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All Aboard! My amazing weekend filled with a brewery tour and boats!

Thursday, August 19th, 2010

This is what I love about summer . . .  these perfect sunny weekends that are filled with adventures (perfect for crossing off Summer Resolutions I may add) and after my two weeks of downtime I was ready to get back out there and make a splash in the warm weather – and that’s exactly what I did!

I was in Kelowna this weekend for a wedding and I was invited to have a tour of the brewery for one of b*co’s clients – Tree Brewing. I had never been on a beer tour in Canada before and I was really excited to see what goes on. There are so many different steps involved in producing beer…it’s crazy. The most interesting part to me was the production line; the machines that they have can bottle 80-100 bottles in 60 seconds from start to finish! The staff at the brewery was so knowledgeable and friendly, and it was a real treat to be able to go up there.

And what would a tour be without sampling all of the wonderful products? It’s hard to pinpoint exactly which one was my favourite but I’m going to have to go with the ‘test beer’ that they’re sampling right now. It had these delicious vanilla notes (YUM!) I will definitely be keeping my eyes open for that beer when it hits the shelves! So if any of you are heading up to Kelowna I would highly recommend that you stop in – you will not be disappointed.

My other big event this weekend was the first event for the Social Order! Some of you may not have heard of The Social Order yet. It’s my new venture with Betsy from b*co. We plan events for extraordinary people who want to take part in exceptional activities! And this weekend we kicked off our first event with a wonderful group of extraordinary people who went on an exceptional sailing trip courtesy of Captain Evan Seys of the S.V. Perehelion. The weather could not have been more perfect, the crew was delightful and our Captain rocked the open sea!

Once we were all settled on the boat we motored out to the open waters while enjoying some food and drinks. We traded tales of our sea adventures but the really interesting part was listening to our Captain tell his stories about sailing all over the world. He has been across the North Atlantic 45 times, across to Hawaii in a 40-ft sailboat, has sailed in almost every good cruising ground in the world, and even raced with 4-time America’s Cup Champion, Russell Coutts aboard an RC44 rocket-ship in Dubai. Talk about a Capitan that knows his stuff!

Once we reached an open area (with some wind) our Captain invited the crew to test their sea legs out. He let the sails down and the crew went to work! It’s really a team effort and The Social Order Sailing crew stepped up to the plate. And after a lovely sail we headed back inland to relax and enjoy the gorgeous weather!

We had the lovely Kari Heese taking photos of our wonderful adventure and there are some posted on facebook (The Social Order) so make sure to check them out! I must say we are a pretty snazzy looking crew dressed in our sailing attire.

Don’t want to miss out on any more events? Well then make sure you stop by The Social Order website and say hi at http://www.thesocialorder.ca
We have plenty more events in store for you and I can guarantee that you won’t want to miss out on another one!

Caitlin xo

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Caitlin’s Post: My “Slow Down” Summer Resolution

Monday, August 16th, 2010

After a very fun-filled long weekend I decided that it was time to slow things down, but not to worry, this week was still filled with crossing off Summer Resolutions.

After the activities over PRIDE weekend, I wanted to take it easy for two weeks (a first for me during the summer!)   I know that it’s an odd time of year for downtime, with the beautiful weather and a million and one events happening, but I wanted to do it for me.

I made a plan that instead of going out, I would treat myself to a new cookbook and expand my culinary skills. Well, it turned out that someone has been keeping busy in the kitchen for the last week – it just wasn’t me. When I bought my new cookbook I also bought one for my boyfriend Dave – and he has been slaving over a hot stove all week (not that I’m complaining!)

While I was looking for the book that I wanted, I stumbled upon a copy of The Best of Chef at Home by Michael Smith (a Canadian from PEI I might add) and gave it to Dave to read over to kill some time. By the time that I found my book I ended up having to pull him away from The Best of Chef at Home, and he was still talking about all the different recipes that he had seen. So, I decided if he had enjoyed the book so much, I would buy it for him as a gift.

But to be honest, I had no idea it would work out so well for me! Dave was in the kitchen all last week preparing recipes for us – homemade granola, macaroni and cheese, and on Saturday night we stayed in and cooked a feast (I say we because I did help with prepping the side dishes for our meal). Dave had planned the whole menu and gone shopping during the week so on Saturday night we were all set to start cooking. He made a ham, green beans with almonds and brown butter mashed potatoes YUM!! I haven’t had to cook for a week – it’s been amazing.  So I didn’t really get to sharpen my culinary skills but I got to see Dave expand his, and in my mind that’s just as good.

