literary lady: room, the story sisters & the piano teacher

I love reading and I'm determined to do much more of it this year, so in addition to being part of a book club, I decided to join a 50 books in 2012 Facebook group. It'll be a great way to challenge myself to read 50 books by the end of this year, and I also think it'll be interesting to see what other book lovers are reading.

I'm not sure if I'll meet the goal, but I do know I'll be enlightened in trying.

Here's to my first three reads of the year. Only 47 more to go!

Book 1 - Room by Emma Donoghue.

I was excited to delve into this book and wasn't disapppointed. Room takes its basic plot from the Fritzl case as well as the cases of Jaycee Lee Dugard in California and of Natascha Kampusch and Sabine Dardenne. The story is told through the eyes of five-year-old Jack and packs an emotional punch. Second half is not as strong as the first but is still highly imaginative and poignant. Highly recommend!

Read the New York Times book review.

Book 2 - The Story Sisters by Alice Hoffman.

This book is rife with fantasy and magic realism and reminded me of books I've read by South American authors. It's a haunting yet uplifting tale that describes how each of the three Story sisters meet their fate. Ultimately, it's a tale of redemption and forgiveness. The imagery is vivid and the tone may be dark, yet this one stayed with me, long after I had set it down.

Read the New York Times book review.

Book 3 - The Piano Teacher by Janice Y. K. Lee.

"Sometimes the end of a love affair is only the beginning."
Set in Hong Kong, this evocative historical novel is laced with intrigue and tells the tale of two love affairs, both involving the same man. Did I mention it also involves betrayal and is set during the Japanese invasion of World War II? I quite liked it and look forward to more from this promising first novelist.

Read the New York Times book review.





Next up for this bibliophile is Girl with a Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier - our book club selection for March, and The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho - a novel my friend Kat has recommended.

What's sitting on your nightstand? I'd love to know.

Dajana (:

drink: silver screen punch

And the Oscar for best punch goes to...

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Happy Sunday, friends! I hope your weekend has been fantastic, so far.

Are you watching the Oscar's tonight? I'm most looking forward to seeing who's wearing what on the red carpet. As for the Best Picture nominees, I've seen and enjoyed The Descendants, The Help and Midnight in Paris (which I reviewed here). I'm hoping to add The Artist to the list when I see it with my ladyfriends, next month.

Although I'm not throwing an Oscar viewing party, I am hosting my Literary Ladies book club today. In honour of the Academy Awards, I'm going to mix the ladies up a bowl of Silver Screen Punch - a fruity concoction the stars will be indulging in at the Governor's Ball following the awards ceremony. Cheers to drinking like a celebrity!

Silver Screen Punch

Ingredients:
1 (6 ounce) can pink lemonade concentrate
1 cup pineapple juice
1 cup frozen strawberries
� teaspoon grated ginger
1 cup vodka
1 bottle of Champagne or sparkling wine
1 pineapple, cut into rings and frozen

Instructions:
In a blender, combine pink lemonade concentrate, pineapple juice, strawberries, and ginger. Blend until smooth. Pour into a punch bowl. Add vodka and stir to combine. Just before serving, pour in Champagne or sparkling wine.

Tip: To avoid watering down the punch, use frozen pineapple slices instead of ice cubes. Once the pineapple slices melt, they'll just add more juice to the mix!

Recipe found here.

j.crew update: let's hear it for the boy!

Some new deetz on J.Crew's Canadian expansion! The U.S. retailer has confirmed they'll be opening 5,657 square feet of retail space in West Edmonton Mall on June 7 (read more here and here). Two other stores will also open across the country - on Vancouver's Robson Street in the spring and in Toronto's Eaton Centre this fall.

The best part? For the first time in Canada, the stores will carry the highly coveted men's collection.

