YAM magazine January/February 2016

JAN/FEB 2016

VICTORIA’S HOME & LIFESTYLE MAGAZINE

STYLE WATCH LIVING SMART

LIVING WELL

DARING CONDO RENO

SALT SPRING MODERN Light-filled pavillions define this island home

DÉCOR COLOUR TRENDS FOR 2016

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THE BIG FAT TRUTH Is eating fat good for us?

Fashion in shades of moody blue

DESIGNER HOME OFFICE Where style and function meet

A Daimler Brand

The new 2016 GLC. It’s more than a new Mercedes-Benz. It’s the next generation of the SUV. Total Price $47,760

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The Epitome of Excellence 3195 Humber Road

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This elite, gated estate stands prominently on an unrivaled point on Oak Bay’s Uplands waterfront, offering 1,000 feet of unobstructed ocean frontage. 15,000 square feet provides six bedrooms, nine bathrooms, and an attached private executive office. Inside, the home offers every functional amenity and luxury upgrades not limited to: a billiards room and a large custom theater with a rear-projection screen. This gated home offers two double-car, and three single-car garages; greenhouse, outdoor kitchen, granite gas fire pit, an etched walkway around the ocean-lined perimeter, and a oceanfront anchor with a heated, covered outdoor space. Simply exquisite. MLS 358440

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COVER STORY

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DARING CONDO RENO A 1970s-era condo is transformed into a modern style showcase.

The Long View

BY ADRIENNE DYER

This airy Salt Spring Island home combines modern décor, wood-crafted furniture and nature-inspired art to set the stage for inspired coastal living.

CONTENTS 28 Décor Colour Trends YAM’s design expert reveals what's in for interiors in 2016.

BY LANA LOUNSBURY

BY ATHENA McKENZIE

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The Big Fat Truth For years, we’ve been told that healthy eating means all but shunning animal fats, but is everything we know about eating fat wrong?

BY CINDA CHAVICH

INTRODUCING THE 4C COUPE

Alfa Romeo of Victoria 740 Roderick Street, Victoria BC www.alfaromeovictoria.com

IN EVERY ISSUE at Fairmont Empress

8 EDITOR’S NOTE 11 YAM LOVE Meet YAM's new food columnist, win a fabulous mindful colouring prize and get the scoop on Dance Days

13 TOP OF MIND Handcrafted local furniture, winter fashions, the kombucha craze and circus school

66 LAST PAGE Waterglass Studios’ dramatic artisan lighting

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FOOD + DRINK

FASHION

18 GOOD EATS

54 STYLE WATCH

Bone broth goes from being traditional to on-trend

Moody blues

By Cinda Chavich

20 DIVINE DRINKS Refine your wine knowledge: learn more and drink better

By Adem Tepedelen

NuFACE

Fitness for Your Face™

Contour. Tighten.

Transform.

HOME + GARDEN 22 LIVING SMART High design for the work/live space

By Athena McKenzie

32 OUTSTANDING HOMES Inviting modernity defines this Salt Spring Island retreat

By Athena McKenzie

Available exclusively at Willow Stream.

fairmont.com/empress | 250 995 4650 emp.spareservations@fairmont.com

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YAM MAGAZINE

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By Janine Metcalfe

22

62 JOE DANDY How to be a fashion do

By David Alexander

ART + CULTURE 24 IN PERSON Illustrator Renee Nault

By Mike Wicks

64 BOOKMARKS Best picks for the new year

By Carolyn Camilleri

46 WEDDINGS Our exclusive guide to celebrating your special day on Vancouver Island, including expert wedding planner advice and top trends for 2016.

YAM MAGAZINE

2015-11-27 4:00 PM

By Kerry Slavens

HOW I FOUND MY FITNESS GROOVE

I

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Vancouver Island’s

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Studio Revisions

REV.#

0

t’s the beginning of a bright new year and this is typically the time I would be making a few resolutions, but I confess that I got an early start on mine. Back in November, I decided the time had come for my all-out diet and fitness makeover. You might ask why I would choose the beginning of the temptation-filled holiday season to start a diet and get fit (was I setting myself up to fail?), but I was at the point where I simply could not wait one more day. My skirts were tight — I needed to take action.

Good news: the pounds soon began coming off. Bad news: I liked the dieting but I hated the fitness workout. That was nothing new. Fitness is an F word for me and honestly, if I were ever to go missing, no one would ever think to search for me in a gym. I blame it on my school gym teachers. Who makes 13-yearold girls run up mountains for fun anyway?

I finally figured out that for my exercise Was I missing some program to succeed, I needed to find a way essential exercise gene, to embrace, if not enjoy, exercise.

The first thing I did was to eliminate obstacles: the one that says, Signing up at a gym near my home. Check. Choosing “Oh my gawd, I can’t a gym where I could have a permanent locker so wait for spin class!”?

I couldn’t use the old “I forgot my shoes again!” excuse. Check. Setting a realistic (two pounds a week) goal. Check.

It worked out beautifully. I was going to the gym, I was putting in my time and I was losing weight. But I still wasn’t enjoying it. Was I missing some essential exercise gene, the one that says, “Oh my gawd, I can’t wait for spin class!”?

I’m not lazy, but something was preventing me from experiencing the joy of a good workout. Then I came across an article in the Wall Street Journal called “Hard Wired to Hate Exercise?” that talked about ventilatory thresholds. It seems that, for some people, the harder their bodies work, the less oxygen they get and the lousier they feel. It’s a chemical response based on genetic factors.

That’s me, I thought.

And true, I can’t remember my mother or my grandmother ever exerting themselves beyond, in my mom’s case, downhill skiing. I’m exactly the same. I like downhill skiing because it involves, well, going downhill.

Perhaps the women in my family were meant to be ladies of leisure?

Well, yes... but that wasn’t going to help firm my upper arms.

The article did say, “By using tricks such as listening to music, people can continue to feel good even slightly past their ventilatory threshold.”

Surprisingly, I never worked out with music, so I decided to get a Spotify subscription for my iPhone, buy some proper fitness headphones and see if music could move me. I downloaded a playlist of four decades of favourite songs. And because no one else had to hear my music, I went to town with some of my secret favourites (true confession, I love the music from Dirty Dancing).

And guess what? It worked! Not only did I begin to regularly push past my threshold, I actually kind of, sort of, liked it. The music takes the grind and the monotony away, I get to listen to songs I would otherwise only sing secretly in the shower and my calf muscles are getting definition.

I’m never going to be a stair-climber queen, and I’ll always choose cozying up with a good book over the treadmill. But there’s a quote on Pinterest I try to keep in mind: “If it doesn’t challenge you, it doesn’t change you.” So like it or not, I’m choosing metamorphosis. I’ll have mine with music, thanks. ­­— Kerry 2546 Government Street, Victoria, BC, V8T 4P7 • T 778.406.1380 Ext 459 Premier Dealer Group

YAM-3rd-9.58x2.39-VW-2015-layout-copy.indd 1

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The 2016 Jetta.

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EDITOR’S NOTE

Email me at kslavens@pageonepublishing.ca YAM is on Facebook and tweets @YAMmagazine

2189 keating cross road | 250-652-5200 www.harbourcitykitchens.com

harbour city kitchens f ine cabinetry & storage systems

yam LIVING SMART

LIVING WELL

PUBLISHERS Lise Gyorkos, Georgina Camilleri EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Kerry Slavens

CREATIVE AND TECHNICAL MANAGER Jeffrey Bosdet

PRODUCTION MANAGER Jennifer Kühtz

EDITORIAL DESIGNER Janice Hildybrant ASSOCIATE EDITOR Athena McKenzie CONTRIBUTING DESIGNER Jo-Ann Loro CONTRIBUTING WRITERS David Alexander, Carolyn Camilleri, Cinda Chavich, Adrienne Dyer, David Lennam, Lana Lounsbury, Adem Tepedelen, Mike Wicks

CONTRIBUTING FASHION EDITOR Janine Metcalfe

CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER Jeffrey Bosdet

CONTRIBUTING AGENCIES ThinkStock p.11, 46, 52, 60, 62, 63; iStock p.18, 20; Living4Media p.22; Stocksy p.50, 52

ADVERTISING REPRESENTATIVES Vicki Clark, Lory Couroux, Cynthia Hanischuk GENERAL INQUIRIES info@yammagazine.com LETTERS TO THE EDITOR letters@yammagazine.com TO SUBSCRIBE TO YAM subscriptions@yam magazine.com ADVERTISING INQUIRIES sales@yammagazine.com ONLINE yammagazine.com FACEBOOK YAM magazine – Victoria TWITTER twitter.com/YAMmagazine COVER Ines Hanl of The Sky is the Limit Interior Design Concepts took this quintessentially 1970s-era condo from dated to dazzling.

Photographed by Jeffrey Bosdet.

Published by PAGE ONE PUBLISHING 580 Ardersier Road, Victoria, BC V8Z 1C7 T 250-595-7243 info@pageonepublishing.ca pageonepublishing.ca

Printed in Canada by Transcontinental Printing.

Ideas and opinions expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect the views of Page One Publishing Inc. or its affiliates; no official endorsement should be inferred. The publisher does not assume any responsibility for the contents of any advertisement and any and all representations or warranties made in such advertising are those of the advertiser and not the publisher. No part of this magazine may be reproduced, in all or part, in any form — printed or electronic — without the express permission of the publisher. The publisher cannot be held responsible for unsolicited manuscripts and photographs.

Canadian Publications Mail Product Sales Agreement #41295544 ADVERTISE IN YAM MAGAZINE YAM magazine is Victoria’s leading home and lifestyle magazine. Established in 2009, YAM was created for people who want to live well, live smart and make the most of their lifestyle. For advertising info, please call us at 250-595-7243 or email sales@yammagazine.com.

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YAM MAGAZINE

YAM LOVE

ENTER YAM’S

MINDFUL COLOURING GIVEAWAY!

Intrigued by the popularity of colouring books for grown-ups?

Studies show that colouring helps people clear their minds to de-stress and relax.

Enter YAM’s Mindful Colouring Giveaway and you could win this prize pack of three intricate colouring books from Raincoast Books, a set of markers and a 36-pack of coloured pencils from Island Blue Print.

For contest details, visit yammagazine.com.

Entry deadline is February 12, 2016.

Get Canada’s leading banks to compete for your mortgage.

Jodie Kristian can help you get the best possible mortgage rate. It’s what she does best. Give her a call to find out how easy a professional mortgage broker can make your mortgage negotiations.

Introducing YAM's New Food Writer Cinda Chavich is a well-known food, wine and travel journalist, who knows a thing or two about the culinary arts.

She’s the author of several bestselling cookbooks, and her latest is The Waste Not, Want Not Cookbook, which looks at the global issue of food waste and offers tips, strategies and recipes to help you reduce food waste at home.

250-885-5738 jodie@modernmortgagegroup.ca www.jodiesmortgages.ca

DANCE DAYS ARE BACK! YAM is excited to once again sponsor Dance Victoria's Dance Days. The popular city-wide event is back for its seventh year, featuring an exclusive première of Out Innerspace Dance Theatre's Major Motion Piction and free classes in all kinds of styles in studios all over town.

