Mid Century Calgary Exhibit

Hey, hi there!  Remember me? And how I disappeared after that garden hose review? (must admit - low point in my blogging career).  It's been a busy summer: watching bees on my flowers, learning to play the ukulele, saving old buildings - the usual fanfare. Am also going back to school this fall for a three-year program in natural medicine in Edmonton (wildcrafting, herbology, aromatherapy, iridology, general wizardry etc). The program is out of the Northern Stars College of Mystical Studies, which despite its Harry Potter-esque name, is apparently one of the best of its kind in North America. (I get to take a class in mushroom hunting next summer - rad).  

Apart from this big shift, I'm also speaking at a cool Mid-Century Modern Exhibition at the Kerby Centre in downtown Calgary showing from September 10-11. The exhibit features 55 of the city's best Mid Century buildings and some kick-ass architectural models from the Canadian Architectural Archives. Please drop by if you're in the area! 

LP

Reason # 2062 Not to Paint Your Wood Paneling

Source: Casa.com.br

Stuuuhning.

LP

How to Become an Urban Hippie (in 20 easy steps)

Amidst all of the heartache and turmoil in my 2013 (it really was the worst - hence only 6 POSTS last year), I managed to shift my life in a new direction. My lone new year's resolution last year, perhaps out of desperation or boredom, was to become a hippie. Over the course of the year, sometimes consciously, other times intuitively, I started to change my life.  A few days ago, we were having dinner with some friends and one of them was laughing about how I managed to replace my serious coffee addiction with peppermint essential oil. And he commented how I really have turned into a hippie and asked if I had dreamcatchers in my house (as a joke).  I have 4 of them.  How does one not have a dreamcatcher in their house with kids?  They capture bad dreams! I guess I achieved hippiedom. If you too would like to become an urban hippie, here is a comprehensive list of how to reach your dream... 

1. Start with a couple of dreamcatchers. Preferably big ones.    

2. Replace all of your glassware with mason jars.  Don't actually use them for canning.  Instead store things like nuts and goji berries in the fridge (non-hippies store these in their pantries). Replace all your water bottles with mason jars and put green coloured drinks in them when you go to yoga class.  

3. Join a yoga studio.  (I like this one: Yoga Santosha) Make sure you buy a crystal bead bracelet before you go. Hang out in the lobby with the other yogis when you're not practicing, sipping on your green smoothie.  This is your new soul family. 

Lobby of Yoga Santosha

4. Take all of your money, and give it to alternative health practitioners.  There's lots of them out there, so you will need lots of money. Revel in the extra whack of Christmas cards received from your rad alternative health team. 

My team: 
Naturopath: Integra Naturopathics (Dr. Arnel is highly recommended) 
Craniosacral Therapist: Ann-Marie Church (she's amazing, and the only one doing myofascial release as well) 
Acupunturist: Dr. Cam Forester at Prema Sai (also wonderful) 
Life Coach: Dr. Chelsea at Center for Healthy Living (truly gifted)
Osteopath: Dr. Kathy Teal at Integra Naturopathics (gentle and thorough) 

5. Buy anything that these alternative practitioners recommend.  And keep using it even if it isn't working at all. Start all of your sentences with "Well my [acupuncturist/naturopath/craniosacral therapist/intuitive therapist/life coach] said..." 

6. Take the rest of your money and shop at local organic markets (because we don't have Whole Foods here yet - ahem).  Be sure to buy everything local, even if it means eating root vegetables and pork for 8 months. My favourites are: 
Market 17
Blush Lane
Community Natural Foods
Kingsland Farmer's Market has a good selection of organic meat and fish
Light Cellar 

7. If you are a gardener, switch to biodynamic gardening.  So you can start growing vegetables/flowers with with cycles of the moon!  You can buy a calendar here: Stella Natura. Be sure to bless your seeds  and walk over your garden beds in bare feet before planting. (I had an amazing garden last year, btw)  Classes for biodynamic gardening are available here: Alexandra's Butterfly Garden.  Alexandra is really gifted and has this incredible straw bale house that she teaches out of that her husband built west of Calgary. She also has a sweat lodge on her property.  I need to be her best student. 

8. Consider a backyard chicken coop and a beehive until your husband reminds you that you live in the inner city.

9.  Cut out wheat, sugar, coffee, alcohol, and lactose permanently to achieve anti-inflammatory and pH neutral status.  Say you are happier and healthier without it.  Eat kale chips and drink bone broths. Make your own peanut butter and hummus in your new $700 Vitamix. Reluctantly buy Gwenyth Paltrow's cookbook, It's all Good. Ponder why you are never invited over to friends' houses for dinner anymore.

