I'm Almost Fascinating

Princess Beatrice ROCKS her butterfly hat!
Originally uploaded by catrocks2007

I've been waiting for this day for years. I'm finally going to a wedding where women wear hats (and fascinators). In Canada, we're just not a hat-wearing culture - well except for tuques. That's what it is like in Canada, you don't wear hats for fashion -- sadly. Truth be told this is the real reason I moved here.

Last summer, when my friend, Gina, announced she was getting married, I was of course thrilled for her. But when she told me I would be invited, I was dancing around the cubicles at the chance of wearing a hat. Hey, I had seen the ladies at Ascot! Imagine how cool I could be and I had a full year to get it right.


Fast forward a year minus 3 days. How are my hat plans you might ask? How well do you know me and you might be able to imagine my current situation. I'll fill in the details for those of you just getting acquainted.

It really is a long story involving the original idea of taking a milinary course and visions of creating something spectacular. Sadly, I tried to enroll in the course 4 times over 5 months and each time something came up. Now it's ...

Wedding Day minus 4 weeks:
About a month ago I was out for lunch in Primrose Hill, I went in to one of my favourite vintage stores and saw it. It was what I dreamed about for the past year. It was a perfect combination of colour and coolness factor. The clincher was that it had a little gray bird perched a top of a big pink flower. How quirky! I loved the idea. Sadly, I don't have a photo to share. I guess you have surmised that i didn't buy that PERFECT fascinator. Why? Does £150 for a flower and bird sound outrageous to you? Do you think you can be a hat-maker? Do you have visions of making it yourself? I did.

Wedding Day minus 3 weeks:
My amazing Aunt Barb hears of the quest for the perfect hat. It's important to know that Aunt Barb is one of the most talented seamstresses you'll meet - she did make her own wedding dress. In any case, she dug in her sewing chest of goodies and about a week later I received a collection of feathers and slightly squished flowers in the mail - directly from Canada. Sadly, these ingredients (while promising) were the wrong colour to match my dress. Perhaps I can use these goodies will my next wedding. (again the difference is my Aunt=amazing seamstress; me - not even close)

Wedding Day minus 2 weeks:
I started to get rather nervous. So, I decide eBay is the answer. I quickly find myself overwhelmed with the choice of both fascinators and notions with which to make these little babies. So, the bidding starts and as always on eBay I get carried away. By the next day, I think I have everything solved. I have bought a fascinator and if it isn't quite right I have bought 3 batches of feathers with which I can make my own (visions of being a hat-maker still dance in my head) creation.

Wedding Day minus 10 days
My eBay purchases arrive. Not good. The fascinator looks good from a distance. However, up close anyone will see that it is lined with beads/sparkles/trimmings (whatever they are called) In real life they just add cheese factor ... so while on a white manniquin head, the fascinator looks classy in reality it looks sadly cheap. I didn't move across the ocean to the land of garden parties and the queen to look cheap. Time to move on.Plan B - The DIY Fascinator. I ordered a number of feathers in case the fascinator came up short - it did. So, I have in my possession 3 sets of feathers in search of a headpiece. Here they are .... (the costs start adding up)



It started to get very complicated. The colours are good but how do I make a fascinator that doesn't look like well as my best friend said a bunch of pipe cleaners stuck together with Elmer's Glue. Oh no. I should have listened.

Wedding Day minus 7 days
I'm out on Saturday with my cousin (she's visiting). We're in Camden market. Tons of vintage stores around. I find a very cool hat that we both think looks great on me. Grab it, buy it. No fooling around.

I modelled for J (after buying) and he made a good observation - his words: "looks cool, but it kind of feels like you should wear it to a funeral". Then the comments of my British friends start dancing in my head "don't buy the hat without the dress". It was becoming quite apparent that was good advice. These ladies have experience. What does some crazy Canuck know?



The day wears on. We end up in Marlyebone and happen on Cabbages and Frocks Outdoor Market. What luck! There is a woman selling fascinators. They have that little bit of flare that I'm looking for. I think I've found the right one. I look closer at the price tag. Oh no. If I buy this one too, I've now spent significantly more than I intended and I will have a house full of fluffy stuff for my head. Hmmm should I buy it?

Guess what? I do buy it and guess what? I still don't think I've managed to get it right. It's got some weird brown going on and the burgundy is too dark - I need light pink. Oh no.

Last stop of the day (but I'm throught buying), we wonder on to John Lewis. T wanted to buy one too. So what does she do. She buys a simple little feather number for £5. It looks fantastic in her blond upsweep. She's thrilled and I'm feeling duped.

What's the situation today?
It's Wedding Day minus 4. I have 2 fascinators - 1 superiourly cheesy, 1 with colours that are wrong, 1 hat (with a funeral veil) and about 30 pink and gray feathers. I'm considering getting out the glue gun (well actually buying 1 first is necessary) and attaching some of the gray feathers to the most recent purchase. Or maybe I should just go without ...

Perhaps this hat thing should be left to the English.

Now It's Easy to be a Handbag Addict

I am a relatively new addict of handbags. I guess the reason I've been rather slow in the past is due to the fact that changing handbags takes time and effort. And, my readers (my best friend, BMad and my Mum) know that I'm always running late and often I don't have time to switch to my new co-ordinated handbag.

So, yesterday when I was told out about these little numbers that are designed to be easily transferred from one handbag to another --- i thought oh no my addiction my just get worse. Oh well - there's always rent-a-bag.

