Home Tweet Home

Life has been a little crazy for the last 2 years and a bunch. My wife and I are now parents to a Beautiful baby girl. She was born December 2nd, 2014 and needless to say, all our "normal" has changed dramatically. I've been wanting to volunteer a bit more to help out my friends at different fundraisers but my time has been needed at home with my wife and my baby girl.

I finally got some time on my hands to help the guys from the Ronald McDonald's House of Southern Alberta thru my friends at the Calgary Home + Garden Show.

I was asked by my friends at Reformation PR to join the Home Tweet Home design to help raise funds for the Ronald McDonald House of Southern Alberta.

I have this beautiful wooden birdhouse and a $25 gift card to Michael's to help me with my design. The rest... Well, the rest is up to my creativity and my handy man skills... If you know me, you know that I always like to give my all to help others... This is no different. I will give it my all to make this birdhouse look fantastic!

Recycling or Upcycling... Pallets are taking shape.

On my last post I said that I got invited on a Media Challenge/Fundraiser by Brookline Public Relations taking place at the Calgary + Home Garden Show from February 28 until March 3 at the BMO Centre - Stampede Park.

The Challenge was to make anything that my little heart, and imagination, desired with 3 Pallets. The sky, and $120 dollars, was the limit! That got me thinking, doesn't really happen that often, and I wanted to build something that was of use around the house but at the same time different. Something that was hard to find.

I let my imagination wander and I also did a lot of clicking on pinterest... One click lead to another, one link took me from one page to another and then, I saw it...

IKEA - Malm Dessing Table

Trust me, I honestly don't know how I got to the IKEA website and found this Vanity Table... But I decided that this is something I could do and that I wanted to make. But I wanted to make it a little cooler, I wanted to add a distress/rustic look to it. It was time to put all those long hours of watching Bryan Baeumler on Disaster DIY to work. It's time to show people that you can learn something from watching TV.

On Friday evening I went out to Rona and Home Depot and bought my items, and on Saturday I started building... After 8 hours of building time on Saturday, 4 hours on Sunday and 2 hours on Monday, this is the progress so far...

It really hasn't been all that hard. As long you come in with a game plan, some drawings, an idea of what you want and how to accomplish it, determination and stubbornness... You can accomplish anything you want!

Please remember that this table will be up for auction at the Calgary Home + Garden Show and all the profits of this auction will be going towards the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

What do you think? Not bad for a radio guy, eh?!

Ps- If you will like to take a crack at making your own, I will give you the best piece of advice, something I wish I would've thought off before starting to make this. Buy and wear gloves! Those slivers and splinters HURT like you have no idea!

Keep it KooL Calgary!

Pallet Design Competition

For the last few days I've been emailing back and forth with the lovely ladies of the 2013 Calgary Home + Garden Show. I was asked if I would like to take part on this years Pallet Design Competition... The challenge is to "Show off your creative flare by turning simple wooden shipping pallets into interior design treasures". That really doesn't seem to hard to do. I like to think as myself as a crafty/handy guy with a good knowledge of whats trendy, useful and at the same time... That looks good.

Then I was given the details: "You will be provided with three pallets and a $125 design budget to create your masterpiece." 3 pallets doesn't seem like much... I think I can work with that! But then, the pressure is on... "The finished pallets will be auctioned off at the 2013 Calgary Home + Garden Show, with proceeds going to the Make a Wish Foundation, Calgary."

OK. I shall not panic. This is the time to put to practice everything I've learned from watching lots of Disaster DIY episodes, everything I've learned on Pinterest, and my craftiness. I shall not let Bryan Baeumler down.

Today I got the 3 pallets delivered here to the KooL Studios. Man, they're bigger than I thought they would be! Tonight I shall spend lots of time on Pinterest and try to find something KooL to do.

To me, this is a no-brainer.To help the Make-A-Wish foundation of Southern Alberta by making something that will go up for auction and at the same time it will me useful to someone else. It's a win-win situation.

Let's see how it goes. 

Let's pack it up!!!

It's weird that I get excited that Friday is almost here... But probably not for the same reasons that you might get excited for I; my reason is that I get to go to Talisman Centre and hang out for 2 hours... But, that's not the only thing I do. I'm there with MINI Deeds. MINI Deeds is my All4 All-Wheel Drive MINI Countryman from MINI Crowfoot and we're there waiting for you to stop by and drop off all your donations of gently used, or even new, sporting equipment for kids in need this holiday season.

