Christmas Gift Guide for Your Best Girlfriend

Back with a gift guide for your seriously fabulous best girlfriend!

Sisters - Rosemary Clooney, Vera Ellen, White Christmas

Before I get into the details of the gift guide, I would just like to say I'm excited to be back! There's been a few changes: new look, new official name, new social media icons, an organized blog roll, and new resolve!

And now, gift ideas to go with that adorable Papyrus Two Cats with Face Masks card best given to your best girlfriend!

The State of Things

Sympathique - Pink Martini

Bonjour! Hola! Hello! Je ne veux pas travailler...

It's true, I don't feel like working and I miss the days when I had more time to dedicate to this blog. For months now I have been thinking about Moi Je Joue and all the updates to the content, the look and feel of it that I would love to make. I've decided that as soon as I am past tomorrow's flamenco production of Snow Queen, I will be dedicating more time here again. Until then though, here are the very few but ever time-consuming reasons why I have been so silent here (if you were even at all curious...):

• Travel. I have been fortunate enough over the past six months to visit the Philippines, New York, Madrid and Paris. In a few weeks, I plan to add Seattle to that list as well.
• Work. I am at work almost full time now and when I am not there, I'm busy starting a new business, which I hope to share with you soon!
• Dance. When I'm not travelling or working, I fill my evenings with flamenco dance at the Vancouver studio, Karen Flamenco. I rehearse, perform, set design and manage some of their online properties, including their blog and social media. 
• Family. It seems that we are always having family visit and that, of course, takes priority. 

I've decided, enough distractions. I'm planning to give Moi Je Joue a bit of a new look and I'm excited to begin a better balancing act! Until then...
If you like that lovely graphic Paris print above, check out the Obvious State (formerly known as Little Brown Pen).
Adiós & Au revoir!

Milk, Chai & Tolstoy

Hello, I'm back...again! All I can say is: life gets busy. It's been a busy time with work and dance but today I'm taking the day to relax.
The leaves on the trees have all changed and are on their way to the ground below. I'm warming up with a hot mug of milk and chai on my new wing-back chair with Tolstoy's Anna Karenina. A perfect afternoon...

Blog Awards!

It's been quite a while since I've posted (where does the time fly to, I wonder?), but I'm back and pleased to share that my darling Pia of L.S. Illustrated has nominated me for blogger awards! She truly is the sweetest!

Thanks to everyone for checking into my little blog! I can't wait to make it even better.

So here are the rules for the awards:

-Thank the person who nominated you and link back to them in your post: Thank you Pia!
-Share 7 things about yourself
-Nominate 15 bloggers you admire
-Leave a comment on each of the blogs letting them know they’ve been nominated.

So here goes! 7 things about me:
1) I love fresh pineapple...with salt.
2) I like to fall asleep listening to old black and white films. Casablanca is one of my favourites.
3) One of my favourite periods in history is La Belle Epoque
4) Madrid is home away from home. New York is a close second...
5) I love the cold weather, especially sunny and cold weather.
6) Sushi and Indian food are seriously delicious.
7) I was never really into super heroes. But I love Zorro, the fox so cunning and free!

And now for those 15 fabulous bloggers:
A Duck in Her Pond
A Field Journal
A Shimmy in My Spirit (Cynthia's Blog)
All Roads Lead to Pecetto
The Art of Clothes
Cecelia's Little Sketchblog
Everyday Sugar
Fleur de Lis
hip hip gin gin
Jess in Vancouver
Les Paradis Artificiels
my wonderland
Nutrifit4Life
Rock It Communications
Sterling Style

Peter Pan, Flamenco Style

Como la Luna en el Agua - Miguel Poveda

¡Hola todos! It's been a crazy month full of rehearsals, dancing, designing, painting, and now the big show is one day away! The Karen Flamenco Dance Company and School is performing Peter Pan, flamenco style. Here are a couple of behind the scenes snapshots! More photos coming soon!

Mermaids waiting in the wings...

Captain Hook and Smee trick Tinkerbell...

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.

The Airborne Toxic Event

The Airborne Toxic Event is one band I can't get enough of and I just found out that they will be performing an hour outside of Vancouver. I would definitely drive to see and hear them play a live show again. Squamish here I come, August 26th!

I've got thousands of songs spread out among several iPods and computers but I think this song is one of my absolute favourites...

Travel Posts from the Past

Disappear - Mango, Andre Frauenstein, Ludik

I cannot believe it has been so long since I've written anything. The past month has been a whirlwind of work, classes, papers, exams, writing, dancing, dancing, dancing, and graduating. I would love to just stop everything for a moment, grab my camera and explore... anywhere! For now, these posts from the past will have to satisfy my artsy travel urges...