Visit dancevictoria.com for more info.

Love all things local? Like us at facebook.com /YAMmagazine

Join the conversation at twitter.com /YAMmagazine

Get inspired at pinterest.com/YAMmagazine

DLC - Modern Mortgage Group 207-3531 Uptown Blvd.

Victoria, BC V8Z 0B9

YAM MAGAZINE

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d.g.bremner & co.

TO P O F M I N D

JEFFREY BOSDET/YAM MAGAZINE

ON OUR RADAR

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CITY CULTURE

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Fleet of foot and skilled with their weapons, movie heroes from The Three Musketeers’ Aramis to the swashbuckling Zorro perform feats of swordsmanship that draw many to the sport of fencing. “The physical aspect of the combat is exhilarating,” says Miko Ross, a fencing instructor at Saanich Commonwealth Place. “There is a psychological component that I enjoy immensely. It goes beyond trying to predict your opponent’s actions, to using your wits force their hand…. Fencing is something you never really get out of your blood.”

Pictured: Ross (right) and Hudson Showalter, both members of the Capital City Fencers’ Club, in the Library Room at the Fairmont Empress.

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GOOD EATS

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DIVINE DRINKS

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YAM MAGAZINE

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T OP O F M I ND

ON OUR RADAR

A collection of our favourite things

2 1 It's only natural to love the latest home décor pieces by design masters like Martha Sturdy, Jonathan Adler and Kirk Van Ludwig.

1 These stylish classic resin trays from Vancouver designer Martha Sturdy are non-porous and food safe, but you don't have to use them just for food. (Line available through Calla Design).

2 Nobody does birds like designer Jonathan Adler. These whimsical owls make wise and stylish bookends. 3 This Scandinavianinfluenced b6 table features a reverse natural edge with a centre reveal. The tabletop rests on black powder-coated trapezoid steel legs with the leading edge polished to create a unique detail.

(Autonomous Furniture Collective, $5,000; select Autonomous pieces are also featured at Luxe Home Interiors).

BEAUTY AND THE BEES This BV-9 Platinum Anti-Aging Bee Venom Cream earns rave reviews from testers. Created by Victoria-based cosmetics firm Bénir Beauty and supercharged with an amino-acid-based peptide formula, this cream plumps skin, leaving it feeling luxuriously hydrated.

And it's bee friendly!

BV-9 Platinum Anti-Aging Bee Venom Cream, 1.7 oz, $149, benirbeauty.com

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YAM MAGAZINE

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FERMENTED AND FABULOUS Kombucha may seem like the trendy kid on the block, but this fermented tea has a 2,000-year history of providing health benefits. Organic and delish, the products from Victoria's Cultured Kombucha are becoming everyone's must-have health bevvies. Visit culturedkombucha.ca for locations.

Kombucha Cocktail Recipe courtesy of Hawk and Hen • 2 oz Bulleit Bourbon • 1 oz lime juice • 1.2 oz simple syrup • 4 oz peach kombucha

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This winter’s fashion is defined by slouchy knits, bold necklaces, go-anywhere wristlets and statement shoes.

1 The talk of the town is NINO Designs’ timelessly stylish jewelery. (L to R): gunmetal chain with gemstones, $130; raw amethyst with goldplated/gunmetal chain, $130; gunmetal chain with Spanish Bombay coin and gold circle clasp, $90; amethyst chard with 22k gold-plated/gunmetal chain, $170; 2 Heather Tyrion sweater (Aritzia at Mayfair, $185) 3 Matt & Nat wristlet (She She Bags, $35 to $50). 4 John Fluevog's “Elegant Conversations” Dani boot (Heart & Sole Shoes, $339)

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A BOLD NEW VISION There's a definite buzz around the bold abstracts of Victoria's Amanda Wilson. “This piece comes from a place of intense joy,” says Wilson of her painting Marvellous. “I threw my favourite colours on canvas to see how they’d relate to each other and kept playing until it felt complete. I was a kid in a sandbox ... It’s chaotic and beautiful and rich and makes me so happy that painting as an art form exists.”

Marvellous, 18" x 24," acrylic on canvas (amandawilsonabstracts.com, $500)

YAM MAGAZINE

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YAM MAGAZINE

2015-11-27 4:09 PM

Call it an art, call it a sport — there’s just something magical about a circus coming to town.

Now the circus is coming to Victoria and setting up school here.

Vancouver Island’s

I don’t recall any of my friends running away to join the circus.

But the option always seemed to be there, as a way out.

Of something.

Kaelyn Schmitt, a 26-year-old Victorian, knows what it’s like to run away and join the circus. Only she didn’t have to run away — a path she hopes others can follow if a planned circus school opens here in the spring.

A small group of homegrown circus professionals, Schmitt among them, is erecting a metaphorical Big Top that will allow locals to get a taste of what it’s like to play circus with designs on a career. Or just for fun, exercise or experience.

Island Circus Space (ICS) will offer tutelage in aerials, juggling, clowning and acrobatics (including equilibristics, that show of strength and precision where one

person balances another), from instructors who work internationally with the likes of Cirque du Soleil.

Their “Step right up …” introduction to the training centre will be a circus show at the Metro Studio Theatre on April 2 and 3, featuring all the disciplines they’re teaching as well as a ladder act, cube manipulation, unicycle and the roue Cyr (where a performer is braced inside a large steel ring manoeuvring it to spin gyroscopically and wobble like a dropped coin). And, adds Jake West, who spearheads ICS, Victoria’s Limbic Media will unveil a mind-blowing motiontracking system.

West says the response to building a local circus community has been phenomenal.

“I had high expectations, but it’s just blown me away. All these crazy circus people are coming out of the woodwork contacting me.”

The 40-year-old West, who juggles and

WARREN ZELMAN

File Name: YAM-3rd-2.39x9.58-VW-2016.indd Trim: 2.39” (w) x 9.58” (h) (Exported in horizontal layout to be flipped to vertical position in magazine) Bleed: 0.125” x 0.125” Live: N/A Colours: 4C Studio: SW Notes: No crop marks for YAM Magazine exports.

0 AD #: Volkswagen-YAM-01012016-2.39x9.58-2016passat-JanFeb.pdf Client: Volkswagen Victoria Publication: YAM Magazine Insert Date: January/February 2016

Studio Revisions

REV.#

2546 Government Street, Victoria, BC, V8T 4P7 • T 778.406.1380 Ext 459 Premier Dealer Group

By David Lennam

HIGH FLYING

YAM-3rd-9.58x2.39-VW-2015-layout-copy.indd 1

Highland model shown for illustration purposes only. Vehicles may not be exactly as shown. *Starting from price of $24,900 is based on the 2016 Passat Trendline 1.8 TSI 170, 5-speed manual transmission with a MSRP ($23,295) and freight/PDI ($1605). DOC ($395), environmental levies ($100), tire levy ($25), license, insurance PPSA fee (up to $45.48, if applicable), registration ($495), options, any dealer or other charges, and applicable taxes are extra. Visit Volkswagen Victoria to view current offers. “Volkswagen”, the Volkswagen logo, “Trendline” and “Passat”, are registered trademarks of Volkswagen AG. ©2016 Volkswagen Canada. DL 49914428 #31186

Volkswagen Victoria A Division of the GAIN Dealer Group 3329 Douglas Street | 250-475-2415 | vwvictoria.ca

$24,900* Starting from

Combines a sophisticated professional aesthetic with practical flexibility.

It’s the perfect ride for business 9 to 5 and family 24/7.

The 2016 Passat.

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CITY CULTURE

clowns, came late to circus. When he was 26, he visited a friend working with Cirque du Soleil and received the backstage tour.

“They’d throw me off the Russian swing and let me bungee and paint me up in makeup ... I’ve never had a better rush. I thought, finally I’ve found my arena.”

Kaelyn Schmitt got there earlier. She was a competitive gymnast during her days at Belmont. When she retired, as gymnasts invariably do in their teens, she pondered a way to parlay all that balance, power and backflipping into a career that would let her perform, travel and be a bit of a daredevil.

In her final year of high school, Schmitt auditioned for the National Circus School in Montreal and three years of intensive training. She focused on an aerial hoop duo act, aerial silks (acrobatics while hanging from suspended pieces of fabric) and double-bar trapeze, the latter of which has made her a headliner. (Check out the great highlight reel of her on YouTube.)

“What I like about circus is the athletic aspect. I can express myself through movement and inspire people and connect with them with that mix of dance, theatre and acrobatics.”

And then there’s that feeling of flying through the air. Few careers guarantee that.

Or the “energy exchange” Schmitt says bounces between performer and audience when she’s spinning, one-handed, upside down on the trapeze.

Each circus act — from pie-in-the-face clowning to balancing someone over your head while walking a tightrope — requires specialized skills that must be taught. Want to work in the air? Be shot out of a cannon?

“Circus school helps you assess what disciplines your physical abilities are suited to,” says Schmitt, admitting her powerful, muscular build means she’ll probably never be a contortionist.

West wants to make ICS into something for everyone, “whether you’re 10 years old or 50, big or small, introvert or extrovert.

It would be great for adult fitness enthusiasts, people tired of the same old gym routine. People want to do things that are unique and keep them super fit at the same time. And the kids’ recreation market is just huge.”

Schmitt says circus school gave her the skills and confidence to take her act on the road with regular contracts at circuses in Europe, Asia, South America, Las Vegas or aboard a cruise ship.

“I think Victoria is ready for it. There’s nothing else like it around.”

Island Circus Space performs at Metro Studio Theatre, April 2 and 3. For more information, visit islandcircusspace.com. ::

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YAM MAGAZINE

17

GOOD EATS

By Cinda Chavich

Long touted as a delicious, nourishing health booster, bone broth goes from traditional to on-trend.

GOOD TO THE BONE

M

y grandmother always said good soup should have eyes.

I remember those little bubbles glistening in my bowl of chicken soup, the “eyes” that were left floating on the surface of the golden broth after the rest of the chicken fat had been skimmed away.

Soup was a Sunday ritual. We ate Grandma’s chicken soup, filled with her hand-cut egg noodles, before the rest of the broth’s integral components arrived on the table — a platter of the tender chicken, carrots and parsnips was always presented next, pot-au-feu style, with creamy dill sauce on the side. A one-pot family meal.

Chicken soup is still my idea of perfect comfort food. Rich meaty stock, or what’s more recently been dubbed “bone broth,” is one of those simple, healthy, restorative (and delicious) things that anyone can make at home. I rarely start with a stewing hen like my grandmother did, but we never roast a chicken or turkey without saving the bones to create a tasty broth.

OLD-FASHIONED IS ON-TREND It’s a tradition in every culture, a must in every chef’s kitchen — bones are roasted

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YAM MAGAZINE

with aromatics like onions, garlic and herbs, then simmered for hours to squeeze out every last drop of flavour. Chicken bones are often the base for bone broths, but in Asian cultures pork bones are included in the gingery broths for big bowls of Vietnamese pho or Japanese ramen. And when it’s British beef-and-barley soup or Scotch broth, the bones are beef or lamb.

