Strawberry Swing Meets Davinci

The new Coldplay video reminds me of the Icarus game on the old Leonardo Davinci CD-ROM

Partners & Spade

It’s hard to pinpoint exactly what Partners & Spade is, but that’s just part of its curious charm.

Part art gallery, part boutique and part studio, this NoHo establishment is not a conventional retailer. A constantly revolving roster of artists’ works are displayed and available for sale along with found and vintage objects but its the kind of browsing experience that leaves you more inspired than consumer-crazy.

One of the owners, the ever-creative Andy Spade, wanted to produce a space displaying everyday objects in new ways that make people think and indeed you can’t help but take it all in when you peruse the bright white space.

Colourful rickshaw photographs by Greg Vore ($400 each) lean nonchalantly on top of a radiator

And those looking for a little confidence boost can find the uplift in the form of retro trophies they can pretend they actually won

You can channel your inner grade schooler with Some massive papier-mache items, including this retro car ($900)

Clear bulb table lamps by Ingo Maurer carry a made scientist vibe ($1,270 each)

But my favourite part of the space by far was the temporary display heralding a book written by the progeny of the Maysles brothers, the documentary filmmakers who shot Grey Gardens in the 1970s.

A visual feast, the hardcover book put together by Rebekah and Sara Maysles contains vibrant illustrations, collages, archival odds and ends and more from the film - all edited together in love letter to the Beales.

A lush scrapbook celebrating big and little Edie’s legacy as lovable eccentrics who didn't care about the world around them, the book also comes with a bonus audio recording of unreleased conversations from the film and is a must for hardcore fans

I eagerly snapped my own copy up and was happy to know when I bought it that all the money goes directly to the Maysles girls. The colourful cover looks very at home in my room

Char Char

I know it’s not breaking news, but charcuterie is becoming increasingly popular in today’s restaurant scene. Having been weaned on chicago 58 since birth, any form of versht, sausage and cured meats is a.okay in my book so it’s a trend I am embracing full steam ahead.

While on my maiden voyage to Mcewan’s, the new gourmet food shop in Don Mills from celebrity chef Mark McEwan, I decided to assemble my own little charcuterie platter from the amazing array of artisanal meats and cheeses stocked at one of the many prepared counters.

I ended up with the spicy chorizo and parisienne ham, golden niagra and manchego cheese, plus mcewan’s homemade olive tapenade to enjoy with our olive ciabbatta.

Spread out on one of my mother’s many wooden boards, it made for quite a lovely Saturday night meal. I would buy all of the items again in a heartbeat!

Sharp

I clipped Alexander Wang’s office off The Selby in November but I still keep going back to it

It’s perfectly tailored and crisp in shades of black and white. Plus those chairs totally pop on the solid black hide

Clever Baker

AutoCAD be damned! I am having way too much fun exploring Baker's Room Designer application on their website.

You can play around with prebuilt layouts for  bedrooms, living rooms, dining rooms and home offices or create your own from scratch after entering in your dimensions. There are options to place specific Baker pieces inside the room but you can also place generic furniture templates on the floorplan as well, because no one wants a room from entirely one line and Baker = $$$!

If you don't have a designer to work with, it's is especially helpful because you can dimension any space in the room, ensuring there is enough distance between pieces.