My Top Picks from Interior Design Show West

Stacy Reynaud

First, I'll tell you what wasn't my favourite - the Mah Jong sofa by Roche Bobois. I've idolized this sofa on pages of magazines for years. I've even posted about it here in 2008, (and how I sold all my furniture when I was in a mood). This is the most uncomfortable thing I've ever sat on (even more than my peacock chair).

Please pardon my 2013 crappy phone photos.

There was a table-setting competition, and this woodland theme was by far the most popular.

The feature wall of the woodland room.

Do you ever feel like sometimes skulls are the equivalent of birds, as in, 'Put a bird on it.'?

This was cute. A table with a terrarium built in - sans bird.

Gorgeous ceramics by Haejin Lee

I liked this textured fake brick for a wall in our apartment 

(the wall is concrete, and we can't hang anything on it).

This was the Scandinavian table in the table-setting competition.

These were the best truffles I've ever had in my life. 

Bowen Island Chocolatier Cocoa West. They have an online shop and a B&B.

OPA! How to Make Stuffed Greek Sweet Potatoes

It's root vegetable season! Since you're probably already enjoying apple, beet and carrot juice, (or hot apple cider), you might as well go full on Autumn and whip up a stuffed baked sweet potato. We OPA'ed it and went for a Greek style one. The sweet and salty flavours were perfect together!

What you need:

• small sweet potatoes
• sliced olives
• tzatziki (recipe below)
• crumbled feta
• chopped fresh mint

What you do:

• wash and dry the sweet potatoes
• prick several times with a fork
• place on a baking pan
• bake at 325 Fahrenheit for 60 to 70 minutes until quite tender
• slice the potatoes down the center.
• layer on as much of the stuffing as you possibly can

Tzatziki Recipe

What you need:

• 1.5 cups plain yogurt
• juice of half a large lemon
• 1 small clove crushed garlic
• half a very finely grated cucumber
• handful chopped cucumber
• approx. seven leaves of fresh chopped mint
• salt and pepper if desired

What you do:

• Add first four ingredients to a bowl
• Stir
• fold in  cucumber and mint
• add salt and pepper to your taste
• chill for about an hour
• serve

We placed the olives, mint, tzatzki, and feta in small side bowls and topped our own potatoes at the table. The tzatziki soaks into the potato, (like those delicious Greek roasted potatoes), so have extra on hand. Serve with a salad as a meal and a rosemary maple bourbon sour as a side kick, (recipe coming soon).

An added feature to this meal? Sweet potatoes are loaded with beta carotene and vitamin C. Say goodbye to wrinkles and colds, (I write with hyperbole of course).

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How to Make a Ginger Snap Cocktail

 stacy reynaud

We actually tried this two summers ago and loved it but I never got around to posting about it. Of course, this summer was all about basil gimlets and basil boozicles so it was forgotten once again, until I started thinking about pumpkin pie. The two are not related whatsoever.

What you need:

• 1 part Snap Organic Liquor (neutral spirit with blackstrap molasses, ginger, and spices)
• 1 part vodka
• 4 parts ginger beer
• lime wedge

What you do:

• In a rock glass, add Snap and vodka over ice. 
• Pour in four parts ginger beer. 
• Stir
• Garnish with a lime wedge

Tip of the Week - Tea, Tannins and Toothpaste

I bought this gorgeous tea pot a couple weekends ago that was stained to the rafters with about 60 years worth of tannins. 'How can I clean this?', I thought to myself. Then I went to the dentist.

My dentist, upon further inquiry into the status of my sensitive teeth, revealed to me that the teeth whitening products I was using are mainly marketing propaganda, (which I already knew but ignored).  They do clean surface stains but not the down, deep and dirty stuff. To make your teeth white you need it done by a dentist. Well, when I got home, I took an old toothbrush, (which I keep around the house for cleaning grout), put some whitening toothpaste on it and cleaned 60s years worth of tannins off a ceramic tea pot. Just like that, the stains were gone.

So, rest assured, if you find teeth whitening products are making your teeth sensitive, know that you won't need to throw them away! You can use them to clean stains - such as coffee, tea, or red wine -  off your beautiful ceramic tableware. Now I think I'll try soaking my silver plated ice bucket in my whitening mouth wash.

How to clean a stained teapot.

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The Perfect Autumn Drink - How to Make Hot Apple Cider

Last weekend we apparently had 100 kmh (62 mph) winds here in West Van*. I used to love storms - that is until December 2006 when Tilley (our cat) and I watched, from our apartment on the edge of Stanley Park, as windows were blown out across the street and 10,000 trees were snapped like match sticks.

Usually, autumn is crisp and sunny in Vancouver and Septembers are the best time to visit. My birthday falls in the beginning of October and we can usually count on a nice, bright, crisp celebration in Whistler. Well, this September we had three times the average rainfall for September and it seems Fall just turned its back on us. 

