Keira-anne.com

There is something to be said for knowing one’s self, but identifying one’s self is something entirely different. It’s nothing short of amazing to me to see the ways in which I have changed through each year of my life, and of how I have transformed from girl to young lady to woman. And even as such, I still have next to no idea what that really means. I know who I am, I know my name, what I like, what I dislike, what I’ve experienced and what I desire. All of that is pertaining only to me, but what about me as a woman? That’s an entirely separate entity, however marked with many of the same traits that I likely share with the other more than three billion women in this world.

I have one friend who is dear to me for reasons that are unique to her. Emily and I have known each other since we traded juice boxes in kindergarten, and more than two decades later, I’d still share my lime Kool-Aid with her. Two years ago she found herself moving to Europe, and as of right now, she’s dreamily drifting back and forth between Spain and Portugal.

Yesterday Emily and I were talking like we normally do every few weeks, and as she shared with me some of the challenges she’d been facing lately, the topic of being a woman surfaced in our discussion. While it’s honest to say that the delicacies of the fairer sex can at times be a source of great frustration and eye-rolling for many men, make no mistake that we frustrate our own selves just as much. Men may find us to be complex, complicated, emotional and even – at times – ridiculous, but we women often paint ourselves with the same brush. It’s difficult to grasp objectivity when we look at ourselves.

The epiphanies that Emily and I concluded on seemed to be an incredible light bulb moment for us both. Women over-think, overanalyze, over-scrutinize, calculate and solve problems. While those traits can, on the surface, be charming to very few, Emily and I realized that it’s simply in our nature as women. It is ingrained in our feminine disposition to nurture, to love, to resolve, to maintain control, create order out of chaos, to make peace and to roll up our sleeves and get the dirty work done. So often we’re encouraged to do the opposite, but going against the fabric of what defines us is nothing short of stifling.

Many may argue that the Bible is an unreliable source, but it’s been trusted in by hundreds of generations as a compass for life. While some will fight tooth and nail to prove that it’s the absolute Word of God, it’s hard for me to believe that, through countless versions and languages, more than a few things haven’t been lost in translation along the way. However, the messages and parables of peace, love, kindness, righteousness and trust are never off course. This afternoon I found myself at the end of Proverbs:

“Her worth is far above jewels…

[She] works with her hands in delight…

She considers a field and buys it;
From her earnings she plants a vineyard.

She girds herself with strength
And makes her arms strong.
She senses that her gain is good;
Her lamp does not go out at night…

Strength and dignity are her clothing,
And she smiles at the future.
She opens her mouth in wisdom,
And the teaching of kindness is on her tongue.

Charm is deceitful and beauty is vain.”

Proverbs 31: 10-30 (NASB)

Too often I find myself beating myself up for what is in my very nature. Society commonly lends itself to unspoken and unwritten expectations of cynicism, hopelessness, guarded and implicit behavior in women. Women who display love and a gentle nature are often the first suspects.

Just as it is for Emily, so too will your life never be without challenges, tests of strength, events that shape your character and dealings that result in ultimate joy. At times things can seem downright frightening, but the only thing worth fearing is an existence so stagnant that we are no longer presented with the opportunities that are imperative to becoming the people –and the women – that we are each capable of being. No one knows whom the woman King Lemuel spoke of in that particular passage is, but I know for certain that’s the type of woman I aspire to be.

In European Renaissance, those of royalty or upper-class society often married simply for the preservation of bloodlines and social status. More often than not, these men and women sought entertainment and companionship on the side from particular people who were educated, independent, trained in the arts and added a sense of sensuous luxury to life.

These particular people were known as courtesans.

Less than two months ago, fifteen years of planning finally came to fruition in the form of Yaletown’s newest boutique, Qortezan. The shop reflects owner Edie Orenstein’s personal sense of empowerment, manifested in retail form: “I wanted to create a sensual environment of pleasure that includes all the senses.” Edie believes there’s a difference between sensuality and sexuality, and Qortezan has been designed to highlight taste, touch, smell, sound and sight through textures, layers and an expansion of these elements.

Filled with beautiful silks, rich colours, enticing scents, entertaining books and candles designed to flicker just right, Qortezan was a boutique I fell in love with the moment I walked in the door two weeks ago. I should also add that Jordy accompanied me the first time – Qortezan is completely dog-friendly!

Men will find no shortage of handsomely tailored, hand-made shirts, crafted in Montréal from Italian and German fabrics. What’s more, the entire line is accompanied by a number of shiny cufflinks to provide contrast and refined style.

