Parking Lot Parties

7 / 12 / 137 / 14 / 13

The festivities associated with the world’s largest rodeo aren’t limited to the Stampede grounds. Everywhere you turn in Calgary, someone’s throwing a party. And chances are it will be in a parking lot.Throw down a hay bale and some cowboy tchotchkes and you’re ready for a roundup.The Calgary Home + Design Show isn’t until September 19th, but that’s no reason not to have a Stampede party. The way Show Manager Jill Kivett and Amanda Haines of Reformation PR rock their daisy dukes and boots, it makes you think this is not their first rodeo.Before Stampede I had lofty plans of wearing a different cowboy hat for every blog post, but as the days on the dusty road start to blur together, I’m leaning on the ol’ wild rose lid a lot. At this point, I’m more concerned with pacing myself. Early in the day, with those cowprint balloons above my head, I’m exuding a respectable healthiness. Kinda like that yogurt commercial.The smartest strategy to maintain a semblance of sobriety is to eat a big meal. With Gaucho Brazillian BBQ providing the best grub of the week, it wasn’t hard to do.It’s hard to leave when the western wear is this good, but another parking lot was calling my name. My Stampede name. Which I haven’t thought of yet, but I’m sure I’ll come up with a great one next week, once the chucks champs have packed up their wagons. Ran into this purple pardner on the way to Jim Pattison’s party. A brief bicep battle was the only appropriate reaction.Inside, more cowboy accoutrements than I could sling a gun at. Stampede is kind of like Halloween, except everyone is wearing the same costume. Except for that dude in the red plaid shirt who photobombed with aplomb.This cowgirl kindly allowed me to take a picture of her booty.And, in the Wearing a Ten Gallon Hat Doesn’t Mean You Can’t Play Bagpipes category, Calgary’s finest showed up for a little pipe and drums. Highland dancing officers proved there’s more ways to bust a move than the two-step.Bye bye, Amber Big Plume, from Tsuu T’ina Nation, the 2013 Calgary Stampede Indian Princess. Gotta git to the next!This sake glass is where it started to get sloppy. Maybe it was because I took a break from the parking lots to get some sushi at Zen8. But more likely it was because the sushi corralled me toward the VIP suites at the biggest parking lot party of them all. Giddyup!Happy Stampede indeed. During this marathon 10-day event that turns all Calgarians into cattle drivers, rodeo champions or barrel-racing princesses, all chutes seem to lead to the Cowboys Tent. Which led me to Outrider Steve Sirianni, who, being from Vegas, moonlights as Executive Director of Slots at the Monte Carlo Casino. I’m feeling lucky!

Stampede Style

7 / 8 / 137 / 14 / 13

Time flies when you’re evacuated! The Calgary Stampede is well underway, in keeping with their “Come Hell or High Water” pledge, and continues til Sunday. It had to happen. It’s like the New Orleans Saints winning the Superbowl after Katrina, although the timing was on hyper fast forward. Even though some of us in the dark, damp and powerless neighborhoods may be wondering if city inspectors have forsaken us for deep-fried butter on the midway, all we can do is trade our rubber boots for cowboy boots — mud be damned!Stampede starts with a good set of boots. Hopefully this cowgirl got back to the farm before the downpour that set off more flash floods. It’s been a rainy start to the rowdy roundup.Okay, okay, I’ll lighten up. Just because bartenders like this make it easy. The pose was his idea, btw. Meanwhile, can you spot the two clues that this photo was taken in Canada? Hint: look at the money, honey. And the sign for bladder relief.The famed Cowboys Tent, on the edge of the Stampede Grounds, was a veritable style corral.Check out the cowgirl cannister clutch.The devil is in the details. Or at Stampede, is it the corporate presence? Because this buckaroo didn’t win his buckle at the rodeo.Bumped into Conservative Cowboy Lindsay Blackett, who has made the leap from culture to construction. Somewhere along the way he must have stopped at a politically correct dude ranch. I predict a public service comeback.Then the music got louder and leather-encased toes started tapping.Tulle and tall boots are a license to twirl.Ten gallon hats as far as the eye could see. Totally depending on how far your eyes could focus.Boot scootin’ through crushed Corona cans.It’s official. It’s a party! Lace shirt, Guess. Little black dress, Bebe. Belt, strategic cowboy-meets-Indian combo. Happy Stampede!

