Unexpected Guest

This morning I went to go drop off a friend at work, and on the way home I noticed that the Remax hot air balloon was flying up above. Then I looked to the other side of the sky and noticed that a Mr. Peanut balloon was also in the air. This hot air balloon looked so awesome in the sky and I really wanted to take a picture but didn’t have my camera with me in the car. Luckily by the time I made it home the Mr. Peanut balloon was heading my way. I ran to go get my camera and by the time I went outside to take a picture, the balloon was landing in a field across my house. Though most people hate guests that show up unannounced, this was one guest that I will always welcome; he made my morning.

Mr. Peanut Wiki:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mr._Peanut

Ottawa: Parliament Hill

I grew up in Toronto; Canada’s biggest city. Unfortunately, my mindset growing up was that the rest of Canada must be boring. This was because I always watched American television and thought the US was much more exciting. I was especially attracted to New York City, and any downtown industrial area. But as I grew up and would visit the US, I started to appreciate Canada more. I guess it took leaving it for a while, for me to appreciate how much I loved it. So for the past few years I decided to enjoy my home more by trying to do as much as I can in it. I began to garden outside, go skating in the winter, visit museums and galleries, and go to farms to buy locally grown and made products.

However the one thing I still never did was travel around the country. I guess it was because of lack of funds, and also I didn’t have any friends I could visit. The only place I did visit when I was younger was Niagara Falls. That place was beautiful, but I would only go for the day and come back. So in my mind I still never really travelled anywhere. But as life goes on and friends move away, I soon started to get friends asking me to visiting them all over the country. I never took them up on their offers because I always felt mentally paralyzed to travel. Then this year my friend asked me again to visit her in Ottawa. I told her I was broke, and she said it didn’t matter because I could crash on her couch. I then started thinking that there really wasn’t any other excuse for me not to go, and so I bought a train ticket to go.

I decided to travel on Via Rail because I felt a train would be faster, and I would get to see more of the country side. I was also hoping to make a video of my train travel experience, from Toronto to Ottawa. Unfortunately when I boarded the train I sat in an aisle seat and was unable to film anything. Luckily that was the only misfortune about my trip because everything else turned out perfect. The weather in Ottawa was nice and sunny, and I didn’t think it was as humid as Toronto. The people are very friendly and easy to talk to, especially since my friend has a dog and got a lot of attention when I walked it. The city is pretty much the same as in Toronto, except the downtown core has a lot less people, and not many tall buildings. The differences of the city can start to be seen as you drive to Parliament Hill and you see the beauty of the rivers and canals. It must be nice to be a local and see that every day.

Besides visiting my friend, I also went to Ottawa to visit Parliament Hill. Again growing up in Toronto I never really cared about Government, but then I took a Canadian politics class at school and I became interested. I liked Parliamentary Government because it seemed so easy to understand (compared to US government) and do things, and because I found previous Prime Minister’s fascinating and admirable. So before I went there I decided to do some research about visiting. I became very excited to learn that tours of Parliament Hill and the Supreme Court are provided free of charge, and that in the summer there is a Changing of the Guard ceremony. Both the tours and the Guard ceremony are amazing to watch, and are very educational.

As if that weren’t enough there are tons of other things to do in the surrounding areas such as visit the museums and galleries, spend a night at the Fairmont Chateau Laurier and enjoy the view, walk around or take a boat ride on the Rideau Canal, or just have a great meal in a trendy area known as ByWard Market. The Market was especially one of my favourites because of the atmosphere; with amazing restaurants, great little boutiques, and a farmer’s market featuring a variety of products. This was a trip I would never forget and I’m sure to make again in the future. I would also encourage every Canadian and tourist to plan a visit to Ottawa as well.

Parliament of Canada:

http://www.parl.gc.ca

Parliament Hill wiki:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Centre_Block

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parliament_of_Canada

YouTube link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kHO29L23lIc

fill me with song, allah, kiss me once more, that i may, that i may wear my love like heaven

I always knew that the readers of DRG were special little dollies - everyone I've spoken to, emailed with, and blog-stalked has a passion for the retro, the beautiful, the impractical, the magical, the bohemian, and the glamorous. Imagine my excitement when I opened my message inbox this morning to see emails of links on museum exhibits (ooh la la McQueen à la MoMA), concerts, and interviews with glamazons like Debbie Harry and Florence Welch. A special merci to a certain fabulous San Franciscan who thought of moi when she saw a piece in the Los Angeles Times. 