Of course what would be the point of my 2 weeks of downtime unless I could reward my good behaviour?!? So this Sunday that’s exactly what I’m going to be doing. I’m working with Betsy from b*co on another venture, called The Social Order; it’s a group of extraordinary people doing exceptional things. And this Sunday August 15th is our first official outing — “Sailing in Style”. We are taking a group of extraordinary people out on the S.V. Perehelion for a 4-hour adventure! Whether you’re an experienced sailor, or haven’t quite found your sea legs just yet, this will be an incredible day of affordable luxury. Our Captain, Evan Seys has been across the North Atlantic 45 times, across to Hawaii in a 40-ft sailboat, has sailed in almost every good cruising ground in the world, and even raced with 4-time America’s Cup Champion, Russell Coutts aboard an RC44 rocket-ship in Dubai.

Evan will provide instruction and guidance to those who want to “Crew” for the afternoon, and if you’re more interested in hearing his tales from the sea, he will gladly share those too! Or if you just feel like lounging in your Sailing Whites with a glass of red, that’s totally up to you! If you’re interested in joining the crew, just let me know!

I look forward to seeing you all this Sunday to help me celebrate my good behaviour!

Caitlin xo

Cookin' in the kitchen with Dave

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Caitlin’s Summer Resolutions continued…My PRIDE long weekend!

Tuesday, August 3rd, 2010

When I was trying to make my plans for August long weekend I couldn’t figure out what I wanted to do, and I kept wondering to myself where I could go that would help me check off items from my Summer Resolutions list? Then it hit me -I didn’t need to go anywhere. Vancouver had so many events going on with the fireworks and Pride that all I needed to do was stay in town to enjoy one incredible long weekend, and let me tell you that’s exactly what I did.

After this weekend I can now say that I’ve watched 3 out of the 4 fireworks and that’s a new record for me. I somehow always seem to miss out on the Saturday nights, but this year I got one Saturday in so I’m going to cross that off my Summer Resolution list. Next year I’m going to try to get all 4 in!!

And after a 5-year hiatus I went to the Pride Parade, which is something I’ve been meaning to do during the summer, so I’m checking that one off my list as well (I’m such a busy girl!). However in spite of a great weekend in Vancouver I did end up missing my girlfriend’s birthday party in Whistler. Happy Birthday Bec!!!  I hope you had a great weekend xo

If I had to describe my weekend in one word I think it would be WOW! On Sunday a group of us headed down to English Bay to watch the parade. We were a little early but there were so many tents and booths set up that we just wandered around until the parade made its way down to us. The streets were filled with people (it reminded me a little of the Olympics) but thanks to my friend Karl and his family who got down to the parade nice and early we were able to get a front row seat, and I even had a chair to sit in!  The parade was amazing — it’s so wonderful to see everyone coming out to support the gay community.

With the weather being so nice we decided to keep celebrating. We made a stop in at my place to regroup and get a plan together. And of course while we were there we had to break out a bottle of one of our favourite summer cocktails, Twisted Mist Strawberry Margarita. This time I blended it with ice and WOW!  It was the perfect afternoon cocktail to help us cool down from the hot afternoon sun.  After we regrouped it was clear that there was only one area of town that could provide us with the party that we needed – Davie Street! So off we went in search of brightly coloured beads and a fun summertime party. And, as I live just a few blocks away from Davie Street it didn’t take us long to join the party and all its glory.

It’s definitely going to be hard to top this weekend but I still have a few weeks left of summer and a list of Summer Resolutions that need to be crossed off.  I wonder what I’ll do next weekend . . .

Caitlin xo

PRIDE Weekend and Fireworks, check!

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Nothing says summer like a pool party (and a great summer cocktail)

Wednesday, July 21st, 2010

The summer is now in full swing and I can’t believe how quickly the weeks are flying by! I’ve been keeping busy with checking my Summer Resolutions off my list and this week was quite productive. I got to bottle my first batch of u-brew wine (it’s actually a wine based cocktail) and test my new favorite summer time drink at a pool party!

b*co worked with a company called Winexpert to help them launch their new product — Twisted Mist, the world’s first consumer made, ready-to drink-wine- based cocktail…how cool is that!?!  So one fine day in June the b*co team set off to Broadway Brewing to start making our own batch of this amazing summer beverage!  It comes in two flavours Mojito and Strawberry Margarita and you can serve it chilled, over ice or blended as a slushy cocktail. And it’s ready in four weeks, just in time for the warm weather.

So the b*co team patiently (some more than others) waited the 4 weeks and then headed back for the bottling process. While we were bottling our summer cocktails we HAD to do a little taste test (the b*co team is thorough!!!) and it was well worth the wait. They don’t taste overly sweet or artificial, it’s a light refreshing cocktail perfect for the summer weather.