�Since introducing the brand in Canada last year, the response to J.Crew has been absolutely electric,� said Jenna Lyons, President and Creative Director of J.Crew in a press release this morning.  �We�re excited to be opening combined men�s and women�s stores and are working to curate our high quality fashion collections for each market.�

I'm excited to get my guy into one of their Ludlow suits. There's nothing sexier than a man in a natty tailored suit. Hellooo!

coveting: smythe jackets

You've probably seen the amazing jackets that designer Sarah Richardson rocks. You know, the ones that we all drool over while watching Sarah's House or Sarah 101? They're made-in-Canada Smythe.

I'm especially loving these two effortlessly chic jackets from their Spring 2012 Collection - the Piped One Button Blazer in black oxford stripe and the Shawl Collar Blazer in blood orange. Both look great paired with casual shorts but would look equally lovely worn with jeans or a dress. They're such a great take on a timeless classic.

And you may already know this sartorial tidbit, but finishing off your outfit with a tailored jacket instantly modernizes and updates your look.  Scout's honour.

Just take a look and you'll see what I mean.

?In case someone I know, with a bit of extra pocket change, is reading this: Smythe is available at Coup Boutique, Who Cares? and Holt Renfrew. My birthday is coming up in March. Just a wee reminder.

Happy Wednesday, friends! Thankfully, it's a short work week for many of us.

Dajana (:

p.s. Judging by these Smythe sightings, Sarah's not the only one smitten with the label. Heaps of celebrities are as well. As is this royal lady.

anthropologie: getting my bond girl on!

Stylish green skirt, check.

Hitting the target, nine times out of ten, check.

Playing Bond girl for an evening...priceless.
















Who says you have to wear jeans to an indoor shooting range? Not me! I was more than happy to don my new Pleated Ponte Skirt when we visited the Phoenix Indoor Range last weekend. It was my first time at a gun range and I was excited and nervous and giddy. I had heart palpitations, but in the best possible way.
It's not every day that one shoots a 9mm handgun, peeps. I honestly never thought I'd enjoy handling a firearm (I'm the girl who gets scared whilst watching CSI) but I surprised myself by loving every minute of our gun slingin' adventure. It was an adrenaline rush like no other!

Scotty and I, along with three other couples, were at the range celebrating our friend Robin's 40th birthday. His wife & my buddy, Patrycia, came up with this super duper idea! I would highly recommend this as a fun birthday activity for men or lady folk. Plus, what's a milestone celebration without a couple of rounds of ammo before dinner?

The friendly peeps at Phoenix were lovely (hi Steve!) and also very patient with our group. Well, mostly me. They gave us a solid safety orientation and let us choose from over 30 different firearms. I picked the small and ladylike 9mm Glock but later on I also tested out the big boy you see in the last few pictures - the Tactical 9mm. That was beyond cool.

My facial expression at the end of this video says it all. Take a gander:




Happy Friday y'all and a happy Family Day long weekend!

I have four days off (four!) and am SO excited to sleep in, take in the Silver Skate Festival at Hawrelak Park, watch some Oscar-nominated short films at the Princess Theatre, and visit the mothership - my local Anthro. Maybe I'll even stop in and say hello to her friends, Zara and H&M.

Let's talk soon, okay? After our shooting escapade we went for dinner at my new favourite resto and I want to tell you all about it. See you in a few days!

Dajana (:

well said.

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"I suppose there may be a hundred different ways of being in love."

~ Emma, in Jane Austen's Emma

blazers, blue dresses and oxfords, oh my!

I came to work one day and soon realized that I was surrounded by not one, but two style doppelg�ngers. 

Take a look:







My colleagues Val and Janet have superb taste, wouldn't you agree? Our grey blazers are all from H&M.

Stylish minds think alike...

Hope you're having a fantastic Friday, friends!

I'm excited to kick up my heels and get my weekend on. I'm playing soccer, visiting a shooting range (say whaat!) and going brunching on Sunday. Should be a good'er! Hope yours is too.

Dajana (: