City Living in NYC

This past April, I had the pleasure of hanging out with Jen Ramos of Made By Girl, her husband Matt and Darla the boxer, at their NYC apartment. A small space and, wow, was it ever organized! Their home is in a special issue of Style At Home that's all about organizing. Here's some more of our shoot....

Jen's perfectly tidy office and paint studio. Turquoise candle holders from The Cross. 

Some of Jen's paintings and prints. You can check out more of her work here. 

Matt whipped up a small smorgasbord for us. He's not a chef, but he could be. So delicious. 

Hard to keep my eyes off this box of Sprinkles cupcakes during the shoot. 

Do you live in a small space?  We do, but I can't call it organized. Any special tricks for de-cluttering? Feel free to share your ideas!  

Have a lovely day!

janis

Weekend Observations

I hope you had a great weekend! What did you get up to?  My weekend included a little live painting, a new "girl crush" and a touch of wild nature.....

We went for a bit of a hike at Lynn Headwaters, in North Vancouver. It's about a 25 minute drive from our home in Vancouver. Pretty stunning place. Dense, mossy, loveliness. 

I was familiar with Zoe's work, but I hadn't met her in person. She was painting all weekend at the Fours Seasons in Vancouver, so we popped down to watch. I love her. She's mom to two kids, and a full-time artist. Her paintings are beautiful. If you're in the Vancouver area, she opens her new show on May 31st. Click here for more info. Hope to see you there!

Bye for now! Back soon...

Janis

A D.I.Y. Family for Friday

Happy Friday everyone! I hope you had a great week.

I thought I'd share some pics from a story I shot for Anthology magazine (issue 6). Heather, along with homeowner Mike, did the styling. It was one of the nicest shoots ever. Mike, Ann and their kids, Kaya and Zane, were all so easy to work with.

The "life" lightbox was inspired by the same image, as a poster, from the old 70's show "Three's Company". I love that!

Mike's studio in the back yard. He made the cushions, by the way. Crafty guy.

Kaya and her mom, Ann, made the sweet little mobile. 

This family is all shades of talented. They basically built their home, and have a great eye for putting together antiques, family heirlooms, and their own handmade creations. For the full story (and more pics), check out the new issue of Anthology (the entire issue is fantastic!).

Back soon!
janis

Why, thank you

I've been given a "Kreativ Blogger" award from Heather Cameron. Thanks Heather! Now, finally, here is my "7 things you don't know about me" list. Yikes. I'm not one for spotlights, so this may not be too serious business.

1) I'm prone to muffled laughter during yoga classes. I don't know why. Maybe it's my reflection. I have been asked to keep it down by a very bendy instructor.

2) When I worked on a tv show in Australia, I had an argument with Danny Bonaduce (Danny from the Partridge Family). He was a rude, silly, man. He had been filling in for the host of the show.

3) My record for painting the same wall in our house was 4 times in 5 days. Four different colours within 5 days. I hope someone can top that. I've said it before...it's difficult choosing a colour!

4) I secretly love watching 18 Kids and Counting. I guess it's not really a secret anymore. Imagine giving birth that many times. Actually, they have just had their 19th baby. Ouch. Maybe it doesn't even hurt anymore??

5) I, too, had an affair with Tiger Woods....hasn't everyone?

6) Ernest Borgnine filmed a few scenes, at our house in the early 80's. Beside him, in this picture, is my mom and two of my sisters. He was so sweet! My favourite Ernest film has got to be the Poseidon Adventure (1972).

7) I've mentioned my new found hobby of knitting, so I've posted some of the scarves. I wouldn't want anyone to think they were make believe, like unicorns. If you look closely, I'm sure you will see that I, perhaps, purled where I should have knitted. Hopefully, by showing them, it will help me get over my fear of showing my handiwork to real knitters! Now I have to make something with sleeves.

I think I have to pass on this award to a few other bloggers, so I've chosen the following fab blogs.

Green and Pretty

The Constant Gatherer

Dollie Day Dream

A Perfect Fall Evening

My friend, Sarah Mousseau, is showing her beautiful paintings at the Silk Purse Gallery in West Vancouver.  Last night we went to the opening, and it was a perfect night.  The gallery sits right on the beach so we could walk outside, with our wine, and watch the sunset. 

I've attached the invite and a few of the paintings.  The colours are so soft and soothing.  Not to mention, a number of them are geishas. Love geishas. You can reach Sarah at sam.mousseau@gmail.com. The exhibit runs until October 4th.