Mixing it up at the home show

The suave sixties ad men and their gorgeous wives and girlfriends on Mad Men have made mixing cocktails even cooler. And, with the entertaining season rapidly approaching, I figured I could use a few lessons on the topic! So, on Friday while perusing the Fall Home Show (more on that later), I made a point of sitting in on the cocktail session with Dee Brun.

Along with her mantra that "everything is better with vodka", she also taught us how to mix up some great cocktails (or mocktails) (check out the recipes here). And, to make it simple for us newbies, she only uses ingredients easily available at liquor and grocery stores, which means easy refills when you run out mid-party.

For a well-stocked bar cart, she recommends vodka, gin, rum, a fruity liqueur (she used the fabulously pink Xrated fusion liqueur at the show) and a lot of ice. Of course, a pretty shaker is also a must for all of us Mad Men wannabes.

Previously, I found mixing up a proper beverage a little bit daunting - I've always been more of a just pour and mix kind of gal, or, if I'm feeling adventurous, a little shake. But, after that session, not only did I want to drink but I also wanted to mix up a drink that required muddling -- or as she calls it "smushing." How could a squirt of simple syrup plus your item to be muddled and a few squishes with a spoon in a bowl have seemed so scary?

I also appreciated the styling tips! For pretty punch, Brun said she'll use a very tall rectangular vase, along with a long soup ladle. Isn't that so much trendier than your grandmother's enormous punch bowl? And instead of a clunky ice bucket, she brought out a small square glass vase filled with ice.

She also gets creative with the garnishes. To jazz up her chili martini (which includes peach juice, grape juice, muddled chili pepper and vodka) she showed rimming a martini glass with Cajun pepper, topping it with cranberries in a wine glass for a festive Thanksgiving look or garnishing it with a hot pepper in a highball glass for the manly men in your life. And, she says, you can make it as spicy as you like.

Another highlight was what she calls the "Canadian Liquid Breakfast Martini, Eh?" While I didn't taste test this one, other audience members said it tasted just like blueberry pancakes! With a mix of blueberries, maple syrup and, of course, vodka, doesn't it sound like a great thing to ease your way through those holiday brunches? Did I mention it can be rimmed with icing sugar?

What libations will you be serving this weekend? What are your tricks for the perfect cocktail (or mocktail)?

Coffee in a flash

With house hunting, packing, moving and now renovations, Mr. Speedy and I have been having a hard time keeping caffeinated. We love our coffee and tea, but it takes a lot of time and counter space to make it. 

Luckily, I got a chance to try out a Keurig single-serve brewer, sent to us by Breville, which makes a cup of coffee, tea or hot chocolate in about a minute.

It's based on the Keurig office model, and, while far from the cheapest coffee maker I've tried at $170, the Breville Single-Cup Brewer really does turn out a quick hot beverage.

It uses K-Cups, which are little plastic cups filled with your brew of choice (the company says there are 150 varieties to choose from) and topped with a foil lid.

As with all things, some varieties taste better than others, so if you were going this route, you might want to start off with a sampler pack to avoid buying a full box of a bean you don't like. It's also not cheap, at about $13 for an 18 pack, or about $0.72 a cup (Editor's note: The price has been changed to correct a previously published error.). If you prefer grinding your own beans you can purchase a reusable "My K-Cup" filter, sold separately for about $15.

While I certainly appreciate the speed, I do feel a little bit of eco-guilt when I use it. While the individually packaged cups means Mr. Speedy can instantly have his a.m. java jolt while I go for a classic Earl Grey, it also feels more wasteful than the good old tea bag and beans and coffee grinder combos.

A tea-off? Sounds like my kind of contest!

'One Teakettle' to rule them all? That's the idea behind the World Kitchen (which counts Corelle, CorningWare and Pyrex among its subsidiaries) Tea-Off. The competition asked designers to update the classic teakettle, and, I must say, I'm impressed. Who would have thought the humble teakettle could be recreated in so many ways?

