cooler than Clint Eastwood. I dare you.
Image from Hello Again.
The good kind, I mean. Where a lecture makes you fall so deeply in love with its subject that you want to switch majors. In this case, the subject was Vancouver Opera’s Nixon in China and the lecturer was Assistant Stage Director Stephen Drover.
As part of the opera’s Fan Night, Drover took us through some of the highlights of the $1.4 million dollar production. It got philosophical. And interesting.
Ponder this: opera is always seen from afar (hello opera glasses!) but we are living in the age of the close-up (hello HD TV!). So how did the fine folks at the opera bridge that gap? They brought cameras onstage to project visual close ups onto the backdrop and miked the performers (so often frowned upon in the opera world) to achieve audio close ups.
But my favourite part had nothing to do with technical trickery and everything to do with dance. The second act — oh! The second act! — featured a beautiful sequence choreographed by Wen Wei Wang (whose work I’ve been a fan of for years). It made me realize it’s been far too long since I’ve been to the ballet.
So what did I wear? A beautiful, straight-out-of-the-eighties dress that my sister found for me. (Thank you, Rissa!) The vintage clutch is one of many I have in my collection.
A pendant necklace I also stole from her (how do those of you without sisters dress yourselves?).
And shoes the colour of pink highlighters.
Want to see more photos of Nixon in China? Take a look here. (The other gal in that photo? Kim Li of Delicious Juice.)
Wondering what I wore last time I went to the opera? And the time before that?
The first three images are courtesy of the Vancouver Opera. Thank you again, VO, for an amazing evening!
Just when you thought I couldn’t get any nerdier, I bought a ticket to the YVR Twestival. What’s a twestival, you ask? It’s a novel idea, really. It’s people meeting. In person. And socializing. In person. And networking. In person.
Plus, it’s for a good cause. Are you going? Let’s get our geek on!
Photo by Miss 604.
P.S. You can find me on Twitter here.
When you’re in Mexico — beaded accessories, silver jewelry and tequila.
And then there are things you do not expect to stock up on when you’re in Mexico: oversized bat-winged sweaters…
and giant scarves. Both of which made it home in my suitcase. The sweater is from Shalom in Playa del Carmen, which you should stop into if you’re ever there. I have a feeling you’d like it.
The scarf is from a stall on Playa’s Fifth Avenue. And I should point out that it is made of — and I am not even kidding you — llama wool. Which might actually be something you would expect.
P.S. Add the Anthology on Facebook. Because it’s about time we were FBFFs.
When we were in Mexico last week, we stayed at a resort in Playa del Carmen. Now don’t get me wrong, it was beautiful, but I love Mexico Mexico. 
The part where pesos (not American dollars) are the most common form of currency.
Places like Cuernavaca, Mexico City and Valladolid, a town that is beyond picturesque.
We stopped at Valladolid — all too briefly — on our way back from Chichen Itza (whose pyramids, unfortunately, you can no longer climb).
We were there as the sun was setting so it was cool enough to walk around (temperatures hit a scorching 36 degrees earlier in the day).
It was all so beautiful it made me want to buy a hammock, learn Spanish, and move there.
If you read the Zoe Report, you’ve heard Rachel Zoe talk a lot about her “uniform” — wide-leg pants, tranny heals, etc. etc. So it got me thinking about what my uniform would be.
For work, it’d have to be a vintage jacket, oversized scarf and pencil jeans. The blue and white striped shirt? It’s from H & M. The short sleeve blazer? Straight out of the eighties, ladies.
And then there are my red shoes. Though they’re not part of my uniform, I love them because they remind me that, no matter how much I love travelling, there’s no place like home.
So what’s your uniform? Jeans and a t-shirt? Dress and flat boots?
That’s how I’ve heard these vintage dresses described. You know the ones — long and long-sleeved, often printed with some Aunt-Hazel print.
With a little hemming and a little layering they become perfectly wearable.
Come to think of it, I have a secretary dress in just about every colour.
Maybe I should change careers.
How is anyone ever going to take you seriously with those ears?
You were so cute when you were a blurry pup, a big-footed mutt, a symmetrical little beast, and a true snow baby. But now I can’t help but laugh when I look at you.
Suppose I shouldn’t make too much fun of you, though. Seeing as how we’re starting to look alike.
It’s the more, the merrier when it comes to accessories. Which is why I’m adding to my already overstocked jewelry collection while I’m in Mexico. (The silver! The beading! It would be a shame not to stock up.)
Another overstocked collection of mine? Vintage purses. This burnt orange one is the clutch I’m rocking here.
I stayed in a converted artist’s studio on Rue d’Amsterdam near the Place de Clichy (can I say I “lived” there? I was there for a month).
Every day I would walk through a gate that looked almost identical to this one, carrying my groceries, my school books or whatever I picked up from Printemps.
This shot from The Selby took me right back there. And makes me want to return to that pretty city. Bad.