What were they thinking??

The William Reynolds Block on the morning of Jan 3, 2010

Ever since a section of the poorly maintained, yet graceful Second Empire William Reynolds Block at 335 Yonge St, built in 1847 in Toronto, actually fell down onto Gould St. in April, the city has left us all dumbfounded. Now a mysterious fire, likely set by those eager to see the damn thing come down has put an end to any discussion of its restoration–a discussion which, in my view, was stupidly initiated by the city way too late. Continue reading…

Baltic buns

  

Speckkuchen are the key to celebrating, Baltic style

One of the best things (and the list is long) about my husband is that he comes from a big old Baltic family and as far as the Balts are concerned, there is no holiday without its own particular baking ritual. At Christmas, for example, which we celebrate as per tradition on the 24th, it is absolutely essential to have on hand many trays of these wonderful savoury pastries called speckkuchen which are served warm as the perfect accompaniment to numerous shots of frozen vodka. 

Continue reading…

Disco squirrel Christmas!

Season's greetings from Mr. Nut

Since seasonal emails leave me cold (you couldn’t be bothered to actually send a card so you’ve sent me something warm and fuzzy to click on in my inbox?),  I do hope you enjoy this heartwarming little holiday scene I came upon this morning: a crazed grey squirrel trying desperately to nibble on a disco ball tree ornament like a contemporary urban  Hunca Munca.

Sorry for the fuzzy shot but I was laughing too hard.

Hot off the press!!

Extra, extra!!

I am SO excited to tell you about my latest editorial venture– the new issue of King West magazine which is literally fresh off the delivery truck and on the shelves of all the very coolest shops and restaurants on Ossington and along Queen and King west (you can pick up a copy at the Thompson Toronto and Drake hotel guaranteed).

It was a total blast to put together: immersing myself in the whole emerging downtown lifestyle in the hot new, old downtown Toronto was not only a crash course in the city’s potential but put a whole new perspective on Toronto as a style and lifestyle mecca.

As ed-in-chief I was fortunate (and clever) enough to surround myself with a charmed circle of extremely talented people: the amazing  Chris Nicholls did the fashion shoot, which was beautifully styled by Rita Liefhebber; the ever brilliant Russell Smith is writing a fantastic column for us called Mr Smith’s Good Times Guide;  and emerging talent Marilisa Racco, whom I had the good fortune to meet and be endlessly entertained by on a recent pr trip to Israel, is keeping us up to date with a sexy new column we called The Playing Field.

 In this issue, Leanne Delap goes shopping for fish at 2 am with Wabora sushi chef Min Soo Kim, Rachel Gotlieb pins her trained critical eye on design legend Philippe Starck, we get a peek inside fashionista Robin Kay’s condo flip and Anne O’Hagan gives us the lowdown on the TIFF Bell Lightbox.

The whole project, like much of the exciting new King west neighbourhood,  is brought to you by Freed Developments. The designers of the book, who are brilliantly inventive to work with, are the award-winning 64th and Queen. And yes, I might be biased, but I couldn’t be happier with the result. Please do pick up a copy anywhere cool and tell me what you think.

The Star Rocks!

Royal reading

On newsstands now

Like most of us,  I have always been a bit of an unofficial  royal watcher. So I was most pleased to have the opportunity to opine about the big upcoming wedding royale in a more official capacity for Maclean‘s glossy and fabulous Special Commemorative issue which has just hit newsstands this week.

My piece, “All Eyes Are Upon Her” is about Kate Middleton’s style. I must admit it was great fun putting it together, looking through photos of her outfits over her last eight years in the public eye as “Waity Katie”–a well-chosen selection of which you too can peruse in the magazine in your unofficial role as royal watchers.

Art in the city

Balloon transport

I laughed out loud when I walked past this balloon-walking woman on a street in the Chelsea gallery district. Manhattan is never fails to surprise. All you have to do is walk the streets and visit the galleries to feel carried away. Continue reading…

NY’s coolest shop

A liquor store that serves sweaters

Without a doubt the coolest looking new store I popped into on my recent visit to Manhattan was actually a bar–none other than J Crew has discreetly taken over The Liquor Store, a Tribeca landmark, housed in an 1825 townhouse that served as a tavern for decades.

Style on tap

The interior is left as is, like a found and salvaged object, except that it’s now propped with cool, vintage-inspired men’s clothing and accessories instead of dusty old bottles.

Even though there’s no sign indicating that the old Liquor Store is now a J Crew–and the whole place is barely large enough to swing a cat in let alone bend over to try and find that cute red flannel shirt in a medium– savvy shoppers were finding their way there the day I popped in in droves.

 And the best thing is that they kept the bar, which is now serving up the latest in menswear instead of Sam Adams and Rolling Rocks.

Phil’s drill

The artist at work

  My son Philip came up with a unique approach to carving his pumpkin this year–he brought out a cordless drill.   

Drill, baby , drill

His idea was to make a sort of abstract sea sponge or multi-eyed monster out of his pumpkin by simply boring into it repeatedly with a drill, which created a widespread scattering of holes. What was less intentional was the widespread scattering of pumpkin innards–but luckily it was warm enough to be outside for the project.  

The drilled pumpkin

Randomly bored with holes, the pumpkin initially looks like a bit of a mess.  

