A Perfect Day!

Posted by kait / September 30, 2010

I started off this morning with a delicious latte and a crisp Autumn jaunt to work. To see all of the trees so golden and the leaves falling everywhere, gave me so much joy inside! I almost bought a pumpkin spice latte again but held off for fear of an overdose. They are so good but I could definitely see how drinking too many of them could lead to sickness. Soon after I got to work I headed up to the Calgary Herald offices to visit the staff of my favourite Canadian magazine, Calgary’s Weekly Swerve magazine to get an update on things up there and hear about their exciting new project about to launch this fall! I love going up to their offices because there is such a great energy in their. You can literally feel the creativity bursting out of the staff. Shelley Youngblut is the amazing force behind Swerve and she really puts her EVERYTHING into what she does and it shows each Friday in the latest issue. I grabbed a huge stack of Swerve’s to give out to friends and headed back downtown feeling inspired, refreshed, and hopeful. What a great way to start the day!

Tonight we are going to do our first big grocery shop with our car and stock our pantry and fridge full of all sorts of deliciousness for the busy couple of weeks to come. We also have tickets to the Yukon Blonde concert at the Republik tonight which will be great. Missed these guys everytime they have played Calgary but LOVE their music so this should be a lovely date with Mr Honey. Tomorrow we continue on our exercise adventure with a session with our fabulous trainer, Nathalie. Can’t wait — mainly because I love hanging out with her. She is so much fun. Thanksgiving is next weekend and we are going on a little road trip to Trail, B.C. to visit our friends John and Jen and their two darling daughters along with Blair and Lauren and perhaps some other Calgary folks. Should be a lovely long weekend. Since we are going away for Thanksgiving, and in my family Thanksgiving is a big deal, we are having an early celebration this Sunday with my Mom, Dad, and Tom. And of course Coco. I have so much to be thankful for it almost seems suiting that we are having two Thanksgivings!

Have a great evening! xo

Official Yuppies!

Posted by kait / September 29, 2010

Yep, that is Byron! Driving our brand-new car! I need to get some actual glamour shots of our new transportation but let me tell you we have definitely been loving getting around in our new love-bug. We got a Hyundai Accent Hatchback and it is absolutely adorable. Tons of storage and looks super cute too. Not bad for our first car. Tonight after I got home from yoga, we needed food and we also wanted to drive around in our new car so we decided lets go somewhere cool! And what is not cooler than Peter’s Drive In on 16th Ave NE. It is one of the best drive-in’s in Calgary and brings back so many memories of going there when I was a teenager with friends.

You can get any flavour you want. We went with Choco-Banana. Pretty classic, pretty yum.

Byron was more than excited about his milkshake.

The drive home…the looming Bow Tower off in the distance. It was interesting to view it from this angle. The other side of it shines into our bedroom window every night and we pretty much have to put the black-out shade down every night. Calgary, for ya.

Fall is in the Air

Posted by kait / September 29, 2010

Is there anything that is satisfying and as reminiscent of autumn as Starbucks Pumpkin Spice latte? I don’t think so. I drink Starbucks quite often but I wouldn’t say that I am a huge fan. But the Pumpkin Spice — that’s a different story. Did you know it is also gluten-free? Fantastic.

I’ve got another hour of work to go and then I am off to yoga and relaxing at home with my man.

xoxo

Kait

Pretty Pretty Pals: Sadie Designs

Posted by kait / September 29, 2010

There are so many interesting and inspiring people out there and I already know a lot of them. Recently, I hosted a contest on New Canadian Modern for my friend and jewellery designer Sarah Rankin’s company, Sadie Designs. Sarah makes truly beautiful pieces and her blog is also very inspiring. She always makes great posts about her adventures on the West Coast with her lovely fiancee Jeff. Whether it be food, film, art, fashion or just daily life, Sarah makes it oh-so-special. I am in love with her latest piece, this incredible skeleton key that has the word “PRESTO” etched into it.

Here is an excerpt of the NCM article:

Sadie Designs is a truly inspiring little company. I met Sarah while studying at the University of Calgary and always loved her prints that I would glimpse during Open Studio Days in the Art Department. She hung out with an amazing group of women who all have gone on to do incredibly inspiring and exciting things — all of them sprawled across Canada and the States, and sometimes even Europe. When I first heard about Sadie Designs coming into fruition — I was so excited to see the finished products. I love hearing stories about people who make their dreams come true, and put the motion of creating ahead of other things, a true priority. At my job here in Calgary, we recently showcased some Sadie Designs necklaces and earrings at a little show called ‘Its a Beautiful Day in the Neighbourhood’. Her collection included geometric and typographically-inspired pieces, made with fantastic natural materials and careful, beautiful detailing.

Here is a little bit more about Sadie Designs and Sarah Rankin, the artist behind it all.

About Sadie Designs: Unique, handcrafted jewelry made in Vancouver, Canada. Many things inspire Sadie: the cities I’ve lived in and visited, drawings, architectural forms, and the outdoors are just a few that come to mind.

