Venice Backstage

Vivaldi - Spring

I have always wanted to visit the romantic city of Venice. One day, I hope I will be able to walk through the winding narrow alleys and next to the canals. Although it would be nice to go when it is not too busy, I hope for a trip during the Carnivale celebrations! Some of the masks and costumes are absolutely jaw-dropping!

(Costume photo/design: Tanja Schulz-Hess, World of Costumes)

Carnivale designs aside, ever wonder the how's, why's and what's of Venice? Well, then you will love this very informative short film about the enchanting, floating city of Italy.

Venice Backstage. How does Venice work? from Insula spa on Vimeo.

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!

The Joy of Books

Browsing, thinking, contemplating, dreaming, sighing, procrastinating... and I found this video of Toronto bookstore, Type Books. It made me smile. Happy Monday!

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!

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.

Snow!

Yay! First day of snow this season! Last night, it began to 'wet snow' and in some places of Vancouver, it was actually snowing. But at my home it was just raining (how disappointing). But this morning I was greeted with one fabulous surprise: a light dusting of snow! Today is going to be a good day. I can feel it. There's snow and one of our local mountains is open for the ski/board season! Have you seen the film White Christmas (1954) with Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye? Well, here's one of my favourite songs from that film. Enjoy and Happy Friday!

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!

Give Up Tomorrow

Hola mis amigos! How are you all? I am, as usual, plowing through work and school (it never ends). I have to get a little serious with today's post.
On Thursday I saw one of the most incredible and heartbreaking films I have ever seen: Give Up Tomorrow (*warning: some of the images in the film trailer/website can be graphic).It is a true story about a high profile rape/murder case in the Philippines that brought out the worst and most frustrating of corruption and cronyism. Paco Larrañaga (along with six others) was accused and pronounced guilty of the crime which he could not have possibly committed.

"Amnesty International, the government of Spain, Fair Trials International, and the United Nations are unequivocal in the belief that for more than a decade, Paco has been paying with his freedom for a crime he did not commit. Indeed, some 40 people including classmates and teachers from the culinary school he attends – along with photographic evidence – place him hundreds of miles from the grim crime scene."

It's difficult to sum up a two hour film that sums up a 14 year case in one blog post but please take a moment to check out the film website. Please help free Paco with you support.
Thank you and more pleasant topics to come!

Posts from the Past

Hello again lovelies! What will you be doing this weekend? Mine is looking pretty full: dance and homework, which includes plenty of reading, researching, sketching and painting! I want to say thank you for visiting my blog and taking the time to read and write comments. A special thank you to all my followers for showing some blog love!
If you find yourself with a some moments to spare, take a look at some of my favourite posts from the past. Enjoy!

A Hat Like Audrey's

I'm looking forward to the ski season and more adventures like this one: The Galway Girl in Whistler Village

Black and White Ballet... gorgeous photography.

A seriously awesome travel accessory: Globetrotter Luxury

A Short Love Story

I really really want to visit Nice la Belle.

Glee's New York Colours

Hello everyone! While organizing my new purchases (school supplies for theatre design!), I realized that the season 2 finale of Glee was playing in the background. I loved the costumes and the colours. And the tunes were pretty fun too. What do you think?It would be fun to see Manhattan like Glee! Touring Broadway, dining out, exploring the city with a group of close friends! By the way, if you are planning a trip to Manhattan and wish to see a Broadway show, you have a very good chance of getting a cheaper ticket by going straight to the theatre box office shortly before show time.

How I got my ticket to Catch Me If You Can:
20 mins to showtime, I went straight to the box office and asked if there were any tickets left. There were! Instead of paying $120, I got a centre orchestra seat for only $79! So close to showtime, I think they are happy to fill the seats.
Okay. I love Rachel's outfits but I don't know if I could ever pull off a striped coat like this one!
Breakfast at Tiffany's anyone?

Casablanca

I love old movies and I love the idea of open air screenings! Remember the film The Wedding Planner? There's a scene where the characters are watching an old flick in the park, sitting on a fallen tree. Well yesterday, my friend and I decided to check out one of the free open air screenings: Casablanca. It would have made a perfect summer date night but we turned it into a girls' night ;)
Here's one of my favourite scenes...Play it Sam

Moulin Rouge: Love or Fortune

Happy Friday! Today I spent the day on a Vespa weaving through taxis and New York traffic. I loved it!
I have a video of one of the numbers from Karen Flamenco's Moulin Rouge! Watch it and be amazed at how truly creative this traditional dance can be! And trust me, it's Moulin Rouge like you've never seen before... Enjoy guapas y guapos! Óle!

