warm fuzzies + a snowy saturday

As you might have been able to tell from my last post, I have been pretty close to hitting a wall over the past few weeks. Even at the best of times, there's just so much to do. When I feel SO strongly about what you want to be doing most, everything else I have to do seems to pile up like blocks in a bad round of Tetris.

Fortunately, 3 things happened this week that made me feel a lot better.

1. I received several extremely thoughtful and touching emails in response to my last post. To those of you who wrote to me, thank you so much. Your words make me feel warm and fuzzy and, most of all, hopeful and supported.

2. I spent this Saturday at TEDxConcordia with my friend Deanna (pictured in the photo above). It was lovely and sunny out, with a beautiful dusting of sparkly snow on the ground. The conference was packed to the brim with energetic, approachable, fascinating people and inspiring ideas. The talks themselves were all amazing. As with most TED talks, they should be posted online, so you'll be able to watch them some time in the near future.

3. Brian and I went to see the carvings of our wedding rings before they are cast in gold (mine in rose gold; his in yellow) this week. He also bought his wedding suit! We're now working on planning the honeymoon. We've booked a convertible for our California road trip, so we're off to a good start!

So this week, instead of worrying about everything I'm not doing and how that makes me feel stretched and inadequate, I'm focusing on the things that I'm doing that make me feel great. One week at a time, folks.

things i'm loving: pinterest

If you're at all interested in art, fashion, design, photography, or beauty, you have to check out my new obsession: Pinterest.

Falling in love with images online is a common occurrence for me, so I keep an inspiration folder on my desktop that I'm constantly filling with things I find gorgeous. But this folder gets messy and is hard to browse, you see?

When I discovered Pinterest, I was ecstatic to learn that I could bookmark or "pin" images while I browse blogs and other sites, and save them to "pinboards" organized by subject.

Once you apply to join Pinterest, you can install the bookmarklet in your browser. When you see something you like, you just hit "Pin it" and all the images on that site pop up. You pin the one you want, like so:

You assign this pin to a board, add a description and tags and pin it like this:

What's great about pinning is it preserves the link to the source of your image, for easy photo crediting or reference later.

You can also follow the boards of other users, or re-pin their pins to your own boards. Browsing through all your contacts' pins is like looking at a dynamic, evolving inspiration board. If you follow people with like interests and tastes, you'll find yourself discovering more beautiful things that you could ever come across alone. E.g.:

So far I'm using it to keep track of makeup and beauty ideas, wedding fashion and decor, style, decorating, and photos I find truly captivating. You can use it to save and organize pretty much anything, however, from recipes to potential dogs to adopt.

You can also login and link your Pinterest account to either your Facebook or Twitter handles, which saves time and allows you to share or tweet your finds with your friends and followers.

So, join up and follow me so I can follow your pin boards and see what you find beautiful or inspiring!

to the beach!

Hanging out at the beach with my family and Brian is so much fun and so relaxing, it feels like I'm dreaming. Things have been so crazy lately that I almost have forgotten how to chill out.

Last week, I was streaming an absolutely incredible, life-changing, fascinating, whirlwind of a wedding photography course, live! This 5-day wedding photography course with Jasmine Star was so energizing and inspiring. Jasmine spent 5 days teaching her students and online viewers all about the wedding photography industry and about building a photography business. Most impressively, she and her husband (and second shooter) shot a real wedding while teaching us about the whole process, and being filmed and streamed live!

I've been travelling so I have yet to finish the course, but I downloaded the whole thing yesterday and can barely contain myself I'm so excited to watch the rest. If you are even mildly interested in wedding photography, or becoming any kind of professional photographer, I would highly recommend downloading the course for a unique, engaging learning experience.

But now, I'm heading back to the beach...

monthly colour inspiration: rose, gold, and cream

A small collection of photos taken this month inspired by things I love: rococo style , pink gold jewellery, colours blurring into one another, lens flare, soft daylight, muted dusk light, silhouettes, halo effects

cinderella

This photo was taken at the Jean Talon Market a few weeks ago. I loved this because I imagine it could only have been placed there by the elderly couple who ran the vegetable stand. It must be a grandchild's artistic accomplishment. It made me smile when I was buying cauliflower.

