Weekend Cocktail #37: Chambly Collins

I always look forward to browsing the LCBO’s Food and Drink magazine for their tasty recipes entertaining ideas, and especially loved the latest issue’s beer-based cocktail story from Bier Markt’s - perfect for this May 24 long weekend!

Here is one bursting with summer freshness that uses one of my fave brews Blanche de Chambly :

CHAMBLY COLLINS

• 1/2 tangerine, cubed
• 4 fresh raspberries
• 1 oz *Hibiscus Pink Peppercorn syrup
• 1/2 oz Tanqueray Dry Gin
• 4 oz Blanche de Chambly

1. Muddle fresh tangerine and raspberries in a Collins glass.
2. Fill with ice, then add Hibiscus Pink Peppercorn syrup and gin.
3. Top with Blanche de Chambly, stir well and garnish with fresh tangerine.

* For Hibiscus Pink Peppercorn Syrup, combine 1 cup sugar and 1 hibiscus tea bag (Celestial Seasonings Red Zinger or Yellow Zinger) with 1 cup hot water and 2 tsp. pink peppercorns. Stir to dissolve sugar and steep the tea. Remove the bag. Chill & store

(image and recipe via LCBO Food and Drink)

Linen Throw Love

Everyone loves cozying up with a throw blanket, but when warmer temps arrive, the polar fleece and faux-fur options can get too heavy. Enter linen, which is not only a lighter and more breathable fabric, but it also drapes beautifully over your sofa or chair.

The saraille magenta shaded linen throw from Designer’s Guild makes the most of the ombre trend in a juicy colour palette that pairs beautifully with white upholstery.

In a more masculine direction, the washed linen indigo throw from Restoration Hardware is a solid hit of denim blue that adds some nubby texture to your space.

If you want to keep it natural and a little more rustic, you can’t go wrong with the subtle striped Alpine Lodge Linen Blanket by Ralph Lauren.

Tea To Go

You can’t go wrong with blue and white, which is excitedly the theme for the upcoming July issue of Style At Home, so it’s no wonder I was drawn to these stunning tumblers at Teavana on the weekend.

The porcelain finish and patterns remind me of an antique lamp I grew up with in my childhood bedroom. Such a stylish way to sip!

PS- how cute are the solid coloured tins from David’s Tea? What a great way to organize your tea collection and add colour to your countertop!

Perfection

This new Vanitas by Paul Béliveau at Gallerie De Bellefeuille is totally killing me right now. The Coralie Bickford-Smith cover, the Monet water lilies, the Warhol flowers, and that mauve color in the corner…too much!

I am actually using that lillac colour in not one but two different rooms in my house, so I guess it’s not a surprise that I’m salivating over this guy too, which also features the pretty pale purple shade as an accent:

Is this cabinet I spotted at Of Things Past on the weekend not totally ridic? It’s like Kelly Wearstler pastels got mixed in with my grandmother’s chinoiserie all together in one over-the-top piece. The fact that it is sitting on a greek key brass base just pushes it over the edge. Not to mention the pattern and colours totally resemble one of my fabric obsessions that I am incorporating into my den: Manuel Canovas’ Dara from Primavera (you’ll hear more about this gem later on)

Let’s see a close up of this brass greek key base to appreciate how divine this piece is. If no one else buys it and it goes down in price, I may have to cave and buy it- it’s just too crazy not to covet.

Weekend Cocktail #36: Swedish Mule

In honour of my impending inaugural visit to Sweden for an IKEA adventure (more on that later), I am reviving the weekend cocktail with a Swedish Mule from Karlsson’s Gold vodka:

Swedish Mule

• 2 oz Karlsson’s Gold Vodka
• 4 oz Ginger beer
• 1 oz Fresh lime juice
• 0.5 oz Simple syrup (one part sugar, one part water)

Add all ingredients to a Collins glass filled with ice and stir to combine.

(image via liquor.com)

Abstracts At The Artist Project

When perusing portfolios, pinterest and other mags, it’s the tension between modern and traditional styles in an interior that most often catches my eye. It’s what keeps me guessing and wanting to see more, and one of my favourite ways to achieve that tension is by pairing a bold abstract piece of art with a more classical interior.

The art could be by a more established artist or by someone local, it doesn’t matter the provenance of the piece so much as it’s  the basic idea of hanging something that is seemingly so haphazard in a setting that’s so calculated. (Like in the Suzanne Kasler-designed space above) 

Here is a sampling of some of my favourite abstracts from the Artist Project, a great spot to start when looking for your own piece, which just wrapped up here in Toronto:

The black ground and large scale of this canvas from Mitchell Clark Meller is intriguing. I love how the black just sucks you in for a closer look. It would be unreal paired with my black and white striped setee.

