Last night we went out for Valentine's Day (okay, a few hours before the stroke of midnight but so close to the 14th as not to count). One of my favourite restaurants a few years ago was Allium on Holland Avenue. For some reason, time passed and we had not been back. In looking for a place to celebrate Valentine's Day, I suggested Allium. Monday night is tapas night and that allows me to taste a few things without ending up with a huge plate of only one type of food. I was not disappointed! We had great service, wonderful tapas and then for only $4.00 a half of a Banoffee pie (see the photo from the Allium website above to realize that this was not a huge serving but JUST RIGHT. I saw a Jamie Oliver television show where he made one of these pies and it stuck as something that I would like to taste. Mission accomplished. It is made of graham crumb crust, toffee, bananas, whipped cream and shaved chocolate. Not something for every day but a treat.

Part of what made the evening was the variety of patrons in the restaurant. There were a couple of families with school aged children, women out with their girlfriends, couples, and groups. The atmosphere was lively and upbeat.

I highly recommend a meal at Allium or (if you are like me and like variety) the Monday tapas evening. Make a reservation just to be sure to have a spot.

Allium 87 Holland Avenue; Ottawa, Ontario;

613-792-1313

Now that I am in the mood to shop for a house, I am learning all kinds of things from a Buyer's viewpoint. While being an agent, I told all of my clients of the importance of lots of good photos. I would now add the importance of good panoramic video. Once this is taken care of, then a house needs to be listed on as many websites as possible.

• The local Board that manages the MLS system for the area. In Ottawa, there are restrictions on the local Board to how many photos can be loaded into the listing. However, the Board has provided space for agents to link the listing to other sites.
• My former brokerage had its own site for Royal LePage agents
• The listings were loaded on the national site MLS.ca
• I have/had my own site plus the ActiveRain site
• My photos, description and panoramic videos were loaded on a site specific to the address of the house.
• Agents and home Sellers also have the opportunity to list on Kijiji and Craigslist.

Just a couple of reminders:

• Make sure that you have excellent photos. Hire a professional photographer to get the best results.
• Avoid the 'fish eye' lens where possible as the distortion is hard for some people to understand. While you get to see 'more' of the room, it also looks bigger, wider, longer and just off kilter.
• Don't forget to update the sites that are in your control, during the sale and after the home is sold. Nothing looks as bad as an interior shot of the living room with a Christmas tree when it is July and sweltering hot.

Whenever it gets cold and I get tired of walking on icy streets, I start to look at real estate in British Columbia. Even when there is snow, it doesn't stay in the Vancouver area or on the south end of Vancouver Island (at least that is my dream). So, I have been back looking on the Internet at real estate.

If we are going to live in our next home for 20 or 30 years, then I need to take into account that yard and house maintenance will be a future issue as will climbing stairs to the second floor to go to the master bedroom. I am looking at condos targeted to adults. Now, here are 2 things that I have noticed when condo town homes, apartments and single homes are listed for these adult communities:

1. Age minimum: 19
2. Pets: Dogs no more than 20 pounds and no taller from the floor to the top of the head of 20".

Seems like there are some condo boards (called strata in BC) that have become VERY specific about the pets and about children. I guess the definition of adult is 19 and over in BC. What 19 year old in his right mind is going to want to live in an old folks community? Oh yes, the 19 year old who needs free room and board. LOL

I got out the tape measure and the scale and with a few more walks and less treats, Hoover can meet the dog criteria. Just one more reason for having Westies.

Dogs and Kids but with limits.

Have you been looking for a beautiful home for your family but need a space for your inlaws? This home is the perfect home for you. Welcome to 3 Lasalle in Rockland.

This executive home is absolutely beautiful with many recent upgrades. The kitchen, eating area and family room will certainly be the place to spend a lot of time with your family.

Kitchen & eating area


Main Floor Family Room

The rest of this home has also been extensivelly renovated. Look at the nice fireplace in the family room above. Do you think it matches the rest of the home? There is another one, very similar to this in the master bedroom.

The lower level has also been completely finished with a bar, rec room, play room, exercise room, bathroom & lots of storage space too.

Now, let's talk about the in-law suite. It is a separate building from the main house. You get to keep your privacy but the in-law suite is just a few steps away. It has a full kitchen, bathroom, living/family room. A complete open concept that could accomodate your in-laws.

For additional information on this stunning home visit Rockland Executive Home to see all of the features which could be your next home. Don't forget about the inground pool and large hedged yard.

I heard on television that approximately 1,000,000,000 chicken wings will be consumed today. Now, assuming that you get 2 pieces per wing and two wings per bird then there are 250,000,000 chicken that have contributed to game day. I like wings so will have a couple but there will also be meatballs, chili, chips and I have the chef (aka my husband) throw in a few celery and carrot sticks for good luck. You never know when one of his friends will actually want to down a veg. The beer is cooling. For my part, I went all out and did some assembly baking - you know - I assembled a mix into baby cupcakes and then made some butter cream icing in red, blue and white. I looked for silver but others got to the cake supply store before me. I hope the frame on the photo gives you the idea of silver. There were more cupcakes but they went off to friends and the little people who live next door. The red and the blue icing are very dangerous as the tongue and the lips will turn colors from all the edible food dye I had to use. Just saying......

Not telling who my team is but...... I think my mini cakes looks very PATRIOTIC.