Boston, Fairmont Copley Plaza Hotel: Dress for Success

I had the honour of capturing the Dress for Success luncheon on Friday January 27 held at the historic Fairmont Copley Plaza Hotel in Boston.

Dress for Success is an incredible organization which provides professional attire, career guidance and network support to women looking to find work. This year marked the 11th year of empowerment of 6,800 women.

The event was emceed by WCVB-TV's Shayna Seymour, with speeches by event co-chairs Rosalin Acosta and Lois Cornell, Chair of the Board of Directors, Jacqui Budd and Executive Director Kim Todd. The auction part of the luncheon was conducted by John Terrio of AuctionKnights. Awards honoured Boston's First Lady Angela Menino, Rick Condon and Jacqui Budd and were presented by Co-Founders Enith Levine and Nancy Schneider.

Over 400 guests were in attendance, including many of Boston's familiar faces such as NECN anchor Bridget Blythe, Wanye Budd of Goodwin Procter, Dan Kramer and Annette Goubeaux of Neiman Marcus, Kristen Daly, Tara Goodwin Frier and Margrette Cardone Mondillo from Goodwin PR, amongst other sponsors and supporters of Dress for Success.

Thank you to Kim Todd and Emmy Whitney for the opportunity to cover this fantastic event!

Boston: New Wing Photo Contest Winner

Between Jan. 19 and 21, the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum asked visitors to help tell the story of the opening of the new wing by posting photos on their Facebook page or on Twitter (@gardnermuseum).

I'm happy to announce that I won first prize (jazz concert tix!) for Thursday Jan 19 with the following shot (via Instagram and posted on Twitter: @hoggerandco).

You can see the rest of my photos from the day, here.

Thank you ISGM!

Boston: Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum

The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum opened a new wing on January 19 and I was there to capture the spirit of the day. Loved spending time in the gorgeous and retro Richard E. Floor's Living Room.

One of the highlights was meeting artist Cesare Pietroiusti and taking part in his workshop which took place in the Claire and John Bertucci Education Studio. The artist's project is the production and distribution of free drawings - 3500 to be exact. Using varying mediums (from salt-water to tea, coffee and ink) the idea is to create a work of art that you leave behind for someone else to take home the following day. Each sheet of paper had a different condition on the bottom. That day it was:

"The holder of this drawing commits to give it away, three months after having received it, to a person of their choice who lives south of them"

The medium of the day was dark Boston beer, how perfectly. And at the end of the day I was so happy to come home with both coffee and salt-water art created earlier this week. I loved how the adults and elderly who took part in the workshop sat at the tables in child-like wonder playing with the medium, totally engrossed in the whole process. I certainly spent a long time in

The 2nd floor's Special Exhbition Gallery is absolutely stunning with it's magnificent high ceilings and floor-to-ceiling glass windows. A wonderful place to have work exhibited, to be sure. I also sat in on a fun performance in Calderwood Hall, the new space for acoustic events.

The gorgeous exterior and beautiful brightly lit Cafe G complete the new wing.

It was my first time visiting The Palace, the original Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum which opened back in 1903. Photography was not allowed which allowed me to really immerse myself in the iconic works of art as well as be enveloped in lavish antiques and their history.

I could have been there longer, and I was already there the whole day! :) Time flew by, it's a mesmerizing place to be in Boston.

MLK Weekend: Provincetown, MA

As it was our first MLK weekend here in Boston, we decided a day trip was in order. Onwards to Cape Cod, we drove. Destination: the tip, mainly: Provincetown, MA.

Although it was a blustery cold January day and almost everything was closed until the Spring, we enjoyed walking around, eating some fudge and ended up having dinner at a fantastic little restaurant on the water, watching the sunset.

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Amsterdam: B + W

As seen along the streets of Amsterdam. This reminds me of an archway one would see in India. In terms of the number of cycles, Amsterdam is very similar to India, except Amsterdam has a discipline for riding whereas riding in India is more of an organized chaos.

What's funny to note here is the "India Tourism" sign hanging in the middle of the shot.

I Amsterdam

One of my favourite outdoor sites in Amsterdam was the "I Amsterdam" sign in Museumplein, behind the Rijksmuseum and near the Van Gogh Museum. The Van Gogh Museum, btw, was by far the best museum I went to. The Anne Frank House was incredibly moving as well, but more on that later.

Amsterdam: Sheep + Bicycle

One thing you see plenty of in Amsterdam is bicycles. I was expecting them, sure, but not this many.

And beware of crossing the path of a cyclist. They get very angry. You have to look both ways before getting from one side of the street to the next. The cyclist path is given more importance than the pedestrian sidewalk.

Amsterdam: The Hilton Hotel

It was raining pretty hard as soon as we arrived in Amsterdam, and it remained fairly wet and quite chilly throughout the trip. As soon as we got to The Amsterdam Hilton, made famous for John Lennon & Yoko Ono's "Bed-In-For-Peace", all we wanted to do was have a quick bite to eat and some tea. So, while we waited for our room (not the John Lennon/Yoko Ono presidential suite, alas), we dined at one of the hotel's resturants, the Half Moon Lounge. We ordered some teas and a falafel sandwich with a side of fries. How amazing was this sandwich? And the service was wonderful and unintrusive while we relaxed by the huge canal side windows. Highly recommend this hotel, which has beautiful rooms and bathrooms with gorgeous canal views and a spectacular breakfast buffet, which may make an appearance on Foodhogger, later.

Boston: The Ether Dome

One of the most fascinating historic landmarks that we've visited since moving to Boston is the Ether Dome in the Bulfinch Building at Massachusetts General Hospital.

Boston: Worn

Feeling like a bicycle Saturday. As seen in Beacon Hill, Boston, Fall 2011.

Seeing Red in Montreal

As seen on the streets of Old Montreal.

Boston: Panorama

Here's a panoramic shot of downtown Boston as seen from the Deluxe Ebersol Suite at the Liberty Hotel (scroll right).

Boston in B+W

Here's a series from a walk on Cambridge St. towards City Hall.

There was an exhibit of shoes representing the number of deaths (1200) per day due to tobacco related illnesses.
I, of course, thought it was a shoe sale. :(