anthropologie event!

Posted by kait / January 29, 2013

I am so excited to invite you to the craft night I am hosting at Anthropologie in celebration of Valentine’s Day on February 7th! I really hope to see some of your there for this fun night of crafting, shopping, treats and drinks. We will be doing a Card Workshop and making really special little envelopes and cards for your Valentine.

There is limited space & supplies so you must RSVP, my friends! Click here to hold your spot. we will be taking to first 50 people to email. The invitation above has all of the information on where to go and when.

We will be running two sessions: 5:30-6:30 and 7-8pm but feel free to hang out in the store and shop/chat after your session.

Anyways, would LOVE to see you there! xoxo

UPDATE: The two workshops are now full – feel free to RSVP to add your self to the wait list. xo

shopping party || blogger shindig

Posted by kait / January 21, 2013

BLOGGER_SHINDIG

In honour of attending Alt Summit this week, I decided to pull together some cute items for a blogger’s shindig. You just can’t go wrong with tons of colour, patterns and cute accessories. I think that the washi tape and band.do pom poms would be perfect favours for your blogger guests.

Can’t wait to meet you all who are also attending ALT & for the others I apologize for it being quiet around here while I hit the road to hang out with my *peeps*! xo

Straws, Bake It Pretty

Kitchen Washi Tape, Omiyage

Metallic Pom Pom Flower, ban.do

Pintucked Collar Dress, Forever 21

Carmen Striped Heel, Gorman Shop

the raw bar at hotel arts

Posted by kait / January 15, 2013

Oh, gosh! Is it just me or is there some incredible seafood in Calgary right now? All I can say is I’ve been loving eating it all up. Earlier this winter, I attended a sweet little gathering of foodies and journalists at the Hotel Arts Raw Bar for a tasting of their new Asian fusion menu. Complete with a delicious and fizzy cocktail to compliment each dish, it is an understatement to say we were impressed.

Pictured below we have my favourite cocktail of the evening – the incredible Blossom Cooler. Fresh edible flowers line the glass of this sparkling cocktail. Without better words to describe it, it takes exactly like a Sweet Tart in drink form. Delicious! Below that we have one of the stunning desserts included in the meal, Plum Wine Poached Pear with Vanilla Bean Ice Cream and Plum Wine broth infused with sake. I love the idea of a cold soup that is also dessert. It was heavenly.

There was so much great fish throughout the evening but the Steelhead Salmon Tataki with avocado, jimca and orange slaw was definitely a highlight dish. Sprinkled with soy sesame dressing it was sweet and savoury, all at once. Below we have the BC Spot Prawn & Scallop Sunomoto with buckwheat noodles and dashi sunomoto. Wow, so fresh and lot of flavour packed into this dish. I loved the texture of the seafood with the buckwheat noodles. Any lastly, we have another favourite cocktail – Mister Grey infused with fresh lavender. Delicious, light and will be amazing in the summertime on the Hotel Arts pool patio.

I am also really looking forward to Hotel Arts’ new restaurant, the Yellow Door Bistro which will be opening up sometime this month. It will be a fabulous place to grab a meal anytime of day!

visit Hotel Arts & Raw Bar:

shopping party || cheese party

Posted by kait / January 14, 2013

Today I am so excited to share my new Monday column, Shopping Party! Basically, I wanted something new for Mondays to get me inspired for the week and window-shopping inspires me like nothing else. Each Shopping Party post, I will share my outfit and entertaining picks for a theme party. These week it is a Cheese Party. For our Christmas open house, we hosted a cheese party that was a lot of fun so I thought I would share some pieces inspired by our little get-together. We had absolutely no wine leftover but plenty of cheese which led to days of grilled cheese sandwiches and mac&cheese casseroles! Be prepared.

CheeseParty

Crate & Barrel, Wooden Handled Cheese Knife Set

Little Burgundy, Leehy Oxford

Lucy Love This, French Cheese & Wine Map Tea Towel

Leif Shop, Porcelain Tasting Dish Set

Little Wren Pottery, Cheese Dish & Dome

Gap, Polkadot Shirt Dress

Anthropologie, Cheese Board

Janice Beaton Cheese, Salt Spring Island Basil Chevre

you should go: embroidery bee

Posted by kait / January 4, 2013

embroiderediloveU

I love it when my favourite companies join forces and do something really cool together.

I just RSVP’d for the awesome event co-hosted by Uppercase Magazine and STASH Needle Art Lounge have partnered up with the incredible Sublime Stitching for the ultimate Embroidery Bee. Issue #16 of Uppercase mag explores the world of knitting, knotting and needlework so what could be better than an afternoon of crafting at my fave knitting spot.

Get all the details & RSVP here!

STASH Needle Art Lounge (#1B, 1215 13 Street SE in Inglewood)
Saturday, January 19 from 1:00-4:00pm
Light refreshments will be served

Image via UPPERCASE

Hope to see you there!

Happy Friday!

Posted by kait / January 4, 2013

Happy Friday, y’all!

I can’t believe what a short week it has been. It seems like everyone was fully back into the swing of things as of January 2nd and I think by Monday I will be there too. It’s been taking me a couple days to, uhhh, adjust to waking up at a decent hour let alone getting to bed on time. I hope all my buddies out there have had a super productive week. This month (and year!) are going to be great. So much to look forward to. Alt Summit in only a couple of weeks along with two great media trips that I cannot wait to attend. Winter paradise here I come!

