Weekend Observations

I hope you had a great weekend! What did you get up to?

Most of my "observations" for this weekend involved invoices, bank statements and receipts. In Canada, today is the deadline to get your tax statement in for 2011. Yikes. Nothing like the last minute. My apologies to my accountant. I promise to do better next year. Seriously.

In between ripping apart my office, searching for receipts, I also observed a little prettiness....

Cathy Terepocki ceramics are sold at Walrus.

For more info on VanDusen Gardens, click here.

That's it for today!

NYC for Friday

I'm back. Actually, I got back the other day at 2am but have been in a shoot frenzy. How has your week been?

I've got a little more of my NYC trip to share with you. It's a kind of long...hope you don't mind! Such a fantastic city.

We stayed at the Marcel at the Gramercy. The view from the lounge deck, on the 10th floor, was beautiful.  

A little peek at the High Line. You can't miss this if you visit NYC!  It starts in the Meat Packing district (by the Standard hotel) and ends at West 34th. There were birds nesting in those fantastic bird houses, top left. I know of a certain viaduct, here in Vancouver, that should be transformed into a beautiful park space too. One can dream. 

We popped over to Brooklyn for a few hours too. Checked out  Mast Brothers Chocolate, to stock up on some of our favourite chocolate and to see where all the magic happened.  Incredible flavour. This place is so worth seeing.

This city, truly, never sleeps. I love that you can buy papaya and limes late at night, right on the street. 

Fishs Eddy is a shop filled with vintage dish ware and heaps of new and used bits. We picked up some vintage Pan Am airlines knives. 99 cents each. Had to. ;)

Another shop we came across, is Kiosk. Located in Soho, it sells "things from places", and displays these "things" gallery style. Love this place so much. You can happily shop online too!

Happy bikes chained up everywhere. 

Beauty and Essex had been recommended to us by a few people. The food was incredible. You enter through a "pawn shop" and find yourself in a rather glamorous space. Since we're not overly glamorous, we enjoyed looking at all the glamorous guests. ;) The lobster tacos and molten chocolate bread pudding were especially amazing. 

A very early morning walk through the flower district. It's mostly wholesale only, but it was fun to stroll through. Busy place!

Whew. That's it. Do you have favourite places that you go to each time you're in NYC? Please share! 

Have a great weekend everyone. Got any plans? Back soon!

Janis

Weekend Observations of NYC

Did you have a nice weekend? Hope so. We're still in NYC, so I thought I'd share some NY observations with you. I love it here. Even the "nor'easter" isn't bothering us. ;)

All shades of chairs in the Raw department of ABC Carpet and Home. One of my favourite stores, ever. 

Love this view from the top of the ramp in the Guggenheim. 

Los Feliz is a great little restaurant, in the East Village area on Ludlow Street. So worth checking out. The tacos and burritos are perfect, and inexpensive.

Another restaurant we love is Cafe Select, in the NoLita area. The lobster salad was so good. We sat in the cozy back corner and people watched for a bit. 

My husband is patiently waiting for me, so I have to fly. Back soon with a peek at my shoot with Jen of Made By Girl and more bits of NYC!

Have a great day! 

janis

Hello Weekend

Day one has been so much fun, despite not having slept for 36 hours. Have lots to cram in this weekend, including my shoot with Jen, of Made By Girl, tomorrow. Will be back on Monday with some NYC observations. Have a great weekend everyone!

Janis

Baked

I hope you're having a good week! The weekend is just around the corner...

It's been a couple of weeks since I baked, but I had a craving for a banana/peanut butter combo of some sort. My husband isn't huge on peanut butter, as he grew up on Vegemite. PB just wasn't part of his world in Australia. All I know is I've embraced his Vegemite, but he just won't embrace my peanut butter. ;)

Banana Peanut Butter Muffins - makes 12

1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 cup rolled oats (not quick oats)
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/3 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 eggs
1/2 cup unsweetened peanut butter
3/4 cup milk
2 ripe bananas, mashed (about 1 cup)

Preheat oven to 350f/180c. Place a paper liner in each cup, and set aside.
In a bowl, whisk together flour, oats, baking powder, baking soda, and sugar. In another bowl beat together oil, eggs, peanut butter, milk and banana. Add wet ingredients to the dry mix, and stir to combine. Don't over mix.

Spoon batter into muffin cups and bake for 20-22 minutes, or until a skewer, inserted in centre, comes out clean. Allow to cool on a wire rack. Serve with a little honey, and enjoy!

If you like this flavour combo, you really should whip these up. Quick and easy, and so good.

I'm off to NYC tomorrow for a shoot with Jen of Made By Girl. Can't wait! I'll try to post while there.

Back soon!

janis

A Garden Inspired Home

Hope you had a nice weekend - Happy Monday! Actually, it's so late in the day now so happy Tuesday!

Thought I'd share some of the images of a home that I shot, for House and Home, last summer. It's on the cover of the current issue. Designed by Sophie Burke (the interior), for her parents, it's a beautiful home with a stunning garden and amazing views. I've seen a few homes that Sophie has designed, and they're all so different from each other. Love that.  

Designer Sophie Burke

A little instagram outtake of the day. I loved their garden. 

That's it for today! It's been crazy busy the last few weeks....now I've got some serious blog-catching-up to do! Thanks so much for checking in with me. 

Back soon.  

janis

Viva Las Vegas Friday

My week has wrapped up in a haze of bright lights, smoke, hot days, red rocks and Sesame Street impostors. Oh, and a couple of cocktails. Las Vegas is an interesting place. Human nature at it's best. ;) How was your week? Hope it was a good one!

A very entertaining few days. Vegas is all shades of craziness. Have you been to Las Vegas? Would you go back? Let me know!

Have a great weekend! 

Back soon,

Janis