Tea at the Castle

Joe Fresh cashmere cardi, Club Monaco tee, Chanel pearl necklace

Just a quick post with a few photos from my weekend at high tea with the girls. Fairmont Hotel Vancouver is the perfect place for afternoon tea. We indulged in petit sandwiches, pastries, and freshly baked scones with Devonshire cream. It's becoming my favorite place to spend Sunday afternoons and we intend to make high tea a monthly thing. In other news, I'm off to Hong Kong and Bali this weekend! Hustle and bustle of city life followed by beach and paradise is my kind of vacation. Of course, I'll be blogging on the go ;) Please send any restaurant and shopping recommendations my way!

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GIVEAWAY WINNER

Thank you to everyone who entered the $100 Shopbop gift card Giveaway. I wish I had 150+ GCs to give away! Drum roll please... the winner by random selection is Dylana from Nana in Wonderland. Congrats! I adore her blog and can't wait to see what she picks with the GC.

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$100 Shopbop Gift Card Giveaway + Incredible Shopbop SALE!

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Preppy, boho, or lady-like? No matter what your style is, 2011 is a new year decade and it's time to freshen up your wardrobe. One lucky reader will win a $100 gift card to shop at one of my favorite online retailers - ShopBop! I recently treated myself to a couple pairs of shoes during the Shopbop sale over Christmas and have been looking at their Veda jackets, Add down and Duvetica jackets to help brave this winter. Now it's your chance to shop. Just don't forget to strut your stuff & share your fab finds ;)

To Enter:
1) Follow CFON on Blogger OR on Bloglovin OR on Twitter
2) Leave your Name in a comment on this post.

Enter by: Monday, Jan 24th, 2011.

Open to ALL and the winner will be randomly drawn on Tuesday, Jan 25th.
Good Luck!

Jan. 12: Glenn Yarborough "Baby the Rain Must Fall" is 81 today.

Born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Glenn Yarbrough is a folk singer with a distinctive high, clear tenor voice. He was the lead singer with The Limeliters between 1959 and 1963, and followed with a prolific solo career.

In 1957 he was one of the first singers to record the traditional "The House of the Rising Sun" for Elektra Records. Among other career highlights, he sang the title song in the holiday classic, The Christmas That Almost Wasn't in 1966, provided vocals for the Rankin/Bass animated versions of The Hobbit in 1977, and The Return of the King in 1980. He also sang "The Road Goes Ever On" and "Frodo of the Nine Fingers."

Glenn Yarbrough's major hit on single records was "Baby the Rain Must Fall," the theme tune from the film of the same name, which reached #12 pop, #2 easy listening in 1965.

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After serving in Korea, Glenn returned home to Greenwich Village where the new folk music scene was beginning. Soon after, an old college friend called because he wanted to start a record label with Glenn as its first artist. Glenn agreed and they decided on a name for the fledgling company-Elektra Records. Glenn’s album was the first for what would become a successful major label.

Glenn soon left New York for South Dakota where his father needed help running a resort. While there, he became the musical host of one of the first local television programs broadcast in the state. But his restlessness led him back to New York then points west.

By the late fifties, Glenn had settled in Aspen, Colorado. He purchased a small nightclub there called the Limelite. Within a year, Glenn met two men who would have a profound influence on his life, Alex Hassilev a baritone, and Lou Gottlieb who sang base. Each had been working as a solo act, but Glenn soon realized that together they possessed a synergy that was magic.

After a short period of perfecting their act, they set off for the "hungry i" in San Francisco, which at the time was the California nerve center for the mushrooming contemporary folk movement. The owner didn't want to put "Yarbrough, Hassilev, and Gottlieb" up on the marquee, but the group had not yet decided on a name. They chose "The Limeliters" - the name of the Aspen nightclub where they met.

Their success was immediate. Only two days after their professional debut, the group received offers from three recording companies. In early 1959 they released their first album on Elektra. Soon after they signed with RCA Victor and a string of best selling albums followed.

Never having a true chart-topping hit record, they are well known for their repertoire of rousing songs including such as "There's a Meetin' Here Tonight," "City of New Orleans," "A Dollar Down," "Have Some Madeira M'Dear," "Lonesome Traveler," "Wabash Cannonball," "Whiskey in the Jar," and many others which are performed on their more than 25 record albums and in their concerts.

The Limeliters' album, Tonight in Person reached number 5 in the U.S. charts in 1961. Their second album made the top 40, and their third release, The Slightly Fabulous Limeliters, made the top ten in the same year. But their one album with the longest staying power is undoubtedly their album of folk songs for children of all ages, Through Children's Eyes.

The group was active from 1959 until 1965, when they disbanded. Glenn left to fulfill his dream of sailing around the world: Glenn began to prepare his boat for a 10-year sail. But RCA Victor came and asked Glenn to make one album alone. That album, Time To Move On, became a hit and his sailing adventure was put on hold for the time being.

By 1967 he had recorded a long list of successful albums including Baby The Rain Must Fall. Glenn’s success continued, culminating in the mid ‘70’s by a collaboration with Rod McKuen. Rod’s book, Stanyon Streets and Other Sorrows, published and edited by Glenn, became #1 on the best seller’s list. At the same time, Glenn’s recording of The Lonely Things became his biggest album ever.

After a hiatus of sixteen years Yarbrough, Hassilev, and Gottlieb reunited and began performing as The Limeliters again in the early 1980s.

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Glenn Yarbrough is also an accomplished sailor who has owned and lived aboard three different sailboats: Armorel, all teak and still in operation; Jubilee, which Glenn helped build, taking three years; and the Brass Dolphin a Chinese junk design, and has, according to Yarbrough, sailed around the world except for the Indian Ocean.

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Jan. 12: Ameriie is 30 today.

Amerie Mi Marie Rogers - is known professionally as Ameriie. Born in Fitchburg, Massachusetts, she is a two time Grammy-nominated singer, songwriter, producer and actress. She has sold over 6 million albums worldwide.

A few months after she was born, the Rogers family moved to her mother’s native Korea, where Amerie lived for three years. Her father, Charles, was a chief warrant officer, and Amerie lived and visited many different places, including South Korea, Alaska, Texas, Virginia, and Germany.

Growing up, she and her sister were forbidden to leave the house or use the phone on school days. Amerie enrolled at Georgetown University to study literature, and was in Navy ROTC, but quit after her sophomore year. She graduated with a BA degree in English and Fine Arts minor in design.

Ameriie's first language is Korean; however, after the family left Korea, Amerie's mother made a conscious effort to limit the use of Korean with her daughters out of fear that it would impede their development of English proficiency.

 In an interview with KoreAm Journal, Ameriie said she is now only "conversational" in the Korean language and speaks it at home with her mother, Angela, and extended Korean family members.

While studying at Georgetown, she befriended a Washington D.C. club promoter who eventually put her in touch with producer Rich Harrison. Harrison, who had worked on Mary J. Blige's recent albums Mary and No More Drama, began making/developing demos with Amerie. This led to Ameriie's first record deal with Rise Entertainment in collaboration with Columbia Records.

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Ameriie debut album, All I Have, was released in 2002. Her debut hit singles were "Why Don't We Fall In Love" and "Talkin' to Me." In 2005, she released the hit "1 Thing," the lead single from her second album, Touch, which became her biggest hit to date.

The last single released from Touch was the self-titled "Touch," which became an international hit in other countries. Her third album, Because I Love It was not released in the U.S.

Ameriie released her fourth studio album titled In Love & War in November 2009. The singles from the album were "Why R U," "Heard 'Em All" "Pretty Brown" featuring Trey Songz, and "More than Love" featuring Fabolous.


Ameriie is currently in the studio working on her fifth studio album, Cymatika Vol. 1, to be released in 2011. The album title is based on the word Cymatics, which means the study of visible sound and vibration. The first single "Outside Your Body" premiered on her official website www.Ameriie.com on November 16, 2010.

Ameriie landed her first acting role as Mia Thompson in the 2004 Forest Whitaker directed romantic comedy First Daughter alongside Katie Holmes, Michael Keaton, Lela Rochon, and Marc Blucas.

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Jan. 12: British singer Pixie Lott "Turn it Up" is 20 today.

English singer-songwriter, dancer and actress Victoria Louise "Pixie" Lott was born in Bromley, South-east London. Her mother nicknamed her Pixie because she was a tiny, cute baby who "looked like a fairy."

Pixie started singing at a very young age in her church school. When she was five years-old she attended the Italia Conti Associates Saturday school in Chislehurst, then was awarded a scholarship to the main school - Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts when she was 11. When she was 13, her family moved to Brentwood.

When she was a student, she appeared in the West End production of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang at the London Palladium, and in BBC One's Celebrate the Sound of Music as Louisa von Trapp. At the age of 14, she was part of the chorus, recording vocals on Pink Floyd's Roger Waters's opera Ça Ira.

In 2006, at the age of 15, she sang for L. A. Reid after he heard a a sample of her demos. He then signed her to the Island Def Jam Music Group.

After a change of personal managers, Pixie left the Island Def Jam Music Group, to sign with Mercury Records in the UK and to Interscope Records in the U.S. She formed a publishing deal, as a songwriter, with Sony/ATV Music Publishing in December 2007, while in the midst of writing and recording tracks for  her first album, Turn It Up.

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Lott played her first festival concert in the Big Top at the Isle of Wight Festival 2009, during her first full British tour, where she supported The Saturdays on The Work Tour.

Her debut single "Mama Do" was released in June 2009 and went straight to number one in the UK Singles Chart. The single also had considerable success outside the UK, reaching the top forty in eleven other countries, including top ten peaks of number eight in Denmark and number ten in France. The single was certified silver by the British Phonographic Industry on 28 August 2009 after selling over 200,000 copies in the United Kingdom.

Her debut album Turn It Up was officially released in September 2009. Her second single from the album, "Boys and Girls," also topped the UK charts in September 2009.


Lott's third single from the album was "Cry Me Out." The fourth single, "Gravity," was released in the UK on 8 March 2010, following the premiere of its video on Channel 4 on 6 February 2010. The fifth single, the title song "Turn It Up," was released on 7 June 2010.

Turn It Up hit number six on the UK Albums Chart, spawned five consecutive Top 20 singles, and has been certified double platinum after spending almost an entire year on the charts. So far Lott has produced seven Top 20 Singles on the UK Singles Chart.

Lott won two MTV EMA Awards MTV Europe Music Awards 2009, Best UK & Ireland Act and Best Push Artist (best break through artist). Lott won a Cosmopolitan 2009 Ultimate Women Award for Ultimate Newcomer. In 2009, Lott won The Caron Keating Breakthrough Talent Award at The Variety Club Awards.

Lott also served as the opening act of Rihanna's Last Girl on Earth Tour in the UK 7–26 May 2010, and performed on the main stage at the V Festival in August 2010.

Lott was cast as Judy, Fred Figglehorn's crush, in the film Fred: The Movie, co-starring with Lucas Cruikshank. The comedy was released on America's Nickelodeon channel in September 2010.

Lott released "Boys and Girls" as her debut U.S. single in August 2010. The release coincided with the TV premiere of Fred: The Movie.

Turn It Up was released in the U.S. with a significantly updated track listing. For the new "repackaged" version Lott included duets with Jason Derulo and Joe Jonas. The album includes her newest single, "Broken Arrow"; it is being used in the trailer for new film Beastly which comes out in March 2011.

In January 2010, Lott was named one of 2010's "Faces to Watch" by Billboard magazine in the U.S.

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Jan. 12: Naya Rivera - cheerleader Santana Lopez on Glee - is 24 today.

Naya Rivera was raised in Valencia, Santa Clarita, California and has lived in the Los Angeles area for most of her life. At eight or nine months old, she began to be represented by the same talent agent as her mother, who had moved to Los Angeles to pursue modeling. Naya began writng songs when she was 15 years-old.

While appearing in TV ads as a baby, her first acting job came in 1991 when she was four, appearing as Hillary Winston in the Eddie Murphy sitcom The Royal Family.

