lucky penny would never cheat on her hairdresser. gasp! the horror!

but… it is different when her hair salon opens a *new* outpost in the coolest, newly-renovated hotel on the block.

at the waldorf hotel in east vancouver, barbarella has set up chairs so you can eat yummy fare in the leeteg room, get your hair did in the lobby, run upstairs and change in one of 30 guest rooms, then race back down to get your drink on in the tiki bar.

talk about a one-stop shop!

lucky penny loves meat… and her greens, too… don’t you worry.

so when she discovered peckinpah, a new gastown joint serving up carolina-style bbq, lucky penny ran there… as fast as she could… in her see by chloé loafer booties. thank goodness she did not trip!

using a barbecue sauce that is vinegar and mustard-based (note: mid- and southwest barbecue uses ketchup and molasses), beef short ribs, pulled pork and beef brisket have been ticked off in quick succession on her to-eat list—accompanied, naturally, by fixin’s: creamed corn, southern greens, and buttermilk biscuits are [insert drawl here] simply delicious.

and… for dessert? y’all would love the deep fried mars bar.

lucky penny may live in vancouver, but… did you know she was born in “cowtown”? you know, calgary.

while she now considers herself more of a west coaster (thank goodness for recycling and green landscapes) than an albertan (save for the love of good beef and the smell of leather), there are some instances when her true roots come out. case in point: her undying obsession with all things fringed.

her favourite skirt of the moment: a black isabel marant suede and leather fringed mini. one of her favourite necklaces? a fringed number by melanie hull of a farmer’s daughter. on her wish list? one of local label gaya’s *new* fringed handbags. (oh, and let’s not forget lucky penny’s perfectly trimmed fringe.)

the duffle is perfect for days when lucky penny has to pack her work and an extra pair of shoes, while a longer-strapped, smaller version is more playful—ideal for after-after-work parties.

guess what they say is true… you can take the girl out of alberta, but you never truly take the alberta out of the girl.

giddy-up, cowboy.

lucky penny loves going to the spa. in fact, there are not many things she likes better… besides shopping, eating, and hanging out with cute boyfriend, of course.

how pleased she was, then, to stumble upon frilly lily, the newest pampering heaven to open in yaletown. owned by a calgarian entrepreneur, the latest—and first vancouver—location features an ultra-girly entrance with shabby-chic dressers stuffed to the brim with pretty headbands and jewellery, and a white-and-pink pedicure station.

waxing services are also available, and bikini styles with names like… the alaskan (“just a little off the sides”), and the hawaiian (“barely there”) keep things less, er, painful.

best of all, lucky penny luuuurves the in-house brand of potions and lotions. available in such big-name hotels as caesar’s palace in las vegas, there are cupcake and bundt cake-shaped bath bombs. the sugar lily, candy-scented body lotion? must be edible.

lucky penny used to scoff at fancy lingerie until she tried on the gangster set by agent provocateur, the sexiest of all sexy underthing purveyors. wow. who knew an “a cup” could look like that?!

their *exclusive* soirée collection is now available in vancouver, its only canadian outpost. sure lucky penny does not have $300 to spend on a bra-and-knicker set, but she bets cute boyfriend would like to see her in it.

in any case, a girl can dream… perhaps she will be surprised when the clock strikes twelve on new year’s eve?