Ottawa Awesome: A weekend of tea and craft (Part II)

Jordan and Brian's final effort after a lengthy felting workshop

Jordan is co-author of the Project: Priceless blogs. Their first blog, The Free Wedding Experiment, was a year-long project to put together a cost-free wedding via social media. The new chapter, The NEST, is a tale of frugal, DIY’ing newlyweds nesting, loving, cooking, adventuring, reviewing, and regaling with tales. Check out both blogs at projectpriceless.com.

PART II: FELTING WITH ANNIE BANANIE

Jordan getting ready to felt

A recent Sunday found my husband and me at the felting workshop of Annie Bananie, local crafter extraordinaire. Annie Bananie is no stranger to us: this incredibly talented yoga teacher, daycare owner (the Singing Tree), and arts instructor is one of those wonderful people you feel blessed to have met — and we’ve had the pleasure of being taught by her before.

The tools for the day

You can see the whole tutorial on Annie’s blog, including photos of Brian and I working our butts off. But in a nutshell, let me say this: the seven hours you spend in this workshop will simultaneously be the most exhausting and the most rewarding thing you do all week.

The morning started off with a brief Kundalini yoga-based meditation. Then we started our felting project by laying out the white felt that would become the back of our hanging. I had planned to make something about 2×3, but Brian kept quietly laying out more wool, and before I knew it we had a piece about 4×5. Annie encouraged everyone to work as large as they liked, and I shrugged, figuring it would be a centrepiece in our house somewhere. We argued back and forth over the image we’d create and finally amalgamated our two ideas: toadstools and owls.

The final creation, before its dousing

When Annie encouraged us to work on a large piece, the one thing she failed to tell us was that it would mean more work at the felting stage. Another woman who had created a smaller piece finished felting her mat and left around lunchtime, while we were still layering colours of wool. The process of felting the wool involves soaking the project with soapy water, stepping all over it, and then rolling it into a tube before rolling that tube back and forth along the floor.

Rolling the wet felt flat was the hardest part of the day

Because our piece was so big, the usual technique — laying your hands on it and rolling it like a big Play-doh snake — was proving ineffective. Every time we unrolled it to peek, fibres were still lose and easy to pluck. So after about an hour of using our hands and arms, we switched to using our feet.

The felt owl, now thoroughly doused

One hour of rolling the mat with our hands, then two hours of rolling our mat with our feet, and finally we were done… Or at least, I didn’t want to roll it anymore. My legs ached for two days after this project. I got a better workout from rolling that damned wall hanging than I ever got from roller derby. It was exhausting, but the final product is something pretty extraordinary. There is nothing ‘pretty’ about our owl and mushroom scene, especially because the owl’s eyes sort of felted in different ways and he looks a bit drunk. But we love it for its funkiness, and have hung it in the bedroom.

I fell in love with felting at Annie’s workshop. I find myself plotting new designs, examining our piece to see how colours blended so that I can plan out my layers better next time. I don’t think I’ll make such a large piece again because the rolling sucked so badly, but guaranteed, I’m going to be felting again soon. As an artist who typically works in paint and pen, the less precise, more expressive motions of felting was again outside my ‘box’. But as these things so often are, it was wonderfully rewarding.

The final masterpiece display in Jordan and Brian's bedroom

We can’t thank Annie enough for having us along, and we heartily recommend you all sign up for the next one. Annie is planning another wet felting workshop in the warm weather, to potentially be held in Wakefield out on a beautiful piece of land… But if you can’t wait that long to get your hands on Annie’s workshops, other ones will be coming along soon and can be found on her blog.

Ottawa really *is* awesome! And if you missed it, read the first of Jordan’s two-part post here.

Ottawa Awesome: A weekend of tea and craft (Part I)

High Tea at The Tea Party features sandwiches, scones, squares and, of course, tea!

Jordan is co-author of the Project: Priceless blogs. Their first blog, The Free Wedding Experiment, was a year-long project to put together a cost-free wedding via social media. The new chapter, The NEST, is a tale of frugal, DIY’ing newlyweds nesting, loving, cooking, adventuring, reviewing, and regaling with tales. Check out both blogs at projectpriceless.com.

PART I: THE TEA PARTY ON YORK STREET

The Tea Party (119 York) is a busy spot around lunch

In preparation for my birthday month, I purchased a social coupon (you know, off a site that does group coupons, if you will), for The Tea Party on York Street in the Byward Market. Anything Alice in Wonderland-themed is guaranteed to catch my eye, so I bought the coupon — $20 for a High Tea for two — and invited my mom along.