Once I had my Twisted Mist bottled I was eager to test out my new summer cocktail. Lucky for me I didn’t have to wait all that long, I was invited to attend a pool party on Sunday and I figured that would be the perfect spot to test out my new bevvies.

So on Sunday I grabbed a bottle of Strawberry Margarita, a bottle of Mojito, a few fresh strawberries, limes and mint leaves and set off for some fun in the sun. It was a perfect Sunday afternoon as we lay in the sun, played in the pool, and had a wonderful BBQ dinner. I was excited to try my new drink, so after we finished dinner I grabbed the drinks from the cooler and all I had to do was add my garnishes and I was done! The cocktails were delicious and after being out in the sun for a few hours they were the perfect drink to wrap up our day with.  I can’t wait ’til the next pool party!

Caitlin xo

Twisted Mist Strawberry Margarita anyone!?!?

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Summer Resolutions/ Canada Day (Caitlin’s summertime blog)

Monday, July 12th, 2010

We have all heard of New Years resolutions but I’m going to change things up a bit with my new “Summer Resolutions” program. I gave up on the idea of New Years resolutions a few years back. It was just too disappointing to make all of these wonderful plans for the new year only to give up a few months in (and in some cases it only took a few days. . . )So in lieu of that I came up with the idea of Summer Resolutions.

What, you may ask, is a Summer Resolution?

Well it’s like a New Years resolution but instead of making resolutions in January I’ve decided to make them in the summer.

I create a list of places and things that I want to see and do during the summer months in our fair city of Vancouver with my lovely group of friends.  My friends and I have been trying to cross things and places off our list for three years now. Yet the only thing that we seem to accomplish is adding more wonderful summer time plans to the list and not crossing many of the items that we’ve already added.

Some of the things on our list are simple day trips. One of our trips is to catch the seabus over to North Vancouver and explore that area of our beautiful city, another is to play ‘tourist for a day’ in Vancouver hopping on and off one of those great big buses that you always see around the city. These are also two of the things we haven’t done yet.

There is one item on our list every year and it always gets crossed off, our Canada Day sailing trip. This year marked the third annual sailing trip and although the sun didn’t really make an appearance it was a great day. I had good company, great food and a nice day on the boat.

Once we were back at the dock we continued on our Canada Day journey by heading down to see the re-lit cauldron at Canada Place. I know that many of you must have seen the cauldron a million times during the Olympics but with no chain link fence up, being able to go right up to the cauldron was a pretty cool experience.

It wouldn’t be Canada Day without fireworks, and courtesy of one of my dearest friends we were able to watch the fireworks on her fabulous rooftop patio. This wasn’t just any rooftop patio party — this one had two DJ’s and about 50 other people celebrating Canada Day in style.  After some fabulous fireworks and an acapella version of O Canada (started up by our hostess I might add) to show our Canadian sprit we wrapped up our rooftop celebration for Canada Day and called it a night.

The fun in the sun is just heating up and I’ll be taking you with me on my summer adventures -checking off my summer resolutions as we go!

Caitlin xo

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b*co’s summer adventure series

Monday, July 5th, 2010

You all know miss b*co herself, Betsy Cooper but I’m guessing you may not know who I am. My name is Caitlin Brownless and I’ve been working with b*co since December. I’ve been keeping a pretty low profile, soaking up all the knowledge that b*co has had to offer me. Now with summer rapidly approaching I feel that it is my time to step out into the limelight.

My first big project with b*co was working at Atlantic Canada House during the Olympics, which was one of the greatest working experiences of my life. It was an incredibly popular venue, even receiving a gold medal by the Vancouver Sun just one day after it opened. The talent was big, the food was great, the beer was refreshing and the line-ups were massive! Although I’m sure there were a few hiccups along the way I made it out alive and loved every minute of it!

And now I’ve been given the task of looking after the b*co blog. Excited with the idea of my new project, my head was swimming with ideas on what to write about. Then it hit me . . .  the summer! Summertime is quickly approaching and this year there are a few things that I want to accomplish before it’s over. No ifs, ands, or buts about it.

So I’m in the process of creating my summer resolutions list and I’m going to start having to put my money where my mouth is and figure out how to make this all happen.  I’m hoping that you guys will put your two cents in and help me get through my list of summer resolutions.

Stayed tuned to see what’s next . . . . it’s going to be an awesome summer and I’m taking you all with me!

‘Til next time

Caitlin xo

b*co's blogging coordinator

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Friday, October 23rd — Beer and Birthday Benefit

Monday, October 19th, 2009

If you know me at all, you know that I LOVE my birthday! I don’t know what it is about it, but every year, I get excited about it, and make sure that I have plans to do something fun. This year is no different, and I’ve decided to do something that is both fun for me, and my friends…AND support a great cause!

