Baked

Hello weekend! Hope you all had a great week. If you're in Vancouver, did you enjoy the little bit of snow we had? It was so pretty! Really wish we'd see more of that lovely white stuff. 

I haven't made bread in awhile, so I made a basic white bread, and added some spicy chilli chocolate to the centre. So good and pretty easy to make too. 

Mini Bread Loaves with Spicy Chocolate - makes 4 loaves

1 eight gram packet of active dry yeast

3 tablespoons and 1 teaspoon sugar (1 tsp for yeast mixture, 3 tblsp for dough)

1 cup lukewarm milk

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 85g spicy dark chocolate bar, broken into pieces

To glaze:

1 egg yolk

1 tablespoon milk

Preheat oven to 320f/160c. Grease and line with parchment paper, 4 one cup baking tins and set aside. 

In a small bowl, mix together the yeast, one teaspoon of sugar, and milk. Set aside in a warm spot until bubbles form on the surface, about 5 minutes (see pic below).

In a large bowl, combine the flour, salt, oil, 3 tablespoons sugar and yeast mixture and stir until a smooth dough forms (I use my hands for this). Knead the dough, on a lightly floured surface, for a about 5 minutes, until it's elastic and smooth.

Divide the dough into 4 even pieces. Flatten out each piece and place chocolate in centre. Fold around chocolate and pinch together to close. Smooth into a ball and place, pinched side down, into prepared baking tin. Cover with a towel and allow dough to rise, in a warm spot, until about doubled in size. This should take 45-60 minutes. 

Brush the tops with the egg mixture and bake for about 25 minutes, until golden brown on top. 

Allow to cool a little, in tins, before removing.

Have you made bread before? It's a pretty fun thing to do, and I find it so relaxing to knead dough by hand. Kids love it too! Maybe something to try out over the weekend? 

Have a great weekend! 

janis

A Sunshiny Kitchen for Friday

Hello weekend! It's been a very golden day for Canada at the Olympics, and our hockey team is heading to the gold medal game on Sunday. Can't wait. Will you be watching?

To end off the week, I thought I'd share a few pics of Lisa Moody's, of Grapevine Designs, kitchen. I shot it for House and Home magazine, and it's on the stands now.

What do you think of Lisa's kitchen? I loved her counter top with a built-in cutting board at one end of it. The table, with a window bench seating, was pretty great too.  I also can't believe how incredibly organized this busy mom of 3 is. Wow. 

Have a great weekend! 

janis

TGIF

Wrapping up the week with the winner of the HomeSense gift card give-way. Congratulations to Ceallahn Young! Thanks to all who took part!

Joy to the Weekend

I hope you all have a safe and happy holiday weekend.  Cheers to a relaxing time with friends and family! 

janis

x

hello weekend

Happy Friday! Hope you all had a great week.

I just wrapped up a fun week, shooting for an upcoming book by Holly Becker (Decor8) and Leslie Shewring (A Creative Mint). Leslie was here for the shoot, along with Jessica Senti. Great women to work with. Can't wait to see how it all comes together...next spring when the book is released.

Last weekend I tested out the new Instant Lab, from the Impossible Project. Thought I'd share the results with you. It turns your iPhone pictures into a real instant photos. Cool idea, but it does take some testing to get the exposure right. I'm not sure that I'd want to buy one, as I think the novelty would wear out, for me, pretty quickly. When I take instant pics, I still love my sx-70, in all it's unpredictable glory. If you have one of these, I'd love to know your thoughts on it. Do tell!

The Instant Lab. 

Some of the images taken with the Instant Lab, of my iPhone pics. 

After a week of eating, well, a lot of cookies, I think I might try snacking on some of this over the weekend. I made a nut mix adapted from a recipe I saw ages ago in a healthy living supplement in a newspaper. It's so good.  You can really use any combo of nuts you like along with whatever dried fruit you prefer. I always go for dried cherries and/or blueberries.