Some cufflinks are just for fun too…

One cannot enter Qortezan and ignore the fact that it’s also somewhat of a treasure chest of pleasure. Too often there’s still a stigma attached to items, lotions and potions designed for romps in the bedroom, but this is one shop aimed at breaking down any potential shame. Instead, Qortezan provides a comfortable and safe ambiance to indulge your carnal side.

Aside from her desire to bring a few of her favourite little things from overseas to our slice of the globe, Edie Orenstein also has an immense passion for flamenco dancing. Not only are traditional, hand-stitched manton scarves and leather flamenco shoes available for purchase (direct from Seville, Spain) at Qortezan, the shop will soon be transforming into a dance space for special events.

My personal favourite part of the shop is the vast array of bras, panties, nylons, bustiers and feathered delights. Largely featured is one of my most-loved lingerie lines, Blush. I should also mention that, in addition to mens’ clothing, us ladies can also find some fabulous pieces that can be worn outside of the bedroom.

Lastly, but certainly not least, Qortezan is fully stocked with everything one would need to bring this sensual environment from the shop to the home. Rare mens’ colognes, sweet perfumes and essentially-scented candles can be found all through-out the shop. I’m not normally a girl who likes cologne on a man, but I certainly wouldn’t kick him out of bed for wearing Pal Zileri’s signature scent or a dab of Lab.

If you’d like to visit Qortezan for yourself, visit the shop in person at 1035 Mainland Street in Yaletown, downtown Vancouver, just south of Nelson Street. No stranger to social media, Qortezan can also be found online, on Twitter, on Flickr and on Facebook.

Regular musical acts (including an upcoming appearance by Jim Byrnes), wine nights, fragrance evenings, phenomenal sales and so much more will be happening on a regular basis, so be sure to sign up for Qortezan’s e-mail list.

What girl in her right mind would say “no” to attending an event solely dedicated to wine? Not this one, that is for certain. Oddly enough, neither is my sister-in-law Laura, so the two of us headed out for a ladies’ night with lots of wining and not so much dining.

This past weekend, Mount Washington Alpine Resort hosted its 11th Annual Alpine Wine Festival at the gorgeously inviting Raven Lodge. Nearly two dozen wineries were represented with more bottles of fine wines than I had the time – or capacity – to sample.

The Comox Valley’s own Natural Pastures Cheese Company was on hand, offering tastes of their many varieties of soft and hard cheeses. When I inquired about whether any of the products in their range contained rennet, the head cheese-maker told me that none contain rennet simply because, as he put it, “to do so in cheese-making is a barbaric practice.” One more reason to love them…

I am both a self-professed pinot noir “snob” and nine times out of ten will always buy a BC-produced wine. Not only did the wine festival provide me with the opportunity to try wines from various regions around the globe, it also expanded my palate into a number of varietals. Though that said, the brand new pinot noir from Two Oceans, out of South Africa, gets my vote for best wine at the festival.

I have never, ever found a shiraz that I enjoyed, but did find the 2007 Three Winds Syrah to be incredibly delicious. You may find it interesting to know that shiraz and syrah are essentially the same wine and developed from the same grape but that syrah originated in France, whereas Australians and South Africans prefer to refer to their wines as a shiraz.

After hearing much raving about Vancouver Island’s Sea Cider from both John and Rebecca, I believe the hype! Nothing beats the crisp and refreshing taste of local apples combined with belly-warming sensations.

No wine festival would be complete without a selection of ports and dessert wines. While there were a few offerings vying for our favour, both Laura and I agreed that the 2008 Framboise from Elephant Island Orchard Wines was the hands-down favourite for us. Sweet raspberries dancing with 16% alcohol makes for quite the party in one’s mouth.

While I’d be hard-pressed to choose a wine I didn’t enjoy, some noteworthy highlights for me include:

What may impress you the most about all of the wines featured at the festival is that every bottle sampled is a completely affordable wine. None were over $30 and most were priced well under $20. Whoever said you had to spend a lot to enjoy a fine night in clearly hasn’t tried the right wines.

It goes without saying that I’ll be lining up for next year’s festival. In the meantime, it’s hard to believe that it’s only a matter of a few short months before the snow starts falling once again.

For now, check out Mount Washington online for a full list of summer events still to come – including how you can purchase an early bird winter season pass and win some great prizes. The mountain is also on Twitter, so be sure to follow them.

Today is a very special day.

My lovable, sweet-as-pie, kind-as-candy and darling friend Ashley is celebrating her birthday.