I love how the scribbled patches on the colouring book page enliven the boring-ass picture in the same way the art piece does the dusty wall onto which it was placed.

I also kind of want this version of Cinderella's dress.

listening to: basia bulat - heart of my own

Though it was only an early cut, the song was already powerful enough to reach out and yank at my heartstrings. When I listened to the playback of "Gold Rush" during a photo shoot at Hotel 2 Tango in September 2008, I knew the finished product - and the album it would join - would be something special.

While taking pictures of the lovely Katie, I was able to a tiny part of the recording of Basia Bulat's latest album, Heart of My Own.

I had been intrigued by Basia's music for years, after hearing her distinctive voice in my Foundations in Singing class and as a host and frequently-played artist on CHRW during my time at Western. Her debut album, Oh, My Darling, was so fabulous and honest and strangely comforting that it constituted a large part of my new-to-Montreal, wandering-the-city-with-my-ipod-and-camera soundtrack.

After listening to her first effort so much, I'd grown accustomed to the softly gritty and wistful voice that lives on it. When I heard a much louder, more confident voice singing about a fool going north on Gold Rush, I was blown away by the vocal power she had developed in such a short time.

Heart of My Own features a stunning vocal performance by Basia, with evocative lyrics and melodies that slide right into your head and stay put. Equally impressive is the roster of musicians she's enlisted to infuse her well-crafted songs with virtuoso phrasing and complementary melodies. The musicians provide the scintillating sub-plots to her overarching narrative of adventure and independence.

Pick up a copy and listen for yourself, and watch this adorable video for a preview. For my fellow Montrealers, you can catch Basia's performance February 12th at L'Astral.

Basia Bulat - The Shore - A Take Away Show from La Blogotheque on Vimeo.

fiona

Named by her super cool big sister after Fiona Apple, his amazing 11-year-old is one of my favourite people. While kid-sitting her last week, I had such a great time. I taught her how to use conditioner and she caught me up with what "the kids" are into these days. Let's just say I was well-versed in Taylor Swift's prowess, and, unlike that idiot Kanye, knew her win was justified.

Fiona is a super smart girl who speaks 3 languages, rocks out on guitar better than most twenty-somethings I know, and talks to kids, adults, and animals with the same self-assured tone. I find her really inspiring!

evening with an artist

Last night was awesome! Over drinks and fabulous food at Liverpool House, I got to photograph* one of my favourite musicians, Amy Millan.



*I know this isn't a great photo, but I wanted to choose one of the ones that definitely won't be published.

inspiration: katrina markoff

Have you ever come across someone - whether in person or via some other medium - that makes you want to work your ass off to try to accomplish even a fraction of what she has?

For me, that person is Katrina Markoff. I first heard about her 2 summers ago when my great aunt Joyce brought boxes full of Vosges chocolates to our family reunion.

Vosges is an "Haut-chocolate" company that Markoff founded after she graduated from Le Cordon Bleu, apprenticed under Ferran Adrià (one of the world's most famous chefs) and travelled the world. Her creations feature spices, flowers and other exotic ingredients (hello, bacon) from all over the world. She invents every recipe herself in Vosges' Chicago headquarters.

To summarize: this lady travels the world looking for flavour inspiration, then blends her discoveries into exquisite chocolaty concoctions. Pretty much the best job on earth.

Since my job places me in the food/lifestyle realm of the interweb, I often come across references to her chocolates. In this video, she explains her brainstorming process:



And, while on Design Sponge a few weeks ago, I was admiring photos of rooms decorated the way I would decorate if I had money. Intrigued, I scrolled back up to see the owner, and it was none other than Markoff. Small world? Or, is it that once we find something that inspires us, it keeps popping up in different forms everywhere. Why is that?

More importantly, how does one become one of the 26 most fascinating entrepreneurs by one's early thirties?

Photo credit: Design Sponge

love and photography

Sweet pie in the sky, I'm not one to obsess over things, but my heart has been hooked.

I am in love... with two strangers in love... who were once themselves strangers.

Check out their blog and Rosie and Aaron's respective Flickr photostreams, and discover for yourself why their love and their work (and the combination thereof) is so inspiring.