Melbourne Observations 2

Hope you're all enjoying the last weekend of 2012! Can't believe this year is a wrap. It seemed to fly.

Speaking of flying, we just returned from Australia and I wanted to share just a few more bits of Melbourne with you....

St. Kilda is home to Luna Park (top pic) which just celebrated it's 100th birthday. A beautifully festooned horse was hanging out, grazing, on Ackland Street. The third image is a view of St. Kilda Beach. The last two collages are of Stokehouse restaurant. They've just reopened after a 5 month closure for renovations. It's a fantastic transformation. Sorry I don't have any "befores" but believe me, it needed a lift. The re-design was created by the team at Projects of Imagination. 

On our last day in Melbourne, we ran into this tiny place. Chuckle Park, on Little Collins Street, is tucked into another tiny laneway. It was the perfect place to stop for a quick beer. Loved the strings of hanging terrariums and plants under the retractable red and white striped awning. 

Thanks so much for all your support, comments and emails this past year! I'm looking forward to seeing what you all get up to in 2013. Have a safe and happy new years eve! 

Until next year,

jx

Christmas Greetings

I hope you all have a lovely day with friends and family!

janis
x

Melbourne Observations

How are you all? Hope all is well and festive where ever you are!

Have I mentioned how much I love the laneways throughout the cbd of Melbourne? So many great shops, cafes and art. Pretty spectacular. I think it's the best way to get to know this amazing city. Here's a peek at a few we've checked out recently....

Section 8 (pic above and top) is a pretty great place to hang out after a bonkers morning of "festive" shopping. Located in Tattersalls Lane, in Chinatown, they offer a variety of local beers, wine, cocktails and coffee. Love the old shipping container bar, pallets for seating, and metal drums for tables. 

 Centre Place and Degraves Street are two of my favourite laneways. Great little shops and some of the best coffee in the city. Way better than a certain giant chain coffee shop ;) 

Union Lane, off Bourke Street, showcases some pretty great street art. On this particular day, there was some street art "mentoring" going on. Wish more of this was allowed in Vancouver! 

By the way, I did a post all about Kyneton (cute country town) over at Poppytalk the other day. Click here, if you'd like to check it out. 

That's it for today, from Melbourne.   Have a great weekend!

janis

Jet Lagging, Gently

Slowly getting into the swing of things in Kyneton (Australia). I love it here so much. Such a fantastic country town. Great to just slowing unwind from the frenzy of life back in Vancouver. 

A few quiet images from my first couple of days...

My niece's chicken. I still can't really warm up to chickens. I like taking pics of them, but couldn't quite get into cuddle mode ;) 

Have no idea what kind of bird this is (it's tiny), but it was a pretty cute moment as she nestled back on top of her eggs. 

Curb-side daisies against a corrugated tin fence. Very Australian. 

Heading into Melbourne tomorrow.  Can't wait to check out the alleys!

Hope all is well and festive out there! 

janis

Before & After for Friday

Hello again! That week flew by, didn't it? Is it just me?

I'm wrapping up a busy shoot week, with a little before & after inspiration brought to you by Peter Wilds, a great designer and pal. This is his office/studio, located in the Gastown area of Vancouver. I shot this story for Style At Home and it's in the current issue.

That's it for now! I'm off to Australia tonight, but I plan on posting from down under. I plan to do a little catching up with all of your blogs on my Christmas break too! 

Have a great weekend! Back soon.

janis

x

TGIF

Happy Friday! This week has been over-the-top busy. I've shot everything from a banana bread queen, to a festive cocktail party story, to pretty bed linens and a lovely home - an interesting variety. One thing I've realized....I need a helper/assistant to help with coordinating things. Yikes. More on that in the new year!

We're heading back to Australia for Christmas with my husband's family. Can't wait. To wrap up the week is a sample of some the festive decor I look forward to seeing on cute shops all over Melbourne and Sydney....

janis
x

weekend observations

It was a busy weekend around here. A couple of shoots, and a best birthday present ever. My husband took me to see Paul McCartney for my day of all days. Sir Paul is still pretty amazing. Anyone else see him in Vancouver this weekend? 