Flood Relief Fashion

6 / 26 / 136 / 26 / 13

As the flood cleanup continues in Calgary, the heartwarming stories of volunteerism are enough to make you cry. From the strangers who show up at flooded homes, armed with shovels, offering to help, to the dude dragging a cooler down sludgy streets, asking if anyone wants a cold one. The bare necessities — strong backs and beer — are still desperately needed, but Calgary has taken flood relief to a new level: art + fashion. This is a “bad portrait” of Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi, who has been a true leader in this time of tumult. For $20, you can order the limited edition shirt with this image until Sunday at midnight, with proceeds going to the Red Cross.

Artist Mandy Stobo is well-known around these parts for her Bad Portrait Project. When she paints someone, she doesn’t stop to think about things for too long — that’s how her Bad Portraits work. So when she needed a facial embodiment of Calgary’s massive flood, Mayor Nenshi was a natural. And her first instinct to symbolize a massive amount of water? Scuba goggles.

“I felt so helpless,” she says. “The only thing I knew how to do is artwork.” But her art is helping — big time. With the sale of her shirts raising $4000 so far, she has decided to create a series. She launches another shirt Monday. Just who will be the subject of the next portrait is a closely guarded secret.

I wanted to stop by Mandy’s studio today, safely up on a hill and not waterlogged. However, she was busy helping family dig out, so she sent me this picture of herself in drier times.

You can order shirts, tanks or an 18” x 24” print of Mayor Nenshi here. They should be mailed to you within two to three weeks. Collect ’em all! A new limited shirt will be up for grabs each week. Buen trabajo, Mandy.

Hollywood Gateway to the North

6 / 13 / 136 / 24 / 13

London called, but I blew it off, and instead hit the road for exotic Edmonton. I had a call-back for an audition for Cut Bank, a feature film starring John Malkovich, Billy Bob Thornton, Liam Hemsworth and Teresa Palmer. Shooting will take place in various locations around Edmonton, with the town of Innisfree, about 140 km east, acting as Cut Bank, Montana.

I was asked to try out for the role of ultra-smiley Chandra Blueford, the pretty local news reporter. The character is described as small town glamorous, ie, the girl who will always be overlooked for primetime news. I had already been through casting director Rhonda Fisekci’s rigorous first round, so when she asked me back a second time, I decided it was worth the drive to YEG. Actors in Hollywood might have to deal with LA traffic, but could they handle three hours fighting semis on the Deerfoot?

The audition was fun — I actually remembered my lines and didn’t have a meltdown in front of director Matt Shakman, who was super nice, btw. I wore my pink pantsuit to channel the crazed Nicole Kidman character from To Die For, but apparently I didn’t nail the small town glamor they were going for. It was down to two people for the role and I didn’t get it.

However, all was not lost, because, just north of the downtown core, I discovered the perfect accompaniment to my peg leg:Since Buckingham Palace is a long puddle jump away, this guy stands guard at a self-storage facility just north of Edmonton’s downtown core. He doesn’t say much, but don’t get him fired up. Because he has a rather large…… firearm! Sleeveless shirt, Armani Exchange. Jeans, Converse One Star “The Motocross.” Flip flop, BCBG. Key pendant, Tiffany & Co. Take a last look at the Aircast on the other foot, because soon I will be saying Adios.

Meanwhile, Cut Bank begins filming in Edmonton today! YEG paparazzi, start your engines and start clicking. I expect to see all kinds of photos of John and Billy Bob surface online as they live la vida loca in the Gateway to the North.

