Kitchen Love

Here I am thinking it's Wednesday, but it's actually Thursday. Wishful thinking, probably, as I have a couple of looming deadlines. Oh well!  Hope your week is going smoothly.

A few months ago, I shot a spring brunch story for BC Home and Garden, and it's on the cover of this month's issue. Thought I'd share some of the kitchen with you. I loved it. The shoot was styled by Maureen Willick and recipe by Susan Minton-Green, art director.

If I was super tidy (or even just tidy), I would have a lovely floating shelf too. 

I would love to have a seating nook like this one, with all the extra hidden storage.  

For the whole story, and recipe, click here. 

Have a good day! Back soon.

janis

Weekend Observations & Links

How was your weekend? Hope it was a fun one!

Mine made me feel very ladylike which, generally, I'm not ;) Here's a bit of my weekend...

Had pretty much the best high tea ever at the new Butter Tearoom, here in Vancouver. Rosie, you've done it again. The mini buns with tuna and a layer of potato chips, were my favourite. 

I always love shooting "before and after" stories, of all kinds. Gotta love a good transformation. This one was shot for Canadian Living magazine, and designed by Colleen of Vintage Home. She took a run down old shed, some beaten up furniture and accessories, above, and transformed them for a tiny guest cottage. The whole story, with all the little details, is in the new issue of Canadian Living. 

A little link love too:

•Loved this d.i.y. round up at Poppytalk
•I know it's uber trendy, but I do love a little modern cross-stitch. Spotted this at Hege in France
•I've mentioned my Zaishu before, and now I feel it's time for a new one! Take a look at the new designs at Zaishu. 
•Hanging houseplants can be great...in moderation of course. Loved some of these at Decouvrir Design

That's it for today! Back soon.
janis

TGIF

This image is from another lovely shoot this week with Gallant & Jones. Wait until you see their new products. Let's just say, I can't wait for picnic and camping season.

What are you up to this weekend? Hope it's a fun one.

janis

The New Domestic At Home

Last summer, I had the pleasure of shooting Nerissa Goco, and her daughter Luna, at her home that she shares with husband Peter Hoang. Nerissa is the talented graphic designer behind The New Domestic. Love her textiles and bags. Their fantastic 70's rancher is featured in this month's Style At Home. Thought I'd share some of it with you...

Nerissa and Peter have such a great eye for putting together all their vintage finds and collectibles. It's done sparingly too, which makes for a calm bedroom. 

Not only is Nerissa an amazing graphic designer, she can bake too. 

I love the clever little display crate....and the blueberry crumble pie. Let's just say, we shot this as fast as we could ;)  

Snack time for Luna, in their new kitchen. The wall of bamboo, outside the window, looks so pretty and better than any old curtain or blind for privacy. 

Mom and daughter crafting it up in their well stocked craft room. 

What do you think of their happy home? Could you live there? I could. 

Have a good day!

janis

Easter Weekend Observations

Are you still enjoying a long weekend? It's been sunny and perfect, here in Vancouver. Full of chocolate rabbits? I'm officially done with hot cross buns and chocolate anything....for awhile at least.

This is a little of what I got up to this weekend...

Worked on pics of a shoot I did with Ami McKay, of Pure Design, and stylist Crystal Carson. That also happens to be one of my images turned into a light box. Love light boxes.

Played around with some Impossible Project film with my sx-70. A little tour of Vancouver, "polaroid" style. Have you tried this instant film? Not like the old style polaroid film that would develop within minutes....this takes about 45 minutes, depending on the temperature, camera, etc. Still love it though ;) 

My contribution to the family Easter dinner: cupcakes. I used the Wacky Cake recipe, but added a caramilk chocolate egg in the centre, and iced with butter icing and coconut. 

Easter always brings out a little pastel in me. 

What did you do this long weekend? Still enjoying it? 

Have a great day! Back soon.

Janis

Montreal Observations

Hope everyone's week is off to a good start! It's sunny and pretty warm here today...ah, spring. 

Last week I was in Montreal with my husband. We managed to arrive just after a 30cm snowfall, which was fine with us, just made it a bit trickier pounding the pavement all day! Stayed at Hotel Gault (pictured above), in Old Montreal, and I highly recommend it. The staff was amazing, the room was beautiful, and it was a 3 minute walk to a metro station. Perfect.

Here's a little of what we saw....

The view from Parc du Mont Royal.

A Spring/Winter wonderland at Parc La Fontaine. So beautiful in the snow, I can only imagine what it's like in the summer. 

We were pretty frozen when we came across this cozy shop, Fuchsia. Loved the coffee, and Chester the dog too. 

Notre-Dame Basilica was one of the most stunning churches I've seen.  

Fes and the Middle Atlas

I'm wrapping up my trip to Morocco with some images of Fes and the Middle Atlas mountains. A pretty amazing experience, and a little daunting at the same time. We stayed at the beautiful Dar Roumana, right in the medina, and were well taken care of by Vincent, the chef and manager, and Mohammed, the assistant manager.

Fes is the second largest city of Morocco with a population of about a million. We stayed in the ancient medina of Fes el-Bali, a labyrinth of over 9000 streets and it's car-free. Nothing but donkeys and motorbikes. This post is picture heavy so grab a drink....

The views from our riad, Dar Romana. Perfect spot to hang out. 

I don't think I'll forget the tanneries. I will never look at leather the same way again. This really has to be one of the hardest jobs out there.

A father and daughter making bread.


Loved having the chance to see these men weave. By the way, I never just took a picture without asking. It didn't hurt to leave a few dollars as well.


One of the entrances into the medina.