Christmas "Spruce" Style

Happy Wednesday! Hope you're having a great week.

My last post was pretty festive, so I'm just going to carry on with that theme. 'Tis the season, yes?

I've had the pleasure of working with the women behind the fantastic shop, Spruce Collective, a number of times, but I think this shoot might be my favourite so far. They created a festive dining room, complete with DIY ornaments and decorations. They're featured in the current issue of Chatelaine magazine.

I love that they've created a festive setting without screaming 'it's Christmas'! If you're in Abbotsford B.C., definitely pop in and see what they've got happening for the holidays. I promise, you won't be disappointed. 

I'm off to Tahiti and Australia tomorrow, but I do have a couple of posts ready to go and will, no doubt, post something from my travels. If any of you have been to Tahiti, I'd love to know any secret spots that we shouldn't miss. Merci in advance!

Until then, take care!  

janis

x

An Early Taste of Thanksgiving

A couple of months ago, on a hot summer day, I shot a Thanksgiving story with Sarah & Murray Bancroft. Sarah is the editor-in-chief of VitaminDaily and Murray is a talented chef and food stylist.  Canadians celebrate Thanksgiving in October - right around the corner and I can't wait.

Thought I'd share some of the day with you...

Sarah and Murray's daughters, Emmanuelle and Charlotte, help with dinner by digging up potatoes from the garden.

The "kid's table" decorated in deep oranges and pinks. Plates and bed spread (used as a table cloth) from The Cross. 

Emerson digs into her Pear Tarte Tatin. 

The menu. 

Sarah sets the table for dinner. 

For Sarah's tips on entertaining with kids, and loads more pics, click here or pick up the October issue of Today's Parent. The recipes are fantastic!

TGIF

I'll be away for the next week and I may not be able to post. I hope to, though.  If you have any tips for what to do in Maui, I would love to know.  All I have so far is mai tai's by the beach. ;)

Have a great weekend, everyone!
Take care,
janis

Weekend Mode

It's Victoria Day in Canada, so the weekend is still on. Love holiday Mondays. Happy Birthday Queen Victoria!

My niece is currently sitting beside me, working on her writing project, asking me about Terry Fox and how to spell "institute". I hope I've spelled it correctly ;)

This is a bit of what's gone on this weekend....

 

By the way, I don't believe in ironing pillow cases.  Way too much work.

 

 

Frames found at Stepback. My husband painted the woman enjoying a mai tai. Not sure if it was a mai tai, but I like to think it was.

What did you get up to this weekend? Still enjoying the weekend?

Have a good day! Back soon.

Janis

Weekend Observations

Are you ready for the week? Did your weekend go by as fast as mine? Yikes. Here's a bit of my weekend....

I had to create a card for my mom, to let her know that we are taking her to Las Vegas for her birthday. I've only been once, ages ago, but did find these pics that I took of old motels. I was obsessed with them. Las Vegas looked so cute and innocent, way back then. ;)

Worked on images of Lily Ellis' (Birch and Bird) home that we shot for HGTV.ca. Here's a sneak peek for now...

Did a some grocery shopping down at Granville Island. The aqua ferry is the handiest mode of transportation.....

That was my weekend. What did you get up to? Please share!

Back soon,

janis

Joyful Friday

If you're celebrating Hanukkah, I hope you have a great one too! 

Thanks for checking in with me this week, and for leaving such lovely comments. It means a lot! 

I'll be back next week... 

janis

x

Holiday Inspiration for Charities

How's your week going? The week is whizzing by and I still haven't bought any Christmas presents. Please tell me I'm not the only one.

Late last year, the editors at Style At Home magazine asked 8 photographers if they would submit a holiday image for this year's December issue. Something they were inspired by during the holidays. All of the images selected would be 8x10, and available for purchase for $100 with proceeds benefiting various charities. I was one of the photographers asked, and I decided to donate the proceeds to The Arthritis Society. I think this is a fantastic idea, and I'm so happy to be part of it. I hope they do it again next year!

We each submitted a few photos and, from my selection, they chose this BW image. My husband and I were in Australia last Christmas, so they do have that Aussie, summery, feel to them.

