Book Review: Goddess of Love Incarnate

December 27, 2015

After finishing the book last night, I thought it was due time to get rolling with my late review. (I have a new respect for Kindles’ though – the book was heavy to cart around on transit). All the stories and the photographs included in the book made for an interesting read. Lili had lived and Leslie Zemeckis did a fantastic job capturing her roller coaster of a life.

Before the book, I had never heard of Lili St. Cyr and the differences between us are obvious. But after reading Lili’s bio I couldn’t help but to pull some similarities:

We both have affection for white roses, pearls, and champagne. I know Instagram accounts built on this love.
Fans of great fashion designers like Balenciaga and Dior (Although my goal is to actually wear the clothes one day like Lili – My Dior espadrilles are magnificent. The perfume they sprayed on them at Le Bon Marche in Paris lingered all the way home).
We like to keep busy, are disciplined and are always working on something. Lili was continually trying to improve and worked hard to be stand out.
We don’t like the feeling of being claustrophobic or tied down. Lili did have 5 or 6 marriages by the time she was my age, which seems like a lot – but I figured she was into the euphoria of romance rather than a lifelong commitment.
We like adventure. I seem to enjoy international travel more than Lili did but then again I’m also not carting around vintage trunks when travel either.
We both have been to the Roosevelt Hotel, Hollywood and the St. Francis Hotel in San Francisco (it’s now the Westin St. Francis – but it’s kept it’s charm) and Bergdorf Goodman.
She spent a large amount of time in Canada – Montreal to be exact. I’m from the west coast of Canada.
Lili made a Love List (sort of)! On page 329, I was delighted to read that for an interview she broke down her lovers/friends and the qualities she admired about them such as wit, sex appeal and generosity.

At the high point in her career, Lili was pulling a 6-figure salary (maybe the equivalent of almost a million now?) but sadly spending through all her earnings at a rapid rate. Like a bad business case, if she only invested a small portion of her millions she wouldn’t have to sell her beloved house. A collaboration with a company like Agent Provocateur or Dom Pérignon would have been a lucrative deal (this is easy to propose as an outsider!). She did have her own lingerie line at one point. It’s a shame her club in NYC, Boudoir never made it. I’m sure the décor and design was amazing. Many opportunities sadly lost.

I enjoyed reading this well written biography full of details and packed with research. And although her demise was tragic and unpleasant, the story of the stripteuse can live on in The Goddess of Love Incarnate, as glamorous, passionate and full of joie de vivre as Lili St. Cyr herself.

ELENA:) ps: I had a short 5 minute 5 question interview with author, Leslie Zemeckis posted on my News & Events page.

NYC Photo shoot

December 26, 2015

Hope you had a wonderful Christmas. I’m actually enjoying catching up on old TV episodes and sleeping. I have finally finished the Lili St. Cyr biography I have been reading as well (read all about it in a future post).

Back in NYC, I teamed up with my friends from Flytographer to shoot in the streets of Soho. This time, the fabulous Mayleen was behind the camera and we had a lot of fun. She schooled me all about Miami, shooting notable clients and how to be fearless in a “coat that looks like a shag bear that didn’t stand a chance.” Here are some shots with hair and makeup by Bianca and Anthony. As you can see, I’m a fan of the profile shot;)

ELENA:)

Fun times with Fruit

December 22, 2015

(Note: If you are viewing this on a mobile device – I am aware that the photo is sideways).

I’m not going to lie. Usually I’m not a fan of dried fruit. Yet ever since I flushed out my system with Bikrams my tastebuds now crave for natural sugars in fruit – say hello to Stoneridge Orchards from our neighbours in Royal City, Washington State. The family (third generation) owned farm has been growing and producing all natural and organic premium products, such as cherries, blueberries, raspberries, apples and strawberries, since 1962.

Here are some easy, simple recipes to try (if you aren’t a fan of just eating dried fruit on its own – it is a great post workout snack though). I’m going to test out the cranberry granola bars next week. So glad its not actual baking – as i don’t bake, I burn 😉

CHERRY ALMOND POWER BITES
INGREDIENTS

2 ½ cups unblanched slivered almonds
1/3 cup ground flaxseed
2/3 cup dried cherries
1/3 cup dried cranberries
3 tablespoon raw hemp seeds
2 tablespoons honey
1 pinch of sea salt
2 tablespoon water

DIRECTIONS

Place almonds, flax meal, cherries, cranberries, hemp seeds, honey and salt in food processor.
Pulse until ground and then pulse in water until the mixture begins to form a solid ball.
Press mixture firmly into an 8 x 8 inch baking dish -lined with wax paper.
Slice into bars and serve.
Makes 15 small bars.

DRIED CHERRY COCONUT GRANOLA
INGREDIENTS

4 cups rolled oats
1-1/2 cups slivered almonds
1 cup sunflower seeds
1 cup toasted coconut chips
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 cups honey or maple syrup
1/2 cup coconut oil
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 cups dried cherries

DIRECTIONS

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees, line a cookie chest with parchment paper. Combine everything but the cherries in a large bowl. Spread the mixture onto pan and bake for 30-40 minutes rotating pan every 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Let pan sit in oven uncovered for 5 hours or overnight. Transfer the granola to a large bowl, breaking up the big clumps, Add the dried cherries and store in an air tight container for up to a month.