Cocoa Nut Mix - makes about 2 cups

2 tablespoons cocoa powder
1 tablespoon sugar (I used a raw sugar)
1 teaspoon cinnamon
pinch of salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 large egg, white only
1 cup cashews
1 cup almonds
1/2 cup walnuts
1/2 cup dried blueberries
1/2 cup dried blueberries

Preheat oven to 325f/160c. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
In a large bowl, whisk egg white for about 30 seconds, until foamy. Whisk in cocoa, sugar, vanilla, salt, and cinnamon, until smooth. Add nuts and stir until evenly coated in egg mix. Spread out nut mix, evenly, onto baking sheet. Bake for about 7 minutes, stir nuts, then bake for another 6 minutes. Keep an eye on them, so they don't decide to burn. Allow to cool, then add blueberries and cherries. Snack away.

Have a lovely weekend!

janis
x

Couch Potato Weekend

Happy Friday! Hope you've all had a great week. I've been pretty much shooting every day since we got back from Australia. All fine and dandy but, let's just say, I'm looking forward to hanging out around the house this weekend. With that in mind, here are a few couches that I've lounged on and loved....

Peacock Pavilions in Marrakech.

A perfect ottoman with a comfy sofa makes lounging even better. Designed by the design team at The Cross. 

A peak into fantastic living room, in a 70's house, with the perfect sofa. 

A lovely little sitting area, designed by Rebecca Lapres of Riesco & Lapres. 

What are your plans for the long weekend? I can't believe it's the end of August...and almost fall! 

Have a lovely weekend! See you again in September.

janis

x

Baked...for Canada Day

Ah, long weekends. Love them, even if I'm working for most of it. I'm in Victoria BC, for a few shoots, but back for July 1st - Canada Day. What are your plans?

Lately, I've been playing around with different flours in my never ending attempt at being healthier. Interesting, because as I write this, I have a wee bit of a hangover. ;) These were made with quinoa flour and almond meal, and they're pretty delicious. Similar to a friand, really.

Let's call them Canada Day cupcakes - makes about 10 medium cupcakes. 
3/4 cup almond meal
3/4 cup quinoa flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
125g unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup berry/caster sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 eggs
1/2 cup milk

For topping:
1 cup whipping cream
2 tablespoons pure maple syrup (or to taste)
fresh raspberries

Preheat oven to 350f/180c.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the almond meal, quinoa flour and baking powder. In another bowl, beat the butter, vanilla, and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, and mix until combined. Stir in the dry ingredients, a little at a time, until combined. Fold through the milk.

Spoon, evenly, into cups and bake for about 20 minutes, or until lightly golden and springy to touch.
Cool on a wire rack.
For topping, beat whipping cream and maple syrup together until it's, well, whipped cream! Top cooled cupcakes with whipped cream and a raspberry. Enjoy!

Have a good weekend everyone and, to my fellow Canadians, have a fun and safe Canada Day long weekend!

Weekend Walkabout in an Instant

Happy Monday! Hope you had a great weekend.

We had our nephew, Jake, with us for the weekend, which is always fun. I gave him my old Nikon D200, so we took it out for a spin. He loves photography, and that makes me happy ;) I used my sx-70 and took a few "instant" pics during our walkabout...

By the way, I did take my sx-70 to Palm Springs to see how it would work in desert light. Let's just say, not at all as it was 43 degrees every day. Way too hot for the film, it seems. Expensive lesson learned!

What did you get up to this weekend?

janis

Weekend Observations

I hope you had a nice weekend! I'm still in weekend mode, as it's Victoria Day today. I do love a holiday Monday.

Here's a bit of what went on around here this weekend...

Had a sneak peek at a house designed by Evoke International Design. Landscape design by Considered Design. Styling by McCarthy•Hinder. 

Popped down to Seattle for a whirlwind day trip, with a couple of good friends. Checked out the European Masters exhibit before it wrapped up, at the Seattle Art Museum. Found ourselves in Fremont, a cute neighbourhood filled with shops and restaurants. Picked up some Swedish clogs at Lambs Ear Shoe Boutique....had to have them. 

