Vancouver is a world-class city with amazing shopping luring celebrities and shopaholics alike to this culturally diverse Mecca. Fashionistas in love with trendy, vintage or classic styles will love shopping in Yaletown, Gastown and fashionable Robson Street among others.If you love to venture out on your own grab a map. But if you like the idea of guided shopping walks check out ChicWalks’ apps for fans with an Apple iPhone and iPod Touch users. The apps guide you through nine walks with 1,000 stores offering fashion, accessories and home décor boutiques. The apps also allow you to locate great restaurants and bars. But wait, there’s more, ChicWalks has a mobile web version now available for Blackberry, Samsung and; Google Phone Users.
If you only have 24 hours in Vancouver… decide which area appeals to you most to save time or pick two areas near each other and split your day. Will it be trendy Yaletown, South Granville for upscale fashion and art galleries or Gastown with its cute cobblestone streets and unique boutiques? Remember Vancouver is like Chicago or New York, it’s a city of neighborhoods with laidback style each with different taste and offerings.
I ventured out on my own and spent most of my time in Yaletown, a renovated warehouse district. I absolutely love the chic boutiques and the many makeup and beauty bars surrounding this hip area of Vancouver. It’s a girly girl’s paradise.
Here are some of my favorite Haute spots in Vancouver’s Yaletown:
-Lola Boutique
If you’re in the mood for haute emerging designers… this is the little boutique for you.
-Basquit
Halle Berry shops in this haute spot!
-Beauty Mark
Beauty junkies be aware… this place offers hundreds of cute products and fun makeup ideas in a little shop.
-Noir Lash Bar
Lash out while you’re in the V… these lash bars are lots of fun! It’s a like a beauty lounge. You come in and lounge on a chaise while your lashes are applied! It’s haute!
-Blo (Blow Dry Bar)
If you’ve got 30 minutes and $30 CAD get a wash, blow and go just in time to hit the town.
-The Cross
Interior design boutique that’s all white bringing European design to North America!Are you planning a trip to Vancouver?
If you love French elegance and want to sample a little bit of Paris by going to your mailbox… check out Panty by Post! Co-Founder Natalie Grunberg spends her summers in France, but her partner in the business, Lori Sholzberg grew up in Montreal. The dynamic pair has long admired French women of all shapes and sizes and their confidence in selecting and wearing pretty lingerie.The Panty by Post is a monthly subscription service delivering luxury unmentionables at your door. The concept took shape when the duo decided to provide women all over the world with beautiful, sexy French lingerie with superior quality and comfort. Plus, an excellent price point ($13-$16 CAD) along with a fast online process made it a dream come true. The company is based out of Vancouver, British Columbia and is already generating a buzz.
Each month members receive a hand-selected or surprise delivery from the signature line like Sexy Singles, Double Dare, Ménage à Trois, Sultry Six and the Commitment Package. Every panty comes in pretty packaging, a note and delivery by post.Panty by Post has an exclusive wholesale arrangement with Blush, an established, family-owned and operated business based in Montreal, Quebec. Other supplies include Change, a Danish company for the plus-size goddess and JM for the PBP men’s bamboo brief in a box package.Panty by Post is a great gift for just about everyone! But be careful you don’t won’t the postman or woman to blush.For more info visit http://www.pantybypost.com/
Will you try Panty by Post?
I got a tombstone hand and a graveyard mind,I lived long enough and I ain't scared of dying.Who do you love... - Bo Diddley Relationships. What we all fall into at one time or another. It's what makes us and what breaks us. And in the film industry it's as essential as water is to earth. Simply put, you won't get anywhere in the film business without relationships, it just don't work that way. I have accumulated dozens of relationships, some of which last the duration of a movie shoot ("we must stay in touch"), some that lasted 40 years and some that dissipate when my services are no longer required. Meaning that either they've got a shooting script or I've been replaced by another writer eager to show how much better he or she is than I was.I've been lucky, I've only been rewritten once by another writer. But on the other hand I've rewritten a half dozen or more scripts, called in by producers to polish or fix up or change a script that was written by someone else. Sometimes I got credit, sometimes I didn't. But it was always about a relationship.In 1998 I wrote two screenplays that were produced by Paramount and rewritten 4 others, in most cases from Page 1, which essentially means a whole new script while keeping the story. If that sounds contradictory, it really isn't, keeping the story but changing 70% of the dialog or action is still possible.And it all came about through relationships. It started with Steve White, a producer who read one screenplay of mine and wanted to do a movie with me. We got along well, he was accomplished enough that he didn't have any insecurities nor fears, and we got along just great. I pitched an idea, a remake of a movie I did in Canada years ago but different enough that it didn't conflict and he gave me the go-ahead.Then he and John Levoff weren't satisfied with a screenplay written by someone else on Roswell, the New Mexico town where aliens supposedly crashed in 1947. Well, it happened that I had been to Roswell with my brother and examined the alien mythology quite well. So Steve asked me to write a completely new screenplay.Relationships.This led to meeting with Levoff, then head of drama for UPN network, a network arm of Paramount. That led to me going to Luxembourg to rewrite two screenplays of other writers in the dubious capacity of "creative consultant". But I was there for more than just writing. I've laid out this story in a previous blog but will repeat the basics; Levoff wanted me to be his eyes and ears to an extent as he was an ocean and continent away and knew he could trust me.Once I finished the