So what’s the difference between soup stock and what’s now called “bone broth”?

Not much, says Hayley Rosenberg, creator of Victoria’s first bone-broth bar. Belly up to her takeout bar in her new Nourish in the Harbour location for a steamy mug of broth in several flavours.

“People are coming in for an Americano or a bone broth in the morning — a jolt of caffeine or nourishment,” says Rosenberg.

“Essentially it’s old-fashioned chicken soup.”

Nourish makes flavourful broths with organic and ethically raised meats and vegetables. From regular chicken broth to their Garden Herb (beef or chicken), Chicken Chai or Tamari Cure (beef or chicken), there are several soothing soups to try. They serve them by the mug or the bowl, with zucchini noodles or grains.

The bone-broth trend began with Brodo, a popular takeout window selling mugs of steamy soup in New York. Now bone=broth bars are popping up across North America, from Portland’s Broth Bar and Cultured Caveman to Vancouver’s Home on the Range Organics.

BROTH AS A HEALTH BOOSTER Chicken soup — a.k.a. “Jewish penicillin” — has long been known for its health-giving properties, but rebranded bone broth is the new nectar of the holistic gods, touted as a healing food, nutritional supplement and sports drink for Paleo Diet fans, athletes and celebrities. Broth boosters note that the simple act of simmering bones for hours releases a boatload of nutrients, including calcium, magnesium, potassium and collagen. Science now confirms that these nutritional goodies from broth are easily assimilated, and can help fight colds, reduce inflammation, smooth skin, boost energy and even curb overeating.

“Bone broth is rich in vitamins, calcium and minerals, nutrition that’s bio-available,” says Rosenberg.

Whole food advocates Sally Fallon Morell and Kaala Daniel’s new book, Nourishing Broth: An Old-Fashioned Remedy for the Modern World, says it all. A richly simmered broth offers us everything that our fast-food world simply cannot — healthy, homey, nutrient-dense, slow food that’s also easy, economical and accessible.

And what’s even more exciting, this liquid elixir is not just good for you, it’s just plain good. A stash of homemade broth in the freezer is like liquid gold, whether your goal is good taste, good health, saving money or reducing food waste.

HOW TO MAKE BONE BROTH Simply fill a big stockpot with bones and aromatics, cover with cold water, throw in some salt and peppercorns and let the whole thing simmer on top of the stove for six to eight hours (Rosenberg cooks her broth for 24 hours). For extra flavour and colour, roast the bones and vegetables in the oven until nicely browned before you start simmering your stock.

Once the broth comes to a boil, some buff-coloured foam will likely come floating to the top — that’s the coagulated protein. Skim it off and discard for perfectly clear soup stock. Keep the pot barely simmering on low and add another cup of cold water every hour. Strain out the solids, pressing to release all of the tasty juices, and simmer, uncovered, for a few hours to reduce and concentrate. The fat will rise to the top as the broth cools.

If there’s time to chill the broth, it’s easy to remove congealed fat from the top and save it for cooking. Otherwise, spoon off most fat and drag a piece of folded paper towel over the surface to soak up the excess. You don’t want an oil slick on the top, but a little fat adds richness.

A classic soup stock can be made with any kind of meaty bones simmered with a mirepoix of chopped onions, carrots and celery. Add parsnips for sweetness, garlic and bay leaves, or ginger, star anise and dried mushrooms for distinctive broths.

Rich texture comes from the gelatin that is released by the bones over a long, slow simmer. Some bones are better than others in that regard: think beef shin or marrow bones, ox tails or pigs’ feet.

It takes time to simmer a good soup stock, and that’s probably why bone broth is such a comforting sip, whether you’ve got a head cold or just a bout of the winter doldrums.

Just remember to leave some of those little “eyes” of yummy richness glistening on the surface of your soup — a reminder that it was made with love. :: YAM MAGAZINE

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DIVINE DRINKS

By Adem Tepedelen

HOW TO REFINE YOUR WINE KNOWLEDGE Learn more, drink better and don’t be intimidated.

DECANTING 101

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nyone who’s succumbed to wine’s many enchanting charms — beyond its intoxicating qualities, of course — has a story about a certain wine that rocked their world and opened their eyes to the amazing variety of styles and bold flavours that are out there.

My wine obsession started with a sip of a Ridge Zinfandel from Sonoma, California. That inky black wine had a level of richness, character and sophistication I’d never experienced in an alcoholic beverage. Not only did I want more, I wanted to know how such a gorgeous thing was created from grapes alone. I developed a thirst for knowledge — and more wine — that remains unquenchable.

You could, in fact, spend a lifetime learning all there is to know about wine. It’s a vast, interesting and complex topic that spans the globe — from Australia to Austria and Bordeaux to B.C. Unfortunately, most of us don’t have the luxury of dedicating our lives to expanding our wine knowledge. But for the wine-curious who are fascinated (or obsessed?) by wine and want to not only learn more about the topic, but feel confident ordering wine at a fine-dining restaurant, there are fun, challenging and edifying ways to increase your wine IQ. TASTE, TASTE, TASTE Not surprisingly, my first taste of Sonoma Zinfandel inevitably led to a pilgrimage to the area 20

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that produced it. I was pleasantly surprised to find that many great wines — made from varieties such as Pinot Noir, Cabernet Sauvignon, Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay — were grown in this area, and I tried them all. The more wine you can taste, the better. Try wines you think you won’t like, wines you’ve never heard of. Be fearless. You may be amazed to find the wine you avoided because you couldn’t pronounce the name of the grape really suits your palate.

And you don’t have to travel to Sonoma County to do it. We live in a burgeoning viticultural region where lovely local wines are made. From the Saanich Peninsula to the Cowichan Valley, there are nearly two dozen winery tasting rooms open to the public. Though not all offer free tastings, if you end up purchasing something, they won’t charge a tasting fee. This is another way to learn about wine in general and also to experience the local terroir.

Plus, seeing a working vineyard helps connect what’s in the field to what’s in your glass. It’s possible the person pouring your glass may be the same one who grew the grapes and made the wine.

Closer to home in the city, most local wine stores offer free weekly tastings where they might pour four or five different selections. Not only do you get to taste different styles (frequently from different producers), but it’s been my experience that most people who work in wine shops love to share what they know.

According to experts, the decanter is an underused wine tool. For young wines, decanting increases aeration, opening up aromas and flavours.

Decanting a mature wine separates it from any sediment.

To decant younger wines, turn the bottle straight into the decanter and let the wine slosh into the pitcher, allowing maximum aeration. Do this at least an hour before you drink your wine.

When decanting sediment off an older wine, pour the wine slowly along the side of the decanter without allowing any of the sediment to leave the bottle.

Blu Smith – New Dawn Fades

BACK TO SCHOOL Ready to go deeper? Consider signing up for classes where the learning is more formalized and there’s still tasting involved. Check with your local wine shop to see if they offer any, or consider enrolling in the early levels of the Wine & Spirit Education Trust (WSET) or International Sommelier Guild (ISG) programs. These programs — both offered in Victoria — are designed to educate those who work in the hospitality field, but when I took the first two levels of the ISG program, there were many in the class (including me) who were just there to expand their knowledge, not become sommeliers.

In my ISG class, every week a flight of wines would be set in front of us and we’d sip, talk about what we tasted and learn about the multitude of complex characteristics we were experiencing. It was the most fun I’ve had in school. Ever.

“The early levels start with the basics and are perfect for anyone interested in learning more about wine,” says WSET wine instructor Sharon McLean of Cru Consultancy. “The wine world is littered with terms that can be off-putting for the uninitiated: full-bodied, tannic, high acid, long finish. In levels 1 and 2 we explore what is meant by those terms, so next time you read a back label, it makes sense.”

Food pairing is another major topic that’s covered, one that takes some of the guesswork out of buying for homecooked meals and also helps when faced with a daunting wine list at a restaurant.

“Most wine lists are organized by grape variety or region,” McLean explains. “The courses explore what to expect from all the major varieties and regions. So although you may not have heard of the producer or know the vintage, you will have a general understanding of the style and can feel confident about choosing something ....”

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THIRST FOR MORE One of the most intriguing things about wine — beyond the colour, smell and taste, of course — is the depths you can explore. It’s virtually endless.

It took one wine to hook me. I was enthralled. And that passion led me — as it has many others — to learn more, drink better and appreciate wine in a way I’d never experienced before. :: YAM MAGAZINE

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L I V ING SM A RT

By Athena McKenzie

DESIGNED TO WORK

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Combine flair and function to transform a quiet corner of your home into a stylish and efficient live/work space.

Whether you work from home or just want a dedicated spot to pay bills and stay organized, the home office has a big job to do. It needs to be inviting and practical yet still have a sense of your design personality to be in harmony with the rest of the house. To make it as productive as possible, consider adding relaxed seating and a coffee table, because there will be times you won’t want to work at a desk. And just because it’s a workspace doesn’t mean you can’t have a little fun. Bring in colour and design elements through the lighting and accessories — and look for a desk chair that is both comfortable and contemporary.

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by Standard Furniture, starts at $789) 11 Ingleside desk lamp (Pine Lighting, $249) 12 Farrow & Ball ‘Mole’s Breath’ paint (Bespoke Design, $97/gallon)

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2015-12-03 11:10 AM

I N P E R SO N

By Mike Wicks

THE DREAMER’S TALE

Renee Nault calls this self-portrait Protecting the Hybrid. The hybrid shown here is a mix between a rabbit, a stag and a nudibranch (a type of sea slug). It represents something completely new in the world, like an idea, that is still half-formed and fragile.

Illustrator Renee Nault goes deep within to bring dreamlike worlds to life. Her talent caught the eye of Margaret Atwood’s publisher, who hired her to bring The Handmaid’s Tale, Atwood's iconic novel, alive in graphic novel form.

I

f illustrator Renee Nault were to appear in an episode of the TV show The Big Bang Theory, it would likely be in a scene set at Comic Con, where the nerds would fawn over her as a beautiful nerd goddess of the graphic novel world.

To say Nault is a nerd, which she freely admits to on her Facebook page, misses a key attribute — she is a cool nerd, something altogether more interesting.

Her spiky, blond hair gives her something of an elfin look. This, combined with a youthful exuberance, a penchant for modern vernacular and a passion for comics and graphic novels, makes her current and relevant and gives her an air of someone who’s in the right place at the right time with the right talent.

Nault, whose vibrant watercolour-andink illustrations of mermaids and fantastical worlds has attracted a devoted following, is also a sought-after illustrator for fashion, books, magazines and newspapers such as the Los Angeles Times. She was recently chosen by publisher McClelland & Stewart to turn Margaret Atwood’s multi-awardwinning dystopian novel The Handmaid’s Tale into a graphic novel, an accolade of immense proportions. Working on Atwood’s book is a measure of her shooting-star status in the comic and graphic novel world.