A fancy polo match in New York? Sure! I've been invited to this year's Mashomack International Polo Challenge, but last year's photographs will have to do... Polo in New York

I have never been to Istanbul, but I've always wanted to go there. One day, I will share the photographs of Hagia Sofia that I've taken!

Madrid is my home away from home. I know transit there better than I do in my own city! Next time I think I'm going to befriend Plaza Mayor's stout Spiderman!

If not Madrid, I would be perfectly happy surrounded by the blues of Ibiza. Everywhere I pointed by camera, I captured island blues... Ibiza Blues

Luckily I won't have to wait very long before I'm packing my suitcase again. I'm off on a tropical trip to the Philippines this summer and I am finally going to visit the beaches of Dumaguete...

But until then, I'll just have to replace my wintry pictures of Vancouver with new ones of the summer sunshine...

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!

New York Adventures Part 2

Back with part 2 of my recent New York adventures after an insane stint of presentations and school work! It's truly amazing what we accomplished in only four days! If you thought our first day was busy wait to till you read this post! Here's a brief run down of some things we did and that I highly recommend you to squeeze into your New York itineraries!

Day 2: Good Eats

First item of the day? Pastrami sandwiches from the famous Katz's Delicatessen! (Anyone seen that famous scene from When Harry Met Sally? That restaurant.)What's a fabulous lunch without coffee and dessert afterwards? Next stop: Sugar Cafe.In between our food sessions we did some shopping at C Wonder, EasySpirit, and Uniglo, and a quick stop at the Philippine Embassy.
Then on to Bloomingdale's and The Forty Carrots for the most amazing fro-yo!After all that, believe or not, we went home just to get ready for dinner in Little Italy, at a place called Angelo's.
Day 3: A hockey surprise...

After a slow start, we had lunch at a charming place called Fig and Olive in Midtown Manhattan, followed by another stop at Uniglo.While my mom, aunts and uncle (four people on the right side of that picture) went to the country for the night, I stayed in the city with my cousin (he and I are standing on the left). We took a quick train to new Jersey and watched the Vancouver Canucks - fabulous surprise and treat from my cousin.

Day 4: Independence in Manhattan... and I filled it up with as much as possible!

I made a decision to skip the museums this trip and spend on my other passion: theatre. The spending began with an early start at Wicked: Behind the Emerald Curtain tour!I have more fun pictures to come. This insightful and super fascinating tour was followed by a freezing walk all over Times Square as I tried to decide what Broadway show I would watch that afternoon! I settled on How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying.If I was a big fan of Nick Jonas, I probably would have screamed when I saw him appear on stage. This seriously entertaining Broadway classic was followed by chilly, windy walk to Juniors to get cheesecake for my dad back in Vancouver (yes-I hand-carried a cheesecake along with pastrami).
I worked off all the food on this trip when I had to walk 8 blocks over and up to try and catch a cab back Uptown. Before I knew it, I was packed and headed to the airport. I wasn't ready to go home!

Travel Tip: Be friendly and charming to the airport employees. I know from personal experience, both as a traveller and as an airline employee, the difference it can make just to smile at the check-in counter or in the security line-up. We were treated to lounge access even though we flew economy and I got a birthday hug (a month early) from the passport check guy.

Hope you enjoyed my adventures! I'd love to hear yours!

The More Loving One

I was watching a show when I heard the characters talk about a poem by W.H. Auden called, The More Loving One. I wonder what it must be like to write poetry like that. Anyways, the second stanza is my favourite and I think the favourite of many people who read this poem. Enjoy!The More Loving One
by W.H. Auden

Looking up at the stars, I know quite well
That, for all they care, I can go to hell,
But on earth indifference is the least
We have to dread from man or beast.
How should we like it were stars to burn
With a passion for us we could not return?
If equal affection cannot be,
Let the more loving one be me.
Admirer as I think I am
Of stars that do not give a damn,
I cannot, now I see them, say
I missed one terribly all day.
Were all stars to disappear or die,
I should learn to look at an empty sky
And feel its total darkness sublime,
Though this might take me a little time.

