The Steven and Chris Adventure


How did I suddenly end up showing my home on Steven and Chris?  That is a mighty fine question.  About a month and a half ago, I got an email out of the blue from their Senior Decor Producer (awesome job title BTW) asking if I would be willing to do a tour of my house for the show.  I responded enthusiastically (i.e. many exclamation marks were used).  There was no set timeline, so I got my butt in gear to finish off a few things, like the photo wall in the dining room.  Then suddenly, while I was at the ROM with my kids and visiting Mother-In-Law Diana, I got an email on my phone asking if maybe they could come the next day???    Wowzers.  I like to think I remained calm, but I have no doubt my mother-in-law would argue otherwise.

That evening I cleaned like a MOTHER... so many things were stuffed into drawers and closets that have yet to be re-discovered.  Then, as I checked my computer, thinking of everything I had left to do before they came, I realized that the next morning I had parent duty at Cam's nursery school until 11:30.  They were coming at 1.  Swear words were uttered.  To say I was a little distracted while setting up the kids' snack would be a bit of an understatement.  

Luckily, I got another email that morning saying that they would have to reschedule.  THANK YOU UNIVERSE.  By the time they came the following week, I even more time to stash away the clutter and 'style' my house (as in, I made my son's bed and put the toaster oven on the back porch).

I wish I had taken the opportunity to grab some good photos of the house that day, because Lord knows it will never, ever be that tidy again!  However, I was a busy bee for the 3 hours that the producer Barb was here, discussing wording, trying to remember the wording we discussed, fussing over every object in every room, doing voice-overs and on-camera takes.  They did the whole house, although the segment on my bedroom was cut and we discussed many, many more items than were shown!


After Barb left, the videographer Ved stayed for another 2, almost 3 hours taking shots of all the details in the house.  I think he did an amazing job.  The fabulous Diana was thankfully still in town and took the boys out for the entire afternoon (I have no idea where!).  There was no way I could have done this with them in the house - there is no way they could have been that quiet for that long!

Diana was a little surprised to see the cameras and equipment still here when they got back at 5pm.  The boys were great about not making a huge mess in the rooms Ved hadn't shot yet.  We asked him to shoot the kitchen first so that Diana could start making dinner (yummy knedliky!) before the boys lost their minds.  Below is may favourite shot of two professionals hard at work.


Then off they went, and I think before Ved had even finished pulling out of the driveway Cam had emptied a bucket of cars all over the living room floor and Will had an armload of trains dumped on the sofa.

Then Diana left, and my parents came, along with Chris's brother Dave.  (Did I mention that during this I also had William's birthday party - two days after the above scene - and Halloween, and had enjoyed visitors for about the last 5 or 6 weeks, starting a few days before my brother's wedding?)

The great news is that Mom was able to come to the studio with me to tape the "live" interview with Steven and Chris.  When I was in the green room, they asked if I thought she would mind being mic'ed as well - and I thought it best not to tell her in advance and make her freak out.  So just before the taping started, they gave a very shocked Barb Mackay her mic!

Photo courtesy of Flora Di Vetta
We had a lovely time and I was so glad she was there. It was really neat to see how they put the show together.  For example, the banana ice cream they showed at the end actually took about 15 minutes, and they were having a fit about it.  Also, the interview with the singer was done in front of a totally different audience, and we did not actually watch the entryway segment either!  Plus they actually asked me a few more questions, but I guess my nervous blathering responses needed to be cut in the interest of time. :)  But I am glad they kept the part with my mom - although she later confessed that she had no idea what they were meant when they asked her if she DIY'ed. :P  (She does by the way - she has recovered many chairs, sewed many curtains, and done more than her fair share of painting; I come by it naturally.)

So there you have it, my whirlwind adventure with fame.  It was a blast and I am hungry for more! They may have created a monster - I am crafting reality show pitches as I type. :)  WELCOME to anyone new who came from the show and actually read this whole thing - I would love for you to stick around!  And thanks to those of you who have read from the beginning - you are the wind beneath my wings. Don't worry, I won't forget the little people. :)

31 comments:

  1. It was so neat to see your home on TV!! Loved the photo wall and your son's rooms were awesome! Maybe a spot on Cityline is next?? xo

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    1. That's an awesome idea Britt! Anyone want to send that up for me? :p Thanks for the love Brittany, I appreciate it!