Where her vision comes from Nault is bursting with ideas that seem desperate to be told. Her fascination with dreams and the dreamlike states is obvious in her 48-page comic Witchling, the story

of an orphaned girl who can talk to animals and is haunted by dreams of a mysterious forest that she must enter to find the answers she seeks.

Jane, the heroine of Witchling, is a misunderstood outsider, something that resonates with Nault.

“I think that sort of outsider perspective is pretty common among artists,” she says.

“If you’re sensitive, you feel like an outsider most of the time until you get a little older and can pick your friends more.”

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“Max in Where the Wild Things Are — he got to be king of all the wild things!”

“Ross Bay Cemetery. I always get good ideas walking there.”

Beneath life’s surface Through her work, Nault seeks to make the subconscious dreaming mind visual.

“I feel we intuit a lot more than we can articulate,” she says. “I want to bring that to life so people understand what I mean through shared symbolism, history and folklore.”

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Nault's Los Angeles Times illustration for a story about a woman whose luck changes after she saves a gecko from a hot tub (Gecko, ink and watercolour, 2014).

“Paris in the 1920s.”

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From Witchling, Nault's comic about a girl whose dreams begin to spill into her waking life.

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Right: Pink and Pearl Mermaid is an example of Renee Nault’s desire to welcome diversity in body types in her work.

She believes that creating her own comics, as opposed to illustrating someone else’s vision, is the purest way to tell a story. “I can just go wild. People respond to that — they like the unfiltered vision of the creator.”

This unfiltered vision is never more present than in the wordless introduction to Witchling, in which deer-like creatures gather in a forest, where they meet a tall woman with short blond hair standing by a barren tree. Readers are left to work out the symbolism for themselves as stags rear and appear to do battle, and the woman (who looks a little like Nault) cries tears that appear to be blood.

“The fun thing about Witchling is how weird I can make it,” Nault says.

“I can follow my own little obsessions and tangents and make it surreal and dreamlike.”

Why she loves mermaids

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It’s not surprising Nault started painting mermaids. They are, after all, mythical creatures.

“I’ve always liked drawing mermaids,” says Nault. “They’re pretty fun to draw — lots of swoopy lines, and you don’t have to draw feet. Feet are hard! You wouldn’t think so, but they are.”

She paints a new mermaid each week,

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which she posts on her website. After she began posting the mermaids, young women started commenting how much it means to them to see mermaids of diverse cultural origins, or not willowthin.

She has now completed 30 works featuring mermaids of all types, colours, shapes and sizes — and even a merman.

“I am pretty politically motivated,” she says, “but in my work I think that’s not my calling. I’d never thought of it before, but it’s such an easy shift [to realize] not everyone has to look the same.”

She recognizes how important it is for people to see representations of themselves in art.

“Especially when you’re a young woman and all the images you see are something not at all like you,” Nault says.

“That’s weird and depressing. It’s almost like you’re being cut out of a fantasy life everyone else has.”

What makes her tick Nault actively melds her work life and home life into one; she has no desire to separate the two.

Her work represents an all-consuming, almost urgent, passion to communicate.

“Sometimes when I have a scary experience — I don’t want to say neardeath because that’s very dramatic, but for example if I get very sick or get a big scare — my first thought is: ‘If I die I won’t be able to finish my comic. No one will ever know what I meant. No one will ever know what I had to say.’” ::

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DÉCOR COLOUR TRENDS

There’s a whirlwind of white coming to home interiors this year, influenced by everything from white shirt-dresses and the Pope’s gown to white sails, Parisian architecture and, yes, snow. YAM’s design expert presents some beautiful palettes with white as the unifying factor.

By Lana Lounsbury

WHAT’S HOT & COOL IN COLOUR THIS YEAR WHITE BASE COLOUR:

PALETTE 1

With a bright and warm offwhite like Benjamin Moore CC-40 Cloud White, you can paint your walls, trim and ceilings all the same colour.

Just be sure to add sheen for the trim paint and remove sheen for the ceiling paint.

For dramatic fun, try the bold Sherwin-Williams SW 6230 Rainstorm on trim, panelling and walls in a dining room or powder room.

Now introduce some blue (yes, blue is still a top colour for 2016), with modern hues of faded denim, peacock and navy in the spotlight. I love using bold blues in furniture or area rugs because they pair well with soft greys, like Sherwin-Williams SW 7015 Repose Gray, and with brown leather and wood furniture, like Benjamin Moore’s AF-165 Kona.

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JF Fabrics, Pattern #8002, Colour #66W6781

Benjamin Moore, CC-40, Cloud White

Sherwin-Williams, SW 7015 Repose Gray

Sherwin Williams, SW 6230 Rainstorm

Benjamin Moore, AF-165 Kona

Kravet, Templin #33413, Colour #66W6781

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CLASSIC, WITH A TWIST

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Benjamin Moore, CC-542 Willow

Sherwin-Williams, SW 0061 Salon Rose

WHITE BASE COLOUR: Sherwin-Williams, SW 7008 Alabaster

Benjamin Moore, CSP-80 Gothic Arch

Kravet, Modern Elegance #32076, Colour #110 Orchid

PALETTE 2

IRREVERENT I love deep charcoal-brown colours like Benjamin Moore’s CC-542 Willow on interior and exterior doors. Unlike black, which is very linty for upholstery, this colour also looks and wears well on the sofa or dining chairs.

Keep your home cozy but up to date by pairing it with moody, mushroom-grey floors or wallpaper in the tone of Benjamin Moore CSP-80 Gothic Arch and sunny white walls like Sherwin-Williams SW 7008 Alabaster in a washable flat sheen.

Gloss sheen paints hold up more durably

against marks and will not show wear as easily as flat paints, but they do show imperfections in the surface they cover, so they’re not good for walls or worn millwork. One trick we use in heritage homes with original mouldings is to paint the ceiling, crown and picture rail in a flat paint to give the effect of European plaster mouldings and to hide new filling and sanding.

Irreverence comes into play in this scheme when you add your favourite fantasy colour.

For anyone who wants to be on the cutting edge, that often means purple or pink. Both

hues are hot, hot, hot, but they are tricky to pull off because they don’t make good wall colours. For something that says, “Just when you thought you knew me,” I recommend Sherwin-Williams SW 0061 Salon Rose in a tweed or mohair on a big, modern chair in the corner of your living room. Unlike the way “a pop of colour” has been done in the past — where an accent colour is repeated throughout a home or space — being irreverent means only using your fantasy colour once. That’s the way to stand out.

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Benjamin Moore, CSP-485 Paper Doll

Sherwin-Williams, SW 6991 Black Magic Sherwin-Williams, SW 6130 Mannered Gold

Robert Allen, Unscripted, Colour: Amber Benjamin Moore, CSP-290 Café au Lait

Robert Allen, Padra Paisley, Colour: Ink

PALETTE 3

THE NEW NEUTRALS White loves a foil, and black is perfect for this, but it needs to be obsidian, not charcoal. For this, we love Sherwin Williams’ SW 6991 Black Magic, in satin for cabinets and gloss for interior doors. White marble will always be classic, but black marble with white veining looks new again for side tables and fireplace mantels.

With gold leading the way in metal finishings this year, it’s no wonder we’re seeing it come on strong in fabrics as well. Our favourite velvet hue, SherwinWilliams SW 6130 Mannered Gold, pairs well with the greys you already own as

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well as the golden browns like Benjamin Moore CSP-290 Café Au Lait. These golden browns look great in natural finishes such as woven-grass shades, wood furniture and leather upholstery.

An orange like CSP-290 Café au Lait keeps leather looking modern and wood tones looking good in everything from light elms to painted black with undertones of grey or stony brown, rather than reds.

A crisp white like Benjamin Moore CSP-485 Paper Doll works on walls, trim and vertical accents like drapery. When

pairing with warm colours like the golds and browns, we like to take all the yellow out of our whites so that they’re chalky to the point of a grey undertone for contrast.

And when layering a single colour with a monochromatic wall and drapery colour to create a canvas or a backdrop (or just to be obsessive!), it’s really nice to add small discordant touches: a wood-beaded tassel on the bottom of a chair or stool, a leather lip cord at the top of a drape, metal studs in the corners of a pillow.

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Robert Allen, Modern Links, Colour: Glacier

WHITE BASE COLOUR:

For more tips, visit us online: www.modernrev.com

WHY GO WHITE? White has been a longstanding design favourite for kitchen and bathroom cabinetry, and more recently in flooring and lighting, but it seldom takes centre stage. But this year there’s no denying it — white is the interior colour of the year. And yes, that’s unprecedented in the world of colour forecasting. Benjamin Moore has taken the brave step and declared Simply White is simply delicious.

Glidden has made off-white its colour of the year for 2016, and Sherwin-Williams and Behr are wild about white too.

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GET MOTIVATED White walls don’t mean you can’t go white with your furnishings. Try this Benjamin Moore scheme with walls in Mascarpone AF-20; trim and door in Ballet White OC-9; then go bold on an accent wall in Royal Flush 2076-20).

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For those of you who have been timid at the thought of going white, you can see that white walls do not dictate a stark overall palette. This year’s whites set the stage for interiors that are bold, dramatic and full of colour.

With white on your walls, the focus shifts to your furniture, art and window coverings. It’s a refreshing change to have your wall colour showcase the pieces in your home that you collect, relax on and love. ::

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OUTSTANDING HOMES

By Athena McKenzie | Photography by Jeffrey Bosdet

THE LONG VIEW To make the most of its stunning setting on Salt Spring Island, this home uses a series of airy, light-filled pavilions.

The modern décor, wood-crafted furniture and natureinspired art set the stage for elegant coastal living.

“T

hird time’s the charm” might seem an odd expression when it comes to home building, but it perfectly describes how two long-time Salt Spring Island residents realized their dream home. Having already built two homes on the Island, the pair turned to an architect and an interior designer for help when they found the perfect wooded site overlooking Samson Narrows.

“The esthetic is West Coast Modern, which to me means that the design acknowledges the climate, our nuanced light and the site, and uses indigenous materials,” says architect Michael Geary.

“When standing in the kitchen, dining room or living room, or indeed any of the key living spaces, one sees and feels the grass slope, the oak trees and, of course, the water and all the stunning changes of light. I wanted this house to capture all of this. I wanted the house to appear, from all angles, as though it was meant to be there.”

In building the house, the homeowners and Geary wanted to preserve as much of the original beauty of the unique southwest-facing site as possible, leaving many of the rock formations, arbutus and oak trees.

To achieve this, Geary designed the home in three parts: the main house, a studio and guest wing to the west and the master bedroom and ensuite to the east.

“Dividing the building into three pavilions minimized the level changes and achieved other key goals,” Geary says. “[The homeowners] wanted to see the broken-rock formation from this studio and have the master bedroom — particularly the ensuite bathtub — to be private while surrounded by arbutus and Garry oak trees.”

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The homeowners have hundreds of interesting rocks and shells collected from their adventures around the world.

When they built the house, they included a special channel to the right of the entry for these rocks and shells, and add to it after each trip away.

The homeowners also wanted to bring a modern feel into their décor and found designer Trish Puckett, then consulting through Gabriel Ross, to push them out of their comfort zone.