So if you’re in Vancouver this coming Betsy's Birthday and Beer Benefit, make sure you come to Ceili’s Irish Pub for “Betsy’s Beer and Birthday Benefit” (with a title like that, it’s got to be good, right?). Here are 3 great reasons for you to attend!

#1 It’s Betsy’s Birthday
#2 Beer Tasting: For this event, we will be hosting an exclusive tasting of Black Tree Dark Ale, a new beer from Tree Brewing that was created in support of the BC Fire ReLeaf Fund
#3 Benefit: In lieu of the extravagant gifts you would typically give me :) , I am asking for donations in support of the BC Fire ReLeaf program, an initiative developed by Tree Canada to reforest the regions of the Okanagan that were devastated by this summer’s wildfires.

And if that’s not enough, there will be samplings of Black Tree, appetizers, and of course, cake!

Date:  Friday, October 23, 2009

Time: 4:00 – 8:00PM

Place: Ceili’s Irish Pub, Banshee Room

Entry: By Donation

Tax receipts can be issued for donations over $20. Please provide cash or cheque, payable to Tree Canada

See you Friday!Betsy's Birthday and Beer Benefit

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Spam Central!

Friday, October 9th, 2009

It’s been a while since I’ve posted anything here, and there are a few reasons for that. One…it’s busy days!!! So many great things going on over the summer and through September, including a fabulous event for the Inaugural Gastown Blues & Chili Festival! It was an amazing event with incredible Blues by a number of local acts including Ronnie Hayward, Steve Kozak’s West Coast Blues Revue, The Harpoonist and the Axe Murderer, and Blues Legend, Jim Byrnes! The day was top notch, and we really appreciated all of the support from the Gastown community. Congrats to our two Chili contest winners! Deacon’s Corner was crowned Champion, and Chill Winston won the People’s Choice Award! Well done everyone…next time, more chili!

But the second reason that I haven’t been posting, is I’ve been inundated with spam! It started off slow, and has been increasing daily. This morning I woke up to 10 new spam messages! Hopefully that will end soon…if you have any insights, I’d love to hear them!

The Fall and Winter season look super busy too…there’s some big event happening in February, I believe it’s the 2010 Olympic Winter Games!?!? Lots going on with that, and to be shared soon!

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b*co’s first blog post.

Monday, February 9th, 2009

so much pressure. what to say? what not to say? will you agree? disagree? care? hopefully!

i feel like i’m super late into the blog game, but have a lot of opinions to share, so it’s time to get them out there. a bit of info about me and my background. b*co is based in beautiful vancouver, british columbia, canada. i am the founder, betsy cooper, and started this marketing communications/public relations agency in 2006 when i moved from toronto to the beautiful west coast! over the years, we’ve worked on many successful, high-profile marketing communications programs, developed great strategies, and developed long-lasting relationships with clients, suppliers and media.

we know beer. beauty. fashion. football. travel. bahamas. snowboarding. bahamas snowboarding (yes, that’s one of our clients!) olympics. whistler. vancouver. bc… and so much more!

this blog is going to focus on b*co’s experience and opinions in these areas. comment. argue. disagree. just participate.

looking forward to creating a long-lasting relationship!

cheers.

ps. we also run an engagement marketing company…check it out at www.bscene.ca!

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Welcome to the new b-co blog

Friday, January 30th, 2009

Betsy Cooper IS B*Co. She came to Vancouver in 2006, bringing her experience and enthusiasm to a new part of the country. Over the years, she has created numerous successful marketing communications programs, and walks away from every campaign with pride and further knowledge.

She has worked extensively on the agency side of the communications fence, with a number of high profile agencies and clients. From beer to beauty, fashion to football, she has a breadth of experience in the consumer products field. While working with some great agencies in the East, she had the opportunity to develop, oversee and execute programs and campaigns for clients like Universal Studios Home Video, NFL Canada, Nike, TSN, Molson, Hbc, Unilever, Canada Goose and the Score.

Her final stop before forming B*Co was with the world’s largest brewer by volume, where she experienced “the other side” for the first time. Her combination of agency and corporate experience has provided her with many unique opportunities that she passes along to clients and friends every day.

So, why did she make the trek to the West Coast? Maybe it was so that she could spend a week in a car with her mother, seeing all of the spectacular scenery and diversity this great country has to offer? (OK, that’s part of it!).

But the real reason is that she wants to experience all there is to life, and Western Canada has been beckoning to her over the years. She brings a new definition to East meets West. Her dedication to her work and her clients reflects the Toronto-based philosophy of live to work. However, her outgoing attitude, love of all things athletic, and easy-going nature reflects the West Coast philosophy of work to live. Her approach to life is a great combination of the two lifestyles, and is reflected in how clients, friends and family see her…

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