Here's a little bit of the shoots I had...

Barefoot Contessa has a couple of locations in Vancouver. Have you been? Lots of great stuff for kids and men too! 

So many exciting things happening at Gallant & Jones! I've had the pleasure of shooting their beach chairs since the beginning, then onto trays and bags. These blankets are so soft and beautiful. Check them out here. 

What did you get up to this weekend? Did you venture into the "black Friday" shopping frenzy? If you did, was it all worth it? Let me know!

Have a good Monday!

janis

Getting Festive for a Cause

Happy friday everyone! Hope you've had a good week.

I've just finished shooting "Homes for the Holidays", a fantastic event to benefit Kids Help Phone, an incredible non-profit organization. This is the third year I've taken part. Pretty easy to give a day of my time to help out for such a worthy cause.

Many home owners, designers and shops took part as well, to decorate several homes for the tour. All funds raised go to Kids Help Phone. Here's a bit of what I saw today...

If you're in the Vancouver area, and are wondering what to do this weekend, think about checking out "Homes for the Holidays". Click here for more info.

Have a fun weekend! 

janis

Baked

I've been on a bit of a nut crust/cookie thing for the last few weeks. Always fun to experiment with different ingredients. This time I paired up hazelnut meal with chocolate and the result was a very chewy and delicious cookie. Not half bad for you either ;) 

Chocolate Hazelnut Cookies - makes about 30

3 cups hazelnut meal (I used Bob's Red Mill. Tried grinding up my own hazelnuts, but it turned into a butter. Oops.) 

1 teaspoon baking soda

pinch of salt

1/4 cup cocoa powder

1/2 cup arrowroot powder or cornstarch (I use arrowroot)

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1/2 cup vegetable oil 

1/2 cup maple syrup or agave syrup

1 teaspoon vanilla

A little sugar and cinnamon to roll cookies in.

Preheat oven to 350f/180c. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the hazelnut meal, baking soda, arrowroot powder, cinnamon, salt and cocoa powder. Add the vegetable oil, maple syrup and vanilla and combine well. 

Roll tablespoons of dough and place on baking sheet. Flatten a little with the bottom of a glass (preferably flat on the bottom). Roll the side of each cookie through a small dish of sugar & cinnamon mixture and place back on baking sheet. Bake for about 10 minutes. Allow to cool on tray. Enjoy!

Have you tried baking without flour? If you did, how did it turn out? Let me know! 

Have a great day!

janis

A Little Neon for Friday

I'm a fan of neon. I wish I could step into a time machine, and see what Vancouver looked like 50 years ago. Full of neon. If you're in Vancouver, and wondering what to do this weekend in side-ways rain, pop by the Museum of Vancouver and check out "Neon Vancouver/Ugly Vancouver", a permanent exhibit.  The M.O.V. still seems to be the best kept secret in this city. ;)

I took this picture on a chilly evening, while on a search for neon.By the way, Dayton is a Vancouver company that calls itself "stubbornly Canadian since 1946".  Love that, and I love those boots.

Have a great weekend!
janis

The Sparkly Season

....for a little gold, sparkles and glitter. I had a sneak peek at the Cross today. If you're in Vancouver, they'll be having their 9th anniversary party and holiday preview Thursday night. Hope to see you there!

In the retail world, Christmas does come early. Are you getting into the festive spirit yet? I think I am ;) 

Have a great day!

janis

Weekend Observations

Technically, it's still the weekend here (Remberance Day long weekend) but why wait for tomorrow? Hope you've all had a good weekend!

As mentioned in my last post, I was hoping for a calm and quiet weekend, and that's what I had. Here's a bit of it...

The Cross is located in Vancouver BC. Click here for more.

I also did a contributor post for Poppytalk today. I transformed a vintage bench by using a simple photo transfer technique. Click here for the how-to and the finished project! 

Enjoy the rest of your day!

janis

Cheers to Friday!

My week has been full of very colourful shoots, so I'm wrapping up the week with a quiet still life. I'm trying to set myself up for a calm and relaxing weekend ;)  What have you got planned? 

See you next week!
janis