Tiffany Tours the Tiffany Tour

5 / 29 / 135 / 30 / 13

Cuff me. Please. This Jazz Age-inspired diamond bracelet is one of the select pieces from the Tiffany & Co collection currently making pit stops at flagship stores around the world, including Sydney, London, Los Angeles and… Calgary!Every year since 1845, Tiffany & Co publishes their Blue Book. Historical fun fact: it was the first mail order catalogue to be distributed in the United States. Now, with The Great Gatsby making it a banner year for bling, Tiffany is taking its catalog on the road. Four heavily insured items were driven across the Rockies in a heavily armored vehicle for a brief but breathtaking appearance tonight in the Oval Room at the Fairmont Palliser.When Tiffany’s elite gemstones travel, it seems only fitting that the security detail keeps the aesthetics to the same high standards.Tiffany’s design theme for 2013 is Art Deco, in keeping with the pieces designed specifically for The Great Gatsby. Baz Luhrmann’s film sets may have been entirely computer generated, but the jewels adorning his actresses were real. Unfortunately, the Savoy, a headpiece of diamonds and freshwater cultured pearls, only appeared in the pages of the Blue Book. Perhaps it was just as well — only four headpieces were made and at $200,000 all four are already spoken for. No sense setting your shopping sights on something that isn’t available.However, there was more than enough ice on hand to melt the hearts of those invited to the champagne reception.Mount Lefroy looms in the background of these diamond and platinum chandelier earrings.Rocking the namesake: don’t mess with Tiffany while she’s wearing a $727,500 Tiffany ring.

Suddenly Last Summer

4 / 25 / 134 / 26 / 13

I. Can’t. Wait.

We finally had t-shirt weather in Calgary today, which got me all restless and dying for polo to get started. Last year we played right through September. These are my photos from the final day of the season: September 30, 2012.Hair before the match is looking halfway decent, which is nice, because it won’t after I put my helmet on. Meanwhile, Lobo catches a pre-game snooze and misses his first photo op of the day. On the other side of the trailer, groom extraordinaire Andres Felix uses his trademark move to get the tail braid just right. I made it my goal last summer to learn how to do this, thinking I was setting the bar a little low for my polo achievement of the year, but it is so damn hard. However, by the time the leaves started turning my tails were staying together through the games… usually with a lot of tape. And never as pretty as the ones pictured here.Speaking of pretty, see if you can spot the pair of bipeds having a tandem pre-game pee on a tree.Back to Andres! Besides being able to prep a pony with effortless efficiency, most grooms are usually skilled players themselves. Andres often gets recruited to round out a team in Kyle Fargey’s coaching league. If he doesn’t have a pair of boots handy, he’ll MacGyver up some vet wrap. And why not, if the color matches the helmet?I was too busy playing to take any action shots. Looove saying that! But after the final game of the year, I had to take some time for a little love-in with Lobo.It may not have been totally mutual… But he managed to PR the moment eventually. Shirt and pants, both US Polo Association. Boots, Friedson Brothers.The matches in Indio have wrapped and the horses are on the road, heading back to their summer home. The countdown to the Calgary Polo Club 2013 Season is on!

My Little Pony

3 / 18 / 133 / 26 / 13

Spring is officially just a few days away but the Calgary Polo Club is still under a blanket of snow. The JC Palmer field is beautiful. And a little lonely. No horses anywhere. Good thing I brought my own.It’s pink and purple. And nuzzling my muzzle. When you’re in the equestrian mood, a My Little Pony bandage by Elastoplast fits the bill. Or the nose. Those purple unicorns kinda remind me of my snowboard.Wait a minute… I think I see something down there. Hi guys! Only a couple more months til your vacation is over. With that in mind, I should hit the hitting cage. Compared to the arena in the background, the cage seems weather proof. However, it turns out I should have brought some orange snow polo balls… To negotiate the drifts inside the cage.They’d probably get stuck in the snow as well, but at least you could see them better while you have a good laugh. And I dream of summer.

Lactose Tolerant Model at Model Milk

2 / 1 / 1310 / 28 / 15

Brome Lake Duck Confit tolerant, lovely decor tolerant, great service tolerant, ssseveral glasses of red wine tolerant! Dress, H&M.