Favourite discovery of 2012: Michelle Yee of Soft Mechanic

My favourite discovery of the past year was massage therapist Michelle Yee of Soft Mechanic.



I discovered Michelle when she entered a give away for one of my prints on the Marion house blog.

I clicked on her name and when I saw she was a RMT I immediately thought "Ooh Ahh Barter!".
(I do hope Canada Revenue Services is not reading this post).
As Michelle is a self described "serious decor enthusiast + art lover" she let me know she'd love to do a trade of her massage services in exchange for prints. (Lucky me).

*There's several things about Soft Mechanic treatments that make them extra special.*

First off - as is clear from her sweetly welcoming website* Michelle is an extremely warm + thoughtful therapist who cares deeply about her practice.
I love this line from her site:
"I believe in the restorative power of beauty, the preciousness of little things and the grandness of giving ourselves permission to rest."
Isn't that great?
Michelle  takes extra care to make sure I feel welcome + comfortable at all times... plus she provides the most BLISSFUL massage EVAH! (EVAH said in Brooklyn accent)

Secondly the treatments take place in Michelle's home which is recently renovated and quite gorgeous..so the visits are a complete treat for the eyes as well as muscles. I never fail to leave feeling 'decor inspired' -plus motivated to clean my apt more and finally buy that waffle shower curtain! If you book an appointment make sure not to miss her vintage globe collection and fabulous marble tile in the bathroom.

 One of my favourite spaces: Treatment room at Soft Mechanic

Lastly Michelle's music is in complete contrast to the icky new age stuff that is normally pumped into spa rooms. She plays lots of cozy indie folks** like Patrick Watson, Elliot Smith, + Nick Drake plus lots of current bands I've never heard of...so I always have a few names to look up on itunes when I get home with my relaxed body. :-)

Going to Michelle's house was definitely a highlight  of 2012 + very importantly provided much needed comfort to me during a difficult second half of last year.

I feel incredibly lucky to have met her and can not recommend her enough.
xxx to you Michelle.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

* Designed by the talented Avery Swartz fyi!

**Also known as The Sad Bastard playlist. :-)

Tea Towel in National Post


On Dec 24th my teatowel appeared on the cover of the Weekend Post. It was included in an article on designer tea towels and featured several from the collection of Arren Williams- Creative Director of Bay home fashions. Here is the link to the online version of the article:
http://life.nationalpost.com/2012/12/25/style-design-tea-towel-time/
Above is the blurb which accompanied the photo of my teatowel in the inside of the paper.
ps. My capsule collection for The Bay should appear in stores in early April.

Dreamy Holiday Get Away

Bonjour! I've just returned from a dreamy holiday away in Montréal.

(American Readers take note!: Montréal is a beautiful historic city in Quebec Canada with gorgeous architecture, great shopping + restaurants. ie. All the charm of Europe without the expense!
Added bonus: I think they have the best bagels in the world.)
Old Montreal looking so cozy + romantic at Christmas time.

One of the biggest reasons for the dreamiest of my trip (in addition to my travelling companion bien sur!) was our hotel! We stayed at the Hotel Gault in Old Montreal and I can't recommend it enough.

Hotel Gault Exterior - I loved this elegant corner door

The Gault is a boutique hotel housed in a former textile headquarters which was built in 1871.
The façade is considered "Second Empire-style" (ie influenced by the buildings of Haussman's Paris) and features vertical pilasters carved into blue-gray limestone.  It's a five storey building with only 30 loft suites making it truly "boutique". The first floor featured a restaurant, cafe and cozy library with a fireplace. The staff were very welcoming and always friendly + helpful.

 
 Hotel Gault Exterior. Tres snowy!
The exterior of the building is in complete contrast to the very contemporary + beautifully designed interiors.
Our Room Night 1
Check out that wall - I never met an 19th century exposed brick wall I didn't like. :-)
Our Room next couple nights
 - featuring: foyer, work area, to-die-for bathroom with mod tub + lux fixtures plus (not seen in photo) - tres comfy King bed,  lots of custom closets and **2 beautiful french windows which opened up to the most dreamy view. **
The rooms were so big- they felt like little loft apartments rather than hotel rooms. SIGH.
(Don't hate me. :-)

Beautiful view from one of the french windows. 


Breakfast at L'Express

Atwater Market
 Dinner at Joe Beef
Very cozy interior with great filled chalkboards.
View from the Bar

Me on Rue des Artistes in Old Montreal

Breakfast at Beautys
92 year old Founder Hymie Sckolnick holding a postcard of himself from 1942 (!)
Closeup of postcard. (Is that not the cutest?)

Place d'Armes + Notre Dame Basilica looking very special + Christmasy

 Close up of Maisonneuve Monument in front of Notre Dame
Noel bread
Other highlights included:
- visit with Louis and Charles 
- le Cartet on Mcgill St
- a visit to Pointe-à-Callière: Montreal's Museum of Archaeology + History (A-mazing)
- very special Christmas dinner with sweet Zab + family
and a visit to Fairmount bagels to stock up on sesame bagels for the drive home.
Num num.

*Au revoir Montreal! Je t'aime.*