Friends for nearly a decade, there aren’t a lot of adventures we haven’t been on. We’ve ridden roller coasters, drank wine stashed in thermoses in the park, soaked in the Banff hot springs in matching bikinis, eaten most likely litres of Island Farms ice cream, talked under the stars, clung to each other during horror films and consumed our combined weight in Cupcakes. Ashley has even been a motherly hand to hold at the dentist’s office when I got an abscess on vacation.

What I love most about my “sister” – besides our uncanny knack to dress alike without even planning on it – is her unconditional love. No matter how different our viewpoints or opinions or thoughts are, she’s always there to love and respect me. Ashley is one of the few people I can be my true self with because she does not judge.

This article was originally featured on Miss604.com as a guest post during Blogathon 2009 on Saturday, July 25.

There are few Canadian artists as iconic as Emily Carr. Known around the world for her eerily beautiful expressionist paintings that depict the Canadian West Coast, Emily Carr has become a pressing influence on today’s artists and how we view Canadian art today. Her striking pieces infused with bold colour are so uniquely her own, it’s easy to spot a Carr when you see one.

Photo: Victoria Lodging

What few people may know about Ms. Carr is that she was actually born on Vancouver Island in 1871, the daughter of English parents and the youngest in her family with eight older siblings. You can still visit the home in which Emily Carr was born, located at 207 Government Street in Victoria (behind the Parliament building). Shunning tradition, Ms. Carr’s passion was her art and her writing, and it was those two mediums that she designed her whole life around.

Though partially self-taught and partially encouraged by her father, Emily Carr also devoted a great deal of time to her artistic education. Initially she attended art school in San Francisco, California, but a desire to further her creativity led her to study in Paris and London as well before permanently settling in Canada.

Photo: Virtual Museum

With the mention of Ms. Carr’s name, most people will associate her with her vast collection of paintings representing British Columbia landscapes as well as First Nations villages and the abundant forests that call BC home. An animal lover, Emily Carr was no stranger to Vancouver Island’s west coast, making frequent trips to Ucluelet – many of her earliest sketches and paintings are of this area. Though her homebase was always Victoria, Ms. Carr also spent a great deal of time in the Queen Charlotte Islands and on Moresby Island. Her last trip up north was in the summer of 1928.

Photo: Wholesale Oil Painting

Following a stroke in 1939, Emily Carr’s ability to paint was deeply affected, and it was then that her writing became her prominent creative outlet. Ms. Carr’s first book was published in 1941. Her writing was widely well received and she was to receive an honourary doctorate from the University of British Columbia. Sadly Emily Carr passed away in the spring of 1945 shortly prior to this award.

In her death, Emily Carr and her incredible work are celebrated and admired. In a time when convention was everything, Ms. Carr carved her own path in life and held on to her independence. She is seen by some as one of the very first pioneers of the women’s liberation movement. As such, Emily Carr has had several Canadian schools and libraries named in her honour, as well as Vancouver’s famous Emily Carr Institute of Art + Design on Granville Island. Today, her work is undoubtedly held in high esteem with most pieces selling for six figures. More recently, an unnamed buyer purchased one of her paintings for a record-shattering $2.16 million!

To view more of Emily Carr’s stunning paintings online, please visit Emily Carr At Home and At Work. If you’d like to see Emily Carr’s work with your own eyes, consider a trip to the Vancouver Art Gallery which regularly houses a large number from her collection.

One of the rights of passage on family vacations for kids who grow up anywhere on Vancouver Island is a trip to Paradise Fun Park mini golf. Situated on the Island Highway in the area of north Parksville, Rebecca and I found it impossible not to be lured in by the colourful lights, bright flowers, towering castle and the Old Woman’s Shoe.

Aside from two putt-putt courses, Turf ‘N Surf or Treasure Island, Paradise Fun Park also features bumper boats, an arcade, gift shop, Italian café and yours truly’s favourite: Island Farms ice cream. For those wishing to celebrate their birthday at Paradise Fun Park, party with your pals in the Old Woman’s Shoe.

Photo: Miss604

I landed myself a hole-in-one on the pirate ship!

Photo: Miss604

Mini skirt for mini golf – Rebecca knew exactly what she was doing…

If you can believe it, I resisted temptation… until the next day.

Final score: Rebecca – 49, Keira-Anne – 56.