“They had this beautiful crafted wood furniture that looked more traditional and they wanted to mix it with a more modern, edgy look and that was where the challenge was for them,” Puckett says.

As the project was on Salt Spring and Puckett is based in Victoria, much of the consultation was done through email, photographs and texts, with an occasional site visit.

A major way that Puckett assisted with achieving the final look is through the lighting, particularly the striking Bocci lights seen above the dining table and over the day bed.

The end result is something Puckett calls “a comfortable, West Coast, beachy modern.

“There are a lot of soft blues and greys and lots of light. And there are many spaces that invite curling up and soaking in the views.”

The house sits on a scenic, sloped mid-bank waterfront lot. When it was being built, architect Michael Geary avoided blasting to remove the natural rockfall by designing an elevated glassed-in bridge to connect two parts of the home. The upper section contains the main living area, with wide gradual stairs leading down to the studio pavilion, which also has a guest bedroom and bathroom.

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PROUD SUPPORTER OF POWER TO BE

Left: The Bocci suspension lights from Gabriel Ross may seem delightfully random, but the layout was conceived by designer Trish Puckett, and each light was individually wired into the drywall by the electrician. The colours are complemented by the painting

by Quebec artist Élène Gamache.

Handcrafted wood pieces by Jesse Fisher Fine Woodworks can be found throughout the home.

Above: A challenge for the homeowners was how to mix edgier pieces in with their existing traditional wooden furniture, and Brent Comber's drum tables work by using a traditional material in a way that feels modern. The tree painting

by John Barkley echoes the striking forest views. Indy, the homeowners' dog, loves to nap in front of the fire.

Right: According to the homeowners, the Rumford fireplace brings the living room to life. Puckett's furniture layout took the views and the fireplace into consideration.

Designer Trish Puckett and the homeowners point to the glassed-in day bed-area off the living room as their favourite part of the home. Its corners are pieces of glass edged up next to each other, so no framing obstructs the panorama. It is outfitted with a custom mattress and cushions from Fawcett.

Tiny suspended Bocci lights add to the dreamy quality of the space, which the homeowners describe as like being in a treehouse.

The incomparable view offers incentive to do the dishes as the kitchen sink overlooks the water and the outdoor dining area. Elements such as the kitchen fixtures from Victoria Speciality Hardware and the Wolf appliances from Y. Franks strike a balance between the modern and traditional.

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Left: The extreme privacy of the property allows for the windows around the sculptural freestanding bathtub in the master ensuite. The dramatic Harco Loor light fixture adds a modern, edgy element but has an organic feel that works well in the space.

Right: The serene colour palette of the bedroom invites relaxing and doesn't compete with the views. Nature-inspired art — such as the Brent McIntosh painting above the bed and the Steven Friedman photograph between the windows — can be found throughout the home and contribute to its West Coast esthetic.

RESOURCE LIST Architect: Michael Geary of Geary Design General Contractor: Hans Hazenboom of the Hazenboom Construction Designer: Trish Puckett through Gabriel Ross Inc. and Puckett Design & Construction Landscaping: Wendy Mullan Gardens Cabinetry & Wood Furniture: Jesse Fisher Fine Woodworks Kitchen and Bathroom Fixtures: Victoria Speciality Hardware

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W DARING

CONDO RENO

Designer Ines Hanl tranforms a 70s-era condo into a streamlined style showcase

By Adrienne Dyer | Photography by Jeffrey Bosdet

hen faced with the dilemma of buying a new condo versus renovating an older one, a Victoria couple proved that out-ofdate can become spectacular in the hands of an innovative designer.

When making their purchase, the couple focused on square footage, location and a well-organized strata committee, then brought in designer Ines Hanl, owner of The Sky Is The Limit Interior Design Concepts, to turn the tired 1970s condo into their dream home. With dashes of 1920s industrial elements and 1950s retro, this cool condo features an all-white art gallery vibe with fun splashes of colour and texture, a style Hanl describes as “very sensual, in a modern way. To enter the suite is like “stepping through the closet into Narnia.”

THE CONDO CONUNDRUM: BUY NEW OR RENOVATE OLD? In the Victoria condo market, new does not necessarily mean better. True, new builds are move-in ready, and offer amenities like attractive common areas and beautiful landscaping. But the major tradeoffs are square footage and minimal choice in design and finishing materials.

Hanl says it’s easy to spend $400 to 500K for a cramped, two-bedroom unit with minimal storage and a master bedroom with barely a foot of space to spare at the end of the bed.

Left: Designer Ines Hanl removed partitions from the galley-style kitchen to transform it into an airy, light-filled space.

Above: Glenn Closson of Crescent Moon Forge turned this upcycled steel tractor wheel into an industrial-style bar top. A pendant light from Artcraft’s Connecticut collection and Bombo stools add to the loft-style industrial feel.

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By contrast, older buildings offer a full range of choices in location (downtown living isn’t for everyone) and more spacious layouts for significantly lower cost, which leaves room in the budget to make the space your own.

When you renovate an older condo, you can add all the touches you want, like the very creative custom cabinetry that adds flow throughout the entire home. True, you’ll need to work within the confines of your strata bylaws, with careful consideration for making the renovation as painless as possible for your neighbours. You may also encounter structural limitations, like hidden conduits in the walls and ceilings, as happened with this project.

But there is still plenty of scope for creativity.

THE COOL CONCEPT At 1,500 square feet, this generously sized 1970s condo features a wall of windows in the living room, offering views of natural spaces outside. That connection to nature is very 42

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Above: A custom-designed area rug accentuates the unusual teardrop shape of the glass-topped dining table.

A structural header is hidden inside a strip of dropped ceiling, which in turn defines individual spaces within the open-concept design. The oak grey Largo Dominicano laminate flooring unifies the open space and, along with the ample use of white on the walls and quartz-topped island, brightens the space.

Left: A Zephyr Luce wall hood fan features an illuminated LED strip that changes colours.

Behind the induction cooktop, Hanl created a blacksplash of porcelain tiles manufactured to look like rough wood planks.

important to the homeowners, but the original layout didn’t allow them to see those views from the tiny galley kitchen or cramped front entrance.

The elongated living room was roomy but disproportionately large compared to the under-sized dining space. And the entire home lacked adequate lighting, a common problem in condos new and old, says Hanl.

The first order of business was to remove partition walls, opening up the kitchen as much as the existing hidden venting allowed so the homeowner could indulge her love of cooking. New steel structural posts between the kitchen and dining area add architectural interest in keeping with the home’s Yaletown-esque industrial vibe.

Hanl expanded the kitchen into the former dining area, then converted part of the living room into a new dining area cleverly defined by a dropped beam hidden inside a bulkhead. The new ceiling feature also houses a grid of pot lights in place of a chandelier. Finishes like high-gloss cabinetry and glass backsplash tiles reflect light and increase the overall feeling of spaciousness.

Left: A lime-green colourblocked feature wall is reflected in a strategically placed mirror wall. On the crisp white custom-made dresser, sleek stainless steel “endless” handles save valuable floorspace. The pendant light is from Kichler’s Ahrendale collection.

Above: An open display unit forms an artful part of the dining area’s built-in millwork.

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And the coolest feature of all? “I had this tractor wheel hanging at my local blacksmith for years and years and hoped I could utilize it someday,” says Hanl.

“We turned it into their bar table!”

The diminutive “His” bathroom/guest bath was cramped for Hanl’s tall client.

But the designer carved out some elbow room by adding a new pocket door, and by recessing the shower into the wall.

She was also able to redirect some of the venting to raise the ceiling by a few centimetres — a small change that made a huge difference. Floor-to-ceiling wall tiles, a large mirror and frameless shower glass further increase the space via a little visual magic.

“The most jarring element of this condo was the sharply angled wall in the bedroom,” says Hanl. She describes a triangular room where, from the bed, the homeowners had a direct view of the toilet at the end of a hallway flanked

by closets — hardly restful! Hanl’s ingenious solution was to convert the old hallway and closets into a private dressing space, and then add a closet to square off the room’s angles. The homeowners now access the ensuite bath through the new closet area, giving them extra storage without taking away from the spaciousness of the room.

What the owners love best about their new home is the openness.

Colour. Balance. A continuous theme throughout the house. It’s a space this couple plans to call home for many years to come. ::

Multi-coloured “Chiclet” floorto-ceiling tiles are balanced by bright-white fixtures and porcelain floor tiles. Extending the room five inches in length allowed the owner to include her five-foot Neptune Amaze freestanding tub with its sculptural Puravida faucet from Hansgrohe. The whimsical Folium pendant features a die-cast aluminum leaf-like silhouette.

SUPPLIERS Contractor: Rob Parsons, Parsons Construction Millwork and custom furniture (bed, side tables): Splinters Millworks Counter: Colonial Countertops Plumbing fixtures and all door hardware: Victoria Speciality Hardware Tiles: Decora Tile Blacksmith: Crescent Moon Forge Light fixtures: Illuminations Furniture: Roche Bobois, Gabriel Ross Carpet tile in office: FLOR Laminate flooring: Finishing Store Appliances: Lansdowne Appliance

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A YAM MAGAZINE SPECIAL FEATURE

OUR EXCLUSIVE GUIDE TO PLANNING A WEDDING ON VANCOUVER ISLAND

THE BIG DAY

How to make it uniquely yours with exclusive advice from wedding expert Meg Keene, author of A Practical Wedding Planner

As founder of the website apracticalwedding.com, Meg Keene has many ideas for creating beautiful and meaningful celebrations. Her new book, A Practical Wedding Planner: Planning The Wedding You Want With The Budget You’ve Got (Without Losing Your Mind In The Process), is full of straight talk and useful information, from tips on wedding dress shopping to writing your own vows to using non-traditional spaces for your ceremony or reception. The book’s main take-away? Focus on the emotion not the pretty — and don’t forget to have fun.

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YAM: At the beginning of your new book you

tell couples to take some time to “bliss out” before they jump into planning. Why do you think that’s important?

Keene: The tendency is to immediately push

yourself into planning, partially because when you tell people that you’ve gotten engaged, 75 per cent of the time the first question will be, “Do you have a date?” Like you get a ring on your finger and one second later you have an event. You immediately feel like you’re behind the ball and that you’ve somehow failed a little bit, even though it’s really the question that’s dumb.

So there is this instinct to immediately push yourself into planning. The problem is that getting engaged is a great emotional place and planning a wedding is this fairly stressful, logistical puzzle. I think it’s really important that you give yourself some time to just absorb the emotion of this wonderful thing that’s happened to you before you get into something that’s really like working out a complicated problem.

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YAM: Is this why couples can benefit from

a book on wedding planning or hiring a wedding planner?

Keene: I wrote the book fundamentally

because it’s the book that my husband and I needed when we planned our wedding.

There wasn’t actually a lot of information out there about how to plan a wedding.

There was a lot of information about how to make a wedding pretty or, frankly, how to spend a lot of money, but it was really hard to get fundamental information, so it seems like you’re trying to reinvent the wheel every single time. So the reason I wrote the book is genuinely to simplify things for people and to let their wedding planning be more joyful and more about fun.

