Jean Jeanie

I don't want to wear anything other than jeans right now.

The Ropes

I'm a woman possessed. I'm obsessed. I'm crazy! What am I crazy about? Well, The Ropes obviously. Working part time at Viens Avec Moi is dangerous for me because I love great products and I love supporting local businesses. So if you put a whole bunch of great products in a local business like VAM, well you get where I'm going.

My latest obsession comes from Maine in the form of a nautical rope bracelet. I usually shy away from bright colours, opting to wear neutrals on top of more neutrals with maybe a pair of black jeans or dark denim. I get mistaken for being a lot older than I really am and I feel it has something to do with my wardrobe.

These bracelets are the PERFECT compromise for me. Wearing a little colour on my wrist looks youthful without feeling childish.

I can't wait to wear these bad boys all summer long.

Photo is from theropesmaine.com 

Summer is coming.

I love summer fashion in theory. For example I think so many girls look so cute in all sorts of different summer outfits and dresses and skirts, but for me, summer is the time of year where all I want to do is run around barefoot in a pair of grungy shorts and a pony tail to keep my mane off my neck. The only accessory I think I can pull off in the summer is the pile of freckles that are going to start popping up on my visage as soon the sun starts to make itself known.

I think last summer I tried to be too sophisticated for my own good. I found myself feeling uncomfortable and sweaty in tight fitting skirts or like a whale in A-Line empire waisted dresses. This summer I have learned and therefore I present to you my new summer 2013 uniform.

Shorts, Rag & Bone, Nike Dunk Sky Hi's, Madewell, "Perfect" Belt,  Sandals, Michael Kors, Sunglasses, Tory Burch, T-shirt, Wilfred, Bracelet, The Ropes (From Viens Avec Moi!)

What do ya think? See you in June?

Differences and the journey so far

Having been in Toronto for a little under three weeks now I feel it's safe for me to make my observations public. I'm past the first impressions, but I'm not yet jaded by the lights and the sirens and the easily accessible brands that we have to scour the countryside to find in Ottawa.

Packing for the big "move" was tough, especially with a fatso cat sitting in my bag.

That being said, Toronto is a bit overwhelming. Meeting new people and telling them that you're from Ottawa usually results in them treating you like a Make a Wish kid at Disneyland; "Oh wow, how does it FEEL to be in Toronto? Are you having trouble adjusting?"

Really?

For the uninformed, Toronto is about five hours away from Ottawa. It's in the same time zone, has the same climate and is just as culturally diverse as Ottawa.

My first day called for a totally spring outfit, I even co-ordinated my nail polish to my sweater. When I got to the office I was immediately given a new issue and then found this lonely shopping bag under my desk, what was in it you ask? No it wasn't a Birkin, just a bunch of booklets and papers...*sigh*

The only thing I need to adjust to in Toronto is the fact that in Toronto all the girls wear Rudsak winter jackets paired with Rebecca Minkoff M.A.C clutches instead of TNA jackets with the Marc by Marc Jacobs pouches that every girl in Ottawa has. They wear Tory Burch boots instead of Michael Kors and the taxi service here makes me want to hug and kiss an Ottawa taxi until I'm banned from Blue Line service altogether.

I've also probably seen more Audi R8's in my 2.5 weeks in Toronto than I have watching every season of Top Gear on Netflix.

My second week was disastrous/awesome all at the same time, Monday morning I discovered I left all of my makeup in Ottawa, so I had to rush to Shoppers and buy all new stuff. I also got a taste of the "rich" life, the Winners on Bloor carries YSL, Dolce & Gabbana and more (INSANE RIGHT?) I tried GlamGlow for the first time (TOTALLY RECOMMEND) and I got to check out some cool beauty products.

From what I can tell, having spent a little time in Toronto, it seems nice. I do like it. I think if I ever lived in Toronto, I would need to be very wealthy because the temptation of shopping would be out of this world. But I also am not sure if I could ever get used to sour sewer smell that lingers at random street corners, in Ottawa that kind of smell is usually reserved for the sewer pipes pumping sewage into the Ottawa River behind the Parliament Buildings.

At the same time, the excitement in Toronto is kind of a lot to bear. I've been staying there for over two weeks and I still haven't got over the fact that every day I want to do something. Sitting at home and watching TV doesn't seem to be an option, even though I don't do much of that in Ottawa, everything in Toronto is NEW and EXCITING.

The second weekend was my favourite. Charles came up and we walked all around Toronto all day long and went to a Supercross race, then topped it off with a midnight snack in Dundas Square. 

