OH JOY! LET’S HAVE A PARTY!

Posted by kait / March 17, 2014

Joy Cho of the lovely Oh Joy! blog just launched a collection of some gorgeously inspired entertaining goodies at Target. Corals, turquoise, chartreuse and lots of gold – perfect for a garden party or impromptu picnic with your girlfriends. The collection just arrived in Canadian stores yesterday so get in there and stock up before the limited edition goods disappear.

But don’t worry – Target is releasing TWO other limited edition Pinterest collaborations with Poppy Talk and Wit & Delight. This summer is going to be bright and full of beautiful parties. Now excuse me while I go covet that coral + gold ice bucket…

photo via Oh Joy!

PALM SPRINGS, I LOVE YOU…

Posted by kait / January 16, 2014

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I love a good holiday and now that Christmas and New Year’s is over I am already moving on to the next big celebration – the holiday of hearts and love and coral. Valentine’s Day is just the best. And what could be better than Valentine’s Day somewhere equally lovely with palm trees, astroturf and pools galore? Yup, Palm Springs with your loved one is just an absolutely perfect and romantic getaway. After looking around on --> I found some fabulous golden items that will make you want to hop on a jet and get your bikini bod into the sun. Toss off those pink feather slippers and step into the pool for an epic Palm Springs pool party. Tee up your next cocktail on the wheel and pop open your Zippo. Get your palm read before hitting those pristine tennis courts. The future is bright!

These goods are shining like diamonds + waiting for you to snatch them up:

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THE PICARD MANEUVER X FIESTA MOVEMENT

Posted by kait / November 12, 2013

Over the past couple of months I have been super inspired by the Fiesta Movement. Myself along with a gaggle of other lifestyle bloggers have been sharing this exciting movement to get out more and experience life to the fullest. Meanwhile, Fiesta Agents from all over the world take on the monthly theme and shoot amazing videos sharing their interpretation of the mission.

This month’s Fiesta Movement theme is #entertainment and as I am gearing up for holiday party season I thought it would be a perfect opportunity to brush up on my entertaining skills – namely cocktail crafting. Last month, I was in Victoria, BC for a press trip and visited a great little cocktail joint called Little Jumbo. With a beautiful list of tasty beverages and fresh oysters at our avail, we couldn’t help but start sampling. The first drink that caught my eye was called The Picard Maneuver. Yep, a cocktail with the perfect nerdy reference. It sold me on it immediately. And boy oh boy, was I ever pleased. The layers of flavours in this drink are heavenly, almost tasting like some kind of perfect cloud. I knew it had to come home with me. The Picard Maneuver would be my Holiday 2013 cocktail, most certainly. I quickly pocketed the Little Jumbo swizzlestick as a memento of my time in the gorgeous Prohibition-style bar and made a silent vow to myself that I would recreate this cocktail as soon as I had the chance.

The really cool thing about this drink is that it was created using Victoria-based Silk Road Tea’s London Fog tea. One of my favourite things I loved hearing about on this press trip was how so many of the local producers, chefs and bartenders in Victoria really work together and collaborate on a lot of menu items.

What you need:

Silk Road London Fog tea (made into ice cubes)
1 oz Giffard Grapefruit
1.5 oz Tanqueray Gin
Sparkling Wine
Splash of Lemon Juice

Place London Fog ice cubes in a tumbler. Mix in Giffard Grapefruit and Tanqueray Gin. Splash in a bit of Lemon Juice. Give it a little swizzle with your Little Jumbo stirstick and top up with sparkling wine. The best part of this cocktail is when the London Fog ice cubes slowly start to melt and unleash a soft velvety flavour into the grapefruit that is, well, truly mindblowing. I can’t wait to share this cocktail with friends and family over the Christmas break – special thanks to the creator of the drink at Little Jumbo, Nate Caudle. You’ve changed my life.

Little Jumbo
506 Fort Street
Victoria, BC

Silk Road Tea
1624 Government Street
Victoria, BC

This is a sponsored post and I was compensated for my participation. The opinions expressed are my own.

COCKTAIL O’CLOCK x FIESTA MOVEMENT

Posted by kait / November 5, 2013

I am kind of obsessed with the culture of mixology and bartending. While I have only a tiny bit of talent in the area, watching mixologists do their thing is my new favourite hobby. I was recently in Victoria for a press trip and we ended up indulging in some SERIOUS cocktail sessions at the Cichetti Bar – I had no idea that so much work went into the cocktails I was drinking. From hand-juicing to roasting almonds and infusing spirits, you can really take your cocktails to new heights with a few simple tips from a mixologist. Since I really want to up my entertaining game for the holidays, I figured that learning some new skills would be the perfect self-directed challenge for November.

How appropriate that the Fiesta Movement‘s theme for November is #entertainment. What is the Fiesta Movement, you ask? Well, I’ve been sharing the movement since last month, you can see my posts about #adventure here and here. Bloggers share the movement while Fiesta Agents from all over the world take on the monthly theme and shoot amazing videos sharing their mission!