The piece is on Pattie Boyd and her upcoming photography exhibit on Catalina Island. As it turns out, Catalina holds a spot close to Pattie's heart. A recent rediscovery of photographs from early 1971 contained images of Pattie's first-hubby George Harrison deep-sea fishing off of Catalina just weeks prior to his landmark Concert for Bangladesh event. 

I am definitely diggin' this article because it captures the dreamy sweetness and loveliness that Pattie was so known for. The article says, as follows, "Boyd gazed at those photos with her cornflower blue eyes. She broke into the slightly gap-toothed smile that made her stand out among the other models of her era and reflected on the image ... She sighed and added: 'We were all so young and beautiful.'" 

Her last comment is such a definitive statement of the sixties - it was a decade when everyone was young and beautiful, a collection of multi-colored dream children walking so high they didn't touch the ground. Despite what she thinks - and despite the passing of years and youth - Pattie is still incredibly beautiful. 

Check out the article here, as well as a sneak peek at Pattie exhibit  

Title: from "Wear Your Love Like Heaven" (Donovan)

summer romance

This is my first attempt at personal style photos, and I am going to offer up a disclaimer: I am not trés chic. I enjoy fashion, but I do not fancy myself to be a bohemian Glamourai, nor a gal who can dive into a Sea of Shoes (though, in all honesty, I could dive into my shoe collection... it's just not as enviable as that of my fellow Texan). I love photography, but I'm never done selfies so please don't judge the (low) quality of my pictures. Hopefully I'll improve in time. 

I found this fantastic white macramé fringe piece, dubbed the 'Gypsy Rose' vest, by Winter Kate during a recent visit to Neiman Marcus (the vest can be purchased here). Nicole Richie (the designer of the line) has an excellent 70s style and her penchant for vintage-inspired looks is perfectly channeled into her clothing line. 

I paired the vest (which I took the liberty of spinning around like a six-year-old in) with a red paisley tunic from Winter Kate's debut collection. It's not visible in the photos, but the tunic has a super deep v-neck so a camisole and clever styling is necessary in order to maintain my modesty. I love the tunic's light billowy feel made from vintage silk, the long drape-y sleeves, and the rough unfinished edges at the cuffs and hem. 

With the two Winter Kate pieces, I completed the look with a pair of my beloved Hue jeggings, some trusty chandelier earrings in colors of pink and red, and a pair of Deco-inspired shoes by Minna Parikka. I love the combination of red, purple, dusty rose, muted gold, and chocolate brown - it is so romantic and summery to me. The overall look was inspired by the 70s-meets-30s soft photography of David Hamilton, whose models are always the embodiment of vintage and modern. With the 70s-inspired bohemian Winter Kate pieces, with the Deco-style shoes and modern-day jeggings, the look was aimed to reference both past and present. I wanted the colors to reflect the romance of seventies summers. 

I am still in the process of figuring out what I want to do with my hair. A couple of months ago I took the plunge and darkened my blonde locks so that I could try the ombré look. After almost six months, I think I am ready to try something new - I'm not sure if I want to go back to full-on blonde (so boring to me after twenty towheaded years) or try a redder strawberry blonde, or something completely wild altogether - like peroxide Debbie Harry blonde or something. 

My hair is naturally wavy, and I lucked out that the waves were somewhat presentable that day. I've become less and less of a fan of brushing my hair over the years, which usually isn't the best on days my hair looks full-on Carrie Bradshaw during the early years (... and I've learned from personal experience what works on SJP doesn't necessarily work on little old me). One of my favorite looks for my hair is to twist the front pieces back and clip on the sides of my head - it's incredibly easy to do and it looks so cute, and it has helped me out on many occasions when I simply don't know what to do with my still-growing-out fringe. Plus, I think it looks better as the day goes on and pieces begin the fall out of the clips - it looks so effortless and hippie fab. 

So, what do you think? Should I continue with personal style posts, or should I abandon this fashion foray? Is there any missing - or have I rambled on too much? I would love any and all feedback, except comments that one eye is smaller than the other. I am already paranoid about that. 