YAM: In planning their weddings, is there a common mistake that couples make?

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Keene: I think the budget is usually the

biggest and most common issue, in that most people have never planned a large event and have no way to know what it costs.

What a lot of couples do is pick a number out of a hat that sounds reasonable to them but it’s unrelated to what it’s going to cost to have the thing that you want. The most

A Practical Wedding Planner: Planning The Wedding You Want With The Budget You’ve Got (Without Losing Your Mind In The Process)

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common number I see is $10,000. Couples saying we’re not going to spend a penny over $10,000, because that would be completely unreasonably. Which makes sense. Many people are getting married in their twenties or thirties and $10,000 is a lot of money — it’s always a lot of money.

But often what people want and the budget number that they picked at random don’t have anything to do with each other. They want to serve 150 people a formal sit-down meal. As I talk about in the book if you go to the Olive Garden — a place most people can relate to and many want their wedding meal to be fancier and nicer than that — you have a basic meal with an appetizer, salad, entrée, maybe a small glass of wine and a small dessert, and it’s going to cost $50 a head. So if you take that and apply it to your wish list, that’s what it would cost to serve your guest list in the Olive Garden and that doesn’t account for the space or what you’re wearing or the decorations or anything else.

YAM: So what is the definitive first step in

planning your wedding?

Keene: The thing I really recommend that

people do is come up with a wedding mission statement. There’s like a billion things you can call that, but it could be a mission statement, or your statement of intent, or however you want to think about it, but just coming up with what you want the wedding to be for you. Ours was, “A religious celebration followed by a raucous party with our community.” When we would hit a point of, “Oh my God, we can’t handle this, we are going to elope.” My husband would be, “Wait a minute, we said celebrating with our community was the most important thing to us.”

I talked to someone recently who said that their statement of intent, was, “Love, ease and fun.” And so every decision for them was, “Is this about love, ease and fun? No, this is about pretty and difficult, so it’s off the list.”

I think coming up with that sort of statement for yourself can be a really important first step, because it gives you this emotion that you can come back to and that you can carry away from your wedding and that is ultimately more important than whether you served lobster or chicken.

YAM: What is the most important advice you

can give?

Keene: From the website that I’ve run wilsonstransportation.com 250-475-3235 Locally owned & operated

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over the years, I have come away with the feeling that the most important thing about a wedding — if we’re talking big picture — is about is making it fun. And for [many people] it’s all about making things pretty. And the problem is that pretty isn’t an emotion. Put your energy into making things fun. ::

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YOUR ULTIMATE WEDDING PLANNING CHECKLIST A handy timeline for getting it all done!

16 to 9 Months Before

❍ Start your wedding folder.

Use a binder or create one on your computer, whatever way is easiest for you to keep all the information in one place. ❍ Create an inspiration board.

Start clipping photos or use Pinterest. Don’t limit yourself to dresses and flowers, think venues, food and décor. ❍ Work out your budget. ❍ Select the members of your wedding party. ❍ Begin working on your guest list. Plan to keep contact information, RSVPs, meal requests and gift records in the same file in your folder. ❍ Hire a wedding planner or coordinator, if you are using one. Don’t want a planner?

Consider a day-of-event coordinator to deal with any last minute issues. ❍ Reserve your date and venues. If your ceremony and reception are in two different locations, be sure to factor in travel time between the two venues. ❍ Book your officiant. ❍ Start researching photographers, videographers, bands, florists and caterers.

Eight Months Before

❍ Finalize photographer and videographer. ❍ Book the entertainment. Try to see bands and DJs at their current engagements so you can see how you like them live. ❍ Start meeting caterers.

Sample menus and start thinking about cocktails versus food stations versus sit-down. ❍ Say yes to the dress.

(Remember you’ll need enough time to schedule at

least three fittings.)

Five to Four Months Before

❍ Out of town guests?

❍ Book venues for the

❍ Organize your RSVPs and

rehearsal and rehearsal dinner.

determine final guest list.

Contact people who have not responded. ❍ Obtain your marriage licence. ❍ Send out rehearsal dinner invitations. ❍ Schedule your final dress fitting. ❍ Confirm times for hair and makeup. ❍ If having a sit-down dinner, assign seating. Draw table shapes on room layout and use a sticky note for each guest. ❍ Purchase bridal party gifts to be presented at rehearsal dinner. ❍ If writing your own vows, start composing. ❍ Get your hair cut and coloured, if desired.

Reserve a block of hotel rooms.

Consider a range of price points at lodgings close to the reception. ❍ Register. Selecting gift lists from at least three retailers gives guests plenty of options. ❍ Launch a wedding website or a Facebook Page. Help guests stay informed of your wedding day details.

Six to Seven Months Before

❍ Select and order the wedding cake. Be sure to taste before committing to a baker. ❍ Purchase your wedding shoes. Bring your shoes to your first dress fitting, so the length of your gown is correct. ❍ Schedule hair and makeup artists. Do book a trial run as well. ❍ Work on your music choices for DJ/band.

❍ Select and purchase your invitations.

❍ Start planning a honeymoon. Book airline tickets, update passports and research any shots you may need. ❍ Shop for the bridesmaids’ dresses. Narrow your preferences down then arrange a fun group day, if all the party is in town. Remember to leave time for fittings and shipment. ❍ Meet with the officiant.

Make sure you have all the official documents. Map out the ceremony and discuss if you are writing your own vows. ❍ Send save-the-date cards. ❍ Reserve structural and electrical necessities — those items such as extra chairs and lighting. ❍ Finalize and book the florist. ❍ Arrange the wedding day transportation for you and the wedding party. Consider limousines, town cars, carriages and buses. ❍ Work on your day-of timeline, from the beauty appointments to the ceremony to the first dance.

Three Months Before

❍ Finalize the menu and flowers.

❍ Order favours, if desired.

If planning welcome baskets, start compiling those now. ❍ Make a list of people giving toasts. Let them know. ❍ Finalize the readings.

Determine what you would like to have read at the ceremony and by whom. ❍ Purchase your undergarments and bring these to your next fitting. ❍ Finalize the order of the ceremony and reception. Send your event schedule to the vendors. ❍ Purchase the wedding rings.

Two Months Before

❍ Touch base with all of your vendors.

❍ Review the playlist with the band or DJ.

❍ Mail out your invitations.

The RSVP cutoff is usually three weeks after the day mailed. ❍ If you’re making a newspaper announcement, submit now.

One Month Before

Week of the Wedding

❍ Check in one last time with your photographer. Provide a list of all the moments and people you want photographed. ❍ Reconfirm arrival time of all vendors. ❍ Delegate small wedding day tasks. Consider assigning a contact person for each vendor. ❍ Send a timeline to the bridal party. ❍ Pick up your dress. ❍ Set aside checks for vendors if necessary. (Give to assigned contact person, if using.) Put any tips in separate envelopes. ❍ Send final guest list to caterer and all venues. ❍ Break in your shoes. ❍ Assemble and distribute welcome baskets. ❍ Pack for your honeymoon!

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WEDDING TRENDS FOR 2016 While each wedding is a showcase of a couple’s unique relationship, there are always great ideas and trends out there to help bring a memorable touch to your celebration. Here are a few of our favourites.

Chic, clean and modern, foil printing on your stationery sets an elegant tone for the event and adds shine without over-the-top glitter or sparkle.

Use it for a patterned Pearl foil-stamped wedding invitations from design or to highlight Victoria’s Classic Stationers’ Etsy store. details, such as names and dates. Add throughout your invitation suite, including the reply card, and even carry over wherever paper is involved, such as table numbers, menus, cocktail napkins, matchbooks and thank-you cards. Gold is popular, with silver, copper and pearl also being stylish choices.

3

Creative Lighting Along with the flowers, many couples are now looking to lighting to enhance their décor. While twinkle lights are still popular, they can be labour intensive. An elaborate chandelier above the head table or strands or old-fashioned Edison lights can be a striking way to add ambiance.

6

Welcome Books

Even with triple-digit guest lists, people want attendees to feel like they’re part of a special, familiar group. To “introduce” everyone, create passport-sized guest books on Guesterly in advance of your wedding to share digitally, mail in advance or include in welcome bags. They can include any fun details you want about you and your guests — from nicknames to hometowns to how you met — so guests will have those handy, getting-to-know-you details before they meet face-to-face at the wedding. The books also make for a great keepsake afterwards.

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Pantone’s Colours of the Year

The colour experts at Pantone went with a softer take on colour this year, choosing a warm pastel pink, Rose Quartz, and a cool pale blue, Serenity. The tones are meant to reflect connection and wellness, as well as a soothing sense of order and peace, making them the perfect choice for your wedding colours.

This engaging combo also mixes pleasingly with deep jewel tones, another beautiful colour trend that works in all seasons and for both indoor and outdoor celebrations.

4

MARTA LOCKLEAR/STOCKSY

Metallic Foil Stationery

Craft Cocktails

For a truly unique touch, consider serving a custom cocktail. If your budget allows, hire a mixologist to create something truly distinctive or come up with something on your own that matches your style and colour scheme. Be sure to use local spirits and ingredients — bringing in local elements is another trend we love and is one way for out-of-towners to experience the destination.

Live Music

5

From soloists during the ceremony to bands during the reception, nothing can enhance an event like music, especially if it’s performed live. Sure, a DJ can play your song by your favourite group, but musicians add a performance and entertainment element that people will remember for years to come.

7

Naked Cakes

Just because a cake is frosting free doesn’t mean it isn’t wedding worthy. Holding back on the fondant creates an exposed look popular with couples looking for a traditional wedding cake alternative.

Garnish with fresh flowers and greenery for a rustic look that is elegant and understated.

MILLES STUDIO/STOCKSY

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top

From elegant wedding cakes and spectacular flowers to delicious platters and beautiful gift baskets, our experts can help you create a perfect “I Do� that reflects your unique love and distinctive style. Our experienced Floral Designers, Cake Designers and Deli Experts will create the most important elements of your wedding and make your special day a memorable one.

Get Started! Visit your local store or phone 1-800-667-8280

STYLE WATCH Fashion Stylist: Janine Metcalfe

CALL IT BLUE-SKY THINKING, BUT DESIGNERS ARE OFFERING EVERY SHADE OF THIS FLATTERING HUE THIS SEASON, FROM VIVID AQUA TO DEEP NAVY.

MOODY BLUES DENIM DAYS Georg Roth blouse ($238) available at Bagheera Boutique; Eliza Faulkner bell-bottom jeans ($25) available at elizafaulkner.com; Smythe jacket ($695) available at Bernstein & Gold; NINO Designs jewellery ($50 to $250) available at ninodesigns.com.

FRESH PRINTS Elizabeth and James blouse ($439) and skirt ($675) both available at Bernstein & Gold; NINO Designs jewellery ($50 to $250) available at ninodesigns.com.

LENGTHY MEASURES Kit and Ace turtleneck ($98) available at Kit and Ace; Silvian Heach skirt ($196) available at Frances Grey; Fluevog Jett boots ($369) available at Waterlily Shoes; NINO Designs jewellery ($50 to $250) available at ninodesigns.com.

