Isabel Marant pour H&M

photo: h&m

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Last night Montreal's flagship H&M store hosted a shopping preview for many press/industry-ish guests of Isabel Marant's collaboration for the Swedish mega-chain.  As I waited to enter, I watched through the windows as the frenzy began for her signature pieces of boho/rocknroll/rolled-out-of-bed-looking-this-fabulous/cool girl styles.  But this collection wasn't just for the ladies, Marant designed her first capsule collection for men (and kids!) so they could have a piece of that cool-knit pie. 

obligatory crowd shot

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PR gurus for H&M Karen & Denis decked out in Marant finery

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Debbie tries on (L) leather trousers, (C) boys hat, (R) shiny patterned trousers 

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Yours truly was unsuccessful scoring any Marant booty, but the cream puffs kind of made up for it. Yum!

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friends helping friends clean up and clean out

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all gone

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So the preview was totally cleaned out.  But don't despair!  There's plenty to be had when the collection drops November 14, 8AM at select stores.

Nike Air Max 1:Liquid Metal

Actress, funny gal in the kitchen and friend, Debbie Wong has just come back from a trip to China with an ass-kicking cadeau from Nike.  Feast your eyes on those crazy WMNS Air Max 1 SP liquid gold kicks, from their "liquid metal" collection (yes, the liquid silver is out there too.)  Complete with the periodic table symbol "Au" inscribed on the tongues so you can teach a little science to your friends while you're at it.

Debbie wears her kicks with a tuque from Muji, a super huge vintage Ann Demeulemeester scarf, a shirt from Uniqlo, blazer with gold buttons (nice touch!) from Boy. by Band of Outsiders, and joggers by Roots.   Cozy styles for a brisk fall day, but i'm getting cold just looking at those exposed ankles...

Time to Make the Dumplings

Have I ever told you that I LOVE dumplings?!
Like really love them...I can have a frozen bag from the grocery store or freshly made ones from Qing Hua.  Either way I am as happy as a clam.

Then Debbie Wong of Debbie Wong's Wok and Gong proposed we make our own dumplings.  What?!  Sign me up! Not only would I reap the reward of hard work done by eating a bowl full of dumplings, I was also going to take a bunch of the leftovers to keep in my freezer for future dumpling emergencies.

 The set up: premade wrappers from chinatown, a little bowl of water, the stuffing mixture featured pork, tofu, bok choy, shiitake mushrooms and a mixture of dark and light soy sauce.  There in the bottom right corner was my glass of wine.  Let the wrapping begin!

fill a bit in the middle, and wet half of the edge with water, fold over, pinch to close

Dumpling party! Look how much fun we are having!

We have two techniques here, the scalloped empanada style closure and a simple version

YUUUMMM! After steaming, make saucy concoction that can be spicy, soy saucy, tanihi filled.  Whatever tickles your fancy.

Digging into some peashoots!

Simple quick and cheap, cheap, cheap

Like a little birdy