Blue Velvet Sectional

A few years ago, when I was between jobs, I needed a haircut.  My hair is thick and straight, and with the right cut, it can be pretty great.  Trouble was, I was quite poor at the time.  A friend suggested I go to the haircutting school of a famous stylist in Toronto. For $25, I could get a pretty good cut, she said, with the Master himself watching over the pupil.  I was nervous- was I going to come out of there with a pixie cut?  A grandma cut?  Or, my worst fear, the Anchor Lady.  You know, these haircuts: No offense, lady, but...no. Just, no. I was broke, and felt that calling my mother to ask for cash to visit an upscale salon when I was unemployed seemed ill advised, so I bit the bullet and made an appointment for the Academy. When I got there, the Master himself greeted me, and called over a few students.  He asked me what I wanted.  "Something elegant, but that doesn't require styling, and will still look great", I said (I...

Last week, Town and Country magazine posted this article about Harbour Island, which contained a link to a  previous  post where the author wrote about what she wore on her recent visit:  Tory Burch tunics, vintage dresses, Oscar de la Renta earrings... yeah, that's not how I roll. It's an elegant but casual island, so the idea of showing up for 10 days with a load of suitcases packed full of designer clothes seems ridiculous to me.  Maybe if you're  Marie-Chantal ... That being said, as a dedicated carry-on only packer, I have made some straight-up hideous sartorial choices, especially on a trip to Italy as admitted  here .  I've gone excessively casual on HI before as well (if you saw me at Cocoa Coffee House or Bahamas Coffee Roaster, I may have been in blue flowered pyjama bottoms. Sorry about that.). This year, I am planning to do a bit better. I'm still not breaking out my Tory or DvF, but I'm upping my game from the too-casual wear of th...

This is a repost from and old blog of mine from 2011, but it still applies... Well, I'm Europe bound in 2 weeks, and my dream is to travel light.   Really  light. Now, I have done this before; on my last trip to Italy, I was quite proud of myself for restricting my packing, and being frankly brutal about it. I packed a few t-shirts, a frumpy skirt, and a pair of cargo Capri pants that I wore everywhere (even in Capri!). The result of this is that I looked, well, gross. I didn't look the way I imagined myself looking while wandering around some very sophisticated places- I looked like I do when I'm cleaning the tub and taking out the recycling. It didn't take long for me to regret my packing job. Especially considering that my travel buddy managed to get a bunch of skirts, a straightening iron, and what seemed like 50 lbs of coordinating jewelry into her carry-on. I vowed to do better next time.

That head you can barely see is me. No one else around! Harbour Island is, for me, the physical embodiment of that place you’re supposed to go to in your head when life is about to give you a rage-induced stroke and you need to calm down...