Another high

As the East Coast falls into fall, we’ve just come out of a 2-week heat wave. It’s gone from 90+ to 80+, without a cloud in the sky. I’m not complaining, but I do miss the seasons changing. I LOVE fall, it’s my favorite fashion season – so many looks to layer! I’m heading to San Francisco for Canadian Thanksgiving (Columbus Day here) so I’m hoping to get my fill then. As someone recently said to me at a dinner party, “these are high class problems to have”. Again, not complaining!

Last week was a good one, Wednesday I was invited to a charity event “A night of Emotion” for Hollywood’s LA Dogworks – “a place to play and a place to stay” for dogs - hosted by the newly engaged “True Blood” co-stars, Anna Paquin & Stephen Moyer. This marked my first walk on a Hollywood red carpet… clearly the paparazzi wasn’t focused on my best friend and I, but it was still noteworthy for us. More importantly, it was a great event to raise money for rescue dogs - it was all I could do not to adopt one of those adorable canines and bring it home... I’ve decided when I’m ready for Everest (which will be post May 2010, as my building is now heavily enforcing an exorbitant amount of monthly pet rent) I’m going to get a rescue dog. I have my heart set on a chocolate brown lab, and from what I hear there’s no shortage of them needing homes. I got in touch with the owner of LA Dogworks to see if I can volunteer dog-walking services to get used to the life of a dog owner.

Last Thursday, I was invited to a special event for Alice + Olivia by Stacey Bendet, hosted by Neiman Marcus at The Thompson Hotel. Carmen Electra, Jenna Dewan (recently

marrying GI Joe’s hunk Channing Tatum), Lo Bosworth, Lauren Conrad and Jessica Lowndes (Canadian!!) were all there... It was enough for me just being there, but a close friend actually introduced me to Lauren – and we spent a good amount of time talking to Jessica (bonding over being Canadian, although she’s 20 and from Vancouver so the chances of us knowing anyone in common are slim to none) – both were really nice. I didn’t realize Lauren would be there... I'm featuring her as one of the fashion "gurus" on the site, but I was too starstruck to do a pitch – or an interview (and too embarrassed to ask for a picture!) – all in due time… I got a new Blackberry with a voice recorder and I’m ready to go! After all, I'm press now :)

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What Happens In Vegas…

… Stays in Vegas.

I don’t love Vegas – I could really take it or leave it, but somehow this past weekend marked my fourth trip to Sin City – ironically my second while living in California (my first was with girlfriends in 2006 from San Francisco) and I went back twice from Toronto – once care of RH - thanks Max!! This was however, my first time driving to Vegas – an added element of intrigue, although the 5-hour trip was admittedly a lot more interesting on the way there, than coming back Sunday at 6am after only two hours sleep. Thank God I really LOVE my new car.

There are some great things about the city – it’s the best shopping anywhere in the world when it comes to selection and value (no sales tax) – it’s also close to the Grand Canyon which I was lucky enough to do a helicopter excursion to with my best friend in 2007 (we call it our honeymoon tour). But overall, it’s a city of excess… you see the best and worse of America. It’s hard to ignore the morbidly obese people settling in at the slot machines for the day, or walking along the strip drinking those bottomless New York New York Eiffel Tower sugar drinks - all praying to drastically change their circumstances. Girls wear dresses so short they’re probably shirts – men leer – and people gamble, drink, and eat way past their limits. WAY past. You also see people with more money than most people can imagine. The disparity is incredible. Kind of like LA in many ways.

Vegas is a city of entertainment – the shows are fantastic, I loved “O” when I saw it a few years ago, and I’d love to see The Beatles “Love” among others. They have some great performers. It’s also a city of little to no sleep – and aside from catching a few Z's poolside during the day, you’re pretty reliant on the bright lights and oxygen pumping Casinos to keep you going. That and the 24-hour Starbucks. You know something's wrong when there's a line after midnight...

Our 30 hour trip wasn’t all excess – we were lucky enough to hit the AVP (American Volleyball Professionals) Pro Beach Volleyball Tour – it was the “Best of The Beach” tournament – 3 days of some of the fittest and best looking athletes you've ever seen - all scantily clothed (very Vegas). It was cool watching a sporting event in Vegas of all places – and totally impressive. I’ve seen the AVP Circuit in Boston & Hermosa Beach – but there was something unique about the small intimate venue. I think being inches away from Kerri Walsh (two time Olympic gold medalist - 2004 & 2008), her husband (Casey Jennings) and their 5-month old adorable baby boy also helped. Now that’s something to love!!

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STARSTRUCK

Sorry for the hiatus – I had a VERY close friend in town for a week (after recently completing her PhD!!!!!!!) - we had an amazing time exploring SoCal – and getting some work in didn’t leave time for writing!