I'm happy to say, I have sold a few already! I thought I'd offer up the other two images for The Arthritis Society as well. They will be printed on a beautiful, matte, archival paper, and signed. If you are interested in purchasing any of these images, please contact me directly. I would be pleased to take your money, send you a print, and hand over another cheque to The Arthritis Society.

To see the other photographer's images, and the charities they've chosen, check out the December issue of Style At Home.  Have a lovely day! 

Back soon,
Janis

Sunday Observatons

Hi all! Hope you've had a good weekend. What did you get up to? I worked a little, cleaned a little, and crafted a little....

Inspired by all the lovely Mexican decoration and celebrations going on while in California and at Disnelyland. Day of the Dead takes place on November 1st and 2nd. Learn about it here. 

Check out Gallant & Jones here. 

Well, that's been my Sunday. Now to watch a couple of horror flicks and get mentally prepared for Halloween. Have a good night!

Back soon.

Janis

Happy Camping

Happy Friday everyone! Hope you had a great week. I just got back from my camping trip, and I'm finding it hard to get back into the swing of things. Do you ever feel like that after a relaxing get away?

I absolutely heart Nicola Lake, located near Merritt BC. It's hot, dry, smells of pine, and there are pinecones everywhere. This is why I named my blog Pinecone Camp. Conjures up the best memories, and I'm always completely relaxed there.

View from our campsite. So pretty. 

A ranch on the way into town.

Hedley, BC is an old gold mining town. Tiny, friendly, and on this particular day, wildly hot. 

Bromley Rock is just east of Princeton BC. Breathtakingly beautiful. 

That's a small sample of this beautiful province. Have a lovely weekend! 

Back soon.

janis

Baked on Monday - Sage-Pepper Butter Crisps

Happy Monday! Thanksgiving (in Canada) is just one week away, so I thought these sagey crisps would be perfect to take to dinner. I found this recipe in Edible Vancouver - a free magazine full of local goodness. I copied the recipe down, and here it is!

Sage-Pepper Butter Crisps - makes about 15-18, depending on how much dough you eat while making them ;)

1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup softened butter
1/2 cup ground blanched almonds
1 tablespoon butter (to cook sage)
1/4 cup fresh sage leaves
1 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
sea salt for sprinkling

Preheat oven to 325f. In a shallow baking tin, toast almonds for 10 minutes, just to bring out the flavour. Once toasted, grind the almonds in a food processor.

In a small bowl, beat 1/2 cup butter until creamy. In another bowl, mix together flour, salt and ground almonds. Gradually add this mixture to the butter, mixing on a low setting until it starts to form a ball.

Melt the additional tablespoon of butter in a skillet until it starts to bubble. Add the sage a cook for a few minutes, or until leaves start to turn brown and crispy. Drain on a paper towel. When cool, chop into small pieces.

Add pepper and sage to dough and mix together with your hands. Roll into 1 inch balls and place on a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Dip the bottom of a glass in a bit of flour and flatten dough balls into discs, about 2 inches across. Sprinkle with a little sea salt.

Bake for about 12-15 minutes, or until sides start to turn gold in colour. Place crisps on a wire rack to cool. Best served warm. Enjoy.

Back on Wednesday!

I Heart Long Weekends

After shooting back to back shoots all this week, I will keep this post short because I feel kinda drunk with fatigue. To take a break from looking at interiors (lovely ones though!) in photoshop, I took a few portraits of some of my Kokeshi. They were lovely and didn't talk back at all, or blink. Sweet wooden creatures.

Have a fabulous weekend! It's a civic holiday here in Canada, so we have a long weekend. What about you?  I'll be back on Monday with a special B.C. Day Baked on Monday.

Jingle Bells

A couple of magazines have asked me for Christmas stories recently. I guess it is that time of year. One magazine expressed an interest in a story I shot 3 years ago. The Noel kids, above, were part of the story. We shot it at the home of Robin and Chris, owners of a fantastic shop called Stepback. It did get me thinking about the Christmas cards I do every year. Do you have to say Happy Holidays now? I celebrate Christmas, so I'm going with that.

This image was taken on a snowy, sunny November day.

I documented this Christmas tree farm, then popped a deer into the picture (thanks Rob!)