| Fashion |
Blooms Are Back in a Big Way! |
| It’s hard to believe that spring is here and fashion is blooming
with fabulous floral frocks and bedecked hats. |
Metallics may be hot and sexy, but florals are romantic and demure.
You can wear them in a restrained way if you are tailored and sporty;
think a chic Hermes scarf in a botanical motif and soft trendy pink
lip. Or if you are a more of girly-girl, you can splash out in a dreamy
dress. You’ll find romantic floral prints in Italian silk at
your favourite fine department store or in cotton by the score at
Old Navy. There is something pretty and playful for everyone’s
budget. For casual afternoons, pair a flowered sandal with your favourite
jeans and a crisp white T.
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A dreamy dress in Italian Silk |
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| The catwalk creations of Phillip Tracey
- British hat designer to stars and royals - were madly extravagant.
A riot of silk blooms. Be inspired to try decorating your hat, bag,
shoes, or whatever with fabulous silk flowers. Not creative in a hands-on
way? Simply pin a gorgeous flower to something you love. Stick to
something plain and not too fussy to avoid the “corsage look.”
Think Carrie in Sex and the City. |
| Blooms are back in a big way. One fabulous online source of top
grade, but not crafty-looking, fashionable fleurs is www.nicholaskniel.com.
Gorgeous selection. Lucky ladies living in New York,
Toronto, and San Francisco may already
know that there are wonderful sources for these items in their cities’
fabric districts. |
| Tip: Sew or glue pins to the backs of flowers and
pin them to the item for easy cleaning. When you are bored with the
trend, just unpin leaving no nasty threads or damage behind. |
| Why should the flower trend stop with fashion? If you love to garden
or arrange flowers, check out Flower Magazine
www.flowermag.com
. This new magazine just for flowers has lots of charm. Its premiere
issue has great stories on roses in Nova Scotia, Cornelia Guest, daughter
and heiress of legendary garden columnist C.Z. Guest, and more. It’s
a taste of spring, just as the crocuses start to appear. |
| Flowers are inspiring. That may be why almost everyone loves them
and they never go out of style. |
Finding new ways to use and arrange them, making them last, and
realizing you deserve them are the tricks. I invite you take a minute
and think about your favourite flowers - what you really prefer. I
bet it’s been a while. What do you like to plant? To receive?
To give? To arrange? What is your favourite floral scent? Type of
vase? It’s not an unpleasant subject.
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Simple and subtly-sexy dress. The perfect foil
for floral. |
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Stunning photo cards by our own Karin Pacione
that can be ordered in any combination
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Vintage Gardenia soap and candles from Jo Malone
for botanical Glam. |
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Sweet smelling soap and candles can make even mundane moments a
meditation in beauty and peace. Gift yourself or a friend.
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Just two or many are always a lovely thought. |
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| Fashion, Life and
Style |
Fashionable Appeal that Doesn’t
Fade |
| Carefully chosen and pristine vintage accessories have never been
hotter. If you like the floral trend, think about accenting your look
with a classic Hermes or Gucci
scarf, or maybe a pastel Chanel bag. |
Delightfully dazzling cocktail rings and huge jewels in floral motifs
adorned the wrists and fingers of willowy models on and off the catwalk
this season.
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Gorgeous Kenneth Jay Lane Ring – Two Trends!
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| Where can you find your fashion treasure? European cities such as
London, Paris
and Rome are known for their vintage shops.
So if you are traveling soon, research and plan time for shopping.
Prague is known for vintage jewelry, especially
Art Deco. If you are going there you may want to
become familiar with their particular style and current market. Aficionado
friends tell me there are still good buys to be had for the savvy
shopper. |
Closer to home, check out eBay. It’s a trove of reliable sellers.
Also take a look at www.paperbagprincess.com.