High Park Cherry Blossom Trees

Around this time last year I was watching the news at noon when I noticed that the weatherman was on location at some park. I really love this part of the news because the weatherman visits many different places around the city and helps shine a light on these places so that people can get interested in visiting. Well on that day it worked for me because the weatherman was at High Park, and was showing the cherry blossom trees at Hillside Gardens. The trees bloom for only a limited number of days before the blossom goes away. Unfortunately by the time I was available to go visit, it was too late because the blossoms had fallen. So I was determined to make sure I would go the next year, and that time came today in the morning. It was a perfect day because the weather was nice, the sun was shining and a scattered light wind allowed for the blossom petals to give a snow fall affect. The advantage of visiting in the morning also allowed for better pictures because as the day wore on, more people started to arrive and the park seemed crowded. While I’m not a professional photographer, or even have the right camera the beauty of the landscape still allowed me to take amazing pictures. As far as I know the cherry trees (Somei-Yoshino) were a present from the citizens of Tokyo and they were first planted back in 1959. While it is expected to rain this weekend and as a result drop most of the blossoms, I am grateful I was able to experience this natural beauty this year.



High Park website:
http://www.highparktoronto.com/cherry-trees.php

submerging from your world and back into my bliss, a day rolled into one is burning on my lips

I can’t believe I never put two and two together – but the model of one of my all-time favorite Esquire covers (under the art director of George Lois) was none other than Warhol superstar Susan Bottomly. Susan was featured as “The New American Woman: through at 21” in the February 1967 issue as the glammy girl sticking out of a rusty trash can. Of the infamous image, Lois said “So I had her with her tush in the garbage can. I gotta tell you, some women hated it, but plenty of them were laughing their asses off. My wife said that she went to a beauty parlor that week, the month when it came out, and they hung it in the beauty parlor and the women were laughing their heads off.”

The cover article for which Bottomly posed for was heavily revised to fit the statement-making image – “The article described a pseudotypical Los Angeles woman, prone to suicide, sexually jaded, hooked on pills and astrologically obsessed, who was supposed to be the wave of the future for all American women coming into their early 20s,” explained a Time article from 1967.

The image comes from a 1966 photo session that Susan (who was by then Andy Warhol's partying partner-in-crime and dubbed "International Velvet") posed for with Warhol, by legendary photographer Carl Fischer. 

Title: from " As If By Magic" (La Roux)

David Bailey: Rock and Roll Heroes

Just a sampling of contact sheets of the 'rock and roll heroes' from the sixties captured by the photographer who defined the decade, David Bailey 

 A photo sheet of Bailey's wife from 1965-1972, Catherine Deneuve, pictured here just following her stint in Repulsion and her marriage to the photographer in 1965

British Pop Artist David Hockney, creator of the 'joiner' style of art (otherwise known as photomontage) and one of the leaders of the British art scene

David Bailey's former fiancee Jean Shrimpton, who has stated that she owes her entire career as the most prolific model of the Sixties to the photographer, pictured here in 1965 

John Lennon and Paul McCartney, of whom Bailey said, "I felt a bit of animosity between these two, that's why I did them looking different ways..."

The famed Kray Twins, Reggie and Ronnie, well-known perpetrators of organized crime in London's East End who become celebrity-nightclub owners of the Swinging London scene. Bailey was friends with the brothers, saying of his time with them that, "Ron was scary. Reg wasn't so scary. 'Dave, Dave,' he used to whisper, 'I wish we could have done it legit-like.' He used to send me poems ... I mean they were terrible people. Don't get me wrong." 

Mrs. Frank Sinatra, Mia Farrow

An Alfie-era Michael Caine

Of Mick Jagger, Bailey said, "Mick was a mate. He was always around ... It was a pleasure to work with Mick." 

Roman Polanski and Sharon Tate, taken shortly before her pregnancy

The happy couple seen during the same photo shoot but goofing around a bit more than the tender embrace they held in the set of photos in the previous contact sheet

The Rolling Stones, a group that Bailey called "the best rock and roll band that ever was," pictured in 1968. A photo from this session, with Brian Jones turned the opposite direction of the camera was used on the release of the single "Child of the Moon" 

David Bailey, describing how his friend Jagger differed from the rest of the band: "He was a bit bourgeois Mick, but the rest were wild ones." 

While Bailey was more of a Rolling Stones fan than a Beatle nut, Bailey did some great work in this photo session with John Lennon and Paul McCartney. Bailey noted that the Beatles "were just a boy band in the beginning with silly suits and silly haircuts, they were way out of date. I only liked their stuff after the White Album."

Ironically, this photo session took place three years before Bailey started 'liking' their work. 

Awesome art photos

~PIXAX~