Unconditional Love

In my twenties, my spending habits were out of control, especially when it came to shoes. I loved buying shoes that I couldn’t afford—truth is, I still like shoes I can’t afford. However, I’ve grown smarter with my finances and have learned to respect my hard-earned money a little more.
I remember the very first pair of Prada shoes I ever owned. They were gorgeous, black Italian leather sandals with these little buckles on the straps. I loved them, even though they killed my feet. I saved up to buy them one summer and was so proud when I was finally able to walk into Saks Fifth Avenue (the flagship store!) and walk out with my new lovers.

At the time, my dog Simon was about 2 yrs old and loved to chew things (you probably know where this is going).
He could chew through just about anything; the edge of doors, rugs, stuffed animals, couch pillows etc, etc. The one thing he didn’t like to chew were his rawhide bones.
He was such a jerk in his youth.

One fateful day, I forgot to put my new loved ones into their shoebox and when I came home from work, the heels were chewed off and those cute little buckles on the straps? They were lying on the floor, next to the bodies.
And the worst part?
The labels in the soles were barely recognizable!! He basically bit the hell out of the ‘sole’ of the shoes.
I yelled and screamed and cried and kept asking him, ‘Why?!’ over and over again. Seems utterly stupid now that I would be questioning a dog and his taste in Italian leather but at the time, I was so angry. I had barely worn them!

I sent Simon to his bed which I moved to the corner of the room and forbade him to move for the rest of the night. I wanted to put a dunce cap on him but I knew he would have just chewed that, too.

The following morning, still drunk from the wine I chose to soothe my aching, shoeless soul, I heard him panting at the foot of my bed.
I opened my eyes and saw him standing there, looking at me with those big, brown eyes, tail wagging, tongue firmly sticking out of the side of his mouth.
He did this every morning however, I was surprised that he bothered on that particular morning, knowing full-well what could be awaiting him; a cold shoulder. But he came to greet me anyway.

He had forgotten the events of the night before and so I had to as well. I couldn’t stay angry at him because he was just so forgiving.
That’s unconditional love for you. No matter what goes on in a relationship, you can always find it in your heart to forgive that person. In my case, a dog.

The other day, I had a scare. My Simon didn’t look so hot—he was in very bad shape. I thought for sure that the vet was going to tell me that Simon would have to be put to sleep. I was a mess and all I could think about was the time that he chewed my first pair of Prada shoes. I don’t know why.

He’s 15 yrs old now and has changed a lot this past year. He moves slower, he sleeps more--he’s getting old.
Very long story short, my dog is fine. It turns out he has something called Geriatric Vestibular Disease which is quite common in old dogs. It will pass with time and pretty soon, he’ll be back to his ‘old’ self again.

I know he’s not going to live forever so I’m going to try to enjoy every second I have left with him because really, that's all I can do.

Vegas, Baby!

I spent last week in Sin City. I ate too much & gambled too much.

Good times!

I'll go over some of the highlights starting with the most important: FOOD.

My best meal:

Wynn, Las Vegas

If you want luxury, look no further than the Wynn Hotel--this place is out of control. Totally gorgeous inside and out. They even have an Alexander McQueen store in the hotel--I was salivating all over the couture. I'm sure the salepeople were close to calling security.

Wynn has a buffet. The best buffet in town, obviously.

I have never seen so much selection at a buffet before--they had every cuisine you could want. And the desserts? Oh, good Lord, the desserts.
I almost ate myself to death. It was pathetic.

As I was wobbling out, stuffed I couldn't resist snapping a picture of this: 'No, Thank you, dear Wynn' I thought to myself.

The hotel with the most to offer:

Caesar's Palace

It's all about Ceasars. They have EVERYTHING. A huge amount of restaurants, shops and an endless supply of slot machines, just waiting for you to lose your life-savings. Not only that, it's just a visually gorgeous hotel.

The Lions @ MGM Grand, Las Vegas:

I hate seeing animals in captivity but I couldn't help but watch these cuties. They play like they're kittens! Surreal to be that close to them.

I hope they're treated well.

They even had two Lion cubs but my pictures didn't turn out. :( Take it from me; they were adorable.

Below are a few other shots from around 'the strip':

This shot was taken from a balcony at The Bellagio--facing Hotel Paris.

This was taken from the bridge connecting Treasure Island to The Venetian:

A view of the New York, New York Hotel:

Gondola rides at the Venetian--so cheesy! But hey, that's Vegas:

The 900 lbs. pumpkin at the Bellagio:

And my most favourite moment? After a looong day of walking and eating and shopping, watching the giant fish tank at Caesar's Palace was a nice treat.

I was trying to upload the video but by the time it loads, you could go to Vegas yourself to see the bloody fish tank.

Thanks Blogger.

The Art Connection

It’s so weird how inspiration can strike. Randomly, when you least expect it, on a boring Tuesday afternoon, you can be struck by the thunderbolt.
I had it coming, though.

Toronto had it’s annual Nuit Blanche art festival on Saturday and I spent most of Sunday and Monday with an art hangover. The festival takes place from dusk to dawn.
Then, today one of my all-time favourite fashion designers, Alexander McQueen deputed his new collection for Paris Fashion Week.
McQueen is just so special—it’s hard not to be mesmerized and influenced by his creativity.

Something always happens to me when I’m surrounded by art for a long period of time.
It makes me feel alive and gets my creative juices flowing—I know how trite that sounds but it’s true. That’s what it does to me.
I didn’t always see this connection, it’s only come to me as I’ve gotten older. Looking back at all the writing I did in my twenties, I realized that I wrote so much because I was living in New York City, surrounded by culture with an endless line of artist friends.
Don’t’ get me wrong, Toronto is a very cultural city, much like New York but my life changed when I moved back here. I moved here for a purpose. I moved here to start a legitmate (paying) career. So, my friends changed, my purpose changed, my outlook changed. I think this happens to a lot of people when they give up their dream. In 1999, I gave up mine.

Or did I?

While writing is my true love, there’s another love in my life that I constantly cheat on writing with; my love of fashion.

I've been working in the fashion industry, mostly on the marketing/retail side for a VERY long time so to say I know a thing or two about fashion would be putting it mildly.
Years ago, when this whole blogging craze started, I didn't think about starting a fashion-specific blog simply because there were (and are!) so bloody many of them! Do we need another one? Now, that is the Million Dollar Question, isn't it?

Can I really have it all? Can I combine my two loves and live happily ever after?

I'm thinking about it......seriously.