Nonetheless, last week was MAJOR – aside from memorable trips to Rodeo, The Beverly Wilshire (the hotel in Pretty Woman.. “what’s your dream?”), The Beverly Hills Hotel, Bel Air, Malibu (the right picture is a private beach Paradise Cove),

Bel Air, Malibu, Laguna & Manhattan Beach, UCLA, Runyon, and a road trip to Palm Springs & Las Vegas – I had my biggest celebrity experience to date. I ordered tickets for a live taping of “Chelsea Lately” weeks ago – a talk show hosted by the sharp tongued and incredibly witty comedian Chelsea Handler – I hadn’t heard of her or the show before moving, but both are pretty big in LA. We went last Monday and were told to come back later in the week – the show offered us VIP tickets to one of Thursday’s shows, but couldn’t tell us who’d be on. We showed up Thursday and until sitting in the studio with 5 minutes till taping, we still didn’t know who the guest was – we’d seen a billboard that Jennifer Aniston was to be on Thursday night’s show - but we didn’t think there was any way they taped Thursday’s show Thursday afternoon (it was a 2:30pm taping and the show airs at 8pm) – well, we were wrong… and WE SAW JENNIFER ANISTON.

Less than 10 feet away I was dying!! Almost having recovered from five minutes of shaking and almost crying in the short window after finding out the guest was in fact her - and the show starting (can you say starstruck?) –

we watched the six minute set in an audience of maybe 80 people. It was intimate. Intimate enough to tell you, with Jen - what you see is what you get – she’s just as you imagine from what you see on TV / appearances etc. And she’s even tinier, more fit and gorgeous in person. This is no girl next door; she’s a total knockout. STUNNING. Her hair is to die for, her outfit was phenomenal and her skin radiates. She had a small entourage and was probably in and out of the studio within the hour.

So that’s my celebrity highlight so far – look out later this week for more on Vegas, although what happens in Vegas…

k

"If the shoe fits...

... buy it in every color."

One of my favorite quotes; quotes are one of my favorite things - one of the many reasons I’ll be featuring a different style quote on WATW everyday – and likely the odd inspirational one for good measure!!

Like most women, I love shoes. I have to admit I’m my mother’s daughter here – growing up I remember not being able to fathom her some hundred of pairs of similar styled and colored shoes that graced her bedroom, the laundry room and work room.

Years later, I’m just as bad – if not worse… I have the closet of a “stylist” to prove it. This weekend marked my completion of unpacking & getting my LA life in order – starting of course with a shoe emporium – aka a bookshelf from Crate & Barrel that I had custom glass shelves made for… resulting in a custom 8 shelved shoe heaven (see overflow above & below)!! This creation has caused me to realize two very important things – I have a lot of shoes & I don’t need anymore for a while. I need to instill a one in one out policy pretty soon.

I thought I’d share my Cinema Muse when it comes to these gloriously soled friends – so here are my top shoe themed & inspired movies:

- Cinderella – her famous glass slippers

- Wizard of Oz – Dorothy (Judy Garland)’s red slippers recently made an appearance on the Today Show

- In Her Shoes – every pair of hardly worn gems owned by Rose are truly as gorgeous as her sister – Maggie (Cameron Diaz) – both women fight over everything, shoes included.

- Pretty Women – who doesn’t remember Julia Robert’s "hooker boots" – ironic seeing as this season's must-have boot has the same above the knee look (with a little less heel, pleather & working-girl feel)

- The Devil Wears Prada – we love all Emily Blunt, Anne Hathaway & Meryl Streep’s shoes & boots here – but special tribute must be paid to Anne’s HOT high mid-thigh Chanel boots that she wears when she seduces her boyfriend – Adrian Grenier (pre-Entourage fame)

- Confessions of a Shopaholic – admittedly not the best movie, or wardrobe – but Rebecca Bloomwood (Isla Fisher) has a few wins on those gams that make it worth a watch.

- Sex and The City – one can only imagine the sales that Carrie Bradshaw and her beloved 3 best gal pals have generated for Jimmy Choo & Manolo Blahnik – the most popular of course being the lone sole in her dream closet….

All in the ♥ of shoes.

k

World On Fire

I’m sure you’ve seen and heard the news – Southern California is facing some of the worst wildfires our local Fire Chief himself has seen in 30 years... Thankfully it’s no earthquake – but it’s equally as threatening & devastating to those who have lost their homes, and the families of the two firefighters who lost their lives to the fires last weekend. 2,000 homes have been evacuated, and another 10,000 are still considered under threat. They're hoping for a date of containment of September 15th - still 2 weeks away. It's been declared a state of emergency.

Living just over a few miles South of the Hills, they’re never out of sight – and right now you can see, smell, taste & feel the smoke in the air. It’s about 10 degrees hotter than it should be this time of year – which you can imagine, is HOT. It also means that combined with the smog and regularly poor air quality, outdoor exercise is strongly discouraged. One morning a week a new friend and I (a fellow Canadian from Vancouver) hike Runyon Canyon – as I’ve said before, it’s my favorite thing to do in LA – you get a great view of the city, the Hollywood sign (albeit cheesy) - and with numerous trails offering different levels of difficulty, you can definitely get your sweat on... We’re skipping this week, with the smoke we’d likely both end up with coughs, or worse – it’s a much lower altitude, but the amount of accessible oxygen in the air is comparable to Kilimanjaro & Everest Base Camp – without the glory!

On a much lighter note, this week’s celebrity sighting was Bob Harper – the male trainer from "The Biggest Loser" – I’m not sure if he’s into women... but he’s totally cute. I saw him at Starbucks Monday after learning my hard drive that died last week is a lost cause and I've lost almost all of my data (the files on my external back up can’t be read) - awesome. Thankfully his adorableness and friendly smile lifted my spirits!! I chickened out before I could tell him I'm a big fan - so Bob if you're out there - keep up the great work!

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