All lit up

And here, all cleaned up, and lit, is the eerie result of his innovative carving method.  

Pumpkin pair

And here it is again, with its pumpkin pal on the front steps, who is screaming in fright at the sight.

Art Haus

Munich's Brandhorst Museum

Far and away the most fantastic thing I came across on my recent visit to Munich was the brilliant–and beautiful Brandhorst museum. 

Opened to the public in May 2009, the Brandhorst was purpose built to house the showstopping collection of Udo and Annette Brandhorst (over 700 significant works of contemporary art from the likes of Damien Hirst, Sigmar Polke, Warhol and Koons, with a particularly fantastic site-specific room devoted to the brilliant Lepanto series of paintings by Cy Twombly), and its a stunner. Continue reading…

The (unofficial) Patron saint of Germany

The Legend Lives

I had always known MJ was big in Germany. But until I stumbled across a meticulously maintained public altar to the late pop star’s memory  plastered over a war memorial directly in front of Munich’s  poshest hotel, I didn’t know just how big. 

Nothing spontaneous or unsanctioned EVER happens in Germany. Even the wild Bacchanal of Munich’s legendary Oktoberfest seems  forced and planned. So it was with considerable surprise that I encountered what appeared to be an unofficial public outpouring of love and lament for the late pop star, who must have once popped by for a night or twoat the city’s haute Bavarian Bayerische Hof hotel while on tour. Continue reading…

Fashionable Mention (and More!)

the November issue

As everyone in journalism knows all too well, there is no more faithful reader than one’s mother.

Luckily my mother was extremely pleased with her coverage in my story in the current (November) Escape-themed issue of Fashion magazine, wherein I share that everything I learned about the aesthetic souvenirs of travel -the little stylistic  touches one takes home from a journey- I learned from my mother, and her mother, on a three-generation girls’ trip we once took to Italy.

and More!

And if that isn’t quite enough personal pr for you, may I also recommend another travel-inspired story of mine that has also just hit the stands for the November issue of More magazine that is all about my recent trip to Israel and the fantastic women I encountered there. On my last trip to Israel, I was all of 15 years old.

 It really was an incredible experience to have another look at the place from a grown-up p.o.v., one which I share in the story—although I doubt that this particular story will appeal as much to my mother if only because she isn’t in it.

AmBushed in Chicago

Dubya back in the limelight

I had an extremely weird experience, or perhaps opportunity,  the other day: I sat within spitting distance  of a guy I have been furious with for years.  

Yes, none other than George W. Bush, the former president of the United States, who took a perfectly good world and left it smashed in political, economic and spiritual disarray a mere 8 years later, (and was so universally reviled when he left office  that at Obama’s inauguration, the crowd gathered outside on the Mall loudly booed his departing helicopter overhead as he and Laura flew back home to Texas), is daring to showing his face in public again–this time to promote his memoirs. Continue reading…

Festival friends

my new BFFs, Nina and and Rocco

One of the treats of attending the odd super glam  TIFF party, as I did over the weekend  for L’Amour Fou, the new YSL biopic by the late designer’s life and business partner Pierre Berge (more on that this week in the Star ‘s Living section),  are some of the fab people you get to meet.

I have long been a fan of David Rocco and his wonderful Food network show David Rocco’s La Dolce Vita. He’s such a relaxed and engaging host and of course, there he is in Italy, just enjoying himself being Italian, and eating wonderful Italian food, so I am totally with him. And so I was completely delighted to find myself chatting with the Roccos at the YSL party about everything from how men should dress to where one should eat cacio e pepe in Toronto (David’s answer: at his house). And of course in person, he is just as completely adorable and– along with his similarly fantastic, funny wife Nina, his co-producer–as welcoming and totally real as he is on his show.

As it happens, I am not alone in loving the Roccos. As of this summer, David Rocco’s La Dolce Vita,which currently watched in 150 countries around the world,  is also on the air in the US on the Cooking Network.  And according to David, “doing very well”. So well that he has just been signed by William Morris agency.

My guess is that the charming Rocco is soon going to be the next Rachel Ray–that is, if Rachel Ray was a really cute smart Italian guy from Toronto with a really cute smart wife who does not look in any way like the mother of two year old twins.

Happy 25th, bye-bye Ciara!

What an incredibly fun night last night!  The film festival hasn’t even started yet and I woke up this morning with a sore throat  and burning feet from dancing till 2 in eight inch platforms.    

The night began with champagne cocktails to commemorate 25 years of Fashion television at the old City building on Queen St W.  It turned out to be a giant reunion of everybody who has worked in fashion and fashion media here in town for the last quarter century, which was not only a lot of fun but also somehow heartening–a reminder that we have all, in our own fashion, come a long way.    

 Jeanne Beker, the woman of the hour, looked just amazing. 

What a month she’s had, launching her own fashion line, Edit, at the Bay, and marking 25 years at the top of the fashion heap. According to the gals I was chatting with, part of the reason Jeanne looks so damn good is that she has just lost 30 pounds on the Herbal Magic diet (UPDATE: Jeanne tells me it was only 18 lbs., “thirty would have been a bit much”). Regardless, she certainly looks a lot better than poor Elizabeth Manley, whose weight-loss before and afters are  plastered outside every Herbal Magic store in town.  Continue reading…