Image via The Thought Experiment

New York Adventures

Hello hello from sunny New York City! It's been a whirlwind, unexpected trip to the Big Apple and in two days I have already done so much! Here's a visual tour of my two days so far...
Day 1:
We arrived at the apartment and took the most delicious nap. Then my mom and I went to watch our first show of the trip...After an incredible production of Andrew Lloyd Webber's classic, we went to Junior's Bakery for their famous New York cheesecake!Of course, we made a stop at Tiffany's and looked at the windows like Audrey did before going in. (No I did not leave with any blue box or bag)...Then came the shopping! First splurge stop: Anne Taylor with my mom and aunts...After we shopped (couldn't resist that store wide sale), we went home to get ready for our next show, War Horse at the Lincoln Centre...Of course, we had to finish it off with a very late dinner at PJ Clark's...Not bad after a 4 hour red-eye flight! And yes, we actually did all of that in one day!

[Image sources: Folium flickr, NY Daily News, my-new-york.com, scalleja flickr, A Simple Life of an Odinary Londoner, Vegas Chatter

It's You... Vancouver, Canada

As much as I love to travel and dream about living in and exploring new cities, there's no place like home. If you have never visited Vancouver, I highly recommend it! Summer is a great time to visit but then again, come in winter and you'll have just as much fun.
Here's a video to give you a quick peak at this city. Contrary to popular belief, it doesn't always rain here :P


Interesting tidbit: This morning I read that Vancouver has been newly crowned the most expensive North American city to live in, surpassing even New York City and Los Angeles! I don't know how I feel about that yet...But I suppose this sort of thing can happen to any city that has plenty to offer, right?

Hey Ocean - Big Blue Wave

Ahhh. I am cheerfully writing my first paper of my last semester. I'm pretty sure I won't miss the last minute paper writing when I leave my undergrad behind. So why am I so cheerful? Hey Ocean has some of the best "lift your spirits" songs and I'm practically dancing while writing about the 19th century play, Uncle Tom's Cabin.I'm loving their latest song, Big Blue Wave (click for a free download at the band's Facebook page). Trust me, it's completely worth it!
Back to writing...

2012 Oscar Nominations

I love award season in Hollywood: the fashions, the costumes, the spectacle of it all! And what a spectacle it is. One day, it would be very cool to actually go an award show, especially the Oscars. I can dream can't I? The closest I've ever been to going to the Oscars is personally knowing someone who attended last year's ceremony! I'll see it in person one day...Positive thinking! Hahaha!

2012 List of Nominees

I'm off to look at the nominated costume designers and their work. I'll leave you with the PS22 Chorus' performance at last year's Academy Awards. Until tomorrow!

How Not to Look Like a Tourist in NYC

Every time I travel, I want to explore new places and visit the attractions. But I also want to blend in and be a local. I don't really know why, but it's always been an unconscious thing. I've avoided whipping out the maps on every street corner, wearing sneakers and fanny packs, and having the camera hanging from my wrist (although now having a camera around doesn't necessarily scream "tourist!").When I was in New York this summer, I really wanted to experience more than just the tourist bits. Here are four things I learnt about blending in, New York style:

1. Walk with confidence. It works wonders! Someone even asked me where the Ralph Lauren boutique was on Madison! Luckily for them I walked past it every day to get to work. When I was a bit confused about directions, I stopped and checked the map on my phone. If that's not enough, don't be afraid to ask someone.
2. Shoes. I didn't even bother bringing running shoes with me. I brought my Converse sneakers and wore them with pretty much anything: shorts, jeans, dress pants!
3. Pace. I didn't run on the sidewalks but I didn't meander extremely slowly. I generally kept pace with the locals. Well, often that was necessary so that I could get to work on time!
4. Crossing the street. In the smaller streets of the big city, I crossed when it was safe and traffic free, even if the pedestrian light was not signalling go. I noticed New Yorkers don't really pay attention to the running man or red hand on the other side of the street!

That's all I've got for now but native New Yorker, Joanna Goddard of A Cup of Jo has even more fabulous tips!

Enjoy and happy travels!

Images from: weheartit, nyc

Tintin Travel Style

I was flipping through a magazine and there was a Tintin themed style page! I used to love reading Tintin comics and now that there's a movie out (still haven't seen it), the adventurer and his white dog are back!
It reminds me of when I was in first year in university. Every week I would see a student between classes that was dressed exactly like this, right down to the orange flip of the hair:All that was missing was Snowy!
Explore like Tintin and in style with these awesome Streamline Correspondent Suitcases! It comes in white but I'm liking the red!

Happy New Year!

Wishing you all a wonderful new year!

Have you made those resolutions yet? I've got a few but really my main one is this: I resolve to try and stick to my new year's resolutions! Looking back on 2011, it had its ups and downs but I would say that it was a good year. In spite of the fact that I'm beginning 2012 with no voice and a cold, I think it's going to be a good year. Cheers everyone!

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.