old montreal engagement | ria + don

"I'm the crazy-scrambly-late one and he's the shirts-folded-up-and-laid-out-the-night-before one," Ria joked she as she explained how she and her fiancé, Don, prepared for their engagement photo session.

"I guess that can be said of our relationship in general, though."

It's this balance the scattered and calculated, the silly and the serious that create such a lovely harmony between these two. Her effervescence is met by his quiet charisma, and when she feels she's acting the goofiest, that's when he's smiling the widest.

Ria and Don met at the University of Alberta, where they were both studying at the time.

"He was much older than me, but no, he wasn't my TA if that's what you're wondering," Ria joked.

It was in fact their shared passion for science that brought them to the same lab, where they met. Don't you love stories of people finding love while doing what they love? That's the best way, I think.

They're both still doing what they're truly passionate about; Ria's doing her PhD in Biology in Montreal and spending summers doing field research in Uganda, and Don is a postdoctoral medical researcher in Boston.

So now they're not only becoming experts in their fields, but also in cross-border travel. The roads, train tracks and air space between their two cities are becoming very familiar as they traverse towards each other as often as possible.

Ria and Don, thank you for inviting me to spend a beautiful Saturday afternoon with you. I had an absolute blast taking your photos and witnessing your adorable antics in Old Montreal.

october odds and ends

Montreal is full of cool things. Here were some of my favourites this month:

Antique vignette portraits at Style LABO, an awesome store full of wonderful (if pricey) treasures on Rue Bernard in Montreal's Mile End neighbourhood.



Having breakfast at La Croissanterie Figaro, which has (you guessed it) the city's best croissants and an atmosphere akin to the best Parisian cafés.

Puces Pop, a semi-annual pop-up market that's packed with arts, crafts, and food. It's held in the basement of a Polish church, so you can always count on grabbing some perogies or cabbage rolls to fuel your shopping. This year there was a bakery from Brooklyn visiting and they were selling fantastic mini cupcakes, such as the bacon cinnamon (hells yeah) variety below.

Just walking the streets of my neighbourhood in the fall has gotta be one of the purest forms of pleasure. The colours are so bright, everything smells amazing, and the people watching is world-class.

I love when it's the end of the warm season and multiple layers of ivy have covered the walls of many buildings in the city.

You can't beat the moody skies of October.

Hot chocolate on a crisp, cool day is heavenly.

And, there is nothing like stocking up on new reading material at one of the many fall book fairs in the city.

After being super busy and out of town for half of the past month, I'm looking forward to having a slightly more low key November, curled up with all the books, hot chocolate and cozy fall outfits a girl could ask for.

portrait | ellen + tushith

They were ready to trek far and wide, to bike kilometres from one beloved corner of the Montreal to another. They know this city inside and out, and can recite detailed histories of any given neighbourhood, street, or ongoing construction project. To say that Tushith (an engineer) and Ellen (an architect) have a love of cities and the buildings that comprise them would be a great understatement.

When deciding on the location for their portrait session, they couldn't agree on the best place. There are, after all, so many bests in Montreal. After much discussion, they remembered that they live mere blocks from one of best, or certainly the most beautiful: Square St-Louis. We started there, in the park, and then biked a few blocks to the rapidly-changing area where St-Laurent and Ste-Catherine intersect. Tushith and Ellen love the colourful grafitti and grittiness that may soon be painted or paved over to become part of the Quartier des Spectacles.

Ellen and Tush, thanks so much for spending a few hours on that perfect fall day with me. The sky was true blue, and you two are, too. You're both such elegant (yes, Tush, you're an elegant guy), classy people who love life and have really got your stuff together. You are the epitome of a power couple!