Calgary Home+Design Show Giveaway!

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When the weather in Calgary turns to snow, like it has here for the last ridiculous three days, do your thoughts turn to interior design? If you’re anything like me, they probably just turn to interior calorie intake. But now you can combine both desires, in one decadent giveaway bundle.The Calgary Home+Design Show is next week, September 18 – 21, 2014. To whet your whistle, the good folks at the show are combining forces with Blue Besos to give away a fabulous bundle featuring goodies like spice tins and cooking classes from Ruby’s Kitchen, IKEA gift cards, mini chalk paint cans from Interiors to Inspire and tickets to the show and more…… like these artisanal marshmallows from Fiasco Gelato. That’s artisanal marshmallows. Just making sure you’re paying attention.

Wanna win? Email me: tiffany [at] bluebesos [dot] com. Y’all know I’m writing it that way to deflect those dastardly spammers, right? Tell me your fave Blue Besos post. Whoever wins the race to the inbox wins the bundle!

UPDATE: We have a winner! Janelle tells me my interview with William Shatner is her fave Blue Besos post so far. Thanks for all your emails everyone!

Pop-up Dinner Party

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If you’re headed to the Calgary Home+Design Show this weekend, I recommend going to it before you paint your walls the wrong shade of grey. Because if you attend, like I did, while the unexpected blue and lavender tones are still drying on your walls, you’re sure to see the right shade of grey everywhere. Like here, on the main stage furnished by Urban Barn.And at the Western Living Lounge.Even on the super-cool distressed concrete floor.Plus I was a walking example of What Not To Wear to a convention center. But I tried not to worry about that — I was there for a party.Calgary’s best bloggers were invited to attend a pop-up dinner party to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the design show.Decorated by Revolve, my table was accented in blue. Blue Besos blue. With totally appropriate azul cocktails.The Casa Bubble display lurks in the background while YYC top chefs, Kyle Groves from Catch, Paul Rogalski from Rouge and Michael Dekker from SAIT cook under the watchful eye of Neil Stuart from Trail Appliances…… and the eyes of anyone walking by the cooking stage. With a camera overhead displaying their culinary moves on a giant flatscreen, it was a cooking show come to life.Of course, that also meant if you were part of the dinner, you were part of the demonstration.But the food was too good to let eating in a fishbowl sink my appetite. Especially when Chef Kyle Groves’ dish included an unexpected fish chip made from deep fried char skin. Cafe Rosso rounded out the night with a jolt of java. Cole tried to distract me from all the surrounding perfect grey tones by remembering I like my lattes extra-hot. He has a memory like an elephant, or should I say he has grey matter similar to a certain grey pachyderm? Meanwhile, the coffee and cooking were delicious. The Calgary Home+Design Show continues at the BMO Center through Sunday.

Parking Lot Parties

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The festivities associated with the world’s largest rodeo aren’t limited to the Stampede grounds. Everywhere you turn in Calgary, someone’s throwing a party. And chances are it will be in a parking lot.Throw down a hay bale and some cowboy tchotchkes and you’re ready for a roundup.The Calgary Home + Design Show isn’t until September 19th, but that’s no reason not to have a Stampede party. The way Show Manager Jill Kivett and Amanda Haines of Reformation PR rock their daisy dukes and boots, it makes you think this is not their first rodeo.Before Stampede I had lofty plans of wearing a different cowboy hat for every blog post, but as the days on the dusty road start to blur together, I’m leaning on the ol’ wild rose lid a lot. At this point, I’m more concerned with pacing myself. Early in the day, with those cowprint balloons above my head, I’m exuding a respectable healthiness. Kinda like that yogurt commercial.The smartest strategy to maintain a semblance of sobriety is to eat a big meal. With Gaucho Brazillian BBQ providing the best grub of the week, it wasn’t hard to do.It’s hard to leave when the western wear is this good, but another parking lot was calling my name. My Stampede name. Which I haven’t thought of yet, but I’m sure I’ll come up with a great one next week, once the chucks champs have packed up their wagons. Ran into this purple pardner on the way to Jim Pattison’s party. A brief bicep battle was the only appropriate reaction.Inside, more cowboy accoutrements than I could sling a gun at. Stampede is kind of like Halloween, except everyone is wearing the same costume. Except for that dude in the red plaid shirt who photobombed with aplomb.This cowgirl kindly allowed me to take a picture of her booty.And, in the Wearing a Ten Gallon Hat Doesn’t Mean You Can’t Play Bagpipes category, Calgary’s finest showed up for a little pipe and drums. Highland dancing officers proved there’s more ways to bust a move than the two-step.Bye bye, Amber Big Plume, from Tsuu T’ina Nation, the 2013 Calgary Stampede Indian Princess. Gotta git to the next!This sake glass is where it started to get sloppy. Maybe it was because I took a break from the parking lots to get some sushi at Zen8. But more likely it was because the sushi corralled me toward the VIP suites at the biggest parking lot party of them all. Giddyup!Happy Stampede indeed. During this marathon 10-day event that turns all Calgarians into cattle drivers, rodeo champions or barrel-racing princesses, all chutes seem to lead to the Cowboys Tent. Which led me to Outrider Steve Sirianni, who, being from Vegas, moonlights as Executive Director of Slots at the Monte Carlo Casino. I’m feeling lucky!