To welcome in the dank which will be ours for the next nine months, I decided to make our own spiked hot apple cider. Super easy.
 

 
What you need:

• 4 cups apple juice
• 1 orange
• 5 cinnamon sticks
• 5 cloves
• spiced rum (optional)

What you do:

• slice orange 
• add all ingredients - except the rum - to a pot
• bring to a light boil
• simmer for 15 minutes
• add one or two ounces of spiced rum to a cup
• pour hot cider through a sieve into the cup
• serve hot with a cinnamon stick

recipe serves four 8 ounce cups or two mugs

*In case you were wondering about our bud Humphrey, (the hummingbird). He and his hummingbird chums survived the storm. They were right up at the feeder first thing the next morning.

A discount in my shop

stacy reynaud

While I'm working on designing the Shop Bijou Living website I've added a few items to my little Bijou Living Etsy store. To show you my gratitude for hanging out with Bijou Living, I'm offering a 20% rebate for my chums. The rebate will be issued by me via Paypal after the purchase and is valid on the product, not the shipping. It cannot be applied to my current Facebook promotion.

Here's what you do:

1. Go to my shop
2. Add the item to your cart
3. Add the note - bijoulivingblog - in the note to seller box 
4. Select payment method
5. Submit order

Thanks again for your support!

Hemingway Tree House Residence | Piece of West Van Significant Architecture For Sale

Noted as a secondary building in the Survey of Significant West Vancouver Architecture, the Hemingway Tree House is now on the market SOLD for 1.6 million. Three storeys of 1977 architectural bliss! The home is a hop, skip and a jump away from the iconic 1966 Staples Residence. The home is hard to see from the road but take a drive by anyway - watch out for all the demolition going on though.

all images © Robert Crowe

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Tip of the Week - How to Naturally Scent a Room

 

stacy reynaud

Harvest your lavender before it goes brown and woody. 

Hang it upside down to dry for about a week.

Remove dried bits by running your hand in the opposite direction of the growth (top to bottom).

Place the lavender a jar and save for sprinkling on your carpets before you vacuum.

Keep the opened jar in your laundry closet to keep it smelling good.

You can also burn lavender in your fire but put it in the middle of the sandwich of wood you're burning so it doesn't spark out of the fireplace.

stacy reynaud

Another West Vancouver Home Demolition

I'll be the first to admit I've been lagging on these architecture posts - two reasons:

1. I'm just so p*ssed I don't even want to snap photos.
2. There are so many in West Vancouver I can't keep up! Seriously. Go down Marine Drive past 25th and it's like a bloomin' construction zone.

I have been saving cuttings from the newspapers about the needless rezoning of property and demolition of our West Coast heritage - the North Shore News and the Outlook have been doing a fabulous job writing stories and publishing letters. A few folks have spoken out in council meetings but apparently demolition permits are more important and garner more value than heritage.

stacy reynaud

Douglas Coupland - remember our chat at the Harmony Arts Festival? Come on - take a stand - and I mean something more than an interview in a local documentary, (that wasn't really about Vancouver anyway).

A couple weeks ago I went to a yard sale in which the house had a for sale sign out front with a big sold slapped on it. You know what that means in West Vancouver, bye bye house. I befriended the owners - a lovely elderly couple who weren't even thinking of selling their home until a realtor knocked on their door saying she had sold the neighbour's house and the buyers wanted theirs too. That's right - they bought the two houses - and both houses are going to be torn down. Sick, eh. Now we have realtors intimidating elderly folks into selling their homes!

It was hard to snap photos of the front of the house as there were so many large trees - which will also be torn down.

Here are a few from the inside. It was built in the 50s, is two storeys and pretty much all original - as you'll see by the washroom. A very clean, sturdy and sound house. What a loss.

 stacy reynaud

I bought this wicker lounge from them. They brought it back from the Philippines, where they had lived for 19 years. The gentleman of the house was a senior manager for a heavy metal mining company there.

Top photo is of Gordon Smith's note card before his speech at the Harmony Arts Festival in 2011. Take a read of it.

My Favourite Fall Comfort Food

stacy reynaud

I was at my doctor the other day getting lectured on the importance of eating. You see, I'm one of those eat to live not live to eat types. Most of the time I actually forget to eat and then it's too late - I'm hangry. Relate? Anyway, the good Doc said, 'Stace, even if you eat the same thing all the time just eat.' When she said that, I heard that Gates of Heaven sound. Thank you Doctor. Now can I have a Doctor's note for that please?

Thanks to my public servant holidays, I have the summers off and thus, have the apartment and meal time regimes to myself. My summer noms consist of:

1. peanut butter and banana rice cakes or roll ups
2. avocados
3. soda water
4. Tropix smoothies from the Anchor Eatery
5. iced coffee 
6. almonds and dried cranberries
7. Yves veggie dogs (piggies in a blanket because I roll them in a wrap)
8. boozicles

stacy reynaud

Quite a high fat diet now that I look at it in black and white. Oh well, as they say, 'It's good fat.'

