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Photo: Laura-Elizabeth on Flickr

In case you haven’t heard, it’s hot in British Columbia. It’s not just those warm, late-spring days we’re experiencing either. It’s humid, sticky, sweaty, still-air hot!

Last weekend I hauled my summer clothes out of storage and discovered shorts, a skirt or two and some pretty little sun tops. What became apparent to me is my severe lack of breezy, flowy summer dresses. I’m particularly fond of maxi dresses (and especially the one Carrie Bradshaw donned as she downed margaritas in Mexico). This weekend’s mission: grab a Slurpee before finding and purchasing the perfect summer dress. A new pair of sunglasses and sandals wouldn’t hurt either…

With the summer months headed our way at warp speed, it should go without saying that we humans aren’t he only ones who suffer in the heat. Can you imagine enduring this heat all the while also wearing a fur coat? Though don’t even get me started on the idiocy of fur coats…

Yesterday a Saanich woman was outed to animal control by a passer-by after having left her small dog locked in her vehicle. The entire episode was caught by an A-Channel news camera. Upon returning to her car, the lady wildly waved a water bottle at the crew and said “see, I do have water here.”

To this, the animal control officer replied, “Ma’am, dogs don’t know how to open and drink from water bottles.”

Here are some personal thoughts and ideas on how you can keep your “fur baby” cool during the summer months:

• First, leave your dog at home! If you’re out running errands, the last place your dog wants to be is in your hot, smelly car. Canines can sustain brain damage in as little as 20 minutes of intense heat. It is not worth the risk!
• Many dogs and cats tend to shed around this time of year, but consider a trip to the groomer to help thin-out the thick undercoat.
• Fans! Dogs enjoy sticking their heads out of the windows of moving cars while their tongues flop to the side. Let your pup do this in a safe manner with a home fan or two.
• Even though shade can get warm on some of the hottest days, a patch of cool grass in the shade can be a welcome respite for your animal.
• Lots of fresh water, water, water… need I say more?
• While your pet doesn’t need to be cleansed more often than is necessary (their skin can dry out easily), a quick rinse in the tub will cool their body temperature from ears to paws.
• Consider a cooling humidifier for air quality. Hot days equal dry air and smaller animals (Jordy included) can be susceptible to dry and irritated throats. As an alternative, keep your animal in the bathroom with you for the few minutes you shower – the moist air can work wonders!

UPDATE – Cesar Millan recently Tweeted this: “Dogs sweat thru the pads of their feet, but their primary way to keep cool is panting. Overheated dogs drool excessively.”

Have any other ideas? Share them in the comments! And while you’re at it, wish a big happy birthday to Danielle’s other half!

If you’re like me, there are television shows and movies that you find yourself watching more than a few times. Sex and the City is certainly no exception, and I decided to crack open season one this evening and re-live it all over again – for the fourth time in two years.

As often as I see the same scenes and hear the same dialogue over and over and over again, something new always seems to catch my eye. I just finished watching the third episode of the first season titled “Bay Of Married Pigs.”

Please note Carrie’s t-shirt.

“Cocktails at Tiffany’s calls for classic charm. Oscar de la Renta, sleeveless, silk, full-skirted dress with black patent leather bow belt. Now that is pure poetry.”

A girl can dream a dream. Few are the women who haven’t swooned, ooh’d and aah’d over the copious items to come from Carrie Bradshaw’s closet over the last decade. Clearly, I am no exception.

Today, the FedEx man came by my office.

“Package for Keira-Anne.”

“Yes, that is me.”

And this is what he brought me…

Remember when the courier came to Carrie’s apartment with a package from Vivienne Westwood and we all watched with breath that was baited as she carefully peeled back the delicate tissue paper? That is what true love feels like.

Amy asked me if I was going to sleep in my new boots. I told her “uh, no.” I think I might have changed my mind.

I promised, and so I deliver. Now that I’ve given myself a few days to absorb all that was Sex and the City (movie-style) – and all of you a fair chance to see it for yourselves – it’s time to talk.

Throughout the entire film, I felt excitement and elation and that sense of a fuzzy security blanket as I watched the ladies of Manhattan reunited. It had been more than three years since we left the ladies brunching at their usual spot upon Carrie’s return from Paris, and I couldn’t have been happier to play catch up. Miranda and Steve were well settled into married life with Brady in tow, Charlotte and Harry had their hands full with Lily (and finally a new baby on the way), and Samantha proved that some things don’t change – including her lust for Smith Jerrod.

Photo: New Line Cinema

Since hearing that Sex was being filmed for the silver screen, anytime the topic had come up, there was one thing I always stated: after six years, I simply cannot handle any further drama between Big and Carrie. But let’s be honest here – how can you not have a film that centres on Big and Carrie without the contents of Charlotte’s pants hitting the fan? I suppose it was inevitable.

After finding their dream penthouse on Fifth Avenue, Ms. Bradshaw’s insecurity over having no legal rights turns into a discussion about marriage, and so in a rather formal and contractual manner, Big and Carrie agree to get married. Like almost anything in life, the path to matrimony soon becomes a slippery slope, finding Carrie vying for Vivienne Westwood while inviting 200 guests to the New York Library. John James Preston, on the other hand, is vouching for a low-key civil ceremony (that man’s got the right idea).

Photo: New Line Cinema

‘A’ leads to ‘B’ and ‘B’ leads to ‘C,’ and before you know it, Miranda’s dispelling toxic love advice to Big on the eve of the wedding – a result of yet another fight between her and Steve spurned out of his heartbreaking infidelity. The day arrives, Carrie’s in couture and – to no one’s surprise – Big’s limo is headed in the opposite direction. In one of the most passionate and angry scenes between these two we’ve ever been witness to, Charlotte’s “no!” was the no heard ‘round the world.

