Some press, new house stuff, and a cat
Sun, 6 Feb 2011As Jo mentioned yesterday we're back to blogging on weekends. I think I'll stick with the theme I had ended off with back in December of my blogland favs of the week as that was relatively painless to accomplish in the midst of my usual weekend activities of laundry, groceries, house chores, parental visits and whatever else popped up. But I will be breaking that up with random posts, like for example, new work going on at my house. Today is a random post as I had a busy week and wanted to share a few things before the work week starts up.
Thursday was quite eventful. It started with a little party after work for the launch of the 2011 Interiors issue of Ottawa Magazine. I was SO STOKED because as you may recall back in the beginning of December I mentioned in this post there was a photo shoot at my home. I was interviewed and photographed for this issue of Ottawa Magazine, which happens to be the first time I've gotten a shout out locally for being a blogger with some degree of success. And Thursday I finally was able to get my hands on a copy. The story is a page and a half with a rather large photo of me in my kitchen, as well as a shot of my dining room. The photos were taken by Dwayne Brown, who is super talented and SUPER nice, especially when he found out I was interested in photography. He gave me some tips, explained everything he was doing and let me watch as he tweaked the photos on his laptop. And writer Patrick Langston stopped by the house one afternoon and hung out with my husband, myself and our herd of cats and we had a lovely chat about moi and the blog. He also sent Jo some questions are a couple quotes from her and included in the article. Despite having been featured in several magazines around the world, I have to say this one I'm most proud of. Thanks to everyone at Ottawa mag, Patrick and Dwayne!!
***UPDATE: The story is now up on the Ottawa Magazine website HERE!
I had to leave the Ottawa mag party a bit early to make it home for a meeting with our architect who was going to show us his first set of drawings of the additions we want to do to our house. More excitement! It was so great to finally get a visual of how the house is going to look. We talked for a while and came up with more ideas for my husband and I to ponder. He left some drawings with us, and I scanned them and showed my parents and the next day got some feedback from my father. I really liked his ideas so I tweaked the drawings of the main floor to incorporate them. Below are the drawings so far. The red lines delineate the current home (our current office at the back of the house isn't delineated in red because it needs to be torn down and rebuilt because it is not adequately insulated). We haven't discussed details like window placement or exterior/interior finishes yet so windows you see on the drawings are just there as an idea. I cannot wait for this work to start - THIS HOUSE IS TOO FREAKING SMALL!!!
The title of this post ends with "and a cat" - so this is the cat part. Most of you should know by now that I am a huge lover of animals, and I must since I have 7 cats in that tiny house above. I'm always willing to help out a cat in need of a good and forever home when I can - and I almost brought this poor little guy home from PetSmart the other day for my parents who are currently pet-less but the timing could not have been worse so no happy ending there. But I would like to help out a reader here in Ottawa, Elfriede, who first emailed me back in October. Her son rescued a cat whom he dropped off at her house saying he would find her a home and so far has not. She asked if I could take her in because she didn't want to have to take her to the shelter and although my answer was NO WAY, I told her I would be happy to post some photos on the blog in the hopes someone would be willing to give her a home. Elfriede would keep the cat but her new husband has asthma and cannot be around cats. Here is a bit of info Elfriede told me: My son has named her "Gretchen". I took her to a vet a few months ago and he determined that she is female, 10 years old, and a mixed breed (himalayan and tabby). He gave her all the shots and a check up and issued a clean bill of health. What I know about the cat is that she is totally lovable, very affectionate, and in winter, when she stays inside, she is content to just sleep or watch cat-tv through our picture window. In the warm weather she prefers to be outside and explore. She never ventures far from the house. She likes to be around people and likes to snuggle up to anybody who wants to participate. If anyone out there thinks they could provide a home for Gretchen, please email me (desiretoinspirekim@hotmail.com) and I can get you in contact with Elfriede. Gretchen is SO CUTE and I wish I could take her but that could mean the end of my sanity. Here are some pics:
Reader Comments (27)
Congratulations!
You and your home look great!
Keep up the amazing work.
I would take that cat in a heart beat, but alas I'm too far and I already have 4. I would LOVE to have more, but my husband would kill me (not literally of course, but a lot of arguments would ensue for sure). What is it about cats that I adore???? Everything I think!!! They make me so happy and I totally see myself becoming an old cat lady some day, hopefully not crazy though! And I think all of my friends on Facebook have me hidden due to the overload on cat posts! Oh well...their loss! Awesome article by the way! xx Danielle
Congratulations on the article. Both of you do a superb job so nice to see the recognition.
