a new rock star hair style, I’m thinking yes!Cre8tive Hair
Episode 59
Today I’m sharing a ReView of my hairdressers, called Cre8tive Hair, located in a strip mall just off the intersection of McKnight and Edmonton Trail NE. Why I go here and why I recommend THIS place.
Welcome back to Valerie’s Variety Podcast with your host me, Valerie Moss this show is about ReViews, InterViews and my Daily Views. It’s a story podcast about my life in Calgary, WhatEVER | WhenEVER. The show drops every Tuesday.
Cre8tive with an ‘8’ is your average hair salon. It’s run by Asian people, there’s a mix of clientele like Asians, Caucasions – walk-ins, business owners from around the neighbourhood but mostly its run by Donna – she’s the soul of this place.
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When I walk into Cre8tive Hair they know me, I’ve been coming to ‘Donna’s’ since we moved into our home about 10 mins from this place – like 5 years ago. My good hair style and colour Donna’s mastered it over the years, she’s made me platinum blond even. London and Jeff both go to this salon. My Sister and her family go here, my girlfriend Alison goes here – it’s a great affordable place with good people.
Donna
Donna, is about my age, she’s bubbly, passionate about hair and you can tell she loves being there. She can speak several languages, we both have a young child about the same age – we share stories. When we have life changes we share them with each other.
In this small hair salon, there’s also a nail studio. Mandie runs this portion, she’s a Vietnamese lady with long nails, great smile and she too loves what she does. She’s good at it too, many times I’ve had my nails done here and have shared this place with other people as well. She’s cheap and good like $26 for a polish change with fancy designs, her instagram page is fantastic.
What do you like about your salon, their price, their styles, the vibe? Me, I want to trust my hairdresser and I’m sort of cheap, I don’t want to spend $200 plus dollars getting my short hair coloured. I hate waiting for my hair to set and change and process…it’s the worst amount of wasted time but, I bring my laptop and write and produce when I’m there…
Basically I’m giving a shout out to this small place with a few stylists, where posters are stuck on the walls with tape, the TV is playing Ellen where Donna has always looked after me and my family, friends. Even a hop, skip and jump up the road from the KidsU that London attended for several years. They speak all sorts of languages in their including English.
Try Them Out!
photo curtesy by Jeff Moss, style curtesy of Donna
If you’re looking for a place to get your hair cut/styled or coloured or your nails done (Fabulash Nails and Spa) stop in at this little joint, it’s quaint, full of great people, good prices. 5010 – 4 street NE, Calgary Alberta. Say hi to them from Me, Valerie, London’s Mom lol.
Thanks for listening, this show drops every Tuesday.
…a trip inside a bluesy barGritty graffiti from this local blues bar
Today I’m sharing my ReView of a night out at a gritty grounded bar called the Blues Can, located at Inglewood 1429 9th Avenue SE, Calgary, Alberta. Boats some great bluesy acts from across the globe. Think dark suits, 40’s polished shoes, harmonica and good vocals that sooth you. Feeling music in your bones…taking your mind somewhere else. This place is great.
Welcome back to Valerie’s Variety Podcast with your host me, Valerie Moss this show is about ReViews, InterViews and my Daily Views. It’s a story podcast about my life in Calgary, WhatEVER | WhenEVER. The show drops every Tuesday.
When you walk into this place it looks like out of a movie, like picture the bar out of the Patrick Swayzee movie Rhoadhouse, Double Deuce. But the biggest different is it’s not the meanest bar – altho I’m sure it has some stories. Step foot into this bar, you need to pay a cover…$15 this doesn’t buy you a seat just a spot to stand. Back in the day it would have been filled with smoke, it’s gritty inside but casual. The line of site to the bar from anywhere is perfect.
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Smell
Smells like a bar, like food and booze and people. Like stories are told and the bartenders have seen it all and heard music that they will never forget, it’s changed them. You smell and feel history in this place. You know there’s a culture here that makes it what it is.
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Sound
The feeling is everything, it was just me and my girlfriend for a night out celebrating both our birthdays. Changing our corporate attire for casual jeans and boots. Walking into this place with a mixed demographic from here and the Deep South. You kind of feel like you may not belong, two women in a gritty bar. We were there to dance and enjoy the good music.
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Taste
No Original 16 at this bar…so we settled for their usual. The bar stools were full all the way around. There’s tables here and there, higher booth style along the wall to the right of the room, these were full, the place was full. The bar is situated off to the left as you walk in, the stage is centered at the back of the room, directly across from the entrance. the stage is lit up well, perfectly actually highlighting all the right parts of the band, the instruments and solidifying the mood in the room. It’s exactly where I wanted to be. Listening to live southern blues, gravely voices, steel guitars. Their plastic tip jar on the floor beside the mic stand…was filling up with purple bills, these guys were good.
The dance floor is small, people are laughing and having a good time around us and with us. Guys and Gals strutting and shaking their bodies, releasing their stresses, enjoying and absorbing the music. This wooden floor has supported many pairs of feet enjoying a night out at this great place. Grinning people all around young and old, great dancers prancer their swagger criss-crossing the dance floor. It was awesome.
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This place isn’t to sit and drink high priced whiskey or the finest of wines, you drink what you can see on the shelf or in the bar well. It’s the ‘usual’ and that’s what you order. We did a couple shots of Jack – seems like the right thing to do in this place but – we were ultimately there for the music.
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At one point in the night this man, finely dressed with his red shirt, white suspenders, top hat with the crispest ribbon detail, came up on stage with a walking stick in hand and the darkest of sun glasses He, this man of poise proceeded to tear the harmonica apart. The place went crazy. And ad such, I was in awe of the excellence and talent before me. We set our purses on the stage just on the smallest corner as we couldn’t leave the at the table plus we were taxi-ing it all over this night.
