Toronto Fashion Week

It's that time of year again and I am especially excited about this year's Fashion Week because my friend Sunny Fong may be in it! I can't really confirm anything yet, but I am sure he is one of the top 3 contenders for winning Project Runway Canada (Season 2). He's been kicking ass at every competition. My favourite still is the stunning blue mini-dress with a starburst detail that he had designed for Elisha Cuthbert for episode 2. I can't get it out of my head.

Playing Catch Up

January felt like a blur. After all the christmas stuff came my wedding reception. We held it at The Academy of Spherical Arts on probably one of the worst days of winter. I wore a blue cheong-sam (Traditional Chinese Dress) that I had custom-made in Thailand about 5 years ago. I had to hold my breath just to fit into it. Still waiting for photos from my wedding photographer though!

About 100 people attended and hopefully had a blast. We had four pool tables set up for games, a projector screen to show our Tahiti wedding ceremony, which we later converted into a game screen for people to play Rock Band!

Apparently the food was great, but I wouldn't know. Never got a chance to really sit down and eat!

Pics to come soon.....I hope.

EcoSUAVE 2009

I also cut my hair (if you've noticed).

I was just glad to get out of my winter clothes and slip into something more comfortable, like these fab harem pants in jet that I purchased from Zara.

Live jazz courtesy of Ben D'Cunha (shown here on the right) and Irene Torres (not shown).

A good friend of mine had invited me to an event that supports a really good cause: Saving the Environment. It was the best time to come out of winter hibernation and enjoy some live jazz music and try out some great fare and beverages from local farmers who practice sustainability and green production. I must confess that I've never really gone out of my way to eat organically grown food myself, but I really enjoyed all the munchies and samplers. Plus it was a great way to get together with a few friends and have a fun evening out, which is rare considering how much snow we've been getting lately.

The night was fantastic except that it was super crowded I almost passed out. I had to duck out a bit earlier than planned and a few of us decided to walk up the The Keg Mansion for some pub fare. Oh well.

Happy New Year!

That's me!

A hawkbill turtle that was totally friendly and fearless. That's my hand, trying to pet its shell.

This is known as "Crown-of-Thorns". It's sting is quite poisonous and if you happen to be stung, seek immediate medical attention. The toxin is a necrotizing enzyme that eats away at the surrounding tissue. Worse case scenario, you either develop paralysis and will require surgery to remove bits of the sting that may be lodged under the tissue.

There were two lemon sharks circling the area we were in. I was a bit nervous at first because I was the tiniest diver in the group, and therefore, the easiest target. But these sharks showed no interest in us at all. The biggest one of the two was about 8 feet. Big suckers.

This is a black-tipped, reef shark. Completely harmless, never been known to attack humans.

One of my girlfriends who travel with me on a regular basis, finally sent me her photos of dives in Tahiti. We swam with reef sharks, hawksbill and green turtles, as well as lemon sharks. Vis was about 80 to 100 feet and the scenery was absolutely mind-boggling.

More Mo'orea....

Behind our famous monkey pose is a view of the valley from Belvedere's peak. The highest point on Mo'orea.

This is the other famous bay, Opunohu Bay. Between June to October, the humpback whales frequent this area. We went scuba diving in the area a couple of times but no luck.

Of course, no trip with my two travel buddies would be complete without our famous monkey pose!

I am looking down the glass bottom floor of my overwater bungalow. At night, the fish are attracted to the bright lights that are lit up at the bottom of the ocean, so you can watch the fish frolick.

This was your view from the top....The Sofitel Ia Ora Hotel and Resort. Sigh.

These houses on hills are for sale, but only if you were of Tahitian citizenship. They were only about $300K a piece. Not bad for such a prime location.

Fish feeding off the balcony was fun. And we also discovered how much they loved shrimp chips.

I still cannot get over how calm and beautiful the waters were! Photos are so wonderful that way. They take you back in time to that special place and allow you to relive those moments. I could almost smell the salty breeze against my skin again. This was my private oceanview every morning, as I sipped my coffee and just relaxed. My husband and I made a promise that in 10 years, we will come back and renew our vows. Right here.

Cook's Bay, Moorea

Black Pearls

My husband bought me a set of black pearl necklace and earrings. I really only wanted the earrings, but he insisted I also get a nice pendant in peacock. I must tell you though that Tahitian pearls are of really good quality, and every pearl purchased in a boutique like this one, comes with a certificate of authenticity. So you are sure to be purchasing a very high grade pearl. This set cost about $1000.00 CAD. Not too expensive. There were some that ran up to the six figures!!!

Some of you may not know this, but Tahiti is one of the major exporters of cultured South Sea pearls. Their speciality is of course, black pearls, which is really a misnomer, as they come in an array of colours, not just black. Some have a green tinge, while others display an aubergine colour, and many more come in peacock shades or multi-coloured.