Mar
31
Want a mani like Rihanna, Beyonce and Katy Perry? Then try the hottest trend in nails called Minx. These vinyl nail covers (applied at professional nail salons only) come in everything from leopard print to florals to and easily seal over top of your nails without causing any damage. They also have solid colours like gold and silver which are seriously hard to do with a liquid nail polish. They’re a fantastic alternative to damaging gel nails.
Plus, they won’t chip for at least a week. I tried out a pair myself and I was really impressed. I opted for a funky geometric pattern and have never gotten so many compliments or questions about my mani. You can also try them on your toes (which would be great for summer but kind of freaks me out!).
Laura Merzetti of Scratch My Back Nail Studio in Pickering showed me how the process works. First you file and clean up your nails. Then she cut the Minx appliques to fit my fingers. Finally she placed them on and sealed them to my nails with a little heat lamp. It took seconds – not hours for the manicure to set. I don’t usually have two hours to spend at a nail salon waiting for them to dry so this solution is perfect – and unique.
They’re fun and pretty fantastic. Remove them with a blowdryer when you’re ready and they simply peel off. Find a salon near you. The prices range from $50 – $70.
Photographs courtesy of: Trish Lomax, Vitaljuice, and Richard Sorger.
– Kate Daley
Mar
30
Still exhausted and weak but now capable of being vertical for short periods. Thank-you, thank-you, thank-you — your words carried me and comforted me. As did my mother, my dearest friends, my family, and my incredibly incredible husband. Everyone managed to hold me together, distract Georgia, feed and water me (despite my protests), prop me up, tuck me in and generally get me through. Their care and your messages reached me through the fog of fear and pain and reminded me that when I fall I can stay down for a while. And then I can come back up swinging. I’m not lacing up my boxing gloves just yet, but at least I’m eyeing the ring again.
My husband on the other hand seems to be in full swing. Today he woke up and left the house early for an unscheduled confab with my oncologist. By 10:30 I was having a CT scan of my brain, by noon, bloodwork, and a couple hours later, chemo. It’s the one we were holding in reserve, vinorelbine, and my oncologist made special arrangements to get it administered today so that I can still go to Detroit tomorrow. And I am going to Detroit tomorrow, oh yes I am. If I have to be carried into the car and out again at the other end, I’m going.
My uncooperative and obstinate cancer may not respond to this chemo — given its history of response to standard treatments – but then again, it may. Even if it slows down just a little bit, it will be worth it.
This chemo may also get me disqualified from the Detroit study, but then again, it may not. My family, my oncologist and I all agreed that we have to take that chance; I simply can’t go another 5 weeks without trying some kind of treatment. Some kind of something.
So, even though I am typing this with one hand and only one eye open while lying down in a vegetal state with an excruciating, pounding headache, I am actually feeling better. All is not lost. There is action, so there is hope.
And best of all? The CT scan showed that my brain is CLEAR!!! I was warned not to get too excited since an MRI will be required to be sure that there is nothing evil lurking in the neuro-spaghetti, and of course those pesky ”auras” and headaches still need to be explained… but don’t get too excited about a clear brain scan??? That’s a tall order, given the shortage of good news around here. How about just being incredibly relieved and grateful that today at least I don’t have to reckon with cancer in my brain. Today, and maybe a few more days. Maybe lots more days.
Yes, I can hope, and I try to. But yesterday I met with my cancer shrink whose horrific job it was to tell me that I also need to recognize that this cancer is crashing through every obstacle we put in its way, and the reality is that maybe nothing — no treatments or trials or anything we can throw at at it — will stop it from killing me. My amazing cancer shrink who by the way I truly believe is one of those rare people who is doing what he was put on this earth to do (he really is that good at it.) Unfortunately this is what he was put on the earth to say to me yesterday.
Not that I hadn’t already recognized it and begun to wrestle with it on my own, and with my family and friends. But when your shrink tells it to you… ouch. Holy Moses, it’s real. It’s moments like those that you realize this isn’t one of those nightmares you get to wake up from. It’s moments like those when the world freezes and you feel like you have just glimpsed the way the whole thing works but it doesn’t matter anyway because all you want to do is love the people you love and live the life you love living… except maybe you won’t get to do that anymore.
What do you do at a moment like that? I just cried big fat gigantic splashing tears, and when they slowed down enough that I could look him in the eye I said, “My god. I’d really f**king hate to have your job right now.”
So this is where I am. This is where my family and I have to live right now: on this razor’s edge, this impossibly narrow place right smack between the terrifying reality that perhaps nothing can stop me from dying from this cancer, and the slim shiny hope of a clear brain scan and a meeting in Detroit.
And so far, the only way I have found to stay sane while living in this narrow place is to say it to myself every day, several times a day, and many times throughout the night:
but what if it works?
Mar
30
Stella McCartney’s line for GapKids was such a hit they’re bringing her back for more.
And that means rushing down there and buying the biggest size possible to squish myself into. But if you actually have children or friends who are expecting (yay!) then you can snap up some of her latest duds that complete the “perfect childhood summer wardrobe.”
Stella’s classic and yet slightly eclectic design leads to linens and cottons in soft hues perfect for both boys and girls.
“For this second collection I wanted to design pieces that ensure your child looks like an individual with their own style statement, a mixture of simple minimal styles and more detailed pieces to create a summer wardrobe for all your kids’ needs,” said McCartney.
Find soft ruffly blouses for girls, collarless shirts for boys and romper suits for babies with crochet details. There are also espadrilles and pumps. It couldn’t possibly get any cuter.
Find it in select stores now or check it out on www.gapinc.com.
– Kate Daley
Mar
29
I just found a blog that perfectly encompasses my own personal dilemma but I have not the courage nor the willpower to do what these women have done. Did they save the world? Develop a life-saving vaccine ?
Nope. They gave up shopping. For an entire YEAR.
For someone who has likely spent at least a car’s worth of money in their lifetime on the latest trends only to discard them the next season, I am in a constant predicament over whether to shop or save. Usually, due to my competitive nature and greed for products, the credit card spree wins over the savings account. Also, I basically shop for new makeup and clothes for a living, thus making it a little difficult to shun all material pursuits.
So when I heard about the 365 Fashion Rehab I had to check it out. Best friends Perdy Andrews and Alison Dunn, one in San Fransico, one in Toronto decided to give up shopping for twelve months.
Okay, so I get not shopping for clothing, but no makeup either?! That’s insane. But these ladies have done it. They’ve been nominated for a Canadian Weblog Award and you must read their blog. It’s priceless.
Style on a budget at its best. Find their story here: http://www.365fashionrehab.com/. Their laments are hilarious and sad – and include some of the latest trends for those shopaholics out there. They even have YouTube videos. It’s a must read.
– Kate Daley
Mar
28
I crashed. Bed-ridden. Horizontal. Coughing pain, back pain, headaches, stomach pain, short of breath, no appetite, muscle spasms, weak, weak, weak… Just frightening and terrible.
Helpless. Never alone, thank god.
Angry: they let me get this way — they stopped trying to treat me.
Am coming out of it now, I think. Was even out of bed for a couple of hours (almost) today, putting on a good show for Georgia.
Must rest and recover. Must get some kind of treatment this week, some kind of help, from my oncologist. And MUST be well enough to go to Detroit Thursday to meet with study doctor.
Must. Not. Give. Up.