See ya Monday!

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a mtn adventure

Posted by kait / January 3, 2013

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A couple of weeks ago, right before Christmas we whisked ourselves away to our friends’ place in Panorama, BC. The perfect pre-holiday holiday, our weekend with Amanda and Norm was the perfect mix of laziness, food and wine. It was honestly such a beautiful place. Panorama apparently has some incredible skiing and also is host to natural hot springs. Their place was right at the base of the ski hill so we got to watch the competing skiers zip down at top speeds.

It snowed during the nights but was the perfect temperature and so sunny for snowy walks during the day. We just loved their sweet black lab, Gidget – she was so much fun to play with all weekend long.

We’ve got a couple more wintery getaways planned over the next couple of months and I will be learning to ski for the first time at the end of January. It is so hard not to be inspired by all of those stunning mountain peaks!

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Here’s to another wonderful year!

Posted by kait / January 2, 2013

thisyear

Wow, 2012 is actually over. What an amazing year full of goodness, transition and making dreams come true. I officially became self-employed this past June and I have never looked back. I love the creative freedom of being my own boss and getting to work with so many incredible people, both near and far. This year has also been a great one personally. Spending time with friends has been so special. I have met so many great girls this year through work and book clubs and the Joy Money Club – I am so thankful to live in a city where people are so friendly and open. My family has been wonderful, supportive and inspiring. I am so lucky to have such great people surrounding me. Also, my brother’s girlfriend Morgan has been such a great addition to our clan. Another super creative brain to add to the mix, it has been awesome having a sister-like friend over the past year.

The holidays were so perfect this year. All of us holing up for three days at my parents house was amazing. So many great meals, thoughtful gifts and snuggling with the poodle. I can’t believe it is time to get back to real life. I was made for taking holidays, haha!

Over the holidays, I had a chance to think long and hard about how far I’ve come this past year and where I want to go in 2013. So many ideas and possibilities flowing to the surface – I can already tell this year will be full of projects and plans. I put together a short list of things I really want to accomplish this year. I feel like they are very attainable and look forward to completing them!

1. Organize my office and keep better track of my files. I need to figure out some better storage solutions for all of my crafting supplies, books and collections. My office sometimes feels super claustrophobic when it should feel inspiring. Looking forward to clearing out, cleaning up and packing up.

2. Write more. Is it possible? I think so. This will be my first FULL year of being self-employed and I want to do as much as I can to make it successful for me.

3. Move. This is SO not a fun goal to have but it is nearly time after feeling like we’ve outgrown our current space. Byron and I have decided that with all of our projects and hobbies, apartment people we are not. Unless of course, we found some massive brick-walled loft space – we need a house. So this is officially our call out to local friends, let us know of any houses going up for rent. Preferably, we would love to have a garage, basement and three bedrooms. And preferably between Hillhurst and Chinook.

4. Sew. Sewing is always on my list but I seriously want to get making some dresses this year. I’ve been so inspired by the projects I’ve seen on Pinterest lately and I’ve got a stack of great fabrics just begging to be stitched up.

5. Teach a class. Not sure what I want to teach yet and whom I will teach it to but it will for sure be something crafty!

What do you have planned for 2013? Would love to hear your plans and I hope we get to hang out!

The Gift of Cocoa

Posted by kait / January 2, 2013

holiday_hot_cocoa_recipe-588x432

While the official season of gift-giving is now over, there is still many opportunities to brighten someone’s day during the next couple of cold months. Over at the Neighborhood, I have shared my go-to recipe for some delicious hot cocoa. Stack it up nicely in a mason jar and wrap with string – you’ve got yourself the perfect gift for friends, teachers or for a hostess gift.

Or you can just keep it for yourself and get cozy with a mug and a good movie! xo

Candy Cane Vodka Float with Village Ice Cream

Posted by kait / January 1, 2013

candycanefloat1

I know the question you are all wondering as you sit at home with various remnants from your holidays scattered throughout your kitchen – what am I supposed to do with all of this candy cane ice cream now that Christmas is over?! No matter where you picked up your Candy Cane Ice Cream (ours came from the beloved Village Ice Cream!) you can make it even more delightful as you transition from full on holiday-mode back to your regular scheduled cocktail sipping programming.

what ya gotta put down:

Village Ice Cream Candy Cane Ice Cream

Vodka (we used Smirnoff)

Peppermint Schnapps

Crushed Candy Cane Sprinkles

Club Soda

mix it up:

Start off by pouring a shot of vodka into your class. Swirl it up a bit with half a shot of the peppermint schnapps. Fill your glass halfway with soda. Here comes the absolutely delicious part! Scoop up your Candy Cane Ice Cream into perfect round scoops and drop into your glass. Top up with more soda until the ice cream floats to the edge of the glass. Sprinkle with crushed candy cane and drop a candy cane striped straw in. Slurp up and enjoy this seasonally delightful treat well into the New Year. Though it depends on how long you can make your ice cream last!

It was an absolute pleasure to hang out at Village Ice Cream with Billy again and create this yummy ice cream float! It’s a beautiful space to grab a handmade waffle cone and your favourite flavour. Plus, Billy and his team are always coming up with tasty new flavours so check in often.

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