These little guys from David Brown were small in scale and price at just $75 a pop but were big on style! I love displaying small pieces on easels and placing them on a console or chest-  this one would be amazing sitting on an elaborately detailed mahogany chest of drawers.

Anna Bateman’s “Floral Zest” has a traditional starting point of a vase filled with flowers but then goes a little haywire with bursts of messy colours. I’m drawn to the blues and pinks, a colour combo I am feeling right now, that would look beautiful with the navy sectional I am designing.

The collegiate-looking A is a fun surprise on this piece by Neil Young which is coloured like a miami sunset but given a more modern edge with its resin finish. It would be amazing in a neutral living room.

Sour Grapes

I’m a pseudo-old biddy under my youthful twenty-something exterior, so it’s not totally shocking then to learn that I love fruit made out of semi-precious stones, most notably grapes. Made of onyx, amethyst, rose quartz, jade - I love ‘em all!

You may ask yourself, what does one do with a set of stone fruit? The answer is the same as with any other pretty tchotchkes- you stare at them and enjoy!

I have seen the prices range wildly for these beauties so you can imagine my delight when I found a whole lot of them at The Elegant Garage Sale for under $50!

I put them in my pretty wedgwood jasperware footed bowl that sits on my dining table and I just love how their pale luminous colours are set off by the matte black vessel. They add permanent colour to my tabletop and bring a sense of old world elegance to the space. (emphasis on old)

Considering I spotted a single cluster priced $225 at Bergdorf Goodman on my last trip to the famed 7th floor, I was pretty pleased with my local discovery. Not so pleased was the woman behind me at the cash muttering things under her breath when she caught sight of my fruity treasure and realized what she missed out on. (know you know why my blog title was an appropriate choice- zing!)

If you find yourself with an appetite for some fruité objét of your own, Cynthia had these pretties on a recent visit:

(top image: live auctioneers)

Brass is Back and So Am I!

But unlike my pinterest quote that you can find along with lot’s of other bits and bobs of wisdom from my fellow editors on the Style At Home Pinterest board, I did really leave this blog - my bad!

You see life as a design editor at the mag is a lot of fun between all the propping, writing, events and TV appearances (like the shot above from my last Marilyn Show with Jillian Harris and my fab producer Wendy Russell), but more so a lot of work; and as the producer of Style News it has been a challenge trying to update the blog while not stealing the thunder of what may appear on the pages of Style At Home.

So why the change of heart? Well there is more than enough design love to go around and as personal projects get published, I’ll be able to post both here and on the Style At Home blog more about my design adventures behind the scenes…because who doesn’t love knowing the bajillion steps it took to arrive at the final product? Rome (or the cottage, or my own house g-d knows) wasn’t built in a day and for every thing I have decided on, I have gone through a handful of other scenarios first that have been debated, contemplated and then rehashed over and over before making up my mind. Just ask my fellow design department gals about how many different powder room schemes I have gone through! (the answer is too many)

Hopefully you’ll check back occasionally here and on the SAH blog to see what I’ve been up to and hopefully get some inspiration of your own!

Baby You’re a Firework

As a pyro, firweworks are one my favourite spectacles and one of the very best parts of the victoria day long weekend here in Canada.

To celebrate May 24 (which isn’t actually remotely close to May 24 at all this year), here are some amazing photographs from Canadian artist Jeremy Watt  (repped by Atti Gallery) that capture the frenetic energy of fireworks erupting in the night sky.

Interweb Updates

Things are busier than ever in Jessica Claire’s World as the cottage wraps up, house plans amp up and high season at the magazine shifts into gear.

One exciting thing to share is that Garnet Hill, a fab source for beautiful linens, home accessories and more, is now shipping to Canada, so it was perfect timing for me to curate a list of my fave items from them on their FB page. I have featured their product in the magazine before so it’s great to know it’s more accessible than ever.

Their weekend knit throw is totally calling my name! Nap buddy? Yes please!

Also, online is a 20 questions feature on the Style At Home page in conjunction with the our designer secrets issue. Check it out for some juicy nuggets including the store where I could spends hours browsing and the purchase I’d make if money were no object.

I’m off to Brimfield tomorrow with some awesome Style At Home editors and will be tweeting and instagramming up a storm so make sure you’re following me and the style at home page for the latest! We’ll also be uploading shots to our special Brimfield pinterest board of our fave finds that I will be carting around in my sexy old lady meets homeless bottle collecting mobile shopping cart. Wish me luck!