I hope you guys all had an amazing weekend. You want to know what I did? I spent the entire time watching Dexter and got through over two seasons. The show is so addictive that it turns you into a degenerate in no time 
. Considering that I don’t even have cable, it feels strange for me to commit so much time to a tv series. I’ve always been more of a film buff (I even minored in cinema studies in university) but my mama got me hooked on this bloody show. Anyway, for those of you who are familiar with it; is it just me or is the character of Rita (Dexter’s girlfriend) incredibly annoying? What’s up with the constant huffing and puffing? She reacts to the most unpleasant news in the same way as if she just chipped a nail – she literally just inhales or exhales loudly and calls it an emotion or thought. Oops, I’m sorry, I think I’m venting a little. Too much Dexter see…he gets under your skin (get it, because he cuts people).
January 2010
You are browsing the archive for January 2010.
Lets Sail Away
Everything Belted
It’s Saturday! I hope you’re all enjoying your weekend so far. I just came back from having brunch at this cute little restaurant on Baldwin St. in Toronto, called Cafe La Gaffe. For my brother, Taras, eating out for brunch is his favorite pastime so we end up doing a lot of that – to indulge both him and our morning appetites. Over the past two years Cafe La Gaffe has become one of our brunch spots. It has this urban-esque “the paint is pealing off our door” look; cozy, charming, and untraditional. It reminds me a little of my parents’ kitchen (only we just finished renovating it).
My Maxi Dress and my Little Bodyguard
Today’s look of the day is taken from my summer trip to St. Petersburg. We did a lot of touristy things when we were there, which is only right considering that it’s one of the cultural capitals of the world. In these pictures we were visiting the Cruiser Aurora Museum and the Central Artillery Museum. Umm, ships and tanks, how fascinating! There are few things in the world that I find less exiting and to me the experience of being on the Aurora was more sentimental than anything. See, growing up during the years of perestroyka means that certain soviet imagery will forever awaken feeling of nostalgia within you. Standing on the Cruses Aurora did it for me. My whole childhood I heard about this ship and I was finally on it last August. My friend’s little nephew (aka. my little bodyguard) came along with us and he was loving it for a completely different reason. To him it was a new playground; an opportunity for climbing, jumping, hanging, and dangling. To each his own I guess .
Something Blue and Bright Balloons
I’m falling a bit behind again with my daily posts so today’s look-of-the-day is going to be another throw back to this summer. I celebrated my 26th birthday in Moscow last August and I chose this dress by Oktober for my special day. The detail of the pleated silk, the elaborate bodice, and the built in metal brooch make it one of my favorite couture dresses to wear. Considering how interesting and unique their designs are, I’m surprised that the Oktober as a brand is not more known and written about. Googling for Oktober doesn’t take you much farther than their own website, which is pretty uninformative and doesn’t do their clothes much justice. The name of their designer is Uros Belantic and from what I’ve seen he must be quite talented.
Carmen in Black
I just came back from seeing Carmen – an opera at the Canadian Opera Company (COC). I have seen Carmen about 5 times in the past: a few times in St. Petersburg, a few times in Moldova, and once before in Toronto. Because of my previous experience and considering that Carmen is one of the most popular and recognizable operas of all time I sort of assumed that the COC was going to make it “the show” of this season…boy was I wrong! It not only failed to live up to my expectations but the first three acts were just painful to watch. Aside from the mediocre singing, the lead and the costume designer managed to completely shatter my perception of Carmen as a character. I always thought of her as this exotic, gypsy seductress who exudes both confidence and charm; whose beauty and strength makes her irresistible. But their Carmen was non of those things. For the first half of the performance she looked more like a bum than a coquettish temptress that she was intended to be. I’m not sure if it’s a budget issue but the COC needs to reconsider their costume approaches. Their modern takes on the period pieces is getting stale. Don’t we go to the opera partially because we want to be taken into the wonders of some other world? Quit trying to rejuvenate this art form by modernizing the costumes. Or is it realism that the COC is striving for? I hope not because the constant singing kinds of breaks the illusion anyway. Seeing Escamillo (a toreador) in a blazer and Gap pants is not going to magically make the story more relevant to today’s society. Let us have the enjoyment of the escape and please stop butchering the classics.