The majority of the film, beyond that point, brings us to another level – something beautiful that showed the viewers that it wasn’t a movie about a love story gone wrong. Beyond all the cynicism and doubt the preceding events enforced in my own head and heart, I was open to the concept that it was about the two “F’s.” I’m not talking about another word for colouring (though there is plenty of that), but about forgiveness and friendship. Through the eyes of the girls, we’re actually shown how important it is to love others, to love yourself, to forgive others, to forgive yourself, to accept where one falls short and to celebrate triumph.

Photo: New Line Cinema

When all was said and done, Samantha decided that she had to be true to herself and leave Smith in Los Angeles while she returned to New York City, Miranda and Steve were able to let true and real love create forgiveness and move forward even stronger than before, while Charlotte, Harry and Lily welcomed Rose to the family. And as we watched as the now Carrie Preston and John James Preston left New York City Hall after a touching reuniting of the two, my feelings changed from glad to sad. Truth be told, I felt the marriage between the two was completely unnecessary.

In one particular scene, as ‘Auntie Carrie’ is reading Cinderella to young Lily, she wisely states “you know, things don’t always happen like this in real life. I just think you should know that now.” And you know what? She was right, and that’s the irony of it. In this film, Cinderella did get her prince and they did live happily ever after. While it didn’t bother me that John and Carrie found reconciliation, but the actual marriage was unnecessary. They seemed perfectly happy in a common law relationship, having found the right balance between them.

Photo: New Line Cinema

That being said, the fact that all four of the ladies got a perfect ending, while it created closure to the story, seemed like a bit of a slap in the face. What I’ve always appreciated about Sex (as Jennifer also wrote), is that it’s better to lean on your friends and not be with a man out of desperation. The show always made me feel like it was okay to not be living a fairytale life, and that sometimes fairytales are just that.

However, do not get me wrong. In retrospect, I enjoyed the film very, very much. It was precisely what any Sex fan needed to make the circle complete and it won’t be the only time I see it on the big screen. It’s all perfectly peppered with sweet memories, humour, laughter and tears. If you haven’t seen it yet, and I haven’t already completely ruined the film for you, get thee to the theatre immediately…and make sure you wear something fabulous.

And so for those of you who have seen it, thoughts? Comments? Critiques?

Would you believe me if I told you that by the time last night arrived, I wasn’t really all that excited to see Sex and the City on the silver screen? Maybe I’d hyped it up too much over the last several months, or maybe it was a subconscious way of not allowing me to feel disappointed if the film fell short of what I had hoped it’d be. Either way, once the curtains lifted and the screen glittered in shades of blue and pink, my apathy had been dispelled.

Photo: miss604 on Flickr

Watching Carrie, Samantha, Miranda and Charlotte together again brought on a huge surge of relief. Each of the four actresses (Sarah Jessica Parker, Kim Cattrall, Cynthia Nixon and Kristin Davis, respectively) slipped back into the roles they made famous as comfortably as a favourite pair of Manolos. And don’t be fooled into thinking that you’re going to see a really, really, ridiculously long episode of the HBO hit; the film plays like the movie that it is (especially considering that it clocks in at just over 2 hours and 20 minutes). Much to this girl’s delight, the fab foursome are joined in their big screen venture by the men in their lives: Mr. Big (Chris Noth), Harry Goldenblatt (Evan Handler), Steve Brady (David Eigenberg) and Smith Jerrod (Jason Lewis).

Despite expectations, predictions, leaked storylines, possibilities and probabilities (not to mention the countless images we’ve seen of the girls’ costume changes over the last few months), Sex still delivers surprises, tears and more laughter than you ever experienced in your living room. The truth is, I’m dying to discuss the details, but I have to be fair. That being said, I am giving you, my readers, until the end of the weekend to see the film for yourselves. After that, all bets are off and anything from the film is fair game for discussion on my blog.

Click here to visit the film’s official website.

Yes, my faithful readers, the week has arrived – the week. Sex and the City: The Movie hits screens on Friday and I think it goes without saying that there are countless women everywhere sitting on pins and needles. I have no clue what will happen or won’t happen, but let me be the first to say that…I hope Carrie doesn’t marry Big. As much as I love the two of them together, I have my reasons; I’ll explain in my re-cap post once I’ve laid eyes on the silver screen.

However, in a fun attempt to get those of you who are looking forward to the flick even more excited, here are some snapshots of one lovely lady my mom had the pleasure of attending high school alongside. No word of a lie.

All Photos: Private Collection

Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. I’m tired, still full of last night’s 10 p.m. McDonald’s and would rather be watching CSI than sitting at my desk. Monday has arrived, and in an effort to chase away those ayem blues, allow me to point you to areas of the web that may bring you some much-needed distraction.

It’s only Tuesday and yet it’s been a long week already. Thankfully, a long weekend beckons me and I made it even longer by taking Thursday off. Tomorrow I’m grabbing my gear, the dogs and heading for the ferry to spend a few days on the Island. Truth be told, what I’m looking forward to most is seeing Charley play with Benji and Casey for the first time. I have no doubt it’ll be an explosion of adorability. Enough from me…here’s my link love for the day.

You know what? It’s a slow day…that’s all I’ve got for you right now.

After December’s lack lustre teaser-trailer for the upcoming ‘Sex and the City’ movie, the studio behind bringing the glamourous girls to the big screen are finally satiating our appetites. The full-length trailer was released sometime today and has been burning up the web. I have yet to find an embeddable version on YouTube, but for now, click over here to check it out.

Thanks to Jennifer for the heads-up!











Photo: New Line Cinema