The winner, the "One Teakettle" by Chicago-based Vessel Ideation, is designed to both boil and serve your tea, with blue-on-white heat-activated designs that appear only when the kettle's contents are hot. It also has an "intuitive magnetic trivet" that attaches to the base only when it's hot, which lets you place it directly on the table for serving.

I, of course, desperately want the Space Invaders one. It toes the line between stylish and nerdy, making it perfect for Mr. Speedy and I. They also designed more classic china patterns for those who aren't quite ready to deck their servingware out with retro video game images.

There were also two impressive runners-up. Martin M. Giroud's "Spin", which is a sphere shaped kettle that is supposed to have a safer, and more controlled way to pour. You pour by sliding a switch that activates a mechanism to tip the spout (not the kettle) forward.

And TEA-GO, by New York's ram industrial design inc, is a heat and go, single cup, design. TEA-GO includes an electric base that allows the user to set the water temperature, a no-spill container, travel cup and a lip to facilitate the steeping and removal of tea bags.

Excavate a wine cellar

While racks and mini fridges are perfectly acceptable, and often stylish, ways to store your wine, wouldn't a wine cellar be infinitely cooler? Especially if it had a trap door?

Obviously, for most house hunters, a wine cellar doesn't make the "gotta have it" list. But what if you could add one into an existing home?

That's where Spiral Cellars comes in. This company, which is currently expanding throughout the U.S. and Canada, excavates a spot for a prefab concrete wine cellar, with handy trap door access.

The cellar relies on the surrounding earth for insulation, and a built-in air flow system means it doesn't need any electricity to maintain the temperature.

Their wine cellars can store up to 1,600 bottles.

Found via CasaSugar

Pretty, tasty water

You're certainly not going to confuse Aquaovo's Ovopur with your standard water cooler.

I first encountered the egg shaped filtration unit at the Interior Design Show. While I did get a sample sip, I didn't have much of an opportunity to learn more about it.

Luckily, I ran into the folks from the Montreal-based Aquaovo again at the National  Home Show, and this time we had a chance to chat.

Aquaovo is the brainchild of Noemie and Manuel Desrochers, and the Ovopur is their eco-friendly solution to provide quality drinking water from the tap, with the aim of making bulky, unattractive water coolers, and bottled water, obsolete.

The porcelain, metal and glass unit also aims to encourage people to further incorporate water into their lifestyle, through a design that they hope people won't want to hide in a dark corner of the kitchen.

The unit's also supposed to be very user friendly — basically just fill it with tap water, let it trickle through the Aquacristal filter (which is also reusable — you can return the used cartridges for a rebate), pour and drink.

This eco-friendly filtration system's not cheap— the unit costs $689 and filters run about $59, and must be replaced three times a year.

But, over time, the company says the savings will add up. In the first year, they estimate the price per litre at $0.40 compared to $0.41 for bottled water (based on consumption of 2,000 litres a year). In the following years, the price per litre drops to $0.07, with refills at $159, while bottled water is estimated at $0.31 per litre.

What do you think? Is the design and green cred worth the investment? Would this encourage you to drink more water?

Gorgeous glass

Perhaps the idea that it could hit 16 degrees in Toronto today is making me a wee bit stir crazy.

Or maybe I've just been watching too many episodes of Mad Men (Mr. Speedy and I are currently enjoying season two, so no spoilers!), but either way, I haven't been able to get these decanters by Joe Cariati, shared earlier today by Arren Williams, out of my mind.

I dream about placing a collection of them on a classy silver tray in the corner of my living room or on a lovely bar in the kitchen. Even taking one outdoors for a sip of scotch on the patio.

I wouldn't even need to fill them, their mere presence would add that missing bit of 60s ad man glamour to my life.

Throw in some classy frocks a la Joan Holloway and my vision would be complete.

The decanters are available in a variety of stunning colours and shapes, you can view the full spring 2009 collection on Cariati's website.