SHOULDER SEASON Teresa Lindsay Geofashion Couture dress ($205) available at fashion.teresalindsay.com; NINO Designs jewellery ($50 to $250) available at ninodesigns.com.

On the contents page: Eliza Faulkner culottes ($285) and top ($265) available at elizafaulkner.com; Coclico boots ($465) available at Footloose Shoes; NINODesigns jewellery ($50 to $250) available at ninodesigns.com.

Photography: Jeffrey Bosdet/ YAM magazine Model: Katie Keough, Key Model Management Hair and Makeup: Melodie Reynolds, Elate Cosmetics Stylist Assistant: Brooklyn Koenig Special thanks to Parc Modern and Vic42

Is everything we know about eating fat wrong?

For years, we’ve been told that healthy eating means all but shunning animal fats. But investigative journalist Nina Teicholz, author of the recent bestseller The Big Fat Surprise, has looked beyond the fat myth and found plenty of evidence that saturated fat does not make you fat.

So is it time to say, “Pass the butter”? By Cinda Chavich

T

he cooks serving up porchetta sandwiches at Roast in the Victoria Public Market are all but hidden behind a massive bouquet of crispy pork rinds.

This fabulous pork fat is my guilty pleasure, and when I get to the front of the line to place my order, I make sure to say, “Extra crackling on that for me, please.”

The guy standing behind me is admiring the bubbly golden slabs of 58

YAM MAGAZINE

porky fat, too, while two young girls in the lineup are giggling, pointing and trying to figure out how they can get a big chunk of crackling to go.

Let’s face it, although we’ve been warned to avoid it, we’re hard-wired to love animal fat. Butter, pork crackling, bread and drippings, foie gras, schmaltz, lardo, oolican grease — fat makes food delicious.

Now researchers say saturated fat is actually healthy too, a nutritious whole food that comes perfectly packaged

with the meat that’s sustained us for millennia.

Fat But Not Fattening?

Animal fat, it turns out, doesn’t make you fat and might actually protect you from heart disease, diabetes and cancer.

Polyunsaturated liquid fats, the kind we use to cook and fry and make almost everything, are far more dangerous, even toxic, to consume, especially when heated. And carbohydrates, those processed flours and sugars we’ve been

JEFFREY BOSDET/YAM MAGAZINE

The Big Fat Truth

< Rolling Meadow's Kiwi Pure unsalted butter, available at Lifestyle Markets, is made from the milk of grass-fed cows.

filling up on since giving up meat, have created an obese and unhealthy populace.

At least, this is the conclusion that journalist Nina Teicholz and others have come to after combing through decades of research on the topic.

“In recent years, there have been dozens of clinical trials looking at the benefits of a higher-fat, lower-carb diet,” says Teicholz, author of The Big Fat Surprise: Why Butter, Meat and Cheese Belong in a Healthy Diet.

“Saturated fat does not make you fat — or diseased. What the research shows is that a high-fat diet is almost assuredly healthier, in every way, than one low in fat and high in carbohydrates.”

Rethinking Fat It’s a revelation, and a celebration, for fatlovers, but one that’s hard for most people to comprehend — especially since we’ve been told quite the opposite by doctors, health departments and other organizations for more than 40 years. The message has been that a low-fat diet, high in vegetables, fruits, grains and other carbohydrates, is the key to good health. Like smoking or too much alcohol, those bacon-and-egg breakfasts would seriously shorten your life.

So, like most health-conscious Canadians, I’ve followed the Canada Food Guide and championed the Mediterranean Diet Pyramid, reducing the meat in our meals and adding more fruit, vegetables and whole grains to the daily menu.

It’s the Michael Pollan mandate: “Eat food, mostly plants, not too much.”

And like many people, I’m constantly fighting the scale and all that comes with the extra pounds. We’ve all made a huge shift away from meat and butter, but we’re now facing an epidemic of obesity and Type 2 diabetes. Where did we go wrong?

“It all stems from one original hypothesis in the 1950s that saturated fat and dietary cholesterol caused heart disease, ” says Teicholz.

That diet-heart hypothesis, developed by American nutritionist Ancel Keys, linked saturated fat with cholesterol and heart disease, and was widely adopted by doctors and public health experts. But Keys’ science was flawed from the start, she says.

“This hypothesis became accepted truth before it was properly tested — but the hypothesis is unraveling.”

And Teicholz is helping to unravel it.

After nine years spent delving into 50 years of research, Teicholz has concluded that our fear of fat is both ungrounded

and unhealthy. By following the officially prescribed low-fat diet, we’ve cut fat consumption by 25 per cent, while adding 30 per cent more carbohydrates to our daily diets. But clinical trials now prove that a low-fat, high-carb diet increases our risk of diabetes, heart disease and obesity, the very illnesses that are now rampant throughout the population.

New trials also confirm that eating cholesterol (i.e. eggs and shellfish) won’t increase blood cholesterol, and that total cholesterol is not a big predictor of heart attack risk anyway. Even more surprising is that eating a low-carb diet, along with more saturated fat, produces the best HDL-LDL cholesterol ratio for good health.

Old Habits Meet New Information Teicholz says the public is understandably skeptical and confused about all of this contradictory diet advice. But as her book so aptly outlines, relying on Keys’ random epidemiological studies rather than clinical trials started us down the wrong nutritional road. And though we continue to hear mixed messages about fat from experts, the official hard line against saturated fat is melting away.

“There has been no official announcement that the low-fat diet is over, but governments have gone silent on the topic, quietly tiptoeing away from low fat,” says Teicholz, noting that the massive Women’s Health Initiative (WHI), the largest clinical trial of its kind, found “the low-fat diet completely ineffective” in reducing heart disease, stroke, cancer or even body weight.

The WHI, which followed 49,000 women for a decade, is proof that we got it all wrong, she says. Subsequent trials have confirmed the WHI findings. Carbohydrates, including bread and pasta, raise insulin levels which cause the body to store fat. We should switch to a higher-fat, lower-carb diet, she says, with meat and fat (40 to 60 per cent or more of calories from fat, not the current 25 to 35 per cent) back in the centre of the plate.

“It would be wise to return to what worked better for previous generations,” she says, “a diet that included fewer grains, less sugar and more animal foods like meat, fullfat dairy and eggs.”

The other, perhaps counterintuitive, conclusion of the WHI study is that consuming fat will not make you fat. In fact, the opposite may be true. But replacing carbs with more satiating fats, especially saturated fat, it’s easier to eat less and lose

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weight. Several popular diet regimes have taken this tack, including the Paleo Diet, the Atkins Diet and the Bulletproof Diet, a complex regime devised by American tech magnate-turned-diet guru David Asprey.

Asprey, a self-described “biohacker,” has built an entire franchise based on his Bulletproof Coffee, a daily drink of coffee mixed with grass-fed butter and MCT or coconut oil, which is central to his ultralow-carb but high-fat, gluten-free diet.

His zealous followers report massive and rapid weight loss, along with other biological benefits. Even those with high blood pressure, cholesterol, triglycerides

and blood sugars (the classic “metabolic syndrome”) claim their numbers return to normal after adopting Asprey’s dietary routine.

“We’re finally coming to realize that humans are wired to eat way more fat,” says Carmine Sparanese, general manager of Victoria’s Lifestyle Markets and a longtime devotee of the Bulletproof Diet. “A safe amount of fat is about 50 per cent of your calories coming from fat — the cravings for sugar and refined foods simply go away.”

The program includes eliminating all sugar and replacing those calories with grass-fed butter and coconut oil, avoiding

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Rinse the lump of butter in cold water until the water runs clear. Mash in salt or other seasonings. Wrap butter in plastic and refrigerate. Suggested butter flavours: cinnamon-brown sugar, chives and black pepper, or garlic and dill. * This is much faster in a food processor, but a lot less fun.

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The 4C is all about feel and greater driver involvement — which is why you won’t find power steering on any model. Unassisted steering provides the driver with the highest quality feedback — there is perhaps no greater connection to the road.

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all gluten and polyunsaturated oils (corn, soybean, canola, walnut, flax, peanut), mycotoxins from molds (cheese, peanuts, corn, wheat, barley), legumes and food additives. Instead, Asprey recommends eating grass-fed meat from ruminants (beef, lamb, bison), wild seafood, full-fat, grass-fed dairy, eggs, organic vegetables and small amounts of fruit.

With a bestselling book, website, podcast and line of products, Asprey is marketing a diet he says sharpens the mind, improves performance and helped him “go from a tired, 300-pound young adult to a lean, highperforming VP, coach and father.”

Sparanese says he’s tried various diets, but with this low-carb and high-fat approach, he has “lost a lot of fat” and “my blood work is now all within normal range.”

The Big Fat Lie The Bulletproof regime may be at the extreme end of the new low-carb/highprotein diet spectrum, but it’s not the first time we’ve heard similar advice.

“Eating animal fat didn’t kill our ancestors.

We need to rethink our relationship with fat.”

Jennifer McLagan, author of Fat

In 2002, writer Gary Taubes’ story “What If It’s All Been A Big Fat Lie?,” in New York Times Magazine, and his subsequent books Good Calories, Bad Calories and Why We Get Fat, laid out the fat/carb conundrum.

Other books, like Fat, from Canadian food writer Jennifer McLagan, aim to educate us about this “misunderstood ingredient,” too.

But our “fat phobia” is deeply engrained, says McLagan.

“People are still convinced that fat is bad, it’s evil,” says McLagan, who earned a James Beard award for her 2008 cookbook filled with recipes for butter-poached scallops, crispy pork carnitas, lard-based pastries and duck fat fries.

McLagan demystifies leaf lard, pork belly, bacon fat and beef suet, explaining both the health and culinary advantages of cooking with animal fats. She says fat fills you up, carries flavour and doesn’t make you fat.

“I don’t believe in any diet — I eat fat and I’m not fat,” she says. “Eating animal fat didn’t kill our ancestors. We need to rethink our relationship with fat.”

The official advice on dietary fat is changing, if slowly. The Canadian Heart and Stroke Foundation quietly released a new position statement in September that backs off its former position against saturated fat, saying instead that we should eat whole foods and avoid all highly processed food products, including cookies, crackers, pizza and burgers, which can be loaded with calories, refined carbohydrates, sugars and trans fats. The statement includes “no threshold or limit for saturated fats” and suggests Canadians go back to the basics by cooking from scratch, using whole ingredients and paying attention to portion size.

It sounds a lot like the advice from Teicholz, McLagan and others. Some might call it common sense. While there’s no onesize-fits-all diet, it’s clear that the low-fat diet has failed us.

My grandmother cooked in goose grease, fried delicious doughnuts in lard and served those addictive pork cracklings with her Sunday roast. I’m looking forward to enjoying these tasty, traditional foods again — hold the guilt. :: YAM MAGAZINE

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J OE DANDY

By David Alexander

1.