About Sarah: Sarah studies printmaking at the University of Calgary and now lives in Vancouver where she is in her final year of a Masters of Landscape Architecture degree. She loves to make things and tried to eat in, keep her garden healthy, and walk her dog regularly. Her favourite new book is Just Kids by Patti Smith, but her favourite book ever is Where I’m Calling From by Raymond Carver.

They heard me singing and they told me to stop…

Posted by kait / September 29, 2010

Earlier this month I had a touch of the universe treating me so kindly. My brother Tom’s birthday was on September 26th and earlier in the summer I knew I wanted to get the three of us Arcade Fire tickets for his 21st birthday. However, they went on sale while we were on our honeymoon so I totally forgot about purchasing them and once we got back I heard that they sold out in 10 minutes or something crazy like that. Anyways, a couple days later, my friend Malissa sends me an email saying that she has three tickets that I can have. For free. I was shocked and amazed at her generosity and started to wonder what kind of lovely and magical things are happening in the universe. We brought her a nice bottle of wine from one of the wineries we visited in California as a thank you for the amazing tickets!

Tom was super stoked for the concert and since we all are sushi addicts, Byron and I took him out for an amazing dinner at Towa Sushi on 4th Street. There was so much sushi that we couldn’t even finish so Tom took the leftovers home to Mom and Dad. I am sure they went nuts for it too! We even had to cancel our yam tempura order because there was no way to fit any more food into us. However, I managed to eat a small popcorn at the concert but that is because I have no willpower. Those fun cartoony popcorn boxes get me everytime.

The show was at the Stampede Corral, which we were all a little bummed out about, because it is not the greatest venue in Calgary. But it does fit a lot of people and this was a sold out show. The first band Calexico was amazing! A little bit country and a little bit of Latin flavour made this performance incredible. I will definitely be looking to purchasing their album in the near future.

Arcade Fire was AMAZING as expected. We have been listening to their new album, The Suburbs non-stop for weeks and they played tons of stuff off the new album as well as all their prior hits. I have never seen so many people in one band that have endless energy. They were running back and forth, switching instruments, dancing, everything! The visuals were incredible as well, looping video with lights and live footage. It was perfect. I only wish that we were closer to the stage and had room to dance without toppling down the bleachers!

We were too far away from the stage to get any really good photos, but check out Vanda’s (my great sister-in-law) blog here. Her and her husband are huge music fans and have even guest-blogged on my other website, New Canadian Modern. She is also an avid sewer and blogger so be sure to check out her other posts of her most recent projects!

The Birthday Boy and I at Towa Sushi.

Where All The Lights Are Bright

Posted by kait / September 29, 2010

I entered a contest with the Calgary Downtown today to describe what my most stylish downtown experience would be to win a bunch of great prizes and experiences. Pretty much one of my favourite songs since I was a kid, Petula Clark sings about how great downtown is. Byron hates this song so I love singing it incessantly around him because it is so infectious, you can’t help but get it stuck in your head! Anyways, you can read my entry below and see what my materialistic dreams of downtown would be!

What could be my most stylish downtown experience?

As a downtown-girl by day and an uptown-girl by night, I mix and mingle between the two polars daily. To spend an entire day downtown, not at work, but shopping, wining, and dining would be my ultimate stylish downtown experience. I think I would probably start off the morning at my staple coffee shop deVille Luxury Coffee for something incredibly luxurious, like a velvety vanilla latte and maybe a dark chocolate cherry truffle for protein. Next I would mosey on over to The Bay to check out their latest women’s designer collections and pick up several cute dresses for fun. Heading in to The Core, I would browse and shop in some of my favourite shops including Club Monaco, Browns, Aritzia, The Gap, and Banana Republic. Taking a break for lunch, I meet a girlfriend for the Indian Buffet at Mango Shiva complete with a Pomegranate Rose Martini and a chai tea and rice pudding for dessert. Worried that I might be slightly too full to try on more clothes, I head over to Fashion Central to Volume Beauty Bar to get my hair blown out and to relax. After a scalp massage and my hair feeling silky smooth, I walk straight to Murale to get a full beauty treatment and to pick up some new essentials. After I feel entirely glamourous, inside and out, I head over to Holt Renfrew to finish off my shopping spree. I get new skirts, jackets, shirts, and party dresses to fill closet (and my other closet too!) and hardly stop to try on a couple pairs of shoes and boots that will compliment each and every outfit. I realize that I have been incredibly selfish today and I head off to the mens department to pick up my husband six Mad Men-esque suits with coordinating dress shirts and skinny ties, as well as some great weekend clothes like a classic merino wool cardigan and Ben Sherman jeans. I look at the time and I am nearly late for my dinner date with the aforementioned, and I rush down the street to Murrieta’s to have a romantic dinner for two complete with a delicious wine and music. Instead of cabbing home, we would back down to our uptown paradise and relish in the most stylish downtown Calgary experience of all!

downtown calgary

Do you believe in Magic?

