Style: Garbe Luxe – polished ease

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Garbe Luxe is where you mix luxurious athletic wear with your daily after-workout activities. Especially if you live in Los Angeles or Vancouver. garbe8 Aside from the fact that my most stylish friend is the designer behind the line, I have to vouch for the overall fit, longevity, comfort and versatility. After all, I have a lot of it in my wardrobe.

A bit about GARBE LUXE:

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GARBE LUXE is a contemporary collection of sporty edge styles perfect to take you from your workout and into your day. The collection is all about helping your athletic wear gracefully make the transition to the world beyond the exercise studio. Whether heading to a morning meeting, dropping off the kids or joining friends for lunch, GARBE LUXE has you covered so you always feel polished, confident and comfortable. Paired back minimalism, luxurious fabrics, and mix-and-match options create sophisticated options for your on-the-go life.

SNEAK PEEK – into Spring 2017

I’m such a fan. How about you?

Food + Drink

Inspired Dining

Be inspired for the joy of Food and Health!

If you live in Vancouver I just want to bring to your attention the following two important events. inspirehealth1

INSPIRED DINING WEEK

Inspired Dining Week takes place from October 15-23, 2016, providing an opportunity for diners to choose menu items from some of Vancouver’s best dining establishments (there will be more Inspired dine out experiences expanded to other cities):

Restaurants, eateries and healthy vendors will showcase the best of their culinary delights over the nine days. Inspire Health is partnering with the participating restaurants across Vancouver in an effort to help raise awareness and funds for Inspire Health (a not for profit organization helping provide lasting lifestyle changes for those living with cancer and their families). You will also get the chance to try the various dining establishments.

For an up-to-date list of participating restaurants please visit www.inspirehealth.ca/InspiredDiningWeek

Photo: d. king

For more information about Inspired Dining Week, download the information kit

A Night to Inspire – InspireHealth Gala

December 8 @ 6:30 pm – 10:30 pm

Join us for one of Vancouver’s most memorable fundraising galas, A Night to Inspire welcomes 200 of our city’s business, health care and philanthropic leaders for an inspirational evening.

This year we are delighted to take our guests on a culinary experience like no other. Teaming up with four top chefs from across the country, we will feature an incredible five-course seated dinner, paired with a wonderful selection of wines from the Oliver Osoyoos Winery Association.

The evening will also feature:

The launch of Inspired Cooking, a storytelling cookbook featuring recipes and stories from 20 of Canada’s top chefs. Every guest will receive their own copy of Inspired Cooking.
Live music & entertainment
Inspirational stories from InspireHealth members
Silent & live auction showcasing an array of desirable items

Tickets are on sale for $250. Please e-mail events@inspirehealth.ca or purchase at the centre : Suite 200 – 1330 West 8th Avenue.

I think this is a great way to bring awareness to not only Inspire Health, but to celebrate ourselves with good healthy food and wise choices.

Photos: d. king

Film Reviews

Film/ART: Mad about MAUDIE

Maudie…

is the true life story of Maud Lewis, a self taught painter who rose to fame despite all odds. maud1 It was the film chosen for the OPENING GALA at the 35^th Vancouver International Film Festival (VIFF). maud3 maud4

It did not disappoint. In fact it was one of the most compelling movies I’ve seen in a long time. A hauntingly beautiful movie about suffering, unlikely romance and ultimately success against numerous setbacks, in a cinematic landscape.

This quote by Elisabeth Kübler-Ross best sums up the main character’s personality:

“The most beautiful people we have known are those who have known defeat, known suffering, known struggle, known loss, and have found their way out of the depths. These persons have an appreciation, a sensitivity, and an understanding of life that fills them with compassion, gentleness, and a deep loving concern. Beautiful people do not just happen.”

Set in Nova Scotia in the 1950s and 1960s, the story unfolds as Maudie (played by Sally Hawkins) crippled with rheumatoid arthritis decides to leave her family who have taken advantage of her personally and financially, for once and for all.

She meets a lonely reclusive fish peddler named Everett Lewis (played by Ethan Hawke) when he tries to hire a housekeeper.

The film unfolds from there as we find out how these two opposites fare in each others lives. Everett is a very difficult man and Maudie is determined to see it through with wit, heart and ART. maud2

It’s okay to give away the ending because by now everyone knows that Maud Lewis became a well-known and well deserved folk artist whose paintings hang in the White House.

This film is an Irish-Canadian co-production.

Cast member Kari Matchett is Canadian. She plays Sandra, a woman visiting from New York with nice shoes, a nice manner and an interest in the art that is revealed inside the little house Maud and Everett live in. She commissions Maud to paint some cards for her.

The movie was filmed in Newfoundland near Trinity (a location I visited while in Newfoundland a few years back) so it was familiar. The real location was near Digby, Nova Scotia (another location I visited on that same trip). The remote scenery is breathtaking.

Irish Director Aisling Walsh along with two other female producers were there to help promote the film and answer questions from the audience at the very end.

I met Aisling Walsh in the lobby after the film. Everyone had a ballot to vote how much (or how little) they liked the movie from 1-5, with 5 being the highest. I told her that I would give it a 5 but it really deserved a 10. Also, I was a mess from tearing up so much it’s a good thing I wasn’t wearing mascara.
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“Maud’s story epitomizes triumph over adversity – “Art Gallery of Nova Scotia

https://www.artgalleryofnovascotia.ca/maud-lewis

To find out more about VIFF or buy tickets please visit: https://www.viff.org/

Film Reviews

Culture/History: The Birth of a Nation

Last night I attended the Vancouver International Film Festival’s (VIFF) premiere of “The Birth of a Nation.”

birth1 Nate Parker, the films handsome lead actor who is also responsible for writing, producing and directing the cinematic drama about slave rebellion in the deep south was in attendance. He started off the evening by introducing the movie and saying that getting the script off the ground took several years and several dollars to complete but he’s very proud of the final outcome. As so he should be. This is an important historical film about a man who virtually got lost in the shuffle, his story being told for the very first time. It is a disturbing masterpiece!

The movie was filmed in Savannah, Georgia where a lot of the Atlantic slave trade originated. I visited a friend living in Savannah and was charmed by the beauty of the city but not by stories about the past. The movie struck a chord.

In short, Nat Turner, a literate slave and preacher orchestrates an uprising as he witnesses countless cruelties against himself and his fellow slaves. This strong willed man decides enough is enough when he resolves to help lead his people to freedom.

Many of the scenes are not easy to witness and as a result there were not many dry eyes in the audience. Damn, I didn’t bring any tissues!

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When I first heard about the subject matter I was not too interested especially after having seen twelve years a slave, the colour purple and many other slave related films. While the film is not without the expected appalling brutality and violence, this true story is different from the others. It is well worth seeing. And it makes you question how far we’ve really come in light of current issues evidenced with many recent black shootings. So maybe it has to be told time and time again….to get the point across…people are people and should be treated equally.

The film will be theatrically released in the United States on October 7, 2016 by Fox Searchlight Pictures.

Trailer:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i18z1EQCoyg