t  While browsing through this month’s Cookie Magazine, I was struck to learn that while 75% of moms are most often their family’s photographer, 66% wished they featured in more snapshots.  As it turns out, I am not alone!  Since discovering the wonders of digital photography, I have been very busy documenting life in all of its colour, but I too have noted my pronounced absence from the pictures.  Apparently, control of the camera leads to a serious lack of visibility in the context of your own personal history. 

Haven’t we all gazed wistfully at photographs famous and not-so famous people engaged in their regular lives?  Whether you notice or not, pictures of families in action are prevalent everywhere – online and in print, and most often, moms are present and accounted for.  While these photo spreads might be entirely staged and shot by professionals, they do serve as a reminder to us all that sometimes we really should be a part of the bigger picture. 

I am at a point in my life that I would like to look back on fondly.  While there is always someone who can take a passing snapshot, these aren’t always the most flattering, and someday I’m sure I will really want to remember how great I feel now.  So, this year I am resolved to have some pictures taken.  Rather than wait for an occasion, I want the expert eye of a photographer to capture life as it is, and to help me see myself within it – for posterity.  

There are tons of great photographers here in Ottawa, and many will take headshots or portraits either in studio or on location.   Don’t forget Rémi Thériault, subject of on of this girlaboutOtown’s Courage City profiles.  He is fabulously talented and conveys a ton of personality in the portraits he takes.  For more on Rémi and his work, you can follow his blog.   Alternatively, check out this list for other local professionals, and aim to see yourself or your family in print.

t  Also on my mind is the strong possibility that I’m going to have to get serious about wine.  I’m a grown up now, and at the very least, I really should have a better idea of what to bring to a dinner party.  I used feel comfortable with a couple of tried-and-true varieties that were once characterized as “very ok” by a good (and honest) friend of mine who considers herself a connoisseur.  However, these brands have become a little too common and predictable for Ottawa’s increasingly sophisticated palate.  Worst of all, these selections betray my ignorance, which never makes me happy….

There seems to be no end to the opportunities to learn the grapes.  This town is seriously wine crazy.  In addition to Algonquin College’s respected Sommelier Program and Wine Recognition Certificate, Ottawa-based company Groovy Grapes serves up all kinds of wine tasting events and also keeps a running list of wine related events in the region.  Of course, there is always the LCBO run wine appreciation courses at both the Rideau St. and Nepean locations, as well as local blog Cheap Eats Ottawa which regularly posts their picks on a LCBO Vintages Value list.

Anyway, I confess I’m not totally into it, and I probably won’t ever want to know more about wine than I do about say…vintage clothing, antique furniture or old world textiles.  That said, I do feel somewhat compelled to step it up a notch.  So, in the spirit of enhancing my understanding of spirits, I should probably take advantage of one of these upcoming intriguing learning possibilities. 

February 7 – Groovy Grapes at the Urban Element:  How to Match Wine with Cheese

February 18 – Taste of Winterlude: Ontario Winter Wine Night Out – Wine Show Tasting 

April 1 – The Westin Ottawa: California Wines in Canada Fair 2009

t You may have missed it, but in the past year, Ottawa has gone upscale when it comes to the beauty biz.  There are the swanky new Beauty Boutiques popping up at a Shopper’s Drug Mart near you and famous international retailer SEPHORA has settled in to some prime real estate at the new and improved Rideau Centre.  Add to this scene Murale, a new player that has just set up shop in Orleans.  This exclusive beauty destination sells over 200 luxury brands and offers specialized services.   

No more excuses ladies.  While it may be a ways off, I am determined to age gracefully and I’m not too proud to depend on a little product to help.  I have come a long way in recent history – due in part to a watershed visit to Holt Renfrew – but I do accept that skin care can get complicated.  It may finally be time to get out and explore the crowded world of beauty products, and to learn learn all that I can from the pros!

Images from: Cookie Magazine, Rémi Thériault, LCBO, Wine Council of Ontario, and SEPHORA.

Apparently, the construction of Greek furniture pieces was heavily influenced by the work of the Egyptians in materials and technique, although in style, ornamentation and motif, these pieces were quite distinct.  Oak, cedar, olive and boxwood as well as imported species such as maple and ebony were common building materials, with wood veneering, mortise & tenon joinery, and copper, bronze or iron metalwork frequently employed techniques.  It is also thought that leather and vegetable cords were woven to create seats, and that embroidered linens and animal skins may have been transformed into cushions.  Animal skin cushions eh?  No kidding!

