People.com

If you check back often enough, you’ll probably encounter one or two posts about my ultimate celeb crush Tori Spelling. Not only is she a genius wedding planner and total animal lover, but she has a fantastic philosophy:

“I think everything in life is an art. Your choice of words, what you wear, how you smile and put others at ease, the way you pack your kids’ lunches, or how you gift wrap a present, even the stuff you put in your purse, says something about you… Even if you feel like going to the store in sweats and lounging in front of the TV drinking orange bang all day, you can do it in a comfy, yet chic caftan while serving orange bang in a fabulous tumbler.”

Unsurprisingly, people like this run a high risk of becoming wedding junkies, because they just get what it’s all about: making the world a little more lovely, one detail at a time. They also typically manifest as interior designers, fashion designers, artists, chefs and other creative specimens.

Once upon a time on Church Street, I strolled into what is now one of my favourite restaurants in Toronto, Golden Thai. I was delighted to find fresh pink orchids placed in blue glass bottles on every table, which left as strong an impression as their killer Pad Thai (and I am not easy to please when it comes to Pad Thai). Another time, at a trattoria further up town, my family and I were gorging on brick oven pizza when our waiter surprised us with a round of Limoncello shots on the house. Although the two restaurants were worlds — or at least countries — apart, both possessed the knowledge that dynamite comes in small packages, and it’s often the little things that pack the most punch.