Ottawa in one word?

We love this video!

Courtesy of Ottawa Tourism:

What key word comes to mind when you think of our city?

Our favourite ice sculpture at Ottawa’s 2013 Winterlude

We finally dropped by Winterlude this weekend for a quick tour of the ice sculptures, and we were totally amazed.

This year the National Capital Commission (NCC) hosted 26 carvers from 11 countries in its 26th International Ice-Carving Competition.

This was our favourite: 

“Senses” by Ottawa’s Suguru Kanbayashi and Kevin Ashe (located in Confederation Park)

We know what you’re thinking: we picked the Ottawa artists as our favourite and we just so happen to host a blog about celebrating the city and it’s people. Well, we didn’t realize they were from Ottawa until after, we swear! And though this one didn’t appear to place in the top three – we think it absolutely should have.

What’s your favourite ice sculpture this year? 

A tour of Ottawa’s Wed by Hand

wedbyhand.com

We love weddings, but we especially love weddings that feature local food and vendors. That’s why we were so excited when Krista Leben invited us and a bride to Ottawa’s Indie Wedding Show – Wed by Hand. 

Here’s a visual wrap-up of what we loved:

Inspiration from Amy + Jen Decor

 

A different take on wedding cake from Koko Chocolates

 

Registry ideas from Kitchenalia (thanks for the great dishtowel!)

 

Vintage rentals from Pieces of Love (amazing business idea!)

 

Cake pops from Bake Mob (great name!)

 

Bouquets in mason jars (great idea!) from Sparrow Floral Design

 

Tiny food from Thyme & Again (yum)

 

Beautiful (and vegan!) cake from Auntie Loo’s Treats

 

Macaroon tree from Hearty Bakery

 

Gorgeous letterpress designs from Tartine Paperie

 

Custom soap from Moon Bubbles Natural Soap

 

Amazing surprise in the gift bag from urbanite jewelry (thanks Krista!)

 

Our one purchase (great table gift idea?)

 

Thanks again for the invite – it was a great event, and our guest bride was thrilled. Do you have unique wedding ideas that feature Ottawa’s best?

Creative Mornings: Steve Beauchesne of Beau’s Brewery

If you haven’t been to Ottawa’s Creative Mornings, you really should check it out.

This event was definitely our favourite so far, where Steve Beauchesne shared the role that design and creativity played in shaping the craft brewery’s beloved brand.

Miss it? Watch the whole talk:

To learn more about Creative Mornings, head on over to the website. 

Good Things

“It’s way more fun when you branch outside of the normal and that’s really when good things start to happen. The best things.”  (Steve Beauchesne, Beau’s)

In this (fantastic) video Beau’s Brewery becomes a skate park, a brew master collaborates with a chef and something new is created. Check it:

Love it!

Ottawa’s newest restaurant Gezellig opens today

Gezellig is located at 337 Richmond Road.

Sometimes we feel a little spoiled. 

On Friday, a group of Local Tourists were absolutely delighted to be invited to the pre-opening party for Gezellig – entrepreneur Stephen Beckta’s brand new restaurant. 

If you’re a fan of Play Food & Wine (as we are) or Beckta (also delicious) you’re probably already trying to get a reservation at Gezellig – and we can wholeheartedly tell you that it is absolutely worth a pop by.

Wondering what’s on the menu?

Click for a bigger glimpse.

We tasted the beef tartare, squash risotto, Alberta strip loin, seafood chowder, chicken salad roll, mussels, and probably the greatest dessert ever tasted by a human being – some sort of chocolate, peanut butter, caramel….piece of heaven.

It was fantastic to be welcomed into the kitchen to chat with executive chef Michael Moffat and chef de cuisine Che Chartrand: offering up this behind-the-scenes glimpse was a really special touch.  

The staff – and there’s no surprise here – were also fantastic; all night we felt like we were chatting with great friends.

Inside Gezellig (this used to be a bank!)

So!

A formal review will come once we get our butts over for the full experience, but in the meantime if you’d like a closer look at the food..head on over to Ron Eade’s blog at the Ottawa Citizen. 

Thanks again for inviting us to this wonderful launch, Gezellig!

Gezellig officially opens for dinner today, October 22. The resto will begin offering lunch on October 29, and brunch (Ottawa’s most important meal of the day) begins November 3.  

Let us know what you think!

Congrats Unshaven Mavens on a successful launch! (and this is just the beginning…)

The Unshaven Mavens made their 5K fundraising goal in support of breast cancer research at this weekend’s Oktoberfest. 

Check it: 

These bold and beautiful women grow their underarm hair for the entire month of October, all the while raising funds for Rethink Breast Cancer. The group zeros in on the armpit because early breast cancer symptoms can also be detected in the underarm area, not just the breast.

And guess what? The growing season begins today: their clean-shave day kickoff.

Will you be participating in #pitsfortits? 

Learn more. 

 

Sustainable shopping: terra20 seeks to make eco easy

terra20 is Ottawa’s first large-scale sustainable retail store, located at 2685 Iris in the Pinecrest Shopping Centre. (Inside the old Ikea.)

