Project Updates: Altadore II

I love this home, I know, I say it about every home but I REALLY am loving this place. At the moment it is a disaster zone, we have an incredibly tight possession on this place so there are boxes, trades, & supplies piled everywhere. Look past all that & come and take a peek at the progress...

{office}
Another mill-work wall that I designed and handed off to my finisher. He had some choice words for me, something about angles & degrees or whatever, but it was worth it in the end...it is always worth it in the end. ;)

{railing}
We went with a modern style railing in alder with glass panels, a bit softer and less industrial than what I designed for Altadore I.

{mud room & great room}
Can't ever go wrong with the Hicks, and the floor, loving the double herringbone (you'll see more of that pattern). The great room built-in turned out amazing and the ceiling detail is playing off the wall in the front study...it's the little things.

{baths}
The master bath has the same double herringbone detail on the floor, once the glass is in for this steam shower this space will be awesomeballs! The main bath has a fun retro tile with a grey grout, lighter than the charcoal I used next door but it still gives a similar effect.

 {kitchen}
Adore this kitchen and all the details. The backsplash above the range area is a double herringbone (think mud room & master bath), the fridge surround is going to have great open shelves with the stained boxes matching the island, and oh...those pendants above the honed granite island top, swoon.

It is coming along and the clients are just amazing, we are so lucky to have people that can see the  quality, talent, and dedication that we and all of the trades put into the homes we build. So thanks S&R for being so wonderful to deal with. Mel xo
If you are interested in any of the lighting fixtures in this home please contact me for more information.

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NYC, BlogFest, & FUN...

Last week Erica & ditched the little ones and headed to NYC for BlogFest 2012...if we only knew what would be in store for us when we boarded the plane.

We got to the hotel around 7 and were down in the Village by 9pm where I was able to connect with some amazing friends from my days in the city while I was going to art school. We went to all of the old bars we used to visit back in the day and I kept joking that we were going for seafood pancakes at 4am. Well, the image of us below was taken at 4am, after our Korean feast in K-Town. I think we look pretty good for what we tackled that night!

When we were outside the restaurant, Heather, my old roommate and one of my VERY best friends looked at me and said, 'Missi, there is our old building!' Me, clueless, how could I live in this building below for so many years and not know that it had amazing character and detail?!?! I loved walking by it a few times, oh the memories!

The next day was a rough one for Erica & I since we had little sleep and maybe one too many vodka drinks. It started off with a trip uptown to have brunch with my dear friend Damon & his partner Jeremy. I love that we can meet up after years apart and the conversation takes off and there is never a dull moment. After a few hours with the boys we headed back downtown to do a little lot of shopping.

Monday started out with pouring rain so where better to go than The Dry Bar. They were gracious host and allowed a few of us bloggers to invade the space with our tresses so we could get all purdy for the events to come. Alli, the owner of Dry Bar even came in to greet us along with the architect that designed the space & two amazing gals from Joss & Main...it was perfect! Thank you all SO much for such a great start, now if the Dry Bar would only open up in Calgary (hint hint).

Oh, the pics from BlogFest, well, I am not going to lie...we might have played hooky from a lot of the events and the parties that we did attend I was too busy chatting, meeting, and having fun to snap pics (bad blogger, bad). But let me tell you this, the girls I knew I would love I did and I am so incredibly thankful that I was able to meet them. Although, I would have preferred if my first meeting with Tiffany was not at Starbucks when I was in my pajamas. Yep, that happened, but it will stay as one of the most memorable parts of the trip. Mel xo

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I'm a foodie nerd...

I post easy recipes often, reviews when I get to go to far away amazing restaurants, but one thing you may not know about me is that I am a huge foodie nerd. A few friends and I have started a yearly dinner group. Yearly you ask? Well, this latest one we started planing in September. It includes sourcing, spread sheets, meetings, one guest even fly's in from Ottawa...we take this seriously! This years party is June 9th and we are hosting it at our home, I am so excited!!

 Gremolata potato, bacon stuffed mushroom (smoked in apple-wood and coffee beans), tenderloin with port compote

Last year the crazy talented Derek (who flies in from Ottawa), Natalie, & Serge were the ones that prepared all of the food & hosted...the only thing I did was consume and take the pictures (I think I am really great at photography when I drink, haha).

  Vine-ripe tomato sorbet with tomato tartare and basil oil

This years dinner has been in the works for some time and the menu is coming together, but this year there is a twist...all of the people attending will be participating in the kitchen!

 King crab salad with cucumber jelly, grainy mustard vinaigrette and micro greens

So far we are at 12 course for the evening, everything from a scallop trio that 3 of us are involved in, deep fried egg yoke with aioli, slider trio including camel, bison, and a rabbit/venison combination, & a blackberry & borage desert.

Yellow grouper with sweet parsnips, spinach and saffron vanilla sauce

Of course I will be sharing this evening with you after the fact...31 sleeps and counting. I'm hungry just thinking about it all!!!

Chevre and walnut tartlets served along-side the cheese platter

So many exciting things in the next two months and this is just one of them, I'll be sure to share them all with you. From design, to food, to travel...good times in 2012!!! Mel xo