brendan

This picture alone says a lot about you. Dressed in black, sunglasses on, drinking champagne in the Grand Canyon on New Years morning. You give me far too many reasons to love you.

It's not only your style and your extravagance that I love. It's your motivation, your fearlessness, and your relentless determination to do things your way.

You inspire me to do better. To demand more of myself. To ask for the best because, hell, I deserve it.

Joyeuse Anniversaire mon frere, cheers to another successful year, I'm proud of you and I love you.

thinking about life and travel

"I have homes everywhere, many of which I have not seen yet. That is perhaps why I am restless. I haven't seen all my homes." -John Steinbeck

i walk this city at night

making headlines

The sudden attention towards our business is a little overwhelming.

Last night we had a dinner party with a last minute cancellation and some other surprises, but that's a story I'll have to share with you another day.

From this point on I am expecting good and bad criticism to start heading our way. Something I am preparing myself to deal with.

A friend sent me this link yesterday however, and I am happy to see some support from my home city Vancouver.

the underground supper club

Our business was featured in the Globe and Mail today!

Things are happening for this little supper club of ours. After all of the work we have put into this, it feels great to get some recognition.

A special thanks to Josh for going after this. We are so happy to see the story in print. You are welcome at our table anytime you like.



*The real inspiration for Hidden Lounge came from the Hidden Kitchen concept in Paris, not Sacramento.

away, but not too far away

I am aching to take a big trip right now.

But instead I've taken a little one, because the following months are filled with travel, so now I must stay somewhat still.

Which is why I'm in Port Hope, an hour by train from Toronto, visiting my grandparents and my brother.

The days are slow, but force me to slow down, clear my head and reflect on the past couple of months and this crazy summer.

I wish my summer was a little more fun and sun filled, but it has been great in its own way. I have started a business with my beau, joined a catering company that feels like my extended family, left my retail job under excellent conditions, gone to Vancouver for a week, and have learnt a lot about life, love, and family. I've opened myself up several times, cried my heart out, and have spoken more honestly to people recently than I have in years.

Before coming to Port Hope I made an ever bolder move. I bought a bicycle. I never learned to ride a bicycle. The thought terrifies me. It is one of my greatest desires to bike around the city, but also one of my greatest fears. So my boyfriend and I walked to the pawn shop, where I spotted a bright pink bike and immediately bought it.

We spent an evening practicing down a hallway in our building, but I still can't stay up straight. This is going to take some serious work. But I will ride my bike. I will. And when I'm good enough, I may even get my bike a little basket. I tried to take it to Port Hope with me, but was told at the train station that I couldn't (10 minutes before my train...I ran around like a pigeon before discovering I could store it in the baggage department). So my lessons are on hold but will resume shortly.

In the meantime, I am going to antique fairs with my grandparents, spending time with my brother, organizing small things for the business, and gathering my thoughts.

***I regret to inform you that I do not have my camera, because I packed next to nothing so that I could manage carrying my bike on the bus and on the subway to the train station. Now I have no bike with me, no camera, no warm clothes or shoes other than flip flops. And it won't stop raining. Seemed like a good idea at the time.

pulling myself together again

I am pulling myself together, bit by bit.

The last week I have been weighed down, as well as still recovering from the week previous.

And where do I begin in describing this week? A week spent every day, all day, catering to the needs of others. It was the best week and the worst week of my entire summer.

The event was every caterer's worst nightmare. Working in confined spaces, running off no sleep, understaffed, under extreme pressure, with a heavy VIP client base to please. Ladies and gentlemen, I, and a few exhausted others, survived the Rogers Tennis Cup.

For the week we hosted suites, wined and dined clients, slept under three hours a night, and returned the next day to do it all over again. We showed up in uniform, groggy eyed and smiling, turning to hugs for comfort, and would meet up between shifts in the pantry to snack on beautiful platters of food left untouched by guests. The food and the people kept my morale alive.

But it was crazy. People walked out. People got angry. A chef had a heart attack. A guest in the suite next to me did as well. We had the heaviest rainstorms of the year, putting many games on hold and upsetting many ticket holders.

And yet, what I'll remember most is the bad jokes, the pats on the back, the great clients that treated me like gold and even helped me clean when I begged them not to, and the bonds formed to keep us strong when we all felt like crawling up on the floor and sleeping, or crying, in the middle of the day.

Since the event has been over I've been in a strange mood. Very melancholic. I've realized that some time off work is very necessary, and will be spending a week at my grandparents. I've been sleeping in. Cuddling with my beau on the sofa every morning and easing slowly into the day.

I need this time so that I can pull myself together and move in full force again.