Imagine my surprise when I came into the Home & Country offices today (also our offices for Canadian Gardening magazine where I am also the Editor) to find that the only person to dress in green today in honour of St. Patrick’s day was Karina Leimanis, our assistant editor. I’m sure you’ll recognize that the name Karina is not particularly celtic (she’s Latvian in fact) but her green eyes and terrific green dot Banana Republic fact made her an honourary Irishwoman for the day. After a fantastic media cocktail party hosted by Tourism Ireland at the Four Seasons, Toronto (note my GREEN tote bag full of press kits), I am heading off to the opening night for Canada Blooms, where all things green will be present. After a dark winter, nothing will be more appealing than the scent of fresh flowers. Incidentally, the Gala is sponsored by Tourism Ireland as well, so I’m looking forward to a rollicking evening of music (and hopefully green beer!) As a side note, for all of you naysayers out there who don’t believe one should dress up for St. Patrick’s Day, I say “get some Irish into your life.”
So here I am, wearing green with Karina outside my office!
Ever since I was a child, dressing up in green on St. Patrick’s day was one of my favourite activities. My late mother would even dye our glass of milk green, and cut our sandwiches into a shamrock shape. Maybe it’s my love for my late paternal grandfather, who was born outside of Belfast. Something about wearing green makes me feel more connected to him (although ironically it was his least favourite colour), or maybe it’s just because I love green in March! If green is inspiring you as well, you can enter a contest to join me in Ireland this July. Click on this link to enter: www.canadiangardening.com/ireland.php
Phew! What a long weekend at the Interior Design show… But what a lot of fun (and inspiration) as well! The show was packed with visitors all weekend long, and I showed up early Saturday morning to photograph our space with phenom photographer Donna Griffith. We arrived at 6 a.m. to an echoing space devoid of visitors. the Interior Design Show usually has packed aisleways so it was a great opportunity to check everything out while no one was there. However, Donna quickly got down to work, unpacking her two cartloads of photography equipment. Though there were tons of great booths at the show (retailer Hollace Cluny’s elegant but diminutive booth being one of my favourite) (p.s. the elegant wooden folding screen featured in our booth is available through Hollace Cluny), the one thing that absolutely differentiated
Our fab booth from the outside!
the Style at Home/Canadian Home and Country/Canadian Gardening booth was our use of vivid colour from Beautitone paints. Our selected colours were chosen to match the equally awesome photographic wallpaper from the innovative Montreal company Wallyouneedislove. The intense aqua used in Style at Home magazine’s area was Beautitone 3Q3-6 while the shamrock green colour that was used in the Canadian Home & Country/Canadian Gardening area was (the perfect kelly green - very Audrey Hepburn!) was Beautitone 3L3-8. 
We are very thankful to awesome stylist Malcolm Patterson who decorated our innovative space. In the darkness of February, it is great to work with someone who appreciates the beauty of colour! I don’t want to get into too much more detail about this space - Donna Griffith’s beautiful photos will be seen in an upcoming issue of Canadian Home & Country magazine!
A lot of people ask where I disappear to on the weekends. Often I’ll be at work events (like the Interior Design Show next weekend!) or I’ll be squirreled up at home, trying to organize my incredibly messy kitchen. But my real escape on the weekends is to my friend’s farm, Irish Creek Stables, in Cambridge Ont. Liz Lewis and I first met a few years ago when we did a photo shoot at her house. Over the years, we’ve used her house and horse farm as a location multiple times. And for those of you who have read my editor’s letters, you ‘ll also know that I have a number of horses - and I am lucky enough to have Liz look after them for me. Winter at the farm is not easy, but Liz and her daughter Petra make it fun. And if you’re cold? All you need to do is to start mucking out stalls or sweeping, you’ll warm up pretty quickly! 
There is something incredibly special to me about horses. I have loved them since I was a little girl (I even uncovered a report card from nursery school that says my face “lit up every time I saw a picture of a horse.” As much as I love working at a magazine (and I do love it - it is the job of a lifetime for me!), a bit of my heart stays behind with the horses at Irish Creek Stables. When my boyfriend and I began dating a few years ago, he knew that the time I needed to spend with my horses was non-negotiable! Of course, when he comes out here and is able to see it through my eyes (which is why I have posted this photo - so you can see the magic of my horsey winter wonderland)
At Canadian Home & Country magazine, my mandate is to create a perfect balance between the sophistication of city living with the relaxed comfort of country living. I’m so happy to say that I have managed to accomplish it in my own life!
If you have thoughts about how to balance the city with the country, please let me know!