10. Go to crystal stores a lot.  Bring your kids.  Staff LOVE kids at crystal stores.  Especially when you buy 3 times as many crystals for all the ones they break. Buy crystals that speak to you or are pretty and match your decor.  Carry small crystals in your purse or in your bra. My favourite: Earth Gems on 17th Ave

11. Create a space for meditation and reflection. Have your partner make you a daybed made from old crates and fill the space with crystals, candles and Buddha.  Then don't ever use the room.  

12. Spend lots of money on 21-day free online meditations.  Especially anything by Deva and Mitten.  Partly because of their names.  Great spots for meditation classes: Canadian Meditation Institute and 7th Chakra on 17th Ave

13. Sage your house regularly to rid the environment of negative energies.  Buy an abalone shell and a eagle feather to store the sage for some mysterious reason. It's all about the props, baby!  Buy sage and props here: Nurture Health and Wellness 

14. Buy a dehydrator.  Did you know that dehydrated apples last for 20-25 years?  Prepare for apocalypse. Dehydrators available here. 

15. Source ridiculous food that isn't sold in Canada.  Like Great Lakes Gelatin. So you can make these.

Source: Meatified (I wonder if the blogger meant that one at the bottom to look like it was murdered?)

Aren't they cute?  And they heal your gut lining! 

16. Who needs western medicine? All things can be cured with apple cider vinegar, honey, and flower tinctures!  My favourite vibrational medicine is here: Senses of the Soul (and local!)

17. Buy 15-20 different natural deodorants as you transition away from nasty aluminum-based regular deodorant. This one rocks (At least no one has told me otherwise).  And it's Calgary-made!  

18. Read as many alternative health books as possible. If someone recommends it, it must be good. Add it to the pile. Ditto for websites, Facebook pages, or classes. 

19. Become a Young Living rep: Young Living Canada 

Wear/diffuse essential oils at all time. Ignore all 'scent free zone' signs. They don't apply to natural oils!  

And add holiday to the lavender fields in Mona, Utah to your bucket list.

Young Living Lavender Farm, Mona Utah

20. Blame all of your mood swings on solar flares and the transition into the Age of Aquarius. For fascinating energy reports see: Senses of the Soul Blog

Good luck!


LP

An Ode to the Bungalow

A feature on CBC radio I was interviewed for last month. I'm always reticent to post radio interviews.  I swear I don't know what to do with my hands.  

Ode to the Bungalow

A Calgary Bungalow 'After' 

Enjoy!  

LP

Study Area

We live in close proximity to a C-train station (light rail train) in the inner city in C-town.   When we were looking to buy prior to moving out here, I was keen to find something close to transit - for two main reasons:

1. I'm generally lazy and don't like driving
2. Potential increase in resale value due to proximity (which we were planning to do after 2 years)

What I didn't factor into my best laid, 2-year plan was that I would fall madly in love with my house.  Drafty windows*, ugly pink bathroom and creepy wood stairs and all.  Crap. So we've decided to stay longer than originally anticipated.

Now we have been swacked in the back of the head with a new layer of complication.  The TOD (Transit Oriented Development). Dunh Dunh Dunh... 

The City of Calgary is all over the TOD, which boils down to increased, mixed density around transit stops.  I think densification is a critical step for building sustainable cities - I really do.  (Lordy knows I love Portland). Particularly if the development interfaces well with the neighbourhood, respects its original character and is designed to engage in the same way that a neighbourhood unit typically functions (see below - gooorrrrgggeeeouuusss).  Unfortunately, TOD's also affect historic neighbourhoods (with smaller houses) and many are under threat in the city from complete annihilation and replacement with soaring multi unit buildings. 

ooh_food on Flickr

When it boils down to it, it's not the planning initiative that I fear but how the policies translate in the real world. Inevitably, when a developer gets involved (who is ultimately bottom line driven), the neighbourhood is under risk of getting stuck with an ugly stucco clad monstrosity with bad vinyl windows and Lee-Press-On faux river rock. The only solace is that the building will likely be built with such cheap material that it won't even last 30 years.

ok ok - I'm over-reacting.  But it's warranted. Last week we received a letter from the city requesting our participation in an upcoming stakeholder consultation. Our property and several other neighbours were demarked within a red lined boundary known as 'The Study Area'.  Then a couple days later when I'm out, a friendly realtor knocks on our door, wondering if we would have any interest in selling - her client, (a developer) has been amassing properties near ours for the last few years. The developer picked up a number of smaller bungalows on the cheap which they are either renting or just generally neglecting in hopes of lowering their neighbourhood value. We're one of the last few he needs.  H. (hubby) takes the realtor on a tour of the house, shows her everything we've updated, peeled back, buffed, painted.  She smiles politely, looks disinterested and tells him to give her a call to discuss things after he talks to me. H. googles the developer. They reno and flip cheap apartment units. This is not good news.