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  2. The BEST: "I made my son's bed and put the toaster oven on the back porch." Thank you for being you. :)

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    1. HAHA, oh you are most welcome. For better or for worse, I think I am one of those people who cannot be anything but myself. Trust me, it has its downsides... ;p Thanks for the comment. :)

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  3. As one of the little people, so glad you won't let this go to your head ;). You did awesome! Such a natural. I didn't realize what a herculean family effort this was - well done Mackays! Maybe they'll have you back and show the rest of the footage.

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    1. AS IF you are a little people! Your friendship and bloggy love has been indispensable Jen - I will for sure leave room for you in my acceptance speech. Yeah, I don't know what for either. :)

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  4. Congratulations! Wish I could have seen the segment - your photos look gorgeous!

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    1. Thank you Amelia! I wish I could find the full segment online, but meh, what can you do? ;p That is nice of you to say re the photos - they got some major photoshop lovin' before I could post them!

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  5. AWESOME!!! I just saw the online home tour video... will have to find the link to the show! Congrats, that is beyond fabulous! Your home is great!

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    1. YAY! Thank you Rosa! Your opinion is golden - I love your style! :)

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  6. That is awesome!! I could totally feel your stress when you were explaining about needing to be at nursery school. Sometimes I don't know how to find time to blog with two preschoolers. Much less have a whole house clean! congrats!

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    1. HAHA thanks for the sympathy Julia - you will understand why this one post took me all day! :)

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  7. Yay! Congratulations, Lisa. Great work!

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  8. Love this behind the scenes look! You are hilarious (toaster oven on the porch!)...sounds like tons of fun!

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    1. Seriously. I have a real love-hate relationship with that fugly/counterspace-hogging/extremely-useful appliance! :)

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  9. Such a great post. I don't think people realize how much hard work goes into these things both from the home owners side and the producers. Love that your mom was able to be part of it!

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    1. Thanks so much Emma - it was indeed a ton of work for a small-ish segment, and so many people were involved, but they did such a great job. It was so great that mom was there, I hope she enjoyed it as much as I did! :)

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  10. OMG!!!!! How exciting, thrilling, once-in-a-lifetime awesome for you Lisa. Of course I can see why they would want to showcase your gorgeous house. I would have been SO nervous. Congrats on an amazing opportunity.

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  11. LOVED THE TAPING, so you Lisa! Now I need to read some of your blogs.

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  12. Thank you Valerie! Didn't mum look gorgeous? :)

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  13. Thank you Carol! I was super nervous but for some reason my calm side took over during the taping, they made it so easy for me. I have even more respect now for television production!

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  14. I know I congratulated you on Twitter but had to come here to say - Amazing work Lisa! Your home is so lovely and you are a natural on TV. Hoping they have you back!

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  15. Oh you are such a sweetie Vanessa, thank you SO much! xo :)

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  16. OMG! That is sooo cool! Congratulations! I just found your blog through Grace and Sense & Sensibility and I love it! Your home is beautiful!

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  17. How did i miss this?? LOVE the behind the scene fun and you did a great job with the vignettes and the photos!! Congrats Lisa!

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  18. barbara @hodge:podgeJanuary 1, 2013 at 10:22 AM

    Phew! What a day! But you rocked it! You are a natural in front of the camera!
    BTW: What kind of knedliky did your MIL make?

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  19. Thank you so much Gayle! I can't believe I missed your lovely comment! Thanks so much for stopping by. :)

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  20. Wow, thanks Tim - coming from you that is a HUGE compliment!

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  21. Ha, thank you Barbara, it was a long but exciting day for sure! They were hoskovy knedliky (sp?) - with bread in them? We ate them with a mushroom gravy... mmmmm....

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  22. I just watched you the show. Your house is absolutely beautiful! And I really look forward to checking out your blog.

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Thank you so much for your comment - they always make my day!