A Spring Clean

Posted by kait / March 26, 2013

I’ve already been getting a head start on my spring cleaning this year. It has been liberating, to say the least. I have been tackling room by room and discovering exactly what stuff should absolutely stick around and which should hit the road. It is slightly terrifying when you realize that you have been toting some stuff around for nearly a decade – things that have really no sentimental value, whatsoever. Regardless of what I may be getting rid of, my biggest goal this spring is to work on compartmentalizing the stuff that is going to be sticking around after the charity bin runs.

Making sure everything you keep around has a dedicated space is so important. If you find yourself stuck trying to find a spot to keep an item, you should either rethink your organizing system or rethink keeping the item. I have come to realize that there is a fine line between an item that has sentimental value and an item that you are keeping out of guilt because it was a gift. I was holding on to a lot of things that were no longer of use to me only because I had received them as a present. The best way to get rid of something like that is to think of how someone else might discover it for the first time and enjoy it instead of it just taking up space in your cupboard.

Currently, I am reworking my bedroom closet. I managed to get rid of seven small bags of charity bin clothes from both Byron and I’s wardrobes. I ended up selling some really cute dresses that I had but didn’t wear anymore to friends on Facebook. Now I am perfecting my organizing style with bins, velvet hangers and closet organizers. Saving space is super crucial and everything you do should maximize the room you do have especially when you are living in a smaller space like a condo or apartment.

The bottom line is that you’ll want to start now, like I did, so that once summertime rolls around you won’t have to worry about digging through your closets for that dress or bag – you will have it at your fingertips in no time. The summer months should be spent enjoying the warm weather and taking advantage of your great wardrobe! Plus, the more room you make now – the more cute stuff you can pick up to replenish your wardrobe.

This is a sponsored post that I am being compensated for, however all words and opinions are my own. Thank you for supporting the brands that keep this site alive!

modern kitchen: 80th & Ivy

Posted by kait / March 20, 2013

Dinner is my favourite meal of the day. While I appreciate a nice long breakfast or a lunch date with friends, every day I kinda ‘save myself’ for dinner. There is something absolutely civilized about dining in the evening and enjoying each morsel of a beautifully prepared meal.

And a dinner done right is certainly something to write home about. Ambiance, taste and care are all elements of a dinner done right. I found these all at 80th & Ivy on Friday night. A newer restaurant to Calgary, this self-proclaimed modern kitchen is where you go for an incredible locally-sourced meal complete with wine pairing perfection, a beautiful interior and exemplary staff.

Planning date nights has been a new priority for us. While I wouldn’t exactly call us an ‘old married couple’ quite yet, it is still very easy to slip into the routine of Friday night take-out and comfy clothes. And while there is nothing wrong with a bit of routine and R&R at the end of a long week, sometimes all you need is a new experience to liven up your attitude before starting the weekend in a tired and slugglish mood.

80th & Ivy was our date night destination last week and we were absolutely blown away by the service, food and fun we had over a three course meal. It was great to meet several of the management team and really get to know their expertise and witness their enthusiasm for local product, fine wine and excellent presentation. I really appreciate that kind of dedication when I visit an independent establishment such as 80th & Ivy.

I would love to share our menu with you as well as some photos I snapped during the meal.

Drinks to start: Pimms No.2 for me and a Dunkel Beer for Byron.

Small Plate to Start: Pan Seared Scallops and Prawns with Bacon & Rhubarb Relish

Spring Creek Ranch Prime Rib with root vegetables & wilted kale. This is only available on Fridays and Saturdays – absolutely worth showing up for!

Beer Braised Short Rib with herbed gnocchi and wilted kale.

Dessert: Creme Brulee with Amarillo Ice Cream & Rhubarb Compote. To. Die. For.

The Chocolate Mousse. Triple frozen layered chocolate mousse.

Night cap: The Homemade and Village Brewery Blacksmith.

Thank you 80th & Ivy for a memorable evening of food and conversation. Looking forward to returning for future date nights!

Happy Friday: Plum Fizz

Posted by kait / March 15, 2013

Happy Friday, friends! After a tricky week of weather here in Calgary (and likely elsewhere in the world) I felt we all deserved a tasty drink to get the weekend started off right. I came up with this sweet little cocktail recipe featuring my new favourite drink obsession: Umeshu, Japanese plum wine. It is absolutely delicious, sweet and maybe slightly addictive. Regardless, I think you will enjoy the Plum Fizz!

What you need:

Umeshu Plum Wine (similar here)
DRY Juniper Berry Soda
Sliced Plums
Ice Cubes

Pull it together:

Drop an ice cube in each glass. Spear a slice of plum with a toothpick it and rest on the edge of the glass.

Fill the glass halfway with the Umeshu. Or fill it more if you want it boozy.

Here comes the fizz part! Top with the Juniper Berry Soda. Yum….

Reposition your speared plum and drop in a pretty straw. Now, slowly raise the glass to your lips and take a healthy sip. It should taste like a fizzy liquified version of the candies, Sweet Tarts. Sweet and tart with a whole lot of fizz!

Your weekend can now begin. Hope you have a great one and please let me know if you have any great cocktail ideas that I could try out!

Plum Fizz made especially for yuppielove. All photos by Kait Kucy.

Lavender Glass from Anthropologie.

Can’t Wait To Meet You Neighbour, Target!

Posted by kait / March 5, 2013

Like any self-respecting shopaholic, I am counting down the days until Target opens in Calgary. Yes, Target – the beautiful and wonderful red&white department store that fashionistas and interior decor lovers alike flock to any chance they get while in the US of A, has arrived within our scenic Canadian borders. The first three pilot stores just opened today in Ontario and I am already so jealous of those lucky shoppers. I’ve been hearing rumours that the store closet to me, Chinook Centre will open later this month or early April. You will honestly see me in there on the very first day. Call me a consumerist but I love me a good deal and handful of beautiful products.