The scones at The Tea Party are 'superb'

We headed down to the Market, parked, and walked down to the little house. As we stepped inside, the place was rockin’ busy. A dozen charmingly mismatched tables were crowded with cheerful diners enjoying all sorts of Indian lunch foods (oddly enough, given the Wonderland theme). I have made a note to come back and try the tandoori tofu because it looked delicious. We were led to our tiny reserved table in a corner by the front window and, while we waited for our server to come, we perused the shelves of tea cups, teapots, and china all available for sale. A two-tier Alice in Wonderland-themed tea tray caught my eye and I may have to go back for it.

The floor-to-ceiling shelves at The Tea Party are lined with teas and pots

The server brought us our teas in big pots, chosen by us from the wall of labelled glass jars. The tea was lovely, and I was pleased to see the wide array of non-caffeinated options they had. Settling on a concoction called Jamaican Chai, I was delighted with the spicy aroma mixed with tropical undertones. Mom chose an anise-based tea called Angel Wings, which she enjoyed very much, being a fan of strong flavours.

A few sips into our tea, our tray of squares, scones, and sandwiches arrived. We were surprised to find none of the ‘usual’ tea sandwiches — no tuna, egg salad or ham here — but a wide variety of unique flavours instead. My favourites included a roasted red pepper with hummus, and a tomato with some type of baba ghannouj. The scones were superb, served with a pot of jam, and the squares were all made on-site … no pre-packaged Nanaimo bars here.

Tea to go is also an option at The Tea Party

We munched away happily, lingering long after our sandwiches were done, pouring more tea from our big pots and gossiping. When it was finally time to go, we went to the cash to buy a tea cup for Mom, and received the last part of our social coupon deal: two little bags of tea to take home. I grabbed a bag called Yoga Spice, and Mom grabbed a green tea. We headed out, satiated and promising to return for a full lunch.

Thanks, Jordan! Sounds like a delightful day out! Catch Part II of our Ottawa Awesome weekend tomorrow.

The honey-stay-cation – Project: Pricesless bride Jordan describes how to have a good time in Ottawa when you can’t get away

Brian and Jordan of Project: Priceless

Jordan Kent-Baas is the co-creator of Project: Priceless, a social media experiment with the goal of getting Jordan and her new husband Brian married on August 22, 2011, as free-of-charge as possible.

As much of Ottawa knows, my sweetheart Brian and I were married about two weeks ago. If you’re unfamiliar with our blog, Project: Priceless, this may be a good time to check it out, as you’ll see why a nearly-free honeymoon was the best fit for us.

Photo Credit: Adam Pap (via Project Priceless)

In short, for those who don’t follow our blog yet: we managed to plan and execute a 140-person wedding for very nearly no cost. The trade off: a ton of extra hours, the construction of a viral blog, and lots of glue gun burns.

We knew we wouldn’t be in a position to afford a big honeymoon, but we also knew it would still be beautiful weather in the Ottawa area with two weeks left of August. We decided we’d spend a week off together travelling no further than a car ride from home, using social coupons whenever possible, and to our utter amazement, it was a pleasant and busy week, indeed.

We started off on our wedding night, and the night following, staying at the Hilton Lac Leamy on the Hull side. It’s easy to forget what a beautiful hotel we have just minutes from our doorstep, but Brian and I had the pleasure to stay here once before, in January. This two-night stay was a wedding gift from my parents—and a great one that we looked forward to in the months of stressful planning. We arrived late on our wedding night; as always, I was mesmerized by the beautiful blown glass that adorns the ceilings and walls of the regal lobby.

Photo Credit: Mike Foote (via Flickr)

We hadn’t told anyone we were getting married, so the front desk staff looked a bit surprised to find a bride in white dress and a groom in orange vest standing in their lobby at midnight; but the staff were wonderful and a porter escorted us, and our luggage, to our room. The porter was fairly adorable, barely managing to rein in his excitement and clearly wishing he could inundate us with questions about our big day.

We settled into our room but found that the proximity of the elevator shafts meant that we could hear the zipping of the gears, and we called downstairs. I said we understood if they were booked for the night, but for the second night we’d love to be moved to a different room; the desk staff immediately offered us a new room, and sent the porter up to help us. All smiles again, he escorted us to a full suite, with living area, a bathroom the size of my kitchen decked out with a jacuzzi tub, and a giant flat screen TV. A call from downstairs informed us that there was a special delivery headed to our room, and moments later our grinning porter brought us a bottle of champagne and a plate of chocolate-covered strawberries.