So now what?  We own a ubiquitous mid century house.  What are our options?  Do we historically designate (so it cannot be torn down)?  Can we even historically designate as ours is a fairly modest mid century house? What if we need to sell and designation scares off potential buyers?  What if we don't designate and our perfect little prairie house is torn down?

I am constantly telling clients in my heritage business that a heritage house is one of the most powerful bargaining tools you can have.  And now that I'm in that very same situation, I certainly don't feel very powerful...

LP


*the ones we haven't restored

Mid Century Kijiji

I'm a big fan of second hand all-things-home.  When I lived in Vancouver, there was a high probability of finding mid century lust-worthy items on Craigslist. The general rule of thumb there is to not peruse if you're not in the market to buy. Because you'll undoubtedly buy. 

Calgary is a different story.  In 2 years, scanning Kijiji on a daily basis (for some reason it's the cool buy/sell site here in Alberta), all I've bought is a globe-of-the-world lamp (Scroll down to corner cabinet).  The selection is fair at best and exorbitantly overpriced. 

Yet, nearly the whole city was built post 1947. There was buckets of money here in the 50s-late 60s.  SO WHERE IS THE MID CENTURY FURNITURE?

I have a theory that a city built on new, continues to crave only new.  Infills and shiny new cars are rampant here.  Should I be looking in the dump? I'm starting to think that's where it ends up. 

Anyways, I thought I would share my pain with readers, since I'm inundated with posts/tweets/etc on daily cheap finds on Craigslist seemingly everywhere except for here*

Kijij Calgary:

This unit is lovely - I own one myself.  But I certainly didn't pay $2500 for it.  (it's been on the site for months)

8 of these for $250.  I grew up with something similar in the '70s - maybe there was avocado coloured fruit, I don't know - but $250??

1960s Warming Cart. This is actually priced at $1250. I think you can buy a stove for under that. 

This is a 2 for 1.  $750 for a pair of one of a kind leather horse chairs. Yeehaw!

Brass Shelf - $750!!!!!  Sure, brass/gold is hot right now but come on.... (although, it does have some nice lines)

Imagine this painted matte gun metal grey.  Not bad, right? If it was $50 not $350.... 

Ok, this one is a good deal - $350 for all six chairs and the table.  Kind of Brutalist inspired, which I'm a total sucker for. 

Now, check out this post from Edmonton, which is always more hopeful. 

I adore this couch so much - it's stunning.  They are asking $1000 for it.  If it was lower, I would consider driving up in a heartbeat. 

So there's a snippet of Kijiji life in Cowtown.  I'd love to hear if any readers know any secret spots for MCM or other readers experience with Craigslist in their community.  

LP

*This post is just focused on the Kijiji mid century market in Calgary.  I would have no problem with these prices in second hand/antique stores

Speaking of Time Warps

I'm finally getting out of my time warp and have started Tweeting (my mom taught me how last night). I'm sure I will be a complete nimrod starting out so please be patient. 


I was out for dinner last night at Cassis Bistro in Calgary (which is divine) and was thinking I should tweet it, but couldn't figure it out on my phone.  Sigh... I'll get the hang of it. 


Find me at mcmcalgary


LP

Let's do the Time Warp Yeah...

I have a bad case of the 'newies' right now.  Every house we've gone into lately is new or recently renovated with thoughtful space planning with the perfect shade of gray on the walls.  I find myself dreaming about how nice it would be to have an open concept main floor, or proper lighting in the living room, taps that don't drip, a basement without Egyptian-themed wallpaper and a bathroom I'm proud to show off (curses to you, El Pinko).


My biggest frustration with restoring a house right now is the time warp factor.  I've consciously resisted painting the fir wood panelling in the living room  and the trim in the bedrooms in order to preserve the original character of the house.  We've even held onto the nautical themed light fixtures in the hallways.  (Apparently the original owners owned a property on a lake).  Add to that my obsession with thrifting... 


Regardless, whether new or old, every single thing that is brought through my slightly obnoxious nuclear yellow door, is time warped back to 1950.  And not this 1950... 

 Cocktail Hour at the Spencer Residence in Santa Monica (1950) (Julius Schulman)

Yah, this one looks about right... 

1954 Interior (Midcentury Home Style)

So I'm officially torn.  Do we tear down some walls, paint out some trim?  If we try to keep what we have, what can we do to make it less oh so 50 years ago? 


LP 

Why I LOOOOOOVE Fall

Knitbombing.  Even public art* needs to stay warm in Calgary. Photos courtesy Getdown.ca 

* Brotherhood of Man by Robert Cummings, which stands to the west of the Calgary Board of Education Building.  Designed for the Great Britain Pavilion at Expo '67 in Montreal and donated to Calgary in '68.   


LP

Mrs. Average Housewife (1945)

Image from Building or Buying a House, 1945

My how times have changed....

What would today's Mrs. Average Housewife look like? Certainly wouldn't be an arrow for 'Answering the Doorbell'

LP