I don’t know what it is about winter, but it’s next to impossible to avoid calorie-laden comfort food… My personal achilles heel is macaroni and cheese. Right now on the magazine newsstands, you can see multiple magazine covers (Real Simple, Eating Light) all with images of macaroni and cheese on the cover… All these recipes promise “light” recipes (i.e., low-calorie). Being a fan of the indulgent, cheesy pasta bake, I’ve scoured these recipes only to find them filled with verboten ingredients such as “light sour cream” and “cauliflower”. Hello? Cauliflower in my mac n’cheese? 
At Home & Country, comfort food has been a common theme for our food section. We work with an incredible recipe developer (Claire Stubbs used to be the head chef at the now-defunct Mildred Pierce on Niagara St.) and she has come up with a few cheesy recipes to update the basic mac and cheese. On a recent photo shoot for our from scratch section, she developed a recipe for Baked Pasta with Mozzarella, Tomatoes and Turkey Sausage. Now, not exactly macaroni and cheese, but this dish was decadent. I’ve enclosed some (albeit not-flattering) shots of us at the food shoot. 
In the photos you can see Claire, executive editor Suzanne Moutis (an equally serious proponent of all pasta and cheese combos) and myself. You can also see photographer Edward Pond’s assistant at the head of the table. We usually fight about who gets to take the leftovers home from a food shoot - in this case, everything got eaten! The recipe is in the Feb/March issue of Canadian Home & Country and I encourage you to make it… If you’re up for a BASIC mac and cheese recipe, I’m going to include mine here. There are no measurements (I do it from eye) but it gives you the basic idea. I start with making a basic bechamel sauce. The special flavour trick I use is to add some ground white pepper and a tablespoon or so of dijon mustard. Then you have to use a combination of grated cheeses (a great way to get rid of leftover bits and pieces in your fridge). Several cheeses I always try to make sure I have on hand for mac n’cheese are emmenthal and/or gruyere. They both add that bit of a kick that takes a basic mac and cheese and turns it into something special. Add as much as you want to make it extra cheesey (at this point, there’s no need to worry about calories).Cook your macaroni noodles to al dente and then stir them into an oven-proof dutch oven with the bechamel and grated cheese. Bake for 20 minutes at 400 degrees. Later this week, I will include a link for one of Claire’s unbelievable recipes for mac and cheese. Enjoy
We have two weeks before the Interior Design Show to go! If you can imagine, we have been working frantically to get organized to get our booth space organized - for the third year in a row, we’re working with our sister publications, Canadian Gardening and Style at Home, to put together an inspiring decor space for attendees to enjoy. It’s a great opportunity for us to meet readers (and for new readers to find all three magazines!) I’m including a sneak peek of the motif I’m using to represent Canadian Gardening and Canadian Home & Country…. This image is our decor inspiration (hint, the photograph is actually wallpaper!) (our other hint is that we will be using a fabulous settee upholstered in natural linen. The Interior Design Show runs February 5 - 9, at the Direct Energy Centre, Exhibition Place, Toronto. If you don’t get a chance to come to the show, I promise to post images of the finished booth after the show happens! If you have any fun “shamrock” ideas, please send them to me! (nothing about leprechauns will be considered!!!)
This past weekend, I was out in the country, mud up to my knees, trying to drag my horse out of the paddock to come into the cosiness of the barn. He balked, not wanting to leave all his equine buddies. I always admire the connection (some may even say co-dependence) horses have with each other. They create the ultimate community, where each relies on the other for companionship. Note to all of you who have no knowledge of horses: when horses lie down in the field to sleep, one will always stay standing (and awake) to watch out for predators.
I’d like to say that a magazine team has that same amount of loyalty and affection for each other. Certainly at Canadian Home & Country, we all work very closely with each other and try to look out for one another—particularly when the job becomes very stressful. If you’ve ever seen movies such as Funny Face, The Devil Wears Prada, or 13 Going on 30—know this: there’s very little glamour in Canadian publishing! We don’t have limos that drive us to work, or assistants that run and get us coffee. Instead, we are a team of creative people who answer their own phones and answer their own mail.
It’s hard work, but none of us at Canadian Home & Country would give it up for anything. After all, where else could you work with a fabulous team of creative people, talk about trends and style, work with incredibly stylish homeowners, photographers and designers.
In the months ahead in this blog, I will keep you all apprised of what happens behind the scenes at Canadian Home & Country. The Wizard of Oz will be unveiled, so to speak! So stay tuned!
“Wick the colt” photo by Virginia MacDonald