Strawberry surprise from the Hilton Lac Lemy (Photo Credit: Jordan Kent-Baas)

We slept in that day, enjoying the view of downtown Ottawa’s glowing lights as we fell asleep, then the pinkish morning skies when we woke. After a delicious buffet breakfast at the hotel’s restaurant, Arome, (where Brian discovered a waffle machine and stuff himself to painful proportions with eggs Benedict), we headed out to Wakefield for the afternoon.
A quick stop into the Wakefield Bakery for butter tarts was followed by a leisurely walk along the Wakefield Train tracks and the river, stopping into various country craft-style shops along the strip.

We renewed our commitment to make it out to the Black Sheep Inn for a concert soon. We finished our trip with tapas at the Wakefield Mill; it was our first time trying it, so I’m not sure if all tapas involves such a serious amount of uncooked meat (tartare, ceviche, and fumée), but it wasn’t our favourite thing. As an Irish girl raised on steak and potatoes, Brian had a bit of a surprised chuckle at the end of the meal; when I asked what was funny, he said he hadn’t actually expected me to eat the food! Delectable or not, it was an adventure and we enjoyed it.

Sunflowers in Wakefield, Quebec (Photo Credit: Jordan Kent-Baas)

Our evening was spent in the outdoor heated saltwater pool at the hotel, and the next day saw us head home for 48 hours of quiet time before heading out into the world again. We spent time hanging out in our own ‘hood, Westboro, eating awesome sushi at Naked Fish; having tasty pub fare at Corner Bar and Grill; and tearing apart a ham and gruyere croissant at Bridgehead while planning the decorating process for our apartment—a major project that will be chronicled on the Project: Priceless Newlywed blog we’re launching…and relying heavily on UsedOttawa and local rummage sales for ‘priceless’ treasures, of course.

The end of the week saw us on the road again, this time using a social coupon (read: a groupon-like coupon, from which company I cannot recall) to visit a Bed & Breakfast in L’Orignal near Hawkesbury. We checked in to the B&B, a very new establishment nestled unexpectedly at the end of a cul de sac of suburban-style homes. Our room, while small, was prettily decorated, though very modern—the owners are German expats who veered far left of the usual Victoriana and went for a cutting-edge look and feel.

Hitting up the Harley Davidson dealership in Hawkesbury (Photo Credit: Jordan Kent-Baas)

Brian particularly loved the half-sphere of glass that served as the bathroom sink. My personal taste runs more towards the kitschy gingerbread-home type of place, but our stay was comfortable, the owner was very amiable, and the breakfast—whole wheat German waffles with endless other goodies—was delicious. Hawkesbury itself was (I’m sorry, Hawkesbury) boring as sin, with the exception of the enormous Harley Davidson dealership, where we found a shirt for Brian, and a hat for me, on super-sale.

We did, of course, make a stop in Vankleek Hill to see Beau’s Brewery, where Beau’s All Natural Beer is brewed (say that five times fast). Brian, an aficionado of anything you imbibe, was enthralled with the tour that showed us the giant vats, the bottling area, and the various behind-the-scenes areas. Brian bought himself a souvenir beer glass, and when I got home he presented me with my own: a tiny one about the size of a juice glass. Brian says it’s for beer tastings, but it’s absolutely perfect for me and holds exactly the right amount of ale. We also brought home a couple bottles of Beau’s Lug Tread, and I loved it, as did my Mom and Dad, who had us over that night for a fantastic dinner made entirely of local produce purchased from (local only) vendors in the Byward and Parkdale markets.

We actually ran out of time before running out of activities; we still have a social coupon for paintball, and a lesson at the Ottawa Fencing Club to attend. We did, however, make time to go for a two-week-anniversary dinner at Vineyards with yet another social coupon we’d procured. It was a nice chance to sit in the Vineyard’s cozy atmosphere, with its wine cellar feel, and enjoy just staring at each other like total nitwits. Brian had a wine flight and steak au poivre while I opted for a plate of scallops and shrimp with rice and veggies, sautéed in garlic and herbs. We wrapped up the evening by—and this is why I am the luckiest girl in the world—watching You’ve Got Mail in bed while Brian rubbed my back ‘til I fell asleep and he had to carry me to the bathroom to brush my teeth.

Our beautiful National Capital Region (Photo credit: Jordan Kent-Baas)

We do want, one day, to take that long-distance honeymoon, ideally when the weather here sucks…ideally mid-January, once all the fun of the holidays has passed and all we’re left with around here is brown gritty snow. And because of our clever use of local free fun combined with deal coupons, this staycation didn’t put a dent in any travel savings we may start. But after planning one of the craziest weddings of all time, and all the running around we did for months, it was really wonderful to stay close to home, enjoy some Ottawa Valley treasures, and focus on what a honeymoon is really all about: the new sheets we got as a wedding present!

Wow, great post Jordan! Congratulations to you both!