The Street Art of Vitry-sur-Seine

Ta P'tite Flamme - Amélie Les Crayons 

Well hello fabulous people! It's been quite some time since I've posted anything, but I'm back again, re-inspired and excited! This summer I took my vacation in Asia (more to follow on that) but I found I missed my trip to Europe. Now I have a specific destination in mind for my next trip: Vitry-sure-Seine.

Vitry-sur-Seine is a suburb outside of Paris known for its amazing street art! Just take a look at these pictures (taken by Sara Tucker) and learn more at CN Traveller.

 Pretty fabulous, no?! Au revoir!

Sartorial Men

Sous le Soleil - Major Boys ft. Aurélia

I can't resist sharing some of my favourite photographs of men's fashion from Scott Schuman of The Sartorialist...

On the Street.... Brera, Milano

On the Street.... Military Tailoring, Milan

 I love this shot. Typical Manhattan.

Twenty Five Hours Hotel Wein - Vienna

 The Circus Sets Up - James Newton Howard 

At some point in my life, I will be staying at the very cool, 25Hours Hotel spectacle in Vienna. It's the most eclectic, whimsical and surprising hotel concept I've seen.
The designers at Dreimeta took their inspiration from the traditions of the circus. That alone is enough to make me love it! There is so much creativity: bright colours, unusual furniture pieces, gymnastic hoops, circus-themed wall paintings, Moroccan poufs, letters, vintage suitcases, french horns...

   This room on the right is my favourite...

Degas' Ballerinas

Charles Trenet - Qui Reste T'il De Nos Amours

Wow. I just had my last undergraduate class. It's very surreal. Of course, when you have had only two hours of sleep the entire night because of last minute paper writing, a lot of things may feel surreal...
In honour of the amazing and shocking cramming magic I conjured up last night, I'd like to share the incredibly beautiful paintings I wrote about. More than half of the paintings and sketches Degas made were of ballerinas and the Paris Opéra. Here are a few of my favourite! Enjoy!

Dance Class at the Opera 1872Dancers 1898Yellow Dancers (In the Wings) 1874-76

Introducing: L.S. Illustrated

Hello all you gorgeous people! I would like you to meet my darling cousin, Pia, the brains and talented artist behind L.S. Illustrated.At Life and Style Illustrated you will find great fashion and styling tips all delivered to you through her illustrations! If you love fashion you're going to love her work. All bias aside, I can't get enough it! My favourite illustration of hers to date? The Betty and Veronica style post where she asks the big question: are you a Betty or a Veronica? Any Archie comics fans?Now here's the fun part. Got a cool outfit and funky style? You can send her a picture and you may just find yourself L.S. Illustrated!

The Aurora Borealis in Finland

How gorgeous is this?! It would be so amazing to travel to Finland and see the lights in person. What do you think?

TFW Style Snaps

Evening lovelies! Did anyone follow Toronto Fashion Week? I confess I didn't but I'm loving Fashion Magazine's street style snaps of mixed prints out on the town on the last day of shows.

What fun texture!
Love the shape and colour of these purses, especially the turquoise...
I don't think I'd wear this skirt but this photo catches the eye!
Floral and galaxy prints? Makes for a great picture!

Ballet Stills

Flamenco is beautiful and passionate and I love dancing it. But I have to say, ballet is beautiful and soft. Flamenco has it's quieter, soft moments as well but ballet seems to have a softer glow to it. I just watched Center Stage again and found myself browsing through photographs. Here are a few of my favourites. Enjoy...

Swan Lake, American Ballet Theatre, image by MIRA. (Links below)

Sleeping Beauty (2009), The National Ballet of Canada
Svengali, The Royal Winnipeg Ballet

Links: American Ballet Theatre, National Ballet of Canada, Royal Winnipeg Ballet

Left Brain Right Brain - Mercedes Benz Ad

I just stumbled upon these ads for Mercedes Benz and I love them! What a creative idea! Which side of your brain do you associate with more? I think I'm leaning towards my right brain...Image source: Ads of the World

Vikings & How to Train Your Dragon

Ahh reading for school. It can take so much time. Today though, a very small part of my reading about Viking art entertained me. Did you know that there was a Viking/Scandinavian king in the 11th century named Harald Bluetooth who had a son named Sven Forkbeard?!
Speaking of Vikings, I finally bought the film, How to Train Your Dragon and tested our television's 3D feature. Very cool! Have you ever seen this film? If you are a fan of animated features, you will love it!


I love the concept artwork as well. I think I see King Harald Bluetooth and his son Sven Forkbeard in these drawings!Back to reading!

Live the Language - Paris

I must say congratulations to Jessica W.N., makeup artist extraordinaire, who just won an all expenses paid trip to Paris for four days! Can you imagine a treat like that? I couldn't think of someone more deserving of a getaway like this one will be. Congratulations my love!

It's got me thinking of Paris, France, and the French language. Don't speak it? Neither do I. I've pretty much forgotten the majority of everything I learnt in my high school French class.
Here is a fabulous video that is definitely inspiring me to review those old notes! Enjoy!