Between 1992 and 2002, she had small roles in The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Family Matters, Live Shot, Baywatch, Smart Guy, House Blend, Even Stevens and The Master of Disguise. In 2002 she also appeared in the music video for B2K's "Why I Love You." She also appeared five times on The Bernie Mac Show. She also appeared on 8 Simple Rules and CSI: Miami.

In 2009, Rivera was cast as Cheerios cheerleading squad member Santana Lopez on Fox's musical comedy series Glee, playing a vicious cheerleader. She has characterized Santana as "a bit of a bad girl" who is "really snarky..." Santana played a more prominent part in the last nine episodes of Glee's first season. "... she's the high school terror, and she's going to continue to be the villain."

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In 2010 Rivera made the Maxim Hot 100 list, coming in at number 61.
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Jan. 11: UPDATE- Saxophonist Clarence Clemons with the E Street Band was born on this date in 1942...

... he died June 18, 2011 at the age of 69.

From 1972 until his death, Clarence Anicholas Clemons, Jr., also known as The Big Man, was a prominent member of Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band He released several solo albums and in 1985 had a hit single with "You're a Friend of Mine," a duet with Jackson Browne.

As a guest musician he also featured on Aretha Franklin's "Freeway of Love" and on Twisted Sister's "Be Chrool to Your Scuel" as well as performing in concert with The Grateful Dead and Ringo Starr & His All-Starr Band.

As an actor Clemons featured in several films, including New York, New York and Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure. He also made cameo appearances in several TV series, such as Diff'rent Strokes, Nash Bridges, The Simpsons and The Wire.

Together with his friend Don Reo he published his autobiography, Big Man: Real Life & Tall Tales, in 2009. Clemons suffered a stroke on June 12, 2011 and died due to complications from the stroke on June 18 at 69 years old.

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Clemons was the grandson of a Southern Baptist preacher and grew up listening to Gospel music. When he was nine, his father gave him an alto saxophone as a Christmas present and paid for music lessons. He later switched to baritone sax and played in a high school jazz band.

His uncle also influenced his early musical development when he bought him his first King Curtis album. Curtis, and his work with The Coasters in particular, would be become a major influence on Clemons and led to him switching to tenor saxophone.

As a youth Clemons also showed potential as an American football player, and he attended Maryland State College on both music and football scholarships. A lineman, he drew interest of the Cleveland Browns who offered him a try out. The day before he was to report, he was involved in a serious car accident which effectively ended any plans of a career in the NFL.

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Clemons had one of his earliest recording studio experiences when he was 18 years-old. with Tyrone Ashley's Funky Music Machine, a band from Plainfield, New Jersey. He also performed with Daniel Petraitis, a New Jersey and Nashville legend. These sessions were eventually released in 2007 by Truth and Soul Records as Let Me Be Your Man.

While at Maryland State College Clemons also joined his first band, The Vibratones, which played James Brown covers and stayed together for about four years between 1961 and 1965. While still playing with this band he moved to Newark, New Jersey were he worked as a counsellor for emotionally disturbed children at the Jamesburg Training School for Boys between 1962 and 1970.

Clemons first met Bruce Springsteen in September 1971. At the time Clemons was playing with Norman Seldin & The Joyful Noyze at The Wonder Bar in Asbury Park, New Jersey. Seldin was a Jersey Shore musician/entrepreneur who, as well as playing piano and leading various bands, had his own record label, Selsom Records.

In 1969 Clemons had recorded a selt-titled album with this band. In 2008 tracks from this album were reissued on an anthology, Asbury Park – Then And Now. Karen Cassidy, lead vocalist with The Joyful Noyze, encouraged Clemons to check out Springsteen who was playing with The Bruce Springsteen Band at the nearby Student Prince.

When Clarence went to hear Springsteen, when he opened the door it flew off its hinges and blew down the street. The band, who were on-stage, stared at Clarence framed in the doorway. Clarence said, "I want to play with your band." Springsteen stammered, "Sure, you do anything you want."

The first song they did together was "Spirit In The Night." "Bruce and I looked at each other and didn't say anything, we just knew. We knew we were the missing links in each other's lives."

Clemons went on and had notable solos with The E Street Band on such tunes as "Born to Run," "Thunder Road" and "Badlands."

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