I think my ambivalence towards the newly minted fourth largest city in North America, is that I'm there, essentially alone. I mean, not alone ALONE, but you know what I mean. My boyfriend, cats, closet and king size bed are all in Ottawa. Despite being in this arguably great city, I'm always going to focus on the things I don't like just because my life isn't really in TO...it's in Ottawa, no matter what I'm still just a guest.

Love Joe Fresh? Enter this!

I'm sure you all know that Joe Fresh is opening up at the St. Laurent Centre in a couple weeks, last I heard it was opening on Feb. 27, and to celebrate, St. Laurent is hosting a pretty cool contest.

As a brand, it's pretty impressive that Joe Fresh has gone from being sold at select Loblaws to opening stand-alone stores in such a short period of time. They are even showing at Toronto Fashion Week again this season! 

You guys probably already know how much I love supporting local and supporting Canadian, and Joe Fresh totally fits the bill. But did you know that Joe Mimran, the designer who created Joe Fresh also launched Club Monaco once upon a time? Cool Huh? 

It also doesn't hurt that Joe Fresh is still great quality for the price. Some of my favourite items in my closet came from between the soft-drink isle and pharmacy, and I'm super excited for them to stand-alone at St. Laurent!

Enter the contest at St. Laurent's Facebook Page.

"That's the spirit of the Wunderkammer"

Store owner Nathan Dubo says that the literal translation of a Wunderkammer is "a room of wonder". The German term ("Of course it's German, it's a mouth-full," says Dubo) was coined during the Renaissance. It started off as a room of curiosities that people would collect before there were universities or museums. It caught on once it was seen that the nobleman in the village had an oddity room, everybody wanted one.

"People would go out and find interesting things that they would bring back from their travels and would try and figure out ways to display it that would make sense."

The entryway to Wunderkammer, jewellery cases share the space with antiques, vintage curiosities and taxidermy.

When entering the Dalhousie Street jewellery and gift shop, that is exactly how you feel. It's almost overwhelming, all the details. Despite the size of the place, ("Before we opened, we knew it was too small.") you could literally get lost for hours just looking at all the oddities and beautiful pieces.

Some of the longer necklaces are displayed on antlers hanging from the wall.

"We seem to be so close to nature here in Ottawa," says Dubo. Drawing inspiration from Grimms fairy tales, steampunk, Alice in Wonderland and nature makes Wunderkammer one of the most unique spaces in the city.

Wunderkammer opened a over a year ago and has received an overwhelming amount of support in  a city that seems to be starving for the creative and unusual charm that Wunderkammer offers.

Dubo and his wife Tamara Steinborn have been creating jewellery for 13 years. Originally from Winnipeg, they have lived in Toronto and Montreal in the past before deciding to set up shop in Ottawa.

Originally starting out as a wholesale jewellery company, Dubo and Steinborn wanted to settle in a place that was different than a studio, a place that could serve as a conversation starter. And thus, Wunderkammer was born. They still wholesale some of their pieces and just last weekend went to a trade-show in Toronto to promote their designs.

Each corner in the small space has its own theme and fits together perfectly. 

Featuring jewellery from a vast array of designers from England to Turkey and closer to home, Wunderkammer highlights four brands that Dubo and Steinborn built themselves.

Long necklaces displayed on a brach right near the front of the store.

The original brand they created, Früg, is now exclusively sold at Wunderkammer. Dubo would hand-carve pieces out of wax and then cast them in sterling silver. Steinborn also has her own namesake line carried at the store that features beautiful stones cast in silver.

My personal favourite of the four collections would have to be La Pistole, this collection is more vintage inspired. Claws, skulls and talons are featured in brassy metals, this collection is not for the person who likes to play it safe says Dubo.

La Russe is another collection the Wunderkammer carries and that Dubo and Steinborn also wholesale, Dubo describes it as a little pared down, sleek and simple with a lot of geometric accents. "It's for someone who doesn't want to get into wearing a giant bird talon necklace," says Dubo.

I remember going to Wunderkammer early last year, a few months after they had opened, my boyfriend had parked the car on Dalhousie, as we were headed over to one of my other favourite local boutiques Charles looked in the window and said, "Hey Jen, it looks like they have weird stuff on long necklaces in there! Isn't that kind of your thing?"

Boy, does he know me or what? After visiting Wunderkammer last week, I couldn't help but come home with my very own La Pistole talon bracelet.

Of course I couldn't resist!!