Posted by kait / September 28, 2010

Last Thursday, Byron and I got taken to KOOZA Cirque du Soleil by my good friend Denise and her lovely husband Mike. Since we had just seen LOVE in Vegas, we were so excited to see another Cirque show. We are so lucky — two Cirque shows in a month! We started off the night with some delicious carnival popcorn and PINK champagne! I was so happy to be drinking pink champagne and eating popcorn. What a great combination. We found our seats under the big top in Stampede Park and settled in to watch the show. What I saw was mind-blowing. It amazes me how every single performer in Cirque Du Soliel is so incredibly talented and make everything look so easy. And then I start to think about how many Cirque shows are happening simultaneously! Who knew that there was that many amazing people in the world who can contort unexplainably and have impeccable balance? Anyways, it was a lovely autumn evening to hang out with two lovely people and see an amazing performance. Byron and I are actually considering taking a Vegas Vacation on a weekend so that we can see another Cirque show, perhap O or Viva Elvis!

I took this photo as we were leaving the grounds. What a beautiful night.

Pretty VS. Edgy: Design Dilemma

Posted by kait / September 22, 2010

Can you mix pretty with edgy?

As you can see a couple entries below, I am selling my beloved 1950s sectional sofa. It is time for a design change and I’m excited! Our lease is up on this little lofty apartment in January and we will be looking for a new place, a bigger place. Especially since the wedding and all of the amazing gifts we receieved, we have sort of outgrown the space. Be that as it may, I am still trying to cut down on the amount of material items we possess. Possessions can create emotional wear on a person and even though I am completely not minimalist in any sense and I always love to have pretty things surrounding me, there comes a time when you need to let things go to a new home.

Before we decided to move in together, Byron had bought a fabulous black vinyl couch from Nood here in Calgary. It is a very slick design and we have recently decided to move from the more 50s style to a sexy 1960s vibe in our place. We’ve also been very inspired by Roger Sterling’s office on Mad Men, black and white, everything.

Anyways, I am thinking lots of menswear inspired fabrics for all of the pillow forms I recently bought at IKEA. Plaids and pinstripes, wools and flannels. Crisp greys, blacks, and whites. Maybe a bit of purple thrown in to maintain the feminity in the house. It is pretty funny because we are going from supremely girly with pink and turquoise everywhere to something more monotone. Now all I need to do is convince my parents to give me their Saarinen table! I am worried though. How am I going to handle the lack of pink in my life?! I don’t really wear pink in my wardrobe except in the summertime. I guess a little pink lipstick might go far. There is no doubt about it that I will lapse, especially once we move. I’ll be tossin’ pink all over the new place. Or will I?

Not my parent’s table but I LOVE this kitchen!

Boxwood 4-5789

Posted by kait / September 22, 2010

Yesterday I went for a lovely lunch with my mentor and friend Patti at the new Boxwood Cafe located in the recently revamped Central Memorial Park in Calgary. I have been awaiting the launch of this new restaurant for nearly a year now since the structure started going up and I heard news that it was owned by the same people of Princes Island Park’s River Cafe. I think there is something particularly sweet about lunching or dining in a park so I couldn’t resist suggesting it when we made plans for lunch. It just opened last week so I was eager to be one of the first to sample their lunch menu.

I arrived a bit early and got a chance to fully absorb the space. Beautiful wood walls and beams, natural light shining in through the building-length skylight, and artfully picked chairs, tables, artwork, and print material. Even their signage has a gorgeous hand-tooled woodsy feel to it that kind of just makes it feel like home. Once Patti arrived, we looked over their delicious-looking menu and chose our selections. Boxwood is completely cafe-style, where you order at the front counter next to the open kitchen and they will bring out your order to your table. Patti ordered the Chickpea Fritters and Roasted Eggplant Sandwich ($10) on fresh ciabatta bread with an organic lemonade. I ordered one of their great salads which had B.C. nectarines, arugala, and feta. As a side, I thought I would try the Warm Creamy Cornmeal with Aged Sylvan Star Gouda ($6) and a delicious french-pressed coffee. The salad was great with the nectarines, though on such a cold day I could have gone for something a bit heartier. While the cornmeal was delicious, I don’t think I would order it again as it was a little too rich and sticky for my tasting. You never know until you try. Patti thoroughly enjoyed her sandwich and I was supremely jealous that they didn’t have gluten free bread so I could give it a whirl.

The service at Boxwood was top-notch. All of the servers were very friendly and helpful when explaining the menu and how to order. I was immediately greeted by the friendly chef when I entered the kitchen which was a nice surprise! You sure don’t see that too often in the restarant biz. I can’t wait to go back here for a romantic dinner with Byron followed by a walk through the park. Have you seen the coloured fountain lights at night yet? It is perfect.

Live Elegantly: Fabulous Dreamy 50s Sectional Sofa For Sale!

Posted by kait / September 20, 2010

An advertisement from the late 50s for a very similar couch!

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It is time that I must part with my beloved mint-condition vintage sofa! This sofa is a dream piece, bound to make every living room SWOON! Beautiful turquoise textured upholstery with 3 sectional pieces and cushions. Perfect for your vintage-inspired apartment!

$850 or best offer!

Miss Allison plays the part of a true 1950s partygirl on this glamourous sofa!

Byron fulfills his Mad Men daydreams on this great sofa!

Message me if you are interested and also if you want to come look at it!

xoxo

Kait