Thanks to Malinki for the tip. I'm off to buy one. Now I just need to keep these inserts organized.

Update: Looks like Lola's Sister has some great advice.

So Long Yahoo! Hello Open Skies!

Last year, I left Yahoo! in late August. I hate the good-bye thing so I had said I didn't want to do drinks etc and was hoping in the hoopla of Yahoo! chaos that I would just sneak out the door.

So, I was thoroughly surprised by the going-away shin-dig that my colleagues had arranged. They made a neat little video which I'm sure is still online but I couldn't find it anymore which was accessible via my own "IY". What's an "IY" you ask? In essence, you needed only to type my name in to Yahoo! search and a little icon popped up next to my name that linked directly to this great video. I felt pretty special to have one of these (btw, it is gone now so you can't see it) If anyone knows where that video lives, please send me a link.

Then to top that off, they gave me a really great gift. I had no idea what they would give me and was really pleasantly surprised to get a gift certificate for a helicopter ride over London. So, below are a few pics from the long awaited trip (the rest are on my flickr stream).

My reactions:

• Helicopters are not scary
• The trip was not thrilling i.e. stomach turning
  
• The scenery was fantastic
• Hearing all the banter between the other planes/helicopters and traffic contrel men was cool. It sounded oh so civilized in a British accent.
  
• Exciting to fly over the parliament buildings and see in to the internal courtyards. I felt like a spy.
  
• Highly recommend to anyone and everyone
  

Thanks Yahoos! It was brilliant.

Name that Tune and Win

J created the new MOO Business Cards video. Can't you tell by the music? In honour of the launch and J's involvement, I thought I would run my own little contest.

Here, is the challenge.

1. What is the name of the music J used in the video?
   
2. What year was it written in?
   

I will give out two prizes. First prize will be a set of 100 cards for the music name and second prize will be a set of 50 cards for the year (all prizes courtesy of me - yes me!)

Introducing MOO Business Cards!
Uploaded by MOO_Crew

Think Pink (and chocolate of course)

I remember the first time I visited the Designer's Guild, I almost cried. It was a weird feeling but I loved everything so much, it hurt. If you have ever been there, you may know what I mean.

Today was an even more emotional day because I arrived home to find that the wallpaper that I ordered on Saturday arrived. You know me, I love chocolate (all kinds) ...

I'll keep you posted on how long it takes us to get it on the wall. Neither of us have ever wallpapered and I keep remembering that we live on a street whose patron saint is "the saint of lost causes" and I think perhaps we need professional help.

Any tips?

Living in a Pigeon Coop

Suspected Intruder
Originally uploaded by praguelondon

I know that our bedroom is ridiculously messy. My mother would definitely need a sedative if she saw it. Who knows some may think it looks like a pig sty or a chicken coop, but a PIGEON COOP?

Yes. That's what it was this morning at 8.10am.

Let me backtrack. Today was Saturday. That means a little lie-in (as they say here) or sleep in (as they say at home). So, at 8.10 I was asleep, sound asleep. Something woke me. Those dratted pigeons were really getting loud. Why had they recently decided our window sill was the new Meeting Place? I couldn't imagine. If only they would keep it down.

What made me open my one eye? I don't know, but within a nano-second I was wide awake when I saw the scene more clearly. I looked over J towards the window and what did I see, but the pigeon on the inside of our room.

Of course I freaked out and pushed J out of bed to deal with our intruder. I hid under the covers. Don't worry I was helpful. I gave instructions to J. "Throw a towel over him. Do something but don't let him start flying around our house." Quickly, J surmised the situation and told me that not only was there Mr. Beady-Eye, there was also Mrs. Beady-Eye in for an early morning visit.

How did that happen? How did we get not one but two pigeons in our bedroom?

I heard J speak to our visitors politely in a coaxing voice, "Come on, fly out the window. You know it is much nicer outside."

There was J quietly cooing to the pigeons. Meanwhile I was yelling from under the duvet "throw a towel over them. Get them out or they will start s***ting everywhere. GET THEM OUT NOW!"

I'm not sure if it was my approach or J's cooing manner, but soon one made his way out. However, the second decided to fly up and perch on J's wardrobe. It became a staring contest between J and Mrs. Beady-Eyes. Eventually, J's convincing tone swished her out the open window.

What a start to the morning!

Looks like we have to go buy those crazy spikes which I always thought were inhumane. Not any more. I can't live in a Pigeon Coop.

Has anyone seen my friend?

Flower Shopping Done
Originally uploaded by praguelondon

I am seething. I feel violated. I want to scream all the obsenities I know and learn some more so I can scream them too.

Recently, (in fact as recent as 2 hours ago) I have been bragging about my super duper short commute to work - 15 minutes on my trusted bicycle. It is a great way to start and end the day. It's just long enough to destress but not too long that I feel the regret of riding my bike in the morning when I've had a drink of wine in the evening.

Tonight just after I bid a 'good-night, I'm off on my wonderful bike' to R, D, G and M I approached Old Street Round-About to mount my wonder in blue and what should I see but a cut bike lock and no bike.

WHAT !!!!! Which f**ker (yes, I said that out loud) stole my bike? It was a girrly bike (that Isabel gave me when she left for India). Why???? I love her. She was my friend. Everyone thought she was wonderful. I thought she was wonderful .....


.... now some yucky person is misusing her. Please help find her and make me happy again.