job, I returned to L.A. to find that Steve now had set up my two movies and another one in Winnipeg and I immediately went there to rewrite my own scripts and the other one.Again, relationships. One thing leads to another. No stranger has ever hired me, only people who were introduced to me or knew me. Relationships lead to referrals and possible jobs. And on that note, relationships won't necessarily get you a job if for some reason nobody wants to hire you.And there's usually two reasons for a writer, actor or director not getting work.Either they're not very good or they're hard to work with.Publicists come up with a lot of reasons when an actor or writer or director suddenly leaves the project, often before it starts. They will usually say "creative differences" which means that the two parties differ on some aspect of the movie, script, actor, etc. How do they decide who leaves?Simple, the one who has the best relationship with the studio or producer. They also call it clout, but it remains the same thing.On a movie I rewrote called Lost in the Bermuda Triangle which was filmed in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, I had a falling out with the director. To be honest, I do not suffer fools easily, I know what I can do and what I can't, or won't do.The director, Mario from NYC told me to make some changes in the script that the producer and network had signed off on. The script was ready to shoot. I I asked "what kind of changes"? His answer; "you know, changes". No I didn't know, and I asked him to be more specific. His answer; "you're the writer, write anything". To which I answered that he was the director and if he wanted a change, he had to tell me what to change and why and to clear it with the producer.It led to a shouting match and I left to go to the bar and find the dirtiest tequila they had. The director called the producer requesting I be fired, the producer said no. Jim stays.Was that just because I was being bratty or high maintenance? No, the script was ready to go, sure there were minor dialog changes as he filmed, but otherwise, unless he came up with specific ideas, I wasn't going to do anything. But that's not why I wasn't fired.Why? Because Bob, the producer, whom everybody on the crew hated (and I still think some of the Mexican drivers would easily have dropped him off in the jungle), liked me. And I thought he was tough, but good and knew his job. I left before the film was finished, after nearly 6 months of travel I wanted to go home and they really didn't need me anymore. Last time I spoke to Bob which was about a year ago, he said Mario messed up the movie anyways.
Relationships.Lesson here is if you work on a film crew, on any job, writer, grip, driver, anyone, make relationships. Most will fade 20 minutes after the wrap party, but at least for the filming schedule, you can be a little more secure in your job.When I worked on a series in Vancouver, I made friends with the teamster drivers. I usually make friends with everyone I can, you get more rumors and gossip that way if they trust you. I had let it be known that I had difficulty finding a new fender for my 1977 Camaro. One day a slightly used fender showed up in the parking lot. The driver walked by and said simply, "Hey Jim, someone left that for you." No questions asked.
Relationships.
The Georgian Court Hotel-Vancouver, BC Travelistas looking for a luxurious escape to the host city for the 2010 Olympic Winter Games must first check into the Georgian Court Hotel in downtown Vancouver. Inspired by 18th Century architectural details, it’s just a stone’s throw from major shopping areas like fashionable Robson Street, historic Gastown and trendy Yaletown. It’s also a favorite destination for celebrities. Beyonce, Britney Spears and Celine Dion have all made glam stops here.
Insiders know there’s only one place for them—the Orchid floor designed exclusively for the female business traveler! Each of the 18 rooms feature a mix of must-have items that you just can’t leave home without like a flat iron, curling iron and ladies-only emergency kit. Plus you’ll enjoy Aveda amenities. And if you’re feeling like a Zen moment… there’s a yoga mat in the room! Greet the sun before you hit the street for power shopping, haute lunches at Coast Seafood Restaurant and fancy cocktails by award-winning Shaun Layton behind the bar at nearby George Ultra Lounge!
And don’t forget to explore Vancouver on foot with its temperate climate and breath-taking views of stunning snow-capped mountains. To get a real taste of Vancouver… head to Stanley Park, check out the beautiful beaches and stop by the cruise ship terminals only minutes away from the Georgian.
The Georgian Court Hotel is also home to the award-winning William Tell Restaurant. To learn more visit http://www.georgiancourt.com/Now that’s haute!Hotel Urbano—Miami, Florida Miami Art Hotel Opens with $20.10 room rates for the New Year! Girly girls in the market for an artful hotel stay should check out the new Hotel Urbano in Miami. During the month of January the hotel is offering $20.10 room rates just for the first night if you book two or more nights (rates for the following nights are $159 per night). Sun worshipping divas will also receive complimentary cocktails upon arrival and a chance to win art work valued at $2,010. To learn more visit http://www.hotelurbano.com/ and use code SPECIAL.
One more thing that makes this haute… William Braemer, artist and Curator of Art Fusion Galleries in Miami plans seasonal art shows displayed throughout the hotel featuring emerging new artists.
Mondrian Hotel—Los Angeles, California
Fashionistas checking into the Mondrain Hotel Los Angeles can expect major discounts at some of LA’s hautest boutiques through January 10, 2010. Shopaholics will have something to cheer about as they stroll Sunset Boulevard and Melrose Place for deals of 20% off retail prices. Browse Diane Von Furstenberg for $100 off a purchase of $500 or more at Ports 1961. And there’s more… Mondrian sweetens the deal by throwing in valet hotel parking and a $100 hotel credit to use at the trendy Skybar, Asia de Cuba restaurant or Agua Spa.
For reservations call 800/606-6090 or visit http://www.mondrainhotel.com/ use code PKSEAS.
Which hotel is your favorite?
