Hello Long Weekend

...and if you're in Canada, have a fun, and safe, Victoria Day long weekend! Have any special plans?

janis

Weekend Observations

How was your weekend? Hope it was a good one.  Here's a bit of what I got up to...

Popped out to see my friend Heather, at her blueberry farm, to chat about an upcoming project. Heather's book, Farm-Fresh Recipes, was just released. Do you have a copy yet? Lots of recipes inspired by life on a farm, with her 5 year old daughter, Lily. 

I know you've seen them "pinned" all over the place, but I made a mini terrarium from a vintage mason jar that Colleen gave me, while on a shoot. It had been filled with cookies, and now it's filled with mini plants...not nearly as fattening.  

Played around with my Lensbaby for my Canon. Love how it makes this cityscape look. 

Loving my SX-70. My week with the ladies of Instant Love and the fantastic group of women that also took part. It really renewed my love of instant pics. This weekend I experimented with Impossible Project film and different lighting (bright sun, cloudy, showers, and indoors). 

That was it for me....well, and hanging out with my mom, of course. What did you get up to? 

Back soon!

janis

Hello Weekend

It's been a busy week, with a few days on Vancouver Island, thrown into the mix. I now just have mother's day on my mind. Must not forget! A few of my mom's favourite flowers for friday...

Do you have any special plans for the weekend? Hope you all have a perfect, family filled, weekend!

janis

I Could Live Here

Hello new week! Hope you all had a nice weekend.

Thought I'd start off the week, with a home that I absolutely love. I shot it for House and Home and it's in the June issue, on news stands now. The homeowner, Nancy Riescso, of Riesco and Lapres Design, lives there with husband Jonathan Stovell and their kids, Gemma and Charlie. Oh, let's not forget their dog, Ricky Bobby.

I shot Nancy's last home, a 100 year old home, a few years back. Click here for a peek. Since then the family packed up and moved to a much smaller, and very modern home, designed by Evoke International Design. Nancy has an amazing way with display, layering and colour and mixing vintage with new pieces. Love it all.

The picture window makes for a perfect dining area. I can't tell you how much I love those chairs. 

A clean, modern kitchen made even better with a pop of green for a backsplash. 

A grouping of wall mounted cabinets makes for a cute vignette, and it's functional too. How about that?  Nancy really does have a way with displaying little treasures and books. 

A fantastic cluster of prints, paintings and even a tea towel. 

A great hit of colour for the living room. That lamp is a must-have. 

Beautiful light in the living room due to the north facing floor to ceiling windows. Such a nice place to hang out. 

Baked for Mom's Day

Hello all! Hope your week is going well.

I created a little mom's day tea party over at Poppytalk, complete with origami butterfly garlands and baking. It was so much fun to shoot it with the help of Jan, Ms. Poppytalk. Click here to see the entire post.

The following recipes are super easy, and tried and true. Have to say, I can never leave the lime ricotta muffins alone!


Marmalade Sugar Cookie Sandwiches - makes about 36 two inch rounds or 18 sandwiches

1/3 cup unsalted butter, softened
2/3 cup sugar
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
Marmalade
a little icing sugar for dusting.

Preheat oven to 350f/180c. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside/
With an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the egg and vanilla and combine well. Sift the flour and baking powder over the butter mixture and stir to combine. Separate the dough into 2 pieces, flatten a little, and wrap each with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for an hour.
Roll out dough between pieces of cling wrap to about 1/8 inch thickness and cut out shapes. Bake for about 12 minutes, or until a little golden in colour, around the edges. Transfer to a wire cooling rack. Once cookies have cooled completely, spread a little marmalade on one half of cookie. Place another on top and dust with icing sugar.
Small cake stand from The Cross.

Pistachio Raspberry Loaf - makes one 3.5 x 8 inch loaf

1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar
2 teaspoons orange zest
2 eggs
2 cups all purpose flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 cup milk
1 cup fresh or frozen raspberries
3/4 cup chopped pistachios
Icing:
1 1/4 cups icing sugar, sifted
2-3 tablespoons orange juice

Preheat oven to 350f/180c. Line a loaf tin with parchment paper and set aside.
In a medium bowl, beat the orange zest, butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add the eggs and beat well. Sift the flour and baking powder over the butter mixture, then add the milk, and fold through. Fold in the pistachios and raspberries, making sure not to over mix. Pour mixture into tin and bake for about 55-60 minutes, or until a skewer, inserted in centre, comes out clean. Allow to cool for a few minutes, before turning out onto to a cooling rack.
To make icing, sift icing sugar into a medium bowl. Add orange juice and stir until smooth. Pour over cooled loaf.

Lime Ricotta Muffins - makes 10-12

2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 cup sugar
Zest of 3 limes
1/2 unsalted butter, softened
1 cup ricotta cheese
1 egg
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1 teaspoon vanilla
sliced almonds for tops

Preheat oven to 350f/180c. Line 12 cup muffin tin with paper liners or parchment paper cut to fit.
In a medium bowl, sift the flour, baking soda, and baking powder together. In another bowl, beat the butter, sugar and lime zest together until light and creamy. Add the ricotta cheese and beat until smooth. Beat in the egg, lime juice and vanilla. Add the dry ingredients and stir until just combined. Fill each muffin cup to about 3/4 full. Sprinkle with sliced almonds and bake for about 20 minutes or until just slightly golden on top. Allow to cool a little on a wire rack.

That's it for the mom's day recipes. For the how-to on the origami butterflies, click on over to Poppytalk.

Have a great day!

Janis

City Living

I hope you've all had a great week! Mine was filled with the flu, so I don't know what went on. On the mend, just almost no voice. It's probably for the best (I said that for my husband) ;) 

Last summer, I had the pleasure of shooting this fantastic Vancouver condo for Style At Home. The homeowner, Jo-Ann, is possibly the sweetest woman I've ever met. Jo-Ann hired the design team of Riesco and Lapres to update her 80's condo. Job well done, it seems. Here's a peek... 

The mix of styles and patterns, in the living room, work so well together. I really love the idea of hanging a traditional piece of art, mixed with modern furniture, at sitting level. Perfect. 

A functional, and pretty, kitchen. Loved the vintage stool mixed with all the clean white. 

Pretty green in the guest bedroom. 

No plain hallway for Jo-Ann. 

Non-matching bedside tables work well together in the master bedroom. 

Deborah Bowness wallpaper covering the closet doors in the master bedroom.

I did want to pinch this Designer's Guild pillow, from the Cross. Looked perfect on the womb chair. 

This rooms serves as office space for Jo-Ann. I would love to have an office space like this. 

What do you like about Jo-Ann's condo? I know I could move right on in. There's so much more in the June issue of Style At Home on the news stands now. 

Have a nice weekend! 

janis

T.G.I.F.

That week disappeared quickly. Not enough time to get it all done these days! I've been working on a few exciting projects and they're taking up most of my time...but I'm not complaining ;) One is for a beautiful new(ish) British magazine, preparing for the Etsy event at West Elm and a fun d.i.y. and food story with Poppytalk, to name a few. I plan to get back into full blog mode soon, with d.i.y.'s and baking tucked in there as well. 

 Looking forward to catching up with many of your blogs this weekend. Have a fun weekend all! 

janis