and review for the kit from Make Up Wonderland, and didn't ruin my hair. If I was to do it again, I could have used more colour to frame my face and left it on longer. I thought the colour would go up higher, and would be lighter...but I still like it.  

I'll spare you the photos of me with pigtails in my hair and a crappy old shirt (read the tutorial)...but here's an after shot taken with my trusty iPhone....not bad!

There are 3 shades, and the kit costs only about $15 (sorry my lovely stylist friends, you can't beat that price).  How will I keep this up?  Who knows...time will tell.  It's only hair - come on, have a little fun with it!

Zara Online Shopping (finally) comes to Canada

Heads up fashion boys and girls you can now get your Zara fix online in Canada starting March 6!

I've been lucky enough, don't you know, to try out the new shopping site, and it's FAB. U. LOUS.

Sleek minimal design, easy to browse and lots of photos to see what you're buying (and impulse buying).

I treated myself (but really, the prices are so good it's more of an essential) to this great day bag called the "Office City Bag" that will be perfect for summer. Real leather and with sassy zippers - so obsessed with anything with zippers at the moment - I can't wait for it to arrive. It was a on the top end of their prices at $199, but if that's the most expensive thing in the store we're doing just fine.

I chose this one because my mom has a gorgeous, worn-in bag similar to this one (no, not from the brand you might be thinking of) that I have always coveted.

Known for taking the runway styles to your local store in record time, this site will be a welcome edition for those of us without a Zara nearby (sigh). I love shopping online, it's so easy, and many online retailers make returns a snap (you can return via mail or to your local store).

It's launching March 6, so do your chores and save your allowance!

Flip through House of Cards

Is winter over yet?  I mean really – I’m sick of my winter clothes, and left the house today without my winter coat on because I just couldn’t stand to wear it another day.

While hibernating last week instead of doing my taxes, I burned through 13 episodes of Netflix’s original series “House of Cards”.  I’ve been less than impressed with the selection on Netflix Canada. It's the stepchild to the American powerhouse of over-watching, but at only $8 a month I signed up to check out this show.

Kevin Spacey plays a great ruthless bastard – and the rest of the cast of this show is exceptional.  Robyn Wright (formerly Penn) plays his scheming wife and Kate Mara (whose sister Rooney was all kinds of powerful in “Girl with the Dragon Tattoo”) plays an ambitious reporter.  That’s all I will say, I don’t want to give away too much.

There’s more than one “whaaaaaaat?” out loud moment throughout the series.  Based on a British shpw of the same name (that I checked out, couldn’t deal with the 80s fashion), this version is set in Washington DC (obviously).  The show opening really sets a tone, as you see neighborhoods and the endless office buildings of America’s capital city – based on every other political drama I’ve seen I didn’t know anything happened outside the White House!

It would seem Netflix will be doing more of these original series, there’s a second season of “House of Cards” already in production.  Check this show out while you wait for spring to spring.

Pillow Passion

This one is available now! Isn't it fun when you see someone take their passion and turn it into a business?  Last year I watched my friend (and full disclosure: client too) Nicole Scott start selling her handmade and gorgeous pillows online.

Nicole has been making the switch to interior design from a consulting career in a waaay different field because she just loves interior design.  Where most of us might look at something in our house for a few months before getting organised to fix, change, update or paint it - Nicole does it.  Not small either, she does full on room fixes and has taken on clients and lead workshops too!

Her online venture has fed her addiction to fabric, creating handmade and gorgeous accent pillows.  Now she has an excuse to buy all those fun and fab textiles, right Nicole?

Check out her blog for design inspiration, and I loved this week's update that displayed all the premiere dates for the new TV season of design shows airing this month.  Well done, Nicole!

To check out her pillows, go here and to read her blog and see her website, click here.