Pamela Tourigny is the community manager for terra20, a 15,000-square-foot retail store strictly offering eco-friendly products — from cosmetics to clothing to cleaning supplies. Tourigny calls terra20 a “totally different shopping experience” where people are welcome to browse for hours, educating themselves on the topic of sustainable shopping.

Would you call Ottawa a green community? How do we compare to the rest of the country?

Purple Urchin soap is one of the local eco products terra20 sells. (Photo credit: terra20′s Facebook page)

I can’t answer this scientifically, but I would say that Ottawa as a whole is a well-educated, healthy-living oriented, conscious-consumer community.  There’s a notable subset of individuals who take their consumer purchases very seriously, with a strong locavore streak.  Many people in Ottawa like it when they know the story behind what they’re buying (the wild success of all the farmer’s markets here demonstrates that), and I think terra20 fulfils that. Ottawa also walks that line between town and city; it has the amenities of a city and a growing population, but a small-town feel that puts great value on word of mouth. That’s been beneficial to us as a start-up.

What’s the driving force behind terra20? Why launch now?

The driving force is really making it super easy for ordinary people to make better, more sustainable consumer purchases.  There are many small, localized businesses that provide some of these products, and that currently serve their specific communities well — and they will continue to do so.  We want to attract people who aren’t already making these purchases to come and check out terra20. We want to change consumer behaviour.  It’s a lofty aspiration, but we believe that it is an absolute necessity if humans are to slow down the rate at which the planet is being harmed. Why now? Well, this was nearly three years in the making.  We were ready, and we think Ottawans have been waiting for this. The initial enthusiasm and excitement we’ve seen backs this up.

A terra20 staff member sorts through a selection of shirts ahead of the store’s opening. (Photo Credit: terra20′s Facebook page.)

What’s behind the name “terra20″ anyway?

In this new millennium, as the world’s population soars, it’s up to us to explore a more sustainable, earth-friendly lifestyle. The year 20-something will be the year we get it right.

terra20 has moved into part of the old Ikea building …. it’s 15,000 square-feet! Did size matter to the concept? (Why go so big so fast, if the green market is still gaining ground?)

Size does matter: We wanted to create an environment where we could cover a broad range of product categories, but also, to provide people with selection within each category. Nobody wants to be told: “Here are the two types of hand creams we carry; these are your choices.”  We also need to have the room to accommodate the customer requests we’ve already been getting for new products! The idea was to create something that reminds mainstream customers of the kind of store where they’re accustomed to finding a large selection, so that we can be competitive.

You’ve only been open for about a week, but what green gear is Ottawa most excited about?

Ottawans clearly want to go green in a clean way without the nasty toxins, as nearly all of our top selling individual items are in our cleaning category and half are from our fabulous ecobar assortment!. (At the ecobar, you pay a one-time fee for a reusable container that can be refilled again and again, with the customer paying for the amount they buy.) Our kitchen and apparel departments have also had strong sales.

The “Greens” are a line of kitchen utensils made from recycled material. (Photo credit: terra20′s Facebook page)

What’s one product you sell that Ottawans won’t be able to find anywhere else?

This is a really tough question in the age of eCommerce, but we do have some outstanding and simply stunning home accents that will wow even the most discerning designers, as well as gizmos for the techie such as solar rechargers, bamboo speakers for your iPod, and cork USBs.  I don’t think these are very readily available locally.

If you could describe Ottawa’s green community in three words, what would they be?

Discerning, well-intentioned,  enthusiastic.

If you want to see more of what terra20 offers, check out these reviews from EF Magazine and Ottawa Magazine. Or visit terra20 yourself (2685 Iris, in the Pinecrest Shopping Centre).

Must follow: Ottawa seen 365 ways in 365 days

“Ottawa seen 365 ways in 365 days is the result of a personal challenge to discover the city of Ottawa through photography. Everyday for 365 days, I will upload a picture of Ottawa shot from a new and hopefully exciting location.”

Are you following? 

Here are a few of our favourites: 

49 – Prince of Wales Railway Bridge as seen from a Centretown

47 – Running Horses as seen on Sussex Street

33 – Inukshuk at Sundown as seen from Remic Rapids

27 – Planes as seen in the Ottawa Aviation Museum

Visit ottawaphotochallenge.blogspot.ca and follow @Ottawa_365 for more from this wonderful project.

Happy Saturday! OttawaStart shares 40 things you should do in Ottawa before summer is over

ottawastart.com

Don’t have an Ottawa summer bucket list? Ottawa Start has one for you!

Our favourites?

4. Buy fresh food at a local farmers’ market.

20. Go to a drive-in movie.  There’s one in Gatineau and one near Perth.

23. Go see Sex: A Tell-All Exhibition at the Museum of Science and Technology.

27. Take your dog for a run at Lemieux Island.

34. See the whales at the Museum of Nature.

36. Go see the rock sculptures along the Ottawa River.

Check out the whole list here. What’s your plan for fun in Ottawa for the rest of the month?