Vogue's Day at the Circus

Francois-Paul Aiche ~ Chimerical Dream

I think these pictures of Reese and Tai, the elephant who played Rosie in Water for Elephants, are absolutely stunning! They make me want to take photographs, style photoshoots, become a creative director, wear a gorgeous dress, meet an elephant, and/or perform in a circus or act all at the same time! Listening to the song (top of post) while viewing these photos makes them even more magical :)

Enjoy!

Read more and see more photographs in Vogue's, Reese Witherspoon: A Day at the Circus.

Water for Elephants

I saw Water for Elephants over the weekend and it was really lovely. I've never been a crazy Robert Pattinson fan but I have to say that he was quite good in this movie. Reese Witherspoon and Christopher Waltz were great as well! But the best part of this film? The stunning visuals of a 1930's circus! The costumes were gorgeous! Sara Gruen truly wrote a beautiful story when she put pen to paper on this novel...How adorable is that elephant!
Such beautiful designs by Jacqueline West (interview via Zappos.com)...

The Perfect Eyeliner

Eydie Gorme - April Showers
(It's raining here so I thought this would be a fitting song to share!)

More fabulous makeup tips from my darling Jessica W. N. Want to know her pick for the perfect black as coal eyeliner? Check out this video...

Now, I'm no expert but I can tell you what eyeliners I like to use. My makeup of choice is from M.A.C. Cosmetics. A regular in my eyeliner lineup is their Eye Kohl in Teddy. This is a soft, shimmery, dark bronze colour that I sometimes use by itself just to give my eyes a little extra definition. Sometimes I skip the eye pencils and simply use a small angle brush with eye shadow. For a darker look than Teddy, I use M.A.C. Pandamonium lustre eye shadow. It has a frosted gunmetal look with a silvery white pearl lustre... if that makes any sense! But I like to use it without any other black liner for a softer look; with liner and the black becomes much bolder.Anyways, I hope Jessica and I gave you useful reviews in the search for the perfect eyeliner! Happy eye-lining! I'm off to start/finish a big paper which, I feel, is slowly killing me! :P

Pretty Purple Smokey Eye

Stacey Kent - Isn't this a lovely day?

Ever wanted to create the perfect smokey eye? Like this:
Well you can! I must share what my darling friend Jessica W.N. has created! She is a self taught make-up extraordinaire! Here is her latest video tutorial that will show you the technique, the colours, the process, and the products to recreate this absolutely fabulous look. I hope you all enjoy!

Follow her and get updates on her latest tutorials and looks at Makeup & Hair by Jessica W.N. on Facebook.

Arsenic and Old Lace (1944)

This was such a great day (except when our hockey team lost miserably)! It was one of those "door-opening" days and I had a big smile on my face! This might seem like a strange choice but I decided to top this day with the black and white classic, Arsenic and Old Lace (click for trailer and links to watch). I got to play Elaine Harper in my high school production and of all the plays we did, this was my favourite! Cary Grant and his speedy talking ways is drama critic, Mortimer Brewster, who must contend with a family filled with secrets, quirks and rather murderous habits!I hope you get a chance to see it becuase it's really quite an entertaining classic. Make yourself some popcorn or those delicious lavender cookies and enjoy! Until tomorrow! :)

Midnight in Paris

I think I'll watch this movie just because I like it's poster! What a great design. I actually have no idea what it's about but van Gogh and Woody Allen? Paris, art and laughs sound good to me!

...Rides a Bike

It's the last two weeks of the semester and there are bright red deadlines all over my calendar! As the queen of procrastination, I have been browsing the internet and this is what I found: bicycles, photography and celebrities...
Audrey Hepburn
Humphrey Bogart
Frank Sinatra... love Ol' Blue Eyes...
and Elvis Presley, signing autographs while biking...(via Rides a Bike)

London by Thomas Pink

Love the new Thomas Pink ad campaign. In fact, I just love Thomas Pink! Doesn't it make you want to go to London?

London by Thomas Pink from oliver Elmes on Vimeo.