Once Fall kicks around I find comfort in chowing down strictly on:

1. coconut oil baked yam fries
2. hot almond milk with matcha
3. mashed ginger yams
4. hot almond milk with black strap molasses
5. Papier mâché - aka plain oatmeal
6. stove popped coconut oil, agave and cayenne popcorn
7. cold-pressed juice - I like my juice room temperature and don't do smoothies in the Fall/Winter because they're too cold.

Hey, are you on Instagram? I finally am and you can find me here.

Our Scent | Inclusive | Exclusive

I met this woman years ago and she was wearing a really nice scent so I asked her what it was; she replied that it was an essential oil blend. Further inquiry yielded it was her 'own blend', and it was 'private'. Pft, well then. She was weird anyway - and had a haunted basement.

Remember what happened to Jean-Baptiste Grenouille - the protagonist of Patrick Suskind's Perfume: The Story of a Murderer? If you haven't read the book just go to the library and read the last chapter - (I call that technique, How to be Successful in Earning Your History Degree. For shame!).

Anyway, as you know, I'm a huge fan of Le Labo so the appropriate first stop for me on a recent trip to Los Angeles was 8385 West 3rd. I tell you, the last time I had been that excited was in 1978 at the Flintsones Amusement Park.  I was greeted by two gorgeous gals who thought my Vancouver accent was 'cute' (?). My mission was to get a bottle of Musc 25, the LA exclusive scent - which you can only buy online once a year. Well, for Ms. ADHD here, the store was just too much! Thankfully, I was reminded that I'd only traveled with carry on luggage and therefore couldn't bring any liquid over 3 ounces with us on the plane. I opted for the Musc 25 perfume oil and a handful of samples for loved ones. It took everything to hold me back from also buying the Oud 27, Patchouli 24 and Santal 33. Oh well, they have free shipping so there's always online.

Now that I'm back home, (and venturing out into society), people are asking me what scent I'm wearing. Usually, I wear amber resin, or essential oils of cedar and patchouli - which are pretty hard to carry off and folks don't have the wherewithal to scope them out. Where am I going with this post? Where do you think?

So, let's all smell the same - to save ourselves from the fate of Grenouille! It's City Exclusive time online at Le Labo again!

Cedar Plank Lobster Tails

Originally published August 31 2012

stacy reynaud

stacy reynaud

45 years is a long time. That's how long my parents have been married. This August, we took a drive up to Kelowna to make them a special anniversary dinner. I chose cedar plank lobster tails with roasted radishes because my Dad loves lobster and my Mom loves radishes.

Cedar Plank Lobster Tails

What you need:

• 1 jalapeno pepper
• ½ tsp finely grated lemon zest
• 2 tbsp lemon juice
• 2 tbsp unseasoned rice wine vinegar
• 1 tsp granulated sugar
• ⅓ cup good quality olive oil, plus more for grilling
• 6 uncooked lobster tails (7 to 8 oz each), halved lengthwise
• 2 untreated cedar planks (7" x 14" or similar), soaked in water for 2 hours*

What you do:

1. Preheat the grill to medium-high. Place the pepper on the hot grill and cook until charred on all sides, about 6 minutes. Let cool, then remove the charred skin from the jalapeno and cut the pepper in half, discarding the seeds. Finely dice the jalapeno.

2. Place the diced pepper in a jar with a tightly fitting lid. Add the lemon zest, lemon juice, vinegar and sugar; cover and shake well to blend. Add the oil and replace the lid. Shake the mixture again until emulsified. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Set aside.

3. Brush the cut side of the lobster tails lightly with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Place the cedar planks on the grill, close the lid and heat for 4 minutes. Arrange the lobster tails, cut side down, on top of the planks. Close the lid of the grill and cook until meat is opaque, not transparent, and firm to the touch, about 8 to 10 minutes.

4. Serve the lobster tails with a drizzle of the lemon jalapeno vinaigrette on top and more on the side for dipping.

* I picked up the cedar planks at Rona. A pack of two was $5.80. You can also get them at William Sonoma - for twice the price

Roasted Radishes

What you need:

• 1-¼ lbs medium-sized radishes, trimmed and quartered
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 2 cups fresh watercress, washed and drained, thick stems removed
• 2 tbsp fresh mint leaves, cut into a chiffonade

What you do:

1. Preheat the oven to 425°F. Toss the radishes with the olive oil in a medium bowl and season with salt and pepper.

2. Transfer to an oven-safe skillet and roast until golden and tender when pierced with a knife, about 25 minutes.

3. Remove the pan from the oven, add the watercress and stir until the watercress is slightly wilted. Stir in the mint and serve immediately.

Tip: Roasting radishes sweetens and mellows their flavour. Choose golf ball-sized radishes and quarter them for best results.

recipe adapted from Style at Home