Paradise Fun Park is located at 375 West Island Highway in Parksville, BC with summer hours from 10:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m., seven days a week. Please keep in mind that the course closes during the winter months and also has an adjacent seasonal RV/campground and pet-friendly motel. Paradise Fun Park offers a really fun and affordable experience for families and pals like Rebecca and me. For more information, please visit their website.

Though it had been well over a decade since I last slipped into a kayak, I couldn’t wait to test out my sea legs once again. When Rebecca and I first started planning our girls’ getaway trip to Vancouver Island’s Oceanside region of Parksville and Qualicum, I was very excited to see that an afternoon kayak trip with Adventuress Wilderness Adventures for Women was first-up on our itinerary.

After a quick lunch in Nanaimo, we arrived at Wall Beach in Nanoose Bay for a PFD fitting. I also made sure to slather my skin with plenty of sunscreen (sun + sun reflected off water = double trouble) and ensured maximum fashionability with my brand new aquasox.

After zipping up our lifejackets, we quickly slapped on our new hats and were ready for our crash lesson in kayaking. While both Rebecca and I had been before, it’s smart to take some time to review safety rules, procedures and to agree to stay in a group.

Guiding kayak tours of the region for close to 10 years, Jan Kretz is an adventuress who knows what she’s doing. She’s got a fun attitude and a deep love for the ocean – something that was apparent to me from the moment we met her.

I was also quite impressed by her pink and purple kayak (not to mention slightly jealous)!

Soon enough we were ready to head out into the big, blue sea. Though the wind was blowing and the waves were rolling, we pressed onward from Wall Beach to Craig Bay with ferocity in our paddling. After all, we wouldn’t be adventuresses if we let a little bit of wind stop us, now would we?

As we reached the calm waters of Craig Bay, I couldn’t help by take a moment to smell the salty sea air and soak in the beauty that was around us. A bright sun, eagles soaring overhead, the towering mountains that form the spine of Vancouver Island and more geese than you can imagine…

Believe me when I say that there is nothing strenuous or stressful about laying your paddle across your kayak and letting the gentle waves lap and bob your solo vessel in the water for a few moments. Any worries were weightless, completely carried away in the sea.

Before long, the clock ticked down and it was time to head back to Wall Beach. Lucky for us, the wind was still blowing and allowed us to essentially “surf” our kayaks back to the shore. And as we all paddled in somewhat reflective silence, I can’t help but think we were all pondering how fortunate we were to be experiencing some place so beautiful by way of an adventure so unique.

UPDATE: Be sure to read Rebecca’s re-cap of our kayak adventure here.

Adventuress Wilderness Adventures for Women operates throughout most of the year with the summer months naturally being the busiest. Based out of Nanoose Bay, just 10 minutes south of Parksville, Jan offers half-day, full-day, weekend and multi-day trips geared to all skill levels of paddling. For more information and to book a paddle date with your best girlfriends, you can visit the Adventuress website, e-mail Jan directly or call toll free at 1-866-955-6702.

When Peter Griffin’s welfare cheque on Family Guy was accidentally written out for $150,000 instead of $150, he built a moat around his home and rented the Statue of David. The kids of The OC spent cash like it was going out of style and were seemingly in constant competition with each other. Al Bundy dressed the part of a man made of money when his bank account temporarily swelled on Married… With Children.

So what’s the deal with our compulsion to spend-spend-spend instead of save-save-save?

Photo: Loadtr

A few months ago I wandered into Chapters looking for a book for women on financial management. I was starting from the ground up, so I knew that a little bit of leadership in my budgeting goals would be necessary. It’s easy to say “I’m going to stop spending money and start saving it,” but we all know that actions speak louder than words. One thing the book emphasizes is that understanding why we spend is the key to learning how to stop.

The last man in my life that I was constantly trying to impress – whether subconsciously or not – had incredibly particular tastes and expectations. Though unspoken, it was implied that my hair always needed to look somewhat luxurious, my nails needed to sport a specific type of manicure, my clothing needed to be as stylish as the labels in the seams, a tan was preferable and I wouldn’t dare go to bed at night without my legs shaved. Ghosts are tough to compete with.

Feelings of inadequacy or insecurity can reveal themselves in countless ways, but in women they generally rear their ugly heads in the form of spending. Whether we’re trying to impress a man, stay neck-at-neck with our girlfriends or keep up with the Joneses, the results are the same. “Retail therapy” provides a quick fix, but the high often crashes as soon as it starts. And sadly, until we can identify our personal reasons, any changes we attempt in an effort to better our financial situation will come back like a boomerang and knock us upside the head. This applies to women and men, and can concern alcohol abuse, unhealthy relationships, drug use or sexual habits.