CRANBERRY GRANOLA BARS
INGREDIENTS

1 cup peanut butter (organic is best)
1/2 cup honey
2 1/2 cups oats, granola or cereal–or all combined
1/2 cup Stoneridge Orchards dried cranberries

DIRECTIONS

Line an 8″ x 8″ pan with foil
Spray foil with non stick spray
Melt peanut butter and honey on the stovetop
Add in granola and dried fruits (other fruits work well too!)
Mix it all together well until the berries and granola are well coated
Pour into pan and spread granola evenly
Cut into squares
Cover with plastic wrap and place in fridge for an hour
Can be served over 5 days

ELENA:)

NYC in December

December 20, 2015

I can’t believe that there is 5 days until Christmas!!!

I used the last of my vacation time to venture off to NYC in early December and I thought you might want to know a little about my adventures. This is a short summary with more details to follow!

TUESDAY: Checked into The Renwick, (a cool new boutique hotel on east 40th in between Park and Lex) and went to visit my friend Nizim from Labeling Men and had dinner at Bill’s Food & Drink on 54th. Bill’s Food and Drink is one of Chef John Delucie’s restaurant. Bedford & Co is his latest venture at the Renwick which is slated to open very very soon! (Comment: Actually it’s not going to open until spring 2016) Things to note – my room had a lovely floral arrangement from Uprooted Flower Truck (NYC’s first flower truck) to brighten my stay and I got to snack on some yummy ginger people made by Sweets by Olivia (which only lasted a night!).

WEDNESDAY: Hair and makeup with Anthony and Bianca for a Flytographer shoot in Soho. I got to wear my new Christmas/Birthday present to myself, a Proenza Schouler cashmere coat which I love. (More photos in a future post). Uber was crashed when I needed to rush to an important meeting at the Surrey Hotel but I managed to get there eventually after walking 20 blocks in heels and paying $30 for car service. Sheesh. Dinner at Marta with a friend from BluBird Vancouver.

THURSDAY: A breakfast meeting at Le Pain Quotidien followed by an amazing tour of Ciner manufacturing (future post coming up) was on the schedule. In the evening, I surprised the creative fashion illustrator Elaine Biss at her French Connection event. After, I got to meet Alexis Bittar at his holiday meet and greet. Then finally, to my trainers delight, I got to eat a chicken burger at Fuku.

FRIDAY: A breakfast meeting at The Smith (I totally recommend) and a stop in with Editor-In -Chief, Courtenay C. Hall from Bella New York Magazine. I made a pit stop at Century 21 of course and had a few moments uptown to take some photos of beautiful Bergdorf window displays before heading downtown to dinner at Hundred Acres.

SATURDAY: A stop into Creeds Collective Pop Up Shop which was conveniently located across the street from the brunch spot Santina under the High Line. I managed to pick up some salt water taffy from Salty Road from Brooklyn. With an hour to spare to leave to airport, I went to & Other Stories new 5th avenue spot and bought a pair of booties.

ELENA:)

LFW (Sept 21-22) and MFW (Sept 23-Sept 28)

September 29, 2015

Tomorrow starts Paris Fashion Week! Here is my final two days of coverage of London Fashion Week with the entire Milan Fashion Week. Again, calendar for reference….

London Fashion Week….

Milan Fashion Week…

Giamba

Giorgio Armani

ELENA:)

Photo shoot with Joey Armstrong

August 31, 2014

To end off the summer, I wanted to do a photo shoot incorporating all the products I have blogged about this summer for pure fun. Why not? I enlisted Joey Armstrong – a fabulous lifestyle photographer here in Vancouver (along with her awesome assistant Alison Page – who is a photographer herself) who helped me create a wonderful photo shoot that was placed products organically and featured yours truly. I think that the pictures turned out wonderfully and its always cool to see how different photographers work their magic and really get you to shine. Thanks Joey, Alison and Diana (makeup artist) for the fun shoot and fabulous pics!

ELENA:)

Day 8: Shopping in Tokyo

October 19, 2010

No matter how many times you visit a place – things can always change. Today we hit the area of Harajuku and realized that alot of the stores had either closed down or moved locations. I guess it was totally a sign of the Japanese economy. Kitson and TopShop have found their way to the streets of Tokyo – unfortunately both had a lame selection of goods. Of course we had to visit Marc by Marc Jacobs and I did contemplate purchasing a plaid scarf but I actually couldn’t justify the shopping purchase.

The day started by visiting a “donut shop” called Love Sweets Antique. The donuts were actually flavored ice cream. I ended up having a green tea cream puff instead. After purchasing a jacket at Laforet we had some ramen. Though I’m not a big fan of pork – I love noodles it filled us up so we could tackle Kiddy land, Anna Sui and Omotesando Hills.

Did you know prescription eyeglasses are cheap in Tokyo? Not designer brands but at the local eye glass shops you can buy fashionable frames, lenses and get an eye exam for less than $100. We checked out Zoft. I may have to purchase a pair.

We walked from Harajuku to Shibuya where we crossed at a famous crosswalk where you can cross diagonally. We had dinner at this super cheap/ super fast place called Pepper Lunch. You buy a ticket and then your beef meal cooks on a hot plate in 4 minutes or less. I got beef with rice and corn. So tasty.

After dinner we checked out one more department store where I found a Tsu mori (local designer) wallet that may replace my old one. Can’t wait. Today we will be heading over to Shinjuku for more department store shopping…. i think that i need to buy another bag.

ELENA:)