Here are some of the great products and brands we can expect to see in our soon-to-be-opened stores.

And with that, I will leave you with this darling video Target released during the Oscars last week featuring Canadian favourites, Dragonette singing a sweet song about being neighbours.

All photos via Target

What I Learned at Alt Summit

Posted by kait / March 5, 2013

Well, this post is incredibly overdue but it was only now that I felt prompted to write it. It has been just over a month since I attended Altitude Summit in Salt Lake City. It really took me a while to absorb exactly what I learned and achieved out of the three days of extreme networking. As soon as I had returned from ALT, I headed back down to Colorado for a media fam trip to Vail Resorts for a week. The end of January was kind of a blur but now it is all coming back to me.

I have to really give a big shout-out to everyone who wrote amazing recap posts about ALT. Here were my favourite recaps that absolutely captured the essence of ALT:

Leslie Fandrich: After ALT – Making New Connections

The Proper Pinwheel: The Business of Alt’s Business Cards

Whitney Johnson: Advanced Blogging Skills

Bright Bold & Beautiful: 25 Things I Learned at ALT

It was my second year at the design conference and just like the first year it was overwhelmingly inspiring and creative for me. I thought instead of recapping every single thing I did while I was there, I thought I would break it down into my ultimate highlights from those three days.

Traveling with . I was really lucky to be traveling with a great friend and kindred spirit to ALT. We traipsed from the Grand America all the way to Whole Foods and back again with heavy bags stocked with Pellegrino, fruit & gluten-free treats. We partied and listened and learned. I think I also learned a lot from Shelley during the trip and I look forward to see what she does this year.

Crafting tiaras with Land of Nod. During a particularly busy day at ALT (the combination of panels & freelance work deadlines was stressing me out a bit), I decided to take a break and craft with the lovely ladies from Land of Nod. The tiara I made ended up being part of my outfit that night for the Mini Parties.

Spending time with Jana. My other ALT roomie was the delightful Jana Roach from the Vintage Whites Market. I met her last year at ALT and had also attended two of her markets in Montana this past summer so I was super excited to see her again. That girl is one vintage glamour queen. I loved checking out here amazing outfits every night at the parties. I know so much more will come out of our friendship – hopefully a collaboration soon!

Spontaneous Balloon Party with Color Me Katie. This was quite possibly the moment where the overwhelming goodness exploded in my brain. It was like “ohmygosh! this is so amazing and i can’t believe it is happening right now -slash- i think i am going to cry because i can’t believe this is happening right now’. Yes, I was feeling a little emotional during my trip. Anyways, Katie was so endearing as a public speaker and was so inspiring in her art practice. It was really refreshing to hear from someone who was so actively ‘do-ing’ and ‘living’ her life as opposed to the feeling you get from some bloggers that they are strictly just doing things to make a buck. She ended her keynote with a big balloon party that was an absolute blast. What a great way to end the conference.

Thought-provoking conversation instigated by Chris Anderson’s keynote on the next industrial revolution. I have still yet to delve into Chris Anderson‘s book that we were kindly gifted during the first lunch keynote of the conference but I have been thinking about his talk ever since. Essentially, he talked about how we are entering a new age of industrial revolution where we will start using the technology that has been invented over the past 20 years to the fullest extent. He focused a lot on 3D printers, a concept that still boggles my mind.

There was truly so many aspects of ALT that have already impacted my outlook on blogging and freelance work. The community surrounding ALT is incredible and exciting with new opportunities to be the best you can be around every corner. I am sure I will still be mulling over my experience until next January. A year goes by quickly…

Images all from .

Learning to Make a Life List

Posted by kait / March 4, 2013

Learning to define and set goals is one of the hardest aspects of your life to find dedicated time for. I figured it was time as I started feeling overwhelmed by the millions of ideas swarming my already busy brain. I couldn’t determine which ones were worth writing down and which ideas were just fragments that I may not necessarily pursue. I decided to learn how.

This past week I participated in a SkillShare class with the ever-wonderful Go Mighty co-founder, . The class is called Identifying Your Goals: Make a Life List with GoMighty and was everything it said it would be.

First of all, SkillShare is an incredible resource I only came aware of recently. Essentially, endless online classes that inspire you to learn new skills, become a better person and make new connections. It is even more niche than Twitter due to the fact that the people in your classes actually paid to be there. I was very impressed overall with my experience on SkillShare. I love the emails they send out with exciting new classes as well as notifications letting me know when I’ve made a new connection.

The Go Mighty workshop was an instant release of amazing ideas as I started reading my fellow classmates’ goals and plans for the future. Based on Sarah’s teachings and recommendations for getting started on my life list, I started to craft together my collection of goals. Ranging from long-term to short-term and from simple to complex, my goals started to take shape. While I won’t go into complete detail here on these goals, you can see my developing life list here.

The one thing that really stood out to me throughout this week-long experience was how accepting and supportive people are once you start voicing these ideas and goals. The amazing community on Go Mighty is just filled to the brim with good souls, who like to see good work done and done right. Everything wants to connect and reach out and help eachother. It is a group of extreme dreamers and do-ers. And I think you should sign up too. The founders of Go Mighty often work hard to help make the Mighty members find their way to completing their goals through sponsorship opportunities. That kind of dedication is often unheard of in our fast-paced internet-based lives. It is something really special.

Making lists like a pro (Images): 1. My Showroom Blog 2. 3.