While only a week into my strict and self-imposed budget, I have quickly realized how much I actually enjoy this new lifestyle. It’s become apparent to me how much I craved a structure I simply didn’t have. While I initially assumed living within a tight budget would cause me great stress, I’m surprised to learn how stress-free it has instead made my life.

Reaching a place of understanding, self-acceptance and personal peace in my life has given me an incredible freedom that’s causing a ripple effect. Does this mean I won’t still purchase so-called finer items? Certainly not. But if and when I do, the only person I’ll be purchasing them for is myself.

Australian writer Germaine Greer once said “The essence of pleasure is spontaneity.” Surely she must have experienced a weekend on Vancouver Island.

Since Andrea was planning meet up with a friend of hers in the Comox Valley and I was headed there to visit family, we grabbed the same ferry together and ended up having one of those weekends made up of memories and magic.

We met so many amazing dogs on the ferry, but this Rottweiler named Beth was the star of the show. She was really just a big cat who, the more we cuddled her, the more she rested lazily against our legs.

No doubt Jordy is a water baby just like his mama. We started Saturday early by grabbing him and Charley, a couple coffees from McDonald’s and hit the beach at the Courtenay Airpark.

The water was warm and glassy, the sun hot and bright and the sand was like wet baby powder under our feet.

It’s no secret that I’m currently engaged in a passionate love affair with Vancouver Island wines, so I made sure to bring Andrea by Beaufort Vineyard and Estate Winery.

They had some swings.

I’ve never been to the Courtenay Museum & Palaeontology Centre. I don’t think you’re supposed to snap pictures, but I grabbed this one anyways. Yes, dinosaur bones and fossils have been found all over the Comox Valley.

After Miss A’s rendez-vous, she met up with my mom and I at Atlas Cafe for some dinner. I had the veggie enchilada again.

After dinner, we didn’t head straight home. Instead we found ourselves on Headquarters Road and pulled over by Casawood Farms. The space is home to many, many cows and is one of the Island’s producers of milk for Island Farms.

I wasn’t thrilled to see their ears tagged (though how different can it be than a mom piercing her baby’s ears), but I suppose it’s important for identification purposes. I was, however, excited to see that the cows had an eating area separate from their clean, dry sleeping area.

None of the cows had docked tails, none were forced to sleep in pens, none were hooked up to milk machines and there were acres and acres of green grass for them to roam during the day. The ladies let us pick up handfuls of their muck and feed them by hand. This was a great idea until my (mom’s) camera fell into the feeding trough.

Who knew cows peed out of their bums?

Really? You feel okay knowing that such beautiful girls are callously butchered like something out of a horror movie just so you can enjoy that burger? Oooookay.

A few kilometres further down the road we found another private farm with a few horses roaming the field. All it took was a sweet whistle and they came running towards us.

Like the lovely cows, the horses also let us feed them by hand with handfuls of grass we pulled from the roadside.

I think I kinda like animals.

First discovery on the ferry: Jordy left his mark on my leg.

No, not that kind of mark.

Oops… forgot this beauty shot from Coombs.

Since it was sunny, we decided to ditch the dog area and opted for a picnic on the deck instead.

Comox Brie from Natural Pastures, BC-grown cherries and über healthy crackers.

Yummmmmmy!

We met Mitch on the way back, a one-and-a-half-year-old black labrador/mastiff cross. I couldn’t tell if he was more interested in Jordy or the brie cheese, but we didn’t mind his company either way. His tongue was bigger than two of Jordy’s paws put together!

After stuffing our bellies, all three of us laid back under the big, beautiful sun for an afternoon nap.

That’s all for now, kids.

I thought that sitting down to write a Mother’s Day post would be incredibly easy, but what am I supposed to say that my mom doesn’t already know in her heart?

It’s been the biggest and most important job for the majority of her life. 28 and 25 years ago, my mother gave birth to myself and my brother, respectively. It was something more than apparent that she has always been destined for.

Photo: tempest_kat on Flickr

It’s not lost on me that there are countless people around the world who won’t celebrate today because their relationships with their mothers are all but existent. I have been so blessed with a mother who is gracious, kind, others-focused, loving, gentle, understanding, beautiful, generous, hard-working and always full of hope.

My mother is more than just my mom but my friend also. She is someone I look forward to spending time with, to talking with and to sharing with.

I don’t need one day in May to celebrate her because I love my mother every single day – something she knows all too well. There is, however, one thing I may not say as often as I should…