Thank you for the daily inspiration. Great, well-deserved article. Congratulations!
Fun to see the new plans for the house. Free advice here from another architectural designer...me. I would put that 90 degree corner back into the bathroom as your architect had originally drawn it. When it's all done, you will thank him for the space that it creates in the bathroom. The arrangement he had allows for the least amount of intrusion of the door that swings into the bathroom, as well as creating a very usable bathroom space overall. The "nook" that results from the 90 degree angle walls on the outside of the bathroom (in the hallway) will be invaluable for you, especially someone like you who has a great love for furnishings, handmade global crafted pieces and artwork. This simple little nook that presents itself benignly in the floor plan is an opportunity to become a treasured spot for accenting some of your favorite pieces. Sent with love and an incurable desire for great design. ~Sparky
My husband had said something to the architect about angling the door so we didn't have to build a wall where the existing door to the bathroom is but you're right, we don't need that door angled. So I'm going to fix that bathroom and re-upload a photo to my Flickr (I need to put up a new one of the main floor anyway). Thanks Sparky!
How exciting, a lovely writeup! somehow your cats know how to position themselves to greatest effect -
Can I put in a word for Gretchen? If anyone is put off by her age, I took my Suscipe in when she was twelve, and for the first few years kept praying "Please just stay for five years, that's all I'm asking", because she is without doubt the wisest, sweetest most sagacious and beautiful cat on the planet. She is now twenty and fine physically, though her intellect isn't all it was, and we bless the day we took her in. I wanted a cat that needed a break, not a kitten everyone would love, and she delights us every day.
i had no IDEA you are Ottawa based! I think I've got most of your inspirational pics saved in my computer for my own inspiration! flabbergasted and amazed! Congrats on the feature, SO WELL DESERVED!
Thanks Justyna! I'm so excited to now know about your shop - VERY cool stuff!
Congratulations!! That is so awesome! I love how you're an animal lover. And here I thought my five cats was a lot, ha! Thank you for sharing so many wonderful things (and cats!!) with us today!
suggestion - I would play with the location of the door of the main bedroom so that it doesn't open over the door of the master bath.
Well done Kim!!! VERY exciting!
Thanks everyone (including Susan my SIL-IL)!!
Mae, YES we will try and do something about that door. (Thx because I hadn't really noticed that).
Food for thought .... I hear it over and over again from designers to AVOID fireplaces in the corner; they make decorating really problematic.
Great to see the Ottawa recognition, your blog is amazing and fun, congrats! Look forward to getting the magazine.
Congratulation on the article... Now as for you new planned extention... Why would you want a pantry backing up against a toilet? Why have a laundry upstairs not down stairs? Why have the door to the bathroom at all? Why not have a sliding door from the second bedroom into the bathroom... If you need a door from the hall into that bathroom why not a sliding or bi-fold. door?
ElvisFan, we initially had the bathroom and pantry right behind the kitchen but then you would have had to walk around them to get from the living room to the kitchen. I don't know where the pantry could go where it's not butted against the bathroom. The laundry is going upstairs so I don't have to be lugging clothes up and down 2 flights of stairs anymore. I think bathroom doors are kind of necessary when there's a toilet in the space. As for doors, we haven't discussed them with the architect so anything is possible. I'd love all sliding doors upstairs (where possible) - they save so much space.
Congratulations on the article!! I'm happy so many of the cats got into the picture! I loved reading your kitchen reno blog; I hope you'll do the same with the addition to the house.
Congrats! I can't believe I am just now finding out you are from Ottawa. I am pretty sure this is the first blog I EVER read. Wow! This spotlight is very overdue and completely deserved! x
Yay for Kim! Yay for Ottawa! I find it hard to believe that you are just now getting your due respect from our city! I have been reading your blog for years and have always been so proud that you represent O-town!!
Thanks everyone!
(Jaime, I'm blushing...and now I'm off to bookmark a whole bunch of your recipes)
Oh gosh, now I'm blushing!!
Congratulations on your coming out article. People are surprised to hear that Ottawa actually has its own celebrity style blogger. I saw my coffee buddy read the article at the Bagelshop and heard her comment on it. I went out the same day and tried to get a copy of the issue, but without success.
Thank you so much for posting the pictures of Gretchen, I do hope someone out there is not scared off by her age and is able to provide her a home. Thanks for the visual images and stories that you share with us daily. KEEP UP the great work.
Thanks Elfriede! (Celebrity? I don't know about that). I'm really sorry no one has expressed interest in Gretchen yet. I think I'll mention her again in this coming Monday's pet post.
hi