Seeing green at the National Home Show

Yesterday, I wrote about my "big three" hits at the National Home Show, that is, tySTYLE, the dream home and the Toronto Star Dream Gardens, as well as my dream of a sushi-inspired kitchen. (Seriously though, how cute would that be?)

Today, I'm talking green kitchens. Now, I did see Umbrella Cabinetry at the Interior Design Show, but this time, I've got pictures!

Umbrella proves that you can be green and stylish at the same time.

Partnered with Kitchen Designers Plus, they offer custom eco-friendly kitchens to meet all of your needs; from deep drawers for pots and pans to built-in wine racks.

Just look at that fabulous bamboo cabinetry, which is an eco-friendly and sustainable material. Every kitchen is created using formaldehyde-free materials and VOC-free paints and water-based finishes that don't emit off gases. How's that for a healthy place to make your meals?

The company also offers bamboo kitchen products, which are available from $25 - $125.

For a little more design inspiration today, check out designer Tara Dalla-Nora's tips for creating the perfect playroom.

Have a cuppa with ... ants?

"Aw," "cute," and "oooh" are my normal reactions while browsing the fabulous jars of cute blog, whose motto is "stylish cute things bottled daily."

But one of today's goodies was met with a sharp inhale and an "Ewww."

The "Ants on my ..." series, by New York-based Bailey doesn't bark, while appropriately quirky and perfectly crafted, just makes me feel crawly.

Founder Re Jin Lee individually hand painted these tiny ants then transferred them on to decal paper to create the pretty, but creepy crawly, spoons, creamers and the cup and saucer, shown.

There's also an even more disturbing (but still oddly beautiful) "roaches on my cup and saucer" variety.

Perhaps it's still lingering discomfort from an enormous spider jumping into my hair while I was brushing my teeth Monday night (I've been warily peering into corners ever since), but I don't think I'd be able to enjoy my afternoon cuppa in this mug.

I would, however, enjoy serving it to guests and watching their reaction.

Would you use this cup and saucer set?

Ba dun ba dun ... time for tea!

Pop some tea into this infuser and have a Jaws-themed cuppa!

In honour of the Interior Design Show (read more here), which starts tonight and runs through Sunday, I thought I'd share this clever and functional design.

Those of you who follow me on Twitter have already been sent this link, but I thought it was just too cute/gory not to post a photo! (Don't worry, it's just red tea!)

The Sharky infuser, by Argentinian designer Pable Matteoda, won third place in designboom's Beyond Silver competition, which aimed to find designs for functional and prestigious silverware with a twist.

On the competition page, Matteoda says, "INFUSION means to extract certain properties from an soluble ingredient such as tea leaves , herbs or fruit by soaking in liquid (water) until it gets saturated. So we can say that a infuser is the in charged of make this happen. This is a ludic point of view about the color given off from the phenomenon, which makes more interesting the waiting of the whole process."

Would you let Sharky take a swim in your mug?

I totally would. And would hum the Jaws theme the entire time! Ba dun ba dun ....

Found via 2modern. Check out more quirky products in the Conversation Piece column and stay tuned for all the latest from the Interior Design Show in our decor section!

Crushing on the slow cooker

So, as those who frequent my blog and my Facebook page are already aware, I've been growing pretty fond of my slow cooker. In the last two weeks, I've used it to make beef and broccoli, Philly cheesesteaks and pineapple chicken, all to rave reviews from my husband.

Fellow Yourhome blogger Vicky Sanderson has also admitted a "culinary crush" on the slow cooker, recently writing a round-up of a few different models and sharing recipes on her blog.

And, if last week's poll is in any way accurate, we're not the only ones having a bit of a love affair with the slow cooker.

Just over half — 51 per cent — said the slow cooker would be among their kitchen crushes for 2009, while just over a third said they weren't interested in the slow cooking trend.

The remaining 15 per cent said they didn't know (but I'm guessing some of them might be swayed before year's end!)

Vote in this week's poll, on whether Is a builder obligated to disclose to a purchaser that a suicide occurred in the house just before the sale closes (learn more in Bob Aaron's column), on the front page.