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As most of you know I do these background recordings from my phone. its discreet and just to give you a sense of feeling from this part of my life. In no way am I’m steeling or portraying their work as my own, just to provide a context for my night out. Furthermore, I had never been to the Blues Can before, have you? There’s almost 600 reviews on google for this place. The list of Performers on their site is endless…check it out there’s link on my site http://www.thebluescan.com/performer.php
They have names like:
Silvertone Devils
Smoking 45s
Peter Fischer and the Hurricanes
our very own cousin in our Family Miss Ange and Company has also played there
Oscar Lopez Calgary owns
Rusty Reed
Don’t these names solidify the mood and the personality of these bands. These are old souls in these bands they have stories to tall and magic to perform. talking and engaging the crowds looking for the song and word that connects us all. These people perform and love to influence the souls before them. We all have a story and hearing a song a cord that strikes you is what we are after. Me and my brown haired friend had a great time. My first time here and definitely not my last.
Have you been here, do you love the music, the instruments, the gravelly voices, dark top hats, the deepest of bass and jazz notes? Can you sit in a bar, where you can barely see it’s so dim and feel at ease, your with like-minded patrons who are there for the same thing. Bathrooms don’t have doors on the stalls…the tables and chairs don’t match…it’s old and gots a story to tell? Can you?
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Take your bestie on a night out, in your jeans, order a drink from the bartender, like a Budweiser or a rum and coke, spend your time on the dance floor or in a table and just enjoy the music, let it penetrate your skin, your body, so your ears buzz with enjoyment. You won’t be disappointed and maybe you’ll be inspired by a good harmonica, tapping a symbol, polishing up a great pair of shoes, appreciating a ‘usual’ drink from the guy behind the bar. Bluesy Jazzy music to get your feet back on the ground as the song Mustang Sally would say.
Isn’t it funny how life is, I’m writing this last Saturday morning, getting all my thoughts down on paper. I’m satisfied. We had a heavy weekend inclusive of a funeral. I’m settling in for the night it’s about 9pm, Im stitching with embroidery and needle. My friend sends me a text…’wanna meet me at the Blues Can’ – so serendipitous – I say yes. 10:30pm, pull on some jeans, runners – yes it’s this casual and head down…
Don’t take my word for it check out these great ReViews:
If you are a music lover this is a MUST SEE. Small venue for up close and personal Blues shows. Come early as seating gets filled up very quickly. Staff are quick and efficient as it is a fast past environment for them. Please note there is usually cover here avg $20 /head depending on artist performing. So much talent comes through this place.
CASH ONLY. Excellent tequila. Reasonable prices. Fun at the Saturday afternoon jam from 3-6PM. Go early to get a seat. Dancing floor.
Calgary’s premier blues bar… live music nightly… superb staff, well situated along the Music Mile in Inglewood, good food and decent beer selection. Highly recommended to anyone who enjoys authentic music.
Thank you for listening today…check out The Blues Can and it’s owner Greg Smith here’s a write up I found in the YYC Scene giving some background on this great place and the vision behind it.
my go to body & face scrub.Two Minute Tuesdays Cover Art…
Episode 55
Two minute Tuesday TMTs Segment I’m featuring my favourite body scrub – a quick and dirty cheap body scrub. This is for all the girls, gals, ladies and guys if you want to have soft radiant skin. I love to exfoliate – like I mean a good scrub on my body to get all of the dead skin off, arms, legs mostly and face – neck, plus it feels really good.
Coffee and Extra Virgin Coconut Oil
I always save my used coffee grounds from my Keurig, we use a re-useable cup for our machine and scoop the coffee into this instead of the dreadful disposable cups. Anyway if you let this reusable cup sit overnight it will be dry and powdery. You tap the top of the cup and the ground just pour out – clean.
Containers
I have a red cylinder vase that looks nice on the counter that holds all of my use coffee grounds. Stirring occasionally with a chop stick to ensure it’s dry through. I transfer this to a tupperware to use in the shower. I found a small glass toy coffee cup that I use as my scoop- this probably holds a teaspoon, you could use any small scoop but it’s nice if it has a handle – easier to scoop the coffee out of the tupperware with wet hands. The tupperware size I’m talking about is like 1 measuring cup – not very big. The 2nd tupperware I have holds my Extra Virgin Coconut oil maybe half a cup. This is my favourite moisturizer to use, daily.
What to do
While in the shower, bring your ‘coffee’ tupperware with scoop in with you. Rinse off your body take a small scoop of coffee in your hand, moisten it slightly – you should have enough that coats both hands, and proceed to rub this into your legs, feet, bum, back, arms, keep getting more coffee as needed. The natural oils from the coffee also provide moisture. I also use this on my face. Please test an area of your body like you arm or your thigh first to ensure you don’t have any reaction. Scrub as firm as you want. I just love this good scratch, exfoliating on the body.
It’s Messy!
Warning, this is a message scrub, leaves your shower with little coffee grinds but it’s worth it! Also try ti limit the amount of water that gets into your container in the shower as it will mould. So, if you do get water just leave open on your bathroom counter over night giving it a stir with a chopstick or something dry until it’s dry through, easy!
Let me know if you try this out and what you think. check out my site for pictures of my containers. We use the presidents choice dark roast coffee (pssst better than Tim Hortons or MacDonalds). And just your over the counter extra virgin coconut oil from any grocery store, it’s like $10.
Until next Tuesday
Valerie’s Variety Podcast is a story podcast about my life in Calgary. ReViews, InterViews and my Daily Views. WhatEVER | WhenEVER. The show drops every Tuesday.