Anyway, to this day these ancient classical forms provide a basis for modern western architecture and furniture design.  

For instance, the Klines was the precursor for our contemporary couch (for reclining, eating or sleeping of all things) and the simple, elegant Klismos, with its concave back, square seat and sabre legs, remains one of the world’s most popular – and most reproduced – chairs.  

Greek motifs have been the subject of numerous revivals and continue to be in fashion.  In particular, Greek keys have been popping up everywhere lately, from House Beautiful to design blogs like Apartment Therapy, Style Court and Elements of Style. 

So, what once was old is new again…

• With help from Furniture in History, by Leslie Pina.
• Image Credits:  Furniture Sketch from Furniture Styles, Greek Interior from waycoolpics.blogspot.com,  Martha Stewart Klismos Chair from Bernhardt Furniture, and Bathroom and Throw Cushion images courtesy of Domino.

So, toughest for me this week?  I missed a cool event, held on a school night! 

If it weren’t for design school  last evening, I might have tried to round up some company for the Ottawa Art Gallery’s House Party.   The OAG is a public gallery dedicated to the acquisition and presentation of contemporary art for the benefit of the local arts community. The OAG is marking its 2oth anniversary, and the resident Firestone Collection of Canadian Art is turning 35. 

My interest in both art and community seems to be growing, and while my enthusiasm for fun social events has never waned, I was at school last night learning how to draw (aack).  How ironic.  So, my supplies list is a mile long and truthfully, my nerves are shot.   I can certainly appreciate talent in others, but drawing has never been a strength of mine.  I haven’t really done much since…well…grade school, so I confess it was seriously intimidating.  That old familiar and very uncomfortable feeling that comes with being a beginner was palpable, which is usually a pretty good sign there is learning to be done! 

While I may have missed OAG’s big party, the 80’s music and the cake by The Girl with the Most Cake, I am still keen to see Evidence: The Ottawa City Project.  This exhibit explores “one of the most paradoxical places in Canada-a perplexing mix of wealth and poverty, summer heat and winter cold, nationalist and regionalist, poor arts funding and rich cultural heritage” and examines questions about what – if anything – is missing.  Evidence: The Ottawa City Project runs from September 4-November 16.  I will let you know if I get there.

Anyway, we’ll no doubt be off to Wallack’s for art supplies and to Value Village to stock up on fall fashion.  The younger girl about town really likes to create her own ensembles, and is a budding young thrifter.  Hmmm… I wonder why?

I just finished signing up for the “History of Furniture” and “Drawing Techniques” courses in the part-time Residential Decor Program at Alqonguin College.  I’m totally pumped!

I’ve been obsessed with interior design and decor for as long as I remember.  I have been dragging boxes of shelter magazines around with me for too many years to admit, in hopes of learning by osmosis, and have spent countless hours watching HGTV and reading design blogs like Desire to Inspire, Style Court, and Habitually Chic. I love to go back to my magazines over and over again.  I go for ideas and inspiration, for myself and when I am asked to help others, which I am pleased to say actually does happen. 

With interior design, there are so many possibilities; permutations and combinations of colours, textures, patterns and forms, and each composition expresses unique, individual tastes and preferences.  I am constantly amazed how some of my favourite designers like Celerie Kemble, Ruthie Sommers, and Schuyler Samperton can incorporate classic furniture, layer fabrics and create casual, comfortable but sophisticated rooms.  Design is a form of art as far as I am concerned, and those talented designers who can fashion beautiful, personal interior environments just make the world a better place!

Here is the room I imagine myself in as I write this… 

Image credit:  Domino Magazine

You might bookmark the site, or try to remember to check in once in awhile.  When you do, it feels like a brand new adventure out there on the Information Superhighway.  You have likely made reference to  ‘the website’  in conversation, but you are at a complete loss to explain it without feeling silly.  For some of you, clicking to Girl About O Town has been your first visit to Blogland. 

Well, I say,  WELCOME!  And thank you.  Really.

You have been very kind and complimentary in your feedback, and I know (because I can tell) that you have been keeping up to date with the latest Girl About O Town posts.   For this, I thank you again.  Really.  Your support means a lot.

But let’s face it, you are into unfamiliar territory.  

Maybe these will help.  Take a few minutes to watch, and discover a whole new world!     

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