The Night Circus

Hello hello! Did you all have fabulous holiday celebrations? I definitely did. Skiing didn't quite happen (thanks to foggy bad weather) and I didn't get to see White Christmas on the stage (no time this year). But I did watch White Christmas on television and plans for Whistler are being made and we did have a fabulous Christmas Eve feast!Pictures to come but first, my darling Jessica W.N. of MUAHjwn introduced me to a new book entitled, The Night Circus. It is so magical and filled with unbelievably vivid imagery. Author Erin Morgenstern truly paints pictures with words...It makes me feel... inspired! Time to pull out the sketchbook.

Merry Christmas! Happy Hannukah!

Happy Holidays - Bing Crosby (Beef Wellington Remix)

What a December it has been! I just finished my last project yesterday (phew!) and did my last minute Christmas shopping today and now we are busy prepping our house for a big Christmas Eve celebration. It's going to be so delicious! Turkey, stuffing, salmon wellington, winter veggies, brussel sprouts with chestnuts and bacon, carrot cake... there's still more!

Wishing all a very wonderful holiday season!

After Christmas I'll be back with delectable tales of dinner, snowy alpine skiing adventures and theatrical experiences of White Christmas in Vancouver! Cheers! Salut!

Belated Blog Anniversary: Moi Je Joue

Long time no blog! It's my last week of classes for this semester and all the deadlines I've been dreading are here! I've been so busy that I didn't even realize I missed my blog anniversary on November 17th.When I started this blog two years ago, I never thought I would have even a small number of people interested in reading it. I wanted a space to play with my thoughts and to record all the fabulous things I found in my internet travels. That said, I'm extremely grateful to all those who take time to read and to subscribe! Just for fun (because moi, je joue) I'd like to share my initial inspiration:


I just loved this commercial: it's whimsy, it's fantasy, it's mood, and it's colours! This blog was a whim and a place to play with my travel, fashion, and design fantasies.

What can I say? Me, I play. Moi Je Joue.

Rubbish Rehab

Ahh... early morning. They can be so difficult but once you're up, it's great to watch the sunrise. In winter here in Vancouver, you can get up at 6:30 and still watch the sunrise.
On a different, design note, I went to the Interior Design Show West and discovered a husband and wife team that gives new life to old items: Rubbish Rehab! Their chairs are so fabulous, I wish I the resources and reasons to get at least one!Before and after!
And after...
And after!

Snow White and the Huntsman

Back again! What a crazy, whirlwind week: coffee, dog walking, projects, overnight paper writing sessions, house work, faulty alarm system... tired! But I have just enough energy to share my intrigue for next year's Snow White & the Huntsman! It looks promising and visually stunning. Colleen Atwood has done wonders with the costumes again!How fabulously villainous does Charlize Theron look?!
Until tomorrow everyone! Here's the trailer in case you haven't seen it yet :) Ciao!

Portobello Road, London

I've never been to London. Actually I've never even been to England! I have been to Scotland once. Anyways, if I was making the trip, I'd visit Portobello Road, the world's largest antiques market: vintage silverware, books, old cameras, decorative tassels, the old printing shop, walls of vintage sewing machines, fine china, silverware... it seems like a fun, eclectic and definitely colourful place to visit...Remember this? I loved watching Bedknobs and Broomsticks!

Photo sources (aside from a Google image search): Decorati Access, Oleg Skrinda, and Souvlaki for the Soul.

The Smokey Eye

Timeless - Sergio Mendes ft. India Arie

As promised, a much lighter topic for this busy busy week's first post. Who doesn't love the classic smokey eye? Here's another great tutorial by my lovely Jessica W.N. of MUAHjwn. Enjoy and have fun with your makeup. I've got more great photos from the Interior Design Show West coming soon.

Design*Sponge at Anthropologie, Vancouver

Well, as I expected, Grace Bonney's book signing event at Anthropologie was fabulous. Everything about the event was inspiring: the book, the author, the people in attendance (great outfits all around), the employees (so friendly and cheerful), the products and their displays! I couldn't resist taking a few snapshots. Enjoy!

I wasn't the only one with my camera out! And how I would have loved to bring that bolero home... and an initialled mug!Lots of fun outfits walking around the store. Glittery gold shoes, double panelled leggings, and my favourite look of the whole evening: The Girl with the Lace Skirt. (Click to zoom)
As this adorable young boy was reaching for cupcakes, I couldn't resist snapping his picture! Let me share the dialogue that happened just before he reached:

Boy: I want anothew cupcake
Mother: Well, you can have another one now but then no ice cream later. You choose.
Boy (short pause and with a thoughtful expression): Hmm... that's okay. I'll just have the cupcakes now instead of the ice cweam!

Yes. That table is made of rolled up magazines... I think! And there's a lot of great shoes in this shot...
I love this cutlery set! If I needed more cutlery, I would have bought these.