This winter, all your donations are going to be passed on to the children at the Boys and Girls Club of Calgary! So, if you have some hockey skates that just don't find right anymore, or an old bike that is taking up valuable space in your garage, bring it down to Talisman Centre and drop it off! We'll take it from you and give it to someone that will put it to good use!

And you have to keep in mind, that for every item that you donate, your name will be entered into a draw to in a Talisman Centre Family Adult Membership worth over $1,200!

Oh, yeah!!! Before we forget... We're also making sure that everyone that has a MINI and goes to Talisman Centre on Friday's between 5pm and 7pm has no problem finding their car with the giant MINI Car Finder Balloon!

We're ready... And so are you!!!



We're ready to navigate the streets of Calgary, Okotoks, Cochrane, Airdire and Strathmore to pick-up all your gently used sporting equipment for kids in need this holiday season!

MINI Deeds, my All4 All-Wheel-Drive MINI Countryman from MINI Crowfoot, and I are driving around Calgary picking-up all the sporting equipment you can imagine!

On Friday, October 5th, we asked listeners to stop by Talisman Centre between 5pm and 7pm to drop off all their gently used sporting equipment... And I have to say that we had a pretty good response!

We started by just parking just outside of their main doors



In the span of 2 hours we had this!

7 pairs of skates, 2 pairs of snow boots, 1 goalie bag with all the gear, 3 sets of hockey gear, 1 pair of skis, 1 hockey stick, 1 bag with karate gear and 1 pair of hiking poles.

Impressive, eh? The KooL part about it is that we're not done yet!!! We're going to be back at Talisman Centre on October 19 again from 5pm until 7pm! So, please make sure you go to your garage or storage locker and grab any item that your children have grown out off, the raquet that you never had a chance to use, those skates that didn't fit just right and drop off for us to take them away to someone that will put them to good use.

We're back at it!!!

Start dusting off all your gently used sporting equipment for your garage and from your storage closet!

It's time to reach in under your bed and grab that old tennis racquet or hockey stick that you said you were going to use but just never got a chance to do so and set it aside for MINI Deeds, my ALL4, All-wheel-drive MINI Countryman from MINI Crowfoot, send me an email to carlos@kool1015.ca and let us know when would it work better for your schedule for us to come by to pick them up and we'll be more than happy to do so!

There's no item to big, we've actually had a few bikes in the MINI already, or too small, a pair of hockey skates will bring the biggest smile to a kid, that we can't pick-up! And you have to keep in mind, that for every item that you donate, your name will be entered into a draw to win an Annual Adult Family Membership to Talisman Centre! This prize is worth over $1,200 dollars!!!

So, get on it! If you wanted to clear up some space in your garage but had no idea on what to do with some of the items taking up some space, this is the time to do so and to make sure those items go to a good cause.

And If you just don't feel ok about me dropping by your house to pick-up your donations you can also drop them off with me at Talisman Centre on October 19, November 2, November 16, November 30 and December 7 from 5pm until 7pm!

Disney's Mary Poppins!

This last Tuesday, July 31st, I was really excited to be a part of the first showing of Mary Poppins at the Jubilee Auditorium... When I got the invitation to the opening show I wasn't sure what to expect, I have to accept the fact that it's been over XX amount of years since I saw the movie (I'm not ready to reveal my age) I wasn't sure I was going to remember what the play was about. I played around with the idea of trying to find the movie on Netflix and watching prior to the Play. I have to be honest and say that I'm Glad I didn't!


Broadway Across Canada doesn't stop to amaze me. The quality of the actors and the quality of the shows that they bring to Calgary are nothing less than Amazing! During Mary Poppins I was trying really hard to remember the movie, but probably 20 minutes in to the first act I was so captured by the actors and the story that I stopped trying to remember the story line and decided, unconsciously, to take in the story as if it was the first time I saw it... but It wasn't until Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious came on... Then it was a whole other ride!

Tears might've been a part of the equation during the play, but there was some laughter and lots of cheering for sure. This is a show that is only in town for 1 week, until Agust 5, and you should take advantage of the fact that we do get these shows in town and enjoy them with your family.

In my rating, I give it 4 out of 5 stars just because of the fact that I'm 6'0" tall and there's not enough leg room and that chairs at the Jubilee are really not that comfortable... But, well worth to watch for sure!