Kevin Spacey skipped the SAG awards to mentor theatre students in Sharjah, which just makes me love him more

There he is, looking decidedly non-terrifying on the stage at the Sharjah Institute of Theatrical Arts Sunday night, instead of in Los Angeles picking up his Screen Actors Guild Award for his chilling work portraying Frank Underwood on Netflix's House of Cards.

Overheard in the newsroom: Monday madness edition

British dates are not nice.

Do you deliver - yes or no?

We love our gun ranges in the States.

What is a grilled cheese sandwich?

You don't love your country!

Ace Hardware in Abu Dhabi: Book & Bean is no longer

What it used to look like.

What it looks like now.

One of the capital's only used bookstores, Book N Bean at Ace Hardware on Yas Mall, has closed. Admittedly, I had not been to Ace Hardware in eons, so who knows when this happened?

Still, it makes me very sad. I loved looking at all the used books, and buying some of them, I loved the coffee, and I loved popping by to watch these passionate players on Friday mornings.

Nicole Richie bringing her House of Harlow 1960 to Dubai Shopping Festival this week

Fresh from the most successful matchmaking in history (her brother-in-law Benji Madden marrying Cameron Diaz), Nicole Richie is traveling to the UAE to host a pop-up shop during Dubai Shopping Festival. You can meet her if you like: she's holding a meet-and-greet and styling session on January 30, 6pm, at The Beach across from JBR. I'd ask her how to get one leg inside a dress she's selling (but that's just me, a solid size 10-12-14).

If you go to The Beach for any length of time, I strongly recommend buying something and getting your parking validated. I am still smarting from the Dh120 I had to pay for my Giuliana and Bill Rancic interview in late December. Didn't read that one? Catch up here.

Lululemon headed to the UAE

Andrea Marcum, a totally ripped yoga teacher and founder of U Studio Yoga from Los Angeles, did more than teach a couple of really tough but inspiring yoga classes at Bodytree studio in the capital last week.

Marcum stopped me in my tracks before we started a Thursday-morning hip-opening session when she said 'Lululemon is coming here. They wanted me to tell people'. She said a store was due to open in September, but didn't know whether it would be in Abu Dhabi or Dubai.

Now, Marcum is an official Lululemon ambassador, so I consider this some pretty good intel. I'm checking with the company officially, too, and will report back.

I feel like this has The Dubai Mall written all over it, but time will tell. Lululemon is famous for its store-opening stunts, so that will be fun to watch out for too. At the moment there isn't anything on the website about a UAE location. There is a Facebook page, UAE Loves Lululemon, but it never really took off, with just 85 likes.

If ever there was a brand that would do gangbusters here, it's this much-loved (and mocked) Canadian chain of yoga clothes. Yoga classes are filled with it here, so people obviously already buy it like crazy when they are traveling. I remember marvelling at how much there was in my first Abu Dhabi yoga class. And then later, giggling at this exchange.

Even with more and more yoga gear available here, from sites like TheHotBoxKit.com or yApparel in Dubai, it's seems to still be that one little symbol yogis seem to strive for.

Bets on where the first store will be? Let me know if you see, please?

(Marcum also teaches at the portal My Yoga Gaiam, a US$10-a-month site I use to cut down on the crazy-high cost of doing regular yoga classes in the UAE).

UPDATE: I tweeted this blog at Lululemon and they favourited it. Hmmmm...

Tim Hortons delivers if you spend Dh100

You know the Canadians will be in. Just saying.

Overheard in the newsroom: The something ridiculous edition

The charcoal guy? He better hope he doesn't see me again.

Sorry habibti, no can do.

Q: How was Beirut?
A; I didn't get out of the hotel.

Want lunch? We're having dirty Indian Chinese.

Who said something ridiculous this week? I remember us all going 'oh that's ridiculous'.

Everybody and everything wants to move to the UAE.

He's eating some humble pie. Some humble, falafel pie.

We had a fluffy white cat who's now a fluffy grey cat.

I'm going to go get a coffee. Green tea won't cut it.

I can't wait to get home to see my phone.