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Saturday, February 25, 2012

This one's all about Dad

So, by now you probably know who the Coriander Dad is and if you don't, please allow me to introduce my "diddy." He's our saviour. He's our right hand man, a soldier of sorts, he doesn't quit until the jobs done. He worked so hard on getting 1604 Coriander Girl ready for the grand opening that I'm moved to tears as I write this. Thank you dad for working with us to make Coriander Girl so beautiful. Without you, I don't know how we would have done it! You volunteered even when I knew you were exhausted from working a full day on your other contracting jobs. You showed up dad, you pulled it out, you came through and you did it with gusto night after night just like you've always done and I am endlessly grateful for you.

Ladies and gentlemen a round of applause for Mr. Paul Westlake.



The night we showed dad the space, I said, 'can we take up the floors and pull off some drywall?' He's always been supportive but admits to being sceptical about the floor, later he revealed he was beyond proud of me for sticking to my guns.



I broke down in tears one or two nights behind my mask because the job was so gruelling, dad assured me we would look back on it and laugh. Tyler really took the lead on the floor project, he may not laugh about it as soon as dad and me.



Jump ahead to the 400 pound sink installation. I fell in love with this gorgeous beast from Addison Plumbing just up off Sorauren. Jim the owner is an absolute delight and really came through for me on this. He built the taps from old parts to create something that could accommodate our very tall buckets. I'd say it's one hell of a show stopper. Thanks to Uncle John and Tyler for assisting on this wild project. Dad's proud to say I helped him lift it into place and mount it on the wall. I think he's got super human strength!




Getting close to the wire, I make a judgement call. There is not enough time to finish the baseboards so we're just going to have to live with that. Cut to the morning of the grand opening and keep in mind we've been working steady for over 48 hours, dad sneaks out at 6am to go the shop and finish the job to surprise me! Seriously!! How amazing is that?!!



2:45pm, 15 minutes away from the grand reveal. Dad and I start removing the paper from the windows. Mom jumped in to help which was so amazing to have her come to Toronto with her dear friend cindy and Tyler's amazing mama Penny(appetizers extraordinaire!!) Thanks Penny for all that food!



Isn't mama cute?!




A window cleaning and a loving gesture from diddy, we had a good laugh on either side of the glass. A project comes to fruition and we're still smiling.



I'm head over heels in love with Coriander Girl's new home. It feels like we've been here forever.



The first arrangements made in the new space. I can't believe how much room we have to work, it's a dream!



Dad, you continue to inspire and amaze me.

Alison xo

Saturday, February 18, 2012

Coriander Bits 15!

As usual, what was supposed to be about the new shop quickly became all about Harry. He's just so darn cute I couldn't resist.
Alison xo

Thursday, February 16, 2012

Introducing the new and improved Coriander Girl!

We officially opened the doors to our new location at 1604 Queen St. West. The shop is bigger and better than ever baby!
Have a look and then I'll take you back through the process over the next week and give some much deserved kudos to everyone who helped make it happen. And tomorrow we'll be announcing the winner of Pure Green Magazine! Yippee! Much love and thanks to those who were able to come and celebrate the opening this past Sunday. What a time!
Truly a monumental moment for me.
Alison xo











Thursday, February 9, 2012

Coriander Girl grand opening extravaganza!

Hi everyone!
So, I've left you with dancing European men for the last couple of weeks, could have been worse! We've been so busy preparing the new space for the grand opening this Sunday Feb.12th!! I've not had the time to blog but goodness me, I owe you some answers! Are you coming?! I sure hope so! We'll have great treats from Elm Hill Cookies, The Sassy Lamb, Yummy Stuff bakery, Tealish and if you place your Valentine's order with us on Sunday you'll be entered into a draw to win a one year subscription to Pure Green Magazine! And we're offering free local delivery on V day! It's time to give back to my peeps!
So, yes, we've been stripping floors, walls, scrubbing, painting, you name it, this place got it and is continuing to get it. I hope I can finish everything by Sunday but if not, there's always Monday! Coriander Dad has been working overtime to help make this place a little gem. My husband('good enough to spread on a cracker' guy) has also been bustin' it to get everything ready and me, well, let's just say that on Sunday I plan to drink a lot. That's not true, I can't drink too much as it puts me to sleep! What fun is that?!! Anyway, I'm going to celebrate my pants off, I'll keep them on but you know what I mean, wow, this is a crazy blog, I'm tired and slightly delirious! So, look at a few pics of the work we've been doing and when you come on Sunday you can see the finished space. Don't judge me if you see an unfinished something, like the entire back room! I need a giant curtain!
Much love and many thanks for all the support!!
See you Sunday between 3 and 7pm and probably later as it's a party after all! 1604 Queen St. West, Toronto ON.
Alison xoxoxo

The space before we got it in our hot little hands.



The space after we got it in our hot little hands! Demolition!!







Having some fun with the heat guns.



Tyler vs laminate floor tile. Tyler wins by a landslide.



This job was actually back breaking, we really killed ourselves, it felt endless.



Hello beauty. I knew you were under there, you were worth the effort.



It turns out scraping 25 year old tar off of wood is even harder than removing 25 year old tile so word to the wise, be prepared to get dirty. Would I do it again? Abso' f#$%^inlutely! ; >



More to come!!!
A