As I was browsing through the endless videos, I was looking for something that exemplified my love of parties and home entertaining. This Slow Motion Photobooth video totally made me laugh – I hope it makes you laugh too!

Next week I will share some simple ideas on how you improve upon your cocktail game at home and a recipe for my favourite new beverage! What do you love to sip in the winter?

This is a sponsored post and I was compensated for my participation. The opinions expressed are my own.

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

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

joy money club

Posted by kait / September 24, 2012

I had an amazing opportunity yesterday to spend a lovely fall afternoon outdoors drinking coffee and tea with eleven lovely Calgary girls. I have joined a Joy Money Club. The concept is simple and thoughtful: twelve women are invited to participate over twelve months. Every month each woman brings a set amount of money and it is thrown into the pot. A name is drawn and that special lady gets to take home all of the money that month and spend it on something nice for herself. Think heading to the spa, buying a new pair of shoes or just going out for a nice meal. This continues until everyone has received the money. It is amazing because at the end of the year you will be neither owing or short the money – it all equals out! Plus, it is so nice to get together each month and get to know some new faces and enjoy an afternoon of tea and snacks.

Yesterday was our first get-together and I won the money! I couldn’t believe it! It was only that morning I had used loose change (think dimes and quarters) from the bottom of my purse to buy an Americano! I certainly felt very lucky to get it just as I most needed it. And the other exciting thing is that I get to host the next afternoon tea at my house at the end of next month! I put together this little mood board inspired by the Joy Money Club – a little bit of tea party inspiration.

After meeting Nanette Lepore this week, I fell in love with her gorgeous dress silhouettes and I think this turquoise number would do the trick for hostessing though I might have to join a couple more Joy Money Clubs to save up for it.

A lover of everything made of paper, this kraft paper envelope caught my eye with it’s pretty floral insides. Perfect for storing and keeping safe next month’s draw ballots in.

There is something to be said for a great teapot and Marimekko hits the nail right on the head. Simple design and the coinciding tea cups are the perfect minimalist addition to a potentially overly-girly tea party.

These gold leaf bowls (learn how to make them here!) are so glam and I think they would be so lovely (and lucky) to draw next month’s winners name out of! Or maybe to serve up some delicious bonbons in.

I just discovered an amazing new place in downtown Calgary that sells French Macarons for an excellent price. I have to pick some up for when I host next.

A fortune cookie coin purse to bring your monthly donation in? Way too perfect for an occasion like this.

will you be my pal #4

Posted by kait / May 21, 2012

May 12th marked the fourth installment of Will You Be My Pal – my fun twitter/blogger/lover of fine things get-together for women of Calgary. This one was extra special since it celebrated one year of new pals as well as the incredible people who came out to this one. We had Nathalie from Stella & Dot who threw a fabulous trunk show! We also had the adorable Liz & Alyssa from welikewelove magazine (did i mention their 10th issue just came out?) shooting a super fun pal-centric photobooth in my office. BLO Blowdry Bar came out and did boho braids for everyone and pastel polish nail touchups! We also had a couple gals from Nuskin showing off their new line of spa products. It was a wonderful afternoon full of champagne punch, candy, cheese and new ladyfriends!

You can see pictures from the past Will You Be My Pal parties here: One! Two! Three!

will you be my pal #3 recap

Posted by kait / March 6, 2012

Making new friends has got to be one of the best feelings ever. And there is no more a perfect way to bond than over a waffle bar full of delicious toppings. That is exactly what I did this past Friday evening at the third edition of Will You Be My Pal?. The lovely Rachele Doyon () hosted the soiree at her pad and we had the perfect group of creative women chatting over waffles and the crackling of the tv fireplace.

It was so great to hang out with everyone but especially cool to meet some ladies that hadn’t been able to attend a party yet but I had been chatting to on twitter for awhile. One of those ladies, freelance writer Annalise Klingbeil () has an identical twin sister in the same profession, Cailynn who actually wrote about the WYBMP parties in her recent article entitled Slow Networking. We hope to get Cailynn down to Calgary soon for a party! Super great to meet Cate Hydeman () too – you just can’t go wrong with a girl named Cate. She is a super inspiring bicycling lady with loads of romantic stories about her and her husband. Loved it!

I am planning on wrapping up the series of Will You Be My Pal? this May with the final party at my house (to bring it full circle of course!) and I can’t wait to share with everyone the theme!

will you be my pal

Posted by kait / November 3, 2011

October 21st marked the 2nd edition of Will You Be My Pal! This time we had even more ladies, more that didn’t know eachother, more food, and even more fun! I would say it was a glorious affair and I got the opportunity to meet some pals I had been waiting for ages to meet IRL! The pictures speak for themselves but I have to say – I can’t wait until Number Three which will be happening in the early spring! Thanks to everyone who came out – looking forward to meeting the rest of you next time! xo