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Making Your Flowers
Last Longer |
| According to florists, you can do several things to make your flowers
last longer. |
| · When you get your flowers home, recut the stems at an angle
to expose more of the surface. Most specialists agree that a sharp
knife works best, and cutting under water is unnecessary. |
| · Remove all leaves from stems that will be submerged in
water |
| · Use the packet of flower fresh that comes with flowers
or pick some up, if you’re buying or growing your own fresh
flowers. It helps kill bacteria in the vase and the blooms last longer.
Changing the water in your vase and cleaning the vase if necessary
will keep flowers fresher longer. |
| · Storing flowers in a cool - not cold - place at night will
help prolong their life. |
| · Droopy tulips – if they’re still fresh - may
stand up again if you plunge their recut stems into very warm water
and then rest them on a damp newspaper. The warm-to-hot water forces
the water up the stems and lifts the heads. This only works on fresh
tulips and only when you are lucky. |
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weekly email newsletter? Help us grow; sign-up
today, and forward
to your friends. Because life should be sweet. |
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| Beauty |
Bat Your Eye Lashes
and be a Venus Man-Trap |
| Lash extensions are not news to us. We discovered them about two
years ago, but now trend is red hot! |
| In cities such as Los Angeles, London, New York, and Toronto, it’s
become commonplace. Our favourite eyelash expert is Fong Wang www.torontoeyelash.com.
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| She puts the lashes on fast, customizes them, and is reasonably
priced. |
The extensions come in brown or black and are available individually
or in clusters. The individual lashes look more natural, but the clusters
are more va va va voom! They also come in different lengths. The glue
used is basically harmless but stings, so expect your eyes to water
especially the first time. The glue is the same everywhere I have
been and the watering varies from person to person. It’s a minor
problem for most people.
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| Lash extensions stay on for up to two weeks on average, depending
on your habits. DolceDolce’s Anne
Gravel is a devotee and has kept hers on for up to a
month through sheer will and careful eye-makeup removal techniques.
You won’t need mascara and you’ll have eyes as sexy as
Marilyn Monroe's. |
| Not in Toronto, but want to try lash extensions? Look for a salon
where you can get a good personal recommendation. Be careful. As with
any personal service, hygiene and training are very important! |
| Not ready to commit to extensions, but you still want to ease your
lash-envy? M.A.C has an incredible selection
of lashes and make-up artists who will show you how to put them on.
Or if you are as bad at it as I am, have them do it for you! |
Looking for lushness in seconds at a silly price, darling? Try N.Y.C.
New York Color pre-glued lashes. They look fabulous
if you get it right, and cost under $5. Practice. www.newyorkcolor.com
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| Food |
Calling All Women Chefs |
Olivado, maker of fabulous avocado oil,
is having a contest for women chefs – 2007 Olivado
Avocado Oil Chef Quest: Celebrating Women Chefs. It
has fab prizes - including trips to Australia! The contest is open
to professional women chefs. Check out www.womenchefs.org
for details. If you know a great women chef, send it on to her
quickly; the contest closes April 13th. She’ll thank you.
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This week’s recipe includes avocado oil. It’s light
in taste and full of anti-oxidants. Perfect for when you want a lighter
(tasting - calories are the same!) oil than extra virgin olive oil.
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Tangy Asian Vinaigrette
for a Simple Green Salad |
| Mix together: 1/3 cup seasoned rice wine sushi vinegar, ¼
cup avocado oil with 1 tsp sesame oil (dark) and ½ tsp. of
salt. Pour over green salad. Add a chopped green onion, if you have
it. Enjoy something different in seconds darling. This is great with
grilled salmon. |
| Another week gone already. Spring is here, snow still some places
withstanding. It will go soon. Wish it away. Plan your garden, buy
some flowers, arrange a bouquet, and put out some nice soap. I know
I’ll do a few of those things. One is enough to brighten your
week. I can’t manage the lashes - except for special occasions
- but they are delicious looking and I am always tempted! |
| Until next week please remember to sign-up
to DolceDolce if you haven’t already –
we’re free – and please forward
us to a friend. Have a wonderful week. Cheers! |
| Gracey Hitchcock |
| Editor |
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