Blue Velvet Sectional

When my alarm on my iPhone went off this morning, I reached over to tap "snooze", like I do every weekday.  I saw the screen had a notification from The Guardian .  Another war or plane crash, I assumed.  I struggled to keep one eye open long enough to read "Singer David Bowie has died of cancer aged 69". Well, wasn't expecting that. It seems to have hit people really hard, myself included.  For selfish reasons, like losing a favourite singer, or a piece of one's childhood, but there was more to it than that.  Tributes from other musicians emphasize what a fine man he was, as well as an inimitable artist. David Bowie seemed immortal because he was so damn timeless, and such a shapeshifter.  He was kind of terrifying when I was a kid! To wit, his Saturday Night Live appearance in 1979: This  awesome video  of The Man Who Sold the World, where he had to be carried out in his costume, then his other look was this: That was a little stran...

Obviously, I love islands, what with a blog called Briland Girl.  That name refers to Harbour Island , Bahamas, the top one on my list.  There are supposedly 700 islands in the Bahamas, and so far I've made it to Eleuthera (Harbour Island is part of it), Abaco, and New Providence (where Nassau is). Only 697 to go! Some days, don't you just wish you lived on a tiny, deserted island? Especially lately. Between ISIS and Donald Trump, I was more than happy to go a week without TV in the Bahamas over the Christmas break.  The news is almost impossibly dreary; I realize more and more that my life is cushy and privileged, and I have nothing to complain about, even if there is something I want, but can't seem to grasp.  At least I am in the position to try.  Anyway, here are some images from our very own  Toronto Islands . Not far enough from civilization on some days, but a lovely respite from the madness of downtown.  A few hundred people have clung...

Yes, I say both. Here's the thing- Hanukkah ended about a week ago.  Today's the winter solstice, which, if you're Wiccan or Pagan, is your thing.  Christmas will be followed by Boxing Day in Canada, the UK,  and most of the Commonwealth.  (It's a bullshit holiday supposedly derived from when servants were given presents from their employers.  Now, it's basically our Black Friday shopping bonanza). Then, the New Year is rung in.  So that's several holidays, and since I hope they're happy ones for everyone, I sometimes say Happy Holidays .  I live in a big, multicultural city, and I like to include everyone.  So sue me. Happy Holidays does not mean "Go suck an egg, Christians!" .  You do not lose your right to celebrate Christmas if someone greets you in an inclusive way.  I don't know why people get bent out of shape about the phrase Happy Holidays . It feels like looking for a reason to be pissed off, and why anyone chooses to ...

A few years ago, I met Lucie, a lovely French girl, who was working in Toronto for the summer. Walking through The Bay makeup department, she asked me, in her thick, gorgeous accent " Do zey carry Jah?" "Um, pardon me?" "My favoureet makeup is Jah; do zey sell here?" I felt stupid, and looked at her confused. "Chreestian Jah?" she said, looking at me like I was a hillbilly peasant. Then it clicked!   "Ooooh, Christian Dee-or! Yeah, we have that!" I said, and hauled her over to the Dior counter so she could out-pronounce the sales staff too. I maybe don't pronounce it so Frawnch , but damned if I am not in love with Dior.  God knows, this isn't the sort of blog that shills for anything, and I buy my own makeup.  Still, I need to shout out about the greatness of Dior eyeshadow. I love palettes, since I hate lugging tons of makeup on trips.  The two pictured above are quite amazing.  The one on the right, I got at the...

Paris.  Beirut.  So many places.  Feels wrong to mourn one, but not all.  It's human nature, I guess. We mourn for the familiar, the nearby.  But, we also mourn for the wealthy and the beautiful.  That's sad.  Let's remember our common humanity and mourn the victims of terrorism wherever they are.           Paris, je t'aime.

"Hi, my name is Lori, and I am a stomach sleeper. " The first step is admitting I have a problem. When I was 10, my friend Debbie told me at a sleep-over that if I slept on my stomach, I would never grow boobs.  This upset me greatly, but I couldn't fall asleep any other way.  Well, Debbie, I don't know where you are today, but you could not have been more wrong. Stomach sleeping makes finding the right pillow a nightmare. After a lengthy search,  and a lot of misfires, I ended up buying  this  one, the Dr. Maas Sleep for Success pillow for stomach and back sleepers from Bed Bath and Beyond, and it's the best $50 I've spent in ages.  It's just thin enough, and just sturdy enough, that my neck is getting the support it needs, at last.  Now, on to the other reasons I rarely get a good night's sleep. I try to go to bed at a reasonable hour, but it hardly ever works out. Last Thursday, I tried to get to sleep by 10PM.  On my way to the bedroo...

I don't wear much jewelry.  I figure it's a reaction to how I dressed in high school.  Back then, I looked like a Madonna impersonator, or an extra in a John Hughes movie.  On an average day, I wore brooches, rings, earrings, necklaces, and bracelets, all stacked high.  I tied the look together with a big black satin bow in my curly hair. You could probably hear me coming a block away as I jingled under the weight of so much fake Chanel-style jewelry. I routinely set off metal detectors at airports (and once at the Canadian Parliament!) I'd say I looked ridiculous, but hey, everyone did in the 80s! That's obviously not my style anymore. Now, I have three things that I feel naked without- pearl and diamond stud earrings, and two simple pieces that remind me of Harbour Island. A few years ago I found this silver ring at The Sand Dollar, a lovely store on King Street in Dunmore Town.  I love it because the "stone" is actually beach glass from nearby Pink Sa...