If you're in the Vancouver area, you have to check out the Grand Hotel exhibit at the Vancouver Art Gallery. It's all about the evolution of the hotel. Love it! It's on until September, and I plan to visit several more times. So much to take in and absorb. 

A few links to some of favourite blogs...

• a beautiful modern home in Santa Barbara at Design Elements

• "roughing it" at SF Girl By Bay

• Nanaimo Bar Cupcake anyone? Recipe by Rosie, of Butter Baked Goods, over at Poppytalk. If you're in Vancouver on May 25th, stop by West Elm for the Etsy event and meet Rosie along with several Etsy sellers (I'll be one of them). 

Have a great day! 

janis

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

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

Hello Weekend

Back from Palm Springs, and trying to catch up! Hope you all had a good week. 

Since the east coast of the U.S. has been on my mind all week, I'll wrap it up with a pic of the Staten Island Ferry. To all of you affected by the hurricane, I hope things are getting just a little calmer. 

Have a nice weekend, everyone!

Take care,

janis

Happy, happy Friday!

Back next week...
janis

weekend observations

How was your weekend? I'm still in weekend mode, as it's a long one here. Most of mine has been spent cleaning out the garage and editing pics, but I did fit in a couple of other things as well.....

Love vintage books sans dust jackets.

The wedding ceremony took place near the port of Vancouver, and the reception was at the old Salt building. Beautiful place. 

Are you still in weekend mode? What did you get up to?

janis

x

Weekend Observations

It's nice to be back! I hope you had a great weekend.

Slowly getting back to normal around here. This weekend, I worked on the shoots I had last week, lounged around a pretty beach, and checked out some wall garden action.....

Check out Rose and Pistols here. 

Shot for Style at Home and Today's Parent.

These really are the last days of summer around here. The smashed sand pail sort of said it all, to me! Crescent Beach is about 45 minutes south of Vancouver. A beautiful spot. If you visit, don't miss Hooked Fish Bar. We had fish tacos and fish & chips. Yum. 

What did you get up to? If you're in the northern hemisphere, were you trying to enjoy the last bits of summer too? Fill me in. 

Have a great day!

janis

Weekend Observations

That weekend was a bit of a blur. How was yours? Hope it was a fun one!

Along with spotting this sweet flower stand, here's a few more observations and a little project from the weekend....

Sewed up some cardboard pouches to ship my prints to some lovely etsy shoppers.  

A fun guest bedroom designed by Angela Robinson. 

I set aside some time to check out some blogs as well. Here are some lovely links...

Colour coded work spaces at Creative Living.

A fun and tiny space over at Emma's Design Blogg. 

A little paint-by-number action at Poppytalk.

Have a great day! 

janis

Weekend Observations

I hope you had a great weekend. If you're in Canada, you're probably still in weekend mode due to "civic" holidays. I'm heading out for a mini camping trip but, before I hit the road, here's a little of what my weekend looked like....

Checked out Duchesse, a lovely new "vintage and such" shop located in Chinatown. If you're in the Vancouver area, it's definitely a must see. Owners Anna McLean and Anna Maclellan, have put together a fantastic collection of vintage clothing, accessories, home wares, and furniture. The shop was designed by their friend, Ricky Alvarez. The shop itself has so many inspiring design ideas.

I love the chevron wall, made with various tones of plywood. 

A great shelving unit made of old school chairs, showcases vintage office accessories, shoes and lamps. 

Played around with a sunography kit. Have you every tried sunography? I did a little of this kind of printing as a kid. I still think it's magical. You just lay an object on top of the paper and allow to sit in full sun for about 10 minutes. Rinse with cold water and, voila, you have a print. 

Made a few origami boxes for tea lights in the back yard. I love the glow of colour. 

What did you get up to this weekend? If you're in Vancouver, did you manage to check out the Pride parade? Heard it was a good one! 

I'll be back next Friday. Until then, have a good week!

janis