8

MALE FASHION FAUX PAS (and how to avoid them)

The Bad-Fit Guy

Forget socks and sandals, forget the proliferation of Gore-Tex, the number one issue Joe Dandy sees with Victoria guys is that they wear clothes that don’t fit. But you can fix this easily. If the hem is too long, get it shortened. If it’s too short, beyond fashionably short, don’t buy it. No matter how good the sale is.

Having a tailored look doesn’t mean spending a fortune on a custom-made piece of clothing. It does, however, mean establishing a relationship with a tailor who can hem, bring in a shirt, let out a jacket or make a multitude of nips and tucks so you look well-put together.

While we’re talking about fit, skinny is great. It’s still in fashion, especially with suits, but not everyone can pull off skinny jeans. So don’t buy for trends; instead, buy clothes that match your body. Not the body you want, the body you have! And why not?

You have an awesome body.

2.

The Over-Accessorized Guy

If you’ve decided to leave the house wearing your sizable collection of bracelets, big chunky gold necklaces and a couple of scarves, you’ve gone too far. It’s time you learned the word edit.

If jewellery is your thing, pick a piece that goes with what you are wearing. Show it off.

Hats are nice; they are stylish and keep your noggin warm. Same with scarves; nothing feels as good in a damp Victoria winter. Just remember, with accessories, restraint is key.

3.

Not to be picky, but the streets of our fair city are a study in fashion don’ts. That means well-dressed men really stand out in a good way. Here’s how to be a fashion do.

Sometimes it’s tough being an adult. There are so many choices. And being a guy with style choices, well, that can be even tougher. All those colours, patterns and trends — they should magically match up into something cohesive that you can wrap around yourself, shouldn’t they? If you’re really good, they mesh into a look that is distinctly you, a style no one else sports. But if you’re style challenged, achieving a look that works can be a train wreck. Joe Dandy is here to tell you that life is too short for train wrecks.

Here are the top eight fashion faux pas, all definitely worth avoiding.

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The Age-Inappropriate Guy

This can be a tough one. As we get older, our fashion sense doesn’t necessarily evolve. Men who are 40 and above should be thinking more classic: single-colour T-shirts, crisp Oxford shirts, sweaters or a nice pair of chinos. Ironic T-shirts, baggy jeans, hoodies and backward ball caps are all the domain of young men.

Every year, have a good review of your closet. Got anything older than a decade that you’ve been hanging on to? Chuck it.

Anything your 20-year-old nephew might happily wear? If you’re double that age, throw it out — or pass it on to your nephew.

You want to turn heads because of you, not because your style forgot to grow up.

6.

The Wrong-Clothes-to-theWrong-Event Guy Clothes can make an event. But they can also blow it. There are some cardinal rules in fashion: Wear a suit to a wedding and funeral.

It’s a sign of respect. Unless everyone else is doing it, don’t wear shorts to work. In an office full of suits, casual might feel good, but it isn’t going to help your office cred. And never, ever wear sweats for anything other than the gym and the flu.

8.

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The Bad-Match Guy

There are some fashion choices that belong in style purgatory. Socks and sandals are one. You might have thought it worked in university. It didn’t. A suit jacket and jeans? Don’t even consider it — a suit jacket is made to go with suit pants; consider them mates for life.

A blazer and jeans — that works. Your belt should match your shoes. There are exceptions, but try not to mix browns and blacks. And never, ever wear white socks with dress shoes.

Style to Stay If you’re unsure on any of these fashion hijinks or think maybe you’ve partaken in a bit of over-accessorizing or matching a bit of purple tartan with green stripe, then tear out this article, laminate it and tape it to your bathroom mirror. You put the time and money into looking good, so make it count. ::

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2015-11-27 4:10 PM YAM-3rd-9.58x2.39-VW-2015-layout-copy.indd 1

The Affront-to-the-Eyes Guy

The Over-Scented Guy

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5.

Colour and pattern matching can be challenging. Blues and oranges — they go great together. A hint of a purple striped sock under the hem of a dark suit or a nice patterned tie against a crisp white shirt — brilliant. But put orange and purple and striped and patterned together and you start getting into some trouble. Match with care — a stripe and a solid, a bright with black, white or grey all work. An easy way to figure out colours is to study the rules of the colour wheel. It just takes a few minutes and makes life easier.

7.

There’s always a guy in the office you can smell coming from miles away. Don’t be that guy. Scent can be amazing, but choose it wisely and use it sparingly.

Colognes, at least the ones of quality, are made to act with your own scent, so try a cologne on at the store, let it mesh with your skin and leave the store. Really, leave the store. If you still like the scent later that day, go back and purchase it. Remember, scent should be for you and those that get really close to you. It shouldn’t be for your entire office floor.

So use it sparingly; start with a few pulse points (a dab behind your ears, a light spray on your chest). Less is more.

Starting from

The Details-Let-Him-Down Guy

Late-night drives downtown, weekend getaways, road trips to wherever, it’s the ultimate “choose your own urban adventure” vehicle.

4.

This manifests itself in a bunch of ways. Think fantastically expensive suit paired with ratty, old shoes. Or an on-trend patterned tie that’s tied too long. Or worse, tied too short. Or saggy shirt collars with no collar stays.

You spend time and energy on your wardrobe, so look in the mirror and make sure you’ve covered the final polish that says you know how to dress well.

On the other side of this, of course, is Over-Groomed Guy. Hair shellacked in place, beard trimmed to an inch of its life, clothes immaculate. My advice: relax a little. There’s a happy medium between these two guys.

The 2016 Golf.

KNOWING WHAT NOT TO WEAR WILL HELP YOU NARROW YOUR STYLE CHOICES SO YOU CAN BUILD YOUR FASHION PROFILE WITH CONFIDENCE.

BOOKM A RKS

tapas • cocktails • music

By Carolyn Camilleri

NEW YEAR, NEW RESOLVE If eating more vegetables is on your 2016 list, The Deerholme Vegetable Cookbook (TouchWood Editions, 276 pages) by renowned Cowichan Valley chef Bill Jones will make it the easiest resolution ever. These are seriously delicious vegetarian recipes, like Curried Mushroom and Root Vegetable Pie, Grilled Pumpkin with Sweet and Sour Sauce, Eggplant with Porcini Bechamel … you get the picture. Plus there’s all kinds of information on preparing vegetables like a chef.

More reading time with kids is a great resolution, especially if you learn something too.

Aliens Among Us: Invasive Animals and Plants in British Columbia (Royal BC Museum, 128 pages) by Alex Van Tol and illustrated by Mike Deas is aimed at eight- to 12-year-olds, but it is packed with interesting — and often surprising — information for any age. Covering more than 50 alien species, this entertaining resource really drives home the importance of being careful about what is introduced into our ecosystem. (No wonder Customs asks all those questions when you travel back from another country!)

Whether you are looking for romance or just want to stay up to date on what is going on out there (hey, parents!), Modern Romance (Penguin Press, 288 pages) is an enlightening read. And it’s funny. Written by comedian/actor Aziz Ansari (of Parks and Recreation fame) and sociologist Eric Klinenberg, this book looks at the way romance has changed over the decades — and especially at the influence of social media. Were things better in the old days? I’m not so sure anymore.

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The Crooked Heart of Mercy

Avenue of Mysteries

by Billie Livingston (Random House Canada, 272 pages)

by John Irving (Knopf Canada, 480 pages)

Surviving unspeakable tragedy is the focus of Vancouver writer Billie Livingston’s newest book. The people — Maggie, her husband, Ben, and her brother, Francis — experience tragedy and misfortune on so many levels and over so many years that recovery seems impossible.

The novel opens with Ben in a psych ward, having survived a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head. Maggie is trying to return to work as a caregiver for the elderly but is barely coping with grief over the circumstances that led up to her husband’s injury. Meanwhile, Francis, an alcoholic, homosexual priest, is at the centre of a scandal. And that’s before we get to their childhoods. Even reading about it is almost unbearable, but I kept going because I had to find out what happens.

It’s a painful story, but there is admirable strength in these people and in the bonds they share.

I read John Irving novels very slowly, trying to make the stories last as long as I can. I know from experience that reaching the last page is going to be brutal for me. Yes, I am a fan.

And this newest novel is classic Irving. There’s a circus, an orphanage, a transvestite, a draft dodger, prostitutes, a child with vocal challenges and so on.

Avenue of Mysteries brings together many recognizable Irving elements but in a new story. The main character, Juan Diego, is a novelist who (take note, Irving fans) wrote a book about an orphan who performs abortions and another about a child in the circus and insists he never writes autobiographical novels. In his dreams, Juan Diego relives his childhood, and it is a magical journey that starts in a dump in Mexico, where he teaches himself to read.

I am still in mourning over having reached the last page.

Looking great for your special day takes less time than planning it.

A FEW MORE FOR YOUR BOOKSHELF...

Patrick deWitt’s latest novel, Undermajordomo Minor (House of Anansi, 339 pages), is about Lucy, a young man with few admirable skills and qualities beyond a wonderful way with words and lies, who leaves home to work in a mad Baron’s castle.

DeWitt’s language is wonderful, his dialogue is full of humour, and his quirky characters bubble with life. But while this mirthful book is ripe with amusing antics and adventures, there is an undercurrent of sadness and cruelty, largely unspoken or delivered in one-sentence blows.

In Daydreams of Angels (HarperCollins, 288 pages), master of metaphor Heather O’Neill gives us 20 beautiful stories full of whimsy and wisdom.

It’s the adult world through the innocent perspective of children.

These frequently wacky stories address some heavy issues — abuse, addiction, poverty, mental illness, death, betrayal — but also the resilience of the human spirit and the strength of character that comes from surviving adversity.

Broken Promise (Doubleday Canada, 484 pages) is the newest whodunit from former Toronto Star journalist Linwood Barclay.

After five years in Boston, reporter David Harwood and his nineyear-old son return to their hometown of Promise Falls, New York. Of course, there are problems and David is embroiled in a fastpaced, suspenseful murder mystery. Barclay’s writing style is perfect for this genre, and I was thrilled to read that this is the first in a trilogy. Sign me up for the next two. ::

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LAST PAGE

UNE BELLE LUMIÈRE

JEFFREY BOSDET/YAM MAGAZINE

Patrick Bulmer of Waterglass Studios points out the whimsical details — from cupids to wizened faces — on this exquisite French chandelier, circa 1870. Made of solid bronze and weighing more than 200 pounds, this chandelier was designed to hold 36 candles. It's one of the rare finds at Waterglass Studios, where discerning seekers from around the world find everything from antique to mid-century modern lighting and hardware, including, yes, vintage doorbells.

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© 2016 Porsche Cars Canada Ltd. 2017 Porsche 911 Carrera shown below. Porsche Centre Victoria DL2230 # 31209

The new 911 Carrera.

Yet again, everything comes back into play. It’s about a new benchmark. A sports car that has only ever existed once in this form. That has been a source of fascination for generations. And is firmly anchored in our heart and soul. It’s about the future of the 911.

We are always looking forward. Not sideways, never back. We don’t want to rest on the laurels of our past, no matter how illustrious it may be.

All the racing victories. The dreams. Our fans. Thousands of ideas. We hold them in our hearts.

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